1 Samuel 8:19-22
But the people refused to obey 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, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."
During this time in history, having a king was a sign of order, power and control, and every substantial nation had one to rule over it; all but Israel. God had set Israel apart in many different ways to make them special and sacred. For the same reason that He prohibited the Israelites from eating pork and shellfish, He prohibited them from having a king to make them different. This was supposed to wave a giant flag in the wind saying, "WE'RE DIFFERENT, GOD IS OUR KING." But as with everything else, Israel was less interested with telling the nations that they especially belonged to God than they were in fitting in with all the nations around them.
The root of their problem was that we were discontent in what God had given them; He had made them unique and had chosen them as His very own people, but they wanted more; they wanted what everyone else had. They had fallen into the trapping desire of popularity, and placed their identity in what others thought about them. They wanted to be like everyone else so badly that they were willing to rebel against God and suffer the promised consequences. In the end, God gave them what they wanted, and told His servant Samuel to give them a king. If you know a little bit about Old Testament history you know how the story ends; it is tragic just like God had told them it would be.
So many pains and troubles came that could have been totally avoided if they would have been content in what God had planned for them. Although God gave them what they thought they wanted, it turned out to be a hindrance and a rock in their shoes. In the same way, so many times in our lives we know that something will hurt us more than it will help us, but we want it so much to fit in that we're willing to take the risk. So, every time we're tempted to make a decision because it will make us "cool" like everyone else, let's remember this story and fear that God may just give us exactly what we ask for... and more.
But the people refused to obey 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, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."
During this time in history, having a king was a sign of order, power and control, and every substantial nation had one to rule over it; all but Israel. God had set Israel apart in many different ways to make them special and sacred. For the same reason that He prohibited the Israelites from eating pork and shellfish, He prohibited them from having a king to make them different. This was supposed to wave a giant flag in the wind saying, "WE'RE DIFFERENT, GOD IS OUR KING." But as with everything else, Israel was less interested with telling the nations that they especially belonged to God than they were in fitting in with all the nations around them.
The root of their problem was that we were discontent in what God had given them; He had made them unique and had chosen them as His very own people, but they wanted more; they wanted what everyone else had. They had fallen into the trapping desire of popularity, and placed their identity in what others thought about them. They wanted to be like everyone else so badly that they were willing to rebel against God and suffer the promised consequences. In the end, God gave them what they wanted, and told His servant Samuel to give them a king. If you know a little bit about Old Testament history you know how the story ends; it is tragic just like God had told them it would be.
So many pains and troubles came that could have been totally avoided if they would have been content in what God had planned for them. Although God gave them what they thought they wanted, it turned out to be a hindrance and a rock in their shoes. In the same way, so many times in our lives we know that something will hurt us more than it will help us, but we want it so much to fit in that we're willing to take the risk. So, every time we're tempted to make a decision because it will make us "cool" like everyone else, let's remember this story and fear that God may just give us exactly what we ask for... and more.