1. 1 Samuel 1 Samuel 8 The Demand for a King

2. 1 Samuel Kings are not evil; Gen. 17:6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. Gen. 35:11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you.

3. 1 Samuel …Why you want one may be! 1 Sam. 8:5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Sam. 8:19,20 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

4. 1 Samuel A change for change’s sake. Where is the “up side”? God is their Judge God is their Redeemer God is their Protector/ Provider King will force military King will force occupation King will force ‘taxes’ King will force slavery God will NOT hear their cries for help ( Judges 2:16, 18, 3:9, 18)

5. 1 Samuel The pull of the neighbors Ps. 73 Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; the garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot.

6. 1 Samuel They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; they speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, and waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence; For I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning.

7. 1 Samuel The ‘heart’ of the issue. Jas. 4:3-4 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? 1.Sam. 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

8. 1 Samuel Ps. 73 (cont’d) …When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form. When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

9. 1 Samuel Nevertheless I am continually with You; you have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; you have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

10. 1 Samuel Israel had neighboring nations that provided a snare to their following after God by offering an opposing lifestyle that seemed to work. (though it disobeyed Gods desire at the present) How are your ‘neighbors’ snaring you?