obedience

The Israelites wanted a king, because they though having a king would save them from the depredations of their neighbors. They were tired of the constant raid and warfare, but they didn’t understand the truth of what was going on.

Samuel, as he had all along, warns the people. In 1 Samuel 11 and 12 I read of the start of Saul’s kingship, when he rescued an Israelite village from the Ammonites. After his success, the people are wholeheartedly his. So Samuel pelts them with a storm to get their attention, and then says this, in 1 Samuel 12:20-25:

“‘Do not be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.’”

Samuel knew what the people should have, that all the troubles they suffered at the hands of raiders and pagan armies was because they didn’t obey God. Each time they turned from God, he chastised them with a foreign army. It would be no different just because they had a king, Samuel warned. Obey and you will succeed. Disobey, and you and your king will die.

This simple message is the core of the Christian life: obedience is the sure sign of a believer. Disobedience is the unfailing mark of an unbeliever. God knows best and wants what’s best for me, and he loves me enough not to let me get away with anything else.