Samuel was one of the Judges of Israel. In fact, he was the last Judge of Israel. For Israel a Judge was not just a legal authority. A Judge did just adjudicate legal disputes, but he or she was also a religious, spiritual leader and often a military leader and there was a famous judge named Deborah who was known for both her spiritual and military leadership. Different judges were remembered for different strengths. Part of Israel’s self definition was that they had these Judges instead of having a king. They were not a monarchy like so many other nations. They were a loose confederation of tribes who had a common history of liberation by their God, Yahweh from slavery in Egypt. They considered themselves distinct and different from all the other people all around them in the region. Their king was their God. Their God was their king. Judges, priests or prophets only served specific purposes for specific needs. God was the ultimate authority.
But in our passage today something is changing. The elders of Israel are approaching Samuel and demanding a king.
They want a king it says “in order to be like other nations.” They no longer want to be distinct. They want to be the same. It is also generally accepted by scholars that at this time in history Israel was facing a growing and increasingly urgent military threat from their neighbors to the west, the Philistine. The elders probably sought to appoint a king to unite the tribes of Israel militarily to defend them against the Philistine threat. But, again, this is a big deal for Israel not just politically but theologically and we see that in the passage. We hear it directly from the mouth of God. God says to Samuel, that by asking for a king the people of Israel have not rejected Samuel, they have rejected God. Asking for a king is a rejection of God. The God who liberated them from slavery, provided for them in the wilderness, led them to the promised land is now not enough to protect them from the Philistines.
God’s words are rather remarkable here for two reasons. First, God indicates strong disproval for the idea of a king but also tells Samuel to go ahead and appoint one. There is an implicit description here of free will. Though God does not want Israel to appoint itself a king, though God feels rejected by the choice, God does not stand in the way. Yahweh wants the people to understand the consequences of their choices but will not force them into a certain kind of spiritual relationship.
The willingness of Yahweh to let the people choose a king is remarkable but even more remarkable is the warning that Samuel gives to the people of Israel about what a king will do to them. This is the most anti-monarchy statement in the Bible. And considering that later kings like David and Solomon probably had some say in the final edit of this narrative, its pretty amazing that this anti-monarchy statement survived. The statement is detailed, explicit and clear. Let’s here the warning again, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you; he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.”
The subject and predicate “he will take” is repeated six times in Samuel’s warning to the people. He will take your sons. He will take your daughters. He will take your best fields and vineyards. He will take one-tenth of your grain. He will take your male and female slaves. He will take one-tenth of your flocks. But, the most stinging warning Samuel offers the people is that the king will make them slaves. So the people will trade the God who liberated from slavery in Egypt and create a king who will enslave them in their own country. That is the choice the people are making, but they refuse to listen to the warning.
Then they add something to the original reason for wanting a king. At first it says they wanted a king in order to be like other nations. But, now they say, “We want our king to go out before us and fight our battles.” In other words there is an enemy out there. There is a threat out there. We feel insecure. We are afraid. And we no longer trust God to protect us from that threat. We want a king. We want a military. We want them to protect us.
There are certainly political ramifications for this passage in modern day. We can look at what happened after 9/11 in this country and the way people quite suddenly cast aside concern for civil liberties and entertained the legitimacy of torture and gave the government more power because there were terrorists out there and we were afraid. Faced with great fear and threat we were suddenly more willing to have the government go out and fight our battles for us wherever they said the enemy might be. Yet Samuel correctly points out that it is not the king who goes out and fights the battles for the people. The king takes the people and the people’s children and orders them fight the actual battles. So at some point the question becomes, “Is the king protecting the people or are the people protecting the king?”
We could also hear in Samuel’s warning a general anti-government, anti-tax message. But, if we look carefully Samuel’s warnings are not just about a king who is taking from the people for worthy causes, but on the contrary a king who is simply enriching himself and a chosen few. Samuel is not describing a government that imposes taxes and uses those taxes for the good of all the people. He is describing corruption, greed and oppression. You can decide where our government falls on that scale. However, Samuel clearly sees a slippery slope when it comes to abdication of individual liberty in favor of government power.
But, the core message of the passage can be found in the words of God. God says to Samuel, “These people have rejected me from being king over them.” Their choice is a spiritual one. Their problem like so many of our problems is a spiritual one. It seems like so many spiritual matters come down to whether we are obeying or disobey the first two commandments. “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me. And, you shall not make an idol and worship it.” Or to phrase that differently in the form of a question, “Who really liberates us from our fears?” “Who really liberates us from slavery?” “Who is a Sovereign ruler that will never oppress us but instead will lifts us up?” Is it a king? Is it a material possession? Is it a substance we ingest? No. It is only Almighty God. Only God makes us free. Only God liberates from our slavery. Only God will never oppress us if we offer our loyalty and faith.
The difference between God and any other king whether it is a human king or a non-human power to which we give our allegiance, is that all other kings take, take and take, but God asks. With God we always have a choice. Other kings demand allegiance. God requests our faith. Other kings enforce laws. God enfolds us with love.
Recently during bedtime with Marin she has been sharing things that she thinks are really important. The reason she does this is because she likes to talk and ask questions when its time for bed so she can stay up later. After she is in bed and supposed to be sleeping she will call to us with some urgent question like, “What is yellow?” or “Why do we have hair?” So we tell her that it is bedtime and she needs to save those questions for morning. So now when it was time for the last good night she has started saying she has one more thing and it was really important. And now every night she tells us things that are really important. And Sasha has started writing them down. For example, “Wait Dad one more thing, this is really important, “You should never eat flowers or sticks. Sticks taste yuckier than flowers.”" “Wait, one more thing, its really important, “You should never jump on your bed unless its a trampoline bed.”" or “You should never go into a tiger or lion’s cage because they might eat you up.” Well one day I was driving home from school with her and she was asking about kings. What are kings? And I explained that kings are people who tell you what to do and you have to do what the king says. Kings can tell all the people in a whole country what to do and they have to obey.” She said, “What if you don’t do what the king says?” and I said, “Then he will throw you in the dungeon or he might chop off your head.” “Really? I don’t want a king.” Well she must have thought about that some more because Sasha was putting her to bed that night and she said, “Wait, Mom, one more thing. This is really important, “You should never go to kings who will cut off your head if you don’t do what they say.”
Marin understands what the people of Israel did not. Kings take, but God asks. Kings demand, but God suggests. Kings command, but God guides. If we say no to a king, we might get our head chopped off. If we say no to God, God keeps asking until we say yes. If we walk away from a king we are captured and imprisoned. If we walk away from God, God keeps following until we turn around and embrace. If we reject a king, we are forced to submit. If we reject God, God accepts us still. If we disobey a king we should fear for our life. If we disobey God, God forgives and offers new life. If we have a conflict with a king we will lose. If we have conflict with God, God reconciles with us through Christ.
The temptation will always be to choose a king for some kind greater tangible security. A strong military. A powerful government. An advanced security system. A loaded weapon. A pile of money. A temporary high. A prideful disposition. Anything to make us feel safe. But, fear is an insatiable despot. It will ultimately enslave us. Only God offers true security. Only God offers true freedom. Only God liberates. Only God offers salvation from our fear. Believe the good news. Only God is worthy of our loyalty and faith.
