Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Good morning! Here is today’s word of blessings for you.
1 Samuel 10:17-24

17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.” 20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.” 23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Today’s title is “Long Live the King!”

Living as people of God is the greatest blessing of all. God is all-powerful. He has the power and authority over all. There is nothing that He cannot do. He is all-loving too. He cares for His people with love and sacrifice. He is full of compassion. Even when we wander away from Him, He never leaves or abandons us. Like a good shepherd, He keeps looking for us and saves for us. The people of Israel experienced such love and care from God through the exodus and the wilderness. But they soon forgot all about it when they settled in the land of promise that God has given to them. They wanted to live as they saw fit. In a way, they themselves wanted their own god. Such self-centered life resulted in pain and suffering, and moral and spiritual disaster in the era of Judges. At the end of the era of Judges, they barely managed to return to God through the spiritual leadership of Samuel. They seemed to finally have a spiritual revival. God protected them from the attack of the Philistines to keep the spiritual revival. Then suddenly they requested a king who will rule over them and fight for them. What would you feel if you are in His place? Totally betrayed again! Right? It must have hurt God so deeply. Who can tolerate such a blatant betrayal? We would not have anything to do with such a people. God expressed deep frustration with such an about-face of the people. Samuel relayed such frustration of God to the people. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ But with such an expression of frustration, God went on to give them the ruler that they wanted. The people did not pay attention or sympathy to God’s frustration. They were just happy to get what they wanted. They shouted, “Long live the king!” Any reader of the Bible will feel sorry about God who was so blatantly rejected by such pitiful people. “How could they dare to insult such a loving and faithful God?” We often think. But come to think of it. Are we truly not giving such frustration to God? Are we not rejecting God over such modern kings as money, fame, and pleasure? Are we not ignoring and setting aside God for more tangible kings? We would better to look back and look in and around.