As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges
over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in
Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were
greedy for money. They accepted bribes
and perverted justice. Finally,
all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,”
they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other
nations have.” Samuel was
displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have
continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a
king will reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:1-9 (NLT)
Rebellion demands that each
generation despise something of the previous one.
The Prophet Samuel’s sons,
Joel and Abijah were no exception. They
were reared in a preacher’s household and put in charge of the ministry when
their father got ready to retire. But
unlike their father, the sons did not respect the nature of unselfish leadership;
they were greedy, and when they rejected the call of God on their lives
it caused nothing but trouble for everyone!
There is abundant example
across the pages of Holy Scripture that show how the past is much less “rose
colored” than individual or collective memory might lead us to believe. In short, the good ol’ days weren’t!
The good ol’ days of Jacob were
rotten days. “Jacob” means “trickster” or “supplanter” –
he bullied and schemed his way to the top.
God later re-named him “Israel” (Prince
of God), but the rebellion in him made for a tough climb out of many a
mess.
Nobody names their child “Judas”
or “Adolph” anymore; those rebellious lives ended badly. Not good ol’ days at all!
And do you recall how the
children of God followed Moses around the desert complaining about the food,
clothing and lack of water? They wailed
that they wanted to go back to their good ol’ days of onions and slavery in
Egypt.
Go figure!
So
why is it that people in churches still clamor for the good ol’ days?
Now, hold on; before you
call the bishop on me, let me disclaim that I have it in me too. I remember the good ol’ days in the
church of my youth. But I also recall
the rebelliousness that led me away from church for a number of years. If those good ol’ days were that
good, why did I run?
I guess the point is that,
for most of us…uhhh…ALL of us…we just have to go
through it; we just have to rebel until the past catches up with us.
Like Jacob we have to wrestle with God’s angel and roll around in
the dust until we get tired, covered in mud, bruised and disjointed enough –
honest enough – to quiet down so we can see how our rebellion has taken us to
the Prodigal’s pigpen.
Like David, we’ve got to sin big enough to invite the rebuke of
God to wake us up to the cost of our rebellion.
Frankly, I wouldn’t go back
to those good ol’ days for love or money!
That’s why I’m trying to go
forward every morning.
For You, Today…
As you think about your good
ol’ days remember them accurately with all the good stuff AND
the warts and rebellion; then thank God for where, what and Whose you are
today.
And then move forward in joy
and peace.
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