I like to read for a while before I turn the light off at night. I’ve been reading 1 Samuel, which is the history of how Israel went from being a theocracy to a monarchy. Here’s what that means. A “theocracy” means that God was their King, their leader, and that He chose men who acted as His representative ruler over Israel. These men were not kings. In a monarchy, of course, a human king is the leader of a country. So, as a theocracy, Israel had what were called “judges.” From time to time, Israel’s judges did what our judges do today: they judged in disputes and resolved problems between people. But for the most part, they were military leaders chosen by God…and their main job was to act on God’s behalf by leading the nation through times of distress, usually when enemies were gathering their armies to attack Israel. God relied on His judges to lead Israel for about 300 years, and the prophet, Samuel, was the last of them.
When Samuel was old and gray, the elders of Israel came to him and said, “Appoint for us a king” (1 Samuel 8:5). Had God failed them as their King? Of course not. What happened is that Israel started looking at the nations around them and started to envy those nations—they wanted what those nations had. And what those countries had that Israel didn’t have was an earthly king. A human they could call “king.” Unlike their neighbors’ kings, Israel’s judges were instructed by God (what a blessing!), and God made Israel victorious over their enemies again and again (what a blessing!). God made them winners! But Israel didn’t want God to be their King anymore. They actually told Samuel that they wanted to “be like all the nations…that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:20). What short memories they had! With this request, Israel actually rejected God. They decided a human king was a better idea. What a mistake. But, God let them have their way. He gave them a king.
How do you think having a king worked out for Israel? Well, it was disastrous for the most part. After just three kings, the nation split in two: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Not one single king of the northern kingdom was a good king. None of them followed or obeyed God. They were such evil leaders that eventually the northern kingdom fell to one of their enemies, Assyria. They were destroyed…forever…permanently. The southern kingdom had a mix of good and bad kings. They lasted longer but ended up the same way: defeated by the Babylonians, the temple destroyed, the land wiped out, and the people slaughtered or carted a thousand miles away into exile. This was what human kings did for them: total destruction.
Isn’t it easy to ask God for what we want? Like Israel, we are proud and think we are so wise. But God always knows what’s best for us. When we trust God and His will for our lives, we can confidently ask Him to provide what we need. We can depend on Him to provide for us and sustain us. It’s when we focus on our wants that we lose our way. The Bible tells us that the Lord is worthy of our trust. Keep your focus on God and trust in Him. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.
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