Today's readings are 1 Samuel 8.1-22 and Acts 21.15-36.
Today we read of the people of Israel desiring a king to rule over them. They have had Samuel, serving as a prophet, priest, and judge. But he is old, his sons are unfaithful, and the people want a king.
What are the advantages of having a king? Granted, the people of Israel can have centralized leadership, they can look like all the other nations, they can have someone, hopefully appointed by a wise leader like Samuel, who will lead them in national defense. There are some benefits. But look at the costs. The people will be taxed, they will be subject to the royal authority which may tend to enslave them. They will have rulers with an ever-increasing hunger for power, wealth, and honor. Is this what our Lord wants for his people? Not at all. A king sets himself up as a little god. But there is one God, one master of all creation. There is no purpose in serving a lesser god. The people are essentially asking hat they be contractually bound into a form of idolatry.
May the Lord deliver us from our rash decisions. May we seek to serve God and him alone, not the kind of authorities we raise up so that we can look like all the other nations. May the Lord protect us from the fruit of such plans, even as we look to Jesus, our true prophet, priest and king, who rules and reigns in heaven and will soon come again to judge the kings of this world.
Today we read of the people of Israel desiring a king to rule over them. They have had Samuel, serving as a prophet, priest, and judge. But he is old, his sons are unfaithful, and the people want a king.
What are the advantages of having a king? Granted, the people of Israel can have centralized leadership, they can look like all the other nations, they can have someone, hopefully appointed by a wise leader like Samuel, who will lead them in national defense. There are some benefits. But look at the costs. The people will be taxed, they will be subject to the royal authority which may tend to enslave them. They will have rulers with an ever-increasing hunger for power, wealth, and honor. Is this what our Lord wants for his people? Not at all. A king sets himself up as a little god. But there is one God, one master of all creation. There is no purpose in serving a lesser god. The people are essentially asking hat they be contractually bound into a form of idolatry.
May the Lord deliver us from our rash decisions. May we seek to serve God and him alone, not the kind of authorities we raise up so that we can look like all the other nations. May the Lord protect us from the fruit of such plans, even as we look to Jesus, our true prophet, priest and king, who rules and reigns in heaven and will soon come again to judge the kings of this world.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com
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