Give Us A King
An aged Samuel was filled with sorrow when the elders of Israel came to him and said,
...your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. (1 Samuel 8:5)
The people realized that Samuel's sons would not be fit leaders for the nation, but instead of seeking God's council, they rested upon human wisdom. The wickedness of Samuel's sons was nothing more than a convenient coincidence. The desire of the people was for a king. Once more, they declared to the prophet:
No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
Indeed, it was exactly as the LORD had said to Samuel,
...they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:7)
Such a decision displays the carnality of their heart. The very statement "that we may be like all the nations" demonstrates a spirit of covetousness in them - not over goods, as the sin is so often characterized, but with regard to their form of government and a yearning to have the presumed prestige and pomp that accompanied a monarchy.
Friend, this same spirit can and has shown itself in the Lord's church. As the people of Samuel's day sought to replace the LORD with an earthly king, there are some who today want to set aside the Lord's pattern for the church in exchange for the blueprints of denominationalism.
I spoke with one such brother just a few weeks ago. He told me about his lofty plans for a church project he is eager to undertake. His plan was to petition churches of Christ in the United States for funds to build a magnificent building, which would include a gymnasium, and be a wonderful place for people to come together - a place to serve the whole family.
Hearing of such a plan, I asked him to consider the desire of the people in Samuel's day. In response, to my disbelief, I was told that he was not aware of what took place in Samuel's day, and that in fact, he does not study from the Old Testament!
Hosea characterized the people of God in his day with the following words:
“We cannot reject God's knowledge and rely upon our own and expect to succeed.”
There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint ... My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:1-2,6)
We cannot reject God's knowledge and rely upon our own and expect to succeed. The Proverb writer urged:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)
The consistent Bible pattern for the Lord's church is spiritual. The focus is on the salvation of souls; not the satisfying of stomachs. The cause of assembling is to worship God and study His word; not to be entertained or to play basketball. The work of the church is to evangelize, to edify, and to provide benevolent care for needy saints; not to provide a warm, fuzzy atmosphere of enjoyment with a wee bit of Bible on the side.
Having recounted the happenings in Samuel's day to this wayward brother, he proudly told me that he didn't care (calling me a legalist). He was going to create a great church to serve the community. In fact, he planned to include a skateboard park as well. I sarcastically retorted that if he was going to go that far, he might also consider building a theme park to go with his community church plan. Indeed, that's what it would be - a church belonging to the community, not to the Lord. A Psalm of Solomon begins in the following way:
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Proverbs 127:1)
We cannot build with the plans of man and simply place the Lord's name on it when we're done. It is only the Lord's church if the Lord's plan is the exclusive design. His blueprint may not be as fancy as the many bells, whistles, gimmicks, fads and trends of denominationalism, but it has one huge advantage over all these - it is the truth, and those who follow it have the hope of heaven. To follow anything else is to sell out our soul's salvation to be like the denominations about us.
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Answering The Atheist
Complaint:
Did God kill all the Egyptian cattle in the sixth plague? Exodus 9:3-6 says that He did, but Exodus 9:19; 12:29 reveal that He didn't. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
That not each and every cow, horse, donkey, camel, ox and sheep died in the sixth plague is evident, as there were some that died in the seventh and tenth plagues also (<Exodus 9:19; 12:29).
It is possible that the number of those who would be killed in the sixth plague is limited in verse 3. There, we read:
...behold, the hand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep - a very severe pestilence.
It is possible that not all the animals belonging to the Egyptians were in the field. Some of the beasts may have been penned up, and not in the fields grazing at the time of the pestilence. The plague was specifically to come upon those which were "...in the field." If so, then "...all the livestock of Egypt (which were in the field, as per verse 3) died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died."
If this was the case, then we are shown the utter foolishness of those who did not bring their livestock in from the fields, both in the sixth plague and the seventh.
Other possibilities include:
- "...all the cattle that did die belonged to the Egyptians, but not one died that belonged to the Israelites..."
(Adam Clarke's Commentary) - "...not absolutely every beast, for we find (Ex 9:19,21) that there were still some left; but a great many died of each herd - the mortality was frequent and widespread."
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary)
In the first case, it may be a translation issue. (ie. the sense is that all the livestock which died were of the Egyptians, not that all of the Egyptian's livestock died, as per the difference being established, v 4). In the second, "all" may convey the excessive nature of the pestilence, but not intended to be 100% inclusive (ie. a server might say, 'It was busy all day.' We understand that doesn't mean there were customers without any breaks).
There is no contradiction.
This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible.