(11) And he said, This will be the privilege of the king who shall reign over you. He shall take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and his horsemen. And they shall run before his chariots.
(12) And he will appoint commanders over thousands, and commanders over fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and weapons for his chariots.
(13) And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
(14) And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive-yards, the best, and give them to his servants.
(15) And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs and to his servants.
(16) And he will take your male slaves and your slave girls, and your finest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
(17) He will take the tenth of your sheep, and you shall be his servants.
(18) And you shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.
Life is a never-ending struggle. If it's not relationships, it's health. If not health, it's finances. It's work, it's school, it's growing pains, it's aging. These are the components that are seen, but behind it all is a spiritual war that continually wages. Satan hates everyone and is bent on doing what he does: stealing, killing, and destroying. In this war, there is no neutral. To claim neutrality is to rebel against God. We are instructed to choose a side. (Joshua 24:15) God cannot stand spiritual neutrality. (Rev 3:15-16)
For all of this, we cast a vote for a king; either we opt for God and He alone, or we cast our allegiance to the king of this world, the devil. There are some things we should understand about casting our vote for the enemy which we can learn from the passage above.
- Our children will be consumed by the war effort. Some will fight, and some will work, but they will be taken without a choice. (vs 11-13) Remember, they will be fighting a war that they have already lost, and they will not survive it.
- Our fields, vineyards, and orchards represent our fruitfulness. All we produce will go to the enemy, adding up to nothing in the scope of eternity. (vs 14)
- Many avoid serving God because they believe He wants a tenth of all they have. The bad news is that what could be voluntarily given will be taken by force; one tenth of what we have to sow, and one tenth of what we've already grown. (vs 15)
- Anything and everything we have that makes life easier goes to the enemy. All our resources become his. (vs 16)
- All of our livestock, which represents our 'sacrifice', goes to the enemy, while we ourselves enter servitude. (vs 17)
- By the time you realize your mistake, it will be too late. (vs 18)
We should definitely choose our king wisely.
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