Lyle's Blog

These thoughts come from the book of Samuel. Samuel was given to the Lord by his mother. At a very young age, Hanna put little Samuel under the mentoring of Eli the prophet. Eli prayed and asked the Lord to bless Hanna with more children. God did so; God answered the prayers of Eli.

Eli had two sons both of which strayed far from God. They used the office and influence of their father for their own pleasure and gain. In the end, the two sons were killed in battle, and Eli upon hearing the news, fell and broke his neck.

It’s interesting to note that Samuel had two sons. Eli seemed embarrassed or disappointed in his sons but Samuel did not. Samuel being mentored by Eli ends up doing things the way Eli did them right down to raising two disrespectful, ungodly sons.

When the people complained about the shinanigans of Samuel’s sons, the people said they wanted a king instead of a judge. This displeased Samuel and apparently, God wasn’t too happy either. The people knew that Samuel would die and they would be left with two very corrupt judges to rule over them.

God says something interesting in 1st Samuel: 8 verse 7. The people had rejected God, not Samuel. So Samuel you don’t have to be upset with the people rejecting you. They’ve rejected me. At a casual reading, it makes sense that the people were right. Those two sons weren’t worthy to be judges. Or maybe they were.

Judges come and judges go. In our short lives, we witness this very thing. The old adage “be sure your sins will find you out” is true. Sinners become bolder and bolder; their own pride brings their fall.

God had a few sharp words for the people of Israel, rebuking them for blatantly sinning against him. So corrupt men being judged by corrupt men seemed almost appropriate. Why do you need fair judging by deciding the affairs of corrupt people? You don’t. Deciding who is the least crooked is a frustrating enterprise for a judge.

We learn here that the people rejected God’s way of doing things. God anointed judges to decide which party was right. Judges used the Word of God to understand which way to judge. But God was their king.

The people were rejecting the whole way God does things. They wanted to be like the rest of the nations; they wanted a king of flesh and blood. God told Samuel to give them what they wanted but warn them what kind of king they would get.

Saul was strong, handsome and in the beginning, seemed like a great choice. It didn’t take him long to become like the other kings of the world, a supreme leader. What the king says, goes. Period. If you don’t like it, you will pay if you disobey. The penalty for disobedience gets harsher and harsher.

So what’s the difference between having an earthly king and God himself? God is just. He never changes. What God said a thousand years ago remains the same today. God is not a sinner. God cares for his creation. He cares for you. When you screw up, God forgives you if you repent. God removes the sin from your record. God can choose to forget what offended him. His compassions do not fail. He knows who you are. He has a count of the hairs on your head. He loves you and wants to adopt you into his family. God is the very definition of good and true.

Earthly kings, not so much. For a time they may do some good things. Indeed there a “good” leaders and “bad” leaders but there is a major difference between judges and kings. Judges have a gavel; kings have an army. We can survive a bad judge but kings bring bloodshed, suffering of unthinkable measure, and destroy the hope of children. Judges work under the lawgiver; kings make up their own laws.

Our founding fathers knew all this. Power is like fire. In small quantities, it accomplishes an intended useful purpose. But power, like fire grows if left unattended and what was once useful, destroys our lives. We have a government with too much power and now there is much rangling for control of the all-powerful state.

The present struggle is so violent because there are two world views at odds with each other. Do we want judges or do we want to come under the leadership of an all-powerful king? Will it be America or the New World Order? The spirit of antichrist has always been on the earth. It grows year by year. Donald Trump has been a stumbling block on the path to successful world domination by men desiring total control of fire.

Pray for Donald Trump.