The people of Israel demand a king - lessons for the General Election

1 Samuel 8: 4-20

I had reason to drive with 2 other people to Swansea on Tuesday this week.

About 10 minutes into the journey I asked my passengers “how are we feeling about the General Election?” – it kept us going for most of the journey !

 

I wonder how you feel…?

Love it or loathe it, our media are full of coverage of the parties, the party leaders, the policies, the polls…

Love it or loathe it, we need to decide which way we are voting: and as Christians our faith is an important factor in how we vote.

 

So what has our faith to do with how we vote?

 

The Joint Public Issues Team, of the URC/Methodist Church & Baptist Union working together, are encouraging us to remember, as the Election approaches, to: Love; pray; vote.

 

They point out that Politics plays an important role in how our society is run. It helps to influence our priorities and the opportunities we create in our communities. It enables us to advocate for different values and beliefs, putting them into action through policy making. As Christians, we can use our opportunity to engage in politics as a chance to love our neighbour and our world.

As we’re invited to love those around us, we are called to consider how the way we use our voice affects others. And, in pursuing God’s love in our neighbourhoods, communities and nation, we are offered the opportunity to build a society where all can flourish. 

How might our choices in this election be a chance to show love in action? 

Our reading from the first book of Samuel helps us to think about how faith in God and human nature and choosing leadership all intertwine.

Going back to the Bible reading for a moment, at this point in history, the people of God have been led by God out of slavery in Egypt. They’ve wandered in the wilderness, then finally entered the Promised Land and started to form into a nation from the 12 separate tribes. 

The new people of Israel have started to look at other nations and realise they all have kings, whereas Israel has tribal leaders and a ‘judge’ chosen by God. These judges have been a leading and prophetic voice, helping the people of God to make decisions for their future based on the position that God is their king and it is God who is ultimately their ruler and guide.

Now the people have complained to Samuel and demanded a king to rule the people and go into battle for them, just as other nations have.

 

So the first thing to notice in this story is that their rulers have let the people down. First Eli’s sons are not up to the mark, now Samuel’s sons have gone astray, too. It is human nature, perhaps, that following generations might fail to live up to the mark; it is certainly human nature to see the new generations as not a patch on the old ones.

 

Secondly we see that the people of Israel want to move from a form of theocracy, where God is ultimately in charge – to a system where they will choose a human king.

Even after all that God has done for this chosen people, they choose to turn away. God makes it clear to Samuel that the people are not just rejecting Samuel as their judge, they are rejecting God.

 

It takes on-going faith and renewed trust to see that God is the one who should lead our decision-making: it is much easier to trust the people they can see than to trust the God they cannot see. But God’s people will learn, in the end, that they should test the people they choose against God’s standards.

 

Thirdly, the Bible account is clear that right from the start there are misgivings about having a king. This account is written down well after the events, and the authors can’t help letting some anti-monarchy sentiments creep into the story. Samuel makes it very clear to people why it is not a good idea to have a king. Time will prove him right – with the fall from grace of Saul, the first king and even David, considered by many to be the best king.

 

At our zoom Bible study last week we managed to avoid talking party politics, or telling each other how to vote, but we did spend quite a long time looking at this story and asking what we learn from this story that might help us make our voting choices?

 

Unbelievably, it’s now 10 years since the death of Tony Benn. His mother was  Margaret Benn  -  a theologian, feminist and the founder President of the Congregational Federation, and so although Tony Benn did not claim a faith for himself, he did think about the Bible a lot.

Tony Benn stated that much of the history of the people of Israel in the Old Testament is about a constant power battle between Kings and Prophets. In other words, do God’s people decide what is right through listening to and trusting their earthly leaders and what they do; or their prophets who claim to be telling them what God is saying to the people about what they should do. 

The fact that the battle rages through the whole of the Old Testament teaches us that there is no clear answer to how we should make political decisions, or what political structure is best. That’s why we keep having debates and elections.

 

So, people of God, what do we learn from the Bible story today?

 

1.   Earthly rulers let us down – but God keeps trying to speak to and through people to bring the kingdom of God closer. We should pray for our politicians, of every party.

 

2.   We cannot set our identity as followers of Jesus to one side as we decide how to vote. It’s interesting that the Joint Public Issues Team campaign used to be called ‘Think, Pray Vote’ but for the last election and this, it has been ‘Love pray vote’. 

 

We vote as people who believe in a God of love, and we use our hearts as well as our heads to decide which party and which policies we think will best serve the common good. We vote as Christians, seeking love for all people, a voice for all sections of society, seeking government which will promote peace, justice and care for creation.

 

3.   No party nor any policy, nor any person is perfect – but all people are made in God’s image and God will never wash his hands of us all. 

 

We should try to treat our politicians and other  voters, of all colours of opinion, with kindness and a readiness to keep listening and to forgive where necessary. 

 

 

As we meet around the Lord’s table we remember we are all invited to eat and drink and give thanks that Jesus came to show us God with us – loving, praying, forgiving, and calling us to follow him.

 

As we love, pray and vote may we be open to be guided by the Holy Spirit to speak and live for others – to the glory of the God of love. Amen.