“And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel,” 1 Samuel 8:1.
We have considered how in the chapters 7 and 8 of 1st Samuel we are introduced to a dark time in Israel’s history. Yes, it was during the time of a most godly prophet, Samuel, but darkness nevertheless invaded the land and prevailed for it was a day of disorder in God’s house!
But though there was a wonderful and merciful intervention by the Lord, Israel soon drifted away again for such a time of victory soon decays because of the backsliding amongst God’s people. Even the great prophet Samuel has sanctioned evil amongst his own sons as our text states.
Having considered these points, I come now to that foreshadowed in these chapters.
I. THIS PORTION OF GOD’S WORD HAS A PROPHETIC APPLICATION.
It must be remembered that these events were all taking place as a prelude to the coming to the throne of Israel, God’s king — David!
I recall the happy day when I was a student in conversation with the one who would soon be my brother in law, John Douglas, when he pointed out to me how that David’s revelation as the champion of Israel and the slayer of Goliath, took place at his SECOND visit to the camp of Israel!
I learned that day how such prophetic ‘gems’ are sometimes concealed and hidden from our first glance at a passage!
There is a ‘quiet’ mention of David’s first visit to the camp of Israel in 1Samuel 17:15.
“But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.”
His second visit was not so ‘quiet’!
“And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. . . And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Verses 17-18, 23-26.
These events gloriously portray the second coming of Christ, seeking the welfare of “His brethren”, the nation of Israel. The loud blasphemies of the latter-day Goliath, the Antichrist, shall be silenced and his followers routed even more wonderfully on that day.
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,” Revelation 19:19-21.
1. But before David came so triumphantly to rescue the nation, a dark time under ‘man’s choice’ had to be endured. James Archbishop Ussher’s Chronology of the Bible suggests that Saul, the man the people wished to have as their first king, reigned from BC 1096 to 1056, a period of forty years.
It was a dark time for Israel. Samuel, at God’s command, warned Israel of the character of Saul and the manner of his reign.
“And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city,” 1 Samuel 8:7-22.
I quote this portion at length and I would have you note the repetition of the word, “take’. He would not be a ‘giver’ but a ‘taker’!
The Saviour is a ‘giver’! “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand,” John 10:27-28.
Like Israel of old, however, men still prefer to follow one who will rule “us like all the nations,” verse 5. As the Lord said to Samuel, grieved at the decision of the people, “They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
If you are not saved today, this is your mindset! You will not have Christ to “reign over you”!
2. The darkness and misery of Saul’s reign picture for us the days just preceding the return of Christ to reign. The nations of the world today are seeking one to rule over them who will act according to the ungodly ways of man’s sinful natural desires, and put aside the ways of the gospel that have enriched and shaped the laws and customs of many in centuries past.
Within living memory here in the United Kingdom, we have seen the laws of God replaced by the corruptions and perversions of Sodom and Gomorrah and the heathen nations of the world, whose citizens, on taking up residence in the UK, have demanded that their customs take precedent over the instruction that the Bible has had upon our land.
Our streets echo with the triumphant blasphemies of the sodomites. Support for murderers and terrorists is publicly demonstrated by thousands who throng the highways of the nation’s capital.
The Police
The police happily act upon the recently created laws that make illegal the naming and shaming of such defiers of righteousness and advocates of evil!
3. This day is the beginning of the impact of the reign of the latter-day Saul amongst us! I asked you to take note of the repeated use of the word “take” in 1 Samuel 8:7-22. But please note how that description of Saul’s reign ends! “Ye shall be his servants,” verse 17. The word “servant” is elsewhere rendered “bondslave” or “bondage”.
There will be a widespread rebirth of slavery within the kingdom of Antichrist, that territory within the borders of the old Roman Empire. That kingdom will include England.
I can say this on the strength of God’s Word.
The merchants who thrived in the days of Antichrist are pictured for us by the Lord, lamenting his demise.
“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men,” Revelation 18:11-13.
It Is Here
But slavery is not just a feature of a prophecy of a future time. It is already amongst us! This news report appeared just days ago.
“Concerns have been raised about the impact alleged brothels are having on a community in South Belfast with fears women are being trafficked to the city from around the world.
On Sunday, August 10, a protest was held outside a property in the Ravenhill Avenue area that was alleged as being used as a brothel.
However, community representatives have said they are very worried about the growing number of brothels in the area from Ravenhill Road to Woodstock Road and the impact this is having on local families and the women involved who may have been trafficked from across the world.”
The ‘official view’ of this protest was given by the police. “The police attended the incident saying the protest dispersed without incident and no arrests were made, with the force later warning that it would ‘not tolerate any type of vigilante activity’ or groups ‘taking the law into their own hands’.”
This was their response to a ‘quiet, peaceful protest’, which ‘dispersed without incident’, against the evils of prostitution!
Concern
There is more concern amongst the officials of the State about citizens protesting about such wickedness, than there is about the wickedness of prostitution and the enslavement of women, which was the purpose of the protest!
Slavery is thus seen to be acceptable amongst many today and the ‘merchants of Antichrist’ are already in business!
The fact that as far back as a 1000 years before Christ, the Lord was picturing for us the ‘latter-days’, shows how much He wishes us, who are seeing the beginning of that time, to know of the evil that time will bring!
Preachers
Preachers ought ever to be warning their flocks. When they do so, they will attract abuse from blind and stupid ‘wise men’, who mock the study of Bible prophecy.
But just remember that Winston Churchill was called a ‘war monger’ when he sought to awaken the United Kingdom to the threat of ‘Nazi Germany’!
Time proved him right and his opponents very wrong. Their opposition to Mr Churchill was likely the cause of Hitler launching his evil attack upon his neighbours. A strong and militarily ready United Kingdom, as Churchill sought, might have proved a deterrent!
Instead there was the cowardly appeasement initiated by the foolish prime minster of the day, Neville Chamberlain. I believe we can rightly conclude this policy only encouraged Hitler to launch his attack upon Poland and begin the slaughter that was World War II!
Today, we are surrounded by appeasement of evil. The demands of the advocates of every form of unnatural perversion are appeased. Such perversions are presently taught in our state schools, with the aid of Christian parents, who refuse to heed the warnings of the impact of such evil upon their children, and also professing Christian politicians, who claim to oppose transgenderism, etc on paper but take home a sizeable pay packet, aiding in its promotion!
Terrorism
Our Government here in Northern Ireland, located at Stormont, is based upon and actively practises the appeasement of terrorism and its supporters.
The appeasement of the Democratic Unionist Party of Sinn Fein/IRA, despite their loud, hypocritical and lying denials of the same, has installed in power the party which has sided with terrorism and continues to glory in the murderous exploits of those engaged in such wickedness.
Such toleration of evil will expand until, in the not too distant future, it will embrace “That man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
As I have said, Christian, the Lord is so very desirous of you gaining an understanding of the future times of peril, that He sets it forth in various prophetic forms and direct statements throughout Holy Scripture.
Remember Jacob and Paul
Jacob, as a wise father issued a warning to his offspring to come, a long time ago. “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days,” Genesis 49:1.
We ought to note how Paul ended his warning of the coming Antichrist.
“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” 2 Thessalonians 2:5.
Back in the earliest days of this gospel age, God’s faithful servants were warning of days at the end of this age. Such words were written for our learning!
Christian, study and heed what God has to say about the days we are entering upon.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Wednesday 27th August 2025