Israel Rejects God as King

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Dear children, keep yourselves from idols first John five twenty one. Lord, you alone are worthy of our worship. Yet our hearts so easily chase after lesser things. We confess that we often place our desires, ambitions, and comforts above. 00:00:24 Speaker 2: You. 00:00:27 Speaker 1: Help us to tear down every idol that competes with our devotion. When we are tempted to seek fulfillment in what the world offers, draw us back to your all satisfying presence. Purify our hearts, Lord, and teach us to love you with undivided loyalty. Let nothing take the place that belongs only to you. May our lives reflect the truth that ye you are our greatest treasure, and in you alone we find true joy. Amen, thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to The Chosen People with y l Extein Remain here for a dramatic story inspired by the Bible. Be sure to follow this podcast so you never miss an episode. 00:01:33 Speaker 3: Previously on The Chosen People. 00:01:36 Speaker 2: Here, Oh is free of me. If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart and put away the foreign gods and astros from among you, dedicate yourselves to the Lord and serve him only and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. Today you shall taste and know that the Lord is good. Today you do not fight for victory, but from it. 00:02:07 Speaker 4: For the Lord, our God. 00:02:08 Speaker 2: Has already delivered the enemy into our hands. 00:02:14 Speaker 3: The armed man cheered along with the clapping thunder. At Samuel's command, the Israelites charged forward, seizing the opportunity. 00:02:26 Speaker 4: Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth. Rid yourselves of the gods of your ancestors, the gods they worship beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn't please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today which for you worship, the gods of your ancestors, who they worship beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live. For me and my family, we will worship the Lord. How do you answer, Israel. 00:03:12 Speaker 5: What happens when a nation exchanges faith for a throne? Shelloh, my friends, from here in the holy Land of Israel, i'm l Extein with international Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. The story begins with a quiet murmur, a discontent brewing just beneath the surface. The people, once a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, are tired. They've had enough of wandering judges and their unpredictable ways. They want something different, something that they can see and touch. They want a king. Have you ever wondered what lies at the root of dissatisfaction? Is it really about the thing we ask for? Or about the trust that we lack and the one who provides? Here in one Samuel eighth the stage except for a confrontation, not with swords or armies, but with choices. The God of Israel rejected, and the people caught between faith and fear. 00:04:19 Speaker 3: The light of dawn crept over the hills of Ramah, warming the frigid and quiet fields. Dew clung to the tall grass, shimmering faintly as the first rays of the sun spread across the land. The tranquil hum of wildlife sang faintly under the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze. It was a serene backdrop for a moment that was anything but. Samuel stood at the entrance of his home, his staff in hand, watching as elders from across Israel approached. Their faces bore grim expressions, their strides purposeful and resolute. Dust rose beneath their sandals, marking their journey along the winding paths that led to Samuel's home. The air was heavy, thick with anticipation and unspoken concerns. After years of peace under Samuel's leadership, the Israelites hearts grew restless, much like the Hebrews wandering through the wilderness. God had delivered them from darkness, but they had slowly slipped back into dissatisfaction with his provision. In their arrogance, they now sought a new path, one that would alter their destiny as a nation forever. The elders assembled and encircled Samuel at his threshold, their grim presence heavy in the tranquil morning. One of the elders stepped forward. His hair was silver, though his crown of wisdom had been lost to years of self reliance. Nevertheless, he spoke resolute to the aging judge and. 00:06:01 Speaker 6: Prophet, Samuel, you have led us well, but your years are advancing. Though I do not want to insult you, your sons do not walk. 00:06:10 Speaker 7: In your ways. 00:06:11 Speaker 3: Samuel said nothing. He had learned that, despite his call as a prophet to speak on God's behalf, being quick to listen had always played in his favor. 00:06:22 Speaker 6: With no one to take your place, the elders and I request that you appoint the king to judge us. 00:06:28 Speaker 3: Even though Samuel knew their request before it was made, the words still pierced his heart like the death blow of an arrow. 00:06:36 Speaker 6: All of the nations are ruled by kings, and you see how they prosper. Perhaps, with God's guidance, you might grant us this request. 00:06:44 Speaker 3: The elder stepped back and awaited a response. Samuel's hands gripped his staff tighter. His gaze swept over the group. He had hoped to find even one who showed any sign of hesitation doubt, but his searches yielded him nothing. All he saw was determination fueled by earthly desires. Samuel let the request linger in the cold air. If he were a vain man, Samuel would have felt offended at this request. Instead, he felt sorrow, sorrow that they had strayed so far from God's heart. Their plea was a reflection of a greater rejection, one that Samuel knew would only bring pain and turmoil back to the people of Israel. He humbled his heart before the elders, placing the glory of God as the first priority in his mind and his concern for the nation at a close second. 00:07:45 Speaker 2: A king king like other nations, Other nations who slay innocence, who bow before the gods of stone and wood. 00:07:58 Speaker 6: Other nations that are united, Samuel, nations that have commerce and a united army. Kings bring such things. 00:08:06 Speaker 2: What do kings bring tyranny, change burden? Is it another pharaoh you would have over. 00:08:15 Speaker 6: You know that isn't true? 00:08:16 Speaker 2: We has the Lord not shut us apart to be different on the nations? Has you not fought our battles, delivered us, provided for us, and I dare remind you given us or our tresmasses throughout the generations. 00:08:36 Speaker 3: The elder's eyes softened. They respected Samuel and were thankful for all he had done for Israel over the decade, But they had come with unwavering resolve and now had only hoped to soften the blow. 00:08:50 Speaker 6: We want to be like other nations. The king will secure our borders, that'll expand our empire and teach the other nations a lesson will make. 00:09:00 Speaker 2: Us great, And what does it mean to be great? Is it not greatness that the Lord promised to Abraham Since the beginning, Our greatness has depended on trusting the Lord. If you abandon him, abandon true greatness. 00:09:25 Speaker 6: We aren't forsaking the God of our past, who embracing the future. Israel needs this. 00:09:33 Speaker 3: Samuel struck the ground with his staff and puffed his chest out. 00:09:38 Speaker 2: What Israel needs is to remember. You've forgotten where you came from. If you forget your past, your future is doomed. 00:09:56 Speaker 3: Samuel stormed out, slamming the door behind him. The elders exchanged glances, wondering if any of the others would follow, but none found such boldness. Instead, they waited, certain that Samuel would return. Samuel slowly drifted down the road in a funeral procession of one. His heart mourned the death of the last shreds of Israel's faith in God's provision. He had given them devoted patriarchs, timely judges, and devout leaders in their most desperate need, But now, in their greed, they only sought immediate gratification in their desire to be like other nations. Samuel's heart was grieved as He repeatedly mulled the elder's request in his mind. His shuffling stopped abruptly. No, he thought to himself. In the quiet of the night, he found a grassy hill and sat at its summit. The breeze rustled the tall grass. 00:11:04 Speaker 2: Lord, they have rejected me, and worse, they seek to replace you with a man. What shall I say to them? Grant your servant wisdom, and I may be your mouthpiece to the nation. 00:11:26 Speaker 3: An icy breeze flooded through the valley. Samuel looked up at the night sky. The stars seemed to grow brighter. Samuel pressed himself upright on his knees. He raised his palms upwards in his lap, preparing to receive the word of the Lord. 00:11:44 Speaker 7: Samuel, my servant. 00:11:48 Speaker 2: Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening. 00:11:53 Speaker 7: Heed the people's voice in everything. 00:11:56 Speaker 2: They ask, what, Ah, but why? 00:12:04 Speaker 7: Surely they have not rejected you. They have rejected me and desire that I should not reign over them. Since I brought them out of Egypt. They have forsaken me and served other gods. 00:12:21 Speaker 2: So you will forsake them as well. That isn't you, That isn't your character. 00:12:28 Speaker 7: My covenant shall not waver. But do this, I command you to heed their voice solemnly forewarned him of the consequence of their plea, and show them the true nature of the King who shall rule over them in my place. 00:12:50 Speaker 3: These final words sent a chill through Samuel's veins. God had not called Samuel to intercession, but to admonition. He pressed his eyes shut and mouthed the silent prayer for sustenance in his calling. His heart ached for the people of God, but even more so it mourned their betrayal against the divine Creator. Samuel stood before the elders. A small collection of other men had gathered with them. In their efforts to convince Samuel, they felt they had strength in numbers. The lines of Samuel's furrowed brow were etched with both wisdom and sorrow. He had spent decades as a judge and prophet over the double minded people of Israel, and in his time he'd learned that God would never forsake them, no matter how far they strayed. His voice was meager as he addressed them, yet it hadn't lost its confident authority throughout the years. 00:13:52 Speaker 2: Here now the words of the Lord. If you were point of king over yourselves. These will be his ways. He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and horsemen. He will run before his chariots and fight in his battles. 00:14:16 Speaker 3: The elders remained silent, believing Samuel's ramblings were simply that of a sen island desperate old man. 00:14:24 Speaker 2: He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers in his palace. Will take the best of your feuds, vineoms, and all of organs and give them to his servants. You will take a tenth of your train and flocks to feed his armies, and you will become whose slaves. 00:14:50 Speaker 3: The elders laughed and rolled their eyes. Samuel lowered his voice, forcing his audience to lean in. 00:14:57 Speaker 8: And on that day you will cry out because of your king, but the Lord will not answer you. 00:15:09 Speaker 3: Samuel looked intently into each one of their eyes, hoping upon hope to see a flicker of repentance, a sliver of hesitancy. That the elders appeared unshakable. 00:15:21 Speaker 6: You know not what you say. You will have a king over us, a mighty king of valor, and he shall reign over this nation to the prosperity of Israel. 00:15:32 Speaker 3: The others voiced their support and applauded the idea. Samuel's shoulders sank into his withering frame with the weight of their rejection. Samuel shook his head, but he knew he must stay true to the Lord. His following words were draped with disappointment and sorrow. 00:15:51 Speaker 2: So beat return to your homes, and I will bring your request before all the Lord. 00:16:02 Speaker 3: As the gathering departed, Samuel returned to his home. He knelt on the ornate rug placed at the center of the room. His voice was low but teemed with bridled emotions. 00:16:16 Speaker 9: Oh Lord, we have chosen the path of destruction, but I ask you to guide me the path of righteousness, that I may lute them even in their rebellion, by your mercy endors. 00:16:37 Speaker 3: Forever a familiar voice met Samuel's ears. It had become a source of endless comfort and inexplicable peace in times of distress. 00:16:49 Speaker 7: Obey their voice and make them a king. Take heart, Samuel, for I will guide you in this. Even in their wicked ways, purposes shall prevail. Tomorrow. At this time I will send you a man from Benjamin. He is the one who will reign over the people, the one they have begged for. He shall restrain them, deliver them from their enemies, and bear the weight of their ingratitude. 00:17:28 Speaker 5: This story shakes you the way it moves from the hope of God's covenant to the sting of rejection, the heartbreak of a nation that once called God They're king, now longing for a crown of flesh and blood. You can almost hear the pleading in Samuel's voice, the grief in his heart, and you can feel God's sadness, because this isn't just about a rejection of his leadership, but it's a rejection of his love. A few episodes ago, we completed our journey through the Book of Judges. The Book of Judges reads like a tragedy and repeat a kingless kingdom spiraling into chaos. It was a story of violence and betrayal, of leaders who failed to lead and people who forgot who they were. Every cycle of rebellion brought more devastation than the last, leaving the nation fractured. By the end of Judges, the refrain was haunting. In those days, Israel had no king. Everyone did as they saw fit, the scriptures tell us, But what was the real problem. Was it the Chosen people's lack of a human king, or was it the absence of God as their king. The people saw the corruption of men like Eli's sons, the failures of judges like Samson, and the cruelty of a system where might equalled write. Their solution was to demand a king, someone with authority, someone to say at things in order. But here's the twist. They weren't just rejecting the judges, they were rejecting the very foundation of their identity. Now, in one sense, the request of the people for a king was normal. It was very human. All the other nations had kings, why should Israel be different? But that was their mistake. The Chosen People were not meant to be like all the other nations. That's what it's meant to be Chosen. Israel already had a king, the king of the universe, God himself, and God, seeing that the people were determined to have an earthly king, told Samuel to agree to their request, hoping that even if there were a king, Samuel would still exert moral authority over the nation. But a sense of discomfort and dread pervades this chapter because the return to God that Samuel had worked so hard for was now in danger, and this story speaks to us still today. We have presidents and prime ministers who make decisions for us, often even life and death decisions. But sometimes don't we forget who the real king is. Political and military decisions can be made by heads of state, but we can't forget the moral and ethical decisions must follow God's laws and his ways. The problem is political and military decisions must be made morally and ethically, and so it is so important for our leaders to recognize who the real king is and to do their best to follow his commands and expectations of us. And again, Israel was never meant to look like the other nations. From the beginning, the Chosen People were set up as a holy nation with God as their king. While the other nations around them place their trust in swords and thrones, Israel was called to place its trust in the living God. But trusting an invisible king is hard, isn't it. It requires faith, which is messy and uncomfortable. It means stepping into battles without chariots or a cavalry, armed only with the knowledge that the God who split the sea fights for you too, and that's where Israel faltered. They looked at the nations around them and they saw power, structure, stability, but they didn't see the tyranny that came with it, the taxes, the conscription, the heavy hand of human kings who rule for their own gain. And this isn't just ancient history. How often do we do the same when life feels uncertain. Don't we grasp for something tangible, A job, a leader, a political party, a plan or relationship, anything to make us feel in control, and in doing so we forget that it is actually God who fully holds together the universe. The tragedy of this Bible story is that the people didn't need a new system of government. They needed repentance. They needed a return to the covenant, to the God who had been faithful through every battle, every famine, every failure. Their problems weren't solved by a king. They were solved when the people turned their hearts back to God. This story brings us face to face with one of the greatest tensions of Scripture, the freedom to choose. God could have said no, He could have refused their request outright explained why they were wrong to want a king. Or he could have simply imposed his will, but instead he said yes. He allowed the people to have what they wanted, even knowing it would break their hearts and his. Both its beauty and its danger runs through the entire Bible, from the garden of Eden to the foot of Mount Sinai to the moment Samuel annoyed Saula is king because God is not a tyrant. He is not a king who rules by force. He is a father who gives his children the dignity of choice, even when those choices lead to sorrow, and even then he doesn't leave. You see this and how God responds to Israel's demand for a king. He warns them yes, He paints a vivid picture of what a human king will cause them, sons taken for war, daughters taken for labor, fields taken for profit. Yet he still grants their request. And then, even in his people's rebellion, God we leaves redemption into their story. The question this story asks of us is very simple, but very profound. Who is your king? Non theory, not in theology, but in practice. When life feels shaky, where do you run to? Do you trust in God's provision or do you turn to the things that you can control. Do you cry out to the Lord or do you place your hope in a king of your own making? If we're honest, we all have kings to cling to money, power, success, relationships, and they promise so very much security, stability, peace, But like Israel's king, they demand a price. The good news is this God is still king. He still leads his people with justice and mercy. The God who pert sees and tapples walls, as the saying God who calls us to trust, not because it's easy, but because it's worth it. The path of faith isn't always clear, but it leads to a king who is good, a king who does not fail, a king who has been waiting for us all along. 00:25:23 Speaker 3: You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein. Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltefianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, tom Us Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yeile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.