LISTEN CLOSE, OR MISS YOUR CHANCE!

DAILY WORD

3–20–23

10. So Samuel passed on the LORD’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king.

11. “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.

12. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.

13. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.

14. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.

15. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.

16. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.

17. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.

18. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you.”

1 Samuel 8: 10–18 NLT

Today’s Passage returns us to The Story of Samuel at a crucial juncture for the Nation of Israel. Up to this point, they’d never languished under the burden of Kingship besides God’s Rule over them. Now, they reject God’s Reign and demand a king like all the rest of the surrounding nations who have already incurred God’s ire. It seemed like a dangerous choice to me, and from his reaction, apparently, Samuel agreed.

In Today’s Passage, after voicing his disapproval, Samuel takes the people’s demand before God, as was the custom. Remember that Samuel was there as the conduit between God and the people, and they demanded a king because of the corruption of Samuel’s sons, who he placed in the positions of Judge.

Samuel is now delivering God’s Warning to the people, alerting them to what they will face once they have what they claim to want. The people know nothing of the burden of kingship and the demands they will be subject to. Why else do you think they call the citizens of a kingdom subjects? It is because they are subjected to his Authority, and a subject could die for defying the king once it is established.

So, the people are importing one Regime for another, and the one they’re choosing is utterly foreign to them. They have no idea what to expect, so God offers them a warning to frame what they have coming. He gives them a chance to amend their demand, illustrating for them what will come if they remain on their decided Path.

We’ll cover their response in Tomorrow’s Passage; until then, let’s discuss Today’s Lesson. I’ve mentioned recently in my coverage of The Story of Samuel that God Sees the End from the very Beginning. Sometimes, He alerts us to what will happen if we remain on that course to protect us from our decision-making process.

What we do with that information is entirely up to us, but do not believe God will rescript the consequences if you make the wrong choice. God has given us the decided privilege of free will, and we can pretty much do whatever we want. But there will be consequences to our actions.

God knows what we’ll decide, and quite often, He’ll offer us admonitions to steer us away from danger or unnecessary drama. It is up to us to discern His Voice and act accordingly because He will rarely blunt the blows from our poor decisions. There are penalties to every decision and outcomes for every choice, and God knows them all from the start. Why else do you think He cautions and counsels us in the first place because He wants to see us fail?

No! Because He wants us to succeed, He cautions us against leaning to our own understanding. We can’t see what will happen if we make a specific decision, but He does. Have you ever been about to make a significant decision and felt a strong urge to stop? Did you continue on that course anyway and pay the price later? That warning was God, and the consequence was on you!

Here’s the detail, and it constitutes Today’s Lesson. We must be attuned to God’s Voice, His Frequency, if you will, in order to act on His Sound Advice. Otherwise, the very thing that could have saved us from death or drama is cast away like so much dust in the wind.

God’s Word is not something to be cast aside. It is the Literal Word of Life, and to throw it away is foolhardy to the highest degree! Today’s Lesson is learning to hear and respond to God’s voice. That way, you’ll know you have the best chance at success. Any other choice will take you on the Wrong Path, and there’s no telling where that will lead you!

Have a Monumental Monday And Learn To Hear God’s Voice; It May Be The Difference Between Life And Death!

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