2011 March 30 - Morning Manna

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us
(1 Samuel 8:1-19)

  

Today's Morsel:  How much thought do you put into your vote for elected officials?  Do you vote a straight party line, or do you check up on candidates and read their platform to which they stand for and support?  Do you check their moral compass?  Are you saddened when the ones you vote for turn and do everything that goes against your values and your moral compass?  Solomon said that it is best to trust in the Lord rather than to put confidence in man (Psalm 118:8).  Israel wanted a king to rule over them just as all the other nations had.  They no longer wanted God to lead them.  They saw that Samuel's sons were not doing right, and they felt that they needed someone else to lead them.  After all those years of seeing God's provision for them, they never had gotten to a point where they trusted God to lead them.  Understanding their desire for a new leader, God told Samuel to give them their desire.  When Samuel told them what a king over them would do to them, they still said, Nay; but we will have a king over us.  Talk about a slap in God's face.  Talk about a sure rejection of the One that loved them and gave Himself for them.  The Lord told David that he that rules over men, must be just, ruling in the fear of God ( 2 Samuel 23:1-3). When leaders do not operate in such a manner, people are going to be led astray and misused.  They will enact policies and procedures to take away from the people and make them depend on them.  Therefore, in our selection process for our nation's leaders, we must ask ourselves if they are God fearing or not?  Because if they are not, they will lead us away from the principles and ways of God.

Sing:  Jesus we're depending on you!  Jesus, we're depending on you!  Jesus, we're depending on you!  Depending on you, to see us through.