THURSDAY, 4 JULY 2024
TEXT:
1 Samuel 8:6-22
6.
Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king so he prayed about
it.
7.
The LORD answered: Samuel, do everything they want you to do. I am really the
one they have rejected as their king.
8.
Ever since the day I rescued my people from Egypt, they have turned from me to
worship idols. Now they are turning away from you.
9.
Do everything they ask, but warn them and tell them how a king will treat them.
10.
Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the LORD had said:
11.
If you a king, this is how he will force your sons to join his army. Some of
them will ride in his chariots, some will serve in the Calvary, and others will
run ahead of his own chariot.
12.
Some of them will be officers in charge of 1,000 soldiers, and others will be
in charge of 50. Still others will have to farm the king’s land and harvest his
crops, or make weapons and parts for his chariots.
13.
Your daughters will have to make perfume or do his cooking and baking.
14.
The king will take your best fields, as well as your vineyards, and olive
orchards and give them to his own officials.
15.
He will also take a tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers
and officials.
16.
The king will take your slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and
make them do his work.
17.
He will also take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You will become the king’s
slaves,
18.
and you will finally cry out for the LORD to save you from the king you wanted.
But the LORD won’t answer your prayers.
19-20.
The people would not listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want to be like
other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle.”
21.
Samuel listened to them and then told the LORD exactly what they had said.
22.
“Do what they want,” the LORD answered. “Give them a king.” Samuel told the
people to go back to their homes.
(Contemporary English Version Holy
Bible)
TOPIC:
ISRAEL REJECTS GOD
The
lifestyle of an individual can change the whole course of another person's life
or even that of an entire community.
Samuel's
sons indulged in different atrocities which made the Israelites reject God and
ask for a king.
All
efforts by Samuel to dissuade them fell on deaf ears as they were fed up with
his sons' atrocities.
God
permitted that to happened, but instructed Samuel to warn them about the
consequences, which they accepted.
We
must learn to live in such a way that people will see the grace of God in us
and work in His will.
We
should not make people reject this God that we are serving on account of our
lifestyles. Remember, you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13).
No
matter what happens, let's try to live by the dictates of God and not by the
pressures of ungodly lifestyles, like the elders of Israel.
QUESTION: What
kind of message do you pass to others by your lifestyle?
PRAYER: Grant
me, o God, the grace to live my life in a way that others will see You in me,
in Jesus name. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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