In reading 1
Samuel 8 it struck me that we as a nation seem to be crying out for the same
thing as Israel. In that day they
decided that their leader and judge, Samuel, wasn’t enough. They wanted more like the other nations for
even Samuel’s sons had turned aside to dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted
justice. The people said to Samuel, “Give
us a king to lead us.” Because this displeased him, he went to the Lord and
prayed. And this is what the Lord said
to Samuel, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they
have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” Let me repeat that, “but
they have rejected me!” Sound familiar?
Let’s continue on.
God said, “As they have done from the day I brought
them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so
they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them
know what the king who will reign over them will do.” Hold on now, are y’all
ready for this? Here’s the words of the Lord that Samuel told them who were
asking for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will
do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses,
and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be
commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his
ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and
equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and
cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive
groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and
of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants
and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his
own use. He will take a tenth of your
flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you
will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord WILL NOT
ANSWER you in that day.” Ouch! What are you hearing when you read this? Let God
speak into your heart!
Even with Samuel’s warning they still said, “NO! We want
a king over us.” They wanted to be like the other nations. We’ve had other
nations wanting a king to be like us, but slowly some are seeing the reality
that we aren’t all we’re cracked up to be!
Amen! They wanted a king who would lead them and go out before them and
fight their battles. Woah! Do you hear that? To this day we are still crying
out “Give us a king!” And we are still just as sinful and blind. Truth is, God
was meant to be their king just like he is meant to be our king today. There was never supposed to be any other king
but God. And we are still dethroning him to this very day! We cry out for our
own selfish desires disregarding the evil that lurks behind our desires. Friends, don’t join the masses of this world
demanding your rights and desires because I tell you God WILL give them to us!
Instead we need to be like Samuel, praying! Like Nehemiah, weeping, fasting and
praying that God would strengthen our hands and our hearts and give us the
opportunity to rebuild the walls! Oh dear friends, we have a responsibility to
be the Godly leaders this world so desperately needs. We have the chance to be like Abraham whose
faith was credited to him as righteousness! He is our father. God has made him
the father of many nations! Let’s pray like Abraham and ask the Lord to spare
Sodom and Gomorrah. May the Lord look
down upon us and find us faithful unlike Sodom and Gomorrah. And when God moves us out DO NOT look back to
see and weep for what we are being saved from.
We are a sinful nation in need of our Savior Jesus Christ! We must pray
for our leaders. Pray for God to change the hearts of sinful man and to spare
us. Yes, prophecy will be exacted, but
God yearns to hear our hearts in prayer because he can and will change the
course of things. Let our faith go
before us and our warrior feet follow God into battle. Raising up disciples who
will go out and share the gospel of the good news of Jesus, leading the lost to
salvation. It is not pleasing to the
Lord that any man should perish without him, oh but so many will! What are you
going to do about it? I love how Samuel confronted the people with evidence of
all the Lord had done for them. All the righteous acts done for them and their
forefathers. Oh that we would do the same
with great boldness! God has already delivered us in so many ways and longs to
do more, but I am afraid we have become so much like Israel and have begun demanding
for our own selfish desires and disregarding the good that God has brought us and
have FORGOTTEN THE LORD! We have armies (evil)
moving in on every side of us and we are still crying “Give us a king!” Soon
the Lord will give us our king, what we have asked for. What, my friends, are
you crying out for? What are you demanding? I pray that we would turn to
demanding God’s justice and mercy, His will and not ours here on earth as it
already is in heaven. When things get
hard and messier than they already are there will be those who will turn and ask
God’s people to pray to our Lord because “they have added to all the other
sins, the evil of asking for a king”. And we will come together and pray! Be careful what you are asking for in this election and from our next leader!
As it
says, “If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his
commands, and if both you and your king who reigns over you follow the Lord
your God-good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his
commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” Do not
turn away! Serve the Lord with all your heart! God is king and He always
will be! Now, let Him reign and be king of your life before it’s too late to
call out to Him! We are not promised tomorrow, but in our pride we boast about
what we will do tomorrow! Will you turn your life over to the one true king? Jesus Christ! Will you pray for God to be king of our nation?
Do you believe
that Jesus is the son of God who came down to earth as a man in order to take
on your sins and diseases on the cross where he suffered greatly so you don’t
have to and then died and rose again 3 days later to sit on the right hand of
the Father? Will you ask for forgiveness of your sins and let Jesus be the Lord
of your life, and finally putting him on in baptism for the forgiveness of your sins? Will you submit to him and
his commands in all of your life? Life with Jesus is so beautiful! His peace
that he gives is totally beyond our understanding. His grace reaches the
highest of mountains! His grace inspires you to move to higher ground! His
mercies are new EVERY morning! His love and forgiveness never run out! Your
faith in Him can move mountains and your love for him and others will change
this world! His commands are not burdensome, but instead bring fulfillment and life
abundant in joy, peace, safety and goodness! Why do you wait? Step into his
love for you and then storm the heavens with your prayers of thanksgiving and
for his blessings and provisions upon our land and our leaders! Lord, give us
the leader who will bring you glory! Amen and amen!
In Christ alone
His willing warrior and servant,
Stephanie Goode