Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-07-02
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INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM.
MENTS FOR JULY 5.

MENTS FOR JULY 5.
Subject: Israel Asks For King, 1
Sam. 8-Goldcn Text, Prov. S:15
Commit Verses 10, 2O-Read
Deut. II: 17:14-2O-Commentary.
EXPOSITION.-I. Jehovah tells
the people the manner Of the king
that shall reign over them, VS.. 1918,
The people were eager for king, sc
eager that they brusquely and heart.
lessly tell Samuel that he Is too old tc
be any |, nger fit for the place of lead.
ership Tvs. 1-5). If Samuel's feelings
we're in the way of their ambition,
they must be trampled upon, that is
all, no matter how faithful ruler
Samuel had been Il Sam. 12:3-5).
But Samuel seems to have been reap.
ing in part the result of his own folly.
His sons were utterly unfit to be
judges, but he made them judges over
Israel. 1t is Gods business to appoint
judges, and not mans. The fact that
Samuel himself was Judge by divine
appointment gave him no right to
make his sons judges by his avn ap-
pointment Divine gifts and Offices
are not transmissable from father to
son. 1t is grave mistake to sacrifice
the work of God for the interests Of
our children. Fatherly ambition for
his sons seems to have led Samuel
astray, even with tie awful example
of Eli before his eyes (cf. ch. 2:12,
13; 3:11-14 Hundreds Of years be-
fore (Deut. 17:14, 15) God had an
ticipated the day when His people
should request king, but He was nct
pleased with the request when 1t was
made (ch. 12:1O. That illustrates
the difference between what God pre-
diets and what God desires. "The
thing displeased Samuel" Cy. 81. Ii
was right that 1t should; for i dis
pleased the Lt rd as we'll. But there
seems as il there was something Of a
personal element, not unmixed zeal
for Gods honor, in Samuel's dis.
pleasure. But he did the wisest thing
there was to be done unGer the cir
cumstances He prayed unto the
Lord" (v. G; CT. Phil. :6, y. Sam
uel does not seem to have had word
of reproach for the ngratitud. Of the
elders until after h. had talked it
over with the Lord. It was rot Gods
first choice to give them a kiIg, but
God has a way of training His chill
dren by letting them have their own
way and SO find out by bitter expert.
ence how much better His way is Cps.
S1:11, 12; Luke 1872, 10. God
was their King. In asking a human
visible king, they had rejected tbs di-
vine invisible King. The real rot Of
their eror was essentially the same As
in making the golden calf. The desire
so common to-day for visible human
priest and teacher to take the place
Of the invisible Priest and Teacher,
Jesus, Is of the same character. Ths
unbelieving human l.eart cannot walk
by faith, 1t wants sight. Israels his
tory Is all OF piece, history of fail.
ure and apostacy ". 81. The same is
true very largely of the history of the
protesting church. Cad hearkened
unto their request (v. 81. The stern
est chastisement uftentimes that God
can send is just to let us have our
own way, but when God does let His
willful children have their own way,
1t Is not without GLENN protest
against their folly Matt. 23:37;
22:4; 21:36, 80. When Israel chose
a king it was in the face Of he full
revelation of what manner the kings
should be. Sc men get their own
way to-day in the face of the
clear revelation of what that way
involves. Samuel was in many re-
spects a model preacher, h. kept
silent until he got message from the
Lord, and then he delivered it in full
". 10). He spoke only what the
Lord gave him to speak and he spoke
all OF that. 1t was not very pleas
ant or very welcome message, but it
was the one God gave him and he de-
livered 1t all. They thought thai they
might be very victorious and joyous
and glorious If they could only have
king, but tney would find 1t quite diff
ferently ". 1S). He would bring
tears and not rejoicing. SO it turned
out. What a curse to them, Israel's
kings taken as whole, were. How
accurately God pictures the manner OF
the coming kings.
III. "That we also may be like all
the nations" VS.. 1922. The people
were not at all moved by Gods pic
ture of the woes the king would bring
upon them. They refused to obey.
They had made up their minds ard
said I'VE will and that settled it.
When any man sets up his will against
Gods, then his ruin is certain. Their
hearts were fully set within them to
do avil. and their whole after history
| shows the bitter consequences they
reaped. They desired king only to
be like the surrounding nations Tvs.
19, 2O, ana they made the wayward-
ness of Samuel's sols the pretext for
demanding one. God had called them
to be a separate people (Ex. 1915;
Lev. 20:2426; Deut. 1850. This was
a great honor lex. 1875, 6; Deut.
26;1S, 19), but Israel did not like the
lace of separation. They were daz-
zled by the seen but temporal gl-ries
around them and preferred them t.
things unseen but eternal (cf. 2 Cor.
4:18). 1t is just SO with the church
to-day. We are called to be sep.
arate people e Cor. GIT; Rom.
1872; l Pet. 2:9; Phil. 3:20), but the
church does not like the place of sep
aration. We want to "be like all the
nations" Samuel listened t. all the
people had to say and then went and
poured 1t into the cars of tn, Lord.
1t seems to have been Samuels fixed
habit, when he was grieved, to go Of
and have a talk with God about 1t.