Copyright © 2026 Women of the ELCA. Reprint permission is granted for use in Women of the ELCA units, clusters/conferences and synodical women’s organizations provided each post is reproduced in its entirety. If you enjoy this resource, Donate Now.
In Samuel 8:4-20, the people of Israel pled with Samuel to beg God, on their behalf, for a king. They were noticing that the neighboring countries had rulers, and insofar as Israel didn’t, they felt the odd one out. Up until that point, God had been Israel’s king, so their request marked a shift not only in Israel’s political structure but in the direction of Israel’s trust.
Samuel did as they wanted, and God agreed to let Israel have a king. However, God commanded Samuel to first announce a warning: Turning toward an earthly king and away from God as King would bring misery and despair upon Israel.
Martin Luther defined sin as misdirected trust: that is, when we trust in something that is not God as if it were. These texts from 1 Samuel may inspire some conversation about gods that we are tempted to worship in our own lives.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Let us pray” by Anna Madsen in the June 2018 Gather magazine. Today is the Third Sunday after Pentecost. Today is Flag Day. Today we commemorate Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, 379; Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, c. 385; Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, c. 389; and Macrina, teacher, c. 379.