"Israel demands a king before Samuel", 1728 engraving, by J. Winter
1 Samuel 8:1-8 - When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey 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. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.I was deeply grieved as I read this narrative. Surely, Samuel's heart, this day, was ripped into pieces, as these three betrayals came into view:
- Samuel's sons had betrayed their father's ways, and sought their own evil way.
- Israel rejects Samuel, and demand a king.
- Amazingly, Israel further, in demanding a king, rejects God!
Consider that evening, as Samuel lay on his bed. Unquestionably, Satan dispatched a special force of demons to torment Samuel as he replayed the day's events over in his mind.
"Almighty LORD", perhaps he prayed, "my sons...your people! How am I to withstand this dishonor of your holy Name? I understand your pain, as I wretch in agony over my sons. How is it that you can bear the weight of this abandonment? How do you face a new day, watching your loved ones perhaps march into possible destruction? How, O LORD, does your heart not explode in torment? How can you condone a king? Might my sons replace me as their father?"
I don't know Samuel's heart, but I suspect it was broken that day. Furthermore, I am greatly confident that God, desiring that we know His heart, puts this here in our view.
I can't begin to understand the heart of God. Further still, who can begin to fathom all that occurred in God's heart, on the fateful day in Genesis 3, when Adam & Eve took the apple. To make matters infinitely worse, for 6,000 years, God's creation, those made in his image, the apple of his eye, continue to spit in his face.
Abba,
My heart breaks as I consider these things. As I look around me, in this great nation America, that certainly you brought forth, look how they too cry for anything but you. Forgive us LORD. Bring healing to our land, break our proud hearts, and please I pray, blow your spirit across this land that we might see a mighty rushing wind. Touch your people once again.
