The Danger of Cultural Accommodation
The Danger of Cultural Accommodation
1 Samuel 6-10
“Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king will judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
For 400 years, Israel has been a nation without an earthly king. God’s intent for Israel was that they would be a theocracy in which God himself would be the king. But this was not enough; the people looked about them and saw that every other nation had a king to lead them into battle, and so they wanted to be like them. For the past 400 years, they had experienced turmoil from military attacks by the neighboring nations. However, rather than recognizing that it was a result of their sin, they attributed it to not having a king. If they had a king to lead them into battle, then it would solve their problems (8:20). The request itself was not necessarily wrong, for God had hinted already that there would arise a king from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). Furthermore, the law had given regulations for the king, implying that God would eventually appoint leaders over Israel (Dt. 17:14-20). The issue was “why.” They wanted a king to rule over them because they did not trust in God. They felt they needed more. Instead of obeying God and trusting in His timing and rule over the world, they were trusting in earthly means. God condemns them for their request because it was driven by a lack of trust. It was not just a request for a king; it was a rejection of God’s reign over them. Instead of being obedient to God, they wanted to be like the nations around them (8:5).
Obedience is not just doing the right things; it is also doing the right thing for the right reason. Even when we are doing what God commands, if we are doing it for our gain or as an attempt to manipulate God, it is still an act of sin. The motivation behind the people was that they wanted to be like the other nations. In both 8:5 and verse 20, the people revealed their attitude when they stated that they wanted to “be like all the nations.” Their motivation and desire were to embrace and accommodate the cultures and nations around them. Instead of being different to reflect their obedience to God, they desired to blend in and be like all the rest. However, Samuel warns them that their desire will have long-term negative results.
Instead of being the ideal they envision, the king will take their sons and daughters from them.
While we condemn the folly of Israel, we often fall into the same sin. Instead of living in obedience to God, with its counter-culture implications, we fall prey to cultural accommodation by striving to be like everyone else. It is not easy being different. It is easy to justify our actions by approving what is accepted by others. However, God calls us to live differently. Instead of accommodating our lives to our culture, we are to be counter-culture. We are not to “conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:1-2). We are to walk in obedience to God, even if it means we stand alone and are ridiculed by those around us. Where do we turn to gain direction and guidance in our moral decisions? Do we look to our society and follow what our society affirms to gain acceptance, or do we follow God and His word, even if it means others ridicule us?
1 Samuel 6-10
“Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king will judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
For 400 years, Israel has been a nation without an earthly king. God’s intent for Israel was that they would be a theocracy in which God himself would be the king. But this was not enough; the people looked about them and saw that every other nation had a king to lead them into battle, and so they wanted to be like them. For the past 400 years, they had experienced turmoil from military attacks by the neighboring nations. However, rather than recognizing that it was a result of their sin, they attributed it to not having a king. If they had a king to lead them into battle, then it would solve their problems (8:20). The request itself was not necessarily wrong, for God had hinted already that there would arise a king from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). Furthermore, the law had given regulations for the king, implying that God would eventually appoint leaders over Israel (Dt. 17:14-20). The issue was “why.” They wanted a king to rule over them because they did not trust in God. They felt they needed more. Instead of obeying God and trusting in His timing and rule over the world, they were trusting in earthly means. God condemns them for their request because it was driven by a lack of trust. It was not just a request for a king; it was a rejection of God’s reign over them. Instead of being obedient to God, they wanted to be like the nations around them (8:5).
Obedience is not just doing the right things; it is also doing the right thing for the right reason. Even when we are doing what God commands, if we are doing it for our gain or as an attempt to manipulate God, it is still an act of sin. The motivation behind the people was that they wanted to be like the other nations. In both 8:5 and verse 20, the people revealed their attitude when they stated that they wanted to “be like all the nations.” Their motivation and desire were to embrace and accommodate the cultures and nations around them. Instead of being different to reflect their obedience to God, they desired to blend in and be like all the rest. However, Samuel warns them that their desire will have long-term negative results.
Instead of being the ideal they envision, the king will take their sons and daughters from them.
While we condemn the folly of Israel, we often fall into the same sin. Instead of living in obedience to God, with its counter-culture implications, we fall prey to cultural accommodation by striving to be like everyone else. It is not easy being different. It is easy to justify our actions by approving what is accepted by others. However, God calls us to live differently. Instead of accommodating our lives to our culture, we are to be counter-culture. We are not to “conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:1-2). We are to walk in obedience to God, even if it means we stand alone and are ridiculed by those around us. Where do we turn to gain direction and guidance in our moral decisions? Do we look to our society and follow what our society affirms to gain acceptance, or do we follow God and His word, even if it means others ridicule us?
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