Well, we'Äôre in 1 and 2 Samuel, and my title for this portion of God's Word is, 'ÄúKings and The King.'Äù It is again tempting to think of 1 and 2 Samuel as the biographies of two kings, King Saul and King David, and to make the big contrast in Samuel between Saul and David. The old way that that is handled is Saul was an unrighteous king, and David was a righteous king. And that really misses the power of the real content of Samuel.
Samuel is actually not a contrast between David and Saul; although there are contrasts there, and I'll talk about those in a minute. But a contrast between these two flawed kings and the King of kings, because what you really do see is how does God operate? What does He require of His people, and what does He do when His people fail? That's the message.
You see, Saul is a flawed king, but David too is a flawed king, David doing the unthinkable in adultery and murder. The difference between these two kings is with Saul; God is not central at all; there's no indication that God is central in the heart and life of King Saul. For David, God is central, and David ends up confessing sin and returning to his Lord.
But what you really get is that hope is never found in a human king; hope is found in the King of kings. That King, The King is righteous and will not, in holiness, tolerate the rebellion of His people. He couldn'Äôt love them if He did that. But He'Äôs also a compassionate King who is ready and willing to forgive and to reconcile and to restore.
If you'Äôre going to read through 1 and 2 Samuel, how about asking the question, 'ÄúWhat do I learn about the King of kings in this period of time? What do I learn about His heart? What do I learn about the way He works? What do I learn about what He wants for His people? What do I learn about myself and what happens to me when I decide I know better than God does?'Äù
You know, sin is always rooted in, even for a moment, thinking I'm smarter than God, thinking that I know better, thinking my way is better than His way. And in that way, I deny my need for a king. Yes, it's true, Israel needs a king, but they need something more than human king. Every human king will be flawed; every human king will fail. There's one King that will never ever fail; it is the King of kings.
Israel has a King; He is righteous, He is holy, He is powerful, He is faithful, He is compassionate, He will do what is right, and what He asks of you is always right. I love the Psalm that says, 'ÄúAll the ways of the Lord are right and true.'Äù That's really the message of Samuel and all the evil of kings, there's a King who is not evil and will never ask evil and will only ever deliver what is good. How about seeking and celebrating that King; He's the hero of 1 and 2 Samuel.
