Israel Demands a King
8 And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 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.” 6 But the thing was [a]displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly [b]warn them and tell them of the [c]procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
Not only had the people rejected God by asking for a king, but so had Samuel’s sons. Samuel is seen as a pretty special prophet/priest in the history of Israel, but something went wrong with his children too.
It’s a solemn reminder of the responsibility of raising children. If we neglect to pass on to them the single most important thing in all of life, that’s a sad day. Now I know plenty of folks will say that you can’t control the choices children make when they are grown. And certainly, it seems teaching children about God doesn’t ensure they will follow Him as adults, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
So, do everything you can to put your children on the right path. Teach them, pray for them, and above all, spend time with them! Your children need you in their lives, and no matter what they do as adults, they need to know you love them and are available.