Ironically, the Israelites were not satisfied with God; they were not content with what He had done and given to them; they were not confident of His continued leadership in their lives. They wanted a king; they wanted something different, believing that would bring greater satisfaction and hope for their future. Samuel sought to convince them otherwise, but they did not listen to him even though they had trusted him in the past. “But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said, ‘No! But there shall be a king over us, and 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’” (1 Samuel 8.19-20). They blatantly wanted what they wanted: to be like those who did not know God; to have someone else lead and fight their battles.
The Israelite’s actions simply manifested the wicked hearts of all people. We can look at others and think they have it better than we do; we look at unbelievers and wonder the reason they may not face the battles in life we have; we observe others and see what appears to be prosperity and contentment; we grow tired and want another to fight our battles. In this we become dissatisfied with our Lord and our quest to follow Him; we wonder if His promises will be fulfilled; we fail to remember the truths of His Word. Our cry goes out to be like others and walk in their ways; to have what others seem to have as we desire their momentary satisfaction; we willfully choose to follow another “god” who promises us the fulfillment of our depraved lives; we want to live by another standard which gives us the freedom to do what we want, in essence the license to sin without guilt. In these moments of temptation, might we stop, think, remember truth, and quickly run back to the One True God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords; might we remember He alone is able to fully provide for us and actually satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.
Knowing the True God – we have much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 