In 1 Samuel 8, Israel demanded a king, after years of God directly guiding His people through His prophets and judges. Samuel who was the last judge in Israel was displeased by the request of the people, but he was partially to blame because his own failure to train his sons in the ways of God had led to the people rejecting God and the form of Government by judges that Israel had come to know.
Samuel’s sons were behaving like the sons of Eli, the man who mentored Samuel when he was a boy. Eli’s and his two sons… were killed on the same day, because they had done such wickedness in the eyes of God.
Apparently Samuel had adopted some of the ways of Eli, because he did not correct his sons. But somehow God was more gracious to Samuel than Eli, perhaps because God saw his heart. Nevertheless, Samuel’s sons were wicked. The Bible said that Samuel’s sons Joel and Abijah did not walk in the way of their father, instead turning aside to dishonest gain, taking bribes and perverting justice. Isn’t it typical of some leaders that walked with the Lord, undergo such intense struggles and held a nation to righteousness, only to now turn around and be so permissive with their own children? This simply meant that Samuel placed the approval of his children above God; so he could not correct them and take away their authority. His son’s action made the people demand a king.
Samuel prayed to the Lord, and God told him to heed the voice of the people and anoint a king. God allowed for the people to have a king, but with the following warning. “This will be the behaviour of the king who will reign over you,
- “He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
- He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest
- And some will make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
- He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
- And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
- He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
- And he will take your male servants and female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys and put them to his work.
- He will take a tenth of your sheep and you will be his servants.
- And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
I remember this scripture because the No Kings Protest has been sweeping America, with 2500 protests on the weekend of October 19. People were registering their displeasure over what they saw as their country’s descent into authoritarianism and the loss of their freedoms.
It came into my spirit that weekend that agreements had been made in the spirit realm. By the power of the Church and the Justice system, America decided to crown a king, though they did not know it. When a country slips into any form of idolatry, it departs from God. Whether this is sexual, political or economic idolatry, God turns nations over to their own end. The idol of religious control, of materialism, of sexual sins of greed have all created a stench in the nostrils of the Lord.
It is a Bible principle that when a nation displeases God, He allows a wicked man and other nations to rule over them. These wicked leaders bring heartlessness, hardship, robbery, more idolatry, degradation, confusion, captivity and destruction.
Job 12:24 says, He enlarges nations, and guides them. He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.”
The church took God off His throne and vested power in an earthy king, with prophets and church leaders leading entire congregations into idolatry to look to man for their salvation. Other institutions within the society also consolidated power in the hands of an earthly king by vesting in the leader unfettered and absolute authority.
It is God who allows earthly leaders to occupy positions of leadership, and ask us to pray for kings and those in authority. It is our duty to do so. But God never said to worship such people. He also expects us a Christians to play our part to hold such leaders to account and offer them the divine guidance to reign in justice. He sent prophets like Nathan to confront David, Samuel to confront Saul and many other prophets in the Bible to speak truth to power. However, today, I see prophets joining the cheerleading clubs for earthly leaders, rubber stamping their unrighteousness and failing to hold them to account.
America signed a contract in the spirit for a king. What do kings do? They take dominion. They amass wealth and resources. People serve them, instead of them serving the people. Jesus is the only King who came to seek, save and serve. Some modern monarchies have also made service a part of how they function, but very often their service is ceremonial rather than impacting lives in a real way.
Have some countries regressed to a feudal society? Existing in medieval times (9th to 15th Century) in Europe, feudalism was a pyramid-like system that placed ultimate authority in the hands of the king who owned all the land and who gave large estates to barons in exchange for their military backing, political support and loyal service. Below the barons were the lords and knights, and the entire system functioned to keep the king in his high position, his kingdom protected and his subjects in check.
When people are disempowered through job loss or through policies that shift from a system that is built on the equitable distribution of wealth to one that is concentrated in the hands of a few, what is created is an oligarchy, and ordinary people are led into economic and social slavery.
In the book of Genesis when Joseph became a prince in Egypt, he was placed over the gathering and distribution of grain. The seven years of plenty had given way to seven years of famine. The story of Joseph is a great one about God’s act of warning his people and making provision for them even in a famine. However, while pharaoh, through Joseph, amassed grain on behalf of the government, people did not seem to have been encouraged to save grain personally. So in the height of the famine, when people ran out of funds to purchase food, they started to exchange their land or property for grain. God’s people were saved and blessed, but others lost a lot. God always builds a Goshen (a place of protection and provision) for this people, but it is not for us to turn a blind eye to the struggles of others and condone unrighteousness.
Any idolatry in the hearts of the people, ultimately leads a nation into captivity. God is a jealous God, He does not share His glory with anyone.