Israel desperately wanted a king like the other nations around them. They had God as their king, but they wanted a flesh and blood king to lead them. God wasn’t enough. Interestingly, God gave them over to their deep desire to have a king. When He relented and gave them their desire they realized they had acted inappropriately. They went to their prophet, Samuel, and said to him, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king” (I Samuel 12:19).”

In his response Samuel reminded the people that even though they had rejected God as their king, He had not rejected them as His people. He challenged them to remain faithful to God in this new arrangement, to “serve the Lord with all your heart” (vs. 20). They were still God’s people and He still loved them. Their sin would not separate them from His love.

The counsel of Samuel to the people who would get their king was, “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart” (vs. 24). He challenged them to ever “consider what great things He has done for you” (vs. 24). Of himself Samuel told them, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you” (vs. 23). In this new arrangement Samuel told the people, “I will instruct you in the good and right way” (vs. 23).

We are the people of God regardless as to who our earthly leaders may be. God is still our God regardless of the powers at work in the world. Our allegiance is to the living God. We lift Him up in our lives regardless of the arrangement in which we find ourselves. Leaders come and leaders go but “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)