"A King to Lead Us"

 

" 'We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.'

" When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.' "

 

            I find this to be one of the most interesting and relevant passages in the Old Testament, because it deals with change and attitudes about change. Israel is going through a major change: from being a tribal confederacy with occasional judges raised up to deliver them from an enemy, to becoming a unified nation under a king. Almost every part of life would be touched by this change. It was not an easy transition.

            There were deficiencies in the way Israel was structured. The priesthood was not faring well under Eli and his corrupt sons. The Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, and then returned in a cart, but it was just sitting in a home some distance from the tabernacle at Shiloh. Some of the recent judges had not been effective, or righteous. It was impossible for Israel to prosper economically as long as they were not unified as a nation. So the people asked for a king, for a fundamental change of the national constitution. They wanted to be like the other nations. Bill Arnold writes, "Israel wants the kind of monarchy it sees in Canaan, a kingship that will bring power and influence."

            How do you deal with changes that come into your life? Some people always interpret change as loss. Everything new brings with it a grief over some part of the past that has now ended, been replaced. Even small changes can cause grief. That which brought peace and stability is no more. Life feels less secure.

            A few years ago the Covenant Church published a new Book of Worship for pastors. The old one came out in 1981, when I was just starting out. It has been for me a wonderful book, used at weddings, funerals, baptisms and Sunday services. I love that book, and it is now filled with memories. But as I looked through the new one, I began to get angry. "They have thrown my beloved book in the trash can! How could you ever perform a reasonable wedding with this new wording?" Then I began to laugh. I finally had made it to the age when I can gripe about all things new! I understand those older pastors who were not at all pleased by the 1981 book, and clung tightly to what they had been using since the Civil War. Now I am one of them. Change can feel like loss.

            Other people welcome change and see in it opportunity for improvement. They feel change frees things up that might be stuck, or that change allows an opportunity to fix what has not been working well. Change can bring economic benefit, new ideas, and greater chances to get ahead. Whether we come at change reluctantly, with a sense of loss, or with excitement and anticipation of something better, we all have to negotiate many times of change and we know that transitions are difficult for a community. We do not always know how to handle change in our lives.

            This is where Samuel is such a good model for us. He struggled with the change to a monarchy. He felt the grief. Yet he also became the one to anoint the new king and to shape the monarchy as an institution in which to serve God. Samuel was a remarkable individual. He grew up with Eli in the tabernacle and not in his parents' home. So he grew up close to God and God's house. I am sure he missed the experience of family and the influence of parents to care for him. He replaced that with a strong faith in God, a loyalty to the traditions, and a conviction that God is King. His life was so rooted in the tradition that the thought of a human king was very hard for him to accept. For Samuel, God alone is King. That title cannot be shared. Yet even as he feels the loss and the risk that the monarchy brings to Israel, he helps them in the change. He directs them to have a king who will submit to the rule of the Lord.

            The second thing about Samuel is that he develops as a unique individual. Samuel grows up to be a priest, with Eli as his teacher. But he is also a prophet, one who speaks the word of the Lord. He was at times a military leader. He was a judge/ deliverer. All those roles were held in one person. He was not one-dimensional like Samson. He was multi-skilled, righteous, competent and respected. But as is often the case with people like that, no one can quite live up to him. His sons do not following his ways. So there is no one to pass on this unique role in the life of Israel.

            In a monarchy, an institutional structure replaces this unique, free-flowing leadership style. The king must have different skills. The king plays a particular role for the nation in order for it to maintain stability.

            Sometimes in a small church or a new church everyone has to be willing to do whatever needs to be done. In those kinds of places there are often people who excel at filling leadership needs in a whole variety of ways. They know everyone in the church and they take care of everyone. They may be called on for counseling, for teaching Sunday School, for fixing the plumbing, for leading meetings, maybe preaching when the pastor is away. Then as the church grows or matures, it is not possible or even helpful for one person to do everything. So that leader must redefine his or her role, must allow the role to change. That can be very difficult, or, if done successfully, it can be a very good thing. This is Samuel's example for us. He goes from being the leader of a theocracy, to being a prophet in a monarchy. Because he is able to make that shift, he serves both God and Israel well all his days.

            What is your role in the Kingdom of God? Is your role changing? Do you need to accept a place or role today that is different from what it has been? Is there a place for you in the Lord's service that fits you better in terms of who you are now? Are there any changes in the church structure that allow you or invite you to be used in a new way? Are you thinking about the next generation of leadership and how you can either be part of it, or help pass on responsibilities to them?

            This is where Samuel is so instructive to us. The people asked for a king, but not just any king. They wanted one just like the other nations had, a Canaanite king. Bill Arnold writes that "Ancient near Eastern kingship is parasitic rather than giving." It was all about taking from the people, because those kings saw themselves as divine or as children of the gods. They felt they deserved the best for themselves. Some of this attitude does eventually come into Israel. Solomon takes about 900 wives for himself. Ahab seizes Naboth's vineyard. David seizes Bathsheba for himself. These kings always take and take and force others to serve. Arnold says, "The kind of kingship Israel is requesting has no redeeming qualities and is antithetical to Israelite faith and history."

            So Samuel anoints Saul as king, as God has instructed him. He gives Israel a king, but not a Canaanite-style king. Samuel makes it clear that the ruler of Israel is always to be under the kingship of God. The human king is not divine. Rather, he is to have a heart for serving God, and is in all ways to represent God to the people. He is to be a righteous King, not a parasite king.

            It is out of Samuel's conception of kingship that Israel forms its understanding of the Messiah, the anointed king who rules in righteousness and shows the way to God. The prophets will describe this Messiah in much greater detail. But in reforming the common concept of king, Samuel begins to envision a truly just ruler who will be used by God to save his people.

            Centuries later, Jesus stands before the governor Pilate. Pilate asks him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" In Pilate's time, the model for kings was Caesar. Pilate is asking Jesus, "Are you another Caesar among us? "Are you here to conquer us, dominate us, impose your will upon us, like Caesar?" "Do you act like Caesar, taking whatever you want for yourself, surrounding yourself with armies and chariots, enriching yourself through the slavery of thousands?"

            Jesus answers, "No, I am not that type of a king. My kingdom is not of this world." Jesus is the Messiah King who conquers sin and death. He is the son of God who lived in perfect union with the Father, and who did not take life from others, but gave his life on the cross to save others. He is risen from the dead and is exalted by God. He is the King of Kings. He is the one to follow. He is the savior who calls us to life in his kingdom.

            Amen.