THEY WANTED A KING

1 Samuel 8:1-22; 10:17-25

I don't know when I've ever looked forward to the end of political campaigning as much as I have this year. Now that the elections are over, and the media and politicians have thoroughly analyzed the results; I want to share with you the biblical story of Saul who, when he was selected to become the first king of Israel, was discovered hiding behind the baggage.

To better understand this story from I Samuel, chapters 8-10, let me take you back to an earlier time ... in the days of Moses when the people of Israel are slaves in the land of Egypt. One day as Moses is tending the sheep of his father-in-law, he discovers this burning bush in the corner of the field and to his utter amazement, God speaks to Moses from that burning bush:

I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings, and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a fertile and spacious land ... Now, see here Moses ... I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of this country. (Exodus 3)

We are still a long way from the story of Saul, but notice already the kind of leadership God has chosen for Israel. Moses is tending sheep for his father-in-law because he murdered a man in Egypt and ran away. Moses is a fugitive, and by his own admission, is a poor public speaker. He is definitely not your typical professional politician, and, as we discover from Moses response to God's call, he definitely does not want the job.

To shorten a long story, Moses does lead the people out of captivity ... and into a desert wilderness! The people of Israel do not see life in the wilderness as much of an improvement over life in Egypt and quickly begin to criticize Moses' leadership. For 40 years they wander aimlessly through the wilderness and in the end it is Joshua, not Moses, who leads the people into the Promised Land.

After more years have gone by and Joshua is nearing death, he calls the people together and reminds them what God has done for them -- and note that it is God that is given the credit, not Moses or Joshua. Joshua reminds the people how God freed their ancestors from oppression by the king of Egypt and led them safely into the Promised Land. God has done this! Joshua challenges the people to always remain faithful to the Lord their God and never to forsake him. And the people reply with one voice: "We will serve the Lord our God!" (Joshua 23-24)

And they do ... for a time. But after Joshua and that generation has died off, we read in the 2nd chapter of Judges that the next generation "did not know the Lord or the work that God had done for Israel." So often it seems that we, in this generation, have inherited their forgetfulness. How quickly we forget what God has done for us, and the vows of faithfulness we have made.

The people may forget God, but God does not forget the people of Israel. We read in the 2nd chapter of Judges, that God raises up new leadership to meet the needs of the people and to unite the tribes of Israel. For the next several hundred years, God provides a series of Judges who serve and hold the nation together. The Interpreters Bible⁽¹⁾ describes these Judges as "gifted persons, leaders upon whom descended the spirit of the Lord, (persons) who were consulted in individual or tribal disputes ... They were leaders or persons of power upon whom the community looked with respect...." Among the Judges you may remember are Samson, Deborah (an early example that God respects the leadership qualities of women), Gideon and Samuel.

Throughout the time of the Judges, God always protected Israel from its larger and stronger neighbors; often in miraculous ways and always in ways that reminded Israel that their protection comes from God and not from their own strength.

We come now in our story to the era of Samuel who, as you may recall, had been dedicated to the Lord by his mother and had gone to live in the Temple to assist Eli the priest. It was young Samuel who heard God calling him in the night and mistook God's voice for that of Eli (another mistake that is common today).

Samuel grew up to become a great Judge in Israel. For his whole life Samuel rules Israel -- settling disputes and keeping the peace. In fact, looking ahead to the 12th chapter, we discover Samuel at the close of his life giving the people a chance to voice any complaint that may have occurred during his term of leadership. And with remarkable agreement, the people affirm that Samuel has stolen nothing from them, nor has he cheated anyone, oppressed anyone, or accepted any bribes. It is a wonderful affirmation of his leadership that any spiritual or political leader today would like to hear said of them.

But in his old age, Samuel knew when it was time to step down from leadership; so he appointed his two sons to be judges -- possibly the only serious mistake Samuel ever made. His sons did not follow their father's good example. The scriptures tell us: "They were interested only in making money, so they accepted bribes and did not decide cases honestly."⁽²⁾

That is a lot of background information to digest in so short a time ... but I hope it is valuable to help us understand what happens next.

The various leaders of Israel meet together to discuss the state of the nation and then they go to Samuel; who though he is no longer functioning as their judge, is still highly respected and continues to serve as their spiritual leader. "Look," the say to Samuel, "you are getting old and your sons don't follow your example ... We want a king to rule over us ... All the other nations have one!"

Samuel was upset. He was displeased with their request for a king -- after all, Israel had never had a king (except for God), it just wasn't their style.

But Samuel, being a wise old man and having learned as a judge to be diplomatic, promises to take their request under advisement. He promptly retires to his quarters and prays to the Lord. And God responds to Samuel:

Listen to everything the people say to you. You are not the one they have rejected; I am the one they have rejected as their king. Ever since I brought them out of Egypt, they have turned away from me and worshipped other gods; and now they are doing to you what they have always done to me. So then, listen to them, but give them strict warnings and explain how their kings will treat them.

So Samuel calls back the various leaders of the people and explains how a king would treat them -- and he doesn't paint a very pretty picture:

This is how your king will treat you. He will make soldiers of your sons and send them off to battle. In addition, some of your sons will be taken to plow his fields, harvest his crops, and make his weapons. Your daughters will have to make perfumes for him and work as his cooks and bakers. He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and turn them over to his officials.

He will take one-tenth of your harvest and your livestock (and here it appears that even Samuel underestimates the rate of taxation) ... When that time comes, you will complain bitterly because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not listen to your complaints.

Surely, you would think, the people thought better of their request and dropped their demand for a king ... but NO! ... their mind was made up: "We want a king, so that we will be like other nations, with our own Commander-in-Chief to rule us and to lead us out into war and to fight our battles." It seems nations have always been more concerned with their Defense Policy than with their spiritual lives.

Samuel listens carefully, like a good judge, and then retires again to his chambers before giving is verdict. Again, he prays to the Lord. And the Lord answers: "Do what they want and give them a king!" And so the verdict is announced in favor of the people's choice -- they will get their king.

All that remains is the selection of the king. And if you listened as the scripture was being read, you may have noted how the selection process sounded much like a national lottery. First the tribe of Benjamin is selected, then the family of the Matrites, and finally the selection of Saul, son of Kish.

Selection of a king, or national leader, by lottery -- how does that strike you after all the campaigning we've been through in recent months. I suspect some of you would prefer the lottery method.

What do we know about Saul, selected to be the first king of Israel? In chapter 9, Saul is introduced to us as:

1) The son of a wealthy and influential man ... and somehow that doesn't surprise us, does it?

2) Saul is also described as the tallest and most handsome man in all of Israel and in the prime of his life ... and that, too, seems appropriate for a king.

But beyond that, I begin to question Saul's qualifications to be king. Do you know what task Saul was involved in as he is being selected? In chapter 9 we read that Saul has been given the very important task of looking for some of his father's lost donkeys! It seems they have wandered off and Saul is told to go into the mountains with one of the servants to find these lost donkeys. It makes you wonder ... doesn't it?

Not only that, but after a brief search fails to turn up the lost donkeys, Saul is ready to quit and go home. And it is the servant who has the great idea to go into a nearby town for help. And there it is that Saul is introduced to Samuel.

In this meeting we are told, God informs Samuel that this is the man who will be selected king in the upcoming lottery. But when Samuel tries to convey this information to Saul ... Saul downplays his abilities by saying that his tribe is a minority tribe, his family is too unimportant, and he himself is certainly not qualified to be king. (Certainly not your typical campaign speech!) Despite Saul's low self-esteem, Samuel anoints him and the scripture tells us that "the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him."

God does not always pick the brightest and best or even the most qualified persons among us to serve as our leaders. God often chooses the very one who is least among us so that we will learn that the power, the strength, and the wisdom comes from God and not from ourselves.

Returning now to the scene of the lottery ... Saul has just been selected as the first king of Israel, but he is no where to be found. Finally, Saul is found ... hiding behind the baggage. Saul was certainly not campaigning for the job.

In a brief ceremony, Samuel proclaims: "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen?" And the people respond, "Long live the king!" Then Samuel explains to them the rights and duties of a king, and wrote them in a book, which he deposited in a holy place. Then he sent everyone home. End of ceremony.

And that is the story of how Israel got her first king. Well, almost -- there is a P.S. tacked on in verse 27. It seems there are a few persons who are not happy with the selection of Saul, and they begin to grumble: "How can this man save us?" -- and, of course, that is the whole point of this story: he can't, no human leader can save us.

We could go on to talk about what happens next ... within a month Saul is leading the troops into battle. He goes to war against the Ammonites and the Philistines, his soldiers begin to desert him, his enemies begin to plot against him, and finally Saul is rejected as king ... to be succeeded by a new and younger hero of the people, the stone-throwing shepherd boy named David, but that's another story.

There is, I believe, one underlying truth for us to take with us from this story. Perhaps it is best summarized in a verse from the 146th Psalm: "Don't put your trust in human leaders; no human being can save you."

The Psalmist goes on to add these words: "Happy is the one ... who depends on the Lord God" for indeed it is the Lord God who "always keeps promises, executes justice, feeds the hungry ... and protects those who live in the land ... The Lord is king forever ... and will reign for all time."

Now that is a truth we had better not forget!

November 2004. The elections are over, the people have spoken, the political leaders have been selected. And, while I want to remind you to put your trust in God rather than human leaders; I also want to encourage you to pray for and encourage those who have been called to leadership.. Some will provide wonderful leadership and some, no doubt, will disappoint you in the months and years to come for they - like Saul - are only human. Nevertheless, I encourage you to pray for and encourage those who are called to leadership, that God may use them for the well-being of all God's people.

The people of Israel wanted a king and they got one in Saul. But all the warnings of Samuel came true ... the king took their sons for soldiers and taxed their crops as well. Again today, we think we know what is best and we look to human leaders who will protect us, solve our problems and cut our taxes ... and then for the next four years they become the target of our criticism. Let us rather, be slow to criticize and quick to pray for the human leadership we have selected; while always remembering that our ultimate trust must be reserved for God alone. May it be so. Amen.

Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Cedar Creek Church of the Brethren, November 14, 2004
Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren, November 21, 2004

1. The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, "Judges"

2. 1 Samuel 8:3