Graduate 90: Advent, Day 13
The First King
1 Samuel 3:1-21; 7:1-10:9
The rise of the prophet Samuel marks an important turning point in the history of Israel. He is the last of the ‘judges’ (God delivers Israel from the Philistines through Samuel in Ch. 7) and the first of the ‘prophets’, (9:9) who function as spiritual leaders apart from the (newly established) political monarchy and the Levitical priesthood. One might expect that a man as significant and influential as Samuel was endued with a special knowledge and relationship to God. But when God first calls to Him, at the ‘inauguration’ of his prophetic ministry, Samuel does not recognize his voice; the Scripture records, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.” It is by the ministrations of Eli, the priest, that Samuel first comes to interact directly with God. Praise God for the men and women who mentor us in our journey of faith; who, by their wisdom and experience are able to guide and direct us. Praise God, also, for His patience with us. Though Samuel fails to recognize Him three times, God is still willing to work with him—and to work with us when we don’t get things right.
But contrast the shape and direction of Samuel’s life with that of the nation of Israel. Why do they want a king? And why is Samuel upset by this? Before Samuel, there was no centralized governmental system that unified the tribes of Israel. This would seem to make them especially vulnerable to attack and invasion; and, indeed, they were repeatedly attacked and invaded and oppressed by the surrounding peoples—but not because they lacked a centralized political structure. The book of Judges makes very clear that the reason they were attacked was because they turned away from the LORD. Over and over, we see that when they repent and call on God for help, God sends them deliverers, in the form of the judges. “The judges did not serve as heads of government in general but did have the authority to call out the armies of the tribes. Prior to the monarchy, no one from any one tribe would have been able to exercise such authority over another tribe. God was the only central authority. Therefore, when a judge successfully rallied the armies of several tribes, it was seen as the work of the Lord through that judge.” (246, IVP Bible Background Commentary. See also 291-292.) Israel’s problem was not primarily political; it was spiritual. But in 1 Samuel 8, the people opt for a political solution—“Now appoint a king for us to judge us… and go out before us and fight our battles.” (8:6, 20. Compare Exodus 14:14.)
It’s all-too-easy to misconstrue our spiritual problems as primarily political, social, economical, psychological, or as anything else other than spiritual. This error is further aggravated in our modern culture by a failure, in some circles, to recognize the reality of the spiritual at all. The message and ministry of Jesus should remind us (though they have been interpreted in a variety of other and conflicting ways) that our one and only hope lies in relationship with God. He, alone, can meet our needs.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
1 Samuel 3:1-21; 7:1-10:9
The rise of the prophet Samuel marks an important turning point in the history of Israel. He is the last of the ‘judges’ (God delivers Israel from the Philistines through Samuel in Ch. 7) and the first of the ‘prophets’, (9:9) who function as spiritual leaders apart from the (newly established) political monarchy and the Levitical priesthood. One might expect that a man as significant and influential as Samuel was endued with a special knowledge and relationship to God. But when God first calls to Him, at the ‘inauguration’ of his prophetic ministry, Samuel does not recognize his voice; the Scripture records, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.” It is by the ministrations of Eli, the priest, that Samuel first comes to interact directly with God. Praise God for the men and women who mentor us in our journey of faith; who, by their wisdom and experience are able to guide and direct us. Praise God, also, for His patience with us. Though Samuel fails to recognize Him three times, God is still willing to work with him—and to work with us when we don’t get things right.
But contrast the shape and direction of Samuel’s life with that of the nation of Israel. Why do they want a king? And why is Samuel upset by this? Before Samuel, there was no centralized governmental system that unified the tribes of Israel. This would seem to make them especially vulnerable to attack and invasion; and, indeed, they were repeatedly attacked and invaded and oppressed by the surrounding peoples—but not because they lacked a centralized political structure. The book of Judges makes very clear that the reason they were attacked was because they turned away from the LORD. Over and over, we see that when they repent and call on God for help, God sends them deliverers, in the form of the judges. “The judges did not serve as heads of government in general but did have the authority to call out the armies of the tribes. Prior to the monarchy, no one from any one tribe would have been able to exercise such authority over another tribe. God was the only central authority. Therefore, when a judge successfully rallied the armies of several tribes, it was seen as the work of the Lord through that judge.” (246, IVP Bible Background Commentary. See also 291-292.) Israel’s problem was not primarily political; it was spiritual. But in 1 Samuel 8, the people opt for a political solution—“Now appoint a king for us to judge us… and go out before us and fight our battles.” (8:6, 20. Compare Exodus 14:14.)
It’s all-too-easy to misconstrue our spiritual problems as primarily political, social, economical, psychological, or as anything else other than spiritual. This error is further aggravated in our modern culture by a failure, in some circles, to recognize the reality of the spiritual at all. The message and ministry of Jesus should remind us (though they have been interpreted in a variety of other and conflicting ways) that our one and only hope lies in relationship with God. He, alone, can meet our needs.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 2:00 AM
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