1 Samuel 7-8 -- The Greatest Judgment God Can Give Us Is To Let Us Have Our Own Way

"The people were restless and wanting change ... times of transition bring out either the best or the worst in people.  God called Samuel to build a bridge between ... the judges and the monarchy."

He called all Israel to gather at Mizpah and challenged them to return to the Lord.  "They put away their false gods ... they confessed their sins ... they prayed for God's help ... they commemorated the victory ... and they respected Samuel."

"Life goes on, circumstances change, and God's people must have wisdom to adapt to new challenges without abandoning old convictions," my commentary said.  Instead, the people asked for a king.  "They argued that Samuel was old and his two sons were not godly men."  Yet in God's eyes that didn't disqualify him from service to God.

"Samuel was a man of spiritual insight, and he knew that this demand for a king was evidence of spiritual decay among the leaders.  They weren't rejecting him; they were rejecting God, and this grieved Samuel's heart as he prayed to the Lord for wisdom."

"God is never surprised by what His people do, nor is He at a loss to know what He should do ... He makes the plans of people have no effect ... It wasn't Israel's request for a king that was their greatest sin; it was their insisting that God give them a king immediately.  The Lord had a king in mind for them, David the son of Jesse, but the time wasn't ripe for him to appear."

"The greatest judgment God can give us is to let us have our own way."

Father, although I ask for Your help in things happening in my life, I know that You are sovereign, and I only ask for what I perceive as a need.  I want You to be sovereign in my life always, providing what I ask only if it is in Your timing and Your will.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford