Hearken unto. Here is the best evidence possible that nations as well as individuals are free moral agents. Had they come seeking His counsel, God would have given it; when they came with an ultimatum, He accepted their choice.
They have rejected me. Under the judges Israel experienced numerous advantages that would be lost under the rule of kings. For example:
1. Under the judges God had made each tribe virtually independent. Taxes were extremely low. Although the tribes worked together as allies, “there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This was, of course, not an unmixed blessing (see Deut. 12:8). But the elders rejected the independence of a tribal confederacy, and chose instead an authoritarian form of government that within a few decades brought with it exorbitant taxation.
2. God had given every Israelite considerable individual freedom in earning a livelihood, in choosing his own form of worship, and in administering his own affairs in general. But the elders rejected this freedom for serfdom under a king who exercised the power of life and death over his subjects, and who could execute those who disagreed with him.
3. For several centuries the Spirit of the Lord came upon men in the various tribes, under whose leadership Israel enjoyed rest and a measure of peace and security in which to pursue their chosen vocations. There was no such thing as hereditary succession; judges were raised up by God from time to time, on the basis of personal qualifications. But now the elders rejected such divine assistance and chose a hereditary monarchy.
4. Over and over again when Israel had sought the Lord for counsel. He miraculously protected them from the attacks of the enemy (see 1 Sam. 7:10; Joshua 10:11; etc.). In their rejection of God as supreme Lord of the theocracy the elders were, in reality, opening the way whereby Israel became the pawn of international intrigue. They demanded tribute from their defeated foes and gloried in their martial prowess. In turn, they fell under the domination of more powerful nations. They wrongly attributed their military reverses and periods of oppression to the form of government rather than to their own evil course of action.
5. It was God’s plan to change valleys of Achor into doors of hope when His people turned in surrender to Him (Hosea 2:15). Under God’s guidance mistakes could become steppingstones to a greater knowledge of God and His plan of salvation.
6. God had scattered the Levites throughout the tribes that the children might be educated, particularly in the things of God. On account of their selfish unwillingness to carry out this plan, Israel failed to support the Levites and remained in illiteracy and ignorance. The majority of the people did not wish to be trained to think for themselves. They were perfectly content to let their leaders do their thinking for them, so long as these leaders did not demand their possessions or disturb their selfish ease.
From the time the great controversy began in heaven (Rev. 12:7-9), down to the present day, God’s great plan for the universe has been misunderstood by some of the beings He created. Professing themselves to be wise, they questioned the reliability and desirability of His guidance and set out to follow what, in their ignorance, appeared to be a better course — only to find they had entered upon a dead-end road. God has always permitted opportunity for men to prove His ways to be best. But He sometimes yields to their wishes and permits them to pursue the course of their own choosing, in order that their failures, though severe, may finally lead them to bow the knee and acknowledge the superiority of God’s eternal plan (see Phil. 2:10, 11; PP 605, 606).
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