Today’s passage: 1 Samuel 8:1-22
Helpful thoughts:
- Samuel’s sons turned out to be much like Eli’s sons.
- Israel did not sin in rejecting the conduct of their new judges. They sinned by rejecting their King (Verse 7).
- In a way, Israel was given this choice:
- Have God as your king and deal with the sinful crooked judges who will be unjust and take your stuff, OR
- Reject God as your king and deal with a man as your king…who will be unjust and take your stuff.
- The nation weighed their options and chose to reject God.
- The people that God had set apart from all the other nations (Leviticus 20:26) has now chosen to become just like all the other nations. (Verses 19-20)
Questions to consider:
- In what ways does this chapter reminds us of the problem of sin? From families, to government, etc.
- What is ironic about the cause of Israel’s sinful decision? What kinds of actions did they claim as motivation to reject God?
- Is a leader (Outside of Jesus, outside of God’s gracious intervention) ever going to make a nation perfect? What did the Israelites truly need to do in order to make their nation better? How could we apply this to ourselves today? What message do our neighbors need to hear?