Do not abandon God

I Samuel 8:5-9 (NLT)

“Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for it is Me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want Me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned Me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

Both Samuel and his mentor, Eli, were men of God who were used by God to achieve mighty things for God and His people during their lives.  Yet they had sons who did not follow in their father’s footsteps.  While Solomon did follow his father, David’s, footsteps, other sons of David did not and neither did Solomon’s sons.  The same phenomenon can be seen today where there are exceptions, but the majority of pastors’ sons do not end up as pastors also and many rebel against the beliefs of their fathers.   

Even though Samuel must have been well aware of the corruption of his sons, it still must have hurt him terribly, as it would to any father, to hear others tell him that his sons are unworthy to replace him.  The people asked for a king to lead them instead of a priest like Samuel.  No, perhaps there was no one like Samuel, but Samuel was not happy with their request and consulted with God.  Note that when Samuel was hurt by what others were saying about his sons, he went to God in prayer.  That should be your first response whenever something goes wrong in your life. 

God’s answer is very interesting and applies to us today----when people reject you for your position as a follower of God, they are not rejected you but rejecting God.  God describes His people as not only rejecting Him, but also continually abandoning Him and following other gods.  Have you ever thought about God feeling abandoned when you forget about Him, when you go about your merry way and don’t include Him in your life, don’t read about Him, don’t talk nor listen to Him? 

Despite the fact that Samuel had been a very successful spiritual leader and judge for Israel, the people, because of their rejection of God and desiring to follow their own ways rather than following God’s ways, no longer wanted Samuel or any other priest leader to be their head of government.  They wanted a king, a human monarch rather than a theocracy.  What is God’s response---go ahead and do it your way.  Just like what Paul wrote in Romans 1:24-32, when people refuse to worship God and refuse to follow Him, He says “fine, do it your way”.  He abandon those who abandon Him and without His protection and provision, there are terrible consequences.  This is what has always happened when humans turn against God and think that they know better.  No, they don’t know better and they pay a terrible price----enslavement, tragedy, great losses, and lives filled with anything but God’s peace and security.

Pray for yourself that you do not make decisions that ignore His will in your life.  Make sure that you include Him in your prayers about major decisions you must make—e.g. anything about your job, major expenditures, buying and selling homes and other expensive things, what to do with aging parents, college and career choices, health issues in the family, and so forth.  Also pray for our nation that our leaders and, especially our courts, do not abandon God’s direction and will in future decisions that affect our nation’s strength, principles and values.