Samuel warned them that under a king they would suffer, but they would not heed to his warnings. “Give us a king to judge us,” they implored (1 Samuel 8:6).
In verses, 10-18, Samuel explained what it would like under the king:
He will take your sons and daughters; your sons will serve him; their chariots will be taken from them; the king will appoint men, as captains, over them that will answer to the king and do the bidding of the king with no consideration to the people. You will plow the land for the king; he will reap the harvest and not you, the people; you make weapons of war for the king. Your daughters will be taken and assigned to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers for the king. The best fields will belong to the king; your vineyards; your olive groves will be given to servants of the king. A tenth of your sheep will be taken by the king. You will be his servants. You will cry out but the king will not hear you.
Yet, the people called for a king. Samuel, “Give us a king to judge us.” “We desire to be like other nations. We desire a king to go in and out before us; we desire a king to fight our battles.
And so God allowed.
The story of King Saul is one that can be contrasted with that of the history of Israel. It was one of obedience and disobedience, of victories and losses.
Even when the people forgot and returned to a place of Ichabod, God continued to speak through His prophets.
Jeremiah, another prophet, in Israel’s history, also warned the people of going their own way. In Jeremiah (7:16) , he spoke to Judah how God will allow terrible things to occur when the people do not heed His decisions. He even told Jeremiah, “Therefore, pray not thou for this people neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.” Just as God had allowed the people of Ephraim to come to their demise, so He will do for the disobedient people of Judah – because they chose not to heed the commands of God but that of man. This is a nation (Judah) that obeys not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receives correction, truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth (verse 28).
At the end of age for the prophet Samuel, Samuel recounted the goodness of the Lord to the people at King Saul’s coronation (1 Samuel 12). He advised the people to stop trusting in lying words (they are a cancer to you). Stop committing atrocities, i.e., murdering, adultery, swearing falsely, following after other gods. Did the people heed the warning?
This people chose a king who looked physically able to do their bidding. He was extremely tall, strong, and handsome. Saul was their chosen king; so Samuel anointed Saul as king (1 Samuel 9:15-17), according to the prophesy of God to Samuel.
What did Samuel see? What did God view?
I see a people who desire their own way. I see a people who desire to be like other nations. I see a people who have rejected me and desire other gods.
Society, in the political and social arenas, are certainly examples of this type of desirous leadership. What Anna was experiencing was a desire of some who not to be led by God but by man.
Today, in comparison, there are those who desire their own judges; there are those who desire positions based on ethnic loyalty. Where is the call to desire God’s anointed?
Where is the prayer to God, “Dear God, give us the desire of Your heart.” This is what David prayed. This is what the Lord said of David. He is a man after My own heart.
For those who do not believe, this is of no significance. Their trust is within themselves and man. On the other hand, believers are accountable to God. Why? The glory of God is in His people as individuals and collectively as the church. We must be reminded that God Jehovah is able.
AT MIZPAH – Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah I Samuel 7:6; 10:1
Samuel reminded the people at the place of Mizpah; he reminded them of what God Jehovah had done. (God said) “I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and other oppressors, but you have rejected me. I, the Lord, saved you from adversities and tribulations.”
The Lord looks at the heart. His glory lives in the heart of His people. It is not a physical heart; it is a spiritual heart. What is the intent of the heart? The church is a physical sanctuary but what is the heart of the church? When God views your heart, Servant Leader, what does He see? God does not see us as Democrats, Republicans, Independents, etc. What have you purposed in your heart? For those who use God for their own selfish intents, He sees you. God has promised what will become of evil doers. God is long-suffering and is the Judge.
Saul desired the people to be loyal to him over everything else; but there were those who stood up and the nation was later divided (as Judah and Israel). The people who honored Saul over God would become disappointed in his leadership.
People of the world look to kings to profit man; they seek kings of dishonor; they lavish in riches and treasures of this world. Unbelieving people lament over the price, cause, and pain of their goal-seeking purposes. They understand only the affliction of themselves not the afflictions of others.
“It is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God,” Hebrew 10:31.
So, Daisy retreated to her room to pray for her friend Anna. Anna must speak from the heart as a servant leader. She must be led by God and hear His voice. Seek Him and His righteousness. God, will speak on her behalf.
He is just and He is a unifier. “We have Your glory inside working through us,” prayed Daisy. “Dear Lord, Let Anna stand firm in You.”
In the name of Jesus
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