Samuel was right in the middle of a controversy. On the one hand his sons were not up to the task of judging the people of Israel and the people were insisting that Samuel appoint a king for them. On the other hand the request for a king meant a rejection of God’s sovereignty over the people, God’s Kingship. That said, I find this verse very interesting: “When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord” (1 Samuel 8:21). Did God really not know what the people had said? Did God really need it repeated by Samuel?
This reminds me of an incident early in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are hiding from God. “But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?…Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’” (Genesis 3:9, 11). Was God really having to ask? Did God not know what had been going on in the garden?
Passages like those from 1 Samuel and Genesis (and others that present the same image) indicate what the people believe about God and that is that there is an intimacy between God and humanity. God is very much a part of the conversation. Whether or not God knows everything there is to know is far less important than the fact that God is there to listen, to find out, to ask questions and receive answers. God is available like a true friend would be. Samuel did not have to deal with the people alone or with some theory about how God wanted things. Samuel knew what God was doing because God was willing to tell Samuel and was in conversation with him about it, talking, listening, being involved. Samuel repeated everything the people had said to a concerned and active God.
Prayer: Lord, be near to us in our living, guiding us according to your will, and never turning away from us. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment