1 Samuel 8

1. 1 Samuel 8 10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

2. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

3. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.

4. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

5. I Am Not The KingI Samuel 8-15 Some of us suffer from lack of self-esteem Some of us see ourselves as more important than we are We have to be careful to not take ourselves too seriously God is the king

6. Samuel is getting old His sons are not good leaders The people of Israel want to be like the nations around them The people ask for a king

7. After warning the people about all the king will do… Saul, son of Kish, runs into Samuel Samuel gives Saul the best seat at the table and offers the best cut of food Samuel appoints Saul king

8. 1 Samuel 10 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?

9. Saul’s heart is changed and he begins to prophecy He returns home Mentions nothing of what has happened to anyone

10. Samuel gathers the people and Saul is reaffirmed as king when he is chosen by lot… Saul is nowhere to be found The people have to seek him out

11. Ammonites besigeJabesh Gilead Saul gathers men and defeats the Ammonites All seems well

12. Now that there is a king Samuel’s job is done He gives a farewell speech

13. 1 Samuel 12 20 …“You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.

14. Saul was 30 He reigned as king 42 years Saul wages war against the Philistines The philistines have killed all the blacksmiths and they have no swords

15. Saul, out of fear, oversteps his authority He makes a sacrifice as through he were a priest

16. 1 Samuel 13 13 “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

17. Jonathan, Saul’s son, attacks the Philistines and is successful But Saul is being impulsive He orders his men not to eat until the battle is won Jonathan, not knowing, eats and is nearly killed by his father Saul

18. Saul attacks the Amalekites He is told to kill everything Instead he kills the weak and saves the best

19. 1 Samuel 15 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

20. 1 Samuel 15 22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

21. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.

22. Saul was more concerned about the people than about God Our story ends on a sad note

23. 1 Samuel 15 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.

24. Who is the king? God Saul knew that at first Then he lost sight

25. Saul falters He begins to act like a priest He builds a monument in his own honor He is disobedient

26. The result He loses contact with Samuel His kingdom is removed from his family He is rejected by God as king

27. Putting it all together There was a leadership vacuum in Israel Eli’s sons were awful, Samuel’s sons were dishonest, Saul was disobedient and they were all replaced If we are not careful we can lose ourselves and our families

28. Putting it all together We want to be like the nations around us; please give us a king We are called to be holy To be different and set apart; broken but knowing who we are and who our King is

29. Putting it all together Saul was a nobody, just like us He was sober, shy and self-aware, but when he became king he let it go to his head We need to have a sound understanding of who we are We are the servants, God is the King

30. We are called into leadership We are called to be different We are called to be obedient We are to remember who we are and whom we worship We are never the object of worship

31. We are the Federated Church. Our Mission is to… Seek Christ, Serve Christ andShare Christ.