Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Samuel 4-8.
When the people demanded Samuel appoint a king over them (1 Samuel 8:5), thereby rejecting God as their king (1 Samuel 8:7), one of their reasons was so that they might be “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5).
After consulting with the Lord, Samuel proceeded to tell them what it would be like to be ruled by a king (1 Samuel 8:10-17). He warned them that living under a king would not be like what they envisioned; but once they realized that, it would be too late to change their condition (1 Samuel 8:18). Yet the people would not listen.
“Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles’” (1 Samuel 8:19-20).
Despite the warnings and the fact that a human king was wholly unnecessary as long as they were wholly committed to following the Lord, these people wanted a king. They could not see past the fact that “all the nations” had kings to realize that they were better off submitting to the Lord rather than a human ruler.
This same mentality is alive and well among God’s people today. Rather than follow God wholly and recognize the blessings and benefits that come from being His people, many want to be just like the world in word, deed, and thought. The world is not the standard we are to strive to match. Rather we must aim for a higher standard.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
The majority of those around us will be lost (Matthew 7:13). Why would we ever want to conform our lives to theirs?
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Samuel 9-12
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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