An Example of Law and Grace

This is the fourth most viewed post of the Prime Time Devos and it is an illustration of the difference between Law and Grace 1Sa 8:9-13, "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, "This will be the behavior 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. 12 "He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 "He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. (1 Sam 8:9-13) Up until this time the Israelites were not ruled by a king. God served as their protector and provider. This was unlike any other arrangement in the world. As long as the people served and loved God rather than idols, the people were more blessed and more powerful than any other nation in the world. God would raise up leaders and then use them to bring enemy forces to their knees. Remember what Moses did in Egypt, Joshua in Canaan, Gideon, Deborah, and Samson in the period of the judges. When the people voluntarily followed God they lived in freedom and prosperity. And here's the key.....it was all voluntary service on their part. But now the people want a king like all the other nations. And note well what the king does, “He will take.” All right then people, this is what having a king will look like. Your sons and daughters will no longer have this volunteer option. They will be drafted into the kings service as soldiers in the army, and servants in the kings palace and on his land. They will be made to work in the kings weapons factories. They will serve as cooks, bakers, perfumers, and anything else the king may demand. What a picture of law and grace. One a life of compulsion, the other a life of voluntary service. Which would you rather live under? In Christ, we live and serve in love. 1Jo 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

The Problem of Big Government

# 103 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 8:14-17, "And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 "He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 "And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 "He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.” (1 Sam 8:14-17) The phrase “he will take,” shows up six times in verses 11-18. This is what big government does. It takes and takes and takes, and the more it takes, the more it grows and consequently, the more it needs to take. Actually, these people had it pretty good, they were taxed at a rate of 10%. In America today we are taxed at a rate of 30% and that's just on our income. In 2012 the average American worked from January 1st to April 17th just to pay his income taxes! But we, like the Israelites have brought this on ourselves. Instead of limiting the God-given role of government to serve as His arm for keeping order in the land, we have given it responsibilities that belong to the church. Don't you know that the church is to be the vehicle of charity that God uses to bless the world, not the government? Read the Book of Acts and note how the New Testament church operated. Read the history books and see how the church carried out charitable acts among themselves and into the world. Ac 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. Somehow the church needs to recapture this spirit of charity. It starts with reviving our own love relationship with Jesus, which leads to proper stewardship of our own God-given resources and then our individual congregations as well.

An Example of Law and Grace

# 102 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 8:9-13, "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, "This will be the behavior 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. 12 "He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 "He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. (1 Sam 8:9-13) Up until this time the Israelites were not ruled by a king. God served as their protector and provider. This was unlike any other arrangement in the world. As long as the people served and loved God rather than idols, the people were more blessed and more powerful than any other nation in the world. God would raise up leaders and then use them to bring enemy forces to their knees. Remember what Moses did in Egypt, Joshua in Canaan, Gideon, Deborah, and Samson in the period of the judges. When the people voluntarily followed God they lived in freedom and prosperity. And here's the key.....it was all voluntary service on their part. But now the people want a king like all the other nations. And note well what the king does, “He will take.” All right then people, this is what having a king will look like. Your sons and daughters will no longer have this volunteer option. They will be drafted into the kings service as soldiers in the army, and servants in the kings palace and on his land. They will be made to work in the kings weapons factories. They will serve as cooks, bakers, perfumers, and anything else the king may demand. What a picture of law and grace. One a life of compulsion, the other a life of voluntary service. Which would you rather live under? In Christ, we live and serve in love. 1Jo 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”