The Theme of 1st and 2nd Samuel Part 1
1st and 2nd Samuel was given as one book and was one book for centuries. At some point someone thought the book was too long and split it. But it was given by God as one book.
Some books have 1 major theme and at the same time they can also have other themes or storylines that run thru them. But one powerful theme stands out above the others.
1st Samuel is not that way. 1st Samuel is about many things.
One of the big themes of 1st Samuel centers around Israel’s desire for a king. And because they chose a king to rule over them instead of God, they suffered for it. There is a note of failure that runs thru 1st Samuel.
We see Israel ask for a king in chapter 8.
1Sa 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
1Sa 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1Sa 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
God clearly said why the nation wanted a king. O it is not the reason the people would give. They would not say the real reason out loud. They said it is because Samuel is old, Samuel’s sons are not good men, and we want a king to be like all the nations.
Those were the reasons they gave with their mouth.
But God looks on the heart and God said, they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
God says they are doing the same things that they have done since the day I brought them up out of Egypt. Generation after generation. The fathers would pass their desire to forsake God and serve false gods to their children. And their children would do the same. All this time for hundreds of years, they never did break this cycle. O’ there were brief periods now and then, but they never stayed on track.
Now remember we are talking about Israel as a whole. God has always kept a remnant that was true to Him. In the time of Judges there was always a Boaz or two. So even now, when the masses are asking for a king, Samuel is not. And no doubt there are a few others who would stand with Samuel.
God has already proved what He wanted to during the time of the Judges. That time of reaping and sowing. They would rebel and reap from that, then call out to God and reap good from that only to cycle thru it again. So God does not treat their rebellion the same now.
We have moved out of the time of the Judges so this time God says give them what they want.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
God lets man choose. Man does have a free will. However, God loves man and wants Samuel to warn them and tell them of the consequences. God lets man choose, but He wants man to make an informed choice. One of the reasons that God has preserved His Word. Any man that wants to can read God’s Word and make an informed choice.
The heart of God wanting people to be informed is another reason we work to get the Gospel to as many people as we can.
Man has a free will and God wants the truth to be presented to them. So Samuel obeys and lets them know what will happen if they make this choice.
Sa 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
This is quite a list. He will take your sons and appoint them for his service. Before this choice your sons are at home and help you with the farming, and as they grow they take a wife and have a family and they are all still on your land or get some land nearby.
Help is close if you need it, as well as your grandkids. This choice is going to put a change to that for a lot of people. Your sons will now have to work for the king. They will be taken. No longer at home. This will cause a huge change to your family. Your son will not be close by. He will not be able to help you in the same way.
1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
Now your sons will have to work in the king’s fields and not yours. The fruit of their labors will now go to the king and not to your family. And some of your sons will be forced into an army.
That is a hard thing but it does not stop there. It keeps going.
1Sa 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
All of those sons are going to need fed. The king is not going to do it. We are talking thousands and thousands of sons being put to the kings bidding. It is going to require a large crew to feed all of them. So now the king is also going to take your daughters.
Your current home life with all your family home is going to be over. That is bad but it gets worse.
1Sa 8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
This king is going to now take your land, and give it to those that serve him. And he will not take the poor land. No, he will take the best of it all. And most likely give it to those that either brown nose the best or to those that have something to offer the king. All at your expense.
But he is still not done.
1Sa 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
All of these sons and daughters that he took will all require supervision. Some people will have to be in charge and oversee everything. These people will need to be paid. So now you will have to pay 10 percent. Not by choice, or with a cheerful heart. This will be a forced tax.
1Sa 8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
1Sa 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
It is all going to be about the king’s work. He will take what he wants and the worst of it is ye shall be his servants. And this will not be good.
1Sa 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
God is really trying here. God told Samuel exactly what to say. This is all honest and upfront and a really strong plea to try to get them to see reason. Your king is going to treat you bad, take your families and your lands and tax you and make you servants.
It is going to be so bad that you are going to cry. You are going to cry out to God. But listen. This is not going to be like the time of the Judges. Where you turn from God and when it gets so bad that you cry out, that God listens and delivers you. That time is over.
If you make this choice, it is going to stand. Cry later about it and it is not going to change. Do you really understand?
And do not misunderstand. God is still going to have mercy, he is still going to work for their benefit. He will hear their prayers and answer. He is still going to respond to any individual with a repentant heart and He will still respond to the cry on other things.
But not to the cry to remove the king. I have told you how bad it is going to be. And some of you might be thinking but not all kings will be this bad. They will have some good kings. But even the good kings took sons and daughters into his service and even the good kings taxed the people.
This change will stand. It will go on for a long time and affect countless numbers of people.
What is your informed choice going to be?
God really tries to reach people. He really tries to get them to see the truth. The reality of things. But if they refuse, He lets them make that choice. God does not force Himself and His ways on people. In verse 19 we see their choice.
1Sa 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
This is quite incredible if you think about it. After the vivid description of what this choice will mean they still make this choice. And along with giving their choice they again state some of their reasons why. Not the real reason as we said before.
1Sa 8:20 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.
God told us the real reason. They were worshipping false gods and did not want the one true God ruling over them.
They would rather have all the hurt, harm, and bad things of choosing a king over God than to have God.
All of us have a different viewpoint than those who do not want God because we are His dear children. We walk with God and He cares for us. We have seen Him be good to us over and over again. For the Lord is good, and His mercy is everlasting. We know that. We have tasted of that as the saying goes.
We see His wisdom and His provision and care for us. We see how He is faithful again and again.
The lost world does not see that. They have not experienced that.
1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
God told Samuel even unto this day. So they are still forsaking God and serving other gods.
They have come face to face with having to make a choice. Choose God or not. Have God rule over you or have someone else rule over you.
Have a Holy good, perfect, loving God over you, or have a wicked, selfish, thieving, no good king over you. Have the blessing of God or have the curses of a man.
You would think that it is not much of a choice. It should not be hard. There really is no comparison. When it is laid out the way God had Samuel lay it out, it is obvious that the infinitely better choice is to choose God.
Then why didn’t they make the better choice.
Jesus tells us why in John chapter 3.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
The sin nature of man loves darkness rather than light. And everyone that does evil hates the light and will not come to the light.
We sometimes make the mistake of thinking of only certain horrific things as evil such as serial killing. While that is truly evil. Anything done under the wicked one’s influence is also evil. Doing the will of Satan is evil. Worshiping false gods is what the wicked one wants so that is also evil. Fighting against God and rejecting God is wicked.
People in wickedness hate the light and do not come to the light. This is the issue we are seeing played out before us in Samuel chapter 8.
The people knew if they chose God to reign over them that He would tell them that the false gods have to go. And they wanted no part of that.
This coldness towards God is the normal reaction of man’s sin nature. And it is amazing how much bad a sinner will take before he will choose to forsake it and turn to God.
Some people more than others. People are individuals. Each one unique. Some see reason easier. Some will turn to God without a huge amount of damage caused by their sinful behavior, some will turn with only experiencing some, and some will not turn to God no matter what happens.
The initial reaction of man’s sin nature is to not turn to God. We are sending out thousands of good teaching tracts. It is not normal for lost people to read it and just turn to God the first time they ever come in contact with the Gospel. People need the seed planted, and then watered. They have to think about it. And God has to work in the circumstances of their lives.
The Lord will plead with them in His way and in His time. Just like we read in Samuel. We need to do what the Lord had Samuel do. Deliver to them God’s Word.
Some will respond. Some will make the right choice. We might only plant the seed. It might take years and someone else will lead them to the Lord.
We deliver the word and people have to choose. This is what we see in Samuel chapter 8.
They are given God’s word and then given a choice.
And instead of God they choose a bunch of bad stuff.
1Sa 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
1Sa 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
God says let them have their choice. Samuel sends everyone home and soon will anoint Saul as their king. The people will be allowed to have what they chose.
We should get from all of this that God wants His word told to people so that they can understand the gravity and consequences of their choice. God wants the offer made even though He knows how they will chose. Like in Samuel chapter 8. Even when He knows that they will choose wrong. He still wants the pleading to choose right to be delivered.
We should also understand this on a personal level. That God always wants what is best for us, and when we are given a choice between choosing God or choosing against Him, it is always better for us to choose God.
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