10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself to his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. 12He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his servants. 18Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day [because you have rejected Him as King].”
19Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20so that we too may be like all the nations [around us], that our king may judge [and govern] us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
1 Samuel 8:10-20 AMP
This 2 part series will be about the perfect king, and showing how Christ is the perfect king that God always intended for his people, and that we never knew that we needed. To best show that, I believe we have to go back to the beginning, where the children of Israel begged God for a king, and God told them what the cost of having an earthly king would be.
Saul had been a judge over Israel since Eli, the prophet was judged and killed by God for his disobedience (1 Samuel chapters 3-4). Samuel served Israel as its final judge before God for many years until his sons corrupt behavior moved the people to ask God for a king to rule over them (1 Samuel 8). Samuel was angered by the people’s request because he saw it as a rejection of God, and a rejection of him who had served faithfully before the lord. God, knowing the peoples heart, and forever being the gentlemen and good father, yielded to the voice of the people; not because he thought they needed a king, but because God wanted to allow them to see the fruits of their decisions. God instructs Samuel to call the people before him and tell them what the cost of having an earthly king would be. Reading verses 11-17 in the text above, you see a common theme in the verse, “take.” A stark distinction between God and the earthly king would lead Israel, is that while God gave the children of Israel ALL that they needed, in exchange for their love and obedience, their future king would TAKE a portion of EVERYTHING. Your sons, daughters, harvest, livestock, etc. the king will have a right to all of this, and it will be your civic duty provide it. The cost of a king would prove to be much more than the Israelites realized as time passed on. The direction of the king proved to be the direction of the people, because as the future king’s heart and mind deviated from God, so did the people’s. The kings of Israel symbolically represented the sentiment of the people as the king was influenced by and adopted the customs of foreign kings, so did the Israelites adopt the practices of foreign people to include their belief systems. The true cost of having a king instead of God would have been too much for the children of Israel to recover from, it God had not had a perfect plan arranged since the beginning of the world. An example of part of the cost can be seen in Israel’s first king, Saul.
8Goliath stood and shouted to the battle lines of Israel, saying to them, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not the Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and have him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10Again the Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:8-10 AMP
During this time, nations fought using representative battles, where each would send forth their best, and usually largest fighter in a 1 on 1 battle which would decide which side won. Goliath being a giant, and soldier since his birth was the Philistines selected fighter. If you read in earlier chapters of 1 Samuel, you’d see that Samuel was a full head taller than everyone else in Israel, he’d been king and therefore fought in numerous battles before, and as a result of his position and stature, the most likely opponent to Goliath, or at least responsible for making the decision as to who would fight Goliath. As Saul sat in fear day after as Goliath yelled insults, so did the soldiers in Israel’s army; as Saul lost faith in God to defeat their enemies, so did the people of Israel; as Saul lacked the word of God to rebuke Goliath’s blasphemy, so did the people. A king who doesn’t follow, trust, and reflect God is not fit to lead his people. Taking from the people with no capacity to replenish or protect them is not God’s plan for leadership for his people. What God’s people deserve and need is a king who will love, protect, and do for them the tough things that they don’t even know they need, before they realize it. Next we’ll be introduced to the perfect king.
Reflection Time
Have you ever desired something so much, to realize after receiving it, that it is a cheap imitation? What was your response when you discovered that what you wanted wasn’t what you thought it would be? What is your standard for comparison when make decisions on what you want? Do you believe that God knows what you need, has what you need, and is willing to give it to you when you need it? How has cheap imitations impacted your life?
