Daily Devotions
Hosea
"I gave you a king in My anger"
Text: Hosea 13:11
THE FIRST KING OF ISRAEL
The very first king of Israel was Saul. He turned out most disappointingly. The circumstances leading to the installation of Saul as the king of Israel was recorded in the historical books (1 Samuel 8). Hosea records how the LORD felt when Israel asked for a king.
“I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.”
Hosea 13:11
1. “I gave you a king in My anger”
a) The word “anger” was not mentioned in 1 Samuel 8.
b) But God’s anger was truly and fully justified.
2. God’s explanation to Samuel
a) They have not rejected you (Samuel) {1 Samuel 8:7a}.
b) They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7b).
c) They have forsaken Me and served other gods (1 Samuel 8:8).
3. Samuel’s warning about the kind of king they would have
a) He would take and keep taking anything he wished (1 Samuel 8:10-17).
b) They would despair and cry out to God but their prayers would not be answered (1 Samuel 8:18).
4. A brief view of Saul’s reign
a) Saul led Israel to destruction.
i) The people lived in dire distress (1 Samuel 13:6).
ii) He had a weak army for it had no weapons (1 Samuel 13:16-22).
b) He had to fight many enemies (1 Samuel 14:47-48).
c) He walked in disobedience (1 Samuel 15:23).
i) Rebellion
ii) Stubbornness
iii) Rejection of the Lord’s word
d) The final straw was an attempt to contact the dead (necromancy).
i) Saul sought the aid of a witch.
ii) An apparition that resembled Samuel appeared.
Saul was rebuked and his death sentence was pronounced (1 Samuel 28).
5. “And took him away in My wrath”
Badly defeated by the Philistines, King Saul committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:1-6).