Chapter 2 - The First Rejection of the King (Part 4 of 6)

The Tipping Point of the Old Testament

In the earlier posts of this “Chapter 2,” we addressed how Israel was a theocracy at its conception, and how the people of the nation Israel were to be set apart, consecrated, different, and holy as God is holy. We also discussed the events of the Exodus and looked at their time with Joshua as they entered the Promised Land. In each instance, the critical things to remember were wrapped around the Israelites being “set apart” and serving/worshipping God alone.

In our chronological view of the life of the nation Israel, we are now pushing the fast-forward button to 1020 B.C. It is long after the events of the Exodus. Long after the Israelites vowed in Joshua’s presence that they would serve God only. Judges have come and gone, and the people of Israel, who made all those promises to Moses and Joshua, are now dead.

It is in the days of 1 Samuel 8, and we are introduced to their descendants—specifically the elders of Israel, and sons of Samuel the prophet and judge (vv. 1-3, NKJV). It is this moment of Israel’s history when we reach the tipping point in their relationship with God:

Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

It is unfortunate that Samuel’s sons were unfaithful to God and sounded more like politicians and government officials in today’s landscape. Their unfaithfulness, not unlike any unfaithfulness committed by those who profess to be followers of God before and since their time, led to a much bigger issue, however. Two big issues, actually, and we will look at one of those this week and tackle the second big issue next week.

Israel’s First Big Mistake

The first big issue finds its roots in the request made by the elders of the nation Israel (1 Samuel 8:4-5; NKJV):

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.”

They demanded that Samuel change their nation’s entire political, social, and theological structure. How exactly? They wanted “an earthly king.”

Why is that bad, you ask? Simply put, the nation Israel wanted to be like their pagan neighbors. They even said as much in verse 5: “Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.”

In other words, the elders were not wishing to be “set apart” any longer. They no longer desired to be “sacred,” “different,” or “consecrated” unto God. It had become undesirable to them (cf. Joshua 24:14-15) to be a theocracy. And because of this theological shift, it caused them to desire a political and sociological shift as well. The wanted a king like the other nations already had. And to have such a king, there would be political and social ramifications (which we will address next week).

The major focal point of this week, however, is bound up in the excuse the elders used as the basis for their request. They pointed at the sins of Samuel’s sons as the reason for monumental change. Apparently, they didn’t learn a concept I was taught years ago: “Never tear down a fence until you know why it was erected in the first place.”

Satan’s Ploy

It is here that we must understand what is happening, and why these elders made such a shocking request. When a person wishes to no longer be obedient to God, then finding the “lowest common denominator” is the satanic ploy of choice. Find a person who says he or she is following God and His ways but is not living up to those standards, or better yet, find an entire group of those kinds of people. Then, use that person or that group as the poster children for demanding revolutionary transformation, instead of realizing that those “hypocrites” may be the problem, for it is not God and His instructions and teachings (torah).

We see this ploy used all the time. Outside the Church, in the institutions of the world, it goes something like this:

• Step One: The hypocrites are used as an excuse for why God’s Ways are antiquated and irrelevant for today’s progressive society. They need to be replaced with something more helpful.
• Step Two: Therefore, because God is the enemy, and His Ways “cause” such sinful behavior from supposed followers of God, the way of doing things must be drastically changed, or better yet, eradicated from society and replaced with something totally different and alien to God’s Ways.
• Step Three: Find the alternative system and implement the changes needed.

In the world, as viewed in 1 John 2:15-17a, this is the way of revolutions, coups, and takeovers. This is the way of mankind following his own instructions and teachings. We are seeing this play out before our very eyes in the name of erasing “systemic racism,” “hatemongering” against certain segments of society, and what’s being called “social justice.”

For what end do these groups work? Simply put, it is so people and groups who are blatantly anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Church (judging by what they support and champion, even on their own websites), can start telling the world that God is not the answer, but their movement is?¹

As we have noted before in previous blog posts, and will do so in future ones, it really becomes a battle between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. The kingdom of men and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Never have groups who oppose God ever been good for human society, period. And never has God commanded His people to lock arms with such, regardless of the cause or issue. As was the case with the Israelites in the myriad treaties into which they entered with the Egyptians, and Assyrians, and other countries, when the Church blindly joins hands with these anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Church groups, it becomes idolatry. They no longer view God and His Ways as good enough to handle the human problems facing them. Instead, they seek human solutions to spiritual dilemmas.

Satan’s Ploy Reaching Out for a Wink and a Handshake

The Bible warns against falling prey to this philosophy, believing that there can be some good garnered from reaching across the aisle with an eye on compromise, because it all flows from the pit of Hell itself. Paul addresses this very problem in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ASV):

"Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, ‘I will dwell with them, and walk with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come ye out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. And touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I will be to you a father, and ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty’” (emphasis added)Notice in this passage, in the midst of commanding God’s Church not to fall prey to the devil’s schemes, one way to combat the temptations of Satan and keep from sinning against God is to “come ye out from among them and be ye separate.”

In other words, instead of “being like all the other nations around us,” like the elders of Israel in 1 Samuel 8:4-5 desired, Paul directs us to be “set apart,” “different,” “sacred,” “consecrated.” A true believer in Christ cannot walk hand-in-hand with anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Church groups who espouse doctrines and beliefs contrary to God’s instructions and teachings. Regardless of how “great” the cause sounds to common, human reasoning, or how well-intended it seems, God has a different way to exact change that would accomplish many of the same things, but it would do so according to His will. As a matter of fact, God’s ways would accomplish a great deal more because hearts would be changed in the process, eternally redirecting their desires toward God Himself. This is the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of men. Both lead to eternity, but one leads to everlasting life in the presence of God, and the other leads to everlasting damnation and separation from God.

Unfortunately, like Samuel’s sons in 1 Samuel 8, the Church has not been living according to God’s instructions and teachings. And because of her sin, she has created her own group of “elders” who have been led astray. This phenomenon occurred in Jesus’s day with the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and teachers of the law. They created converts who believed in their convoluted, religious interpretations of God’s Word, and Jesus said they made those converts twice the sons of hell as they were (Matthew 23:15). Today in the Church, we have our own groups of Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and teachers of the law, creating converts who are following modern-day, convoluted, religious interpretations of God’s Word too.

Paul says in Romans 2 that “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles” (v. 24) because of Jews who professed to be keeping God’s instructions and teachings but yet lived lives contrary to them (vv. 17-23). This problem is a human sin problem, and if the church had followed God’s commands from the beginning and adhered to them through the centuries, the world would look a lot different today. Race would be seen differently (Galatians 3:28). “Sexist issues” would be seen differently (Ephesians 5:15-33; cf. Galatians 3:28). Poverty and riches would be viewed differently (Proverbs 22:2; 2 Corinthians 8:9). Sin would be viewed differently (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). Everything would be viewed differently. But because the Church has followed almost the same, exact pattern as Israel did, God is being blasphemed among the non-believers who look at the Church as also being full of “sons of Samuel.” And this goes against what Jesus preached in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14-16 too.

Satan’s Ploy: Gospel-Style

However, there is another way Satan uses sinful followers of God (like Samuel’s sons) to his advantage. It’s not as drastic as the first ploy. The first one could be likened to “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” This ploy, on the other hand, would rather gently spritz the baby with a splash of water and sprinkle a little talcum powder on their “bums” once they’re dry. It intends to prove that change is needed, but only so much as to “improve” on the previous model, not abandon it altogether.  It’s a kinder, gentler approach to Church life, and this opens the door for more inclusive thinking that ultimately takes a more circuitous—they would call it a more “enlightened”—route. But it ends up in the same destination and in the same predicament as the first ploy.

Apart from God.

This second ploy is the way of religious progressivism and enlightenment. According to these proponents, God’s Ways are antiquated, but they just need tweaking or modernization. They can now allow lifestyles, that were proclaimed as sinful in the past (for example, Genesis 19; Romans 1:26-27; Jude 7), into the Church—with no consequence for sin (this is a crucial point of this group’s belief). The Old Testament God of wrath is no longer needed or even liked. He is now a “New Testament” God; a “loving God, full of grace and mercy and forgiveness” only. “There is now no condemnation” is their mantra, yet their theology is exactly what Paul argued against in Romans 6:1 and 6:15.

Sadly, and may I say unbelievably, this kind of false doctrine in modern times has been aided and abetted by the Church as she has overlooked certain sins—allowing them to be “okay” because of cultural norms, like the sins of Samuel’s sons. However, at the same time, she demanded that other forms of wickedness be held up as evil examples of sin to be shunned at all costs.

In today’s church, sins, such as divorce, gossip, lying, hate, coveting, even stealing in veiled ways (like cheating on your taxes) are frowned upon but viewed as “sinful, but forgiven, people just being human.”² They even rationalize these sins away, using the same rhetoric the people of the way of progressivism and enlightenment do, saying that:

• “We are fallen human beings with a sinful nature who sin in word, thought, and deed every day. It’s inevitable.”
• We need grace, mercy, the forgiveness of God, and His love…not to mention fire insurance.”
• “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.”  

When it comes to these “every day kind of sins,” they see forgiveness, repentance, and obedience as separate departments in God’s storehouse of blessing. You can just walk in the front door, get what you need from one department, and then check out.

Yet, these same “followers of Jesus,” who give a wink at divorce, think lying can be little and white, believe hatred directed at the “right” people can be accepted, see greed, coveting, and thus stealing as one and the same and just “business” and “not personal,” want to approach other sins, like homosexuality, murder, and abortion, very differently. Those who commit “those sins” should be held to a different, more stringent Biblical standard, as if they somehow corrupt society more and make God angrier than divorce, gossip, lying, hate, greed, coveting, and stealing.

As we will see, Jesus holds all sins up as examples of how to find your way onto the broad road that leads to destruction. God views them all the same as well. Sin is sin is sin. It is the sinful nature that tries to categorize sin into “little white lies,” “sins of omission,” “sins of commission,” and “just the cost of doing business,” versus “the biggies.”

Even Paul addressed this outrageous issue with the church at Corinth, where apparently the sin of some members in the church exceeded the sin of the people outside the church (cf. 1 Corinthians 5)! It’s in situations like this when you can understand why those outside the Church criticize it and ultimately deny and blaspheme God. We cannot allow Satan to use us in this way. Neither on an individual level as believers and followers of Christ nor as His Church collectively.

Thought for the Week:

Do you know of anyone outside the Church who uses the sins of Christians to justify their own sinfulness and animosity against God?

What about those who claim to be “inside the Church”? Ever hear them point at Christian leaders and espouse a distaste for “organized religion,” using it as a stepping stone toward rebellion against God and His Word?

The similarities to the elders of Israel who were in 1 Samuel 8 are stunning. They were followers of God and descendants of those who entered the Promised Land. They pointed at Samuel’s sons, who just happened to be judges, as their “escape clause” from the strictures of the Torah. Because of the sins of Samuel’s sons, the people of Israel wanted to abandon God’s instructions and teachings (torah) and instead become like all the other nations around them. In their reasoning, the Torah was faulty, and Samuel’s sons were living proof.

We realize there will always be people looking for excuses so they do not have to face God and admit their own sinfulness. Such is the situation of the sinful nature within the heart of mankind. However, Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 5:14-16. We are live our lives in such a way that no one looking objectively at us, even if they are not “God friendly,” would have anything negative to say about us, if they were honest. And even if they were not honest, and they pointed accusatory fingers at us, others would come to our defense and refute the false allegations.

But Jesus takes it a step further than that. He doesn’t want us living for the approval of men, as if that was the goal. He does not want us to be only concerned about whether or not we are being stumbling blocks to people. If that was only His concern, the servant in the parable who buried his talent in the ground would have been commended as well (Matthew 25:14-30). Jesus wants us living for God as well, like the two servants who earned another five talents and two talents. He wants us to be obedient. He wants us “being about His Father’s business” like He was (Luke 2:49). He wants us to be the conduits of Heaven, doing the will of God, just like He was (John 6:38-40). There is a “fruit” we should produce, and it should be good fruit (Matthew 7:15-20; 21:18-22). If there is no fruit, or if there is bad fruit only, both lifestyles take the person down the broad road that leads to destruction. God wants us to display the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth, for it is at hand and upon us.

How’s your “fruit tree” doing these days? What have you done with the “talents” God has given you? Are those around you seeing your good deeds and “glorifying your God who is in Heaven”? Or are you their “excuse” for turning away from God?

NEXT WEEK:

We delve deeper into 1 Samuel 8.

  

Endnotes

 

1. Anti-God groups have always existed. Many of them have even done so, purporting themselves as some form of “Godly renovation” to the current status of society. However, when you start to examine what they actually believe and support, you see the Serpent’s fingerprints all over their statements of faith and/or group’s guiding principles. Here are just a few who are part of the new revolutionary trends, and just like the elders in 1 Samuel 8, they no longer wish for God to be their king:

 

·       Antifa: In this group, anything that looks like fascism is a target of violence and mayhem. Religion really doesn’t play much of a part. Ironically, their god, antifascism, seems to have many of the same characteristics and tactics of the groups they oppose: https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/who-are-antifa

·       Black Lives Matter: In this group, the color of your skin, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights are the gods of choice. Protests and political reform are the means by which to effect changes in justice, both social and racial. Religion is a diverse hodge-podge of beliefs, all needing to fall under the ideology of Critical Race Theory: 

       ABOUT: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/;  

        MISSION STATEMENT: https://blacklivesmatter.com/transparency/#mission;  

        VISION STATEMENT: https://blacklivesmatter.com/transparency/#vision

·       Ku Klux Klan: In this group, the color of your skin is the god of choice as well. Politics are the means by which to effect change as opposed to protests. Religion (in this case, Christianity) is their justification, pulling certain passages out of context to make them fit the current, historical climate: https://kkk.bz/platform-2/

·       The Boogaloo Movement: In this group, a militia mindset, similar to those groups that existed during America’s revolutionary days, is prevalent. Restoring and maintaining their version of American Democracy is their god of choice. One wonders how long this group and others like it will stand by and wait until they feel compelled to begin a civil war: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98

 

 

2. Then, couple this behavior with Church leaders being exposed, seemingly every week, for the same sins Samuel’s sons committed: benefitting from dishonest gain, taking bribes, and perverting justice, and is it any wonder the Church has little influence in today’s society? As the Church of Jesus Christ, who is our King, truly?

 

 

Images taken from Pixabay.com:

"Corruption" by Sergeitokmakov

"Baby" by StockSnap

"Fig Tree" by Ben_Kerckx