22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.” 1 Samuel 12: 22-25
Samuel was called and appointed by God to be the prophet over Israel. At the time Israel had no king because God acted as Israel’s king. However, Israel told Samuel that his sons were not like him and they wanted a king. God granted them their wish and gave them a king but told Samuel that Israel had did an evil thing and rejected God as their king. Samuel appoints Saul as the king over Israel and reminds Israel that what they have done was evil in God’s eyes but that God would not reject them since Israel was His own. As Samuel addressed Israel he noted that he did not want to sin against the Lord and said that he would fulfill his role as prophet and pray for Israel and continue to teach them the way of what was good and right.
In the Old Testament we see how the prophet and the king operated over Israel. The kings of the OT ruled over Israel but it was the prophet of God that would tell the kings and the people what God was saying. Often times the kings would call the prophet when they did not know what to do in a situation like war or when they had a problem they couldn’t solve. So the prophet would be the one to come to the king with solutions from God and let them know what God was saying. The prophet also spoke to the people to remind them of God and to follow after His ways. The prophet of God was pure before the Lord because it was often times the prophet that would act as the high priest for Israel before the Lord.
Today we do not have a king but we do have a President and many others who govern us. Often we look to our leaders to be the one that lead the nations in regards to upholding the law and morality. However, the church is supposed to play the role of the prophet. We are to be the one that has our ear to God and tell the people what God is saying. Like Samuel our responsibility is to pray and teach the people what is good and right. We can’t rely on the government to do that nor does God expect the government to do so.
In the bible it was the prophets that God relied on to return the people back to God. Also, the kings relied on these prophets for wisdom and direction when trouble came their way. It is the same today we should be in a position that our government leaders come to the church for wisdom and guidance. No matter who the king was God always had a role and positioned His prophets to speak to the king and to pray and go before God to learn the will and purpose of God.
The church more than ever needs to understand her role as the prophet in regards to our nations’ governments. We are the ones that pray for the leaders and the people. We are to be the examples the people follow. When the nation is facing problems we are to go before God and get answers and solutions. We do not need to be in the king’s position to have influence and power. We have that through Jesus Christ who is the King of Kings but we must steward well the job given to us. We must fulfill our role like Samuel because we must give an account to God on what He has entrusted us with. A nation is a reflection of the righteousness or wickedness of God’s people.
Reflections 