1 Samuel 8:6-8
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.
Yesterday we thought about human kings and leaders not being infallible. Today we discover that those they lead are just the same. Here God reassures Samuel that it is not him the people are rejecting when they demand a king (he was their Judge after all), but God himself – ultimately he was supposed to be their king – and that rejecting him is something they’ve always done. It is this that makes God all the more amazing, despite his people constantly turning away from him, he remains faithful to them, giving them chance after chance, and never abandoning them, whatever they might have thought.
Sorry Father for the times we have gone our own way. Thank you that you have remained faithful despite this, even sending your Son knowing what would happen to him, because of your love for us. Spirit, help us follow more closely.
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