I Samuel 8 | Lesson # 9 | SEEKING FALSE SECURITY

                                                            I Samuel 8                                                            lesson # 9

                                                SEEKING FALSE SECURITY                                               

I.  Greetings:  We are going to study chapter 8 and it must be born in mind as Brueggemann p. 61 mentions that there "is a long time between chapters 7 and 8."  Much time has passed and we are approaching the end of Samuel's leadership.  We are approaching a time of transition of power, a time that naturally causes anxiety.

 

II. Introduction:  Setting the Scene:  Worry about the Future/Amateur Providence

            RQ Have you worried about the future lately?

            Q What are some of the big-things you worry about?

               An  See if they will share.  You might need to share one or two things from your life if necessary, then ask them if similar things worry them.  (Share briefly, your real concern is to get them thinking and sharing along these lines, not give them extensive biography about yourself.

            Q Does worry help?

            Note:  Israel, had enjoyed great success under Samuel's leadership but they began to worry about the future and were tempted to become an Amateur Providence.  (An Amateur Providence is when we as humans, who certainly amateurs decide to tell God that we can plan our lives a bit better than He can.  After all what does He know?  Lets see what caused their anxiety, and tempted them to want to control their own destiny.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 8:1-3.

            Q What was the worry Israel could be tempted to have?

               An = They saw bad times coming in the prospect of Samuel's sons being the new leaders.              >>> Have someone read Deuteronomy 16:18-20.  The question of corrupt leadership always hurts and sets back the believing community.  However, for Israel, the foundation of their society was founded on the concepts of God's will and He is "Just".  They were saved by Yahweh and founded on Yahweh's character and action.  He is a God that models servant-leadership.  The purpose of leadership is to serve not to be served.  Samuel's sons have betrayed the purpose of leadership but their injustice.  Their actions have caused distrust of the old ways:  they remember the disaster of the leadership of Eli's corrupt sons.  They do not want a repeat of failure.

 

III.  The Request for a King:  I Samuel 8:4-18.

   A.  The Request Proper:  I Samuel 8:4-6.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 4:4-6.

            Q Why did the elders want a king?

               An = See I Samuel 8:5:  you are old and your sons are not like you.

            Q Did they have a right to be concerned?

               An = Yes!

            Q Was Samuel upset over the critique of his sons or because of their request?

               An = According to I Samuel 8:6 only with their request.  Samuel did not contest the critique of his sons.

            Q Is it important in a leadership position to separate our ego (critique of his sons) and the real issue at hand (wanting a king)?

            Note:  There was a long history of Israel not having kings.  The judge Gideon refused kingship because of specific reasons.  >>> Have someone read Judges 8:23.<<<  God was to be their King!  Also, the destructive disaster of Abimelech's short-lived and brutal kingship is condemned (Judges 9).  It is also interesting to note that Abimelech was the son of a Canaanite concubine (Judges 8:31).  So it was not native to Israel to want a king.  The pagan nations around them did practice this type of government (Gordon p. 109).

   B.  God's Response to the Request:  I Samuel 8:7-9.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 8:7-9.

            Q What is God's basic response?

               An = Let as many answers be given without comment.  Then point out that in 8:7 and 8:9 is the word:  "listen".  God's basic answer is that Samuel is to let them have their way:  Samuel is to listen to the voice of the people.  Verses 8:7 and 8:8 are given to Samuel.

            Q What two reservations/observations about Israel's request does God have in 8:7,8?

               An = 1) The problem with the monarchy is not political but theological.  Israel was rejecting God from being King over them.  God does not want Samuel to take it personally, but to see that the rejection is aimed at God and not Samuel. 2)  This new rejection was not new or foreign to the character of Israel.  Just a quick reading of Judges or Israel's attitude during the book of Exodus is indication that this type of behavior is typical of Israel (Brueggemann p. 62).  It is not the having of a "king" per-se, but that the "king" is a new substitute for the Lord, a new twist in idolatry (Davis, p. 82).  The Israelites had experienced failure of other types of leadership:  priesthood (Eli's sons), judges (Samuel son's), kings (Abimelech).  The real issue is the king being a substitute for trusting in Yahweh (Davis, p. 83).  This behavior God says is typical and not aimed specifically at Samuel.  God wants Samuel not to go into depression, but to understand that he is experiencing rejection because he is in charge now and not because he is incompetent.  God does not want Samuel emotionally destroyed.

            Q What is Samuel commanded to tell Israel in 8:9?

               An = He is to warn them and let them know the ways (customs) of what will happen to them if they pursue a king.  God wants them to know what they are getting into.  This is not sour grapes on God's part but typical of His ways of doing things (Brueggemann p. 63).

            Q Does it surprise you that God gave into their request?

               An = God demands from us the our best.  He calls us to have faith even when the future is not something we can see will be good, but He calls to trust Him and His ways of doing things.  God does demand but He does not usually compel.  This is true both of an individual or of a church.  He will warn but not coerce.

            Note:  In chapter four the substitute for trusting in God was the ark and now in chapter eight the substitute is a king (Davis, p. 84).

            Q Why is it so hard for people to put their trust in God?

               An = Perhaps, it was never intended to be easy.  Also, it is so natural for us to trust anything that "we control" and we cannot control God.

   C. The Customs of a King:  The Warning.  I Samuel 8:10-18.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 8:10-18.

            Q What will the king take from the people in 8:11-13?

               An = He will take their sons and daughters and use them for his own needs.

            Q What will the king take from the people in 8:14-15?

               An = He will amass wealth by taking their land and impose takes on what land they still control.  He will use their wealth to give gifts to those who are his bidders.  Poor leadership always gives away what is not theirs. 

            Q Is this done today?  Does it happen to today that resources given by leaders to their friends to shore up their political position, etc. but they give what belongs to others?

               An =  It does not take too much time to find examples of that today in congress.

            Q What is taken from the people in I Samuel 8:16-17?

               An = Their servants and their herds.  Notice that in 8:11,13,14,15,16,17 there is the verb to "take".  Such centralized government is characterized by such "taking".

            Note:  The book of Samuel is about leadership and we have seen examples of leadership in Eli (chapter 2) and Samuel (chapter 7) and now we are seeing a whole type of leadership (kingship) defined and condemned.  I Samuel 8 is clearly saying leadership that seeks to serve itself instead of serving is wrong (Brueggemann p. 64).  Those leaders that demand "perks" and think it "natural" are wrong.  Think of the CEO's in America that are encouraging "take-overs" in the name of "being competitive" and yet acquire enormous salaries while countless people lose their jobs.

>>>> Have someone re-read I Samuel 8:18.

            Q What is scary about this verse?

               An = For one, it came true.  Notice when Israel served the Lord and was attacked in chapter 7 they did quite well militarily.  Their real security lay in their vulnerability:  in their vulnerability of trust in God.  Now they seek control over their destiny.  They want a process like others have and thus forfeit their special ability to call upon the Lord.

            Q Can this happen in our personal lives?  How?

               An = I have heard people tell me when crisis hits their lives that they know that they have little ability to pray.  They sense that others have such an ability and they are certain that they do not.  They are sadly correct.  They are the folks who trusted in the things and thinking of men. 

            Q What can be done for people like this?  What would you tell them?

               An = Perhaps, tell them, if they are open, that they need to start some where and so should start now. 

            Q Can this in ability to get God to answer happen in a church?  How?

               An = Is the seeking of security wise?  How has our church been tempted to do this?

            Note: Have you ever noticed how even evangelical churches will do this by looking for a new gimmick rather than looking for a new heart in repentance.  We are willing to change methods than just seeking God (Davis, p. 84).

            Q As an individual seeks security in the ways of the world what do they forfeit?

               An = The ability to pray to God and be heard.  Listen to what God said to the believers in Jeremiah's day:  >>> Have someone read Jeremiah 7:12-15.  Then have someone read Jeremiah 15:1.<<

 

III.  The Response of the People:  I Samuel 8:19-22.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 8:19-22.

            Q According to I Samuel 8:20 what is the reason for the people seeking a king?

               An = 1)  Military security.  The last battle they had won was with a godly leader who prayed and God heard.  Now they are warned that God will not hear if they chose a king.  It is interesting that they think that some how by proper organization, like that of other nations, they can do without the "answering of God".  In their view, proper organization preempts the need for God's help".  2)  They wanted to be like other nations, after all one must keep up with the "Iron Age" and they have kings so we should have them too (Davis, p. 85).

            Note:  So many people today that education will solve everything, but notice that God did tell Samuel to "educate" them but it did stop them.  "Education can clarify but education cannot transform" (II Thessalonians 2:10) (Davis, p. 88).  Davis calls it the "education fallacy".

            Q What did Samuel do in such a distressing and disappointing situation?

               An = He took his pain to the Lord.  This is what we always need to do instead of getting mad, or doing something rash, or even worse:  quitting.  The Lord was going to use Samuel in the future and Israel needed him and it would have been disastrous for Israel and would be abandoning his role to serve his Lord if he had not been present.  Remember, he is the one who will anoint David.  Don't quit, pray!

            Note:  The Lord's response is to "listen to the voice of the people and do what they want".  It is hard to do this but such is the "ego-death" that our job as ministers or leaders in the church, or leaders in our families demand.  It is the Lord's will to listen to the people some times.

            Note:  The chapter ends oddly.  Samuel tells them to go home.  We will learn in the future that Samuel will indeed obey His Lord.  However, Samuel is certainly not the people's puppet.  He has boldly confronted them with the danger of their choice, and he does not immediately jump to find them a king.  He does not make all of his decisions based on good theology, or logical deductions from his own views (as good as they are), but he too, listens to the dynamic voice of God.  As disastrous as their choice is going to be, it will still produce David.