Israel's Sins

by Ben

Hey all! Vacation was great, but I'm glad to be back at it!

I read 1 Samuel 8-10.

Israel wants a king. God has taken this as a rejection of his leadership and uses the prophet Samuel to appoint the new king, Saul. What follows is a neat prophetic way of proving that Saul should be king. However, I want to focus on the warning given to the people of Israel (1 Samuel 8:10-18). Through Samuel, God warns Israel about the negative things that a king will do (a hefty list). They shrug it off and say, "Even so, we still want a king."

And again, Israel turns their back on God.

A few posts ago, Matt spoke about Hosea's list of Israel's sins. When I read the Old Testament, I can understand the frustration that God must feel with each of us. Thanks to Christ, we don't have to suffer God's wrath. We get the caring parent, not the disciplinarian. Part of me just wondered what would modern day be like if Christ hadn't died for us. Would we live like the Israelites of the Old Testament - sinning, being punished, and then asking for forgiveness? Would we think more about our sins before we commit them?