Read 1 Samuel 13

Sometimes in life someone starts out well, and looks suitable to the job. Unfortunately, after a while, they make a mistake. Maybe one that seems little, but it has big consequences. Through that, they show their unsuitability for the role.

In this passage, Saul demonstrated his unsuitability as King over Israel. While Saul started out in tentative obedience to God’s commands, his unlawful sacrifice showed he was unable to obey God even in trying times, and another would have to be sought. His disobedience led to dire straits for Israel, one which God would dig Israel out of, just as God has dug us out of our own dire straits.

The passage begins with an unusual reference to Saul having “lived for one year and then became king” (v.1) which has resulted in a lot of spilt ink trying to work out what happened. One possible suggestion is to understand verse one as saying that a year after Saul’s anointing, two years of events occurred in this and the two following chapters, which was the period in which Saul was legitimately king before being rejected by God.

Saul was finally going to take action against the Philistines, who had been a thorn in Israel’s side for a good hundred years. Saul established a small standing army, led by himself and his son Jonathan, and dismissed the “citizen militia” to their homes (v.2). Following this, Jonathan and his regiment attacked a Philistine garrison at Geba (v.3).

The Philistines noticed this attack, and roused themselves for battle. Saul himself called for mobilisation at Gilgal (vv.3-4). The Philistine response was a massive military force designed to crush Israel once and for all (v.5).

Seeing this horde amass, Israel fled and hid in caves or across the Jordan (vv.6-7). Saul and his soldiers were abandoned.

Saul waited with his forces for seven days at Gilgal until Samuel arrived (v.8, cf. 10:8). This must have been a very long seven days, as a Philistine horde approached and his forces started to slip away in fear. 

From an earthly perspective we can sympathise with Saul, but this trial was a test of his faith in God. The response of faith was to wait and trust in God, the same God who had littered Israel’s history with deliverances.

Unfortunately, Saul failed the test and took matters into his own hands when he “offered the burnt offering” (v.9) to God which only a priest (like Samuel) could offer. Immediately, Samuel appeared on the horizon (v.10). Samuel collared Saul and asked “What have you done?” (v.11).

The response reeked of cloaking his sin in religious fervour and blame shifting to Samuel for being late to work (vv.11-12).

Unfortunately, Saul’s acts were roundly condemned by Samuel. He had acted foolishly, disobeying God’s clear commands, and demonstrated his character (v.13). He had failed the kingly grade by not leading under God’s direction. God would seek “a man after his own heart” to replace Saul’s dynasty (v.14). Samuel upped and left, apparently leaving no guidance (v.15).

Saul left with his men to Gibeah, finding only six hundred left (v.15). Meanwhile the Philistines encamped at Michmash, with three companies detailed to subdue Israel’s population (vv.16-18).

The Philistines had tightened their grip, reducing Israel to serfdom. Blacksmiths who could forge weapons were removed from Israel (v.19). Any Israelites needing a replacement tool had to head to a Philistine town, where they paid a hefty fee (vv.20-21).

So Saul and his son Jonathan, and the pitiful remnants of the Israelite army, were encamped at the garrison of Geba, cut off from the rest of Israel by a massive Philistine army. Only Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear, the rest of their forces reduced to makeshift weapons (v.22). And the Philistines were on the move (v.23). 

A good thing God would still intervene.

This passage shows us the importance of obeying God’s Word. A good attempt, or something looking generally like the standard might pass in a class, but not when it comes to God. Our obedience must be perfect, exact, entire, and complete. Obeying God’s Word is obeying God. Even if it means (spiritual) conflict with the world.

While we can sympathise with Saul’s position, and even in times of distress compromise on God’s commands or adjust them to pragmatically suit the situation, this is not an excuse. Not even when it seems like God is running late, by our timing.

Worse still, disobeying God’s Word leads us away from the very means by which God leads us. Samuel was left without any guidance from Samuel, because of his disobedience. When we refuse to follow God’s Word, we are just as foolish as he was, stumbling around in the darkness.

Thankfully, while we find ourselves in dire straits, with enemies surrounding us and no strength in ourselves, God found a man after his own heart to rescue us. Jesus passed the grade that Saul failed, and sacrificed his life to save ours.

Read 1 Samuel 12

Inevitably leaders move on. Either events force them to move on, a replacement steps forward, or it is time for them to step back. This is true in the church, business, charities, and government. None of us lead forever.

The anointing of Saul as king meant the end of one age of leadership, and the start of another. Samuel, as the last of Israel’s judges, was stepping down from leadership as Saul stepped up as Israel’s first king. In this speech, Samuel reminded Israel of their obligations, Israel responded with forgiveness for their past sins, and they received an assurance of God’s promises and Samuel’s help as a mediator.

After Saul’s leadership of Israel to victory over Ammon, Samuel and the people renewed the vows of obedience they had made to Saul as the king God had given them. At the same time, it was appropriate for Samuel to take a step into the background.

Samuel began by reminding them that he had bent to their wishes and appointed a king, despite his previous counsel against this (vv.1-2). He also defended his ministry among them, reminding them that he had not enriched himself at their expense, and asking them to witness before God that this was true (vv.3-5). Samuel knew that people often come to resent their leaders, because they start to act corruptly.

The reason for this was not to ensure a good telling for Samuel in the history books, but because Samuel wanted it clear that Israel’s request for a king was sinful. Calling on God as witness, Samuel reminded Israel of God’s goodness to Israel from the days of Moses in Egypt (vv.6-8).

Despite this, Israel had sinned and forgotten God’s goodness, and so endured times of discipline for their unfaithfulness to God’s covenant, as we read in Judges (vv.9-11). Most recently, Nahash king of Ammon had loomed as a threat over them, and had apparently been the prompt to have a king to unite around (v.12). 

Since it was similarly sinful behaviour that meant God sent Nahash to attack Israel, it becomes clear in the text that Saul’s appointment as king was a form of judgement by God on Israel (v.13)!

The message for Israel was clear. They needed to repent. Even though sin had led them to that place, if they were faithful to God through fearing, obeying, and serving him, all would go well (v.14). If not, trouble would come for them and their king (v.15).

To demonstrate these were not empty words, Samuel called on God to send unseasonable thunder and rain (it was wheat harvest season, no rain was usually forecast) to show these threats were real (vv.16-18).

The terrified people called on Samuel to intercede for them, “for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king” (v.19). The act of God led directly to a confession of sin, and a request for someone to mediate with God.

To this, Samuel offered them grace. He told them not to be afraid (v.20), and instead to repent and follow God “with all your heart” and forsake the empty promises of this world (vv.21).

They could do this because God is faithful to his promises, and would not forsake his people (v.22). He would save his people as he promised. God can be relied on.

Samuel also would remain among them, praying for them and continuing to teach them “the good and the right way” (v.23). While no longer a judge, he would remain a prophet among them.

Ultimately, king or no king, the problem was one of sin. Their eternal destiny would be decided by whether they followed God in faith, or continued to sin and would be “swept away” in judgement (vv.24-5).

These words for Israel are words for us too. Our eternal destiny relies on whether we repent of our sins and seek to fear, obey, and serve God, or carry on after this world’s empty promises.

God’s goodness and his graciousness are presented to us in the Bible, which shows us how God has been faithful to his people, even when they have not been faithful to him. God is someone we can rely on, but not someone we can take advantage of.

Notice in all this that Samuel did not prioritise himself, but God. Like Samuel, we too should place God first. The holiness of life we pursue is not to justify ourselves, but to glorify God and demonstrate we are his disciples, led by and trusting in him.

It also reminds us of the need for a mediator. For Israel, that man was Samuel. But even Samuel was a sinner, and needed forgiveness from God. Samuel needed a mediator too, that he looked forward to in faith.

That mediator was Jesus, our great mediator (1 Tim 2:5). Samuel’s leadership ended, and his prophetic and priestly ministry too, but Jesus’ ministry is eternal (Hebrews 7). If we call on Jesus, we will enjoy God’s eternal grace.

Read 1 Samuel 11:1-15

Perhaps like me you stayed up late on Saturday night and watched the coronation ceremony. It was at times interesting, at times boring, and at times quaint. The coronation procession afterwards was impressive. Still, it hardly affected our lives, except for a little lost sleep and bleary eyes at Church the next morning!

Saul had been proclaimed king, but everyone went back home to their day jobs and carried on as if nothing had changed. In this passage, Israel enjoys salvation from their enemies, led by a king empowered by God. This act unites the nation in reaffirming their allegiance to their new king. It reminds us that we also fight against foes who wish to destroy, but will gain victory only through our king, Jesus, to whom we should reaffirm our allegiance regularly too.

After Saul’s coronation ceremony, there was no ceremonial flyover and celebration concert. Everyone, including Saul, went home (10:26). Some doubted how Saul would supposedly save Israel as king (10:27). There was no unity of rule and identity in Israel. That was about to change.

Nahash, an Ammonite king, besieged Jabesh-gilead (v.1). There was bad blood between Ammon and Israel. Ammonites were “cousins” descended from Lot with a seedy origin (Gen. 19), and some unsavoury brushes through Israel’s history in Canaan. Not much love lost on either side.

Nahash was busy trying to enslave Israel, possibly with some prior success (described in other historical sources). When Jabesh asked for terms, Nahash demanded to gouge out the right eye of the menfolk, rendering them useless for military service (they fought with interlocked shields covering the left eye) and to disgrace Israel (v.2). 

Nahash was so cocky that when Jabesh asked for a week to seek help, he agreed (v.3). Jabesh-gilead needed a saviour.

That saviour was found in Gibeah, where messengers from Jabesh found their way (v.4). The place of vile immoral acts and a civil war, but also linked through family ties (Judges 19-21), became the source of salvation for Israel.

When Saul returned from the fields and heard his townsfolk weeping at the news of Jabesh, “the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul” and he was kindled with righteous anger (vv.5-6). Despite Israel sinfully asking for a king, and despite Saul being the type of king more in keeping with worldly fashion, God still used Saul to save.

Saul called together Israel, threatening punishment on the oxen of anyone who refused the summons (v.7). He mustered the significant gathered army from Israel and Judah (v.8), and informed Jabesh-gilead they would be saved (v.9).

The men of Jabesh set the trap, offering to hand themselves over to Nahash the following day (v.10). Success, the Ammonites thought, and let down their guard.

When Saul and his army arrived the next day, ordered into three lines of battle, “they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together” (v.11).

Salvation had come to Israel! Could this Saul save God’s People (10:27)? Empowered by God, the answer was it seemed so!

Success has a thousand fathers, and suddenly everyone was pro-Saul. Eager to prove their allegiance, they sought out the nay-sayers to put them to death (v.12). But victory is no time for vengeance, not for those led by God anyway. Saul sought unity, proclaiming that none should die on a day when God had saved Israel (v.13).

Instead, Samuel suggested, and the people eagerly agreed, to reaffirm their allegiance to Saul as king at Gilgal (v.14), tieing God’s faithfulness then to his past faithfulness (Josh. 4). There they did so, sacrificing to God and rejoicing in God’s salvation and the leadership he provided them (v.15).

Like Israel, we also face a sometimes hostile world which seeks to render us ineffective for God’s service, whether through compromise, sin, or destruction. Though it might be felt on the physical plane, this battle is really a spiritual one (Eph. 6:12). Though we may not like to fight, sometimes the fight comes to us. We should not be surprised or despair when it does.

Instead we should put on our armour and resist. Yet in doing so, we must remember that our spiritual armour comes from God (Eph 6:12-18), and that we will only win when we are led by God, through our own king and Saviour Jesus Christ.

It is only as part of Jesus’ army, organised and led by God’s anointed king, that we can ultimately resist and prevail against our foes. Only Jesus, empowered by the Spirit of God (Mark 1:10) and himself God who became man (John 1:14), is able to overcome our foes because he has already overcome the world (John 16:33).

In King Jesus we can take heart, and reaffirm our allegiance to the Saviour God has given us, to lead us to victory over sin.

Read 1 Samuel 10:17-27

King Charles III’s coronation occurs later this week. For avid Royalists and Monarchy followers, the snippets released to the media of the plans for the event give a sense of how the Monarchy will demonstrate the extravagance, pomp, and ceremony that comes with a coronation, while apparently also trimming costs given the Cost of Living. One thing’s for sure; many of us will be watching out of curiosity given we have not seen a coronation in our lifetimes.

The coronation of King Charles might attract a few muffled protests, but most will celebrate or ignore the day. In Israel, a new day dawned as Samuel proclaimed and coronated Saul I as King of Israel. But it was an event that began with rebuke, continued with cowardice, affirmed God’s Law and sovereign hand, and ended with a show of division.

After Samuel anointed Saul as king, Saul returned home and kept quiet about the whole thing, possibly hoping it would all go away. But Samuel was led by God to give Israel what they desired, even if it was due to sinful motives.

So Samuel called together Israel at Mizpah for the great reveal (v.17). But before they got to the pleasantries, Samuel had a few words to speak from his sponsor.

Samuel had rebuked Israel for seeking a king previously, and once again took up the opportunity. Samuel reminded Israel that it was God who had freed them from captivity in Egypt, and brought them to the land they lived in (v.18). God was the one who ought to have led them. Yet they had rejected God and demanded a king like the nations, so now they would get their wish, whether they came to like it or not (v.19).

You can imagine the uproar if the Prime Minister, Archbishop of Canterbury, or Kanye interrupts the coronation with words of rebuke! Sometimes, though, direct speech is called for, and this was one of them.

To show that it was God providing the king as a form of judgement, Israel was sorted by lots through tribes, clans, and households until the private anointing of Saul was publicly revealed (vv.19-21). Where ordinarily punishment such as plague came, instead came a king. A king chosen by God (Prov. 16:33), not Samuel or a secret cabal. But where was Saul? 

When the callup came, Saul was not found. Israel asked if there was perhaps another brother among the sons of Kish, until God clearly told them “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage” (v.22).

Israel came and dragged out Saul, who stood head and shoulders above his subjects (v.23). Perhaps dripping with irony, Samuel then proclaimed “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people” (v.24)… Just like you wanted. Hiding in the baggage. What great leadership traits.

Despite this start, Israel recovered and shouted out “Long live the King!” (v.24).

After this, Samuel grounded King Saul and Israel by reminding them of the rights and duties of kingship (v.25), no doubt based on Deuteronomy 17. This reminded them all that, whatever Saul said and did, he was still subject to God’s reign and authority. As their earthly leader, Saul was responsible for ensuring that God’s People kept the law – God’s Law.

After this, Samuel sent everyone home (v.26). No celebratory bunting and street parties, from what we can tell (more like a Kiwi Coronation then?). But Saul’s coronation brought division to Israel; already, judgement had come. While some followed Saul home, “men of valour whose hearts God had touched” (v.26), some “worthless fellows” said “How can this man save us?” (v.27) and refused to acknowledge his reign.

This whole event clearly demonstrated God’s sovereignty over all. Israel was rebuked for their sinful rejection of God, and got the king they both deserved and desired; a good looking, tall, but cowardly fellow who hid among the baggage. One chosen by God, unambiguously, for his people.

It also reminds us that all leadership is subject to God and his Law. We also, even if the rulers are undeserving, are called to subjection to the extent their laws comply with God’s Law, and not to act like those “worthless fellows.” Samuel’s reign was initiated with a reminder of God’s Law, and that a good reign will come from good, godly leadership. This same truth applies to our earthly leaders today, and our spiritual leaders.

The division which Saul’s coronation brought is also a reminder of the division that came when another king, a better king, was revealed. Jesus’ ministry brought division, and as he died on the Cross for our sins some mocked him, suggesting that he could not truly save them if he could not save himself (Mark 15:31).

One day, Jesus will not hold his peace any longer as Saul did (v.27), but will return on clouds descending to reign eternally and end all opposition. Then all God’s People will truly sing praises and shout “Long Live the King”!

Read 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16

We live in an age of idealised leadership. We like our leaders to show certain characteristics; successful, charismatic, engaging, with a hint of the common touch. Youth is also seen as a distinct benefit, although depending on the situation the affable older man might still fit the bill. Competence is an optional extra. I also concede I am being slightly cynical. Slightly.

Israel in Samuel’s day were also looking for their own type of king, not the divine leadership which God provided. They wanted a king like the nations, and God granted them their request to teach them a lesson. But it was also a means of advancing his salvation plan. In Chapter 9 and 10 of 1 Samuel we are introduced to The People’s Prince, Saul, and see how God’s hand of providence leads Saul to a kingship he found when all he was looking for were some lost donkeys.

We are introduced to Saul by way of his lineage, which was not particularly distinguished (none are mentioned previously in the Bible) though Saul’s father had amassed substantial wealth (v.1). Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had a notorious past (Judges 19-21) but was usefully sat in the middle of Israel so could act as a negotiator between the northern and southern tribes.

Most important is the description of Saul. He was “a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (v.2). He was exactly the type of man that worldly Israel was looking for as king.

What follows is a providential description of how God caused Saul and Samuel to meet. Saul’s father lost some donkeys and sent Saul and a servant to find them (vv.3-5). Instead of returning empty-handed, Saul’s servant convinced Saul to visit a man of God for help, and providentially he had the right money to pay for services rendered (vv.6-13). Saul’s servant seems a better leader than Saul.

As they entered the city, they came upon Samuel (v.14)! Samuel knew that God was sending him a man from Benjamin to anoint as prince over Israel, and as Saul entered God pointed him out to Samuel (vv.15-17). However, Saul did not seem to recognise Samuel (v.18), not exactly a ringing endorsement of his spiritual life.

After identifying himself to Saul, Samuel told him not to worry about the donkeys which had been found (vv.19-20), compared to Saul himself with the characteristics which made him desirable to the elders of Israel (v.20). Saul was completely befuddled by Samuel’s statement of him, especially given his origins (v.21).

What then followed was Samuel wining and dining Saul; receiving a place of honour at a banquet, the best cuts, and a comfortable place to sleep (vv.22-26). 

In the morning, when Saul went to leave, Samuel told his servant to go on ahead so he could speak privately with Saul (vv.26-7).

At that point, Samuel anointed Saul with oil to recognise God’s anointing of him as leader, and kissed him to recognise kingly submission (10:1). To demonstrate that Samuel was not mad, he provided specific signs which demonstrated God’s providence (vv.2-7).

The third of these signs was that Saul would prophesy “and be turned into another man” (v.7) as God’s anointed one (messiah) to deliver Israel from the Philistines. When this happened, it came as such a surprise to Saul’s peers, who knew his family were not known prophets, to note the occasion (vv.8-13). “Is not Saul among the prophets” became a “wonders never cease!” idiom.

Yet despite all these events, and Saul’s prophetic utterances, he did not demonstrate a changed heart to do God’s will. Instead of acknowledging his anointing, he refused to tell his uncle anything other than that he had been to Samuel and been told the donkeys were found (vv.14-16). Instead, he seemed to slip back into his old life and ways, as if nothing had changed.

Saul was the ideal worldly leader. Handsome, tall, affable. Yet not a very good leader. He could not even find his father’s donkeys, let alone care for the flock. He was swayed by his servant’s opinions. He was the type of leader the world desires, but not one that seeks God.

While managerial types and CEOs might make attractive worldly leaders, they do not necessarily make good spiritual leaders. The world might like such, especially with a dash of youth, but the church requires godly, spiritual leadership by mature Christians who can teach. A bit of life experience does no harm either.

We can be swayed by the worldly ideal shown by Saul, or seek the divine example of Jesus. Jesus was the opposite of Saul in many ways, yet it was Jesus who defeated our enemies and whom God anointed eternal king. It is to Jesus that we should ultimately submit, serve, and follow, not worldly leaders who ultimately fail to lead us in paths of righteousness.

Read 1 Samuel 8:10-22

There is a well known idiom that there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes. That certainty is definitely advanced by the presence of the government in our lives. Before you flag me as an anarchist, and probably too late to avoid flagging on some security service list, God has given us government for our good; to restrain and judge the evildoer. But the government is full of sinners, and sinners corrupt everything.

The reality of kingship, and of government in general, is the focus of 1 Samuel 8. Israel sinfully wanted a king just like the nations around them, because they lacked trust in God to lead them and to fill the leadership vacuum which Samuel’s fast-approaching death would cause. Samuel passed on God’s warning about the nature of human leadership to Israel, for our benefit as well. To remind us of the sinful nature of human government, and to instead seek our solace in the sinless rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

When Samuel complained of Israel’s demand, God reminded him that they were rejecting God, not him, and told Samuel to “solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them” (v.9). Samuel did (v.10). The way of kings is described in terms of take and serve.

Firstly, the king will “take your sons” to serve in his armies, fight his battles, and die in his wars (v.11). When they were not busy fighting, some would be made to “plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots” (v.12).

Lest they think that only their sons were at risk, the king would also “take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers” (v.13). After all, that army, the king, and his court could not be expected to feed themselves.

Thirdly, the king would “take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants” (v.14) to reward them for their service.

Fourthly, the king and his closest advisers would need to be kept in the manner to which they were accustomed and entitled, and so he would “take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants” (v.15) on top of that given to God.

Then he would take “your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work” (v.16) so they could no longer work in their own fields for their own gain.

Finally, the king would stock his fields by taking “the tenth of your flocks” with the end effect after all this that “you shall be his slaves” (v.17) just as they were in Egypt. Then when they cried out to God, God would not answer them because they chose it for themselves (v.18).

One would think this warning was enough to scare off the Israelites, but no. Israel refused to listen and demanded a king to lead them in battle (vv.19-20). After once again bringing Israel’s words to God and being told to go ahead and give them their sinful heart’s desire, Samuel dismissed the elders, telling them to “Go every man to his city” (vv.21-2).

Essentially, if the Israelites did not want a divine king but wanted an earthly king like the earthly, pagan nations around them, they had to expect the consequences. They could not have their cake and eat it, too.

Worldly leaders are driven by ambition, and even the best of leaders who seek to “make a difference” with the best of intentions are flawed and corrupted by sin. The nature of worldly leadership is that compromises must be made, allegiances bought and sold. Appearances must be kept; MPs are too busy to mow the Parliamentary Lawn. At worst, as we see in many places the world over, corruption and self-enrichment is too easily attainable near the seat of power.

We cannot divorce ourselves from the government, we must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, even when Caesar is busy doing and paying for things sinful and objectionable (Mark 12:17). Neither, though, should we view government as the answer to all our problems, whether it is morality, economy, or society.

Yes, Christians can and should engage in political processes when available. But the state will not save the world; it cannot. It is tainted by sin, and sinful itself (Revelation 13). Given the chance, the state will seek that all worship it, like Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3) and Caesar did.

Instead, all must look to Jesus, the true king whose reign is sinless and selfless. Unlike sinful governments, Jesus’ reign is righteous, and Jesus did not take but gave of his own life so that we could reign with him now and in the eternal kingdom to come, enjoying the riches and blessings of God. It is to that man that we should bow the knee and serve.

Read 1 Samuel 8:1-9

What happens when leadership change happens among God’s People? All ministers are eventually called elsewhere, to a well-earned retirement, or home to glory. When these changes occur, do we seek God’s leading and timing or seek our own worldly solutions?

In 1 Samuel 8, a leadership crisis arose as Samuel grew old and his sons showed themselves unsuitable. So Israel sought a king, as the nations around them desired. Ultimately, this was a rejection of God’s leadership. It serves as a reminder that it is God who leads and provides leaders, because sometimes when we get what we want, it is not good for us.

Samuel’s leadership as a Judge over Israel led to decades of peace and prosperity, as he led them spiritually in worship of God (17:15-17). However, like all men, Samuel became old (8:1). The time of his leadership would come to an end. Who would fill the vacuum?

Worldly solutions often come first when problems arise. Samuel’s worldly solution was appointing his two sons, nobly named Joel (Yahweh is God) and Abijah (Yahweh is Father), as Judges in Beersheba (v.2). This was in the south of the country, away from Samuel’s rule. Sadly, his sons failed to live up to their names and Samuel’s example. “They took bribes and perverted justice” (v.3).

This all provided a convenient pretext for Israel to seek a king. While the elders of Israel should have prayed and waited on God to reveal the instrument of his leadership in Samuel’s place (just as God anointed Joshua to lead after Moses), instead they forced the issue themselves.

The elders met Joshua and told 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” (v.5). Since Samuel was old, and his sons were unworthy, Samuel needed to solve the looming leadership vacuum by appointing a king like the nations around.

Much like Samuel looking to a hereditary handover, the elders of Israel were looking to a worldly solution, and not to God to provide a way. They thought that the problems of Israel would be solved by an earthly autocrat; after all, it worked for all the other nations around them!

Not surprisingly, Samuel was unhappy with the elders for seeking a king (v.6). Unlike the elders, Samuel turned to God in prayer to seek an answer (v.6).

God’s answer may surprise us, considering that the elders were acting from a lack of trust in God to provide leadership. “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” (v.7). 

No doubt Samuel felt that he had failed in his leadership, considering he had for many years encouraged Israel to seek after God. But God pointed out that the rejection was not of Samuel and his leadership, but of God. Samuel had not failed in his service to God of leadership of Israel.

Instead, the rejection shown was just another in a long line stretching “from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods” (v.8).

God’s answer, funnily enough, was to “obey their voice” (v.9) and give Israel what it wanted. But not without warning them about the problems of kingly rule (v.9). Like a parent who sometimes lets a child have their way so that they learn the consequences, God would grant the elders their request as its own punishment.

God had foreseen the provision of a king in his Law (Deut. 17). However, the elders were asking with wrong motives. They needed to experience the wrong kind of king, so they would desire the right kind of king; the type who followed God’s ways, not man’s.

This passage deals with a reaction to a perceived leadership vacuum. Ultimately, God led his people, just as Jesus Christ is King and head of the Church. But it is natural, though generally driven from the same sinful desire to be like the world that Israel’s elders expressed, to seek worldly leadership solutions over God’s solutions.

The Church does not need CEOs, or appropriately “diverse” and “inclusive” leadership, or dynastic succession, it needs leadership by men who demonstrate the qualities God established (1 Timothy 3). It is our privilege to prayerfully identify these men and appoint them to the roles God has set them apart for, in God’s good timing.

Like Samuel, God will uphold those leaders, as he does any parent for that matter, who leads those under their charge Godward, not worldward. If children or church members reject God, that is on them, not on the faithful leader or parent.

God blesses us with faithful leaders, appointed by God, to direct us to Jesus our true king. This passage reminds us to wait on God to raise up and provide these leaders for us, not seek worldly leaders and ways.

Read 1 Samuel 7:2-17

It is a terrible thing to experience God’s displeasure and judgement. And yet, despite our sinfulness and our deserving of punishment, God graciously shows his love and affection for us. Through repentance of sin and faithfully seeking God, we enjoy renewed fellowship and the reminder of God’s repeated blessing in our lives and the lives of those who have gone before us.

For Israel, just as the Ark had returned to them, so too they needed to return to God. In 1 Samuel 7, Israel individually and corporately laments their sin, turn away from idols, and follow after God. As a result they experience God’s blessing in their lives, and spiritual blessing and direction from Samuel.

The Ark returned from the Philistines to Israel, and remained at Kiriath-Jearim for twenty years (v.2). As the years went by, the people mourned for their lost relationship with God (v.2).

Samuel, sent by God to lead God’s people, instructed the Israelites to turn from their sins. If they were returning “with all their heart”, they needed to “put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only” (v.3).

This was more than just intellectual and emotional assent. The foreign gods and the Ashtaroth were often associated with fertility of people and land. The “worship” practices associated with these deities involved sexual immorality. How sinfully, delightfully, convenient.

Therefore putting aside these gods meant not only stopping any idolatry, but also sexual immorality. It was turning from a way of life to pursue another way of life; one patterned after following God and his standard of living as revealed in the Law.

It was also to separate themselves from the practices of the world around them, which happily pursued the Baals and Ashteroth and the extracurricular activities associated with it.

If they did so, God promised that he would bless them. In that context, Samuel described this blessing as relief from the Philistines who oppressed them (v.3). Reflecting their lament and godly repentance, Israel turned from the worldly idols and turned to God (v.4).

To recognise this act of repentance, the people of God gathered at Mizpah where Samuel led them in a rite of confession. This involved prayer, fasting, and pouring out of water (perhaps as a symbolic act of cleansing) to God (vv.5-6).

For the Philistines, word that the Israelites were throwing off their gods and turning back to the one true God was not welcome news. They perceived it, perhaps rightly, as an Israelite revolt against their rule. So up they came against Israel, once again, to fight (v.7).

Unlike in Chapter 4 where Israel tried to blackmail God into helping them, this time Israel turned to God in prayer (v.8). Samuel, as their priest, offered a lamb as an offering and cried out to God for Israel’s deliverance (v.9). God heard. God acted, blasting the Philistines into confusion, so in a reversal of fortune the Israelites struck down the Philistines (vv.10-11).

To memorialise the event, Samuel raised a memorial at Mizpah called Ebenezer, or rock of help, because “Till now the LORD has helped us” (v.12). This rock not only pointed to God’s victory at Mizpah, but the long line of salvation experienced by God’s People over centuries.

Added to this blessing was freedom from the Philistines, who no longer entered their lands, and peace with the Amorites (vv.13-14).

The final verses of this text summarise Samuel’s career. Samuel judged Israel, and rotated the place of his religious and political leadership around the lands of Israel (vv.15-17). Unlike the previous judges, some of whom only judged a part of Israel, under Samuel the whole Israel came to be judged under one man.

The twenty years of Samuel’s leadership were years of plodding, rather than drama. That plodding reflects the Christian’s life. While we might have an occasional experience of religious high, that is not the norm.

Notice also the difference when God’s people trusted God by faith, rather than trying to blackmail God into supporting them.The same is true for us. If we trust in God by faith, then we can be sure that God will ultimately vindicate us from among the nations, and completely destroy our greatest enemies, sin and death.

Our trust in God to defeat sin and death is built up when we look at God’s many saving acts in history. Till now the LORD has helped us, by his work in our lives, his care for his church, his saving acts recorded in the Bible. Times like Easter where we especially remember Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection are our own “Ebenezer” that remind us of God’s help.

It is not easy to leave a sinful way of life and follow God’s design for life, trusting in him for salvation. But just as God was a rock of help to Israel in ages past, so too is God our rock of help, through Jesus Christ, today and into eternity.

Read 1 Samuel 6:1-7:2

All is not well in the world and its relationship to God. But that does not mean that all is right with the way the Church as a whole operates in its relationship to God either. If we are to truly worship God, then we should take care to worship him as he has revealed, not as we would like, or we may invite God’s displeasure.

In 1 Samuel 6 we see examples of the unbelieving world and God’s covenant people both offending God. The Philistines, suffering God’s judgement, sent the Ark back to Israel with their own ideas of what sacrifices might avert God’s wrath. Meanwhile the Israelites failed to treat the Ark as God had instructed them, and suffered the consequences. This reminds us to guide our lives and worship by God’s revelation, not our own thoughts, and to rely on Christ to stand in God’s holy presence.

Terror had swept the Philistine cities, as wherever the Ark of the Covenant went, sickness and death followed amongst the unbelievers there. After seven months, the people and their leaders had had enough (v.1). They asked their own diviners how to get rid of it, and hopefully the divine enemy they had made along the way (v.2).

Much like treating an offended spouse, the religious leaders of the Philistines suggested sending the Ark back with an offering to say sorry (v.3). While there was a great deal right with this statement, the suggested offering was not what God desired.

While God would have delighted in repentance, instead the religious leaders suggested making images of tumours and mice from gold and sending those back with the Ark (vv.4-5). It seems that while they had learnt from the lesson of Egypt in the Exodus (v.6), and recognised that a costly sacrifice had to be made, they did not recognise what was truly required. Mice were ritually unclean (Lev. 11:29), and tumours likewise.

To make sure it was definitely Israel’s God who had afflicted them, they suggested putting the Ark and offerings on a cart pulled by milk cows, who had never been yoked to a cart, with new calves to send it back (vv.7-9). The logic made sense – it is completely unnatural for such an animal to leave its newborn and pull a cart anywhere, unless by divine intervention.

Sure enough, the Philistine leadership did as advised, and the milk cows took the Ark straight to Israelite lands, to the town of Beth-Shemesh (vv.10-12). The Philistine leadership saw the Ark had gone back to Israel, heaved a sigh of hopeful relief, and went home (v.16). God, in his providence, chose to end things there (for then) with the Philistines.

Unfortunately, the Israelites also failed to follow God’s commands. The townsfolk of Beth-Shemesh were busy harvesting when the cattle appeared, and rejoiced when they saw the Ark returned to them (v.13). They quickly established an altar and offered sacrifices to God; it turns out in God’s providence that he Beth-Shemesh was a town assigned to the levites responsible for caring for the Ark (Num. 4, Josh. 21).

Except that for sacrifices, they offered the milk cows which carried the Ark back (v.14). Wrong move; only unblemished bulls were to be sacrificed as such (Lev. 1). Even worse, it seems that they turned the Ark, the golden mice, and the golden tumours (vv.15-18) into their own Hobbiton, despite God’s clear commands (Num. 4:20).

God was not amused, and struck down seventy townsfolk (v.19). Their response was not repentance, but like the Philistines: “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” (v.20). Get God away from us, they said!

Ironically, the Levites asked the folks of Kiriath-Jearim to take the Ark, which they duly did and set apart a man to take care of it (v.21-7:1). Kiriath-Jearim was a Gibeonite town, a town of Canaanites who had avoided destruction by deception during Joshua’s day but were subject to servitude (Josh. 9). Those non-Israelites were more faithful to God than their Israelite overseers, keeping it safe but not setting themselves up as a new priesthood (v.2).

The Gibeonite response is the response God seeks of his people. Not just joy and sacrifice, but the reverence and respect for God’s commands which comes by faith. After all, when confronted with the punishment for their offence against God’s holiness, Beth-Shemesh were just as quick as the pagans to reject God’s presence in apostasy and unbelief.

God’s holiness requires proper sacrifice and service, not like that offered by the Philistines or Beth-Shemeshites. In their day, the sacrifices established in the Law; which pointed forward to Jesus, the true sacrifice and sacrifice-maker for the sins of God’s People.

Jesus’ sacrifice turns away God’s wrath from us for offending his holiness, clothes us with righteousness, and enables us to offer our lives as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. That is how we can stand before a holy God.

Read 1 Samuel 5

It seems like the Church of Christ is on the back foot in the West today. Many treat the Church, Christians, and God’s standard of holiness and morality as a joke. Even many professing Christians casually and easily bow to the desires and pleasures of the day. We live in a Pagan culture; one where it is possible to despair for our children, each other, and the Church.

But despite the gloom, God still reigns and is in control. The gods of this age will be laid low, one way or another. It has happened before, it will happen again. It happened in Samuel’s day when the Ark of the Covenant was taken to the Philistine lands. There, the pagan Philistines learned that their idols were no match for God, and that God will send judgement on unbelievers for their rebellion against him. 

The defeat of Israel sent shockwaves through Shiloh. The Ark of the Covenant, the visual reminder of God’s special presence and relationship with his people, was taken. People tore their clothes and mourned, Eli the high priest died, and his daughter-in-law died in childbirth.

In Chapter 5, the fate of the Ark unfolds. As with armies everywhere, this prized possession was taken back as booty by the Philistines to one of their towns, Ashdod (v.1). There, they placed the Ark in the temple of one of their gods, Dagon, who seems to have been a fertility/agriculture idol (v.2). This followed the pattern of ancient cultures, where the captured idols and symbols of other nations were placed as “prizes” in the temples of the “conquering” god. In effect, the Philistines were saying that Dagon bet God.

God had other ideas. In the morning, Dagon’s statue was knocked over (v.3), lying prostrate before God’s Ark like a subject bowing down low before their king. God laid low the false god in front of the Ark which represented the presence of the One True God.

The Philistines “took Dagon and put him back in his place” (v.3), upright. But the next day, God took Dagon and put him back in his place – on the floor (v.4). With the head and hands chopped off. This act mirrored the ancient custom of chopping the hands and head off of slain enemies as macabre trophies. Years later, Dagon’s priests would not step on his temple threshold as a result (v.5).

The humiliations did not end there. God punished the idolatrous pagan Philistines of Ashdod by afflicting them with tumours (v.6), probably bubonic plague which in ancient times (up until recent years) was spread by rodents via ships.

The fine pagan folk of Ashdod could bear it no more and, perhaps hoping the problems were location-based, shipped off the Ark to Gath (vv.7-8). But God is not confined by city limits, and the problems simply moved to Gath with the Ark (v.9).

The People of Gath were not interested in death by plague, so they tried to pass the Ark onto the next major town of the Philistines, Ekron (v.10). The Ekronites immediately rebelled in terror: “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people” (v.10).

Wherever the Ark went, a terrible deadly panic fell on the idolatrous Philistines, along with bubonic plague and death (vv.11-12). God’s hand “was very heavy” (v.11) wherever the Ark was, bringing judgement on those who stood against God.

This event from the past has been repeated through history, whether in Babylon (Daniel 5) or in our own world today (though we refuse as a culture to recognise God’s heavy hand through means such as war and disease). One day, God has revealed that he will bring judgement on all the nations; on every nation and economic-cultural industrial complex throughout history which opposes his rule.

Ultimately, God is in control and quite capable of taking care of himself. Our job is not to “take back the nation for Christ” by political or other means but to worship God and proclaim the Gospel, and let God put the idols of our culture in their place.

We ought not to let the Church become easy prey for the culture to subvert to its own glory, offering false praise as bounty to its idols. Our call is to promote the peace and purity of the Church, starting with our own lives as part of the corporate body.

This passage reminds the world around us, whether they want to admit it or not, that God is in control. That Jesus sits at God’s right hand, having defeated sin and death. One day, Jesus will return to put all enemies under his feet, to break down every idol, and to bring deathly terror to every unrepentant sinner. Our job in the meantime is to announce the promise of God’s pardon to the world through faith in Christ, no matter how they receive it.

Even though they might think God is a joke today, one day they will not be laughing.