“Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.”
I Samuel 8: 7 (NLT)
Many non-believers today believe disciples should compromise their beliefs to allow them to keep their beliefs. However, God does not want His laws and commandments compromised. This devotion looks at parallels of a Jewish nation’s compromise with that of today’s society.
Nuggets
- The Jewish people wanted a king like the surrounding countries had.
- One consequence of following the worldview is the escalation of wars.
- Disciples are going to be persecuted that their freedom of choice is going to be taken away.
- Satan think he is equal to God, so he deserves the same amount of tithe.
Have you heard the word syncretism before? I hadn’t until I had read it in a post. It means merging different religions, cultures, or beliefs into one. It is talking about assimilation.
No, it’s not new. We’ve talked before about how Esther was assimilated into the Persian culture enough that no one in court knew that she was a Jew.
To read Can God Use Just One Person to Accomplish His Plans?, click the button below.
You see, that is a problem. God doesn’t want us to look like the world. “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect” (Rom. 12: 2 GNT). We said that was Disciples’ Job Description #1.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Job Duty #1
Be a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12: 1-2)
Yes, I know that it is really hard to look and think and act differently from the worldview. The Jews struggled with it. Let’s look at the time they wanted a king that wasn’t God.
Let's Put It into Context
“But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice” (I Samuel 8: 3 NLT).
Samuel had always been a good guy. His sons — not so much. Nepotism doesn’t always end up a bad thing, but this time it did.
Remember, Samuel was the baby that his momma had prayed for because she was childless (I Sam. 1). She had promised to give him back to God. God gave her Samuel, and she gave him back.
Samuel became a great prophet in Jewish history. He was also a judge and advisor to King Saul. He was a man of God.
We have to remember that the rule of the Judges was a very dark time n Jewish history. The elders who came to see Samuel probably did bit want to go back to that.
That was the problem. Samuel’s sons weren’t anything like Samuel, probably fueling the backslide concerns. The sons didn’t want to have anything to do with God. The Jewish people didn’t want to have anything to do with them.
That sounds like a good thing until you really look at reasons why the Jewish people wanted a king. “But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. ‘Even so, we still want a king,’ they said. ‘We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle’” (I Sam. 8: 19-20 NLT).
It wasn’t that the people were rejecting sin. They were rejecting being different from the world. They wanted someone who could lead them in war (I Sam. 8: 20).
We can read in the chapter how they tried to justify their actions. To them, the reasons were very logical.
It didn’t change anything. They were rejecting God. They were exercising their free will.
Nothing much has changed in the last several thousand years, has it?
Samuel gave a list of things that would happen if the Jews threw in with the world instead of staying true to God. I think we can run some parallels with today’s world.
Let me say this right off. Do I think disciples will be targeted and persecuted? Yes. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Mt. 24: 9 NLT).
Do I think some of this will be limited strictly to disciples? No. I think Satan is an equal-opportunity instigator. He will deceive his followers as well as disciples.
There Will Be Wars
“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army …” (I Sam. 8: 11-12 NLT).
One consequence of following the worldview is the escalation of wars. “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars …” (Mt. 24: 6 NLT). That is the sign of the end times.
It is hoped by worldview followers that, when disciples compromise their beliefs, peace and harmony will be achieved. It is not going to happen.
Paul listed dissensions and divisions as sins in Galatians 5: 20. Proverbs 6: 19 states that one of the things that God hates is “… one who sows discord among brothers” (ESV).
Paul also told disciples to avoid people who cause divisions. “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Rom. 16: 17 ESV).
You see, non-believers are not going to be happy until disciples see things their way. They are not going to compromise. They are not going to give up their views on something else and see it disciples’ way. They want everything their way.
They may say they want everyone to be allowed to think whatever they want. Rest assured, they want that for everyone but disciples. We, they think, must not be allowed to believe in the One true God.
They want God’s ways to be rejected. They want Satan’s ways to be followed.
No, they won’t say it that way, but that is the way it is.
Forced Labor
“… some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials” (I Sam. 8: 11-14 NLT).
Samuel was trying to force the point home that burdens would be enacted. Heavy burdens. These would be the unintended consequences. Intended or not — they would still occur.
Making disciples follow the worldview is not the only thing non-believers will do. Disciples are going to be persecuted that their freedom of choice is going to be taken away.
Will it make it to subservient levels? I don’t know. Maybe.
Will disciples’ freedoms be taken away? I think so.
Okay, two things struck me when I was reading this. And remember, I think Satan is an equal-opportunity instigator. I do not believe disciples are being targeted for this. I believe mankind is the target.
Thing one. Did you see in verse 11 that it said sons would be taken? It said the same thing in verse 13 for daughters. Relationships would be destroyed.
How are children being taken today? I see two ways — sex trafficking and abortion. They were here one day; and the next, they were gone.
Thing two. Verse 13 also says, “… force them to cook and bake …” (I Sam. 8: 13 NLT). Remember a court case between a Christian baker and a same-sex couple? The whole proceedings was to try to force them to bake against their beliefs.
Don’t Take My Stuff
“He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. … He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves” (I Sam. 8: 15, 17 NLT).
Did you catch the significance of it being a tenth of your earnings? That is the tithe to the Lord.
The tenth comes from Deuteronomy 14: 22 says, “Set aside a tithe—a tenth of all that your fields produce each year” (GNT). It also came from Leviticus 27: 32: “And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord” (ESV).
Ooo, baby. Wouldn’t Satan think he is equal to God, so he deserves the same amount of tithe?
Can we say taxes here? Can we say distribution of wealth? Who do people perceive the “haves” to be? The “have nots”?
I bet the Jewish people had an idea of how they wanted that distribution to be handled. Samuel was trying to point out that there would be no guarantees.
Making the Connections
We have to realize that the Jews — in their minds — probably were not totally rejecting God. They still wanted to be God’s chosen people. They just wanted to compromise with the world.
They wanted their cake and eat it, too.
Yes, sometimes compromise can be a good thing. It isn’t when we are compromising God’s laws and commandments. He doesn’t want us to sorta follow them. He wants complete obedience.
But let’s look at it this way. How many times did Israel sin against God, and God accommodated mankind? To the worldview, it makes God look weak. It makes it look like Satan is in control.
Satan is in control of this world. For now.
God knows that Satan is a master trickster. God knows Satan is a deceiver.
God knows Satan will never deliver what he promises.
God will. God is love (I Jn, 4: 8). God can’t lie (Num. 23: 19).
How Do We Apply This?
“When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you” (I Sam. 8: 18 NLT).
Judgment Day is coming. Non-believers are going to be surprised that they were wrong. They will find out
- There is a God.
- God will judge them.
- The things they tried to pull off as perfectly acceptable really are a sin, as it says in the Bible.
- There is a hell.
- That torment will last for eternity.
- It will be too late to change your mind.
Disciples can not compromise their beliefs. We must stay true to God’s Word. Our obedience to God’s Word will be determined. We want to be found faithful.
Father. We have Your Word to tell us how You expect us to live our lives. That puts us at odds with the worldview. Help us to remain faithful to You. Help us to not compromise Your laws and commandments. We await Judgment Day.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
What do you think?
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