Give Us a King

Well, let's turn back to our reading in 1 Samuel.

!

So the Philistines.

But the Lord had thundered out and won the battle for the people.

You see that in verse 10.

But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion.

And they were routed before Israel.

So they had won a battle.

In the midst of danger, the Lord was with them.

And then in verse 12, Samuel took a stone, the Ebenezer stone, the remembrance stone, and set it up.

And these great words in verse 12.

Till now, the Lord has helped us.

So it was very much a sense of the Lord was with them in all of these things.

And then in verse 15, it says, Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

And he went around all the different places, bringing the word of God to the people.

So that's the context of what was going on then.

But then in chapter 8, as we come into chapter 8, there's a jump.

There's a jump in the time frame now.

And we see that in verse 1 when it says, when Samuel became old.

So time has moved on.

And there's a jump in the time frame here.

And Samuel has become old.

He's made his sons judges over Israel, his two sons.

One commentator put it like this.

There was one problem with Samuel.

He was mortal.

He couldn't go on forever.

While Samuel was alive and judging the people, things were going well.

Even in the midst of times of threat, like the Philistines there in chapter 7,

they could still say, till now, the Lord has helped us.

The Lord was with them.

But now things are about to change.

Samuel is an old man.

He's got two sons, Joel and Abijah.

But it says of them in verse 3, his sons did not walk in his ways.

They didn't follow the way of Samuel following the Lord.

Instead, they turned aside after gain.

They took bribes and perverted justice.

So this was now the leadership that was coming up behind.

And it was already impacting the people.

As you see, with the people of God, even up to this point,

it's that recurring theme of turning away from God.

And here it is again.

The people's attitude is changing.

Their desire towards God is changing.

The repenting of their sins before God is on the way.

And again, there's almost no thought of their sin coming in once more.

It doesn't take long for change to come.

And it's ongoing, as you see throughout the Bible,

the sense of being near to God, blessing God, and then drifting away from God.

You see it in the Old Testament.

You see it in the New Testament.

And you see it down through the ages of history to our own day.

Today, it's the ongoing theme.

Are we going to be with God?

Are we going to be trusting God?

Are we going to go our own way and do things in our own way?

Well, having had God near and the blessing of God with them,

we see a period of change is about to come here as well.

And what do the people want?

Do they want God with them?

Do they see Joel and Abijah and their wicked ways,

their bribery, their corruption, their perverting justice?

Do they see this and say,

Samuel, cry out to God for us?

No, they come with their own ideas.

And they want a king.

They want a king over them as a people.

In verse 5.

Now, appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.

And in many ways, it sounds right.

And as we'll see in a moment, it does seem like a good request.

But it's what is the motive behind it.

What is behind what they're asking?

They want a king just like all the other nations.

But why?

And for what purpose?

They had been used to having judges over them,

judges who were leading them towards God.

But now their eyes were starting to wonder

and see what else was going on around them

and think, maybe we should go that way.

And that's so often the problem for ourselves today as well.

We can become so accustomed to calling ourselves

maybe a Christian people or a Christian nation.

And we think that we have everything in our hands that we need.

But then we start to see little things around us

that catch our attention and lead us away

and make us think, well, maybe what we need

is we can still have God to a degree,

but we can have all these other things as well.

And eventually, God is pushed out.

And instead we're saying,

we want to be just like everybody else around us.

Just think back in our own lifetime.

We had a queen, Queen Elizabeth II,

who ruled for over 70 years,

an incredible length of time.

And for many of us, it's all we knew

from a very young age up until 2022

when she passed away.

It's all we knew.

Queen Elizabeth II was all we knew.

And it's hard to imagine anybody saying

during her reign,

we don't want her as queen anymore.

There would be maybe one or two

who weren't royalists in that sense

who would say it.

But the majority of people would never come

and say, we don't want you as queen over us anymore.

You would never get like this,

the elders of Israel or the parliament

coming to the queen in our day and saying,

we don't want you as queen anymore.

We want something else.

We want something different.

But change often happens

and it brings in a sense of a different perspective.

So today, maybe many more would say,

we don't want a king over us now.

We had a queen for 70 years.

That's long enough.

Let's have something different.

Let's go a different direction in our day and age.

Do something different.

Let's be like other nations.

Let's get a president.

Or let's just have somebody else over us.

Or let's not have anybody at all ruling over us.

Let's just do things the way we want to do it ourselves.

Well, that's what was happening in Samuel's day.

They'd had Samuel for a long period of time.

But change is coming in and it's no longer,

we don't want Samuel anymore.

It's more we don't want the Lord anymore.

So let's just see what our options are.

And so we want to see just what this meant in Samuel's day.

Sometimes we take peace for granted.

Sometimes we take the blessing of God for granted,

that he has given us days of peace and his goodness to us.

And we start to suddenly think,

maybe we don't want that anymore.

We don't want the Lord anymore.

And as we see the world in which we live,

I almost could say it's at a tipping point today,

where every nation is asking,

well, who is going to be our king?

Who is going to be our ruler?

Who is going to help us in the midst of all that's going on?

And it's all about egos and personalities.

Instead of every nation of the world saying,

may the Lord be king over us.

We are always in danger of pushing God out.

And with that, there are serious consequences.

And there's three things I want us to see in this chapter today

as we think of the people's request for a king.

The first thing is just the request itself.

We'll begin with that.

The request that is made by the people.

And like I say, the people's request,

it's not a wrong request.

In fact, if you go back to the book of Deuteronomy,

it's something that the Lord has already told them

that's going to be happening.

And the Lord has said to them that,

you will have a king over you.

In Deuteronomy 17, verse 14, it says,

Deuteronomy 17:14

when you come to the land,

the Lord your God is giving you,

and you possess it and dwell in it,

and then say, I will set a king over me

like all the nations that are around me.

You may indeed set a king over you

whom the Lord your God will choose.

So the request itself wasn't wrong.

They had heard from the Lord that this was going to happen,

that this would take place.

And here in this tipping point in their history,

they're about to move from having judges over them

to having a king over them.

And you think, great, we're going to see the Lord

working out his plan.

But there's a problem.

When you look at Deuteronomy,

it says, a king over you

whom the Lord your God will choose.

But here in verse 5, it's saying,

now appoint for us a king

to judge us like all the nations.

They are wanting to have their say.

It's not about the Lord's choosing,

but just their own desires.

And so from here we see the request for a king,

not itself wrong,

but it's a motive behind it that is wrong.

You could say the people were right to call for a change.

They see, Samuel, you're old.

Your sons are taking bribes and perverting justice.

Something's got to change.

So we're going to take it into our own hands.

And we are going to sort out this mess.

But what they want is to be like all the other nations.

It's a testing time for the people.

And they're wondering which direction to go in.

And what they want is, as you see down in verse 20,

we want a king,

that our king may judge us

and go out before us and fight our battles.

It says there,

they're wanting a king who's going to do what they want

and the way they wanted.

And the people did not trust God in their battles.

That's what they're saying here.

We need a king who will go before us in our battles.

If we are going to be successful,

we must be like all the other nations around us.

Because we look at them,

they've got a kings themselves.

That's the way we need to go.

They didn't want to be different to everybody else.

And therein is the challenge

that the people had to face up to.

Who did they want to be?

Where was their identity to be found?

Just like everybody else around them

or their identity in the Lord

and the Lord as their king.

And that's the challenge for ourselves today as well.

Whether it's individually

or collectively as a church

or even as a nation,

a nations of the world.

It's what are we going to be like?

You see in so many ways

that every nation

and all the leaders,

they want to be the ones taking the lead.

We want to be the ones going ahead

of everybody else,

setting the tone,

setting the ways

that others might follow us.

You think of the discussion

and the debate going on

over assisted suicide just now.

It's like,

well, we're seeing other people doing it.

We're seeing other nations doing it.

Let's be like them.

Let's be like them.

Let's show that we are just like

everybody else around us.

That we're open-minded.

That we're the ones in control.

That we're the ones who have power.

Let's just push what God is saying

in his word away from us.

And let's just be like the rest.

But if we are to be God's people,

we are to be different.

We are called to be holy

and to be set apart.

And to stand apart

from everything else

that goes against

the word of God

and say,

no,

we are not just going to be like

all the rest around us.

We're not going to have

the king over us

as just the king of this world.

When we have the king

of the heavens and the earth.

When we have the king

who made all things,

who has everything in his hands.

Why would we want to be like

everybody else around us?

So what is our motive in life?

The motive behind the request here

was that they would be like

all the other nations.

Well, as a people,

what do we want?

Do we want to be like

everybody else around us

who pushes God out?

Do we want to be like

other nations

that just do things

their own way?

At the end of the book of Judges,

it says the people did

what was right in their own eyes.

They had no king over them.

And that's what happens.

We descend into that chaos.

We just do what is right

in our own eyes,

but we are called to be holy,

to be set apart.

And what the Lord is saying here

is the request of the people.

They are not rejecting you, Samuel.

They are rejecting me.

In verse 7,

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.

Rejecting the Lord as king.

The same thing that Jesus speaks about

in the parable of the 10 minutes

in Luke chapter 19,

Luke 19 · chapter mention

where it says,

we do not want this man

to reign over us.

They were rejecting

the Lord as king.

Are you?

Are you rejecting

the Lord as king today?

Are you rejecting Jesus?

I will not have this man

reign over me.

Think about what that means.

You want to be like

just the rest of the world

around you.

But where is the world going?

Descending into darkness

and chaos.

When in the king,

our king as Jesus,

we have one who is light,

who is truth,

who is life.

What are we asking for?

Well, the second thing we see

is the response that God gives.

And herein we see

the Lord make clear

this is what you are asking for.

Just so you may be aware,

you need to hear

this voice.

It says in verse 9,

Now then,

obey their voice.

Only you shall solemnly

warn them

and show them

the ways of the king

who will rule

over them.

So,

the Lord is saying,

Samuel,

they're not just rejecting you,

they're rejecting me

as their king.

But warn them.

Warn them if this is the way

they want to go,

that this is the kind of king

that they are going to have

over them.

So,

he gives them a clear warning

that things

are not going to be

what they might expect.

And there's a lesson there

for ourselves.

Today's a lesson

we see in Psalm 106,

Psalms 106:15

verse 15,

where the psalmist says,

He gave them their request.

He gave them what they wanted,

what the people wanted.

And then it says this,

He sent leanness

into their soul.

They got what they wanted,

where did it take them?

Leanness

in their soul.

They were missing out

on the blessing

of God.

Be careful

what you ask for,

for you might just

regret it.

And that's the kind of world

that we are living in

today as well.

Where our requests

are saying,

we don't want

the Lord as king,

we want the kings

like other nations.

Let's be careful

what we ask for.

What lesson do we learn

in God's word

in the Old and New Testament

when we see the history

of the nations

in the world?

Well, we see that

when God gives the people

the desires of their hearts,

it so often descends

into moral chaos

and corruption.

Like I mentioned,

the days of the judges,

they had no king over them,

and they did what was right

in their own eyes.

The same is true

in the book of Romans,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

When you go through

that chapter,

you see chaos descending.

Why?

Because in verse 22,

it says,

claiming to be wise,

they became fools

and exchanged the glory

of the immortal God

for images resembling

mortal man

and birds and animals

and creeping things.

Therefore,

God gave them up

in the lusts

of their hearts

to impurity.

He gave them over

to the desire

of their hearts.

Do you want to be

just like the people

around you?

Do you want to find

your fun

and your satisfaction

and your pleasure

and wholeness

in everything

that the world

has to offer?

Is that the way

you want to go?

Well, be careful

because there are consequences.

Be careful

the direction

it takes you

because it leads us

away from the grace

of God

and leads us

into chaos

and that's what we see

in the next few verses

from verse 10

down to verse 18.

We see the chaos

it leads to

going completely

the wrong direction.

A world class

runner

was once

invited

to a race

in a major city

in America

and they were

very excited

to go to this race

a very prestigious race

with a great reward

if you won

and so this runner

she went

to the city

and thought

she knew

where she was going

as she'd been

given directions

but as she came

into the city

she found herself

thinking she was

in the right place

but not sure

exactly where to go

so she stopped

at a shop

and asked

there's a race

taking place today

can you tell me

where it is?

Oh yes

the shop assistant

said there's this race

it's just about

a mile up the road

there if you make

your way up

you'll find

it's just about

to start

you'll find

the runners there

and so she left

and hurried

arrived just in time

to register

and enter the race

there was fewer

runners than she

anticipated being there

and she thought

well it gives me

a better chance

and so she ran

in this race

and she came first

a few minutes

ahead of everybody else

she was delighted

at first

but then she started

to realise

there's no talk

of the prize

being given

she got a medal

and that was it

but she was expecting

money

and she said

oh I'm sorry

there was no prize

fund for this

is this not the race

such and such

oh no

that's in a town

seven miles away

so she had just

ran a race

on the wrong

course

and missed the chance

of winning the prize

because she was given

the wrong direction

and that's the way

we are living today

we are seeking

a prize

but the prize

of being offered

is very different

to what the Lord

offers

we're in the wrong

race

when we choose

to reject God

and to turn away

from him

and notice

the way the Lord

speaks

here in these verses

notice the word

that is used

so often

he will take

that's all

that keeps appearing

in verse 10

through to verse 18

he will take

your sons

he will take

your daughters

he will take

the tenth

of your great gain

and he will take

your male servants

and female servants

he will take

the tenth

of your flocks

everything here

this king

is going to be

about taking

away

they are going

to lose

so much

he will take

he will take

he will take

and that's what

the king

of this world

offers

that's what

the world

offers to us

come in this

direction

but it's all

about

I will take

from you

I will take

from you

and we are

in danger

of losing

everything

we are in

danger of

losing

the blessing

of God

we are in

danger of

losing

the gospel

we are in

danger of

losing

our life

our very

soul

if we choose

to go in

this direction

because the

God of this

world is

the devil

and he

will take

take

everything

away from

us

take our

very soul

if he has

opportunity

he will

take

he will

take

he will

take

and we're

left

with nothing

this is

the king

that the

people

have asked

for

and look

at the

response

even when

God

says

this is

the kind

of king

you will

have in

verse 19

but the

people

refused

to obey

the voice

of Samuel

and said

no

but there

shall be

a king

over us

we are

warned

in the

gospel

of the

consequences

of rejecting

the lord

as our

king

everything

will be

taken

from us

will you

say

no

but I

will still

have

this world

as my

king

I will

have this

world

as my

domain

I will

have the

pleasures

of this

world

as my

playground

will you

have

that

but lose

your soul

he will

take

he will

take

he will

take

well let's

see

as we

think of

the response

of God

let's see

the reasoning

why we

must come

to our

senses

the people

refused

to obey

the voice

of Samuel

they wanted

their own

king

but what

should they

have asked

for

they should

have asked

for what

God gave

them in

Deuteronomy

the king

of his

choosing

and that's

the king

that we

need to

do

that's

the king

that you

and I

both need

to do

because what

will it

profit a

man if he

gains the

whole world

but yet

loses

his soul

we need

the Lord

as our

king

we need

Jesus

as

our

king

a king

not who

takes

who takes

who takes

but who

gives

a king

who came

not to be

served

but to

serve

a king

who came

not to

take life

but to

give his

life

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many

a king

who says

I have

come

that they

might have

life

and life

in abundance

the one

who has

come

to give

to give

and to

give

and yet

we would

say we

don't want

this king

it would

be madness

it would

be foolishness

to see a

selfish king

who would

take and

take and

take and

said

that's my

king

that's what

I want

instead

to see

Jesus

who says

I give

I give

my life

for you

I give

you life

I give

you life

eternal

so will

you not

come

to me

will you

not have

me

as king

over you

it's such

a difference

that Jesus

makes

as king

to his

people

the difference

he makes

to us

individually

the difference

he makes

to us

as a

church

the difference

he makes

to us

as a land

and as

nations

of the

world

if we

would

but say

lord

be king

over us

rule

over us

the world

will take

but Jesus

gives

and so

what is

our desire

today

what is

your desire

today

when you

think of

who is

king

over you

who do

you want

as king

do you

want the

world

that will

take your

soul

or do you

want Jesus

who will

give you

life

individually

every one

of us

should desire

to find

that life

in Jesus

as our

king

and collectively

as a

church

here

let's have

Jesus

as our

king

as our

focus

the one

who has

given

his life

for his

church

as a

nation

may we

pray

that Jesus

would be

king

that he

would rule

in all

things

in our

parliaments

in Westminster

in Holyrood

in all our

leadership

throughout our

land

in all

our

homes

and all

our

families

that Jesus

would be

king

and in

our world

in which we

see so

many

troubles

may we

pray

that Jesus

would be

king

and bring

peace

and stability

may we

as a

people

not refuse

the king

that is

before us

but receive

the king

of kings

and the

lord of

lords

with gladness

with joy

and with

praise

he is

there for

us

the people

in Samuel's

day they

wanted to be

like all

the other

nations

rejecting

the lord

as king

may we

not be

may we

instead

receive

our king

with joy

and look

to him

and give

thanks to

him

that he

has come

not to

take

but to

give

blessing

upon

blessing

to his

people

if they

will but

return

to him

let us

pray

our father

in heaven

we thank

you for

the one

who is

king

over all

and yet

the one

who is

rejected

by many

and we

pray

lord

that we

would

have

only

the lord

as our

king

jesus

as the

one

who is

on the

throne

high

may we

lift his

name up

and may

we praise

him

for all

his goodness

to us

that he

has come

that he

might give

for his

people

and give

to his

people

we ask

oh lord

that you

would guide

our every

step

in his

paths

as we

ask it

with the

forgiveness

of our

sin

in his

precious

name

amen

we're

going to

conclude

by singing

to god's

praise

in

psalm

106

page

378

psalm 106

at verse

1

we sing

from verse

1 to

verse

5

the tune

is

Huddersfield

give

praise

and

thanks

unto

the

lord

for

bountiful

is

he

his

tender

mercy

doth

endure

into

eternity

god's

mighty

works

who

can

express

or

show

forth

all

his

praise

blessed

are

they

that

they

that

judgment

keep

and

justly

do

always

we sing

from

verse

1 to

5

to

God's

praise

praise

to

wisdom

man

unto

the

lord

for

bountiful

is

he

his

strength

the

mercy

doth

endure

unto

eternity

!

O

mighty

words

to

come

express

our

show

for

love

his

praise

blessed

are

!

of

judgment

keep

our

judgment

justly

do

always

!

Remember

me

your

breath

and love

which

thou

to

thine

dost

fail!

with

thy

salvation

O

my

God

to

visit

me

you

near

I

chosen

to

!

chosen

to

see

!

and

in

their

joy

rejoice

!

and

may

with

love

love

and

with

cheerful

voice

after the

benediction

i'll go to the main door we'll close with the benediction

now may grace mercy and peace from god father son and holy spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore amen

who

Thank you.