Observation: Saul has been anointed as the first king of Israel. He has twice been acknowledged as such, and has in turn received gifts of prophesy, and then defended Israel against an invading enemy. God is with Saul, and Samuel has acted obediently to the Lord by installing him as king. However ... having requested a king still isn't right. During the final installation of Saul, Samuel calls down a storm to ruin the annual wheat harvest as punishment and a sign against this act.
The Lord was the king of Israel, with Judges as their individual leaders, for over 300 years. Yes, they had an individual they agreed was called to lead them, but not having that person set up as a central governmental figure - with the authority to tax, command, administer, and represent them as a nation - made them different from other people-groups. The point had been that the Lord did these things. It was the Lord's law that defined internal authority, and the system of festivals and sacrifices that provided for administering the nation. Obedience to the law negated the need for other government functions. Meanwhile, "foreign affairs" were to involve the people using their very lives as a way of teaching and showing Yahweh to others, so that every nation would understand the existence and authority of the Lord.
Asking for a king means Israel has lost the ability to receive such direction from the Lord as individuals. Internally, they can no longer function in harmony with one another because they have lost their common understanding of the laws and practices that were to govern life, from the shared experiences of festivals, to the guidance for moral living. Externally, the diminished blessing that is the result of their worship of other gods means their prosperity no longer represents the love and hope of Yahweh to neighboring countries, and as such 'foreign affairs' now look like traditional international politics.
For Israel, earthly rule became important and necessary because they lost sight of what heavenly rule actually looks like. They think they have earthly problems that need earthly solutions, coordinated by human leaders. They have lost sight of the fact that all challenges can be solved by the Lord, and thus all earthly issues can be resolved by faith, coupled with a behavior model that minimizes such issues in the first place.
Application: It goes almost without saying that the ever-increasing political issues with have in our world is a direct result of us moving away from any common understanding of faith in Jesus Christ. As our nation - and much of the western world - decides that alignment to the values taught by Jesus and defined by the word of God is no longer a necessary or even desired component of earthly governance, we sink deeper into internal and external conflict.
This idea re-enforces for me the idea that I need to continue to be removed from consideration and attention to earthly political issues. If I focus instead on the Lord, he will help in such matters as they pertain to me personally, and if the universal Church could convey that same heart to the world, many matters would melt away. Yes, we are far from such a time and place as that, but we have to start with our own focus of attention. Earthly rule cannot be important.
Prayer: Lord, may you guide your church into a right alignment of our hearts and mind to you. Thank you. Amen.
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