For many generations, the
people of ancient Israel had been led by a confederation of tribes, but God
brought forth leaders, priests, and prophets throughout Israel's history to lead
his people. The tribes were supposed to help and protect each other, but often
times they were too weak or too disorganized to be very effective. Many of the
books of the Old Testament show the failures that happened to the people of
Israel because of their lack of true unity.
In our first reading
today, the people approach Samuel, wanting a king for their nation after seeing
the other nations around them prosper and gain military victories through the
leadership of kings. However, Samuel
responds to the people that they already have a king, that they simply need to
be more faithful to the king that they already have. But, to the people, having
God as their king is not good enough; they want more, they want what their
neighbors have.
Isn't that so much a part
of our human nature today as well? Often, what we have isn't good enough for
us. So many in our society and in our
world today envy the prosperity, success, and material goods of their
neighbors. Samuel tells the people of
Israel what it will cost them when they make things other than God their
king. The same is true for us today. The people of Israel refuse to listen to
Samuel. And what about us? Are we listening?
The psalmist tells us
that we are blessed if we walk in the light of the Lord, if we rejoice in God's
name & exalt in his justice. May we
truly follow in our hearts this road of faith that the Lord has put before
us.
No comments:
Post a Comment