The Book of Samuel: What Kind of King?
By Ps Danny Chua
2000-ish years ago, a well-known man was thought to have said these powerful words, “No man will be a good king who has not first been a good servant.” Profound as they are, these words did not stop Seneca, Roman philosopher and key advisor to the tyrant Nero from being sentenced to death by the same Emperor.
For as long as there have been kings, humanity has always longed for a good king, hopefully a servant-kind-of king. Our journey into the series of 1 Samuel this year will join us up in that search for a good king, a servant king that is the one on the LORD’s heart.
Yet, strangely enough, the book of Samuel (collectively, 1 and 2 Samuel) begins in the days of the judges, without any human king ruling over God’s people. We hear this painful narration twice in the book of Judges about the current situation: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
Without a king, God’s people drowned in the anarchy of their own sins. Without a good king, God’s people ran havoc in the wickedness of their own eyes.
Yet, as the book of Samuel unfolds… We hear the people of Israel cry out for a king to rule over them: “… appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations… and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Sam. 8:5, 20). Hang on… Was this a sincere, legitimate request? Did God’s people desire a good, servant king to lead them in God’s ways?
Sadly, the LORD makes it clear, “… they have not rejected you (Samuel), but they have rejected me from being king over them…” (1 Sam. 8:7).
So then, will the LORD rule and reign over His people as king again? Will there be a king who does what is right in the LORD’s eyes? Who will be the good, servant-like king that God’s people need?
Well, I am looking forward to examining these questions together in the colorful wonders of the Samuel narrative this year! There will not be straightforward answers, as we wrestle with the likes of Hannah the unknown woman, or Samuel the prophet, or King Saul, or Jonathan the heir apparent, or David the unlikely underdog.
But I trust it will be a year of understanding the LORD’s rule and reign over us His beloved church. May it be a year of discovering the kind and beautiful rule of King Jesus. I pray it will be a year of finding refuge and restful safety under His shelter, of rejoicing that our Lord is King.
