Seek God's Guidance - 1 Samuel 8:1 - 12:25

I started teaching school in 1949 at a yearly salary of two hundred dollars a month. At the close of the 1955 school year I was offered a contract to teach the following year at a salary of three hundred dollars a month for nine months. It finally began to dawn upon me that with a wife and two children to support, I really needed to seek a job that paid more than teachers were making.

This was the period in our history when the great electronic companies such as IBM, General Electric, and Westinghouse were new and expanding rapidly. I applied with GE and was offered a position in their Chicago plant that would pay slightly more than five times what I would make if I stayed with the school contract. Our expenses were paid to go to Chicago to view the plant and search for housing, and we made the trip with great anticipation. It was hard for us to believe that we could improve our salary that much in one move. Our hopes were high and all the way home we used the time discussing the things we would need to do during the time left before we would have to go to work in Chicago.

At that time I was teaching in Judsonia, AR and commuting from Griffithville where we were living in a small home of our own with no rent or payments to make. We had two young daughters and we were attending and working in the First Baptist Church. Juanita was working with the children and I was Sunday school Superintendent and teacher of high school youth. I will not try to explain why, but simply say that God led us to remain in education and stay in Arkansas. We have been willing to move and open to change, for we have moved six times. However we prayed more and sought God’s guidance in this matter more than at any other time, about any other changes. I believe that God guided us in this decision. Was it for our good? Yes! Can you imagine raising a family in Chicago?

We will never forget the exasperation and disgust expressed by the agent that had solicited us to work for GE. He never understood how we could refuse their offer. I did not understand it either at that time; but I have been thankful a million times that we did not move to Chicago at that time in our life work…That was just before Chicago became one of the leaders in Anti Establishment, Anti American, and Anti God movements that extended through the 1960’s. And I still would not want to live in Chicago! It seems like a paradox to me but now in 2008 one of the greatest threats to our American way of life is coming out of Chicago

Whether the changes are intentional or forced, making important life transitions can be unsettling, and adults are wise to seek guidance in helping them make good decisions or navigate unavoidable changes successfully. I wish that I could tell you that I have always done this, but I haven’t. When we have sought guidance from the Holly Spirit, at the proper time, and in the correct way, God has never let us down. Do you seek His face? Do you pray for His guidance? I will admit that we did not hear God auditable tell us “Don’t move to Chicago.” But we did not go and have been happy that we did not go. Isn’t that evidence enough? This lesson has been chosen to help adults confirm that it is absolutely necessary to seek God’s guidance before making important decisions. For example:

Pray about and before getting married. Know that your spouse believes in prayer. Pray for the right person, time and place to be married. Pray about having children. Teach your child to pray for guidance while he/she is still young. Pray before having more children. Pray about job selection and any changes you contemplate. Pray before you buy a home. Pray before you join a church. Pray for your church. We could close this lesson right now, because you already know that you are to “SEEK GOD’S GUIDANCE” in every thing that calls for change in your life. Samuel was a special person in God’s plan and he chose God’s way and walked in it. There are no exceptions—each and every important character named in the Bible made it their practice to “Seek God’s Guidance.” At least one of the most important prayers ever prayed was when a servant said, “Here am I Lord, send me.” “I will do what you want me to do, dear Lord; I will go where you want me to go.” “I will say what your want me to say, even if it is not politically correct.”

Hannah was old and did not have any children…she prayed and promised God that she would dedicate her son to Him and He heard her prayer and blessed her life with a special child that grew up to be the greatest of all the judges, Samuel. Following the direction set by his mother, Samuel began as a young boy to develop his walk with the Lord and to be sensitive to His guidance. As long as the people obeyed the word of the Lord, faithfully presented by Samuel, they enjoyed rest from their enemies, including the menacing Philistines. However, as Samuel grew older and the ministry increasingly fell to his sons who “did not walk in God’s ways,” the people began to pressure Samuel to appoint a king as all the other nations had done to judge them.

The change from Theocracy to Monarchy came while Samuel was Judge. Israel was constituted as a theocracy, a country ruled by God, according to the rules written in stone at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. The covenant stipulations provided divine providence and protection in response to the obedience of the people in doing God’s will. At first God led his people through Moses and Joshua. Then the Judges took responsibility…the last one was Samuel. When he was old, his sons took charge and were not as dedicated as their father. The people rebelled and demanded a King. You must read 1 Samuel 8 through 12 to get the entire story of this change in rule. Note: It seems so trite to me that our political figures today are basing their campaign on “need for change.” They try to make it sound like a new theory in government. It is not new.

The Israelites wanted change—but it was not God’s plan; they made the change anyway—but it was in the wrong direction and they suffered the consequences. People need to know that the change is in accordance with the will of God which will always be for the good of the people. We may not like the situation we are in, but we should be careful in that some change may make things even worse than they are now. I am not naïve; I realize that God does not audibly tell us who we should elect to rule over us. However he still demands that rulers believe in Him, the one and only God and any prospective leader that trust in any other god should be rejected. If you are inclined to be of the Christian faith [faith in Christ] you know with certainty that Mohammed IS NOT A GOD—and even more certain that he IS NOT THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.

In 8: 4 the people demanded Judge Samuel to appoint a king. The change was made from Judge Samuel to King Saul. Samuel did not want to do it but God said, “Let them have their way—it is not you that they have rejected, but they have rejected Me. Samuel explained the mistake they were making, but they still rejected his counsel. The cause of the problem is a parallel to that of Eli and his sons. We like to brag about learning from our experiences. However, many times we do not learn from experience. Samuel is an example. He failed to learn from the mistakes that Eli made. And just like Eli, when Samuel was older he appointed his sons to help him with the work that was his responsibility as the high priest. Even if they were Godly men in every decision and action they were not supposed to take their father’s place; they were not permitted to enter the Holy of Holies.

Samuel had two sons; they were Joel and Abijah, and when Samuel was older, just as Eli had done, he appointed his sons to help him with the heavy load of service. They were the priest’s boys. And, like the sons of some preachers today, they were not dependable. They turned toward dishonesty by accepting illegal gain; they accepted bribes and perverted justice. The people were not blind; they knew the boys were at least a part of the cause for their problems, and they demanded a change in their government. In our election ongoing this fall, the clamor is for change in government when the need is for change in the personnel administering our government. Someone says that it is futile to burn a ship in order to get rid of the rats. I say it is futile to destroy our democracy thinking that will get rid of the rats [crooks].

They demanded that Samuel appoint a King to rule over them, even when it was not God’s will. This request was not against the Law of Moses in Deut. 17 that authorized Kingdom rule. The error was that they did not seek God’s guidance and God’s timing in making their request. They made this a personal demand for change because they were not happy with Samuel’s sons. And their trust in the Almighty God was not strong enough to help them to know that He [God] would take care of their problems if they would only leave their problems to Him. Dear friends in Christ: tell yourself the truth. Have you ever? And do you still take things into your own hands and try to solve some of your most severe problems by yourself?—or do you SEEK GOD’S GUIDANCE FIRST?

Nepotism has always been repugnant to the people. Both Eli and Samuel were guilty of nepotism. Public office is a public trust; and has never been the distribution of family patronage. Samuel knew he had made a mistake and he did not deny it. He knew why the people were upset and demanding that a King be appointed. God assured him that they were really not as opposed to him as they were to God; and therefore he rejected their request. But God did not reject their request even though He knew they were making a mistake.

I often find scriptures that lead me to warn you that you should be very careful what you pray for—you should be very sure that you need the thing or condition that you pray for. Sometimes God grants our prayers when He knows that it is not what we really need. Why?—because he wants to teach us a lesson. The lesson is simply that we should seek his guidance before we ask or pray for anything.

God instructed Samuel to anoint Saul as their King. Under his reign the people lost most of their individual freedoms. Continuing wars required additional soldiers and the men, husbands and sons were drafted into the armies. Wives and daughters were forced into the service of food preparation and weaving and sewing clothing for the King’s army. They soon knew that their demand for a king had not really brought the kinds of improvements they had desired. God is the only source of change for good. They finally were blessed with David’s rule and that was because David was God’s choice for them. I humbly pray that God will choose our next president and exert his power to see that His man is elected.