Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
What followed was the period of the Judges. There were 15 judges in all and the last judge over Israel was Samuel. His wisdom was like none other.
Read 1 Samuel Chapter 8, “Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel… however his sons did not walk in his ways...
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” This greatly displeased Samuel when they said it, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.
PSALM 66
For God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer
1
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth—
2 Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works !
Because of the greatness of Your power, Your enemies shall submit themselves in obedience
to You.
4 “All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You—
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God, who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the river on foot—
There
let us rejoice in Him!
7 He rules by His might forever, His eyes keep watch on the nations, Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
Selah
8 Bless our
God, O peoples, and sound His
praise abroad—
9 Who keeps us in life and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You
have tried us, O God. You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive
burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, and yet You brought
us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my
lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts, with
the smoke of rams; I shall
make an offering of bulls
with male goats. Selah
16
Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to
Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will
not hear—
19 But
certainly God has heard, He
has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed
be God, who has not turned
away my prayer, nor His loving-kindness from me.
Then the Lord said to Samuel:
“Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you–for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me… that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people and he said to them, and this will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you:
“He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said, “No,we will have a king over us, 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.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”
Samuel said to them,
“The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said. Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
“The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said. Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
1 Samuel 12: 20-25 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him and said: “…the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance… when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? That there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
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