702) Recent years have not been civil ones in politics; It seems as if in recent times, we’ve had, in many ways, cutthroat politics. These types of choices have been made continually throughout the ages from the book of Genesis until the present.

In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel is giving his farewell speech. He is old and knows he’s going to die soon and the Israelites have insisted they have a king to replace him instead of a priest, representing God. So, what this means is they want a human ruler instead of God.

In this chapter, Samuel asks the Israelites what they think his track record has been. “Have I taken things that are not mine? Have I cheated anyone? Have I treated people with oppression? Have I accepted bribes? Tell me if there’s anything I need to make right.” (Check in later chapters and see if the king they get – Saul, did any of these. I think you know the answer.) The people of Israel agree that Samuel has been a righteous man.

After listening next to Samuel giving a summary of all God has done for Israel, they realize their asking for a king was a bad thing. In this case, God gives them what they ask for.

If you need to consider who you want in leadership positions, it’s always good to look at that person’s track record. You will always find God’s record is perfect. Perhaps we need to depend more upon Him than on “kings” in our world.