The Judgement of The King

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." (1 Samuel 8:4-5 NASB)

He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: 

• he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots.
• He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, 
• some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest 
• and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
• He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers.
• He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants.
• He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants.
• He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work.
• He will take a tenth of your flocks, 
• and you yourselves will become his servants.

Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." (2 Samuel 8:11-18 NASB)

 When you hear the word, "judgement", you may think of a guy in a black robe up behind a tall desk with a wooden hammer.  You'd be right, at least for our culture.  In the culture of Israel in the period of the judges, this was not quite right.

The judges of the period of judges sat, and decided disputes between people and tribes that couldn't be decided internally by the elders.  The elders of cities and families sat in "gates" of cities and disputes were brought there.  The "judges" of Israel sometimes traveled in a circuit from city to city, and others stayed in one place.  The judges could be from any tribe and they typically didn't pass their responsibility down to their children.

Now for this passage, one of the difficulties faced by translators was to effectively convey the meaning of the passage when the word typically meaning "judgement" is being used with a much wider range of meaning than normal.  The word is used in verse 1 referring to the "office" of judge, in verse 2 referring to the activity of "judging", in verse 5 and 6 to refer to the activity of judging but as part of the office of "king", and in verse 9 and 11 to refer to the practice that would actually be followed by kings.  The last reference has little to do with deciding disputes in any way.  It more likely caused disputes than resolved any.

So, the judgement of the king, translated as "procedure of the king" in verses 9 and 11, involve conscription and taxation.  The king will take their children for service in his administration, and their flocks and harvest to support his administration.  It's not shocking to us reading this from a 21st Century perspective.  This sounds like every text-book king and tyrant we've ever read about.  But that hasn't been their life up to now.

Up to this time, the people brought such tithes and offerings to the temple or tabernacle, as part of their annual worship of God.  Even so, there was no taking of children for service, no taking of servants.  They brought a tithe and enjoyed it before God and with their family.  That was the extent of it unless they were oppressed by another country.  God's demands were pretty light considering, and if they didn't do it, the penalties were often slow in coming.  He was a much easier King to serve.  That was all about to change.

The judge they sought so they could be like other nations would treat them as the people of other nations were treated.  They were about to get the bad they didn't understand with the good they thought they did.  Now their children were no longer their own.  The offerings they brought to God were now on top of, and often from what was left by, the king's requirements.  Ironically, these are not the "procedures of the king" as God gave them to Moses.

What God tells Samuel is to tell the people the "judgement of the king", which is not the same term as what was given to Moses in Deuteronomy 17.  But the content of Deuteronomy 17 is what is expected here.  Instead of the rules the king must follow, what is given is the practice that kings will follow.  Why does God describe a practice instead of prescribing the practice?

I don't know.  I suspect that God wanted to warn the people so they couldn't say they didn't know what would happen.  But honestly, what purpose could He hope to accomplish with that?  I suspect the purpose of God was helping the people see that they had it much easier under His kingship.  It's possible that they thought they had it rough with judges.  But they may not have seen their relationship with God as Him as their king.  The requirements He made on them was much like tribute, taxation, even conscription to a degree in that He had a whole tribe to serve Him.  But they may not have seen it that way.

How many times in my life have I thought I had it rough with God?  When have I thought I had a much better idea than the requirements of my relationship with my Master?  There are requirements in this relationship, things I'm not supposed to do, things I am supposed to do.  When I lose sight of my Master as King, when I forget the cost He paid for this relationship, when I ignore the comfort of His Spirit, then it's very easy to wind up where the people were in this passage.

The reality is that my Master tries to remind me before punishing me.  His first response isn't crushing blows.  I do get His understanding, His compassion, and His mercy.  I miss that sometimes when I'm so caught up in...me.

Judgement also refers to "discernment"; the ability to differentiate between two things and choose the right one, to see the true character and meaning of events, things, and people.  It's not all about deciding disputes.  There is something else involved.  So the judgement of my King, Jesus, is not always harsh, sometimes it is very understanding.  My judgement is not always clear and correct because I rarely see the whole circumstance.  The key is to let my judgement fall to His.  The key is to let His judgement reign supreme in my life.  And the key to that is to stop staring at myself and look up toward Him.  A servant is available to their master; a good servant is available by choice, a bad one is available for punishment.  I want to be that good servant of my King, that is what He has called me to be. Today, I stand ready for the purposes of my King. 

The Fractured Reality of Sodom 1: The Unexpected Judge

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.  And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."  Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. (Genesis 19:1-3 NASB)

In this chapter I am going to wander into the spooky world that is Sodom before it's destroyed.  Right off the bat, in the first few verses, I find what I would never expect.  In the ancient days of cities, the gates were important places.  It constituted the "courts" of their day.  The elders of a city would sit and deliberate various civil cases that people brought before them.  The elders were said to be "sitting in the gate" for this purpose.  This phrase appears right in verse 1, and it's Lot!  What this verse essentially says is that at this time Lot is an elder in Sodom, the most sinful place on the planet at the time.

What does it mean to be an elder in Sodom?  Lot clearly has enough of his sensibilities to recognize the two angels for what they were.  His greeting is much like Abraham's in the previous chapter.  It doesn't say specifically he was the only elder, but no one else is mentioned.  I infer from the way it's worded here that he is the only one.  Could it be that "elder" and judge over civil disputes is a job that, instead of being highly regarded, was held in contempt?  What if Lot took the job because no one else was willing, and he saw it as important?  With all the sin in the city, why wasn't he so busy he may not have even noticed the angels?  It's like he's a judge and an elder, but without respect or recognized authority. 

What if Lot's ability to recognize the angels infers some degree of "righteousness" still exists with him?  In that case, the city would have had a "righteous judge" whom they completely ignored.  He should have had influence for God in that place as an elder and judge, but didn't.  There should have been constant inquiries of what Lot thought on a matter, and there wasn't.  Consider what sort of city has a righteous judge whom they completely disregard and hold in contempt.  Laws are only effective when the society enforces them.  It is understood (but rarely contemplated) that people have to agree to live by laws for those laws to have their desired effect.  It takes more than force for laws to begin to work.  The force of a few rarely works for long against the unwillingness of a mob to comply.  The right to assemble is a frightening thing for those in power.

What's my point?  It's common for us to point at another city and say, "Sin City!"  But in my own town, in my own neighborhood, do I have any effect on the moral health of those around me?  What about the sin in my city, in my neighborhood?  Does my Master have influence through me in these places?  It's easy to point at other places, other people, and other mobs, but what about my place, my people, and the mob of people around me?  What sort of influence am I here?  If I were to "sit in the gate" here would I be ignored?  If I put myself forward as an elder, would I be respected?  Would people in my neighborhood wonder what I thought of matters of concern to them?

It's not about how great I might be, it's about how much influence my Master has through me.  I'm not really wise, I try to be sensitive to my Master's Spirit leading me.  I'm not "powerful", I rely on the power of my Master.  I'm not respected around here, instead I try to let my Master's words gain respect for Him.  So, what sort of influence do I have?  How effective am I in my efforts to point others to my Master?  I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I don't know.  I feel I should, at least know more than I do.  I believe, wrongly or rightly, that there should be some tangible evidence of my influence for my Master right here where I live.  But I don't know of it.  I'm not complaining, I'm just pointing out an area of my life where I believe I'm lacking.  I also believe the answer is fearless devotion to my Master.  So, it's time for me to take a deep breath and take a step out my door and into the lives of those I live around.  Scary, but necessary.