1 Samuel 8:19-20
“Some want to live within the sound of Church or chapel bells; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” - - C.T Studd
1 Samuel 8:19-20:
“But the people refused to obey 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, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
Every four years our country finds itself in a state of division that seems to become more and more tribalistic and divisive as our country’s age moves on. As the cultural differences of our political parties become more and more apparent, the hope of many people is invested more and more into the election of their political parties’ leader.
At the time of our passage in 1 Samuel, Israel was a unique nation who did not have a king but instead had a prophet who mediated on their behalf to God. We were shown all over the book of Joshua how the Lord would go before the nation of Israel and fight their battles and sustain them in their fight against their surrounding pagan nations. And yet in the generations to follow, we see Israel crying out to Samuel for a human king to lead them and even went as far as to use God’s own words against Him from Joshua 13 where He promises to go out before Israel and drive their remaining enemies out. This request came from the corruption of Samuel’s sons who would succeed him in leadership but instead of bringing their frustrations with these leaders of the flesh to God, the nation of Israel would reject God all together as the head of their nation and request a king “like all the nations.”
Please hear me when I state I am not trivializing or undermining the importance for our country in our elections and the things at stake for not only our freedoms but future implications on our children based on the agendas of political parties at this time. But if we take a humble and sobering step back and evaluate the state of our country, we may begin to understand the level of judgement as a nation we find ourselves in with these leaders. The spirit of our age is one of carnality and narcissism. Statistically we are the prevailing nation in the victimization of children and the murder of the unborn sacrificially in the womb. As a whole, America has the leaders it deserves. But as Christians and pilgrims through this life, how do we find peace in this era of refinement morally and spiritually our country seems to be battling through?
As men of faith post the resurrection, the true reality of our world is that we serve a King who sits at the right hand of the Father this very moment having His enemies being put under His feet. We serve the Son of Man of Daniel 7 that has been given dominion over every nation, and this isn’t some distant reality to make us feel good or to put on a bumper sticker for motivation. Christ is King now.
We can take comfort that our King’s rule will never end, but only grow more and more tangible as the mustard seed of the gospel continues to prosper and grow over the providence and sovereignty of Christ reign. This is hard for us in our flesh and life spans to understand. But our King is one who bled and died for the salvation of His people and then rose on the third day to conquer our greatest enemies, satan, death and sin. We are adopted son’s who have been purchased out of slavery by the blood of our King who will one day return to make all things new. And until that day comes, we as Christians are called to be the salt and light within our spheres of influence. As first responders, I pray we serve our fellow man with the ever-present conformity of not who sits in the white house, but who sits on the throne of Heaven.
Christ is King.
Revelation 19: 11-16
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
“Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.” – John Calvin
James Doyle -October 2024-