The Lord is King Forever

Introduction

We will be in 1 Samuel 8 today, however, before we go there open your Bibles to Psalm 10 starting in verse 16. That’s Psalm 10 verse 16.

We have studied about Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King.

Last time we saw a promise that the perfect Priest was coming.

This time we will consider who is King.

Lets read in Psalm 10:16-18.

Psalm 10:16–18 ESV

16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

The LORD is king forever, how seriously do we take this statement.

The Lord is a King that does justice and destroys evil.

Tonight as we read in 1 Sam 8 we will see the nature of an earthly king, and how they are men of terror.

To the degree a king (govt) reflects the holiness, righteous and just nature of God that king is a blessing to his people.

Go ahead and turn to 1 Samuel 8.

Last time we talked about the priest who has a sure house. In the beginning of chapter 8 here we will reinforce the understanding of why this is not referring to Samuel.

Last time there were evil priests this time there are even judges and the people think that have a better solution than God.

Sins Repeated

1 Samuel 8:1–9 ESV

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to 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.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And 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. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

They took Bribes, that is to say they perverted justice.

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.” (Ex 23:6–8, ESV)

Samuel falls into the same trap as Eli. Isreal reports the corruption of his sons and he does not address it.

The problem with asking for a King,

Not the King himself

“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.” (Deuteronomy 17:14–20, ESV)

The problem is that they are not content with God as judge. They didn’t say, let us have a king so he can do God’s judgement for us.

Interesting note from the passage from Deuteronomy 17: the theology of the king was to be approved by the Priest.

we are a kingdom of Priests, we will circle back to applying this thought later.

"they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Sa 8:7, ESV)

“According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods.” (1 Sa 8:8, ESV)

Transition

In verse 9 God tells Samuel to “solemnly warn them … show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” (1 Sa 8:9, ESV) As we examine verse 10 - 18 we will see that this man is the opposite of the King in Psalm 10. The king in Psalm 10 is a terror to the evil person. But the king we are about to read about is a terror to his own people.

The Profile of a Tyrant

1 Samuel 8:10–18 ESV

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “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. 12 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 the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you.” (1 Sa 8:11, ESV)

Lets compare these ways, as we go, with King Jesus.

“he will take your sons” For war, for work,

Christ uses us for work that he has prepared before hand and for a war he has already won.

“daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers” (1 Sa 8:13, ESV)

Christ gives us wife from his daughters, he gives them even though they are his.

Understand wives and young ladies that will be wives some day if the LORD wills, you are give to be a help meat, there is much to this little compound word Help-meet from scripture. Understand the it is a high and noble calling, far higher and nobler than any service to corperation or an government.

The best of the fields, the oil, the wine, servants and donkeys, “and put them to his work.” (1 Sam 8:16, ESV).

Christ says you are mine. the whole world is mine, by right, as I am its creator, and guess what, you come and work for me and I will I give you rest.

My yoke is easy Christ says,

My burden is light

“in that day you will cry out because of your king” (1 Sa 8:18, ESV)

They would cry out because of their king.

We cry unto our king and he hears and he does and he gives rest.

Transition

They were warned but they did not listen. Farther proof of how hard their hearts were. Well did the LORD say through Moses “ Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” (Dt 10:16–17, ESV)

The people said to Samuel, look your sons are not just. So, give us another ruler, rather then seeking God’s rule. Instead of turning to the one who is the essences of Justice, they said, we want man’s justice. Verse 19 “But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel.” (1 Sa 8:19, ESV).

A Stubborn Heart Leads to Destruction

1 Samuel 8:19–22 ESV

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Verse 20 is at the heart of the matter.

“our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Its not God appoint a king that will judge us a you lead.

Its not God you fight our battles and lead us, if it be your will, with a king

“Obey their voice and make them a king.”

You want a king, fine, God says.

Paul said, in Romans 13, "For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Ro 13:3–4, ESV).

We see there is a context to Paul’s words

Godly rulers are not a terror to good conduct

Godly rulers are terror to bad conduct

It is God the King, who has already defined the good and the bad

when our government betrays God definitions of good and bad we are headed for tyranny

It was this understand that lead the founding father to regent the legitimacy of King Georges Government.

It was not founded on the principle demanded by the creator.

Sadly the more perfect union lost its once held unity.

Yes, brothers I am saying that we are to oppose, resist, and over-though, with force only when absolutely necessary, any government that opposes God’s decrees.

Its not okay that it is legal to murder babies in the womb

It is not okay that God’s definition of marriage is not upheld

Its not okay that doctors with and without parents consent pump prepubescent children with puberty blockers and hormones in an attempt to change the decree of God for the gender of that child.

Its not okay the bribe and corruption run to the highest levels of our governmental system.

The King, the King the reigns for ever, the King above of all other kings has spoken and the magistrates are responsible to conduct government as he has decreed.

You can insist that our government be run according to God’s rules, or you can have tyranny. There is no middle ground.

Conclusion

Next time we will being to see the good that God has planned from their evil. The good comes in a man named David, the son of Jesse, the great great great, grandfather of Jesus the true king.

Benediction

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20–21, ESV)