June 16th is Father’s Day, but were going to spend the whole month profiling some of the most notable men in the Old Testament. Last week we looked at the incredible story of Naomi and Ruth. Ruth clung to Naomi—despite all personal costs. When they were at their greatest depth of need, a man named Boaz sees them, steps up, and shows loving kindness to them. Boaz eventually marries Ruth and for our budding genealogists out there... King David, even Christ Jesus himself, would be descendants of Boaz and Ruth. Boaz is one of the most godly men you’ll read about in the Bible.
I mentioned last week that the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz is set during the period of the Judges. We’ve seen in this series a kind of leadership succession. We began with Adam, who failed in every way. We began with Noah, whose three sons were heirs of the whole earth. We unpacked the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and highlighted the story of Joseph. God chose Abraham to establish a particular nation of people who would be his special people, serving God’s glory. God promised Abraham to make him into a great nation and to bless every nation on earth through his offspring.
After four generations of Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Joseph, God’s people found themselves slaves in Egypt, under Pharaoh. After Joseph died, it was necessary that God raise up Moses to deliver his people out of slavery in Egypt, and to rebuild their identity as a Holy, Lawful, God-Honoring people. As Moses is about to die, succession falls to Joshua. Joshua was an incredible leader—he led God’s people, tribe by tribe, into the promise land to possess what God had promised. After Joshua we have the rise and fall of dozens of good and bad leaders the Bible calls “Judges.” (You can read about all these Judges in the book of Judges.)
By the end of the era of Judges, Israel isn’t a new or little nation anymore. They wanted to become like all the other nations, governed by a king. This transition from being led by tribal Judges or Chieftains, to being led by a king, is recorded in 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles. The last man to rise up as a Judge is a leader, prophet named Samuel. He’s the transitional leader! After Samuel will come King Saul, then King David, then King Solomon. What a lineup!
**In Israel, the Judges created an enormous leadership vacuum. The concluding verse of Judges is Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.”
There is something about this verse that echoes every other era of Israel’s history. Whether it’s the children of Adam and Eve... the people of Noah’s day... the children of Noah... the children of Abraham... the children of Israel under Moses, Joshua, and now even the Judges... even God’s own special people, his chosen nation... wind up becoming a law unto themselves, each person doing whatever seems right to him.
Israel’s fatal error was to imagine all their problems were due to a model of human governance. The Laws and Ways of Moses are too antiquated. The Laws and Ways of Joshua, and all these Judges is to blame. If we want to be a special people, we need to become like the other nations. They’re all led by a lone monarch! We need our very own Joseph, our very own Pharaoh (except a benevolent one and one of us).
To whatever extent a model of government puts absolute confidence in human nature, it will be a failed venture. Not that there can’t be good kings, or better kings. Clearly there can be. But in the end, human nature always rears its ugly head! At the founding of this great nation there were some who thought George Washington would be an ideal king for America. But in their foresight our nation’s fathers understood several things.
First, because of their knowledge of Scripture they understood that absolute power can never be entrusted in a single human being, no matter how good or great their standing. Human nature must be made accountable for the good of the people through the balancing of power. This is why our nation’s fathers created the “checks and balances” of the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, and Judicial Branch. Don’t worry. This isn’t a series on the American Constitution—but I just want to illustrate that America’s greatness is due in part to a correct view of the limitations of human nature. If left to their devices, an individual will always do what’s in their own best interest at the expense of good and the Divine! And isn’t this what the outcry is against every leader of every political party? They enrich themselves at everyone else’ expense! It’s a rich men north of Virginia thing!
But it’s not just the individuals who have a human nature, our nation’s fathers also understood “we the people” can be equally corrupt. And so, to guard against a populism that can run amuck, our founding fathers chose that we would elect representatives, and have a representative government, not a democracy. It would then be the duty of “Representatives” to balance the pressure of the loudest voices, states, people, constituencies with those of the weakest. But here again... governance can never be run on autopilot of human nature—because human nature will always cause a government to crash and burn... because inevitably whether it’s a lone, reigning monarch, or in this state (and every major urban center) a lone reigning party, or even if it’s the overt demands of We the People... inevitably each one will look to his own interests and not a love of other.
Human nature is flawed. Our Groupish, Tribal, congregated human nature is just as flawed. Inevitably we will go down because of an individual, or we’ll go down because of one another’s folly. Either way, sinful human nature corrupts absolutely, and leads nations to ruin. You know I was thinking back to the end of Genesis, to the days of Joseph, when he was ruler over Egypt. You could argue that Joseph was as successful as any king on record ever was. What made Joseph’s governance a success was his fear of God.
If ever there was one thing our founding fathers took for granted, it was that the average colonist (even those who were irreligious) possessed a basic fear of God. Even if you were an atheist, or agnostic, you still embraced the notion of transcendent morality, the rule of God, the notion of an objective Lawgiver and Judge, the Ten Commandments. But essentially, the principle that God’s own perfect and holy nature must prevail where our sinful human nature never can or has.
To whatever extent God’s nature prevails over Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon…they are a success. To whatever extent human nature prevails, corruption violently rips across all strata of their empires. We should probably get to talking about Saul! But you cannot appreciate Saul if you don’t understand the roller coaster of failed human-nature-driven leadership that’s plagued Israel. We need a new model. Not—we need God. We need a new human model or system. “We tried Moses. We tried Joshua. We tried Judges. Let’s try Kings. We tried pure democracy (in Rome). We tried papacy (Catholic Church Rule). We tried monarchies (France, Britain). Nowadays its “We tried capitalism.” Let’s try Socialism, Communism, Marxism, Populism....”
1 Samuel begins with a polygamist marriage—A man named Elkanah has two wives. His one wife Hannah is childless. His second wife Peninnah has children. Whenever Elkanah would offer a sacrifice of some animal, he would give a certain portion of meat to Peninnah but a double portion to his wife Hannah! In 1 Samuel 1:5 it says, “But he gave a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving.” 1 Samuel 1:6 says, “Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving.” Why does the Bible forbid polygamy? Because it always produces envy, rivalry, violence. Elkanah tries to comfort his childless wife Hanna by saying, “Aren’t I enough? Aren’t I better than ten sons.” No, you jerk, you’re not!
A huge trend has been singles...couples choosing a no kid lifestyle for reasons of pleasure or economic gain. People brag only later in life to realize they’ve robbed themselves of irreplaceable joy. Aren’t we enough for each other? Aren’t ten homes, ten yachts, ten vacations better than ten children? Nope. Hannah took her prayers to a priest named Eli. In 1 Samuel 1:10-11 we read, “Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. 11 Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”
At first Eli thinks she an immoral, or drunk, or wicked woman. Maybe that’s why she is childless? But Eli realizes his error and blesses Hannah, 1 Samuel 1:17, “Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.” I feel led to say that the hope of a nation isn’t narrowly, its model of governance. The hope of a nation are parents likes like Hannah contending with God not just to have children—and not just to have godly offspring—but to dedicate or give their children to serve the Lord all the days of their life. If people were as passionate about discipling the next generation, as they were their politics, how might this (or any) nation be transformed? After a failed cycle of Judges and Leaders, here is a mom that says, “my child is first and foremost God’s servant.”
And wouldn’t you know, the moment Samuel is born Hannah explains how she prayed to her husband, and how she must give her son Samuel to the Lord. He acts kind of ambivalent... still they slaughter a bull, Hannah weens her boy, and then 1 Samuel 1:26-28 says to Eli the High Priest: “26 “Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked him for, 28 I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” Then he worshiped the Lord there.” The most important thing about a child is whether they’ll worship God.
1 Samuel 2:11, “... the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.” 1 Samuel 2:18, “... Samuel served in the Lord’s presence.” 1 Samuel 2:21, “the boy grew up in the presence of the Lord.” Meanwhile, priest Eli was turning a blind eye to his own “biological” sons who were getting fat in the temple and engaging in sexual sin. There is a kind of funny story in 1 Samuel 2 where the Lord speaks to Samuel. But Samuel thinks it’s Eli talking. But it’s Eli who teaches Samuel how to hear God’s voice. And so, God shows Samuel that he’s going to judge Eli’s household. And one of his big lessons was telling Eli everything God said even though it was about Eli! And sure enough, in 1 Samuel 3 the Philistines conquer Israel, seize the ark of God’s presence, and Eli and his household are slain. It was Samuel who would reclaim the Ark, confront the idolatry of God’s people and enemies, and restore proper worship.
When Samuel grew old, his own sons were corrupt. Still, the Elders of Israel demanded Samuel appoint a king for them like “all the other nations. 1 Samuel 8:6-9, “6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. 9 Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:10-18, “Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. 12 He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. 16 He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.” The people refused to listen to Samuel, and Lord so they get an impressive young man named... Saul! “We don’t need God to be our King. No, we need a more impressive man.” The line from Shania Twain’s song comes to mind. “That doesn’t impress me much.” Is there a King’s version?