Don't Take It Personal, Or Do

But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day -- in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods -- so they are doing to you also. (1 Samuel 8:6-8 NASB)

 One of the things about prayer that often escapes a believer in Jesus is that it opens the person praying to the scrutiny of their Maker.  It's not like He only sees us in prayer, but prayer is often the time we're listening or the closest to listening we come.  So we are most likely to hear a corrective word at those times.

Samuel goes to God in prayer because the people he's been judging have asked for a king instead.  The request displeased him, so he prayed.  That's a good idea, a pattern we can all follow.  When displeased, pray.  Actually that's just one of tons of reasons to pray.  But it is one.  It's the one where what is sought is perspective, but it's also one of the more likely reasons to invite that divine scrutiny.

God starts by pointing out that this is not about Samuel.  Right off the bat, God points out that "...they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them."  Samuel doesn't want to oblige the people.  God says to do it.  But hidden in the reason is an acknowledgement that this is also a rejection of Samuel.

God ties the desire of the people for a king to their rejection of Him as king over them, but also to their prior deeds of serving other gods.  Then he acknowledges that this is a rejection of Samuel.  The point is that, while it may involve Samuel, it's not about Samuel.  This is really about God.  God helps Samuel re-frame the problem in a way that he can see how this is about God, and the people's rejection of their God as king.

I have to admit that my prayer times are dangerous, vulnerable times as well.  I'm not always ready to hear that what I'm facing isn't about me at all.  I tend to think that, if I'm involved, it's about me.  Even caught between my customers and my company, as I so often am, is a problem about my Master rather than me.  Sure, I'm involved, directly involved.  But when I place myself as the central character, all the things I cannot control weigh on me in ways that are simply frustrating.  The thing is, if I can't control them, then they aren't mine to carry.

Essentially, to be thought well of by my customers, I engage in the "middleman" role in trying to get their issue with our product fixed.  It's not wrong to place myself in this position, it's wrong to do to look good to my customer.  I do want their repeat business, but when I try to please them, I am wrongly motivated, and in danger of idolatry.  What my Master does is help me re-frame my understanding of these circumstances as service to Him.

When a customer has a problem, I help them bridge the gap between their problem and the solutions buried deep in my company's murky inner workings.   I do so because that is what my Master did for me.  What I was incapable of doing for myself He did.  I didn't even really understand the problem, even describing it.  I didn't know that the solution for my lack of peace and constant fear was a relationship with the Master of the universe.  My customers don't really know what the problem is, just what the effects are on them.

So, when I pray, my frustrations, my whining, my complaints, my anger, all the things I take to my Master that I think are so much about me wind up being the things He uses to teach me to die to myself a bit more.  It's ironic, but He also acknowledges that I am involved.  He did this with Samuel when He says, "...so now they are doing to you also." What that meant for Samuel is that God was going to use him in this transition just as He had been using him before.  What it means for me is that in these circumstances I face, God is using me.  Perhaps to bless my customers, to alleviate their frustrations, or maybe even to help them re-frame their understanding that this isn't as much about them as they thought.

So, it's not about me, but my Master uses me in the midst of it.  This is why He has called me to be a servant to my King.  He wants me available to Him.  When I get focused on myself, my frustrations, and my problems, I'm not as available.  He refocuses me on Him, and then involves me in what He is doing.  Did I mention this happens in prayer?  Can you imagine what I lose when I don't take time to pray?  Blind frustration with the wrong thing is a poor substitute to usefulness in my Master's Kingdom.  You'll have to excuse me, I have to go talk with my my King.

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. 

It's Not Like This Surprised God

When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.  (Deuteronomy 17:14-15 NASB)

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)

There are multiple opinions of the monarchy in Scripture, not just one.  We assume there is one because One God inspired it.  But I believe we "presume" with God when we believe that His views are universal when it comes to His highly variable human creatures.  The only universal with His human creatures is that we are lost and dead without Him.  Other than that, we're as different from each other as our fingerprints.

So, when the people asked for a king, it offended Samuel because he was already their judge.  They rejected him in a very real, very personal sense.  They blamed it on his sons and on his age, but they also ignored his success.  The realities of the one eclipsed the reality of the other, and it hurt Samuel's heart. 

God saw it differently.  He saw it as another in a long line of usurpations of His Sovereignty over His chosen people.  But it didn't surprise Him.  He already had it lined out what would happen.  Back in the day of Moses, as the people camped on banks of the Jordan River, God described for Moses what should be done when the people asked for a king.  He even knew why they would ask, "...like all the nations who are around me."  So, this is not a surprise. 

Every once in a great while, I have a shining moment of brilliance, and I lay out my brilliant idea before my Master.  Sheer brilliance! I have a plan, an idea, a wonderful new method or way or procedure or something equally boring and uninteresting, completely underwhelming and irrelevant to my Master and His plans and ideas.  But He listens, completely unperturbed, as if I've just discovered the cure for cancer He's been trying to get everyone to find right under their noses or something.  But it's not like He's surprised.

Think about it.  What can I discover that He didn't create?  What can I imagine that didn't come from elements He provided?  What can I do or decide that isn't an amalgam of circumstances He orchestrated?  Sure I have free-will.  Of course I have real decisions to make.  It's clear that I have responsibility for my mistakes and correct deeds and decisions.  But none of that flies in the face of or in any way minimizes the complete sovereignty of my Master.

Why then do I think that what I achieve at work is about me?  Why when bad things happen do I take it personal?  What makes me think that the world, or the piece of it in which I live, has anything to do with me?  Why is it so easy to forget that my entire value is in the eyes of my Master, and my purpose is entirely His design.  Is there something more valuable I can imagine than the love of my Master?  Perhaps I can envision some loftier purpose than the one He designs.  Have I lost my mind? 

How hard is it to just simply fall back into the assurance that my Master has my life in His hand?  Bad stuff happens, bring it on!  Good stuff happens, thank you Master!  Difficulty at work, I work for my King, and this is His purpose.  Happiness at home, we will praise Him together.  Pain and sorrow at home, we will grieve together before His throne and be comforted by His presence.  It makes no difference as to the circumstances nor where they occur; nothing separates me from the foot of His throne.

Now, for the reality of my day.  Let's see if I can live out these words as easily as I have written them...

The Deadly Dangers of Being Like Everyone Else

So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.  The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.  Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (1 Samuel 7:13-15 NASB

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)

Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." (1 Samuel 8"19-20 NASB)

The reasons the people asked for a king are interesting. First they say they want a king so they can be like the other nations, and because Samuel's sons don't walk in his ways.  It's true, his sons don't.  But the comment from chapter 7 says that Samuel was still judging Israel, so a new judge can be found.

The second reason, after Samuel has warned them what it will be like for them under a king, is that they want a king to be like the other nations, and to go out before them to fight their battles.  The problem here is that the Philistines have been subdued, and remained so during Samuel's life.  In fact, under Samuel, the people recovered cities taken by the Philistines under Samuel.  So this "battle chief" reason doesn't really work either.

The only consistent reason is that they want to be like all the other nations.  Unfortunately, they get their wish in spades.  Samuel lines out for them what life under a king will be like, but even he paints a rosier picture than what actually happens.  The kings of Israel are corrupt, and pagan.  They are so much like the nations around them that it's a good chance that the latter kings of Israel in Samaria weren't even Israelites. 

This goes way beyond, "Be careful what you wish for."  This signals the destruction of the people of Israel on a very fundamental level.  On the other hand, at the beginning of the monarchy, the people are more consistently unified than they had ever been, even entering the land under Joshua.  That unity lasts through the first three kings and blows apart with the fourth.  Actually, for Israel as "the people of God", it was all down hill from king number three.

So, when do I "want to be like all the other nations"?  When do I look around me and wonder what it would be like to have that, or go there, or achieve this or that?  What if I had the money they have, or went on vacations where they went with the stuff they take?  What if I worked my job like they do or viewed what I do with the same mentality?  I too could be a big shot, have boats, big expandable motor homes, larger houses, monstrous debt, lose my family, destroy my marriage, and "vaguely remember" what church was like. Yeah, I could do that.

I probably won't though.  The reasons are varied, and only partly make me look good.  I have other ways that I wind up choosing to be like "the all the other nations."  When I choose vacations over worship, I'm a lot like the other nations.  When I choose a church based on what it does for me, I'm a lot like the other nations.  When I read Scripture and pray a list of wants to my Master off a routine checklist, then I'm a lot like other nations.  Whenever I begin to marginalize my relationship to my Master, putting His things into boxes of the same size as other personal and family activities, then I'm a lot like the other nations.

I don't do a lot of these things, but I do some.  There are other things I could put on the list, some of which I struggle with, some I see in others.  The reality is that it is just as easy for me to choose to be like the other people around me as it was for the Israelites, and often it's even easier.  I didn't even touch on how worship sometimes flows from what we see in the world, whether concerts, performers, TV shows, or even other churches.  Whenever it stops being about my Master and me bowing before His throne, I've chosen to be like the all the other nations.

So, today, I will choose to pray listening for His word.  I will seek to honor Him at work; to make Him and His church the priority it should be, focus on my family and their spiritual health, as He wants me to; and look forward to, again, bowing before the throne of my Master with my fellow followers of Jesus.

The Pastor's Kids You Hear About

And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.  His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.  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 8:1-5 NASB)

Growing up in church, part of the "church-culture" was that the kids of the pastor(s) were the worst of the bunch.  There are a variety of reasons for this, most of them are stereotyping rather than fair, and few of them are accurate.  The ironic thing is that the stereotype is biblical.  For whatever reason, kids of famous Bible characters just can't seem to keep the faith going.  It's really weird.  Solomon is probably a notable exception, but that only depends on how you look at his life.

Abraham had Isaac, who has the fewest references to him and God in all of Scripture (okay, that might be an exaggeration).   Then you have all but one of Jacob's kids (that's 11 gone wrong for 1 good egg).  Before these there was Noah's bad egg, Ham (yes, that was a pun).  Then Moses has a son, but you never hear of him, Joshua takes over.  Then the judges are not of Joshua's family (...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord...for now).  Gideon had sons he installed as judges, but one illegitimate one killed all but one of the others.

And so it goes in Scripture, David and Absolom, Solomon and Rehaboam, and Hezekiah and his son Manasseh (best king, worst king).  So Samuel and his two corrupt sons isn't really a surprise.  And it isn't really or necessarily Samuel's fault.  Anyone who has kids worries about what they will be like when they grow up.  This is partly because we have so little control, and so much influence.  And partly because parents are by and large ignorant of how to raise kids.  For whatever reason we can't remember what our parents did right, just mostly what they did wrong.  They did something right, they had to, we survived.

But parents do have a huge influence, and parents are responsible for what their kids are like when they grow up.  Scripture may not shrink from painting the kids of righteous parents as losers, but it also holds parents responsible for keeping their kids in line.  In fact, the laws require parents to put out of control kids to death (I wonder if anyone kept that one).

So, that Samuel's sons "did not walk in his ways" is Samuel's responsibility.  He, like Eli before him, was responsible to correct aberrant behavior in his sons.  One problem was that he sent them a days walk or more away, so he couldn't see what they were doing down there (partly why he was responsible).  But it is also possible that these sons didn't go off track until they were that far away, corrupted by bad elements in that area, hit the "slippery slope" of one taste of dishonest gain, and it became their method.  Chances are really good that they knew the right thing to do, but out of dad's reach, opted for the easy and lucrative thing instead.

I'm a parent, I have a kid who will grow up and enter the world, and I can't control what she will be like.  But I have influence.  I also have the God-given responsibility to influence her to follow God.  I know I'm not perfect at that influence, and I know I have growth to do in the next four years before she's no longer in my house.  But, I'm neither a pastor, nor a famous Bible character, so my odds of releasing a good kid on society just radically improved!  Still, I have a responsibility from my Master to drive her to Him.  So, here I go again.