Lesson #08

I SAMUEL 8
Lesson #08
GOD’S PERMISSIVE WILL

• Memory Verse: Phi 2:10-11

• Read 1Sam 8:1-5 Samuel’s failures
• Remember that Samuel was raised by Eli in the tabernacle.
• Eli was not the model parent for he failed to discipline his own sons.
• Samuel learned his skills as a parent from Eli.
• Samuel’s sons fell into the same pattern of immoral indulgence as did Eli’s sons.
• Samuel’s two sons served as judges in Beersheba, a city about 40 miles south of Jerusalem.
• One son was named, Joel, which means = Jehovah is God.
• The other son was named, Abijah, which means = Jehovah is my father.
• These two sons did not live up to their illustrious names.
• Why did Samuel turn out so good having been raised by Eli, when Eli’s sons turned out so bad?
• Children are influenced by:
• The home environment.
• Other authorities and peer pressure
• Life circumstances
• One’s own personality and the attitude of the heart
• Why did Samuel’s sons turn out as bad as Eli’s sons?
• Scripture gives us some insight into Eli’s parenting failures while it does not explain to us Samuel’s parenting failures.
• Generally speaking we tend to pass on the sins our parents modeled to us.
• The generational consequence of sin:
• Read Exo 20:5
• Some sin patterns are passed down in families because the parents model their values to their children.
• For example, sin patterns like alcoholism, immoral sexual behavior, and witchcraft seem to run in families.
• However, all sin patterns can be broken only by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ on an individual basis.
• Through Jesus Christ, the believer has been given authority over all aspects of sin in one’s life.
• The attitudes of the people that demanded a king:
• The people were concerned over their future after experiencing the cycle of immoral judges.
• The people saw the military successes of other nations who were unified under a king.
• Is this a legitimate reason for having a king?
• No. This is a worldly attitude.
• They wanted to be like other nations, while God wanted them to be different from every other nation.
• No, This is a lack of spiritual perception.
• They did not ask God for guidance.
• They had no concern for God’s perfect will.
• Read 3Joh 1:11
• Read 1Sam 8:6-22
• The conditions of the time:
• The Israelites were a band of loosely knit tribes oppressed on every side by enemies.
• Samuel was appointed to his position by the Spirit of God.
• Samuel was successful in pushing back the Philistines and brought spiritual revival to the people.
• Samuel was successful in accomplishing a measure of unity among the tribes and bringing to them a higher level of leadership.
• Therefore, Samuel made it possible for a monarchy to come into being. He laid the foundation principle that a national leader is responsible to God for his leadership.
• This principle of theocracy was maintained for awhile through Samuel’s influence.
• God’s plan:
• God made provision for a king back in the Law of Moses.
• Read Deu 17:14-15
• The people’s failure was in recognizing that they already had a king. God was their king.
• God had in mind that Israel would eventually have a king of God’s choosing and in God’s perfect timing.
• The people’s demand for a king:
• The people had no regard for God’s will in the matter.
• God’s response:
• God said that the people’s demand for a king was the same as a rejection of God as their king.
• If God is the one who raises up and puts down national leaders, then it must be God’s fault that they have had bad leaders like Eli.
• God, in His perfect justice, gives people what they deserve.
• God, in His perfect mercy, gives people what they demand.
• With these two statements in perfect balance, God permits natural consequence to run its full course.
• The problem is not God’s choice of leaders, but in man’s failure to trust God to provide the very best leaders.
• God’s perfect will:
• God’s perfect will was that Israel not have a king at this time.
• God’s perfect will was that David be their first king.
• How do we know this?
• Read Deu 23:2
• This scripture tells us that an illegitimate child cannot be accepted into the congregation of Israel until the 10th generation.
• Read Rut 4:17-22
• Ruth bore a son, Obed, but she gave him to Naomi because she was a gentile. Her son was not a legitimate Jew in regards to inheritance.
• Notice that there are 10 generations mentioned before coming to David’s name in verse 22.
• The blood line of Ruth and Boaz was not legitimately acceptable until David, in the tenth generation.
• Therefore, God’s perfect timing was to wait for David in the 10th generation, so that the Messiah could come through him, and so that David’s kingdom would be a prefigure of the Messiah’s legitimate earthly kingdom.
• God’s permissive will:
• As a result, the people’s demand for a king was preemptive.
• The mis-timing of their demand for a king brings King Saul to the throne as Israel’s first king.
• King Saul was God’s permissive will.
• Aspects of God’s will:
• God’s sovereign will:
• Believers in Jesus Christ are always in God’s sovereign will by decree. (Eph 1:11)
• God’s perceptive will:
• Believers in Jesus Christ perceive what is God’s will and may either miss His will or forsake His will as revealed by His commands.
• God’s permissive will:
• Believers are therefore, then, in God’s permissive will which is not God’s very best and results in missed blessings and divine discipline. (Heb 12:6-7)
• Therefore, when believers are in God’s sovereign will, but out of His perceptive will (disobedient), they alone are responsible for their actions. God is sovereign, but man is responsible with respect to sin and evil. God wills to permit His second best (Gen 50:20 Act 2:23), but God does not cause His permissive will, for God is not the author of evil. (Jam 1:13)
• God’s Warning (The consequences of God’s permissive will to Israel): (10-18)
• Their sons will be given to defend themselves.
• There will be a loss of God’s protection.
• The people must work for the profit of a king.
• There will be some degree of bondage.
• Their daughters will be lost to the king’s pleasure.
• There will be an emphasis on worldliness and temptation.
• Some fields and orchards will be given to the king.
• There will be a degree of lost autonomy.
• Taxes must be paid.
• The devourer will devour their best.
• Servants will be given to the king’s work.
• There will be a loss of personal destiny.
• Sheep will be given to the king.
• There will be a loss of spiritual freedom.
• A peek into the future:
• Saul was a gifted political and military leader appointed by God.
• Saul appeared to have been a genuine believer (10:9).
• However, Saul’s disobedience to God destined his rule to failure. (15:23)
• Saul’s life illustrates the “roller coaster” life experience of a carnal Christian.
• Although Saul functioned as a military and political leader, it was Samuel who continued to serve as the spiritual leader of the nation. (12:19-25)
• Application:
• Much in the life of a nation depends on the leaders that nation has.
• We must pray for our national leaders.
• Read Rom 13:1-7
• Read 1Tim 2:1-4

HOMEWORK
1 SAMUEL 9
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Sam 8
• Examine your own personal life and determine any area where you are living in God’s permissive will.
• If the Holy Spirit reveals to you some area, ask God to forgive you.
• Be assured that He hears and forgives you. (1Joh 1:9)
• Ask God to help you learn through the consequences of His permissive will.
• Ask God to strengthen, guide, and direct your life to new heights of His perfect will.
• Preparation of 1Sam 9
• Read 1Sam 9:1-27
• Why did God choose Saul, if He knew Saul would fail?
• In the beginnings of the establishment of a kingdom, what are the necessary first steps?
• Memory Verse: Psalms 62:11-12