Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:10-18
I don't remember the first time I read this, but I remember the impact it had on me. Israel wants a king, like other nations they've watched. Until this point, God has led them. Israel, though, wants the tangible, visible, ever-present king. In fact, after Samuel points all of this out to them (the truth), they answer, "No! But there shall be a king over us!" God tells Samuel to give them what they are asking for.
What struck me about the list of things a king will do is it read like Thomas Jefferson's list of "facts be submitted to a candid world" (Declaration of Independence). Much of what we remember in the document are the poetic words at the beginning of the document, reflective of the political thinker John Locke. Locke set out in his "Treatise of Government, Parts One and Two," to dismantle the argument that a king ruled by "divine right" and moved those rights to the people themselves as part of "natural law." We turn over rule via consent of the governed. Much of what Jefferson lists in the Declaration of Independence is what has been done without "consent of the governed," his case for separation from the crown and England.
As Pastor Eric noted last Thursday in the weekly "Table Talk," speaking on two court cases that were recently released (go to Hope Lutheran Church and School Lubbock on Facebook if you'd like to listen to the discussion), he said as Christians we live in two kingdoms (a concept started by St. Augustine's "City of God" and further developed by Luther himself). We serve God in the "Heavenly Kingdom," and we answer to and respect authority "established by God" (Paul in Romans emphasized in the Small Catechism regarding "Governing Authorities") So, we are citizens in both realms, heavenly and earthly, and as such, we declare God's grace through His gospel in both realms. Yet, we have a duty to be active as citizens in the earthly realm.
To conclude, we are thankful for our rights spelled out in our constitution, and we are thankful that the wheels were set in motion for that eventual document on this day in 1776. We pray that we enjoy our rights as citizens in the earthly kingdom and use the gifts God has given us to share the gospel to our world. We also pray for those who live in countries that are hostile to people of faith, and we pray that their mission as citizens in the heavenly kingdom, to serve God and share His gospel message, takes root and spreads as well in spite of those hostilities.
Have a great 4th of July with friends and loved ones.
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