09(1Sam 08) SS Lesson - Israel Demands a King

I.       Like all the nations (1 Sam 8:5).

A.     They saw the answer to their problems in the apparent success of their neighbors.

B.     They wanted what their neighbors had.

II.    This displeased Samuel (1 Sam 8:6).

A.     Knowing this would be sin, Samuel first goes to the Lord.

B.     Leadership demands an allegiance to God that will cause one to take any decision to Him, especially adverse decisions to His will.

III. Jehovah grants their request (1 Sam 8:7-9).

A.     Not every answered prayer is the result of God’s will.

§  God may even grant the request to discipline.

§  Don’t look to circumstances to determine His will, look to His word.

B.     Yet, God does not abandon them.

§  He did not abandon them in and after Egypt.

§  He will not abandon now, though there will be discipline.

IV.  What they are asking for (1 Sam 8:10-17).

A.     They are asking to be enslaved by the whims of a powerful tyrant.

B.     They are asking to exchange their freedom under the Lord for more bondage.

V.     Samuel foretells their reaction, and God’s response. (1 Sam 8:18).

A.     The people will one day see their folly, and cry to God to repair it.

B.     He tells them now, that He will not bail them out of this decision.

VI.  The people ignore Samuel’s warning (1 Sam 8:19-22).

A.     They would not study Samuel’s message.

B.     Their impulse was greater than their reasoning.