1 Samuel 8:1-9 – THE Root of Our Problem
The good times under God’s direct rule are coming to an end. Samuel is old and soon to die. The people have seen the unsuitability of Samuel’s sons to rule over them. They want to be like everyone else and have a king. Yet we still haven’t got to the root of our problem that this chapter exposes. Even the desire to blend in is merely a symptom, not the disease.
Samuel seems to take the request for a king (v5) as a personal insult (v6). But God brings it all out into broad daylight in verse 7. It is not a rejection of Samuel, but a rejection of him, and a rejection of him as their king, specifically. You see, the real issue is not Samuel’s age, nor his sons’ unsuitability, nor their desire to be like the nations. The real issue is that they want to cast God off the throne, no longer constrained by his law, or to serve him. This is what sin is at its core. In verse 8 God says this is, and has always been, the problem. And God could have gone further back in history than to Egypt – all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden. As they stretched out their hand for the fruit they were trying to knock God off his throne.
All that is wrong in the world is the result of this. All we see that causes pain and hardship – this is what happens when we throw off the reign of God, and do what is right in our own eyes. When people please themselves instead of God, it simply results in pain. When disaster and tragedy strike in the world, it is the result of sin – not necessarily directly, in that the people involved sinned and caused it. But in the sense that death and suffering is the curse of sin in the world. The wrecking ball started swinging with Adam and Eve. In our lives all the mess is the result of sin – either our sin or others sin, even if just Adam’s sin and the curse on creation. And it is a deeply personal attack. This is what makes it so serious: we have rejected him – verse 7.
Questions
- In what way can all pain be traced to sin?
- Why is Luke 13:1-5 important to keep in mind?
Prayer Points
- Ask God to give you a sense of the deeply personal attack sin is on him.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.