Judges & 1 Samuel 8 "The Kingdom"

SOAP Journal based on Judges & 1 Samuel

S = Judges 17:6 & 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

1 Samuel 8:5b,7-9 “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” …And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey 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. ⁸ According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. ⁹ Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

O = After the time of conquest under Joshua, the nation of Israel was repeatedly oppressed by surrounding nations as a result of their disobeying God. God told Israel ahead of time that this would happen if they chose to turn away from the Lord, and the people had agreed (Deut. 11, 29-30). The book of Judges narrates the downward cycles of rejection, rebellion, repentance, and rescue. Everyone did as they saw fit. That is a problem. The people were to be looking to God as their king but generally didn’t. They wanted to be like every other nation. God lets the people have what they wanted but warns them ahead of time what a king would cost them.  

A = I would do well to learn from these examples in the Bible. Firstly, is there in my own heart a turning away from following and worshiping the Lord alone? I resign any claim to self-direction and self-salvation…they don’t work anyway. Secondly, what kind of leaders do I tend to follow (Deut. 17:15)? Are they godly or worldly? Thirdly, I know I need to pray for my community, state, and country more consistently—that people might see the emptiness of idolatry and immorality and long for the fullness of joy and peace in the Father, through Christ, by the Spirit! It might also help me if I began to think of God as my King and to actively seek his input before launching into just any old thing on my own.

P = O Lord, send your Spirit to search my heart and reveal—any bitter root which needs to be pulled up, any area where I have begun to coast instead of pressing in relationally, any imaginations that I have raised up against you—and redeem my life from the pit I would surely dig if left to my own devices. Be my king today and always! Amen.