Scripture: 1 Samuel 8
Sermon: The Desire for a King
Topics: king, communion, desires, if only, Advent
Preached: December 5, 2010
Rev. Mike Abma
1 Samuel 8
8When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him,
‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’
6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7and the Lord said to Samuel,
‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8Just as they have done to me,* from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’
10 So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you:
he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;
12and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.
15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.
16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle* and donkeys, and put them to his work.
17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’
19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’
21When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and set a king over them.’ Samuel then said to the people of Israel, ‘Each of you return home.’
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
INTRODUCTION
When I was 18 and my brother was 17, my brother had a burning desire.
He had his eyes on a 1967 White Mercury Cougar hard-top.
He really wanted that car.
It was the coolest car he had ever seen,
and he thought he would be pretty cool touring around town in it.
He was convinced that life would not be worth living without that car.
He nagged my parents to let him buy that car.
My parents were not thrilled with the idea.
They presented a whole list of objections:
* he didn’t need a car
* he couldn’t really afford the car:
not to buy it, to insure it, to maintain and repair it.
* and lastly, they were worried about what this car would mean.
They saw it as a gateway to trouble.
They told him all this.
But he had his heart set on that 1967 Cougar.
And finally they acquiesced.
They were not pleased, but they permitted it.
They did not approve, but they allowed it.
I guess that is partly what parenthood is about: allowing kids to make poor choices and to live with the consequences.
That is the price of love.
PRICE OF LOVE
In this chapter, God is paying the price of love.
Israel is bound and determined to have a king.
Now you may be wondering, what is so bad about that?
Desiring a king doesn’t sound nearly as foolish as desiring a 1967 Cougar.
But it was.
My brother wanted that Cougar not so much for the nuts and bolts of the thing.
He wanted it for what it seemed to promise — “looking cool.”
Israel did not want a king just to have a warm body occupy a throne.
They wanted what they thought kings promised.
They wanted what the kings of the other nations around them were promising.
And what were these kings promising?
They were promising military security and economic growth.
Security and prosperity —
doorways to the good life,
doorways to happiness.
So Israel was singing this song…If only ….If only we had a king.
IF ONLY
This was not the first time they had sung this “If only” song.
They had sung this song before.
When slaves in Egypt, they sang, “If only we could get out of Egypt.”
Then in the desert, they sang, “If only we had some decent food to eat.”
Eventually they sang, “If only we could get out of the desert.”
And lately they were singing, “If only we could get rid of those pesky Philistines.”
That is how that song goes: one “if only” stanza is quickly replaced by another.
We know that song.
We sing that song.
Middle Schoolers sing, “If only we could be in High School.”
High Schoolers sing, “If only we could get out of High School.”
As we grow older, we keep singing the same old song
but simply add different stanzas:
If only I could find a soul-mate, the love of my love.
If only I could find a fulfilling job.
If only I could afford to remodel my kitchen.
If only I could make $20,000 a year more.
If only I could lose 20 pounds.
If only……well, you can fill in the blank.
CREATURES OF DESIRE
The Human Heart is a factory of desires.
In fact, we are creatures of desire.
You may remember the Philosopher DesCartes who is famous for writing Cogito ergo sum – I think, therefore I am.
Well, St. Augustine was closer to the truth when he wrote
“I desire, therefore I am,”
or, to translate him a little more accurately, “We are what we desire.”
The direction of our desires makes all the difference.
They reflect the source of our trust.
They reflect the anchor of our hope.
That is why this desire for a king is not simply a practical matter,
It is not simply a political matter.
It is a theological matter.
And God takes it personally.
God says, “They have rejected me.”
Israel hadn’t had a king for 500 years.
For 500 years, God had provided for them.
He led them out of Egypt.
He led them through the desert.
He led them into the Promised Land.
When challenges came their way,
God raised up judges.
When leaders were corrupt,
like the sons of the high priest Eli,
God provided better leadership — he provided Samuel.
Now it was Samuel’s sons who were corrupt.
and God would have provided better leadership.
But no, Israel wanted a human king.
They were determined to have a king like everyone else.
They wanted their borders protected,
and their bank accounts swelled.
In the end, God acquiesced.
He was not pleased, but he permitted it.
He did not approve, but he allowed it.
He paid the price of love.
DESIRES IN ADVENT
The end of November and the month of December are days
when our desires are under attack.
We are presented with so many things
that promise security
or joy
or happiness
or contentment.
We are presented so many things that other people have
and seem to enjoy.
But here, in this worship space,
In this Advent season,
Peter and I are here to remind us all
that we were created
to desire God:
to long for him,
to yearn for him,
and to trust him
to lead us to green pastures
and to lead us beside quiet waters.
SAVED FROM OUR DESIRES
1 Samuel 8 ends with God reluctantly saying, “Give them a king.”
God gave them the king they wanted.
But in time,
God gave us the king we needed.
In the fullness of time,
God came and gave us himself as king.
He came as a tiny baby.
He came to be our king.
But he was unlike any king there ever was.
Military might meant nothing to him — he never carried a sword.
Amassing wealth meant nothing to him – he relied on the charity of others.
Even Pontius Pilate could not figure him out.
Pilate asked: “You? Are you really a king? Are you king of the Jews?”
The heart-breaking reality is that when we were given the king we needed,
we rejected him all over again.
We rejected him.
We crucified him.
Our rightful king — and we killed him.
So why did this king come so humbly?
Why was this king willing to die so sacrificially?
Why?
Because this King came not so that we could realize our dreams and desires.
He came to save us from our dreams and desires:
He came to save us from
all the wrong-headed things we think will deliver happiness;
He came to save us from
all the wrong-headed promises we trust will deliver security.
He came to save us from
all those bites we have taken
from the tempting fruit of our desires.
He came to save us from
our sin.
He came to save us from these wrong-headed desires,
but he also he came to re-orient our desires in the right direction:
in the direction of our rightful king
and in the direction of his kingdom.
He came as nothing,
to be our everything;
He came as a nobody,
so that, in him, we can be somebodies.
He came as a beggar-king,
so that we beggars can be kings.
He came, willing to be rejected,
so that we would finally realize
that he is the one we’ve been searching for,
longing for, all this time.
He came to pay the price of love …once and for all.
CONCLUSION
Israel has its own story, its own history.
We read her history to ponder our own.
We all have our own story, our own past.
You know the road you have travelled before arriving here.
You know how long and winding it is.
You know its crooked desires
and lingering disappointments.
You know its frustrating decisions
and foolish directions.
You know the songs you have sung on the way,
and all the sad stanzas.
You may be here in this church because you want MORE out of life.
You want MORE.
And you may be wondering: is it so wrong to want MORE, to desire MORE.
Well, I invite you all to come to this Table.
I invite you to receive what is offered here.
I invite you to listen to the words:
The body of Christ for you.
The blood of Christ for you.
I invite you to take, to eat, to drink, to believe.
This may not be the MORE you think you need.
But it is.
It is enough.
It is more than enough.
Amen
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