The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-07-27
ISRAEL WANTED A KING.
International Sunday school Lesson foi
July 20, 1880.

Especially arranged from s. 8. tSiarterly.l
LESSON Text Sam. 8: 40.
GOLDEN Nevertheless the people 70
fused to obey the voice Of Samuel; and they
said. Nay but we will have king over US.
Sam. s;l9
CENTRAL TRUTH-We should seek TO know
Gods will, rather than insist on our own
TIME-B, C. 1856, about twenty years
after the last lesson. Others make the date
b. c. 1881
PLAcE-Ramah, the home Of Samuel, four
miles northwest Of Jerusalem. Samuel,
now about seventy years old. For forty
years he had been prophet OF Israel, and
for twenty years judge.
INTERVENING HIsToRY-.A season Of peace
and prosperity followed the victory OF our
last lesson. Samuel had grown old. and
made his sons judges in Beersheba, forty
FIVE or fifty miles TO the southwest.
HELPS OVER HARD Places. The elders OF
Israel: the heads Of families and leading
persons, forming kind Of legislature ..
Sons Walk not IN thy rags they took brides
and perverted justice VS.. o. The thing
displcdsed Samuel: 1t was not wrong TO have
king (Deut. 17:l4-30), but the request was
slur upon his administration, rejection
Of God, refusal TO be as noble and holy
nation as God would have them to be. Why
did they desire king! a. To be like other
nations. (2) To have a visible leader for
war ". q. (3) To give unity TO the nation.
"a Samuel would not long be able TO rule
them, and his sons were not tit for the place.
z. 7hep hare not rejected thee, chiefly, but they
haze rejected me; in rejecting Samuel. How!
Cd They did not ask what was best, but
were determined to have their own way.
(2) They were unwilling to be such a nation
as God thought best. (3) They wanted sue
cess without obedience, and hoped they
could have it by a king. (4) They distrusted
God as their invisible leader. 90 Their mo-
tive was bad-to be like other nations. 9.
Hedrkcn unto their pOice: grant their request.
For so sinful people king was the best,
as punishment for their not being more
worthy. IL. This tpill De the manner Of the
king: ~ He would bring in luxury at the
peoples expense. C2) He would limit their
freedom. (3) He would impose high taxes
and drain the wealth of the people.
LESSON FACTs-Samuel was growing old,
being at the time of our lesson seventy
years of age. Twenty years had elapsed
since the events of the last lesson. They
had been years Of considerable prosperity.
Hitherto the people had been governed
directly by God through the medium OF
Judges or prophets. The example Of sur
rounding nations, however, proved conta-
glous, and at last the people wanted king
like the nations around them. The imme-
date occasion of this request for king
was the misrule of Samuers two sons. This
led the elders to assemble and ask of Sam
uel that some fitting man should be chosen
xIns,. lii NnH fnl ~ m
to hearken to the request of the people, but
to warn them that it would not be at all to
their advantage If they had king; for the
burdens that king would lay on their
shoulders would be far heavier than any
thing that they had yet been called upon to
bear. The argument OF the aged prophet
was in vain, however; for the people were
bent on having their own way, as we see
from the sequel of the lesson. Compare
this lesson with | Kings 12:1-ll)
(a) A WRONG REoUEsT-That 1t was wrong
is evident from the way in which God re-
spends at the first. 1t involved u lack of
trust in Gods method of governing them
II Samuels sons were evil, the way out OF
the difficulty did certainly not lie in the
direction of a monarchy. Any one could
have told them that. The fact was that
they were weary of seeming to be at dis
advantage as against the snowy monarch
les around them. Now God had always
told them that in case they came to have
king, he should be particularly careful to be as
unlike other mOndrchs as possible. (See Deut.
17:l620) In making their request, there
fore, they showed spirit markedly at vari-
ance with the one they ought to
have cherished. (b) AREoUEsT vEHEMENTLY
URGED. 1t might not have been so evil
thing to make the request they did had they
quietly yielded when it was evident that
their desire was not acceptable in Gods
sight But they were welded to their
purpose and no clear and prophetic be-
trayal of consequent disasters at all affect
ed them. "NdU, but zoe OiN hare king"
is their reiterant request, or rather de-
mand. 1t was this vehement insisting on
having their way that aggravated their
guilt. (c) THE REQUEST GRANTED. This
was strange! To human reason it would
seem almost as though God would have
done better to deny them out and out, and
punish them for wlfulness. But we must
never forget that God always treats men,
not as machines, but as free agents. So He
treated Israel. In this way they learned
many lesson, both in the desert and in
Canaan, which otherwise 1t would have
been impossible to teach them.-Rev. A. f.
Schauffier.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
/. The best of men sometimes have bad
children.
2. We often earnestly desire things not
best for us to have.
3. There may be sin and folly as well as
danger in the desire to be like other people.
4. Be very careful Of the feelings of the
old
5. We reject God when we refuse to obey
Him; when we insist on our will contrary
to Gods; when we neglect His Word, and
reject His ministers, and do not believe on
Jesus.
6. God sometimes yields to our requests
because we are not worthy of the better
things He has planned for us.
THERE are no exigencies in our lives for
which the well-traned mind should not be
prepared, or which the truly courageous
soul may not meet with calmness, relying
upon all-wise Providence to make at the
right moment complete provision. To such
lives there can come o failure. We have
the oft-repeated promise in the word Of
Divine truth that those who seek His glory