Checkmate

1. The Last Judge (7:15-8:3)

We left off last week with Israel in a good spot after the Lord gave them a great victory over the Philistines, and Samuel serving as their "judge" or national leader. And verse 15 of chapter 7 said, “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 7:15).

Isn't that great? If you were just reading this for the first time, you might be thinking how wonderful it is that Israel had such a great leader for that long.

Except that we've read these kinds of statements before. Remember the book of Judges? We know what happens after a delivering judge comes to the end of his life. Israel goes right back to their wicked ways. That's been the pattern and it's happened again and again and again.

So as chapter 7 wrapped up, and we read about Samuel's judgeship all the days of his life, we wouldn't be wrong to feel a pit in our stomach as we brace for the inevitable.

There is a bit more here than just the repeating of history, though. Samuel isn't just another judge of Israel. He is truly a complete leader, serving not just as the nation's political leader, but also their prophet and priest. AS we read at the end of chapter 7, he built an altar at Ramah, which he had to do because the place of worship at Shiloh had been abandoned.

Israel had been ruled by a series of judges, but Samuel is not just any old judge. He is a great judge. And he is the last judge.

He doesn't seem to know that. As chapter 8 begins, he's planning for the future. He's made succession arrangements. “1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba” (1 Samuel 8:1–2).

But the problems start really close to home. “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3).

A good man had not-so-great sons. This raises all kinds of questions. Was this a failure on Samuel's part? Was he, like so many other men have been throughout history, a good spiritual leader outside of his home, but a poor leader inside of his home?

Or, was this a case of him having raised his sons well, training them up for leadership, but once they were out of his orbit far down south in Beersheba, the pressures of leadership and the allure of "dishonest gain" (1 Tim 3:8) led them astray?

We don't know. I'd like to think it's the second answer, but we don't know for sure.

What we do know is that this situation is the backdrop for what happens next.

2. The Evil Request (vv. 4-5)

Verse 4: “4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, ‘Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations’” (1 Samuel 8:4–5).

Man. Just imagine Samuel hearing all of this for the first time. All of the elders gather together and say this to him. Yikes. That means that they've been talking. Together. Without him. No leader enjoys it when that happens.

"Lots of people are saying" is one of the hardest things for a leader to hear. And much of the time, "lots of people" isn't nearly as many people as you think once you start actually counting them. But this time, it really is all the elders.

They tell him that he's old. I mean, nobody likes just hearing that, even if it's true. It's like, "Thanks, guys." Then they tell him about his sons. We don't know if this was a painful reminder of something Samuel knew already, or if this was the first time he's hearing it. What a heartbreaker for a father to hear.

And then comes their request: "Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." Not, we need a new judge. Not, seek the Lord for us. But, give us a king like the other nations.

We need to think about this request on a few different levels.

On the one hand, this was the most natural thing for Israel to request. In that time in history, nations had kings. It was just the most basic reality in the world. Nations had kings—great and powerful men who led them, who represented them, who fought for them, whose majesty and power was the glory of the nation.

Not having a king in that time in history was like barely even being a real nation at all. Like, when the nations would engage with one another, it was always kings talking to kings. Who were they supposed to talk to when they came to Israel? "We'd like to speak to your king." "Umm… we don't have one." This would have been like a family not having a dad.

And this probably made Israel feel inferior to their neighbours. Being kingless, being crownless, was probably something of a national embarrassment.

Except… except that look at what the Lord had done and been for them! Look at what God had just done in these last few chapters here. Single-handedly taking on their enemies. Fighting their battles for them. Raising up Samuel for them.

Suddenly, in the literary design of 1 Samuel, we know why the author spent so much time telling us about the ark in Philistia and the great deliverance that followed. God has been a very good king to this nation. And going back even further, think of every judge the Lord had raised up to deliver them and every time He's stepped in to save them.

What could a king provide that God could not provide for them? He had been taking care of them so very well.

But Israel isn't seeing that. Because what do they want? They want to be like the other nations. "Appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."

They want a king that they can see. A king on a throne, full of power, with a sword in his fist, like Andrew Peterson sings.

In other words, this desire for a king was being driven by the same impulse that drove their earlier idolatry: being like the other nations. And this was such a big deal because Israel was supposed to be distinct from the other nations.

“5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5–6).

Israel being different was a feature, not a bug. It was supposed to be that way.

But they aren't content with that. They aren't content with God's leadership. They aren't content with how He's been taking care of them. They want what the other nations have.

Which means that what's really driving this is covetousness. They want what they don't have. They want what other people have. Which means that there's an even deeper connection here between this desire and their idolatry. Because twice the New Testament connects covetousness with idolatry (Eph 5:5, Col 3:5). Wanting what you don't have instead of being content with what God has given you is one of the pistons that drives the engine of idolatry.

So the people have ditched their idols. But their hearts, being idol-factories, aren't content with all that God is for them. They want whatever it is that they don't have. They want more.

We all know how this works. Kids, you know this. The toys at the store that you don't have always look way cooler than the toys you have at home.

So it was with Israel. What could be better than having the living God as your national leader? Nothing. But that's not enough. They want what the other nations have. They want a king.

3. Samuel Speaks with God (vv. 6-9)

And so verse 6 is probably a huge understatement when it says, “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’” (1 Samuel 8:6a). Robert Alter translates this, "The thing was evil in Samuel's eyes." Samuel is really not happy about this. But what does he do with this? A key lesson for leaders here. Where does he go with his displeasure? "And Samuel prayed to the Lord" (v. 6b). He prays. He goes to God.

And what the Lord says is really interesting. Twice, he tells Samuel to obey their voice and give them a king. Verse 7: “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you’” (1 Samuel 8:7). And then again in verse 9: “Now then, obey their voice’” (1 Samuel 8:9).

Give them what they are asking for, in other words! But why? What's the reason? The reason is tucked in between these bookends. “7 And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.’” (1 Samuel 8:7).

God highlights the wickedness of Israel's request. He assures Samuel that this has nothing to do with his leadership, but it has everything to do with them rejecting God's leadership. "They have rejected me from being king over them."

Which is just what they've been doing all along, ever since they came up out of Egypt. "According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you" (1 Sam 8:8). See the connection there to this request and their idolatry of other gods.

So, what's Samuel supposed to do? Obey their voice! Give them a king! And warn them, carefully, about the ways of the king that they will get, as verse 9 finishes up.

There is a great mystery in these verses here, a mystery at the heart of this whole passage. "This is wrong, so give it to them." What's going on here? Hang on to that question, because we're going to come back to it a little bit at a time. It's the key that unlocks everything here.

4. Samuel Speaks With the People (vv. 10-22)

But first, let's keep going, because what happens next is Samuel tells the people everything the Lord told him (v. 10). He tells them how rebellious they are being. And then, in verse 11, he obeys God's voice and explains to the people who are asking for a king the ways of the king who will reign over them.

There's a great pun in Hebrew that we miss in English, in that the word for "ways" here is from the same root word, used in various forms all throughout this passage. It's the word for "judge" in verses 1 and 2, the word for justice in verse 3, and again the word for "judge" in verses 5 and 6.

And the sense of this pun is to add to the effect of Samuel's words. "You don't like my sons? You want a king to be your judge instead? Here's what it's going to be like."

And what he does is break down the high cost of kingship. Here's what they are really asking for. Notice how what follows here is really a list of all the things that the king will take from them.

Once again, in Hebrew the effect is even more striking because the order is reversed from English. The thing that will be taken comes first, followed by "he will take." So in Hebrew it would sound more like,

"Your sons he will take… your daughters he will take. The best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards he will take. The tenth of your grain he will take. Your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys he will take. The tenth of your flocks he will take."

You want a king who is rich and powerful? Where is he going to get his riches from? Who is going to make him powerful? There's no free lunch. This will all be at your expense.

And the capstone on all of this, at the end of verse 17, is "you shall be his slaves." Just like you were in Egypt, so you will be to your king. You're going right back to where you were. The difference this time? Verse 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’” (1 Samuel 8:18).

You break it, you buy it. You're getting into this by choice; don't expect the Lord to deliver you.

"But," verse 19: "the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, ‘No! But there shall be a king over us’” (1 Samuel 8:19).

It's kind of ironic how this all started with them complaining about his sons not walking in his ways. And here they are, refusing to obey his voice. And they do so with just brilliant logic. Look at how thoroughly they refute his speech, point by point showing where he is mistaken with thorough research and careful reason.

And of course I'm being sarcastic here. The people don't think through what Samuel said at all. They respond with all the careful consideration of an angry toddler: "No! But there shall be a king over us."

Desire blinds us. When we want something badly enough, we stop thinking, and the proof is that we start to think that our desire itself is a reason to get what we want.

I've heard very intelligent men explain a purchase they made by saying, "I just really wanted it." As if that explains it. That explains nothing. We want all kinds of stupid stuff—just wanting is no reason at all to have it.

Our culture loves to apply this kind of "reasoning" to romantic love. "But Daddy, I love him." Careers and industries have been built on this idea that our desires are a reliable guide to what we're supposed to have.

I've sat with people in my office who say they believe what the Bible says, but they want something so strongly and there is nothing I can say that will dissuade them.

Sin makes you stupid. And the scary thing is that just knowing that is no protection against it. Sin makes you stupid even when you know what sin makes you stupid. Apart from God's help, none of us are above what the people do here.

“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’” (1 Samuel 8:19–20).

5. What's Going On Here?

And Samuel, no doubt discouraged again, brings the people's response to the Lord in prayer. “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’” (1 Samuel 8:22).

In other words, I've got this. I'll take care of this.

And once again, we're left with the big question: why is God saying yes to this? Why is God giving them what they want? Why not set your foot down and say "no way"?

And the answer to that question is really important, because like we've seen, it unlocks this whole passage for us.

And the answer comes in two parts.

a. The Crime Is the Punishment

The first part of the answer is that one of the ways that God often brings judgement on people is by giving them what they want.

Imagine you take someone out to a really nice restaurant, and you order them a beautiful, delicious, expensive meal, and they look at it and say, “This looks gross. I'm going to go to Par-a-Mart for a bag of chips and a Red Bull."

In that moment, thinking about how rude and ungrateful that person has been, what would be the most just punishment you could give them? Letting them go eat junk food instead of that expensive meal. The crime is the punishment.

Or, it's like a kid touching the hot stove that their dad told them not to touch. They're going to burn their hand. The crime is the punishment.

And when we reject God and choose something less than Him, the crime is the punishment. The crime of choosing a human king instead of God is the punishment of having a human king instead of God. The crime of not listening when someone warns you that you're going to be a slave is that you end up being a slave.

This is the pattern in Romans 1, one of the most important chapters for understanding how sin works. Because people reject God, He gives them over to their sin, which ultimately destroys them.

“22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves” (Romans 1:22–25).

Our world is so messed up, and yes, there is judgement coming for our sin. But so much of the mess in the world is already the judgement of God, who is letting people destroy themselves by doing exactly what they want.

And here in 1 Samuel 8, God is not letting his people get away with anything. Everything that he warns them about will happen to them. And they choose it. The crime is the punishment.

2. God Wins

But that's not the only thing going on here. That's far from the only thing going on here. God always has the upper hand, and here, with His people, even as they try to get out from under His authority, He is outmaneuvering them.

And what's going on here is that He wins. God wins.

See, none of this was a surprise to Him. Deuteronomy 17:14, written hundreds of years before, foresaw not only exactly that the people would ask for a king but the exact reasons why. Similarly, Hannah's prayer at the beginning of this book talked about the Lord giving strength to His king (1 Sam 2:10).

God knew this was going to happen. And not only did He know this was going to happen, but He planned that this sinful request would be the very thing He would use to establish His reign over His people.

Yes, they would get Saul at first—not the king Israel needed, but the one they deserved. But after that, they would get David, not the king they deserved, but the king they actually needed. A king who led the people into covenant faithfulness to the Lord.

That's why there's no tension in this passage between the people's sinful request for a king, and the repeated statements back in the book of Judges that a king is exactly what Israel needed. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). A king was a part of God's plan to shepherd His sinful people. And that's true even though the request for a king was wrong.

And it gets better, because through David would come a promise about a son of David whose throne would be established forever, a son whose reign would encompass the whole world.

Through the prophets this royal son of David became the central figure in the hopes of the people. Every promise God made to His people came to a point in this man who would represent the nation and save the nation—and not just the nation, but all nations. After the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, all of the hopes of people hung upon the arrival of this person.

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1).

And we know that He came. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of David, the faithful son, the faithful Israelite, the faithful king who kept the law and only did what He saw His father doing and fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of His people. Who went to the cross where He suffered His father's wrath on behalf of His people. Who rose from the dead and was given all authority in heaven and on earth. Who ascended to Heaven where He sits at His father's right hand, crowned and enthroned as the king of the universe, and who is coming again to earth where He will sit on David's throne and reign forever.

That's what we got—and it came in response to this sinful, wicked request from the elders of Israel on this day, 3,000 years ago.

Israel wanted a king like the nations; God provided a king over the nations. They wanted a king instead of God. We would get a king who was God.

What they meant for evil, God meant for good. And in so doing, he completely outmaneuvered them. He put them in checkmate. They could not escape from His determination to save them and reign over them. Even their desire to replace Him with someone else would backfire and result in the eternal reign of Christ.

Meaning that this moment in 1 Samuel 8 is both one of the lowest points of Israel's rebellion and one of the most important hinge points in the plan of redemption. Both are true. This is how God works. That's how He's always worked, from beginning to the end. The entire plot structure of the Bible is built on this reality of human sin advancing the purposes of God.

And here's why this is so wonderful, personally. This truth allows us to be absolutely honest about human sin while being absolutely hopeful in God's ability to save and rescue us.

We can look at our lives and see all the times we've been sinned against, or sinned against, and can call a spade a spade. We can own our rebellion and repent of our disobedience. And we can have hope and confidence that none of it is going to go to waste in the wise and skillful hands of the Lord.

I can't help but think about my own life in this regard. I was born the day after my parents got married, which means my mom got pregnant with me nine months before she should have. That was a really embarrassing reality for two well-loved people actively involved in their church community.

And so, when they wanted to take a job at a Bible college in Saskatchewan 5 years later, they lied about the date of their wedding, putting it a year back to make things look more legit than they had been.

What that means is that I should not be here for at least two reasons. Sin brought me into this world, and sin brought me into this province. But I don't think that has stopped God's love from reaching me, or reaching others through me, for one second of my life.

So, think about your own life. Some of you have made really big mistakes in your life. Some of you feel like you've blown it. Some of you have sinned big time. And today's passage means that you can own it. Admit it. Confess it to God, and even others. You don't have to sugarcoat it for a second. Say the same thing about your sin that God does.

And then take courage that the Lord is not going to waste a thing as He works to make you like Jesus. Even your sin is a part of the "all things" He's going to use for His glory and your good.

Now, please hear—this is not permission to go and sin some more because, hey, it's all going to work out. Sometimes, when people rebel willingly, with eyes wide open, God just lets them experience the consequences of their actions—like He warned Israel about in verse 18.

This truth is not a hall pass for future recklessness. But it is an encouragement that nothing in your past is beyond the reach of God's transforming grace.

And that goes for other people, too. Sometimes we look at people who have made giant wrecks of their lives, and we wonder what good could come out of that. I'm so glad that God is not limited by our small imaginations. If God could use 1 Samuel 8 to bring us salvation through Jesus, don't underestimate His power to save for one second.

And the proof of all of this, the brightest star in this constellation, is the cross. Peter could look at a group of people weeks after Jesus was killed and say “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23).

Was Jesus sinfully killed by the hands of lawless men, or according to the definite plan of God? The answer is yes. Both are true at the same time.

And because of that, He could offer forgiveness to those same people who killed Him. Literally the worst sin in the history of the world was God's intended way for that worst sin to be forgiven.

And so it is for you and I and everybody else. Because Jesus died and rose again, our sin doesn't threaten God's plans or God's grace one little bit.