1 Samuel 8 Time for a change

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 8:1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead(b) us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”​

a. 1 Samuel 8:1 Traditionally judges
b. 1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20

This is from the easy English site.

At least 20 years had passed since the battle at Mizpah in chapter 7. The Israelites were happy with Samuel as their leader. But he was about 65-70 years old now. They did not know who would lead them in the future. Samuel still led the *Israelites from Ramah. But his sons led the people who lived in the south of the land. The town of Beersheba is about 112 kilometres (70 miles) south of Ramah. Joel and Abijah were not good leaders. They wanted to get money rather than make fair decisions. They did not help the people. The Jewish law did not allow leaders to accept money for wrong judgements (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). Eli the priest had 2 sons who lived a bad life. The result was that the nation of Israel became wicked. Now Samuel had 2 sons who lived a bad life. Perhaps the leaders were worried that their nation would become wicked again.

The leaders asked Samuel for a king. They said that they wanted to be like the other nations. But the real reason is in verse 20. They wanted a man to rule them instead of God. God ruled them but they could not see him. They wanted a leader that everyone could see. They should have asked for a good leader who trusted God. The Israelites had left God many times in the past. God had chosen them and saved them from their enemies. They were happy for a while. Then they left God and worshipped other gods.

The Israelites liked Samuel. But they wanted to replace him with a king. They did not really refuse Samuel as their leader. Instead, they refused God as their king. Samuel knew this and he was not pleased. Samuel did the right thing when he prayed to the Lord. God told Samuel to warn the people. Perhaps they would change their decision if they heard all the bad things about kings.

You know.... kids think that all the people in the Bible are good old men and women... except Jesus and Moses.... Moses was put in the river as a baby and Jesus was born on Christmas.

Isn't it good to know that good people, like Samuel, who talk regularly directly with God.... have bad kids.... Samuel was raised in the church and I'm sure his sons were raised in the Temple.... where's the bad environment there? I'm going to remind myself of that when my kids overload me with drama.

It wasn't Samuel's fault that his kids went bad. It wasn't Samuel's fault that the nation wanted a living breathing king.... God knew that.

:coffee:
 
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