Tag: No King

Daily Choice

“I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

Hosea 10:3
For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
for it has departed from them.
The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

1 Samuel 12:12
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.

Gideon 8:23
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

What does it mean the Lord will rule over you?  In Samuel there seems to be a choice we make – “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.”  The choice to fear Him, serve Him, obey Him, and to follow Him each of us will make every second of the day.  Hosea says those who choose to do what is right in their own eyes will have judgements that spring up like poisonous weeds on those who make choices with words rather than their heart.  Some will die in this choice and others will see what they have done and will be ashamed. In James it is stated something like this – “you say you have faith, but I say your works should demonstrate this faith for faith without works is meaningless.”  Is it easy to determine what choice has been made – or what  is the desire of your heart?  Is God and His word written on your heart – this would mean time spent in it.  Do you meditate on His word with the sun comes up and when it goes down – this would mean time spent in His word.  Do you desire knowledge and understanding of God and to grow in it – this would mean time spent in His word.  There is so much from this world and our culture that would lead us down a path that sees no need for God and seems to validate our choices.  David said “God’s word is a light unto his path.” Everyday we make a choice to live for and serve God or live for and serve self.  Some may think this is a  “one time” choice but it much more than that.  It is a continuous “life long” “daily” conscious choice,  lived out every second every single day.

Spirit fill me

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

Judges 17:6
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Deuteronomy 12:8
“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 12:14
From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 21:1
he king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

John 16:7
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

During the time of Samson it was recorded that the people did what was right in their own eyes because there was no leadership in the ways of God.  When they had a leader who purposed and desired to follow God they had peace but when that leader and people lost focus and fell away from serving God there was punishment, exile, slavery, death, famine, floods, wars, destruction, drought, no blessing, no hope, no faith.  I am not sure we truly grasp just how much blessing we are living in since the time of Christ.  Before Christ died He told the disciples that He must go away because if He didn’t the “Helper” would not come. The Helper is the Holy Spirit and would be ever present in the world to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.  No longer would it depend on a prophet, king, or someone else – God would be omnipresent.  We live in a time where the Spirit of God is speaking to our hearts, minds and souls to lead us on paths that glorify and honor God.  If we choose to listen and obey we find peace.  If we choose to “do what is right in our own eyes” we find unrest, hopelessness, no peace or at best temporary peace without any satisfaction.  Choose to be a vessel for God, listening to and being guided by the Holy Spirit.