Do not confuse me with Truth

 1 Samuel 8:19-22 – 9:1-2

I want what I want do not confuse me with truth or facts. That is the attitude of many a person, in a relationship, in making life-changing decisions, and it is not a new approach, it is precisely what the people were telling both Samuel and God.  We find their reply in verses19-20, after Samuel has spelled out the price tag that comes with a king.  “The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”

Samuel cannot believe the foolishness of his people, so he repeats all they have said to the Lord, and we find God’s answer in verses 22, “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

Have you ever wondered how did we get into this mess, and the answer is lack of leadership, we have eight years of weak leadership, and the people said enough, we do not trust either party, we want an outsider.  The people had witnessed Eli’s sons, and now Samuel’s sons and they were saying, not again, we want a king!

When you have never had a king what does the portfolio of a king look like, what qualities does one look for in a king?  Well let’s see, he’s not going to be a shepherd who has no resume and all that will follow him is sheep.  He needs to have wealth and that way he will know how to make a wise investment.  He should be handsome, and it might be good that he is a little taller than most of us so the world will be impressed.  Yes, that is the kind of king we are looking for, smart, religious, and he can fight our wars for us.

Now in the ninth chapter of 1 Samuel we are introduced to an influential man of Benjamin named Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite.  A man with an excellent bloodline and he has respect, what else does he have, a son by the name of Saul?  1 Samuel 9:2, gives us this insight into Saul; “Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.”   Now that is King material, he is rich, handsome, a head taller than anyone else, and has excellent political ties.  A guy like Saul is what we are looking for, in fact, he may be an organizer and bring some control over the kingdom.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice