1 Samuel 8:1-22
When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
Prayer: O Lord, grant us wisdom and faith to repent of our sins and put our trust, hope, and life in You. Your beloved Son descended for our salvation and ascended for our good. May we know His ways are always for our good and that He is ever with us. Amen.
We want a King!
I. The one we want.
II. The One we need!
Dear Fellow Redeemed!
What we want is not always what we get. What we want is not always what God wants. What we think is best for us is often the opposite of what we need. When we think about the foolish requests and questions that the Lord has put up with throughout the history of the world, we certainly must realize how patient and compassionate our Lord is toward sinful man!
Did you notice today what connects our lesson from Acts to our Old Testament lesson? In both accounts, God’s people want something contrary to God’s will. The apostles asked Jesus right before he ascended into heaven, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” The disciples wanted Jesus to establish his kingdom of power now. Perhaps, they still clung to the idea that Jesus was going to establish an earthly kingdom. They wanted him to sweep away the old order of things and start anew. They wanted Jesus to reveal his glory. They wanted the kingdom that Jesus promised. They wanted the wrongs of the world righted. And they wanted it now. But they would have to wait. God would send the Holy Spirit to guide them in all truth and be with them as they set out to proclaim to Jerusalem, Samaria, and throughout the rest of the world the saving message of the cross—that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for us and for our salvation.
The apostles’ question to Jesus was out of place. Jesus had to ascend to the Father. He would do it for their benefit. He would rule the church through the ministry of the word and would send the Holy Spirit to work through it. Yet, the disciples’ question is a question that we all struggle with. We want God to establish his kingdom now. We want to see God’s power and glory. We want to see and behold the glory of God. When we see the evil in the world, a loved one die, a child gets sick—we want God to reveal his glory by fixing or healing. This is what we often refer to as the theology of glory—which expects and wants to see God at work and present in the world. This is why so many people gather in mega churches which teach and preach the theology of glory or some of its derivatives like prosperity gospel.
But God works much differently. He establishes his kingdom and rules through the world through the ministry of his word—where his word and sacraments are rightly proclaimed and properly administered. He saves through simple water and the word, common bread and wine where his gives his body and blood which was shed on the cross. This is why Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (I Corinthians 1:23). God doesn’t reveal himself through great wonders and worldly wisdom—but in the foolishness of the cross. There we find a Savior that we need—who alone forgives our sins and saves us from eternal damnation. But, this Savior, which we so desperately need, is much different than the one our sinful flesh wants. An earthly kingdom and peace was desired by the apostles’ even after three years in seminary with Jesus. But this is nothing new.
In our lesson this morning, we learn about Israel’s request for a king. Samuel was a prophet in Israel. As a young boy he served under Eli the Priest. Scripture records, “So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.” It was during Samuel’s life that the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Israel, and they finally were delivered from the Philistines. Israel was free and had peace. God was their ruler. The judges and now Samuel, were the Lord’s representatives endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to lead God’s people. But Samuel was getting older and his sons, much like the sons of his predecessor Eli, were unfaithful to the Lord. So, the elders of Israel came to Samuel to ask him to appoint a king.
Israel wanted a king to judge them like the other nations. With this request, they were in effect rebuking Samuel and rejecting the Lord as their king. It’s no wonder that this request displeased Samuel who had faithfully judged and served the people all these years. Yet, the Lord makes it plain to Samuel that they weren’t rejecting him, but God. Samuel was simply God’s representative. He told Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them… from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.”
This is a great comfort for all the Lord’s faithful preachers. It’s the message, not the messenger that they are rejecting. It is this confidence, that leads faithful preachers like Paul to preach the foolishness of the cross—unconcerned with those who are offended or appalled by it.
But what was the problem with Israel’s request? It wasn’t that they wanted a king—because God did give them one. The great problem with their request was the reason for it—“there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” The Israelites requested a king based on two false premises. They thought that if they had a king he would fight for them. They wanted a king to fight for and defend them, despite the fact that the Lord had promised to fight on their behalf. Secondly, they wanted a king so that they could be like the other pagan nations to show their unity and power. Yet, by asking for a king, they were breaking covenant with the Lord, who was their King. Despite the fact that the Lord had just delivered them from the Philistines—they couldn’t see him or his glory, so they wanted to have a visible defender and visible proof.
But the Lord had Samuel warn them of the consequences for having a king—he would take their sons for soldiers and daughters as bakers and cooks, would place heavy burdens and taxes on them, and since the Israelites had asked for a king the Lord said that he would not hear their prayers when they cried out to him. Despite these warnings, the Israelites said like a stubborn child, “No! But there shall be a king over us…”
It is certainly tempting for us to look down on the Israelites with a holier than thou attitude. But how often do we imitate them? We too reflect dissatisfaction for the obvious blessings in our life. We want better health, more money, fewer obligations, more harmonious families, fewer problems, and more peace. What we have is not enough! All our discontent and dissatisfaction are a subtle, or maybe obvious, criticism of God. You want visible proof of God’s glory and blessing—what he has given is not enough.
And this only gets worse when we go through hard times. Then we can really feel angry with God when he doesn’t act according to what we think is best. Our thorns of the flesh can make us feel that God is distant and far away. Why can’t he help me and make his presence known? The devil would love for us to feel as if Christ has ascended into heaven and left us alone and without help. He would love for us become angry with God and feel like he doesn’t care about us. He tempts us to want a different god or king.
But what you want isn’t always what you need.
What you need is a God who forgives you. What you need is a Savior who loves you, gives his life for you and to you. What you need is a Savior who has all power and authority. What you need is a King who did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. What you need is a God who promises to be with you always, even in joys and sorrows, doubts and weaknesses. You need a King who is not only just, but merciful. And here is the good news—this is exactly the King, the Savior, the Lord, that you have.
Today, we recognize the ascension of our Lord Jesus into heaven. If he has ascended, that means that he first descended. God’s own Son became man to live a life of perfect obedience in our place. As a true man, he bore the burdens of this life. He knows the trouble and hardships of living in this world of sin. Yet, out of his great love for us, he took upon himself our sins, shame, and guilt and nailed them to the cross. He took the punishment that our sins deserved. He suffered hell to save you from it. By his death as the eternal Son of God he made full atonement for all your sins and by his rising he has defeated death. Jesus’ ascension to the Father’s right hand is the crowning seal that our redemption is complete. Our Savior who can sympathize with our weaknesses is now placed in a position of power and authority where he works for the good of his church.
Everything our gracious God does is for our good. He became man for our good. He ascended for our good. What’s more, we know that he works everything for the good to those who love God, even hardships and sorrows. The devil would have us base truth off our feelings. But a Christian doesn’t determine whether God is with them or not based on what they feel or see. We cling to the word of Jesus. Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Not only will Christ never leave us, but his ascension into heaven points to our own ascension into heaven. Believers in Christ will be raised from the grave. We will see Christ face to face.
I’d like to close today with some words which were preached by Pastor Koren, who was one of the founding pastors of our congregation. Speaking on Christ’s ascension he said,
Help comes from Him who is seated at the right hand of the Father. From there He rules and directs all things, great and small. Do you think you are forgotten? Do you think that He suffered so much evil for your sake, just to let go of you and let you go astray later? Didn’t He say that He will be with you always [Matt. 28:20]? Hasn’t He kept this promise? Yes, indeed, you poor soul, He has never let you out of His sight, not for one day, not for one hour. He has guided and led you on your earthly journey. If you left Him, then He still walked behind you and called to you; otherwise you would not have been sad and worried. And isn’t He the one who even today invites your thoughts and your heart up to His seat of power and glory, so that you should remember that it is He who rules, and so that you should comfort yourself in knowing that He has promised to lead you all the way?
Then we will also believe that His way is best, even if He leads us where there is sorrow and tribulation. We will let Him be in control and simply guard ourselves from forsaking Him… Forward, by His strength! He will help us. (KW I: 231, 237).
Amen!