1 Samuel 8:16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.
I tell my kids all the time: Life’s about choices. But here’s the thing with choices…they have consequences. The elders of Israel have been told all the consequences: You can have what you are asking for, but here are allllll the things it will cost you, and they basically reply: OK.
1 Samuel 8:17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
And again, I can’t even get too terribly indignant with them because this is human nature. I want what I want. I hear what you are saying. I see the consequences in my own head and they really aren’t so bad because what I want is soooo good. It reminds me of a CS Lewis quote: There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”
1 Samuel 8:18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Precious Savior, Thank You for loving me fiercely and completely despite my stubborn insistence on my own way. Forgive me when I insist that my will be done, not Yours. Help me to put aside my pride and self-reliance and choose You always. Amen.
1 Samuel 8:19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.
Have a blessed day.