1 Samuel 8New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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1 Samuel 8New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Israel Demands a King

8When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.

4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8Just as they have done to me,[a] from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

10So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle[b] and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

Israel’s Request for a King Granted

19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the people of Israel, “Each of you return home.”

Footnotes:

a1 Samuel 8:8 Gk: Heb lacks to me

b1 Samuel 8:16 Gk: Heb young men

end of footnotes

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Most of the time we want to have life go our way, and when it doesn’t, we entertain a host of negative emptions…anger, bitterness, resentfulness, stubbornness to name a few. We think we know what is best for us, and have been known to throw tantrums when we don’t get our own way.

Nothing has changed in thousands of years.

19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Israel has been referred to in many biblical passages as a stubborn people. Today’s passage is one of those stories of stubbornness. In fact, this story holds an account of stubbornness in the extreme.

They wanted a king. The people were tired of the corruption found in those set over them, namely Samuel’s sons and their dishonest, self-serving regime. They wanted something different and when they looked around at other nations they saw that others had kings. The people of Israel wanted a king too! They wanted to be led by a great powerful king so that they could be powerful like other nations. They wanted a king, whom they believed, would solve all their social and economic woes. A king, they reasoned, would be an easy way out of the mess in which they currently found themselves. A king would be the answer to all the world’s problems and woes! So they thought.

Samuel tried to warn them off. He told them that God was already their king, and the most powerful king in all of creation. A human king would make war and build huge cities as monuments to his power. He would take their sons and daughters, their land and their wealth. A king would drain them of their wealth. A king would bring misery and heartache, and when he does, don’t come crying back to me. I will not be listening!

Yet the people remained stubborn. WE DEMAND A KING! We want a king. Give us a king! And so God through Samuel granted the people a king.

We are just like the people of Israel. We want things our own way because we think we know what is right for us. Yet, God always knows what is right for us, and we have decided not to listen. This occurs in our individual lives, and in our relationships with others. And it occurs on the national level too!

This week, the people of Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, the economic union of European economies that, along with NATO, has brought seventy years of peace and stability to a war torn continent. The 20th Century saw two world wars tear apart Europe and the world, where millions died, and many more millions suffered.

What is interesting to me is the stubbornness of the British people who voted to leave the EU. They longed for the past and were driven by a nostalgia that discounted the tragedy and trauma of the past century. I was struck by the remorse of those who voted to leave. Many said they did not expect the vote to pass, but they wanted to send a message to their leaders. Now they are truly fearful about their future.

Stubbornness can close a mind, and blind the eye. It is a behavior driven by frustration and fear, and dulls all rational thought. It shuts down communication and often leads to disaster. Much in the same way the people of Israel refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, we often refuse to listen to the voice of God. I have had many people ask me how to pray, and how to hear the voice of God. Sometimes God is speaking and we refuse to listen.

As each one of us goes through personal changes and challenges, we would do well to stop, and listen to the voice of God.

As our church faces challenges and goes through transition, we would do well to stop, and listen to the voice of God.

And when we vote this November, we would do well to first stop, and listen to the voice of God.

There are Samuels in our midst. It is up to us to find them, and to listen for the world of God. Amen.