1 Samuel 8:18–22 (ESV) —
18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
NOTE: We complain that God does not answer our prayers, but there is always a reason, although we may not recognize it. Sometimes, God gives us what we want, but it is not as we expected it and it is meant to teach us a lesson. God gave the people a human king but he would not be the panacea they thought he would be. He would be oppressive and he would not win all the wars or keep them safe. Their true safety resides in their faith in God, not human kings. We do that today. We look to political leaders to make our life better. But politics will never heal the rot in our nation. We are rebels and we have been since the garden. We are constantly looking for different authority structures so that we don't have to exist under God's authority structure. It is all leading to the one-world government of the antichrist, and the destruction of much of the earth. And then a perfect government will reign for a thousand years. Justice will rule and wars will end. But, we still won't be satisfied.
PONDER:
- Do I put my hope in elections and politics?
- Do I allow political news to sway my emotions?
PRAYER: Father, whatever happens in the next election, it will not solve our problems. They are deeply spiritual and not political. I pray that you would open our eyes to our sin and make us ashamed. I pray we would repent and turn to you. Forgive us for we are a selfish people.
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