Old Testament for June 9, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Samuel 8:4-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage describes the transition of power within Israel, but also describes a complete shift in political systems.

Up until this time, Israel has been a loose confederation of tribes, led by a charismatic individual whom they called a judge. This judge had been identified by certain gifts of leadership and prowess, and was called by God for that particular time and circumstance.

It might be said that this was a “theocracy,” i.e., they were ruled by God; but there was not a centralized political authority.  In fact, there almost seems to have been a kind of loosely organized sense of democracy, at least in terms of the decisions made by each tribe in relation to one another.  Each tribe seems to have been represented by at least one elder, if not more.

Now, however, there was a movement toward political centralization and toward monarchy.

The motivation stated by the elders is related to their anxieties — Samuel is old, and his sons have proven to be corrupt and unworthy of leadership. Moreover, near the end of the passage the elders of Israel express their desire for a king to lead them in military campaigns.  They seem to believe that other nations led by a king have been more successful and secure.  Their motivation appears to be fear rather than confidence in God.

Naturally, Samuel takes all of this very personally.  He feels that this is somehow a referendum on his leadership, and he has been rejected.  But when he prays, God provides the alternative (and no doubt correct) interpretation.  God reassures him that God, not Samuel, is being rejected from leadership over Israel.  He also says that this has been a pattern for Israel since they were liberated from Egypt.  As they have sought security in false gods and idols, so now they are seeking security in a strong king rather than in God and his chosen prophet.

So, the Lord grants his permission, but with a provision — he tells Samuel to warn the people of the consequences of their actions.  Their children will become servants of the king; their servants will become the king’s property; and the king will help himself to their land and livestock, taking the best for himself.  What Samuel describes to them is a feudalistic system in which they will lose their freedom and their rights.

Even worse, when they cry out to God, he will not rescue them from the bondage they’ve chosen.

Nevertheless, the people are determined that this is what they want — to imitate all the other nations around them, and to give up the unique relationship they have enjoyed with God.

APPLY:  

What is the leader to do when the people declare they “want to go in a different direction?”  Politicians, CEO’s, pastors have often experienced just such a crisis in leadership.

Perhaps rather than resisting the will of the people, however misguided the leader may think it to be, the best thing to do is to follow Samuel’s example. First, pray.

It may be difficult for the leader to come to the same conclusion that Samuel did. He only arrived there because God made it very clear to him in prayer. Samuel was reassured that he wasn’t being rejected, God was!  That might not be the same message we receive from God!

However, when the will of the people had become clear, Samuel still had a responsibility to advise the people as to the consequences of their decision.

Even today, good leadership requires that the leader accede to the will of the majority; however, good leadership also requires that the leader advise his/her constituency about the possible consequences of their decision.

RESPOND: 

Leadership can be a very lonely role.  Knowing one’s people, the context, the challenges and the risks means that the leader understands the possible benefits as well as dangers that lie ahead.

In my own experience, this means that when a church or a group has made a decision that I disagree with, or that I think unwise, I have a responsibility to advise them as to the possible consequences.  However, once the decision is made, I must do my utmost to execute their will — provided of course that it doesn’t violate my own sense of values and morality.  In that case, the leader must bite the bullet and resign.

Lord, I pray for your reassurance when I feel that I have failed to lead properly.  I don’t ask for the same reassurance that Samuel received.  I acknowledge that in any given situation I may have made mistakes.  But I do ask for your assurance of love and acceptance when my leadership has been passed over or rejected. And help me to discern when it is time for someone else to take over the reins of leadership.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Leadership” poster: “Mine, Mine, Mine” by Jason Samfield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for June 6, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Samuel 8:4-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage describes the transition of power within Israel, but also describes a complete shift in political systems.

Up until this time, Israel has been a loose confederation of tribes, led by a charismatic individual whom they called a judge. This judge had been identified by certain gifts of leadership and prowess, and was called by God for that particular time and circumstance.

It might be said that this was a “theocracy,” i.e., they were ruled by God; but there was not a centralized political authority.  In fact, there almost seems to have been a kind of loosely organized sense of democracy, at least in terms of the decisions made by each tribe in relation to one another.  Each tribe seems to have been represented by at least one elder, if not more.

Now, however, there was a movement toward political centralization and toward monarchy.

The motivation stated by the elders is related to their anxieties — Samuel is old, and his sons have proven to be corrupt and unworthy of leadership. Moreover, near the end of the passage the elders of Israel express their desire for a king to lead them in military campaigns.  They seem to believe that other nations led by a king have been more successful and secure.  Their motivation appears to be fear rather than confidence in God.

Naturally, Samuel takes all of this very personally.  He feels that this is somehow a referendum on his leadership, and he has been rejected.  But when he prays, God provides the alternative (and no doubt correct) interpretation.  God reassures him that God, not Samuel, is being rejected from leadership over Israel.  He also says that this has been a pattern for Israel since they were liberated from Egypt.  As they have sought security in false gods and idols, so now they are seeking security in a strong king rather than in God and his chosen prophet.

So, the Lord grants his permission, but with a provision — he tells Samuel to warn the people of the consequences of their actions.  Their children will become servants of the king; their servants will become the king’s property; and the king will help himself to their land and livestock, taking the best for himself.  What Samuel describes to them is a feudalistic system in which they will lose their freedom and their rights.

Even worse, when they cry out to God, he will not rescue them from the bondage they’ve chosen.

Nevertheless, the people are determined that this is what they want — to imitate all the other nations around them, and to give up the unique relationship they have enjoyed with God.

APPLY:  

What is the leader to do when the people declare they “want to go in a different direction?”  Politicians, CEO’s, pastors have often experienced just such a crisis in leadership.

Perhaps rather than resisting the will of the people, however misguided the leader may think it to be, the best thing to do is to follow Samuel’s example. First, pray.

It may be difficult for the leader to come to the same conclusion that Samuel did. He only arrived there because God made it very clear to him in prayer. Samuel was reassured that he wasn’t being rejected, God was!  That might not be the same message we receive from God!

However, when the will of the people had become clear, Samuel still had a responsibility to advise the people as to the consequences of their decision.

Even today, good leadership requires that the leader accede to the will of the majority; however, good leadership also requires that the leader advise his/her constituency about the possible consequences of their decision.

RESPOND: 

Leadership can be a very lonely role.  Knowing one’s people, the context, the challenges and the risks means that the leader understands the possible benefits as well as dangers that lie ahead.

In my own experience, this means that when a church or a group has made a decision that I disagree with, or that I think unwise, I have a responsibility to advise them as to the possible consequences.  However, once the decision is made, I must do my utmost to execute their will — provided of course that it doesn’t violate my own sense of values and morality.  In that case, the leader must bite the bullet and resign.

Lord, I pray for your reassurance when I feel that I have failed to lead properly.  I don’t ask for the same reassurance that Samuel received.  I acknowledge that in any given situation I may have made mistakes.  But I do ask for your assurance of love and acceptance when my leadership has been passed over or rejected. And help me to discern when it is time for someone else to take over the reins of leadership.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Leadership” poster: “Mine, Mine, Mine” by Jason Samfield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for June 10, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Samuel 8:4-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage describes the transition of power within Israel, but also describes a complete shift in political systems.

Up until this time, Israel has been a loose confederation of tribes, led by a charismatic individual whom they called a judge.  This judge had been identified by certain gifts of leadership and prowess, and was called by God for that particular time and circumstance.

It might be said that this was a “theocracy,” i.e., they were ruled by God; but there was not a centralized political authority.  In fact, there almost seems to have been a kind of loosely organized sense of democracy, at least in terms of the decisions made by each tribe in relation to one another.  Each tribe seems to have been represented by at least one elder, if not more.

Now, however, there was a movement toward political centralization and toward monarchy.

The motivation stated by the elders is related to their anxieties — Samuel is old, and his sons have proven to be corrupt and unworthy of leadership. Moreover, near the end of the passage the elders of Israel express their desire for a king to lead them in military campaigns.  They seem to believe that other nations led by a king have been more successful and secure.  Their motivation appears to be fear rather than confidence in God.

Naturally, Samuel takes all of this very personally.  He feels that this is somehow a referendum on his leadership, and he has been rejected.  But when he prays, God provides the alternative — and no doubt correct — interpretation.  God reassures him that God, not Samuel, is being rejected from leadership over Israel.  He also says that this has been a pattern for Israel since they were liberated from Egypt.  As they have sought security in false gods and idols, so now they are seeking security in a strong king rather than in God and his chosen prophet.

So, the Lord grants his permission, but with a provision — he tells Samuel to warn the people of the consequences of their actions.  Their children will become servants of the king; their servants will become the king’s  property; and the king will help himself to their land and livestock, taking the best for himself.  What Samuel describes to them is a feudalistic system in which they will lose their freedom and their rights.

Even worse, when they cry out to God, he will not rescue them from the bondage they’ve chosen.

Nevertheless, the people are determined that this is what they want – to imitate all the other nations around them, and to give up the unique relationship they have enjoyed with God.

APPLY:  

What is the leader to do when the people declare they “want to go in a different direction?”  Politicians, CEO’s, pastors have often experienced just such a crisis in leadership.

Perhaps rather than resisting the will of the people, however misguided the leader may think it to be, the best thing to do is to follow Samuel’s example — first, pray.

It may be difficult for the leader to come to the same conclusion that Samuel did. He only arrived there because God made it very clear to him in prayer. Samuel was reassured that he wasn’t being rejected, God was!  That might not be the same message we receive from God!

However, when the will of the people had become clear, Samuel still had a responsibility to advise the people as to the consequences of their decision.

Even today, good leadership requires that the leader accede to the will of the majority; however, good leadership also requires that the leader advise his/her constituency about the possible consequences of their decision.

RESPOND: 

Leadership can be a very lonely role.  Knowing one’s people, the context, the challenges and the risks means that the leader understands the possible benefits as well as dangers that lie ahead.

In my own experience, this means that when a church or a group has made a decision that I disagree with, or that I think unwise, I have a responsibility to advise them as to the possible consequences.  However, once the decision is made, I must do my utmost to execute their will – provided of course that it doesn’t violate my own sense of values and morality.  In that case, the leader must bite the bullet and resign.

Lord, I pray for your reassurance when I feel that I have failed to lead properly.  I don’t ask for the same reassurance that Samuel received.  I acknowledge that in any given situation I may have made mistakes.  But I do ask for your assurance of love and acceptance when my leadership has been passed over or rejected. And help me to discern when it is time for someone else to take over the reins of leadership.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Leadership” poster: “Mine, Mine, Mine” by Jason Samfield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.