TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 8:1-21
TO CHEW ON: "But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said. We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations. . . .'” 1 Samuel 8:19, 20
Samuel judged Israel till he was an old man. Then he appointed his sons to be judges after him. But they were not fair and wise like Samuel their father had been. So the people didn’t want them as rulers. Instead they wanted a king. They wanted to be just like the nations around them.
Samuel warned them that a king would give them a whole new set of problems. Name five of the disadvantages of having a king Samuel lists. A king will (1 Samuel 8:10-18):
1. ___
2. ___
3. ___
4. ___
5. ___
In spite of this, the people insisted. They thought that if they had a king like everybody else, they would win wars and be as strong as their enemies.
Samuel felt hurt by this request. He felt as if the people had rejected him. But God told him, “It isn’t you they’ve rejected, but Me. Even so, listen to them and give them a king.”
The Israelites didn’t realize that it wasn’t the outward stuff that made them win or lose a war. It wasn’t the kind of government that would make them weak or strong as a nation. Winning or losing, being weak or strong depended on whether they obeyed God – or not.
PRAYER: Dear God, help me to gain success by living in a way that pleases You rather than by copying people who look successful. Amen
MORE: Monkey see, monkey do
We are not so different from the Israelites in the way we don’t like to be different. Sometimes this is not a bad thing. At other times our wanting to fit in can take us down the wrong road. Pretend you are an advice writer. What would you tell each of these kids who wants to fit in, but also wants to please God?
