Firstly, sorry for the silence yesterday. I was too ill to lift my head off the pillow to join you all.
In Lyn’s blog she detailed results of a survey on the effects of a happy, healthy marriage not just on the husband, wife and children, but on the community
It set me wondering about this passage from 1 Samuel 8. The bible tells us nothing about Samuel’s wife and their marriage. Or about his sons until we come to the passage in 1 Samuel 8 when Samuel was old and appointed his sons judges over Israel, verse 1.
Then we read further that Samuel’s sons did not walk in Samuel’s ways, which meant they did not walk in God’s ways, ‘but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice,’ verse 3.
Perhaps if Samuel’s sons had walked in God’s way and been honest, upright men, the next incident might not have occurred. The Israelites might not have insisted on a king. Certainly the Bible links the behavior of Samuel’s sons as prompting the people to ask for a king, in verse 4.
It goes to show how important it is to bring up our children to fear and serve the Lord. Otherwise their behavior can create problems for others in the community.
Of course, this was only one of the reasons that Israel wanted a king. The other reason was peer pressure. They wanted to be like everyone else –like all the other nations, verse 5.
When raising our families, we need to be aware of the influence of peer pressure, of friends, what they see on TV and in the world around them and seek to counteract it with God’s Word and godly behavior,
Samuel was displeased because Israel wanted a king. Was it because it ousted his sons? Perhaps there was an element of this. But God suggests a far more serious reason why Israel wanted this change. It is not Samuel they are rejecting but God and His Kingship, verse 7.
So began a chain of events that led to the appointment of Saul as King, then David and Solomon followed by a number of evil kings that resulted in Israel’s’ downfall and exile.
Far reaching effects resulted from Samuel’s ungodly sons, who were not fit for the office they held. This initially prompted Israel to demand a king.
Would the situation have occurred if they had been godly men, following God’s ways? We don’t know. But surely it is a warning to each of us and how we conduct ourselves in marriage and bringing up our children, because what we do can affect others in the community.
Pick up any newspaper or magazine, watch the news, or look around. We see examples of it every day where marriages disintegrate, parents abdicate parental responsibility and their offspring have negative effects on society.
Bible verses from The New American Standard Version
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