King of the Castle
One Year Bible (May 10)
I Samuel 8:1-9:27.
“King of the Castle”
There is an English idiom that usually refers to someone who has a position of power within a larger group. The concept of royalty is still intriguing to most of the world. We just love the pomp and circumstance of a great Hallmark movie with the title “Prince” or “Princess” in it. We seem to think of them as a figurehead living in a romantic place with twinkling lights, bountiful servants, banquets, and happy ever after…
Our passage today is a total shift in history from following the judges appointed by God, to seeking a king to rule over them. The people were warned but they did not listen.
Samuel is leading the people back to God and he took a large stone to consecrate what God had done to rescue his people. Here is what he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (I Samuel 7:12.) However, there is a large shift coming…
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his oldest sons to be judges over Israel, Joel, and Abijah. “But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.” (I Samuel 8:1-3)
This just takes me back… Can we remember little Samuel watching Eli and his evil sons? What a heartbreaking task it must have been to tell Eli that the Lord was about to destroy them and take the kingdom away from them. And now, here is Samuel (the sweet boy who said ‘Here I am”) in the position of having his own sons perverting justice as they served as judges. Heartbreaking!
The people began to cry out that they wanted a king to rule over them. Why... we wonder? “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” (I Sam. 8: 20)
Who will they seek to be the “King of their Castle”?
There was a wealthy, influential man with a handsome son. Here is what is said about him, “His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.” (I Sam. 9: 2)
Wealth. Power. Prestige. Sex Appeal.
The perfect ingredients for the “King of the Castle” right?
God had Samuel warn the people about the consequences of seeking a king to rule over them, but they weren’t listening. Neither were Saul’s sons or Eli’s sons before Saul.
Does anyone here see a pattern of how a nation continues to wander away from God and seek its own way?
There are a few things that just really jump off the page...
First, the fathers, who were the judges of God’s people were truly not the Godly leaders of their own sons. these sons had a "second-hand faith".
Secondly, the people continued to look for substitutes in place of God.
Thirdly, wealth, power, prestige, and appearance give the illusion of grandeur but are fleeting and empty.
Look at what the OT tells about Jesus in Isaiah 53: 2-3, “There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned out backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”
It appears that oftentimes we miss the “Real King” because we are focused on the “Ritzy Castle”!
Who is the “King of Your Castle?
