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wanted them to be a different people. In this way they would be of greatest blessing to the nations, a light to guide them to Him. It. is a great mis take for Christians to want to be like the world. They are called to be sep arate from the world and it is only as they do not resemble the world that they are in a position to be of blessing to the world (Cf. 2 Cor. 6:i4-18.) 1 S a m u e l 9:1-3, 17, 27; 10:1, 24, 25 MEMORY VERSE: “God Is with thee” (1 Sam. 10:7). After the Children of Israel were settled in the land to which God had led them, they Noticed that each of the nations about them was ruled by a king. They asked the Lord to allow them to have a king to rule , over them, too. Although God did not want them to have any other ruler than Himself, He granted their wish. One day a splendid young man named Saul was asked by his father to takeT; one of their servants and search for some asses that had been lost. Because the two men could not find the animals, they: went to ask Samuel, the religious leader of the people, where to search. God had already told Samuel .that He was going, to make Saul king over the Jewish people. After Saul had asked about the lost asses, Samuel said to him: “Bid the servant pass on be fore us . . . but stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God” (1 Sam. 9:27). Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon Saul’s head, kissed him, and notified him that God had chosen him to. be king of the Children of Israel. Later Samuel told the people that God had chosen Saul to be their king. They were very happy. They shouted: “God save the king!” Then Samuel described to them the kind of king dom that God wanted them to have, and wrote his words in a book so that they would not be forgotten. Saul had to choose whether he would rule as God desired him to rule, or folio,w his own plans. Be cause Saul preferred to please him self, instead of the Lord, his life was a failure. Some day God will choose you Christian boys and girls to do some work for. Him. Will you choose to make your own plans, or will you allow your Lord to lead you? With David will you pray: “Teach me thy way, O Lord” ? Only then will your | life truly please Him. Let us all be able to sing from our hearts the beautiful words of the hymn: “Take my life, and let ’ it be, Consecrated, Lord, to Thee,” .. For the Children ; A Y o u n g . K in g .
of your king which ye shall have chosen.” II. T h e W a r n in g R e je c t e d (8:19-22) Obsessed with the idea .of having a king whom they could see, and of being ‘‘like all the nations,” the peo ple persisted in having their own way. Some prayers must be answered in judgment. Chosen to be separate and different from the nations. Is rael became responsible for all their later misery against which they had been faithfully warned. They despised this caution and plunged into the be ginning of' their unhappy history, which continues to this day to be a sad story of unbelief and disobedience. Israel wished to be ‘‘like other na tions” ; this is also one of the curses of the Church. Chosen to be separate from the world by which she is sur rounded, she desires to be “ like” it, and refuses to disassociate herself from it until her testimony for God is -buried under its pleasures. The steps of spiritual decline are clearly marked: rejection, rebellion, refusal (vs. 19, 20). Points and Problems 1. "And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people" (v. 10). This is the preacher’s business. It is not for him to consider what the people wish to hear and to preach only that. Sometimes he must declare to them what they do not like. It was so in the instance of this text. The people did not want to hear Samuel’s mes sage; nevertheless he delivered it. God’s ministers ever need to remember that they are called to declare “ all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). They are obligated to “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2) no matter what its message, or how it is received. 2. "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day" (v. 18). There are times when God’s children have no right to expect Him to answer their prayers. ,If they persist in having their own way, instead of letting God have His way, they need not look for their requests to be granted. As in this instance, sometimes God allows His children to go on in their way, even though He knows it is not best. This may be called His permissive will. Within its circle, God’s children do not realize His best. This is true in respect to their prayers. It is only when God’s people live in His direc tive will that they receive His best and have a s s u r a n c e of answered prayer. ' .... 3. "That we also may be like all the nations" (v. 20). Israel failed to per ceive God’s purpose for His people. God did not want His people to be Ukg the surrounding n a t i o n s . He
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