United Kingdom 1

Introduction & Review

Tonight we are continuing our series journeying through the Bible

last week we did not meet because of thanksgiving break

Let’s review real quick so that we all understand where we are in the story

God called Abram to leave his father’s house, and God was going to show him a land, and make him a great nation, and God said that he was going to bless the world through Abram’s family

We followed Abram’s sons as they worked through how to carry the promise that had been made to Abram

Joseph was sold into slavery, he finds favor in Egypt, and his family grows into a nation, the nation of Israel

Israel is enslaved in Egypt, God frees them in the events of the Exodus, God makes a covenant with the nation of Israel, that they will be His people and He will be their God

the people wander in the wilderness for 40 years learning what it means to rely on and obey God

then they enter the promised land under the leadership of Joshua

Israel does well in the land, but then they get comfortable and they take their eyes off of God

we saw the cycle of redemption, where God’s people love God and He blesses them, then they get comfortable and turn from Him, then God removes His blessing from them, then they suffer and cry out to God, and He hears them and rescues them

Transition to Kingdom

Now we are going to pick our story back up, and we are going to talk about one of the biggest changes in the history of Israel

up to this point, the people of Israel have been led by God pretty directly

God spoke to the people from mount Sinai at the covenant, God parted the red sea, God spoke to Moses, God spoke to the judges, God fought the battles going into the promised land for the people

At this specific moment, God was leading the people through a prophet named Samuel

In 1 Samuel 8 we see Samuel get old, and he is ready to make his sons judges over Israel

but his sons did not follow the Lord

this had happened before

actually the guy before Samuel, Eli, had sons who were not following God

but when Eli’s sons were bad, God gave them Samuel

God took care of it, God was leading and taking care of His people

But this time, the people of Israel didn’t trust that God would do that again, they took things into their own hands

1 Samuel 8:4–5 CSB

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

the people decided that they didn’t want to be led by God anymore, they didn’t want to be different anymore

they wanted a king like all of the other nations have

this is a really big deal, because they are basically saying that they don’t like or trust the way that God has been doing it

what is Samuel’s response to the people

1 Samuel 8:6–18 CSB

When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.” Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them for his work. He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”

Samuel tells them that they can have a king like the other nations have, but they are also going to have the consequences that the other nations have

they can have a king, but that king is going to have them

they can trust a king, but is that king going to be trustworthy?

God has been their leader, and He has been trustworthy

This king can be a good leader, but he will also have the power to take the people’s sons and make them soldiers

he can take their land as his own, he can take their daughters, he can take their money

he can lead the people not to their own good, but to his own good

God doesn’t do this, God is a good leader and always wants what is best for His people

So basically Samuel is saying you guys can have a king, but you are going to get a king with the risk of all of this stuff happening

as my dad would say “you are making this bed, and you might have to lay in it”

the people don’t listen to Samuel, and they keep demanding a king

they even say “We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like al the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles”

this is a really big deal, because they have always said that God goes out before them and fights their battles

Saul

so Samuel gives them what they want, they get a king and his name is Saul

Saul was chosen to be king

he had some really good outward characteristics, but his heart had some issues

1 Samuel 9:2 CSB

He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man. There was no one more impressive among the Israelites than he. He stood a head taller than anyone else.

Saul was impressive, he looked like what the people were looking for

they wanted someone to go fight their battles, so get the guy who is a foot taller than everybody else

But Saul’s heart was conflicted

it wasn’t straight up bad, but it was conflicted

When Samuel anointed Saul king, Saul was insecure and self-doubting

he said that he was from the weakest tribe

He was hesitant about the calling that God had for him

1 Samuel 10:16 “Saul told him, “He assured us the donkeys had been found.” However, Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.”

there was a public ceremony for the people to see Saul made king, and Saul hides from them

1 Samuel 10:22 “They again inquired of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” The Lord replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.””

So the people wanted a king, and they wanted him to look a certain way because that is what other nation’s kings looked like

but they didn’t care about the heart of Saul

If we think about our own lives, I think that there is something that we can learn here

God had made a way for Israel to live and do well, and that was follow Him

But they started looking to the world for their path to success

when they looked at how the other nations worked

God has given us a recipe for success, but how often do we fail to trust His plan and we start looking at what the world says will make us successful

but a lot of people look at a life like that and think that they know a better way

they need anger to get ahead in life or in sports

they need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend in order to be happy or socially successful

they need to have all of the best shoes, all of the best clothes

they need to be the best possible athlete in order to be happy and successful

whatever it is that you are trusting to give you success or happiness, if it is not Jesus then it is going to let you down

you can try to do those things, be those things, have those things, but you are going to also have to deal with the consequences of those things being on the throne of you heart

if you are going to put everything that you have into being an athlete, you have to be ready for that to take up your time, your energy, your money, and know that it may let you down

we all have 5 core needs when it comes to who we are

Security: Who can I trust?

Identity: Who am I?

Belonging: Who wants me?

Purpose: Why am I alive?

Competence: What do I do well?

if you are going to trust you athletic ability then you trust yourself,

you are an athlete,

Who can I trust: I can trust myself and my athletic ability

Who am I: I am a star athlete, I am the best

Who wants me: My teammates want me, my coaches want me, my parents are proud of me for my athletic success, girls want me because I am an athlete, my friends want me because I am an athlete

Why am I alive: I am here to be a great athlete

What do I do well: I am a great athlete

What happens when you get a season or career ending injury? What happens when somebody moves in who is better than you? What happens when you just aren’t that good anymore?

all of your identity comes crumbling down, and you don’t know who you are anymore

if you put your identity in a romantic relationship

Who can I trust: I can trust my boyfriend or girlfriend

Who am I: I am that person’s partner

Who wants me: My partner does, and other people see that I am their partner

Why am I alive: I am here to be their partner

What do I do well: I am a great partner

what happens when that person moves away, or that person cheats on you, or that person just doesn’t like you that much anymore?

now all of those questions are left unanswered

When we let God answer those questions, we get some very different answers

Who can I trust: I can trust the God of the universe, the God who made me and knows me better than I know myself.

Who am I: I am a child of God, known and loved by Him.

Who wants me: God wants me, not because of anything that I do to deserve it. He wants me because He loves me.

Why am I alive: I am alive to love God, and help others know and feel the love that God has for them.

What do I do well: Whatever God wants me to do, and He is going to give me the power to do it.

Israel trusted in a king, and when the biggest moment came, that king failed them

when the giant named Goliath came to defeat Israel, who should have been the one to fight Goliath?

the guy who stands a foot taller than everybody, the king that will go before Israel and fight their battles

But when Goliath comes, Saul is afraid and hides from the battle

because his identity was built on himself

but as we know with that story, there is somebody in Israel who doesn’t trust themself, they trust God

Next week we will hear about the king that comes and trusts God

But for you, I ask you “what do you trust?”

do you trust your way, the worlds way?

do you think that you need all of the things that other people have in order to be happy?

do you compare yourself to other people to see if you have enough?

or do you trust God?

do you believe that God is giving you everything that you need? Do you believe that God is going to take care of you better than you or anybody else can?

you can want and get the things of the world, but you have to accept that you are also going to get the consequences and pain that comes with it.

or you can trust in God’s way and get the security and fulfillment that comes with it.

the choice is yours, you can make your bed in the things of the world or the things of God

which place do you want to find your rest?