1st Samuel 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
A democracy is that form of government where the majority of the people in a given country or nation, choose an elected leader, and by so doing, the people grant authority to their duly elected leader to act in accordance with the established constitution of the country in question. This form of government comes with many pros and cons, for in many cases the elected leader has the constitutional right to change or enact new laws, some of which might not be in the best interest of the people.
This is very similar to what took place in our passage of scripture for today. The children of Israel had been living as one nation under God for many years when they decided it was time for a change. And so it was that all of the leaders opted to have a human being as their king instead of God who had previously led them in all of their experiences. If God could cry, and He could, this request made by the majority would certainly have driven Him to tears, for as stated in the scriptures, their request of a king was really a rejection of the leadership of God.
However, because God has given to every person the right to choose, He nobly, yet sadly granted their request for a king, but not without first relating in graphic terms, what would be the result of their choice. Let's read:
1st Samuel 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 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.
What the Lord was actually saying is that the people would suffer severe loss as a result of their choice, for their new leader would levy heavy taxes upon them, and would also manipulate their belongings, their sons and daughters to serve his own purposes. God is a God of love, in that He never leaves us to make choices that are detrimental or fatal to ourselves, without first giving us due warning. However, in spite of His efforts to save them from a wrong course of action, they insisted on having their own way, as is evidenced by their response to his warnings and cautions. Let's read:
1st Samuel 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 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.
This portion of the history of the Jews has very important lessons for us today. Although we are not living under God as a nation, yet the choices that we make individually from day to day determine who our real leader is, and just like in the days of old, there are consequences to our choices. In the spiritual realm there are only two leaders to choose from, God, or satan who is labeled "the prince of this world". And as in former times, God warns us of the results of selecting the only other option to His wise leadership, thus it is left with us to choose whom we serve.
If we choose democracy over God, we will be swayed and guided by the majority, and the popular opinion in all of the choices we make. However, God does not call us to popularity or to majority opinions. The majority are becoming more and more in favor of casting aside sacred institutions and statutes, but the Lord is calling us to live according to the eternal principles of righteousness that are given in His word. This is what is meant by the following passages of scripture. Let's read:
1st Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
We hope and trust that in all of our choices, wisdom may be made manifest in choosing Christ as our King. When we are brought into difficult circumstances, or when choices between right and wrong, good and evil need to be made, let us then be found faithful to the principles of righteousness as embodied in the life of Christ and as written in the scriptures. We therefore end with a familiar passage of scripture that should encourage us choose the eternal God as our leader both now and forever. Let's read:
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
"Good night" and God bless!