1 Samuel 7- 10: Just What They Needed

They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” - 1 Samuel 8:5-9 NIV

Israel had a hard time deciding who to follow.  First there was Moses, a relatively shy man who had difficulty speaking, yet heard the voice of God.  Then there was Joshua who was unafraid to follow God and led them into the promised land after their years of wandering.  After that, they had the priests who were supposed to be the representatives of the people before God and the judges who were to determine right from wrong.  None of these forms of government sat just right with the people.  They looked around at the other nations and saw that they were doing just fine without the priests or judges because they had a king.  A king!  They had someone they could look up to, someone who would be the leader, the authority and savior.  Someone who would keep them safe from their enemies.  Someone who they could rever and perhaps even worship.  A king, that was just what they needed.

They did not want to pay attention to what Samuel told them:  that a king would take their sons and daughters, their crops, their cattle and land.  As far as the people were concerned, that was a small price to pay to be like everyone else.

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Sam. 8:19-20

God was not enough.  He was not wise enough, he was not popular enough, he was not strong enough.  A king was the answer to all of their problems.  A king was just what they needed.

1 Samuel 1-6: Samuel, A Willing Heart

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. - 1 Samuel 3:1-7 NIV

"In those days, the word of the Lord was rare."  That phrase is reminiscent of the one repeated over and over again in Judges "In those days, there was no king, the people did as they pleased."  Of course, there is a correlation between the people doing as they pleased and not hearing from the Lord.    God only speaks to willing hearts, to those who will listen, and not just listen, but obey.

Most people really don't want to hear the word of the Lord.  They don't want to hear what God requires of them. They don't want for his word to be revealed.  Samuel was one of the rare ones who would listen when spoken to.  The slightest whisper from the Lord was enough for him to perk up his ears, ready to do whatever was asked of him.  At first, he thought it was Eli calling him.  He was eager and willing to serve the voice that called him.  When Eli tells him that it is the voice of God that is calling him, he is not afraid.  "Speak, Lord", he says, "for your servant is listening".  Finally the Lord has found someone willing to listen, someone who is concerned with the desires of God more than with his own well being; someone who is not afraid of the words he will hear, but who is ready for whatever action is required, who is willing to serve regardless.

Like Samuel, if we want to hear the voice of God, we have to be willing to act on what we hear.  If we don't hear from God, it is because he knows the willingness of our hearts.

Ruth 1-4: Such Favor

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother–in–law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”  - Ruth 2:10-12 NIV

"Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me, a foreigner?"  That is the question we should all be asking.  Why has God favored us so, that he has brought us into his family, that we have been adopted and accepted as sons of God when we were born foreigners.  Whether we realize it or not, we have all left behind the land in which we were born, the homeland of this world, and we are now citizens, not by birth, but by a new birth, in a new kingdom.  We are now living in the shelter of the wings of the God of Iarael where we are sheltered and protected from all of the woes we were subjected to in that foreign land.  How different would our lives be if we saw ourselves as privileged sons and with such promise as Ruth?

Judges 17-20: The Saddest Story

Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?” The LORD responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.” - Judges 19:26-28 NIV

This is the ending of one of the saddest stories in the Old Testament; sad not only because all of the other tribes of Israel had to face the difficult decision to go to war against their fellow tribe of Benjamin, but even more sad because of the depths to which some of the Israelites had fallen.  The writer keeps repeating the phrase, "In those days there was no king, everyone did as he saw fit."  That was aptly illustrated by the story of the Levite and his concubine.  The men of the town of  Gibeah in Benjamin were so degenerate that when they could not abuse the Levite who had taken shelter in their town for the night, they raped his concubine to death.  Even more appalling was the response of the Benjamites who saw no problem and refused to punish the men of that city responsible for these vile actions.

Even then, although their ire had been raised, all of the rest of the tribes of Israel were unable to wreck revenge on the tribe of Benjamin for allowing such egregious acts to take place without  repercussions.  They were defeated by the Benjamites twice when they met in battle.  It wasn't until they fell prostrate before the Lord that God gave them victory and they were able to punish the tribe of Benjamin for allowing such sin to remain in their midst.  Just being appalled by sin is not enough, God requires contrite hearts before he is willing to work on our behalf.

Judges 13-16: Samson's Weakness

His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) - Judges 14:3-4 NIV

Just like most of the stories about the chosen ones that God uses to lead his people, Samson was mighty, but he had a fatal weakness...the temptation to lust after the forbidden overwhelmed the desire to to be what God created him to be.  He took the gift of strength for granted and used it for his own means rather than the intended purpose.  Perhaps, because his parents waited so long for a child, he was spoiled and always got whatever he wanted.  Appeasing his personal appetite figures more in the story than the redemption he was promised by God to bring to the beleaguered Israelites.

Israel may have had peace for twenty years while they were being judged by Samson, but Samson was testing the boundaries all of the time.  It was only fitting that all of his dalliances with the women of the enemy would one day lead to his demise.  Samson's life was characterized by his one weakness rather than by the promise which God had placed in him.  Samson' story is the story of the Children of Israel and our story as well.  God's promise of redemption, his power in our lives, often goes to our heads.  We begin to think that we own the power and we can do with it what we please.  We succumb to the desires of the flesh and all of the promise is lost as the illusion, that we were the one with power, comes crashing down at our feet.

Judges 9-12: Let Them Save You

But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”
But the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.  - Judges 10:13-16 NIV

The only consistent thing about Israel's relationship with God was their inconstancy.  As a result, their fortunes waxed and waned depending on who was in leadership.  It was only natural that their periods of prosperity would become shorter and shorter as their attention to God and his requirements became less and less.  Their concentration was on the power of their enemies and the ineffective gods they had surrounded themselves with, not on God and his protection.  What is it like to live in such a time, when the minute you put one leader in place, you realize that he cannot save you and you immediately start looking around for the next golden boy who will be your savior?  What is it like to be totally reliant on other gods, gods who have no power to save?  It might look a little like our situation today.

"Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen.  Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

Judges 6-8: In God We Trust

The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty–two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”  - Judges 6:2-7 NIV

I love the story of Gideon, because it illustrates how prone we are to confusing our strength with the power of God.  The enemies of Israel were the enemies of God.  They may have felt that the Israelites were weak and puny, but they had not reckoned with God's power.  The even more unfortunate circumstance was that God's people no longer trusted in their God to be all powerful.  They too were trusting in Baal and the other foreign gods.  No wonder they had to abandon their farms and villages and hide in mountain caves.  As long as they looked to other gods, their situation was going to worsen.

The only God that we can trust, the God of the universe, is not concerned with the size or the strength of the enemy.  As long as Israel sought the same gods as the enemy, they would be overpowered.  It took only one man, Gideon, to hear the true God's voice and suddenly the way out of their predicament became clear.  Victory would not be won by ten thousand men, by the largest and mightiest army.  It would be won by only three hundred men and one man who heard the voice of the living God.  It's one thing to say "In God We Trust", but it all depends on who or what that god is.