Person Worship
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." 1 Sam 8:4-5 (NASB)
Do you know what we call elders today who want to shirk their leadership responsibilities while retaining their leadership titles? Politicians. (Look at that, I started the blog with a digression. Note to self: focus)
The elders in Samuel’s day should have trusted Yahweh and either taken leadership or simply trusted that God would provide. Instead, they found it much easier to ask for someone else to make their decisions for them. It’s interesting to see how Israel, history, and even in modern times, mankind is always looking for someone to take the lead and show us the way. How many times have we heard Ronald Reagan’s name invoked lately? It seems like we are hardwired with a desire to be led, whether to victory or to defeat. When it is victory, it’s always a “team” win and when it is a loss, well then it was “his” fault!
When we tell people about our faith, don’t they often ask who the Pastor is or what the denomination is? This is because folks are conditioned, based on history and experience, to have to tie a believer to some enigmatic teacher or organized denomination. We simply have to have had our doctrines spoon-fed to us by an established organization or else we just don’t fit into the box. Taking responsibility for one’s own salvation and studying independently is, sadly, a foreign concept. But this is how it was during the early days of Christianity. The Spirit called people individually and those believers studied to show themselves approved. Philip explained Yeshua to the Ethiopian using scripture only, not some man-granted authority.
Our model ought to be the same as that Ethiopian. We should test everything, holding fast to the true. We see in a mirror now, dimly, and following men leads to following false prophets who steal our money and worse, our souls. Take a look at how Abraham answered the call as a contrast to those elders above:
Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, " Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
Gen 22:1 (NASB)
I’ve often wondered is there should be a comma in there. Could it be “Here, I am” instead of “Here I am”? Either way, though, our example illustrated by Abraham is what it is. Have faith and be prepared when called to answer. Because the leaders of the denominations and large churches won’t be able to save you on that great and terrible Day of the LORD.
