1/10/2023 0 Comments God appoints kings and rulers![]() ![]() ![]() In spite of Israel’s rebellion, God in His sovereignty, directed their selection of Saul the Benjamite, “ a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people,” 1 Samuel 9:1,2. Just like their grandparents who died in the wilderness, who complained and demanded meat instead of manna every morning, “ God granted them their request and sent leanness to their souls,” Psalm 106:15. They said, “ Nay but we will have a king over us 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,” 1 Samuel 8:18-20. If that were not bad enough, they did not approach God through the anointed office of prophet. “ Now therefore hearken unto their voice…,” 1 Samuel 8:9.Īmazingly, their first choice, Saul, completely ignored the tribe of Judah. Instead of further rebuking them for rebellion and idolatry, God acquiesced to their demand. “ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee,” 1 Samuel 8:8. The “ LORD said unto Samuel… they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them,” 1 Samuel 8:7. ![]() Their demand that Samuel find them a king, 1 Samuel 8:4-5, grieved his heart because they had either forgotten or had decided to ignore God’s stipulations. At the end of his days, they confronted him with his waning ability due to age and to the wickedness of his own sons, 1 Samuel 8:1-3. God raised up Samuel the prophet to guide them. This period was aptly summarized “ In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25. Attacks mounted from marauding Philistines and Midianites but God raised up “judges” like Gideon and Sampson to defend Israel. The unrepelled Canaanites became the predicted thorns in their sides (Judges 2:3). Years had passed since Joshua’s death and there was turmoil between tribes. First, God must choose the man who was to become their king, “ thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the LORD thy God shall choose…” Secondly he must be “ one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee…” Thirdly “ thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother,” Deuteronomy 17:14-15. God gave them divine prerequisites for a king in addition to the tribal origin from Judah in Genesis 49:10. Moses’ final instructions to guide Israel into nationhood before they entered the promised land foresaw their desire for a king. ![]()
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