Formosa Baptist Church
2026-10-25
  • More Like Jesus
  • Main Idea of The Story: God is redeeming a people for himself from every nation, tribe, people, and language, for his own glory through Jesus Christ.
    Text for the Chapter: I Samuel
    Text for the Sermon: I Samuel 8:1-22
    Each sermon should answer these questions:
    How do these Lower Stories fit into the Upper Story? (FCF)
    What do these stories tell us about God, man, and the plan of redemption?
    How do these stories point to Christ?
    How is my story reflected in these stories?
    What do these stories tell me about how my story fits in God’s Story?
    Main Idea: There are all kinds of things in our lives competing for the throne of our hearts, but true joy and peace is only found when Christ is King in our lives.
    Intro:
    During the time of the Judges, there was no centralized leadership over Israel. Occasionally, God would raise up a Judge to rule, but these Judges generally ruled over small areas—over a tribe or two—not over the entire 12 tribes at once. (The story of Ruth, of course, happens in this time period as well.) Generally, these Judges weren’t succeeded by someone in their family like a King would. Israel is really just a loosely connected ethnic group comprised of 12 tribes, but they have no formal structure or governance.
    And this leads to a lot of chaos and anarchy. And the book of Judges concludes with this line:
    Judges 21:25 ESV
    25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
    Of course, this line makes it very clear that the author of Judges thinks Israel would be a lot better off if they had a king to enforce law and order.
    So, when we open I Samuel, that’s what we’re expecting and kind of hoping for. Israel needs a king. They need structure and leadership, because left to their own devices, everyone is just doing whatever they think is right, and that’s very often leading to very bad results.
    Summarize:
    Hannah’s Prayer and Samuel’s Birth, 1 Samuel 1:1—2:2; 2:19-21
    I Samuel opens with a woman named Hannah who is wrestling with infertility. She’s married to Elkanah, and she’s one of his two wives. She’s not able to have kids, so she prays to God for a child.
    We’ve seen this motif before with Abraham and Sarah/Hagar, and with Jacob and his wives, and so we’re not surprised too much when God grants her request and she has a son, whom she names Samuel.
    Hannah dedicates Samuel to the Lord, and as soon as he’s weaned from nursing, she takes him to the tabernacle and gives him to the priest, Eli, to serve alongside Eli in the tabernacle as a priest in training.
    Samuel’s Vision and Eli’s Death, 1 Samuel 3:1—4:18
    Now, Eli had two sons who were pretty terrible priests. The Mosaic Law stated that the fat and the best parts of the sacrificial animal were to be dedicated to God, and then the priests were to have the remainder as payment for their services.
    But Eli’s sons would take the best parts for themselves, and then give the leftovers as the offering to God. In modern terms, they were helping themselves to the money in the offering plate—embezzling.
    They were stealing from the people’s offerings, sleeping with women in the tabernacle, and did all kinds of awful stuff.
    Eli scolds them, but he doesn’t actually remove them from being priests, and he may have even been benefitting some from his sons thievery. So, God warns him through a prophet that his days of being a priest are coming to an end, and that his two sons are about to be put to death.
    1 Samuel 2:30 ESV
    Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
    1 Samuel 2:34–35 ESV
    And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.
    God promises to one day raise up a faithful priest, one who will always serve him righteously. This is later partially fulfilled when Zadok is appointed priest in 2 Sam. 8:17, but the complete fulfillment of this promise doesn’t arrive until later. For now, just put a bookmark there—we’ll come back to this.
    When Samuel gets a little older, perhaps a pre-teen or teenager, he has a vision from God one night. God reiterates to young Samuel that Eli and his two sons are about to be judged.
    Sure enough, in a short time, Eli’s sons are killed in battle, the Ark of the Covenant is captured by the enemies of Israel (the Philistines), and Eli himself, when he hears the news, falls over and dies.
    Samuel becomes the new priest and the primary prophet for Israel, and he serves faithfully.
    Unfortunately, Samuel’s sons were not so faithful, and that leads us to our passage today.
    Samuel’s sons, much like Eli’s sons, were no good. They were not like their father. The cycle of parents not discipling their children in the book of Judges seems to continue on in I Samuel, unfortunately, which is part of what leads to the storyline here...
    1 Samuel 8:1–22 ESV
    1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” 10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
    Prayer
    This passage may seem a bit difficult to figure out at first, because God makes it pretty clear here that Israel was wrong in this instance to demand a king.
    But, as we were reading through Judges, we saw a repeated refrain that seemed to indicate pretty strongly that having a King is exactly what Israel needed:
    Judges 21:25 ESV
    25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
    That line is repeated 4x in Judges, and that is the final verse of the book. So, it’s pretty clear from the perspective of the author of Judges (and, therefore the Holy Spirit), that God wanted Israel to have a king. But here, in I Sam. 8, they’re pretty strongly rebuked for asking for that very thing!
    So, does God want them to have a king, or not?
    Here’s what we need to learn from this:

    Motives matter.

    Israel’s motive—their reason—for wanting a king is just as important, if not more important, than the end result of having a king.

    Desiring a King was right.

    Or, at least, it could be right, depending...
    1 Samuel 8:4–5 ESV
    4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king...”
    Now, what they’ve said up to that point is right and good. Samuel’s sons, unfortunately, were not godly leaders.
    There is a scenario we could imagine where the people, burdened by the sinfulness of Samuel’s sons, desired a godly leader to unite the people and enforce the Laws of God.
    That would be a good thing, at least so long as they submitted to the Lord’s timing and his leading in selecting who that king would be.
    In fact, such a king had even been foretold. When Jacob blessed his 12 sons back in Genesis, this is what he had to say about Judah:
    Genesis 49:8–10 ESV
    “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub... The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
    God had foretold, through Jacob’s prophecy, that a dynasty of leaders would arise from Judah’s descendants. A ruler from Judah would rule as king over his brothers—the other tribes.
    So, it was inevitable that Israel would one day have a king. The question was when, who, how, and why. But, the problem here in I Samuel is that the people aren’t concerned with doing things God’s way. They want the blessing of God on their time table, through their means, and for their own reasons.

    Their motive (to be like the nations) was wrong.

    1 Samuel 8:5 ESV
    5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
    1 Samuel 8:19–20 ESV
    19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations...”
    Twice the people indicate that their desire to have a king came from a desire to be “like the nations.” That word, “nations,” in Hebrew, is the same word sometimes translated as “Gentiles.”
    So, in effect, they are saying, “We want a king so that we can be like the Gentiles.”
    They weren’t supposed to be like the Gentiles, they were supposed to be unique; set apart.
    Leviticus 20:23 ESV
    And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.
    Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV
    “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
    Students—Don’t model your life after unbelievers simply because they’re ‘cool’ or popular. Don’t start talking like the unbelievers do. Don’t start modeling your dating life after what unbelievers are doing. If being a Christian makes you stick out, that’s a good thing! You’re supposed to be different.
    Business Owners—Resist the pressure to conform your business to what unbelieving business owners do. It might net you a short-term reward, but you’ll pay for it in the long-run. Adding hours on Sunday might net you more profits, but it’ll cost you spiritually. Making compromises in your ethics, cutting corners, not keeping your word, those may be profitable decisions in the short term, but God is watching.
    Parents—Don’t just go with the flow and adopt the parenting styles and priorities of people in your community because “that’s what everyone else is doing.” Be intentional in your parenting. If it isn’t helping your kids become more godly, then don’t do it. Who cares if unbelieving parents let their kids watch R rated movies and play bad video games. The goal is not to raise kids that fit in with unbelievers, it’s to raise kids that are not unbelievers.

    The Right thing for the Wrong reason is still Wrong.

    Israel wanted a king, which wasn’t bad in itself. In fact, had that desire stemmed from a deeper desire to honor God, it could have even been a good thing.
    1 Samuel 8:19–20 ESV
    But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
    But, a desire for something “good” can be “bad” if it proceeds from sinful motives, a desire to “fit in” or be like everyone else.
    Giving money to the church or to charities is a good thing, generally speaking, but if you do it so that you can get your name on a plaque somewhere and get recognition, or if you give to the church so that you can control the church and make decisions, then that gift doesn’t honor God—in fact, it’s repulsive to him.
    Israel got really good at keeping up appearances. They got to a point where they were fulfilling their religious obligations, but they weren’t doing it from the heart. And while you might fool other people into thinking that you’re a great person, you won’t fool God, because he sees the heart.
    Isaiah 1:11–14 ESV
    “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
    Now, all of these things—burn offerings, sacrifices, incense, Sabbath, festivals, and their assembly for worship—all of these things were commanded by God. These were the “right things.” Israel was doing a lot of the external things that God asked of them. The fundamental problem with their worship, God said, was that their hearts weren’t in it.
    Isaiah 29:13 ESV
    And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men...
    Taking care of aging parents is a good thing, but if you’re doing it so that you can get a bigger share of the inheritance, that’s wrong.
    God can and will redeem whatever decisions that we make. Our sinful motives don’t derail his plan for the ages. But, if our decisions are motivated by selfishness, greed, bitterness, revenge, or pride, they are still sinful in the eyes of God.
    The crucifixion of Jesus is a prime example. It had to happen. It was a part of God’s divine plan from the beginning. But, that doesn’t excuse the actions of men like Judas, who betrayed Jesus for financial gain, or Pilate, who perverted justice in order to appease the crowd.
    As Christians, we are not merely called to do the right things, we’re called to do the right things for the right reasons.
    And these ulterior motives that we struggle with so much, they come ultimately from desiring things other than God. But, here’s the problem with desiring worldly things more than God...

    The Kingdoms of this world never satisfy.

    1 Samuel 8:7–8 ESV
    7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
    Ultimately, Israel wanted a king because they didn’t want God to be their king. They wanted to satisfy their minimum obligations to God but still have the benefits of being like the other nations. They were trying to compromise.

    Compromise never works.

    I can imagine the people protesting to Samuel’s warnings...
    “We’re not rejecting God, we’ll still follow Yahweh and obey the covenant. We just want a king to fight our battles and unite our kingdom.”
    We can make all kinds of excuses when we try to compromise between God’s way and the world’s way.
    We try to claim our citizenship as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven while erecting our own little kingdoms in this world.
    Now, probably no one in here is clamoring for an actual King. We Americans aren’t real fond of kings. But, the real root issue that the Israelites were struggling with was rejecting God as their King, and trying to fill that void with an earthly substitute.
    One way we do this a lot is through money. We reject God as our provider and turn to money and material possessions instead.
    We may look at what other people have, their possessions, and we get jealous. “We want a bank account like the unbelievers, a house like the unbelievers have, a retirement account like theirs.”
    And we can make excuses and compromises just as well as the Israelites did: “We can still serve God and have lots of money.”
    And that’s theoretically possible, just like it was theoretically possible for Israel to have a king and serve God. But the problem is that when we start demanding something that God has not provided you, when God has said “no” or “not yet,” we’re actually rejecting God as our provider and putting our hope in money. That’s why Jesus said,
    Matthew 6:24 ESV
    “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
    and that’s also why he said that the solution to this problem—the love of money—is to seek the Kingdom of God.
    Matthew 6:32–33 ESV
    For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
    Look at that—Jesus says, “Don’t be like the Gentiles—the nations—seek God’s Kingdom instead.”
    When we look to money, our bank account, our material possessions for comfort or security, we’re committing the same exact sin that Israel committed in this passage. We’re rejecting God in favor of a cheap, worldly substitute.
    And it never satisfies.
    What are you tempted to substitute for God?
    Money promises security, comfort, ease—but it just delivers more problems. It doesn’t last. But treasures in heaven do, so seek first the Kingdom of God!
    Forbidden sexual relationships promise pleasure and intimacy, but they don’t last and they deliver ruin and death. But the pleasure and intimacy of a close relationship with Christ provides true joy and lasting pleasure. Seek first the Kingdom of God!
    Fame, popularity, and and the applause of men promises admiration and respect, but fame is fickle and often the very people that flatter you will turn on you later. But, those who humble themselves and seek God’s glory instead of their own will one day hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enjoy eternity being known and loved by God Almighty.” Seek first the Kingdom of God!
    What sins do you find yourself struggling with the most? What do you keep returning to over and over? That sin is what you’re trying to put on the throne of your heart. It’s probably a cheap imitation, a knock-off, off a true, lasting pleasure or joy that is only found when you put Christ on the throne of your heart.
    Isaiah 55:1–2 ESV
    “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

    Sin always takes more than it gives.

    1 Samuel 8:10–18 ESV
    10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
    If you insist on putting a worldly king over your heart—money, sex, drugs, alcohol, popularity/fame, etc.—God may allow you to do that. God will sometimes give you what you ask for as discipline.
    God will sometimes allow you to plunge yourself headlong into sin, especially if you insist upon it.
    I’m amazed at how many people convince themselves that God provided them the person they are committing adultery with. They become dissatisfied with their spouse for whatever reason, and their heart and eyes begin to wander.
    And then, along comes this person that seems to be everything their spouse isn’t. And it’s as if God himself has gift-wrapped that person for them.
    In Proverbs, Solomon describes what this kind of person is like:
    Proverbs 7:6–10 ESV
    For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
    Of course, Solomon is writing this to his son, to warn his son about the traps and pitfalls of manhood, but this applies just as much to women as to men.
    Proverbs 7:21–27 ESV
    With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life. And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.
    This time of year coming up hunters know well as the “Rut.” During the rut, when does come in estrous and are ready to breed, bucks go nuts. Bucks that otherwise are nocturnal and obnoxiously cautious all of the sudden loose their minds. Bucks will normally stop at the edge of a field or opening and sniff the wind and look around for a while before they step out. They’ll be super cautious and always head into the wind so they can smell what’s up ahead and sense out predators.
    But, during the rut, when they are chasing does, all of that caution and sense goes out the window.
    Proverbs 7:22–23 ESV
    All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.
    Young men, young women, married men, married women—be on your guard. And don’t assume that just because some beautiful doe wanders right out into the field that you were about to go into that it’s a “sign from God” and rush headlong.
    Whatever you think that sin will give, I promise it will take more. It will take, it will take, and it will keep on taking until there is nothing left to take...
    Proverbs 5:11–14 ESV
    and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”
    When God warns you, through your parents, through godly mentors and leaders in your life, you had better listen.
    Because in the end, if we insist on being “like the nations,” like unbelievers, God may give us what we ask for, and it will cost you your life.
    Deuteronomy 8:19–20 ESV
    And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
    Sin always takes more than it gives.
    Now, fortunately, there is more going on that what these foolish Israelites realize. Even though they are rushing headlong into God’s discipline, God is merciful and gracious and he is working out a plan to redeem it as well.

    We shall have a King over us.

    Even though the people are asking for a king with the wrong motives, and even though God is going to judge them and discipline them for it, their words are truer than they realize.
    Remember as we go through The Story that the main character is God, not the people we’re reading about. So, that begs the question: What is GOD doing in this part of The Story?
    First of all, we need to remember what the main point of The Story is:
    Main Idea of The Story: God is redeeming a people for himself from every nation, tribe, people, and language, for his own glory through Jesus Christ.
    This is what God is “up to” in every story that we discuss. So, even as they rebel against him, we know that God is up to something in this story. This story is still somehow part of his plan of redemption.
    We saw all the way back in Genesis 3:15 that even when Adam and Eve sinned, God was already crafting a rescue plan, even as they were banished from his presence:
    Genesis 3:15 ESV
    I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
    One day, a descendant of Eve would crush the head of the serpent and reverse the curse, but at great cost to himself.
    And all along the way, there have been breadcrumbs pointing us to what is coming.
    Abraham’s calling to sacrifice Isaac, who is spared at the last moment by God’s provision of a ram.
    The Passover, where God’s people were spared by the blood of the lamb.
    And, there have been some more explicit prophecies that have given us some hints about this coming snake-crusher. Now, we don’t know this early on that all of these pictures and prophecies are actually going to be fulfilled in one person—but since you know how this story ends already, I don’t think I’m spoiling the ending for you too much!
    In the story of the Exodus, we find out that...

    A great Prophet is coming.

    Deuteronomy 18:18–19 ESV
    I will raise up for them a prophet like you [Moses] from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
    This great “Prophet like Moses” is going to speak the words of God to the people and be God’s representative.
    In other passages, we find out that the qualifications for being a “prophet like Moses” include speaking to God and knowing God “face to face,” performing signs and wonders, and having the power of God upon him.
    Deuteronomy 34:10–12 ESV
    And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
    And now, in I Samuel, another piece of the puzzle has been added:

    A faithful Priest is coming.

    Eli had not been a great priest, because he failed to honor God as holy. He honored his sons more than God, and didn’t discipline them as he should have.
    And it’s no surprise. Most of Israel’s leaders thus far have not been all that great, especially in the period of the Judges. All too often we’ve encountered priests who are no more holy than the people they serve.
    But, in I Samuel 2, we find out that God already has a plan to fix this issue, too:
    1 Samuel 2:35 ESV
    And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.
    God is going to raise up a “faithful priest,” one who will have the heart and mind of God himself, and this priest will somehow continue in his priestly office forever.
    Now, there are some faithful priests that we find in the OT, including Zadok who served as priest under King David, and others. But, none of them could be said to “go in and out before my anointed forever.”
    The verb “he shall go in and out” is singular, not plural. It doesn’t say “they,” referring to a dynasty or lineage of priests, it says “he,” referring to a single priest.
    Hebrews 2:17 ESV
    Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
    Hebrews 6:19–20 ESV
    We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
    And, not only is a faithful priest coming, but in this story we also see God working to fulfill their request even better than they could have ever hoped:

    A righteous King is coming.

    Where Saul had taken for himself, this King will give of himself.
    Where Saul had been sinful and rebellious, this King will be faithful and righteous.
    Where Saul led the people away from God, this King would lead us back to God.
    Where embracing Saul as king meant rejecting God as King, embracing the coming King would be embracing God himself.

    Conclusion

    What desires are competing for the throne of your life? What is it that you think is going to provide more security, more comfort, more pleasure, more satisfaction, more fulfillment than Jesus?
    What ulterior motives are you struggling with?
    There are all kinds of things in our lives competing for the throne of our hearts, but true joy and peace is only found when Christ is King in our lives.

      • Judges 21:25NIV

      • 1 Samuel 2:30NIV

      • 1 Samuel 2:34–35NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:1–22NIV

      • Judges 21:25NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:4–5NIV

      • Genesis 49:8–10NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:5NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:19–20NIV

      • Leviticus 20:23NIV

      • Deuteronomy 7:6NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:19–20NIV

      • Isaiah 1:11–14NIV

      • Isaiah 29:13NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:7–8NIV

      • Matthew 6:24NIV

      • Matthew 6:32–33NIV

      • Isaiah 55:1–2NIV

      • 1 Samuel 8:10–18NIV

      • Proverbs 7:6–10NIV

      • Proverbs 7:21–27NIV

      • Proverbs 7:22–23NIV

      • Proverbs 5:11–14NIV

      • Deuteronomy 8:19–20NIV

      • Genesis 3:15NIV

      • Deuteronomy 18:18–19NIV

      • Deuteronomy 34:10–12NIV

      • 1 Samuel 2:35NIV

      • Hebrews 2:17NIV

      • Hebrews 6:19–20NIV

  • More Like Jesus
Formosa Baptist Church
jason_hill@formosabaptist.com
https://www.formosabaptist.com/
9 members