I began a new series this week called “Two Kings, Two
Thrones.” In this series, we are examining the contrasts between Kings Saul and
David. One was a picture of rule by the law and the other rule by grace. In this first part, we looked at the
similarities between the Israelites’ request for a king in I Samuel 8 and the
agreement by them to receive the Law in Exodus 19.
In 1 Samuel 8, God’s people decided they wanted to have a
physical king – in essence, to be like the kingdoms and peoples around them. Up
to this point, they had been ruled directly by God. Samuel was the voice God
used to speak to His people, but Samuel was aging and had sons who were corrupt
and did not serve God.
We can make the same mistake of thinking that God’s ways
seems backwards in relation to the world around us. The Israelites had the
dreaded “grass is greener” syndrome. God assures Samuel that it is not him that
the people are rejecting, but God. He tells Samuel to do as the people wish but
first warn them of what the unintended consequences of their decision
would be.
When Samuel describes for the people what a king will do
to them, it is the exact description of what happens any time men rule men. God
never intended for men to rule men. He wants us to be ruled by Him. When men
rule men, corruption will always occur. One of the things he warns against is that
a king will take a tenth of all your stuff. In other words, man will try to take
what belongs to God.
One of the important things to gather when looking at
this story is what God does NOT say. He never says this is His will. He allows
the people to have what they asked for. The same is true for us. We may like to
think that God just does whatever He wants in our lives and we have no choice.
He does have a perfect will for us and He wants us to desire it and live in it,
but we can choose our own ways and suffer the consequences.
We paralleled this story with the account of what happened
right before the Law was given at Mount Sinai
in Exodus 19. God instructed Moses to tell the people that they had essentially
made the decision not to trust Him in the same way their forefathers had (Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob) and that He was going to send a law covenant that, if they
fully obeyed, they would be blessed.
This type of covenant would never have been given to
Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. They simply believed God and were seen as righteous.
There were no rules or laws to declare them unrighteous by. Evidently, that
same trust in God was not passed down to the descendants of Jacob. They had
come to a place of no longer having that same belief in God. Their covenant was
now going to be based on works, which is apparently just what they wanted. When Moses relays God’s message to the
Israelites they say “we will do whatever He requires.” The Hebrew word used
here, asah, indicates a self-reliance. They were saying they would make their
own way. If they did all God required, He would be obligated to bless them.God was angry with them because they forgot all He had done for them in delivering them from 400 years of captivity, parting the Red Sea, and feeding them miraculously every day, to name a few. They thought God was mistreating them and by doing all He required, he would have to take better care of them (my paraphrase). Notice too that man had to agree to law before it was given. They found out quickly how impossible it was to do all it actually takes to be right before God. They weren’t able to fully obey (just as none of us can).
In both these stories, man makes the decision to do things in his own way, apart from God’s perfect plan, with dire consequences. In one instance, God’s physical kingship of His people was replaced with a natural king in order for His people to feel like they fit in with the world. In the other, His people chose laws written on stone over the direct voice of God. God wants to rule your life. He wants a personal relationship with you. Will you allow Him or will you choose your own way?
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/media.php. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee,
visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
