1 Samuel 7-12

The Israelites told Samuel that they wanted a king to lead them, just like all other nations. The Lord replied to Samuel,

"Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Samuel pretty much told the Israelites that the king will take so many things from them that they themselves "will become his slaves". And that they will eventually cry out to the Lord to be relieved from the king they wanted.

As I was praying about this passage, I believe God was reminding me of our nature to seek after things that we can see. The Israelites knew there was a God, yet after a while they would fall back to things they can see, such as idols of other gods. Now they wanted a king. Somehow I was reminded of many broken and ungodly relationships that most of us unfortunately experience in our lives. We know God exists, yet we find ourselves seeking another person to fulfill our needs. The problem occurs when that person takes the place of God. We go to that person for comfort, for support, for love, etc. And we start having expectations from that person to meet our needs. But people will always fall short of our expectations. And when that happens, the relationship falls apart. We have to remember, even though we can't see God, he alone is our comforter. In the end, we always end up realizing that God alone is our all in all. Let's recognize again this day and put the Lord our God in his rightful place in our lives.