Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20020106.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part X: Missing God's Blessing By Seeking A Leader Using Worldly Criteria
(1 Samuel 8:1-22)
  1. Introduction
    1. Good leadership among God's people is important for the blessing of His people.
    2. However, gaining good leadership takes a proper Biblical approach, for seeking a good leader by way of worldly criteria will backfire for God's people due to the spiritual dynamics of the angelic conflict.
    3. 1 Samuel 8:1-22 applies a lesson for us on watching the criteria we use to gain our leaders (as follows):
  2. Missing God's Blessing By Seeking A Leader Using Worldly Criteria, 1 Samuel 8:1-22.
    1. When Samuel became old, he set up his ungodly sons as judges to succeed him in leadership, 8:1-3.
    2. That led to a reaction of Israel's elders who offered Samuel an alternate plan, 1 Sam. 8:4-5b; in view of Samuel's age and his sons' godless leadership, they proposed Samuel appoint a king over them, 8:5c!
    3. Now, God had made provision for Israel to have a king in Deuteronomy 17:14-15. However, the reasons for a king in THIS case were worldly and hence lacking God's blessing, cf. 1 Samuel 8:5d-8:
      1. When the Mosaic Law was established at Sinai, God had become Israel's King by way of contract:
        1. Meredith G. Kline's work, Treaty of the Great King, reveals the Mosaic Law was given as a suzerain treaty between a suzerain overseer (God) and the vassal (Israel) to be protected, p. 13-14.
        2. This covenant was formed on two tablets of stone according to Deuteronomy 4:13.
        3. In typical ancient suzerain treaties, one copy of the agreement was to be deposited in the sanctuary of the vassal and another in the sanctuary of the suzerain, Ibid., Kline, p. 19.
        4. Well, since God was both Israel's protective Suzerain and God, both tables which were each duplicates of the other were deposited in God's ark of the covenant, Ibid., p. 19-20.
      2. Thus, for Israel's elders to ask Samuel for a human king was for them to have rejected God as their rightful, established King in accord with the Mosaic Law's suzerain treaty contract!
      3. Even more astounding was Israel's wish to have a man lead her in war when God had just before fabulously rescued the nation from the Philistines by war for a generation without a king, cf. 7:8-14!
      4. The stated reason Israel's leaders wanted such a human king was their desire to be like all the Gentile nations around them that had human kings, which was a focus on the worldly lusts of the eyes and the pride of life, 1 Samuel 8:5d in light of 1 John 2:15-16!
      5. These facts are seen in God's conversation with Samuel, and Samuel's words with Israel, 8:6-8:
        1. Samuel was displeased with Israel's suggestion he appoint them a king to be like the nations, 8:6a.
        2. When he prayed to God about it, the Lord noted the people had not really rejected Samuel's leadership in seeking to tell him what to do, but that they had rejected God, their duly established King in accord with the suzerain contract of the Mosaic Law, 1 Samuel 8:6b-7.
        3. God noted Israel had been rebellious against Him since He had delivered them from Egypt, and so they were reflecting that rebellion in seeking to tell Samuel what to do, 1 Samuel 8:8.
    4. Yet, since it was in God's will for Israel to have a king, the Lord allowed Samuel to allow Israel to have her way, but with a stout warning of the trouble he would bring for Israel's worldly selection criteria, 8:9.
    5. Accordingly, Samuel warned about the trouble a king selected with worldly criteria would bring upon them, for such a king would be selfishly errant and thus harmful to Israel, 1 Samuel 8:10-18.
    6. Nevertheless, the people affirmed they wanted a human king meeting worldly criteria, 1 Samuel 8:19-20.
    7. When Samuel told God of the peoples' request, God told him to give them what they wished, 8:21-22.
    8. As we can tell from 1 Samuel 9:1-2, the king then selected according to WORLDLY criteria turned out to be Saul, a man we know who had a TRAGIC reign much to Israel's detriment, 1 Sam. 9:1-2!
Lesson: God plans to install and use human leaders for His people, but using WORLDLY lusts of the eyes and the pride of this life to SELECT and ESTABLISH leaders IN PLACE OF following GOD and GOD'S WILL in the process only leads to tragic long-term results that lack God's blessing.

Application: In filling a need in human leadership, we must NOT use ERRANT CRITERIA in the selection or appointment processes, but seek GOD'S WILL so we can gain God's BLESSING.