Image from daleargot.com
Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/34KR6Ox
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds which they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, hearken to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking a king from him. 11 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; 12 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. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the best of your cattle and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 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." 19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No! but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles." 14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom." 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. (1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15 RSV)
A great Wednesday be yours, dear ConCafe Family, and may this day bless you, Friend, is my prayer for you! Please be a person of prayer today as you lift up all who have asked prayers from you, for you, and for other readers. Pray for our nation, other nations, and for all who need to experience God's love and grace. We thank God for a successfull heart valve replacement surgery for Mr. Emmitt Currie. Please pray for a successful recovery. Today is June 2, 2021. On this day some years ago, my father, Eradio Valverde,Sr., was born in Mission, Texas. It was only a few years ago, that he died. I miss him a lot, but I know he's in the presence of God.
It was a tension-filled night at my college dorm. These were the days of square televisions, and our dorm had a regular-sized one in the lobby of Clark Hall. On the television schedule for the night was the lottery. Not the mega or power ones, but a more serious one. This was a national lottery to see where 18 and so-aged young men, registered in the military draft system. You see kids, when a young man turned 18, he would go to the post office, secure a registration card, fill it out and mail it to the local draft board. Once there, the young man was registered as one ready to be drafted into military service. And the government had decided that for the Vietnam War, a national lottery would be held and the "winners" were to present themselves for military service in whatever branch the US government decided. The numbers were assigend according to dates of birth. My DOB is 10/25 and the year that corresponds to it. When the numbers were being read, cheers erupted or moans. It was decided the first 125 numbers selected would be the ones drafted and taken. My DOB drew #138, so I "lost" the lottery by 13. And I was free to continue on with my education. Later I learned that as one preparing for the ministry I could qualify for a deferrment. The top prospects were classified 1-A; the last desired were 4-Fs. One could also object to serving in combat and get a CO status, a Conscientious Objector, which would mean one would still serve in the military and not have to carry a weapon. The draft was soon done away with, and talk continues about how best to ready the nation for military service if needed.
I speak of the draft because it was one of the things God shared would be coming to Israel on the day they said they no longer needed or wanted God. They were no interested in a theocracy; a system where God is the ruler; and even though God had told them they were to be a light to the other nations, a priesthood of believers, they wanted instead to be just like their neighbors and demanded a king. Samuel takes this personal, because he was the face and voice of God to the people; but God said to him, it is not you they are rejecting, it is me. Ouch. Please don't act shocked; you and I have, on various occasions in our own way rejected God. And God then proceeds to share with them the downsides to a monarchy. The very first thing God shares is that the king would have the power to draft their sons AND daughters; the sons into military service and other hard labor tasks, and the daughters into royal service as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. AND, God says, the king will have the power to take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and to give them to his own servants. He will also demand a tithe of your crops and use that to pay his officers and his servants. He can and will even take your servants, the best of your cattle and herds; and take a tithe of your flocks, and you might even become the king's slaves. Ouch again. On that day, God said, you will yell for help, but it will be too late; God will no longer answer you.
And, of course, the people said, like spoiled children, "We don't care! We want our way! And the famous, "You're not the boss of me!" And, "We want to be just like the other nations with a king to lead us and take us into battle." All Samuel could say was to try to mend the kingdom and renew it. So, joining the nation at Gilgal they made Saul the first king of Israel. And in the worship that followed they offered sacrifices to the Lord; and there was great rejoicing.
Have I mentioned that the Bible is our story? Yes, many, many, many, of the stories in this sacred book of God's contain the honest accounts of real humans, just like you and me, who too often seem to be imitating our lives. The only perfect person in the Bible was Jesus, and these accounts of struggle hit close to home. I mentioned my father above and I regret the days that I thought I knew more than him. I questioned his decisions and discipline towards me, and longed for the day I would be free from him. Then I did reach the age where, like the prophet quoted God, I longed to cry out for my Dad to forgive me and give me another chance to prove myself. Like Israel, many were the times I knew better than my Dad or Mom, or anyone; and I thought what I wanted was really what I needed; how wrong I was. In my house, my Dad was king, and his word was law. I thought I would make a better king, though I did not measure up to what Dad had or had done in his life. Funny how we don't think of those things when we're in the heat of the moment. I loved though, that no matter how I was feeling inside towards my Dad, if ever I broke down on the road he was only a phone call away; there was a comforting feeling that I was covered and protected. I will never forget the day I was the one getting the calls and me going to cover and protect. But even now I long to hear his voice and his counsel. But, I am thankful that God is, and has always been, my cover and protection. May we never say that we no longer want or need God; for God always wants and needs us!
PRAYER: Awesome God, bless us with your covering and protection. And please forgive us for the times we have said, either with words, thoughts, or actions, that we no longer wanted or needed You. We truly do need and want You. You have given us the freedom to say and do whatever we want, but we want to glorify You in all ways. We thank You for the fathers and mothers we have had in our lives, who have tried to guide us and lead us. We pray Your wisdom and counsel be with them. And for those of us who are now indeed parents; help us to be the best at listening and patient with those who are our children; In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the best in all you do, for God and God's children; begin with you!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
