Kings

Today we will be looking at Judges through 2 Samuel.

Joshua leads the Israelites into the promised land. Then, in judges, the Israelites ask God who will should go first to fire the Canaanites.

In Judges, things go from bad to worse. There's no leadership. Their sin and corruptness gets worse and worse.

Here is how judges ends

Judges 21:25 NIV
[25] In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
https://bible.com/bible/111/jdg.21.25.NIV

God has gone quiet.

1 Samuel 3:1 NIV
[1] In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.3.1.NIV

The Israelites ask for a king to lead them. Is this good? Or bad?

1 Samuel 8:6 NIV
[6] But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.8.6.NIV

It's both good and bad.

We all long for a king

A king helps us make sense of the story we're in. We all seek a king. Someone with wisdom, power, and authority to lead us where we should go.

We all live in false stories. If you are overly political, you may look to a president as your king. If you're worried about money, you'll look for a financial guru to be your king. If you want to be religious or moral, you may look for a religious leader to be your king. If you're living in romanticism, you may look for an author, character, story etc. to guide your life.

If you think you're not living in a story with a king, then you're living the story of individualism, where you think you are the king.

1 Samuel 8:7 NIV
[7] And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.8.7.NIV

By asking for a king, the Israelites have rejected God as their king.

1 Samuel 8:11, 13-17 NIV
[11] He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

[13] He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. [14] He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. [15] He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. [16] Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. [17] He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.8.11-17.NIV

Warning about kings

They will take from you more than they will give to you. A king always has ulterior motives.

1 Samuel 8:18 NIV
[18] When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.8.18.NIV

A tale of two kings

Samuel gathers all the tribes into a city to elect the king. Everyone is excited. They miss the eerieness that lurks in this moment.

1 Samuel 10:18-19 NIV
[18] “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ [19] But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.10.18-19.NIV

Samuel announces the king will be Saul, son of Kish.

But the story doesn't go as expected. Everybody starts looking around and asking, "Where is he?". Saul is hiding.

1 Samuel 10:23-24 NIV
[23] They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. [24] Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.10.23-24.NIV

It's interesting that Saul wasn't gunning for the position of king. There's an interesting parallel to our lives, often were the ones to elevate the kings in our own lives.

King Saul

He had the look of a king. He was tall and kingly.

The name Saul means: the one you asked for or begged for.

A man of appearances: He seems like a kingly guy

He actually starts out okay. They win some battles.

Saul is kind of empty on the inside. He disobeys God and others. Needs others approval. Refuses to acknowledge his own flaws. He deceives himself multiple times.

He gets obsessed withaintaining his appearance above everything else.

A king who pushes aside God's presence

The ark of the covenant was a gold box to recognize God's presence among the people. The tabernacle would go at the center, and all the people would pitch their tents around it.

1 Samuel 7:2 NIV
[2] The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all.
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.7.2.NIV

Kiristh Jearim was 12 miles away from the kingdoms capital. This is symbolic that Saul felt fine leading his kingdom without God at the center.

Saul did not hate God. He just wanted to use him.

A kingdom of compromise and chaos

1 Samuel 13:11-12 NIV
[11] “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, [12] I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.13.11-12.NIV

God told Saul to wait for Samuel, but Saul tries to do it himself. In that time, priests made burnt offerings, not kings.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 NIV
[13] “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. [14] But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.13.13-14.NIV

Saul loses his kingdom and becomes possessed by anxiety and paranoia. He tries to reclaim his power by going on a manhunt for an innocent man.

Remember, Saul's dad's name "Kish", means "trap".

So God gives the people another king. Sends Samuel to Bethlehem, the 8 sons of Jesse. Samuel looks at all the boys, from oldest to youngest.

1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
[7] But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.16.7.NIV

Gid reminds Samuel of the problems the people had when they picked a king based on appearance.

God chooses David as the next king. The runt of the litter. The youngest son.

King David

A man after God's heart

"Serve years in obscurity before ever serving in notoriety."

• if you start by chasing public, your hidden life will collapse

A king who centers on God's presence

1 Chronicles 13:3 NIV
[3] Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ch.13.3.NIV

In the days of king david, God's presence comes back to the center of the kingdom.

A kingdom of rest and repentance

God took David from the sheep pens and brought him to be the shepherd of his people. David is known as the greatest king in all of Israel.

But even as the greatest of the kings, he has darkness in his heart.

The story of Bathsheba - David has a man killed and steals his wife

Psalms 51:10-12 NIV
[10] Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. [11] Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.51.10-12.NIV

Although David has darkness and fails, he repents and asks for forgiveness.

2 Samuel 7:11-13 NIV
[11] and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: [12] When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
https://bible.com/bible/111/2sa.7.11-13.NIV

This verse is prophesying Jesus

King Jesus

Who is the king who you follow in your life? The king that you follow is the king you will reflect.

Which King do you look like?