In the World, Not Of It

# 98 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 8:4,5 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." (1 Sam 8:4,5) After Joshua died the people were ruled by judges. These judges were raised up from among the people by God. But here's how that scene always played out: Jg 2:18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.” I give these elders some credit here. They were desperately trying to stop this cycle. Samuel would die soon, and if the old pattern would continue the people would revert back to their godless ways and they would all suffer the consequences. Maybe a strong line of kings could stop the cycle. These elders were not acting whimsically. They were acting on Scripture. De 17:14, 15 says, “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' 15 "you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” These elders just felt the time was right. The problem is, they wanted a king “like all the nations.” They should've read the rest of God's instructions for a king in Dt 17:16-20! God's kings were to be quite different from the kings of other nations. How many of you know, it's not wise to want to be like the world? Someone has rightly paraphrased Jn 17:15,16 like this: “followers of Christ should be “in” the world, but not of the world.” God help us to know the difference.