Day 5

THE LORD IS KING

"The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved." Psalm 99:1

T he account of history we find in the Bible differs in some important ways from the history we study in school. In the Hebrew Bible 1st and 2nd Samuel come in the section labelled 'the former prophets'. Their central theme is not the development of a nation but the working out of God's plans. As a result the books concentrate on the way in which Israel's leaders relate to God rather than on their political and military policies.

There is a tension in Samuel between Israel's reliance on God and the role of the kings. In the time of the judges Israel had no permanent national leadership. The judges were called by God to rescue the nation from particular crises and the wise ones resisted the temptation to accept political power and responsibility (Judges 8:22,23; 9:6-20) recognising this as God's prerogative. When Israel turned away from God their failure to obey his law led to anarchy (Judges 21:25; 18:1; 19:1). The people seem to have recognised their failure and in 1 Samuel they call for a king who will force them to obey, who will take from them the responsibility for national peace and prosperity (1 Sam. 8:4-20).

We all face a similar choice to that taken by the Israelites. On the one hand Christ offers us freedom (John 8:32-36) which brings responsibility (1 Cor. 10:23,24). On the other we can give up our freedom and become slaves to sin (Romans 6:16). In some ways that makes life easier but we cannot then complain if the consequences are not to our taste (Matt. 7:13,14).