A King? THE King? Hosanna!

1 Samuel 8 (NIV) Israel Asks for a King 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

SO Israel got what they asked for. They got A king. They could have had the best King then, but they chose to think they knew better. Everything God told Samuel to pass on to the people about what would happen with a king...did. Years later, a new generation was still looking for a king. They thought they found him in Jesus and they praised him.

John 12:12-13 (NIV)
The Triumphal Entry 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna![a]" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

[a] A Hebrew expression meaning "Save!" which became an exclamation of praise

A few days pass and they find out Jesus is not the king they are looking for. He doesn't lead a rebellion against the Roman government and he doesn't get their taxes lowered. They want a fighting leader, not a savior.

Today, what are we looking for? Are we looking for the quick fix? The long term answer? A king when we need THE King?

This week, think about what side you're on. Are you the disciple/friends of Jesus or are you in the crowd anxiously awaiting the rebellion?

This is an especially important time to consider this as we approach Friday. We are also in an election year where essentially we're looking for our nation's next leader. Please be in prayer for the decisions our nation faces.

Hosanna!