Tag: kings

From Judges To Kings

(TOP FIVE TAKEAWAYS)

Dale Pollard

God had established the Judges to rule Israel rather than a king which was typical for other nations during that period. God grants their request to have a king even though this kind of leadership was bound to fail. Despite the fact that God told them how they ought to govern themselves, the people caved to peer pressure from surrounding nations. God handed those free moral agents of Israel a shovel and they began to dig.

With that context in mind, here’s a portion of Samuel’s final words to a people who’ve just made a poor decision to reject God’s guidance. 

“Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.

19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”

20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
I Samuel 12.18-25

TOP FIVE TAKEAWAYS 

  1. There’s a needed message for the church today. We should never let our previous sins hold us back from pressing forward. Samuel tells the children of Israel not to let the evil in their recent past keep them down— but he doesn’t pretend as if they hadn’t sinned against God. 
  2. There’s hope. Samuel tells the people that God is quick to forgive. He still is!
  3. There’s a reminder to be selfless in prayer. It’s interesting that Samuel says that his failure to pray for God’s people would be a sinful thing for him to do. 
  4. There’s a glimpse of God’s power. Samuel tells the people to fear the Lord AND remember what He’s done for them. God could have wiped them out. He clearly had the power as He demonstrated a portion of it over nature in the beginning of this section. 
  5. There’s a warning— motivated by love. It was true for the children of Israel and it’s true for us today. If we persist in doing evil, we will perish. 

Power, Leadership, and the Consequences of Human Desires

Brent Pollard

In 1215, the English nobility threatened to use force if King John did not sign the Magna Carta, which limited the monarch’s authority. We herald this document as a crucial step towards constitutional democracy. It laid the foundation for protecting individual rights and the rule of law. Before the Magna Carta, the monarch had unchecked power and could make decisions without limitations or accountability. It was the era of the “divine right of kings.” The Magna Carta challenged this concept and established that even the monarch was subject to the law.

In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites asked Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, despite God’s warning that a king would take away their freedoms and rights. Since they expressed a desire for a king, Samuel sought guidance from God on how to proceed. God told Samuel they could have a king but that when they cried out for relief, He would not answer them (1 Samuel 8.18). Even so, the Israelites said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 18.19–20 NASB).

After the Israelites established a monarchy, they experienced a gradual erosion of their freedoms and rights. Kings had the power to impose taxes, conscript soldiers, and make decisions without consulting the people. This centralized authority often led to abuses of power and a lack of accountability. Additionally, the Israelites’ dependence on a human king shifted their focus away from God and placed greater trust in human leadership, which ultimately had negative consequences for their spiritual well-being.

Consider what the prophet Jeremiah said of King Jehoiakim:

And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows. I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar and paint it a lovely red.’ But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord. “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” (Jeremiah 22.13-17 NLT)

Jehoiakim is an excellent example of what the kings of Israel and Judah had become. And God kept His word and did not heed their cries. Instead, He allowed them to suffer the consequences of their actions. As God warned through Isaiah, “They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward” (Isaiah 8.21 NASB95).

What lesson can we learn from Israel as it emerged from the period of the judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes? Trying to impose our will upon God can harm us. Hence, “Be careful what you wish for.” Supposedly, that expression originated with Aesop’s fable “The Frogs Who Wished for a King.” But the plot of that tale is similar to the account in 1 Samuel, with the frogs asking Zeus to give them a king. In response, Zeus initially gave them a log. When they complained, Zeus gave them a crane, which gobbled many of them up.

Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would do His will in our lives (Matthew 6.10). He also set an example by surrendering his will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22.42). The latter meant that Jesus would offer His life on the cross (see Philippians 2.5-8).

In reflecting upon these historical and biblical narratives, we are reminded of the enduring lesson that desires for earthly power and authority, when unchecked and pursued without heed to moral and divine principles, can lead to unintended and dire consequences. The Magna Carta, born out of the need to limit unchecked royal power, is a testament to establishing legal and moral boundaries on leadership.

Likewise, the story in 1 Samuel 8 and the subsequent experiences of Israel and Judah are cautionary tales about the potential pitfalls of pursuing human kingship without due consideration of the divine will. The consequences of their insistence on having a human king ultimately led to oppression and spiritual decline.

In light of these lessons, we are encouraged to approach our desires and aspirations with humility, seeking alignment with higher principles and the divine will, as exemplified by Jesus’ prayer for God’s will to be done. As Christ’s selfless act on the cross demonstrates, giving up our will for a greater cause can result in outcomes that honor God and the welfare of humanity.

THE NON-LITERARY PROPHETS: GAD

Neal Pollard

There are several prophets whose writings, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, make up part of the Old Testament canon. We often refer to them as the Major Prophets (Isaiah-Daniel) and the Minor Prophets (Hosea-Malachi). In addition, there is a biblical sense in which the remaining Old Testament writers would be rightly called prophets (from Moses to Samuel, but also including those who lived thereafter as they wrote by inspiration). Then, there are prophets whose labors are recorded by these writing prophets. Some we know very well: Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah, for example. But, there are others whose works either take up less space in the inspired canon or whose work is lesser known. Let us look more deeply at some of these other, more unsung heroes, starting with the prophet Gad.

His Background

Nothing is said about where Gad is from, but it’s an educated guess to say it might be the tribe of Gad or perhaps he was from the Valley of Gad (cf. 2 Sam. 24:5). However, without that fact disclosed, that’s a mere conjecture. We do not know when he began his work as prophet, but the first mention of him is during Saul’s relentless hunt for David (1 Sam. 22:5). 

His Service

He is referred to as “David’s seer,” sometimes alongside Nathan his prophet and Samuel his seer (1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 29:25). He was quite a versatile man of God, a fact succinctly and well put by J.R. Dummalow: “He became the king’s seer after David was king (2S 24:11); he rebuked David for the sin of numbering Israel; and after David’s death, he wrote a history of that monarch’s reign (1C 29:29)” (193). So, he had the courage to rebuke the king when it was warranted, though his loyalty to him seems very clear. He appears to have been God’s man most of all.

His Value

  • His work was respected. When he told David to leave the stronghold, David did it (1 Sam. 22:5). David pleaded with Gad after the king had sinned (2 Sam. 24:14). He listened to Gad’s instructions for how to show fruits of repentance (2 Sam. 24:18ff). The respect was not derived from his wealth, power, education, looks, or worldly influence. The text does not even mention them. It was the work and the way Gad conducted it. So, the respect people have for us should come from the same place it did for Gad. We shouldn’t have to command or demand it. As we follow God faithfully, others will follow us (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1). 
  • His work was God-ordained. Gad’s authority derived from its source. He spoke in the name of the Lord (1 Chron. 21:19). He spoke with a “thus says the Lord” (1 Chron. 21:11). He spoke, “just as the Lord had commanded” (2 Sam. 24:19). God’s messengers’ clout and credibility is intrinsically connected to its God-ordained nature!
  • His work was versatile. He helped to strengthen the worship of God’s people (2 Chron. 29:25). He preached (2 Sam. 24:19). He ministered (2 Sam. 24:11ff). He wrote (1 Chron. 29:29). He was multi-talented, and he used his resources to God’s glory. That’s the challenge for us today (cf. Mat. 25:14-30), to use all God gives us to promote His work.

luca-giordano-king-david-reproached-by-the-prophet-gad
Oil painting of the depiction of Gad addressing David (Luca Giordano, Italian, 1634-1705)