1 Samuel 8:11

1 Samuel 8:11 says,  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  Samuel told the people what was going to happen when they had a king.  Some of their sons would have to be servants of the king, in particular in relationship to his chariots.  This was in accordance with the way kings of other nations were treated, and Israel wanted a king so they could be like other nations.  If we choose to follow after the ways of the world as followers of Christ, we can expect it to cost us.  Verse twelve adds, And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.  Samuel added some other demands that would be made on the people of Israel.  Children who had served their parents would now serve the king to meet his needs. Some would serve in his army and some would reap his crops, and if he were to be like other kings, then all crops would basically belong to him.  In some respects, he would be replacing God, Who had provided for both the needs and defense of Israel and everything ultimately belonged to Him.  The one big difference, the king would demand these things, but God Who really did supply everything for them only asked for their obedience.  We need to be careful that we don't desire to be like the world more than we want to be dependent on God.  Verse thirteen continues, And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.  The sons weren't the only ones who would be affected, because their daughters would be expected to be cooks and bakers for the king.  Everyone would be subjected to the king.  Verse fourteen states, And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.  The king would have total control over the people, taking their fields and giving them to his servants.  They would be surrendering individual rights to the authoritarian rule of the king.  We as Christians have been set free to enjoy God's blessings without anyone being able to take them away from us, yet we sometimes surrender that freedom willingly in order to be like the rest of the world.  Verse fifteen continues, And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.  They were told that the king would take a tithe from them.  The people were already expected to pay their tithe to God, and this would not replace that, but would be an additional tithe they would pay.  We today likewise cannot count taxes as a substitute for the tithe.  Verse sixteen continues, And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.  Verse seventeen concludes, He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.  These verses are a continuation of the warning Samuel was giving the people about what a king would cost them. We as followers of Christ should already know that if we put someone else in charge of life instead if allowing God to be, it is going to cost us.  Verse eighteen declares, And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.  Samuel warned them that if they appointed a king, when all that he demanded became too much, that they would call out to God, but He wouldn't hear them. We cannot go against God's law and direction in our life and complain to Him when things go wrong.  Verse nineteen adds, Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;  In spite of all Samuel's warnings, the people of Israel would not listen to him and said that they would have a iing.  Sometimes, no matter how much Christians are warned about the danger of attempting to be like the rest of the world,  they will not heed the warning.  Verse twenty continues, That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.  Instead of relying on God to appoint them judges and to fight their battles for them, they demanded a king to do so.  Evidently, they had forgotten how many kings they had defeated by the power and leadership of God.  We should never look to anyone or anything in this world to give us victory over the forces of evil but God Himself.  Verse twenty-one states, And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.  Samuel heard what the people said, and repeated it to God,  He did not just make the decision himself, and neither should we as Christians when it comes to anything in life.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.  God told Samuel to listen to them and to make them a king, and Samuel told them for everyone to return to their own city.  God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts, and we better hope we never find ourselves in the same position today.