Monday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 8:1-5
Israel Requests a King
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
Israel Requests a King
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
Commentary:
8:4–5 appoint for us a king … like all the nations. Samuel had appointed judges. The elders, recognizing his authority, ask for a king. (To judge can also carry the nuance “to govern.”) They want to exchange their unique glory as the people of the incomparable God (2:2), who had brought them out of Egypt (8:8) and was even now protecting them (10:19), for status in the world, in order to be “like all the nations.” The law had given permission, but not a requirement, to appoint a king (Deut. 17:14–20).
8:5 A king like the nations contrasts with God’s kingship (v. 7). God intends Israel to have a king (Deut. 17:14–20), but the people’s desires and the kings themselves fall short. Saul’s failure contrasts with David’s success. But eventually David too fails (2 Samuel 11). The failure of merely human kings points to the need for the perfect king, Christ, who will be divine and human (Isa. 9:6–7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 503–504.
8:5 A king like the nations contrasts with God’s kingship (v. 7). God intends Israel to have a king (Deut. 17:14–20), but the people’s desires and the kings themselves fall short. Saul’s failure contrasts with David’s success. But eventually David too fails (2 Samuel 11). The failure of merely human kings points to the need for the perfect king, Christ, who will be divine and human (Isa. 9:6–7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 503–504.
Questions:
Israel looked around at the nations surrounding them and saw something they wanted: a king like everyone else. They looked at what other nations had and decided that what God had given them wasn't enough.
We may not be asking God for a king today, but we know the feeling.
IF I had their marriage, THEN I would feel secure.
IF I had their house, THEN I would feel successful.
IF my kids were like their kids, THEN I would feel like I was doing something right.
IF I had their opportunities, their influence, their finances, their friendships, their life… THEN I would finally be satisfied.
Comparison has a way of turning someone else's life into evidence that God has not given us enough. But look at what Israel was forgetting. They already belonged to God. He had rescued them, provided for them, protected them, and called them His treasured possession. They were looking at the nations around them and longing for what those nations had, while overlooking what they already had in God.
We can fall into that same way of thinking. The thing we're comparing ourselves to may not even be wrong. The problem comes when we begin believing that having it would finally give us something our hearts are desperate for. We start attaching our peace to an outcome or measuring God's goodness by what we can see in someone else's life.
Maybe you've been waiting for something to change. Maybe you've been looking at someone else's life and wondering why God hasn't given you the same thing. Your circumstances may not look like someone else's, but that does not mean God has forgotten you. Your life does not have to match the people around you for you to be secure in Him.
We may not be asking God for a king today, but we know the feeling.
IF I had their marriage, THEN I would feel secure.
IF I had their house, THEN I would feel successful.
IF my kids were like their kids, THEN I would feel like I was doing something right.
IF I had their opportunities, their influence, their finances, their friendships, their life… THEN I would finally be satisfied.
Comparison has a way of turning someone else's life into evidence that God has not given us enough. But look at what Israel was forgetting. They already belonged to God. He had rescued them, provided for them, protected them, and called them His treasured possession. They were looking at the nations around them and longing for what those nations had, while overlooking what they already had in God.
We can fall into that same way of thinking. The thing we're comparing ourselves to may not even be wrong. The problem comes when we begin believing that having it would finally give us something our hearts are desperate for. We start attaching our peace to an outcome or measuring God's goodness by what we can see in someone else's life.
Maybe you've been waiting for something to change. Maybe you've been looking at someone else's life and wondering why God hasn't given you the same thing. Your circumstances may not look like someone else's, but that does not mean God has forgotten you. Your life does not have to match the people around you for you to be secure in Him.
- Think about the people that most often compare yourself too. What do you find yourself thinking, “If I had BLANK, THEN…”? Fill in the blank and then finish the sentence honestly.
- What are you hoping that person, circumstance, achievement, possession, or opportunity would give you? Take some time to name the deeper desire underneath it rather than stopping at the thing you want.
- How has that desire affected the way you see God's provision in your life right now? Has it made you more grateful for what He's given you, or has it caused what you already have to feel less valuable?
- Bring that desire honestly to God today. What do you need to surrender to Him, and what truth about His character do you need to hold onto when comparison starts pulling your attention away?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the places where comparison has made you believe that what God has given you isn't enough.
- Ask God to show you the desires underneath your comparison and help you recognize where you have attached your peace, security, or satisfaction to something other than Him.
- Ask God to help you practice contentment by receiving His provision with gratitude instead of measuring your life against someone else's.
- Thank God that your security does not depend on having what others have, but on belonging to King Jesus.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
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