And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
In our country there are billions of dollars spent on training leaders, finding leaders, writing about leaders, coaching leaders, firming leaders, hiring leaders, etc. There is no void in those who want to lead. From our local PTA and HOA to our organization of the C-Suites, leadership is valued in our society. In the above passage we read about the first leader (the king) of Israel. Up to this point God sent leaders to lead Israel (Moses, Joshua). But when the people entered the promise land the twelve tribes were to posses the land. The leaders of those twelve tribes were supposed to follow God and He was to be their king. But, Israel wanted their own king. They didn’t want a king because they wanted a leader to point them to God. That had that in Samuel the prophet. They had family leaders to guide them in their decisions. The issue was not that they wanted leadership. The issue was that they wanted a king like the nations around them. It was not the form of governance that caused a difficulty (God will send His Son to be their King), it was that in their heart they were rejecting God as their king. If the king and the nation were obedient in their hearts this would not have been an issue. Later God will give the King David and his heart would follow after God. The issue for Israel was they desired what the world had and wanted to be governed by the world’s plan and not Gods. In our governance it is not the leader we have but the heart that trust the leader over God. It matters not who sits in the chair of leadership if our heart is trusting in the leader and not the God who put the leader in the chair. God established leadership.
Psalms 75:7 (ESV)
but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
Our hearts are to follow God, not the one God puts in leadership.
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