Series Big Idea: "Focusing on the human quest for power, verses God’s sovereign reign"

Sermon Big: "Chasing control reveals our rejection of God, but His grace still rules"

Key Scripture (1 Samuel 8:1-22)

Have you ever desperately wanted something. Something that looked good on the surface but later realized it wasn’t at all what you needed? Maybe it was a job that promised security but drained your very essence. Maybe it was a relationship built on surface attraction rather than deep conviction. Often, what we want most reveals something broken underneath. That’s exactly what’s happening in 1 Samuel 8.

The people of Israel come to Samuel with what seems like a reasonable request: “Give us a king.” Samuel is getting old, his sons are corrupt, and dangerous enemies threaten from the outside. On the surface, this looks like a leadership crisis. But as we read closely, we discover it’s not just about leadership. It’s about lordship. It's not ultimately about politics. It’s about trust.

God sees through the request and calls it what it truly is: rejection of His kingship. And the stunning part? God gives them what they ask for, but not before solemnly warning them of what that kind of king will cost them.

As we walk through this passage, we’ll see two sobering truths: when we reach for control, we often reject God. And when we choose the wrong king, we enslave ourselves. So, let’s look first at how Israel’s desire for a king was really a rejection of God’s rule.

(1 Samuel 8:1-22)

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.” 6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. 9 Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.” 10 Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. 12 He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. 16 He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.” 19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.” 21 Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. 22 “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.” 

I.         Craving Control leads to rejecting God (vv. 1–9)

1 Samuel 8 opens with a leadership issue. Samuel is aging, and like Eli before him, his sons are corrupt. Verse 3 says, “They turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3 CSB). These are not small transgressions. These strike at the heart of what it means to have godly leaders. The failure of Samuel’s sons created a leadership vacuum and fear rushed in to fill the void.

So, the elders of Israel gather and say in verse 5, “Appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:5 CSB). Their desire for a king sounds like a solution to a leadership problem, but their motivation reveals much more. They didn’t just want a new judge. They wanted a new model. One patterned after the world, not the Word. “Like all the other nations.” That’s the part that should trouble us. Israel was never meant to be like other nations. They were set apart. Led by God. Governed by His Word.

Samuel is grieved, not because his ego is bruised, but because he sees what’s really happening. He brings their request to the Lord in prayer. And in verse 7, God tells him, “They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7 CSB). Their rejection isn't about any one man, it’s about the One who rules over them. God says in verse 8 that this is the story of their hearts ever since the exodus: “They've abandoned me, and they’re doing the same to you.”

Just like us, Israel doesn’t want to wait on God. They want to reach for control. And in grasping for that control, they are turning from the only One who truly reigns with justice, mercy, and truth.

What about us? Where do we reach for substitutes instead of trusting God's leadership? Where are we tempted to say, “God, I know what I need right now” without seeking His timing, His wisdom, or His will? God, in His grace, tells Samuel to let the people have what they want but only after warning them what that kind of king will do. And that leads to our second truth: rejecting God’s rule doesn’t just offend Him, it enslaves us.

II.         Choosing the wrong King will cost us our Freedom (vv. 10–22)

Starting in verse 10, Samuel outlines what it will cost them to have the king they think they want. And his message is not sugar-coated. Over and over Samuel uses the phrase, “He will take…” “He will take your sons.” “He will take your daughters.” “He will take the best of your fields.” “He will take a tenth of your grain.” “He will take your servants, your cattle, your flocks…”

And finally in verse 17: “...you yourselves can be his servants” (1 Samuel 8:17 CSB).

In other words, the king you want will not give you power, he will take your freedom. This king turns everything you value into something he owns. What appears to be strength turns into slavery. What begins as national pride ends as personal bondage. Samuel finishes his warning in verse 18 by saying, “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen... but the Lord won’t answer you on that day” (1 Samuel 8:18 CSB). That’s a haunting reversal from the days of the judges, when God responded with grace to their cries.

Yet, how do the people respond? Verse 19: “The people refused to listen to Samuel” (1 Samuel 8:19 CSB).They double down! “No,” they said. “We must have a king… to fight our battles” (v.20). They’ve forgotten that it was God who fought their battles. He brought them out of Egypt. Parted the Red Sea. Defeated the Philistines. And now, they cast Him aside for something impressive in appearance but deadly in function.

And we do the same. When we choose lesser kings, whether money, status, politics, addiction, relationships, we become enslaved to the very things we hoped would save us. Only Christ, our true King, offers rescue, not ruin. But the good news in 1 Samuel 8 isn’t just in the warning. It’s also in God’s patience. He doesn’t abandon His people, even when they reject Him. Instead, He allows them to walk this road, not because He’s indifferent, but because He’s working something greater.

Conclusion:

Through their rejection, God would lead them to Saul and eventually to David. And through David's line, to the true and better King Jesus Christ. The King not born in a palace, but in a manger. Not one who takes but one who gives. The King not who taxes His people, but who gives His life for them.

Jesus says in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world” (CSB). And Philippians 2:8 tells us, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross” (CSB). He doesn’t enslave us. He sets us free.

The question for us today isn’t just: “What kind of king do we want?” It’s: Who are we trusting on the throne of our hearts? Are we reaching for kings who will take? Or are we trusting the One who gave Himself for us? Let’s not settle for worldly kings but surrender to the King of Heaven. The King who rules with grace and truth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version Bible

King James Version Bible

Christian Standard Bible

1 Samuel 8:1-22 Bibliography

Christian Standard Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2020, p. 1 Sa 8:1–22.

MacArthur, John F., Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006, p. 1 Sa 8:1–20.

Merrill, Eugene H. “1 Samuel.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1, Victor Books, 1985, pp. 439–40.

Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Thomas Nelson, 1992, pp. 305–06.

Water, Mark. Key Word Commentary: Thoughts on Every Chapter of the Bible. AMG Publishers, 2003, p. 261.

Hughes, Robert B., and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Tyndale House Publishers, 2001, p. 118.

Radmacher, Earl D., et al. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary. T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, pp. 356–57.

Stanley, Charles F. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version. Nelson Bibles, 2005, p. 1 Sa 8:3–20.

Richards, Lawrence O. The Bible Reader’s Companion. Electronic ed., Victor Books, 1991, p. 186.

Mathews, Kenneth A. “The Historical Books.” Holman Concise Bible Commentary, edited by David S. Dockery, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998, pp. 111–12.

Jamieson, Robert, et al. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, pp. 179–80.

Beyer, Bryan E. “1 Samuel.” CSB Study Bible: Notes, edited by Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax, Holman Bible Publishers, 2017, pp. 420–21.

Barry, John D., et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Lexham Press, 2012, 2016, p. 1 Sa 8:1–20.

Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles, 2008, pp. 503–04.

Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. 1 & 2 Samuel. Edited by Mark L. Strauss et al., Baker Books, 2013, pp. 226–28.

Andrews, Stephen J., and Robert D. Bergen. 1, 2 Samuel. Holman Reference, 2009, pp. 68–71.

Vannoy, J. Robert. Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Samuel. Tyndale House Publishers, 2009, pp. 83–87.

Butler, John G. Analytical Bible Expositor: I & II Samuel. LBC Publications, 2010, pp. 459–65.

Cabal, Ted, et al. The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith. Holman Bible Publishers, 2007, pp. 416–17.

Barker, Kenneth L., and John R. Kohlenberger III. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition: Old Testament). Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, pp. 390–92.

Bell, James Stuart, editor. Ancient Faith Study Bible. Holman Bibles, 2019, pp. 314–15.

Neely, Winfred O. “1 Samuel.” The Moody Bible Commentary, edited by Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham, Moody Publishers, 2014, pp. 411–12.

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