Ancient Israel began as a theocracy - God himself, through the prophets, priests and judges, ruled the nation. But the Israelites were not satisfied with a King they could not see and touch, they wanted a human king so they could "be like all the other nations" (1 Sam 8:20) with a visible king to lead them.
Although Samuel was offended by their choice, God allowed it because choice, and in particular choice of whom we will serve (note Josh 24:15), is integral to our personhood. It was not that their choice was not important or had no real consequences - nothing could be further from the truth. If Mr T had been in Samuel's sandals, he would no doubt had said, "pity the fool who chooses a king over The King." Nonetheless, the choice was theirs.
The Israelites chose a king and that choice caused them to suffer oppression, abuse and captivity. Their choice for a leader they could see up close caused them to become near-sighted and loose their vision as the people of God. Their choice truly enslaved them, barring them from the freedom found only in God's rule.
The kings we choose, apart from God, are no different - they cause us to lose vision and suffer unwanted consequences. Whether money, power, position, passions, drugs, self - whatever other than God, the ultimate result is the same: Loss of our true self as children of The King and our place in the Kingdom.
The choice is yours, and as Joshua said, it is your right and responsibility to "choose for yourself whom you will serve" (Josh 24:15). I hope you will choose The Lord Jesus Christ, for only in Him is there true freedom and life.
No comments:
Post a Comment