The Cost of Insecurity | 1 Samuel 8:10-18

Are you sure you want to do that?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are in 1 Samuel 8. I've titled this chapter "When Our Insecurities Define Us."

Today, our text is 1 Samuel 8:10-18, which reads:

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” — 1 Samuel 8:10-18

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But as ironic as it is, that's precisely what God's people decided. Even though Samuel carefully itemized a number of things a king would take from them. Did you hear the list? Did you notice the repetition of the verb "to take"?

Samuel clearly delineated that a king would “take” their:

1. Sons (v. 11)
2. Daughters (v. 13)
3. The best of their fields (v. 14)
4. The best of their vineyards (v. 14)
5. The best of their olive orchards (v. 14)
6. A tenth of their produce (v. 15)
7. Their servants (v. 16)
8. Their young men (v. 16)
9. Their donkeys (v. 16)

Then Samuel closes with this hand-washing declaration, "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

We all make foolish decisions. But when we make foolish decisions, conscious of the consequences, we make fools of ourselves. And then, as Samuel declares, there will come a day when we want salvation from our foolish decisions. At this moment, we will cry out like fools.

Do you know how you stop making foolish decisions? You get wisdom from wise men who know God and heed their instruction. So if you are insecure and need wisdom today, ask a man wiser than yourself!

#WisdomInAction, #GodlyDecisions, #BiblicalLessons

Ask This:

1. How have past decisions, driven by insecurity or fear, impacted your life, and what could you have done differently with the wisdom you have now?
2. Who are the wise men in your life you can turn to for godly advice, and how can you intentionally seek their counsel more often?

Do This:

Seek wisdom in every insecurity.

Pray This:

Lord, grant me the wisdom to seek and heed godly counsel in my decisions. Help me to trust in Your guidance and avoid the pitfalls of my own foolishness. Amen.

Play This:

Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me.