June 9
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
“Be Careful What You Wish For”
8:4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD, 7and the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to 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. 8Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9Now then, listen to their voice; only — you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
10So Samuel reported 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 to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12and 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. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And 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.”
19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
11:14Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
***
“Be careful what you wish for…”
Has anyone ever given you this warning?
Have you ever wished for something, and put all your efforts and resources into it, only to discover it wasn’t quite what you’d bargained for?
That promising cabin in the woods… that came with a termite infestation?
That brand-new bells & whistles car… that cost more to maintain that your monthly paycheck?
That hoped-for relationship… that took years off your life and stole every morsel of your sanity?
Sometimes we get what we asked for… and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
So it is with our story today.
The people ask for a King, and God- who doesn’t think this is such a great idea- grants them their wish anyway.
In fact, the appointed monarch’s very name- Saul- literally means “asked for.”
But as we will soon see in weeks to come, for Israel this answer their plea hardly turns out to be the kingdom of their dreams.
All summer we’ll be in this saga of kings, this dynasty of leaders and movers and shakers- mighty men of God who also make terrible decisions and go astray from God. The character development here will rival any film or TV series or fiction series that you love. This is an emotional and psychological ride! Around 1000 BCE.
Think of this as our summer mini-series, an unfolding docu-drama. A study in leadership, yes. But also a study in human potential and human failings. Ultimately it’s a study in how God keeps pursuing us- even the most flawed and broken people- and can redeem even our worst decisions.
We began last week with the calling of Samuel. A young boy of about 12, he heard a voice in the night calling him, while he slept in the temple- apprentice to the Priest Eli. When Eli tells him it’s probably God, Samuel says, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
And there launches the beginning of a career as prophet and judge over the Hebrew people. The year is about 1050 BCE, and in the chapters that follow, we see Samuel warn Eli that destruction is coming for Israel. Eli’s sons have been corrupting the temple worship, and soon the Ark of the Covenant is captured by the Philistines and violence ensues.
The Ark of the Covenant later gets returned- and thank goodness, because that’s the golden box containing the original stone tablets of the 10 Commandments given to Moses. The Israelites believed it was a sacred space where God himself uniquely dwelt among them.
Now things have finally become more peaceful, and Samuel serves as the new Judge over the people- the last Judge, in fact, in a 200-year string of Judges appointed to arbitrate among the people- reminding them to put away their foreign gods and return to the Lord with all their heart.
So things seem relatively stable at this time, now about 1000 BCE, but it’s all about to change:
***
Here’s the trouble in our text today: Samuel’s old, his sons are bad, and the people aren’t happy. Not unlike Eli’s sons before him, Samuel’s sons have made a mess of things, taking bribes and causing trouble. Samuel had hoped to pass on his leadership mantel to them, but the Israelite leaders can’t imagine anything worse! Incidentally, in Scripture, nepotism never ends well.
So the people reject Samuel and God, and demand a king. They’ve never had a king before, and all the other neighboring nations seem to have one. You know, a powerful leader to organize them and fight their battles! A mighty man who will make them feel secure!
These Israelites- initially set apart by God to be different from all other nations, are sick of being special. Now they just want to be like all the other countries. They’re fearful and restless. So God relents and grants them their wish.
But he warns them- through Samuel- that the weather forecast on this king front will be nothing but storm and disaster. Taxes and the Draft. Six times Samuel says, “The King will take… take your money. Take your sons into war. Take your daughters into forced labor.” Still the people say, “We want it!”
There are moments in the Bible where God says, “Okay, I don’t think this is good for you, but if you insist, here you go.” Like a wise parent or teacher who knows that sometimes we can only learn things the hard way.
In the chapters that follow, we see this whole kingship appointment goes down: God tells Samuel that a young man named Saul will be the first king. After all, the people note- Saul is handsome! Strong! And tall! Twice we’re told “he stood head and shoulders” above all the other men.
But ya know, height isn’t everything, is it. (… says your 5’1” pastor ☺)
You remember that scene in “The Lion King,” where little Simba sings, “Oh I just can’t wait to be king!”?
Saul here is just the opposite. “Me?” he says to Samuel. “Don’t you know I’m the youngest guy from the tribe of Benjamin- the least of the 12 tribes of Israel? And I honestly have no experience for this gig, and my appearance notwithstanding, I’m not feeling super royal lately… Also I read your job description and the whole servant leadership thing with the requirement of national responsibility doesn’t really appeal to me, so… ”
And Saul literally runs away to escape the call. The leaders spend a whole day looking for him, only to find him hiding behind a luggage cart. Samuel and the others spot his head peeking between the suitcases and he has no choice but to come out and man up.
***
Have you ever felt reluctant to lead? Maybe you got asked to chair a committee or serve on a board or teach a class. I know I’ve had times I’d just as soon hide behind a luggage carousel and take the first flight out of town, than show up for the thing people needed me to do.
Leadership can feel scary. But I’m reminded by Beth Moore, in her study of this story, that true humility isn’t about feeling worthless and insecure. She says the most humble and godly people stand with great confidence! Because their focus isn’t on themselves at all, nor limited by their own strengths and weaknesses. Their trust is in the goodness and provision of God.
But as we look at this text today, we can relate to the world they inhabit, because our world hardly lifts up the goodness of God. And our nation too stands at a point of transition in government and leadership. Whether the current President gets re-elected, or the former President gets elected, or someone new altogether- we live in a time of national uncertainty and unrest.
And not unlike Samuel- our candidates are older. Sometimes they get in trouble and their sons get in trouble. Like the ancient Israelites, we have conflicting notions of what kind of leader we need to fight our battles. Some trust in the built-up military as the be-all end-all of power. And some put all their hope in that one political party or candidate to right the wrongs in this nation, whether or not that hope can be fulfilled.
And similarly to the Israelites, we too might feel the temptation “to be like everyone else.” Whether it’s what we buy our kids, or sign them up for- or what we think a church should be and do, to grow and thrive- there’s this pressure to conform to what “everybody else is doing.”
***
So are you ready for some hope in the text?
Well, there’s not much of it here in 1st Samuel, other than the fact that he prays, God listens, and God points the way forward.
But the really good news is that God still sticks with them, wanting to be their real king. Later down the line, we’ll get a better king in the shepherd harpist sling-shot-throwing David. And later still we’ll get a glimpse of the true king in the coming of Jesus Christ.
In fact, even though Jesus never held a single political office, and never led a church or synagogue or even a committee-
He talks more about the kingdom of God than anything else…
Define basileia here:
Seek ye first the kingdom…
The kingdom of God is like… (parables)
Children, tax collectors, prostitutes…
Blessed are the poor and the persecuted, for theirs…
Harder for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God…
Thy kingdom come…
Palm Sunday, your king comes riding on a donkey
At the end of his life, he was labeled “king of the Jews,” as a mocking sign over the cross that seemed to announce his defeat.
Southern Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor wrote in one of her letters:
“What people don't realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can't believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.”
***
Hope in the world: there’s always a remnant of people following God.
Not just people using the name of God, and throwing it into their political speeches and campaigns- but people really living out what Christ modeled and taught.
And like Samuel, we can pray. We can trust in the true King and look at what characterized his kingdom.
We can be discerning when we hear political leaders try to win people through God-language.
We can not only admire Jesus, and point to him as a wondrous worker of miracles- we can trust him with our whole lives, even when it costs us something.
Psalm 20:7
Truly putting one’s trust in God is a big ask- but it ultimately leads to life.
***
Maybe you’ve heard before about Charles Blondin.
In the nineteenth century, he was the greatest tightrope walker in the world.
And on June 30, 1859, he became the first man in history to walk on a high wire across Niagara Falls. By some reports, over 100,000 people gathered to watch him walk 1,100 feet, suspended on a tiny rope, just 160 feet above the raging waters on one side, and 270 feet on the other.
He worked without a net or even a safety harness of any kind. The slightest slip would have been a fatal one. But with all eyes watching him, he began to walk across the chasm. When he safely reached the Canadian side, everyone cheered in relief.
In the days that followed, he walked across the falls repeatedly. He walked across, taking a chair and a stove with him, sat down at the midway point, cooked an omelet, and ate it. Another time, he walked across on stilts, and another time he pushed a wheelbarrow loaded with 350 pounds of cement across the tightrope.
One day he asked the cheering spectators if they thought he was the most capable tight-rope walker they’d ever seen.
“Yes! You are!” the crowd shouted back.
He asked if they thought he could push a man across in a wheelbarrow. They cheered “Oh yes! You can!”
Seeing a man applauding loudly, Blondin asked,
“Sir, do you think I could safely carry a man across in this wheelbarrow?”
“Oh yes, of course!” the man shouted back.
Charles Blondin smiled-
“Then get in.”
[let it echo 2x]
***
Let us pray-
Holy God-
Our truest King:
It’s one thing for us to applaud you from below,
And admire you from afar.
It’s another for us to trust you with our whole lives.
Give us the grace to get in the wheelbarrow with you guiding us across.
We need you, Lord, to carry us through-
As your beloved children,
As your church here on earth,
And as citizens of this nation and world.
Help us trust you completely, God-
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.