A King Like the Nations
Welcome to the Well Community Church. I am so glad you’re hanging out with us here today. If we have not met, my name is Brad, and I have the privilege of handling God’s word with you. We will be in two primary passages today, so I’ll give you a little head start if you want to get there: Deuteronomy 17 and 1 Samuel chapter 7.
I want to welcome those in this auditorium, those in our outside theater and family venue, our Fig Garden campus, and even those joining us in your PJs online. We are so glad that you are here. We are currently in a new series called “Monarchy.” If you weren’t with us last week, it would be well worth your time to go to the website and take a peek at Mike’s message. He did a tremendous job walking through an overview of where we’re headed.
In this series, we are dealing with the three monarchs of the United Kingdom: Saul, David, and Solomon. There are 40-plus other kings in the Bible, but we aren’t going to get into all of those; we’re just going to focus on those first three. Throughout this journey, we will continue to point toward the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, the Sovereign and Ultimate King. We’ll be focusing on five Old Testament books: 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and some information from 1 and 2 Chronicles. If you really push us, we’ll probably include some poetic literature—adding the Psalms that David wrote during specific seasons of his life and even some of the Proverbs written by Solomon.
Why Study the Old Testament?
For many of you, these stories will be familiar. You’ve been exposed to the Old Testament, and hopefully, this will be a refresher. For others, this may be brand new. If you are new to the Bible, the table of contents is indeed your friend. Just find the page number or Google it. Reading along with us is incredibly helpful because we aren’t interested in what we as pastors have to say; we want to know what God says.
You might ask, “Why spend so much time on books written thousands of years ago? Is it even relevant today?” Our answer is a resounding yes. We are dealing with the Word of God, which says of itself that it is inspired and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Joshua, who took over after Moses, was told that the book of the law should not depart from his mouth, but that he should meditate on it day and night so he would be careful to do what was written. That is how we find true success.
At The Well, we value being Biblical. This means we ask, “What does the Bible say?” and then, “What do I need to adjust in my life to live in alignment with it?” We aren’t interested in twisting the Bible to meet our desires; we want to submit our desires to the Word of God. Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, explained that these Old Testament events happened as examples for us.
1 Corinthians 10:11 (NASB)
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
When we read these texts, we are holding up a mirror. We want to ask, “Can I relate to this? Does this look like me? Is there a principle here that can help me?”
From Theocracy to Monarchy
As we begin, I want to emphasize the high-level shift from theocracy to monarchy. The Bible begins by framing the real authority of the human experience in the very first verse. It suggests—and doesn’t apologize for it—that life is not about you. You didn’t create the world, and neither did I. You aren’t in charge. God is the sovereign King.
Genesis 1:1 (NASB)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
For some, that’s comforting; for others, it’s disorienting. But it is the reality. God is the eternal, infinite creator. In the book of Chronicles, the question is asked of God: “Are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms and nations? Power and might are in your hands so that no one can stand against you.”
2 Chronicles 20:6 (NASB)
and he said, ’O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.
And yet, there was a shift from theocracy to monarchy. The term “theocracy” comes from two Greek words: theos (God) and krateo (to rule). The word was first used in history by a first-century Jewish general named Josephus. During the Roman occupation, Josephus was captured and eventually became a scholar for the Romans. He explained the peculiarity of the Jews to the Romans, noting that while other nations had monarchies or republics, the Jewish government was ordained as a theocracy—ruled by God.
Unfortunately, theocracy has not always been lived out perfectly. Though God hasn’t changed, our submission to Him has. In Genesis 3, sin entered the world, and it is a seminal text for understanding the human condition. When Adam and Eve fell, they inherited death, shame, corruption, and autonomy. Autonomy is the desire to do life on our own, without God. Sin is a double move: it’s a rejection of God’s authority and a pursuit of our own desires as the ultimate authority.
The Desire for a Tangible King
Even though God had been faithful through the ages—preserving Noah, promising a future to Abraham, delivering the people from Egypt, and providing food in the wilderness—the people still rebelled. It often became absurd. In Exodus 32, while Moses was up on the mountain, the people got impatient. They decided they needed a god they could see. They melted down their jewelry and fashioned a golden calf.
Exodus 32:4 (NASB)
He took [this] from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’
It’s ridiculous to make an action figure out of gold and call it the god who delivered you from Egypt, but it reveals an inherited desire in us to have something tangible. The people looked around and saw that the Egyptians, Moabites, and Philistines all had kings. They thought, “Why don’t we get a king?”
In His permissive will, God sometimes allows us to do things that will ultimately hurt us. As parents, we understand this. If your son insists on not wearing a jacket when it’s cold, or if he decides he’s going to jump off something crazy, at some point you might say, “Okay, you can do it, but you’re probably going to get hurt.” God knew that the heart of man would eventually demand a king, so long before they asked, He gave instructions in Deuteronomy for what that king should look like.
Deuteronomy 17:14-15 (NASB)
’When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, [one] from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.
God told them that if they must have a king, he should be a countryman who submits to God’s Word. He even commanded that the king must write out his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life.
Deuteronomy 17:18 (NASB)
’Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
The Rejection of Samuel and God
By the time we get to 1 Samuel, we meet Samuel the prophet. He was the spiritual leader and ambassador of God. He served as a circuit-riding judge, traveling from town to town—it would be like someone traveling from Merced to Chowchilla, stopping in Fresno for a burrito in Selma, going down to Tulare, and then heading home. He interpreted the Word of God for the people and provided oversight.
1 Samuel 7:15 (NASB)
Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
But as Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons, Joel and Abijah, to judge. The problem was that his sons were corrupt. They didn’t walk in Samuel’s ways; they took bribes and perverted justice. The elders of Israel gathered and told Samuel, “You’re old, and your sons are nuts. Give us a king like the other nations.”
1 Samuel 8:1-3 (NASB)
And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; [they] were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
Samuel was heartbroken and prayed to the Lord. God’s response was sobering. He told Samuel to listen to them, but noted that the people hadn’t just rejected Samuel—they had rejected God as their King.
1 Samuel 8:7 (NASB)
The LORD said to Samuel, ’Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.
This is the official shift from theocracy to monarchy. It’s a sad moment because it shows a clear rejection of God’s authority and a recognition of the decline of spiritual leadership. The people weren’t even interested in God’s design for a king; they wanted a king like the pagan nations around them. They wanted to fit in rather than be distinct.
The Warning of the King’s Procedure
God gave them a stern warning. He told them that ultimate power corrupts. He warned them that a king would take their sons for his armies, their daughters for his kitchens, and a tenth of their grain and vineyards for his officials. He warned them that they would eventually become the king’s servants and cry out for relief, but God would not answer them in that day.
1 Samuel 8:10-18 (NASB)
So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, ’This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place [them] for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. ’He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and [some] to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ’He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ’He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give [them] to his servants. ’He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. ’He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use [them] for his work. ’He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ‘Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.’
Despite this warning, the people refused to listen. They insisted on a king so they could be like everyone else and have someone to fight their battles.
1 Samuel 8:19-20 (NASB)
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.’
The irony is that they forgot God was the one who had always fought their battles. Scripture is clear: the Lord fights for us while we keep silent; the battle is not ours, but God’s.
Exodus 14:14 (NASB)
‘The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.’
2 Chronicles 20:15 (NASB)
and he said, ’Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ’Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
Deuteronomy 3:22 (NASB)
‘Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.’
They assumed incorrectly that God was unable or uninterested in their defense, and they believed deliverance would come from an earthly ruler. But the Bible tells us that God scoffs at the kings of the earth who take their stand against Him. He holds the hearts of kings in His hand and channels them like water wherever He wishes.
Psalms 2:2-4 (NASB)
The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
Saul: The Tall, Handsome Mistake
In 1 Samuel 9, the people got exactly what they asked for. They found a man named Saul. He was a “choice and handsome man,” and there was no one more handsome than him in all of Israel. From his shoulders up, he was taller than everyone else. He looked the part. He was the big, strong, tough guy king they wanted.
1 Samuel 9:1-2 (NASB)
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. He had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome [man], and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
But here is the problem: externals without internals have no longevity. When your responsibility outweighs your character, it is only a matter of time until you implode. Saul had the height and the looks, but he didn’t have the character or the godliness to carry the weight of the crown. He ended up causing immense damage.
The Mirror: Where Is Your Hope?
I’m not convinced much has changed today. As we look in this mirror, do we see ourselves? We still have a tendency to reject God’s authority. For some, it’s explicit—you reject the Gospel as a fairy tale and raise your fist at God. For others, it’s implicit. You say, “God, you can be Lord of these areas, but stay away from these other parts. These are mine.”
We also still want to live like the other nations. We don’t want to be distinct; we want to be prosperous and successful like the world. But we are called not to love the world or the things in it.
1 John 2:15-16 (NASB)
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Romans 12 tells us not to be conformed to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Jesus says that if we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship. 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.
Matthew 16:24-25 (NASB)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, ’If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ’For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
There is no “neutral” in the Christian life. You are either moving toward intimacy with God or drifting away. We are called to keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated.
Colossians 3:1-3 (NASB)
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Finally, are we still convinced that an earthly leader will solve our problems? We get caught in the “death scroll” on our phones, our blood pressure rises during election years, and we assume that if the right politician wins, we will finally have peace. If that’s you, you’ve yoked your hope to a lesser thing. An earthly ruler was never intended to be a functional savior.
We live in a republic where we get to vote—what a gift! But if you’re biting your fingernails over election results, you’ve forgotten that all authority is established by God.
Romans 13:1 (NASB)
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
Whether your person wins or loses, you can sleep at night because the King of Kings does not live in Sacramento or the White House. He is in glory. He doesn’t delight in the strength of horses or the legs of men; He favors those who fear Him.
Psalms 147:10-11 (NASB)
He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
We have a responsibility to pray for those in authority so that we might lead peaceful, quiet lives. If the news makes your blood pressure rise, pray for that person. Say, “God, this person is acting crazy. Deal with them.” Then, go to sleep.
As we close, I ask you to look in that mirror. Have you rejected God’s authority? Are you trying to find peace in an earthly king? Our hope is fixed in nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness. Let’s raise our sights to Him.
Prayer
Father, I’m grateful for Your Word and the invitation to submit to the King of Kings. Thank You for providing a way for us to be reconciled to You through Jesus. I pray that we would be at peace under Your rule and reign. Even when the storms blow and the political waves crash, may we find peace in You because You hold it all in Your hand. We thank You in Jesus’ name, Amen.