You could write over this passage the words...'If it's not broken...don't fix it'!
Israel was under a Theocracy - God was their government. But the children of Israel had looked at the nations around them, and they wanted to be just like them and have a monarchy.
It must have come as a shock to Samuel's system to hear their cry.
THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE isn`t always the right one !
There are great practical lessons to be learned from this passage, and in this - the first of a two part message - Rev Elliott looks at:
1. THE DECLINE IN THE NATION THAT SAMUEL ENCOUNTERED
i) The EVIDENCE Of It
Israel was to be separate from the heathen nations around them, but the people had been yearning after what these other nations had - a king.
ii) The EXPRESSION Of It
a) Samuel's Age was brought into question - Christian, do not let anyone tell you that you are too old for the work of the Lord !
b) The Character Of His Sons was cast up before Samuel
iii) The EVIL In It
There was great evil here as the people were, in effect, rejecting God.
iv) The EFFECTS Of It
a) Samuel was displeased - not because of what they said about his age, but because they had rejected God.
Samuel was spiritually minded, and such people will be grieved when the nation or even the church rejects what God says.
b) It led Samuel to prayer (v6)
This is what God's people should do when faced with such disappointment and crisis - take it straight to the Lord in prayer.
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