Knock-off gods
This week is on 1 Samuel 12:19-22:
God is a really tolerant God. Before these verses take place, the Israelites had told Samuel that they didn't want to rely on God anymore, but wanted to have a king lead them instead. God granted their wishes and they got into trouble with one of the countries that shared a border with them. God delivered the Israelites from this enemy, and instead of thanking God for making it happen, the people all praised the king. They then tell Samuel that they want to kill the people who originally told them it was a bad idea to get a king. In other words, they've disobeyed God, and now they want to kill the only people who kept their wits and tried to warn them. Bad Israel. Bad!
Samuel rebukes the people. That's a fancy way of saying "He yelled at them." The people realize they've made a huge mistake, and we get to the verses I quoted up top. The people tell Samuel to pray to "your God." They've rejected God and don't feel connected to him, but they still acknowledge that they need his help. First they delegated their obedience to God, in the form of choosing a king, and now they've delegated their relationship, in the form of their priest.
Samuel says "Hey, don't trust in idols, serve God yourselves." Compared to God, all human authorities are useless. Even the great things people do are often started by God. King Saul didn't decide to fight the enemies by himself. The spirit of God came upon him in anger. The rescue was from God. Saul was just the guy he picked to be his delivery boy. But the people trusted in Saul, not in God. They made an idol.
Even after all of this, there was forgiveness available to them. God will not reject his people. The response was "Yes, you've done some pretty evil things, but just don't do them again and we'll be cool." No human being would offer a deal like that. Repent, and you'll be forgiven. Serve the Lord with all of your heart. You get a fresh start.
Do we have idols? Are there people or things we trust in the place of God? "The president will fix the economy." "My pastor will tell me how to live a good life." "My anti-lock brakes will protect me from harm." "The police will keep me safe." "My spouse is all I need." "FEMA will keep me fed and clothed if there is a disaster." God is behind, above, and in front of all of these things. We can trust them to a point, but they can never deserve the complete trust we can put in God. They can never substitute themselves for that aspect of our relationship with him. And they will never love and forgive us in the same way as God will when we fail him.
God is irreplaceable. Don't try to substitute a lesser thing for him, even if it seems cheaper to maintain.
The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.
God is a really tolerant God. Before these verses take place, the Israelites had told Samuel that they didn't want to rely on God anymore, but wanted to have a king lead them instead. God granted their wishes and they got into trouble with one of the countries that shared a border with them. God delivered the Israelites from this enemy, and instead of thanking God for making it happen, the people all praised the king. They then tell Samuel that they want to kill the people who originally told them it was a bad idea to get a king. In other words, they've disobeyed God, and now they want to kill the only people who kept their wits and tried to warn them. Bad Israel. Bad!
Samuel rebukes the people. That's a fancy way of saying "He yelled at them." The people realize they've made a huge mistake, and we get to the verses I quoted up top. The people tell Samuel to pray to "your God." They've rejected God and don't feel connected to him, but they still acknowledge that they need his help. First they delegated their obedience to God, in the form of choosing a king, and now they've delegated their relationship, in the form of their priest.
Samuel says "Hey, don't trust in idols, serve God yourselves." Compared to God, all human authorities are useless. Even the great things people do are often started by God. King Saul didn't decide to fight the enemies by himself. The spirit of God came upon him in anger. The rescue was from God. Saul was just the guy he picked to be his delivery boy. But the people trusted in Saul, not in God. They made an idol.
Even after all of this, there was forgiveness available to them. God will not reject his people. The response was "Yes, you've done some pretty evil things, but just don't do them again and we'll be cool." No human being would offer a deal like that. Repent, and you'll be forgiven. Serve the Lord with all of your heart. You get a fresh start.
Do we have idols? Are there people or things we trust in the place of God? "The president will fix the economy." "My pastor will tell me how to live a good life." "My anti-lock brakes will protect me from harm." "The police will keep me safe." "My spouse is all I need." "FEMA will keep me fed and clothed if there is a disaster." God is behind, above, and in front of all of these things. We can trust them to a point, but they can never deserve the complete trust we can put in God. They can never substitute themselves for that aspect of our relationship with him. And they will never love and forgive us in the same way as God will when we fail him.
God is irreplaceable. Don't try to substitute a lesser thing for him, even if it seems cheaper to maintain.
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