Passage: Read 1 Samuel 8.1–22 (Click here to read from ESV.org)

Be Careful What You Ask For

There is an old story about King Midas, a man who loved gold more than almost anything else. When he was offered a wish, Midas asked that everything he touched be turned to gold.

At first, it seemed like the perfect gift. When he touched a branch, it became gold. He picked up a stone, and that became gold. Everything around him became valuable… or at least that is how it appeared.

Then Midas sat down to eat. The bread turned to gold. The wine became gold before it reached his lips. Even his daughter became a golden statue when he embraced her.

The thing Midas believed would give him everything began taking everything from him.

That is the danger of giving our hearts to the wrong king. When we give our hearts to the wrong king, that king may promise wonderful things. That king may promise security, but eventually security demands our freedom. He may promise to serve us, but slowly that turns into something we must serve. He may promise to give us life. However, over time, we discover he begins taking life away.

Israel learned this lesson when the people asked Samuel to give them a king.

We Want God… and a Guarantee

Israel was entering a new and uncertain season. Samuel was growing old, and the question of who would lead the nation after him could no longer be ignored. Samuel had appointed his sons, Joel and Abijah, as judges in Beersheba, but they did not follow their father’s example. Scripture says, “They turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8.3). They had been entrusted with authority, but they used that authority to enrich themselves.

The people had legitimate concerns. Samuel would not live forever, and his sons had shown themselves unworthy to lead. So the elders came to Samuel and said, “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8.5).

At first, their request may not sound all that unreasonable. After all. the other nations had kings. A king could provide visible leadership, organize an army, establish an orderly succession, and offer the promise of economic and political stability.

In fact, the idea of Israel having a king was not itself contrary to God’s purposes. You see, years earlier, in Deuteronomy 17, God had anticipated the day when Israel would ask for a king. He gave instructions concerning the kind of king they should have. Israel’s king was to be chosen by God, remain under God’s Word, and resist the temptations of wealth, military power, and self-importance. God was prepared to give His people a king in His way and at the proper time.

The problem in 1 Samuel 8, therefore, was not simply that Israel wanted a king. The problem involved timing and trust.

Think of it like driving. Driving is not a bad thing. But giving car keys to an eight-year-old would certainly be a bad thing. It would be dangerous. Driving becomes appropriate when a person is old enough, has been trained, receives a license, and is prepared to handle the responsibility.

In the same way, kingship was not necessarily bad. God would have eventually given Israel a king, and His promises would ultimately be fulfilled through Jesus. However, Israel did not want to wait for God to provide the right king in the right way. They demanded one “now.” They wanted the kind of king the surrounding nations possessed because they wanted the security those nations appeared to enjoy.

This leads to the second issue—trust. God had been teaching Israel to trust Him as their King. He had rescued them from Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness, given them the land, and repeatedly delivered them from their enemies. Again and again, He had shown that their security did not depend on horses, armies, political structures, or powerful rulers. Their security depended upon His presence and faithfulness.

Israel, though, wanted something visible. They wanted a ruler they could see, an army they could count upon, and a political system they could manage. Later, they explained that they wanted a king to “go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8.20). Yet, fighting their battles was precisely what God had always done for them.

This is why God saw something deeper in their request. He told Samuel, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8.7).

The Israelites were not saying they had stopped believing in God. They were not closing the tabernacle, throwing away His law, or declaring themselves atheists. They still wanted God. They also wanted a king they could see, manage, and depend upon.

I have used this phrase before: “God + X.” Israel wanted God + a king. The problem with “God + X” is that X eventually becomes the thing we trust more than God.

In effect, they were saying, “God, we want you, but we also need a guarantee. We want your help, but we need something more than your promise. We want you, but we do not want to depend upon you alone.”

That remains one of the most common ways we reject God. We may continue attending church, saying our prayers, and affirming what we believe. But beneath all of that, we can subtly decide that God is not enough to make us secure.

In other words… We will trust God as long as the money is there. We will trust God as long as our health holds. We will trust God as long as our children are doing well. We will trust God as long as people approve of us, our plans work, and the future remains somewhat predictable.

Of course, none of these things are bad things. Money, health, success, and the like are all good things.  The problem begins when a good thing becomes a necessary thing. That is, something we must have before we can believe that life will be okay. At that point, it is no longer simply a gift we receive. It has become a king we obey.

Every Substitute King Takes

Samuel warned Israel exactly what their new king would do. The warning is built around one repeated word: take.

The king would take their sons for his army. He would take their daughters for his service. He would take their fields, vineyards, servants, livestock, and crops. Finally, Samuel said, “You shall be his slaves” (1 Samuel 8.17).

The irony is hard to miss. Israel wanted a king who would give them security, but Samuel warned them that a king that would really only take from them. He would take their resources, children, freedom, and use those things to strengthen his own throne.

Every substitute king eventually does the same. If approval is our king, it will take our honesty and integrity. We will slowly become whoever the people around us want us to be. If achievement is our king, it will take our rest. No accomplishment will ever feel like enough because our identity will always depend on the next one. If money is our king, it will take our contentment. No matter how much we have, we will remain afraid that it is not enough. If a relationship is our king, it will take our freedom. We will ask another person to carry the impossible weight of making us whole.

Even the things we use to comfort ourselves can begin to rule us. Food, alcohol, shopping, entertainment, or the endless glowing screen in our hands may offer a few moments of relief. Still, what begins as something we choose can slowly become something we crave, serve, and obey.

The pattern is always similar. A substitute king makes a promise. We give it greater authority in our lives. Then, little by little, it begins to take from us.

This does not mean these things are necessarily evil. Gold was not King Midas’s problem. His problem was asking gold to give him what it could never provide. In the same way, work, relationships, success, pleasure, and possessions can be good gifts. They simply make terrible kings.

So, the question is: Is God merely someone we turn to when the kings we have chosen disappoint us? Or is He the One who determines the purpose, direction, and shape of our lives?

The King Who Gives

Israel’s demand for a king eventually led to disappointment. Even their best kings were limited and sinful. Others abused their authority, exploited their people, and led the nation away from God.

Here is the good news: Israel’s failure was not the end of the story. God would one day give His people a King unlike any other. Jesus did not come to take our lives for His own benefit. He came to give His life for ours.

Earthly kings send their subjects into battle. Jesus entered the battle Himself. Earthly kings build their thrones through the sacrifices of others. Jesus established His kingdom through His own sacrifice. Earthly kings use power to protect themselves. Jesus used His power to rescue sinners, welcome outcasts, wash feet, touch lepers, and forgive His enemies.

At the cross, the true King wore a crown of thorns. He was lifted up on something that looked nothing like a throne. He did not exploit His people or demand that they die for Him. He gave Himself to save them.

Every substitute king says, “Give yourself to me, and perhaps I will make you secure.” Jesus says, “I have given Myself for you. You are secure in Me.”

This is why Jesus is worthy not only of our belief, but of our complete trust and obedience. The cross is the great evidence that His rule is not cruel, selfish, or arbitrary. The One who asks us to surrender our lives is the One who first surrendered His life for us.

Who Is Your King?

Most of us will never demand a monarch. However, every heart has a throne, and something or someone will sit upon it.

One way to discover our substitute kings is to finish this sentence: “I can trust God and feel okay as long as I still have __________.”

What belongs in that blank for you? Whatever comes to mind may be a wonderful gift. If, however, you cannot imagine being secure without it, that gift may have begun to rule over you, and every substitute king, however attractive it first appears, will eventually take more than it gives.

Jesus is different. His rule does not enslave us, it sets us free. His authority does not diminish our lives, it restores them. His commands are not the demands of a tyrant, but the words of the King who knows us, loves us, and gave Himself for us.

The question is not whether something will rule our lives. The question is which king we will trust. The kings we create will always take. Jesus, the true King, gives Himself to save.