Give Us A King

   The time of Judges was a dark chapter in Israel’s history. The people fell into a cyclical pattern of chasing idolatry, experiencing punishment through foreign oppression, crying out to God for deliverance, and receiving salvation through a military leader. With each deliverance, however, the people exposed their wicked hearts and went back to their idols. When the last judge, the prophet Samuel, had become old, the Israelites gathered to the city of Ramah and demanded that Samuel appoint a king to rule Israel (1 Samuel 8). Although the Lord noted their rejection of Him, He instructed Samuel to fulfill their demand. What led the people to this moment?

1. Instead of driving out the Canaanite nations as they were divinely commanded, the Israelites became Canaanite themselves. Before the people had entered the land of Canaan in the days of Joshua, they were instructed by the Lord to rid the land of the corrupt native inhabitants and their gods (Numbers 33.50-56). Disobedience would mean perpetual trouble for the Israelites and their eventual destruction. Sure enough, when Israel failed to fully eradicating the Canaanites, God’s people began to take on their characteristics (Judges 2.11-12). Therefore, their eventual call for a king was the direct result of long study of and infatuation with the neighboring peoples. We would do well to drive out unholy desires from our hearts and make a study of our Lord instead of our culture.
2. Israel had a generational habit of doing “what was right in [their] own eyes” (Judges 17.6, 21.25). The horrific accounts in the book of Judges of Israelites embracing idolatry, rape, slaughter, and civil war can be traced back to this crooked compass and explains the actions of Israel’s elders in 1 Samuel 8. Shockingly, when they approached Samuel, the Lord was completely absent from their words. Instead of humbly requesting knowledge of God’s will in the matter of Israel’s leadership, they came barking orders like pragmatic Canaanite warlords. By contrast, “Samuel prayed to the Lord” (1 Samuel 8.6). American culture preaches looking inside yourself to find your true compass. The Old Testament, however, reveals a spiritual graveyard of mistaken people who lived by the same motto.
3. Israel had a deep-seated desire for prestige and sophistication in the eyes of others. This is revealed in their repeated desire to “be like all the nations” and their second demand for someone to “judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8.5, 20). This is interesting, since plenty of men in previous generations had already led the people to military victory when the need arose. Israel already had situational battle fighters and judges. However, they didn’t have the cultural prestige of a man who ruled from a palace, kept a litany of wives and servants, ordered soldiers around, and had authority to rule with absolute power. This craving led to rejecting the King they already had. May we not spurn our heavenly ruler for paltry substitutes like they did!

Nathan