You Don’t Know What You’re Asking (1 Samuel 8)

When my kids were younger. Special occasions like birthdays like Christmas and birthdays – Money. Small bills. And they’d love to carry around their money in case they saw something they wanted to buy. And there would often be times where I needed small bills, but I didn’t have anything but large bills. So I’d go to my kids – if you give me those 3x $1 bills, I’ll give you a $10, 20, 100 bill. And they would look at me as if I were trying to cheat them. Why would they give up several $1 bills for just one bill? Quantity over quality. For whatever reason, they didn’t trust me. Mom – tell them. If they only knew what I was offering them, they would have taken it immediately. So sometimes, jokingly, if they got a larger bill as a gift – I would offer them 5x $1 bills and ask them to trade their $20 bill to me. And of course they were freely willing to make that deal because they didn’t know what they had. (Don’t judge me. I didn’t really do it.)

Context: We’re going to see Israel do something similar in chp. 8 today – Where they’re willing to trade and give up something so much better, greater for something far worse. They’re unwilling to let go of something so little to get something much greater because of their lack of faith and understanding. 

Now, there’s a meaningful time gap between chapters 7 and 8, but the author has placed the two chapters next to each other like this on purpose…In chp. 7 – the ark of God comes back to Israel. Israel repents of their sin and returns back to the Lord. And God defeats Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. So they set up a rock – Ebenezer – to memorialize the help of God. So every time they see the rock they’re reminded of God’s unfailing faithfulness to his people.

Text: 1 Sam. 8 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.”

Again – Context: Judges – There was no king… Two aspects: 1) There was no man king for Israel like the other nations of the world. And it wasn’t supposed to be a problem. 2) But it was a problem – There was a king – God was their king.Indictment against the people of God. The people rejected God as king. So they acted as if God wasn’t king over his people. And everyone did what was right in their own eyes – own kings. – Disaster.

Now, why did Israel want a king? Well, at first glance, their request seems reasonable. Israel’s leaders are understandably concerned about Samuel’s sons – They didn’t follow God’s ways like Samuel and Israel didn’t want to stray away from God. But in trying to safeguard themselves from walking away from God, they do the very thing that rejects God – they demand for a king to rule over them.

One problem with their demand – They presume to know what’s best for them. – They don’t first consult God. – God, what should we do? You lead us. You tell us. Instead – Give us what we want right now. Like a child, without thought, without consideration of the costs.

What are you demanding from God? Do you know what you’re asking for? You might think it’s good for you. You may want it really badly. You may feel like you can’t live without it. Good question/test. – Does what you’re asking for make you more like the world or more like God? 

And did you catch why they wanted a king over them? They wanted to be like all the other nations. Why would Israel want to be like all the other nations? Their God was greater, more powerful, more faithful. God had never failed them. He’s never given them any reason to doubt his goodness or his faithfulness to them. 

You can sum up so much of our problems today with what we see with Israel here. Problem – We presume to know what’s best for us apart from God and we want to be like world. Instead of like God. – DANGEROUS. DISASTROUS.

Remember in chp. 5 – The Philistines, one of the other nations, how the presence of God overpowered their gods and terrorized them…Why would you trade down for something lesser? Why would you want to be like them? It makes no sense. – But it’s the same temptation and mistake we often make – We want to be like the world. We choose the world over God. We choose death over life. We look for security, identity, belonging, joy, purpose, fulfillment, love in all the wrong places. We look for it in all the places except for in God – The one who can give us all those things.

Ways we choose to be like the world – Ways we live like the world – We prioritize, treasure, and live for: 

–Bank Accounts – My future is secure because I have enough money to weather the storm. To live a comfortable life.

–Career – If I put in the work, my future is bright and promising. Once I get the right job, I’ll be satisfied.

–Possessions – If I have enough stuff or the right stuff, I’ll be happy.

–Politics – As long as the right leaders are in place, they’ll make all the changes necessary to make my life better.

Now, these are not at all bad things. But if the answer to what is your hope/treasure, where do you find our identity/security, what do you need to have joy in this life – is primarily one of these things and not God, you’ve got it all wrong. If you can’t say even if I have none of these things, I’ve still got an unshakeable faith and joy in God – you’ve got your loves disordered – and you’re living like the world.

And Samuel prayed to the Lord. (What Israel’s leaders should have done before demanding a king) 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.”

Problem: Forgetfulness that leads to forsaking God. Amnesia. Problem as old as Ge. 3 – The Fall – I don’t want what you have to offer. I want something else. I don’t want you. – Why did they feel like something was missing? Like they needed more? That God was withholding something from them? Everything was good/perfect.

God had always provided – Egypt, Samuel, Ebenezer…

In their demand for a king to be like the other nations – Israel was making a clear statement – God you are not enough. Forget what you’ve done in the past. You’re not enough for the present moment and the future. Not confident that you can be trusted, that you will provide, that you will see us through. So we want what they have.

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.”

Notice all the repetition? Over and over again – “He will take” (6x) and everything will “his” (12x). – All earthly kings do is take from you.

Think about this – Is this a good deal for Israel? Absolutely not! – You should vote for me as your next president/leader/pastor…I really have no desire to serve you. Instead I want you to serve me. And I expect to be served, to receive, and I will take what’s yours to benefit me – your money, your resources, your family…What do you get out of it? Don’t worry about that. It’s not about you. It’s really all about me. – Who in the world would want a leader like that? – You’d have to be out of your mind.

Israel is not tricked. They’re not sold a bunch of lies. They know exactly what they’re getting into. Reader – No! Don’t do it! You don’t know what you’re asking for! You’re not in your right mind! Listen to the warning!

And that’s the point isn’t it. – That we all do this. We will trade away, we will freely give up what is better for what will lead to our devastation and death. God – no thanks. If you’ll just mind your own business, keep your mouth closed, while I do my life – And I’ll let you know if I need you to step in.

Do you feel like the way you’re living, what you’re living for – you’re giving and giving and giving but you’re not getting anything in return? Not working? Be honest with yourself – Is the way you’re living – Are you joyful? Are you fulfilled? Are you…? If you’re honest – You feel like with the effort you’re putting in, you should be good/thriving. But if anything you feel more hopeless and empty. Your life feels like death. You’re giving, giving, giving – The world is taking, taking, taking. Depleted. Like you’re getting nothing in return and have nothing left to give.

That’s what earthly/worldly kings do – They take everything from you. Not just talking about people – idols – anything you put in the place of God – even good things that you make god things. And it leads to despair and hopelessness. Drains the life out of you. And it doesn’t just affect you – your family, your kids, everything.

Admit – Sometimes we ask for things we don’t know what we’re really asking. We don’t know what’s best for us. Humility to acknowledge. So yes, it can be frustrating that God is seemingly not answering your prayers. But would it be loving to you for God to say yes to all your demands if it’s not good for you? Then God would be unloving.

How do we discern what’s good for us?

–Word – Truth. Life. If you feel like God is not speaking to you, it might be because your Bible has been closed. How do you know what/how to pray? Scripture. The most effective prayers you can pray – are the ones in Scripture – the promises of God. Always, YES.

–HS – Not your heart or a gut feeling… Always in line with Scripture.

–God’s People – Samuel. Kept me from disaster. Called me out after I’ve done and said stupid stuff. – Last week.

But sometimes we just go get what we want. And no one is going to stop us. Anyone else stubborn like that? Where is this true in your life? You feel like you have to take control. Take things into your own hands. Because you don’t trust God. Worry/Anxious about the future.

Kids – Helicopter parent. Kids in bubble wrap.

Job – Overwork

Reputation – Please everyone. Make everyone happy. People pleaser.

Success – Take advantage of. Whatever it takes to get to the top.

Money – Cheat, steal. OR Stingy. Don’t give generously. 

A lot of times we grow impatient with God – I’ve waited long enough – God hasn’t given me what I wanted. So I’m going to (Two things) : 

–Settle – Less than. Spouse.

–Compromise – Values.

And inevitably your family/marriage/life falls apart – Cause you’ve lived your own way. You’ve made your own life decisions apart from God. And then people are shocked when things don’t work out. They’re shocked when their life is a mess.

God says, at least to Israel here, when you’ve messed things up, don’t come back crying to God and blaming him for the mess you got yourself into. (Different from repentance.) – God, why did you let this happen to me? I’ve seen people come to counseling over and over for this – They made terrible decisions, they ignored wise counsel, they closed their bibles, and they blamed God for the consequences of their terrible decisions.

Waiting on God never leads to disappointment. But getting ahead of God and trying to make things happen on our own only leads to disaster. Kids asking for help – Why couldn’t you wait just 1 second???

Again, I want to come back to the heart of why Israel is rejecting God and asking for a king. Because it’s more than just wanting to be like the other nations. It’s more than just forgetting the faithfulness of God. Israel – We want a king over us because you, God, are unable to give us the protection, provision, security that we desire. We have to find it somewhere else. And we’re willing to pay a hefty price for it. 

What Israel is saying here is – I want what’s safe. I want what I can see, touch, feel, with my own hands. And I can’t do that with God. I can’t see God. So I don’t trust God – not because he hasn’t always been faithful – But because I don’t have faith. I don’t have the faith to trust he is with me and will take care of me. That’s the real problem isn’t it? – It’s not God. It’s their lack of faith. So they want to trade the invisible power of God for the visible weakness of an earthly king. The problem: The invisible God has always been faithful to his people. While the visible king will be faithful just to himself.

Faith – Even if it looks different from the rest of the world – all the rest of the nations have a king to lead, protect, and fight for them, even if it feels risky, even if I can’t put my hands on it and touch it – I’m going to trust God’s power and faithfulness because my God is in the heavens and he reigns over all the earth. He’s always been faithful. He never fails.

God – I want to give you everything. I can’t help but to think – know – that God wants so much for us. James 1:17 – Every good… If we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more… But we won’t give up what we have in our hands and so God can’t give us what’s greater. Risk. Faith. Let go of what we have to take hold of something greater. – Holding on scared. Have to let go to take the hand that will save me. 

All other kings/gods/idols take. You think they are serving you. But you are really serving them. They promise you protection, security, etc. But ultimately they take those things from you. Because earthly kings take from you, you become their slave.

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.”

So sad. Know – devastation is coming.

Israel wanted a representative – someone who will fight for them, protect them, save them from their enemies. God has always done that for them. But it wasn’t enough for them. So they deamand for something much lesser.

If you’re going to ask something from God – Make sure you’re asking big things equivalent to the goodness and riches of God. Make it God-sized. 

Some of the places that I see God‘s grace most clearly in my life are not just where he has provided for me but all the times he has said no to my small, short-sighted, dumb requests. Because I can look back on my life now and see that if he had said yes to some of the things I had prayed my life would be a complete disaster. God let me marry this person. God let me get this job. God let me make a lot of money.

If you think/dream small, plan small, ask small, pray small, – You’re going to get small. Pray and expect great things from your great God. And watch him work.

Conclusion/Gospel: If the problem is forgetting and forsaking God, then remembering is the answer – Jesus is the true King.

So amazing – God is going to take Israel’s desire for a king, which was foolish and devastating – and he’s going to redeem it. Because from the kingly line, one day, is going to come the true King – Jesus. The invisible God would take on flesh and become one of us, dwell amongst us.

But Jesus would be a completely different kind of king. He doesn’t take from you. Instead, he gives you everything. Earthly kings take. Jesus is the King who freely gives you everything. He gives you his position. He gives you his royalty. He gives you his sonship. He gives you his righteousness. He gives you salvation. He gives you eternal life. These were all his to give in the first place. Idols don’t have that authority. They can’t give you security, they can’t give you meaning or purpose or fulfillment because they’re not theirs to give. They don’t possess. 

Jesus withholds nothing good from you. – Not even his own life. To give you everything – all these things, he would have to give up his life and die on the cross in our place. Jesus does take away – He takes away our sin, our shame. And by giving up his life, he gives us everything we’ve ever desired – to be someone, to be loved, to be secure, fulfilled. Instead of a slave, you become a son/daughter of the King.

Where have you forgotten? Where have you taken control of your life? Where have you settled for less when you have access to the King of the universe? 

Give up control of your life. Surrender. Trust your King. Don’t know what’s best. My King does. That’s what he desires for me. Even if I don’t understand, even if I can’t see, I’m going to trust him – Because I know his love for me in Jesus. There’s nothing greater he could have done to prove his love for me and faithfulness to me. 

Believe and receive. Are you tired? From the world taking and taking and taking. Jesus is ready. If you will surrender your life – he will give you everything. But if you try to stay in control as king of your own life, if you try to be like the world, you will lose everything.