January 12: 1 Samuel 8:4-7
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:7
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.
Devotion:
What do you do when people start questioning your faith or your relationship with God? Do you get discouraged and try to find a way out of the situation? Sometimes we have to accept what people are saying and leave them to it. Those are also the times when we need to make sure we are listening to God because He is going to have something to say to us!
Here Samuel is getting on in age and the people no longer want to listen to him. They see the countries around them who have kings and ministers who lead them; they now look to see why they can’t have a king! This is the dangerous age where people will rather follow a human being than follow God.
The difference between a king and a prophet is the king does not necessarily follow what God is telling them to do; they may well be doing things for their own good rather than the glory of God! God knew this would come and so He tells Samuel to listen to what the people say and tell them what their futures would be like living under a king instead of a prophet.
When humans gain power, they want more and with that power they demand respect in ways which are not Godly and not righteous. These are the ways which often lead to tyrants being made because the kings or queens get too greedy… This is typical human behaviour when they turn their back on God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get discouraged by people not trusting God?
Will you continue to trust and listen to God no matter what?