Devotions

Rev Gav

Sovereignty

1 Samuel 8.4–7, 10–end

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and set a king over them.’ Samuel then said to the people of Israel, ‘Each of you return home.’

Reflect

At the time of Samuel, the model of governance for Israel was different to the other nations. God was their sovereign (‘Lord’) with divinely appointed leaders who were guided by prophets, and there were local tribal chiefdoms rather than a single unified kingdom or monarchy. Yet, the people looked at other nations who appeared to be more successful, and rather than trusting in God to lead them, they wanted their own king to guide them and lead their armies into battle.

Samuel warned the Israelites about the heavy burdens a king would place on them — that the king would use their sons for labor, daughters for service, and take a percentage of their best fields and flocks — but they insisted and God gave them their wish.

There is something here about how God does not over-rule our wills. God lets us make our own decisions, even when those decisions are flawed. There is something too about the nature of humanity, how we seem unable to operate in a peaceful, harmonious society under the sovereignty of God. Even today, we push for leaders to guide us and lead our armies into battle, and it is an impossible job. Why? Because our leaders are taking the place of God.

The gospel of Jesus Christ established (and continues to establish) the sovereignty of God in a subversive way, that bypasses the leaderships and hierarchies of this world. Yes, we live under the banner of monarchies, presidents, dictatorships, military-rule, and governments, but our first allegiance is to Christ. Here on earth, we model the kind of society that God intends for us — one that will one day come to fulfilment — where God alone is our sovereign.

I have heard Christians lament and say, if only we had a Christian president, king, prime minister, and so on, but this is no different to those Israelites who asked Samuel to appoint a religious king to rule over them. We reap what we sow, and human leaders, no matter how charismatic and well-intentioned, will never meet our expectations.

Our job is simply to continue to live under the sovereignty of Christ, and continue to pray for our leaders, that they would rule with humility, justice, and be bringers of God’s peace.

Pray

Holy God
Today, I remember those
who lead my country
and I pray for them.
May they be imbued with
wisdom, and rule with
mercy and justice.
Help them to be bringers
of peace to a hurting
and broken world,
until that day when
the world will come under
your divine sovereignty.
Through Jesus Christ.

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