12 Our Will Be Done

We’re continuing First Samuel chapter 8, and we’ll see how Samuel will speak to the elders about the consequences of their desire to have a king of flesh and blood to reign over them.

Being a faithful man, Samuel brought the issue to the Lord in prayer, and we’ll begin by seeing the Lord’s response:

1 Samuel 8:6-8

We then see the Lord would do even more, by instructing him further:

1 God Instructs Samuel

Because of His great love for His people, the Lord desired that they be warned of the consequences of what they were asking for.

Yet, it was a picture of the nation’s rebellious history, which would continue, and culminate when they would reject Jesus as their Messiah:

John 19:14-45

Even though Samuel was extremely upset by the people’s request, the Lord directed him to heed their voice:

1 Samuel 8:9

Even so, he had Samuel warn them for several reasons:

• Opposed to the Lord’s leading, an earthly king would rule according to the whims of his flesh.
• The warning would also hold the people accountable for their decision, much like the Jews did themselves, when they consented to Christ’s crucifixion:

Matthew 27:25

• The warning would mean the people would be completely responsible.

This is the same accountability everyone who hears the Gospel has. They can never claim ignorance.

2 Samuel’s Faithful Words

Despite the ill-advised appointing of his sons as judges, Samuel had faithfully served the Lord throughout his life. So, in the next passage, we see him faithfully reporting all the Lord had given him to say:

1 Samuel 8:10-18

While the Lord would give them their desires, they still had no understanding of what they would be facing.

The Lord desires that His people submit to Him, meaning we should desire His will for our lives, rather than holding to our own wants and desires.

Samuel warned the people that the king would be cruel and demanding, and that he would enrich himself at their expense:

1 Samuel 8:10-18

They would come to see the great difference between God’s loving leading, and that of a cruel earthly king.

Yet, the people were convinced that an earthly king would resolve all their problems.

They believed other nations would fear them if they had a strong-willed earthly king.

However, even though Israel would eventually amass a strong military, it never prevented war with their enemies, a problem which continues even to this day.

The problem with that thinking, is that wars come about because of the sinfulness in man’s heart:

James 4:2

Samuel when go on to show how an earthly king be a “taker”, taking everything from able-bodies young men for military service, to young women, would be pressed into service as bakers and cooks.

In addition, the king would lay claim to animals, fields, and harvests as his own.

Every earthly king (government) basically operate in the roll of “takers” with the exception of one King:

Matthew 20:28

3 Desiring Their Will

Even after having heard the ramifications of such a king, the people declared they wanted a king like all the other nations:

1 Samuel 8:19-22

The Israelites had determined they wanted their will, and God gave them what they wanted, which is not always a good thing:

Psalm 106:15