May the mumbling commence!
In 1 Samuel 7, the people of Israel finally sought out the Lord because they were in distress with Philistine oppression. Here is Samuel’s response to the penitent people of Israel:
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.
Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you." So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. (1 Sam 7:3-6)
To complete their return to the Lord, Israel had to lighten their spiritual load. They had to leave behind the things that they had grown to depend upon and serve. Then they were to depend upon and serve the Lord only. This difficult spiritual surgery would help to remove the Philistine oppression, which at the time was the finger of God at work. The people prayed, fasted, and confessed.
Did everything immediately become bright and cheery? No. The Philistines heard the Israelites had gathered to one place, so the Philistines gathered to attack them. Israel feared for their lives. They asked Samuel to continue to pray for them. Samuel did pray and sacrificed a lamb, and the Lord answered him. God threw the Philistines into confusion and Israel routed them.
As often happened in the early days of the nation of Israel, Samuel set up a stone of remembrance, which he called Ebenezer. Remembering is essential to maintaining faith in the Lord. But, why would he call the stone Ebenezer? Most people today associate the name with the miserly Scrooge from The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Well, in Hebrew means “stone of help.” Think about the meaning of the name Ebenezer next time you see The Christmas Carol.
Even though Samuel was a great prophet and judge of the Lord, Samuel’s sons were not cut of the same material. This thought brings me to my knees in prayer for my son, Micah. What will my two-year-old son become? How can I help guide him into the steps of the Christian faith? God grant me wisdom!
Israel knew about Samuel’s sons’ dishonest ways, so they asked Samuel for a king. They wanted to be like all the other nations. They wanted a king to lead them into battle. Sounds like the halls of a junior high or high school. Talk about peer pressure! Christians should adopt the structures of the world very carefully and with much fear and trepidation.
Samuel was displeased with Israel’s request for a king, so he took his displeasure to God in prayer. May I do the same with the times when I am displeased with the request of others. The Lord told Samuel that the people were not rejecting him but that the people were rejecting God as their king. Did they not see all the monuments around them for remembrance? Have they so quickly forgotten how the Lord had led them to victory in battle against their enemies?
The Lord accepted the plea of Israel for a king, but their new government came with a warning label. Similar warning labels need to be attached to any government established by the will of humanity. The United States has replaced the king with a president, but I ask you – how much has actually changed? Read the warning from 1 Samuel 8:11b-18 –
He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day."
Enough mumbling for today…
Peace Out
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