austinbrown2
Puritan Board Freshman
Hello,
I'm preparing to teach on the life King David for Sunday school, and I'm presently chewing on 1 Samuel chapter 8.
Preface to question:
When Israel asked for a king, it's clear that the nature of their request was sinful, in that it rejected God (verses 6-7). It also seems to be the case that they wanted a king 'as all the other nations,' which flowed from wrong motives and desires.
But here's my question;
Was God planning on giving them an earthly king? Of course, in one sense, the answer is yes as God is sovereign. But I'm looking at it from the more immediate perspective. Are their indications that He was planning on giving them an earthly king, or had He planned on being their King without any earthly figures taking on that role?
Clearly, the end of Ruth shows us that God was working providentially to raise up David, which seems to suggest that He was planning all along on giving them a king. But there are at least two ways to look at this:
Is it: (1). He used the sinful desires of Israel to accomplish His sovereign will, and thus He was preparing David for when the time came? (which is, of course true, in the big picture sense).
Or, (2). He did in fact intend on giving Israel an earthly king, but first gave them Saul in response to their sinful request?
In other words, and this is really what I'm trying to nail down, did God intend on giving them an earthly king?
Many thanks,
Austin
I'm preparing to teach on the life King David for Sunday school, and I'm presently chewing on 1 Samuel chapter 8.
Preface to question:
When Israel asked for a king, it's clear that the nature of their request was sinful, in that it rejected God (verses 6-7). It also seems to be the case that they wanted a king 'as all the other nations,' which flowed from wrong motives and desires.
But here's my question;
Was God planning on giving them an earthly king? Of course, in one sense, the answer is yes as God is sovereign. But I'm looking at it from the more immediate perspective. Are their indications that He was planning on giving them an earthly king, or had He planned on being their King without any earthly figures taking on that role?
Clearly, the end of Ruth shows us that God was working providentially to raise up David, which seems to suggest that He was planning all along on giving them a king. But there are at least two ways to look at this:
Is it: (1). He used the sinful desires of Israel to accomplish His sovereign will, and thus He was preparing David for when the time came? (which is, of course true, in the big picture sense).
Or, (2). He did in fact intend on giving Israel an earthly king, but first gave them Saul in response to their sinful request?
In other words, and this is really what I'm trying to nail down, did God intend on giving them an earthly king?
Many thanks,
Austin