April 1, 2001

I Samuel 8-10

Ch. 8

v. 5 – “Give us a king to judge us” -make us a king

to judge us like the nations.

v. 6 - “But the thing displeased Samuel” - they

had determined to have a king without

consulting the will of God.

Samuel in grief, Lot was vexed, I mourn!

“Samuel prayed unto the Lord” – leaving the

decision to Him.

We should pray, I have prayed. The Lord at work

thwarting liberalism taking it in its own craftiness.

How can a religion so demonstratively Divine, so

designed for our best interests temporal & spiritual,

be so slow in progress is a puzzle to many.

Samuel was deeply wounded, not by the allusion to

his sons but to their aversion to God’s ways & timing.

Sympathy with God is one of the natural fruits of piety!

Deut. 17:14-20 Compare with Phinehas’ wife

Phil Brand’s mother Spurgeon’s mother

Our testimony – “Just and true are thy ways, thou King

of saints.

v. 7 – “they have rejected me” – don’t take it personally.

They wanted no theocratic king whose first duty would

be to maintain the Mosaic Law, all they wanted was a

soldier who would put an end to their state of anarchy.

God is patient, “He remembered that they were but

flesh; a wind that passeth away, & cometh not again.

Psalm 68:39

Apparently, men misinterpret this patience of God as to

as evidence that they are correct in their position.

Eccl. 8:11-13

We can only pray and be the salt of the earth -

“if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous

do?”

Thus the patience & faith of the saints – they often can

do little more than “protest” against the unbelief and

waywardness of the world. A whole nation on one hand

and Samuel on the other does not convert error into truth

or folly into wisdom.

Men may choose a different course but must bear the

consequences of a dwarfed Christianity.

A desire to be like the nations & a less direct connection

with God. Piety is at a low ebb when the church hankers

and desires to pattern a life pursued by the Christless.

How far the Church can safely conform to the world is

a dangerous question. (Living on the Fringe?)The question

should be, How can the Church best fashion the world to its

own pure and lofty standard.

Preferring to live like heathen nations, what had regal

parade to do with righteousness which alone exalts a

nation?

“Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to

any people.” Proverbs 14:34

Degeneration occurs when a church from sheer self-will

and yearning after the outwardly sensational, seeks

to promote private or public ends pertaining to their

Christian calling, by anything not spiritual in character

or tendency.

v. 18 – “ye shall cry out in that day” - the ten tribes

eventually snapped the tie which bound them

to Jehovah; they discarded the ark and all

the services of the sanctuary, & were content

with so poor an imitation of them that all

piously disposed men were compelled to abandon

their lands and migrate to Judea. II Chron. 11:16

The majority of their kings, not being held in check by

Religious influences were tyrants.

SOCIETY NOT HELD IN CHECK TODAY flipped

over obsession with the phantom separation of Church & state.

Israel is going to have their own way but “He gave them their

request; but sent leaness into their soul.” Psalm 106:15

v. 19 – “they refused to obey……….but, we will have a

king over us” – revolting from Jehovah and the

rigorousness of the Mosaic Law.

Ch. 9

v. 1 – “a mighty man of power” – from an affluent family

his ancestor must have been one of the 600 who

escaped to the rock Rimmon. Judges 20:45

The Benjamites were about wiped out because of idolatry.

The last three chapters of Judges are full of idolatry,

national corruption and confusion.

Saul’s noble appearance & stature were well fitted to

impress a semi-barbarous people who were better able

to form an estimate of his physical qualities than the

high mental and moral gifts of Samuel.

The people chose their leader by outward appearance.

Physically, Saul looked like a king but he was not a king

at heart. He was an actor that played the part.

Vernon McGee says that “this outward appearance” is what

puts the United States in such a dangerous position today.

The influence of Hollywood and television. We choose men

by the way they look instead of character. We need an X-ray

more than television.

McGee also said, Saul is out looking for asses of his father,

the asses of Israel are looking for a king.

What a commentary on the human race.

Lost in numbers, the youth of today wants to be a star

Here is an excerpt from the Pulpit Commentary written

about 150 years ago.

The chief motive for desiring a king being craving

for outward display, and a corresponding dislike

and distrust of God’s more unseen & immediate

direction of national affairs, it was evidently possible

for steps to be taken which would ruin Israel’s

prosperity. The narrative relates to us a series of

Divinely-governed events, apparently trivial, which

prevented that calamity & insured national safety.

It revealed a moral tendency which, if fed by appropriate

nourishment, would lead to frustration of Israel’s true work

in the world.

God mercifully regarded their condition & governed their

tendencies in such a way as to make the best of a bad case.

This is more or less true of all men not yet judicially abandoned.

There is enough of evil in men to destroy them speedily but for

the restraining hand of God.

Haven’t we all been chastened, controlled, guided to things

better than we have chosen.

The daily mercies of God are more than can be numbered

and come because He delighteth in mercy, not because we

earn them.

"Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benfits" - Ps. 68:19

They come as links in a chain of causation, events affecting

individuals and families governed by some Divine reason.

When in Heaven we at last come to see what God hath

wrought, and we review all life’s checkered course and

see the workings of the Spirit, we can sing a new song

with great significance, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto

us, but unto thy name give glory”.

v. 5 – “lest my father” – good family evidences.

Saul’s servant was more acquainted with Samuel

than Saul.

v. 8 – “fourth part of a shekel” – incident of this

servant having a coin - reminds of Peter

at the bidding of Christ casting a hook and

catching a fish with a coin to pay taxes with.

v. 12 – “He came today to the city” – Compare Ruth

who happed upon the field of Boaz.

v. 15 – “Now Jehovah told Samuel in his ear”

v. 16 – Saul’s office essentially military. He belonged

to the most warlike tribe of Israel & his country

was the seat of perpetual combat with the

Philistines.

“Their cry is come unto me” - Compare Ex. 2:23 and

our cries – Luke 18:7

v. 25 – “communed with Saul upon the house” –

Samuel anxious to impress on Saul’s mind

the great principles of theocratic government

and the nature of the remedies for Israel’s

recovery from its present misery.

“He spake unto him the Word of God”

Apparently, this did little good – so often this has

been ignored down through history.

While on the human side, Saul proved not unworthy

of a royal crown, in his relation to God he failed

because he let self-will & earthly policy prevail over

obedience and trust in God.

Vs. 25-27 – Public Affairs

Great calamities have been brought on communities

from the predominance in state affairs of irreligious

principles and unprincipled men.

When the “rulers of Sodom, men of godless lives, are

left to have charge of affairs, and men are in control

of whom you would not want to leave your private

affairs, disaster has come and ever will come.

California ruling this week against Bible clubs.

There should not be a day on which a Christian does

not bear all the interests of his country on his heart,

and give them some direct or indirect support.

In the struggle between good & evil forces in society,

there are opportunities for every righteous man to

do his best in securing a righteousness in the state.

Good Christians are Good Citizens, something that

the liberal left does not recognize.

The question is, how much of national trouble, sorrow,

and poverty is connected with neglect on the part of

the moral element of society.

Does love, righteousness, truth and peace mean more

to you than social customs or party ties?

Romans 14:17

Ch. 10

v. 1 - Samuel anoints Saul & gives him three signs

that his appointment is from God.

Abraham had the support of occasional manifestations.

Moses was given signs.

Christ promised proofs when sending out His disciples.

Arrangements were made to support their faith & duty.

Modern servants of God can point to promises fulfilled.

There is a consciousness of a power not their own!

v. 6 – “The Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee”

“and thou….shalt be turned into another man”

v. 7 – “God is with thee” – success is sure

v. 8 – Go down to Gilgal & wait – Israel’s war of

independence from the Philistines must begin

with religious rites.

v. 9 – God gave him another heart and all those signs

came to pass that day.

v.10 – “he prophesied” – given the highest & rarest

of gifts, that of direct inspiration.

v. 18 – God had always done for them the very thing

which they desired of a king.

Their deliverance had been made dependent upon

their own conduct; they were required to repent of

their sins and purge the land from idolatry.

What they really wanted was national independence

freed from this condition and secured by an

organization of their military resources.

Heard this one before: we want a good economy stupid,

not morality stupid. The Bible plainly teaches that they

cannot be separated!

The self-willed character of Israel’s conduct.

v. 19 – God granted their request though they had

rejected Him.

Another chance is given to retreat if they willed.

Providence raises up a voice or circumstance which,

before a final step is taken sounds the last warning

and creates a consciousness of unchained responsibility.

The very first step is attended with embarrassment.

All nature is at war with wrong.

v. 25 – “laid it before Jehovah” – what a theocratic

king ought to be.

v. 26 – “whose hearts God had touched”

“but the children of Belial” – the depraved section

of the people, the ones prone to disapprove of

anything not done solely by the themselves.

The example of Saul

The example of Jesus: He did not strive, nor cry,

nor lift up His voice in the streets.

He was meek and lowly in heart and He knew

what was in man.