Reluctant King
Notes
Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
D. Relevance of the text
I. Lord Reminds the People
I. Lord Reminds the People
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah.
18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
Samuel calls them to Mizpah the place of revival in
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
But how quickly they have come to forget
Did you know that you and I often don’t handle the truth from God very well. We hear the word, it goes into our ear and our brain actually takes it in but at the same time we often just disregard what has been said and move on with our lives as though we didn’t hear a thing at all from him.
You do this with people as well. Someone speaking to you and as they talk you are thinking of what you want to say or you think about your list of things to do and in the meantime you brain heard the words but didn’t take anything in at all. This is a good time not to make eye contact with anyone and husbands disregard the elbow you are feeling at this moment.
Be honest for a moment and think about how often you treat the Lord this way. Look at what God has to tell his people.
a. What God did
17-18
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah.
18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
The setting of the passage is Mizpah and Samuel has gathered the people together to hear from the Lord. We know the people have asked for a King and the day has come that God will share with the name of the King. Thing about the moment as if you are a Israelite Gathering to hear the Lord.
God reminds the people of his faithfulness to them at all times. “I brought us Israel out of Egypt” “I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians” The Lord reminds the people of the Exodus. How important that time period is in the life of his people. God expressed his love for his people in building them into a nation in Egypt but then calling them out so that they might worship him. It was a work done by God not his people.
5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
The Lord delivered them from the Egyptians and has continued his faithfulness ins saving them from others as well.
Cushan-rishathaim
8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
Eglon
14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
The people in no way could ever say that God failed them not one time. That is the absolute truth. God was faithful always despite HIS people
B. What people did
19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
“you have rejected” “you have said set a King over us”
God has brought this to this location and told them the truth once more that they might never come to him with the claim of “If we had only known we would have never asked for a King.” What God is about to do in setting a king over them is a judgment upon the people because they are telling God he is not enough. It is a sad place in our hearts when we reject God in this way and simple want our Sin more than the goodness of God.
Remember all this starts because the way the people of Israel see the sons of Samuel and their inability to lead well. The people desire to dispose of God leadership in their life and obtain a someone they can look at and feel like all the other nations. Do you want to know what it comes down to? thanks for asking…It comes down to the people don’t want the truth from God because it show them just how rotten they are at the core of who they are day to day. Repeat…Ever been there? God gives you HIS word and you hear it but just don’t want it.
The King and King and Lord of Lords is going to use even this moment to direct the path the the true King of Israel and at the same time bring judgement upon a people who have decided they don’t want him. Your God is a multi-tasker, not waiting on you to accomplish what he desires.
T.S. The Lord proclaims his work and his covenant Love to his people despite themselves and selects the king in vs. 20.
II. Lord selects the king
II. Lord selects the king
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.
21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
God guides Samuel to draw lots before the people of Israel. He has already informed Samuel:
15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel:
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”
All of Isreal will find out in the drawing of lots.
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
Lots where used to find the guilty:
16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
To divide the land
2 Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes.
The providence of God put on display before the people would bring them to the son of Kish.
22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
Put yourself in the moment again. We are all anticipating the moment when we will find out who the King is among all the people and we get down to the name and _________…have you seen the Son of Kish? No, I have not seen him all day in fact. Lord? Where is the son of Kish? The people who don’t want to rely upon God but instead want an earthly king not only need God to pick the King but they also need him to find that king because they don’t know where they put him. You can’t make this stuff up. How badly do the Israelites need God? They need him for everything.
Sound familiar? John 15:5
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
The King that they desire is hiding among all the baggage. The great leader that will be all that we want in a leader and who will get rid of the Philistines and make us look like the other nations…is hiding. Oh how many Kings get their start this way.
My question is does Saul not know? Was what God showed him by the mouth of Samuel and the signs that he experienced not enough? What about the Spirit that came upon him to perform this very task, yet he is hiding. MEET YOUR KING ___Saul. Not exactly the way to start. They have to go get their King from the baggage and drag him to be in front of everyone. When they do get him their he is the tallest among them again. Great credentials to be king. His resume read looks the part and hides well among the baggage. Of course this is the man God would pick to be their king it is obvious.
T.S. Now we see the people respond to who God has chosen to lead them
III. The people respond
III. The people respond
24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.
Long Live the king! Sounded much better than Long live the hiding guy we found amongst the baggage.
vs. 25 shows you the kindness of God towards his people in spite of themselves. God even directs them in the standards for the new kingship. Much like:
14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’
15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’
17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them,
20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
This is also another reminder that Saul is still responsible to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.
27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
Some let by God follow Saul home as King to be his men. Others in vs. 27 ..worthless fellows..(we have heard this before in 1 Samuel) Saul may be king but he has already brought division in Israel. These worthless fellows say simply what can he possible do for us. From and earthly -fleshly mindset that would make sense.
Fallen Humanity refuses to recognize any should rule over it. Gen 37:8 (Expository Commentary)
Joseph
8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.