Military Suicide Epidemic

Posted on July 11, 2020 by ehurst

Military suicide is a far bigger epidemic than COVID-19 right now.

First off, the Bible doesn’t look at suicide the way Westerners do. This life isn’t precious, so suicide isn’t always a tragedy; it isn’t always meaningless. What’s a tragedy is that military training does nothing to build the hearts of men. I’ve seen a precious few chaplains approach the issue, and some lay people, but the system never made any room for the real human needs of the troops.

Had I not been somewhat heart-led when I enlisted, I would not have made it. I have no doubt I would have committed suicide once I was out of uniform. I went in with a sense of mission both times I served. The first time was a failure; I lost sight of the divine calling. That’s why I felt compelled to try again. The second time felt more like I found myself and my mission.

This is what’s missing from the military. It’s not as if we could make some reforms to fix the problems. It’s the nature of Western society, and the epidemic of suicide symbolizes the death of the West. It cannot provide the foundation human souls need. It’s a great place to serve if you have a sense of mission, and the heart-led way will grant you a healthy measure of success.

But it will also make you leave before you get too far, because the system cannot tolerate a genuine heart-led conscience. The higher your rank, the more you are required to conform to the corruption that dominates the system. I never gained the kind of patronage from those above me to carry me through the system. That’s what it takes. I left when I ran out of patience with the utterly mindless changes forced down the pipe from above. Once you begin to understand what’s going on behind the scenes, you either have to embrace it or leave it.

But nothing will replace that time of great spiritual power flaming among a small group of us while stationed in the Netherlands. It was a rare moment, and all of us knew it. It doesn’t happen often enough. When it does, the upper ranks eventually squelch it, quite intentionally.

This epidemic is only going to get worse.

By the way, the corruption is less about criminal acts and more about learning to skirt the intent of the regulations, to use the military machine as the vehicle to carry you through opportunities for more-or-less legal plunder. Plundering the system itself is still forbidden, but plundering everything the system touches is another matter. And it’s not always about money, but hedonism itself. You would not believe the kinds of moral turpitude that military people hide. The closer they get to the core of what’s actually going on, the more likely they are to be held by some hideous perversions.

Those perversions seldom make the news.

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Batshit Crazy Plans

Posted on July 10, 2020 by ehurst

So our mission in this life, particularly during this time of tribulation, is to demonstrate shalom for all the world to see.

You need not justify yourself to anyone. God is the one who calls and guides your choices through your convictions. There is no higher authority. The only thing you owe the rest of the world is a true report of Who holds your allegiance (1 Peter 3:15), and that He demands this madness of you. The rest of the world is going to Hell, so it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of your choices. That includes me; you don’t have to please me.

One of the reasons I write so much stuff, including an outline of our Radix Fidem covenant, is so you can train your brain to walk in this mad world, and to be in a position to say something when needed. But it includes a very strong statement that you have to follow your own convictions. Radix Fidem is all about the means to discernment, not what the answers should be.

If reality is rightly characterized as somewhat variable with each of us, then it makes sense God’s calling on each of us in this world will vary somewhat. I can’t tell you what God requires of you. Sometimes I can help you figure out how to approach the question, but my answers won’t be the same as yours. It’s all I can do to discern what He requires of me, and get my flesh to obey that. You are welcome to play along and join my conspiracy of resistance, but it’s not part of our Radix Fidem covenant.

I’ve said several times that our current conflict is mostly a matter of information. This is an info-war. The primary means of warfare is not so much the threat of violence as it is the management of human perception. Any violence we see is moved by human perception first. So the issue is to fight false information, the lies of the Devil steering people away from the gospel message and shalom. It’s all about the prison of shadows and mists.

We will use pertinent facts to do this, but the most important part of what we do is not presenting the facts, but using them to paint a picture. We need to characterize the lies as coming from Satan. We need to draw images, tell parables; we need to indicate what evil is by whatever means necessary to remove the Devil’s disguise. Whatever God is going to do through this will require we use His methods of revelation, and that has always been via parables and impressions on human perception.

I can’t tell you how to pass the message along, but I can ask you to build the characterizations into your daily walk so that we manifest shalom. For me to do that, I am required to post a lot of those characterizations on my blogs. It means discovering information online that isn’t getting much attention and highlighting it. But it could also mean receiving information from other sources and passing it on. It could mean both publication and distribution behind the scenes.

This part is a still a little fuzzy right now, but I’m preparing to participate in a broader movement of exposing leaked data. Everything the Zionists and globalists are doing deserves to be exposed. I realize the majority of people out there won’t be open to that message. It doesn’t matter; this is not a question of instrumentality and goals, but obedience itself. For me to obey my convictions means making sure dark secrets are brought to light.

Granted, we need to turn that Flaming Sword of Truth on ourselves first. We can’t cut through the lies out there until we have carved them out of ourselves (Hebrews 4:12-14). We openly confess our sins because it’s all about exposing sin wherever it hides. By standing with Christ regarding our own sins, we are in a position to stand with Him on the sins of others. And this isn’t some petty airing of dirty laundry; we are seeking to expose the kind of evil that destroys the fabric of shalom itself. We are pointing out things that will bring God’s wrath on all our heads.

Another thing still fuzzy for me is that, in some way, I will use bikepacking as a cover for some of this work. All I can grasp at this point is that going somewhere with camping gear on a bike will provide a good excuse for something much more important I’m doing. Or even just training for bikepacking. I’m guessing I’ll be taking pictures of things that would need wider attention, but I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll be meeting with folks who need some information that comes into my hands. Again, I’m just guessing, extrapolating from what I can see right now.

What I do see clearly is the necessity of exposing evil secrets. I’m sure that will bring some heat on me, but that can’t be helped. I’m praying about ways the Lord wants me to handle that. I’ve secured a better personal defense weapon, and I’m running OpenSUSE Tumbleweed on my laptop because it’s one of the best secured and most professionally packaged brands of Linux. I’m trying to stay fit, and keeping my tactical senses alert, in both real life and online, but in the moral-spiritual realm, as well.

For the time being, I have no idea how I’ll come into possession of anything worth passing on to others. I’m already doing research and writing up my impressions of items I consider worth your attention, so this implies something else is headed my way. For now, I won’t be addressing this work on the other blog, though I will continue posting uncovered secrets there. If you feel drawn to participate on some level, you’ll have to keep an eye on both blogs.

Let your shalom shine for all to see.

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Batshit Crazy is Okay

Posted on July 10, 2020 by ehurst

They called Jesus a madman. We need to take up His Cross in order to follow Him. There is nothing reasonable about faith in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to embrace this with some over-the-top performance in your daily mannerisms, though sometimes I do that for the sake of getting the message across. Still, you need to understand that the world will always think we are nuts. The heart-led way of faith will make you believe impossible things, and make you act on those impossible beliefs. If this doesn’t happen to you in some degree, I question your faith.

Let me summarize some thing so I can get the point of unloading my prophetic burden on you.

Spiritual birth is totally under the control of the Father. Nothing in the gospel message of Jesus Christ changes your eternal destiny. Your election stood from before Creation; it was waiting there for you when you were born. The point of the gospel is to hit you upside the head so you realize that you belong to God. It’s just a matter of recognition, of absorbing in your soul the truth that God chose you. That’s the most we can possibly do for folks when we present the gospel message: We put it where their souls can grasp it, providing their souls are able to grasp it.

We do not persuade people to be saved. We do persuade people to walk in the eternal salvation that already has their name on it. In that sense, the New Testament term “be saved” means walking the talk, not obtaining your fire insurance policy. There is an inherent emphasis on obedience to something only the spiritually reborn can do. The New Testament is full of Law — not as the “law” of the Talmud, but the Law of Grace.

There is nothing in this world that can possibly compare with obedience to Christ. As I often say, Biblical Law is its own reward. Sure, I can list the benefits of walking in Christ, but if I have to do that to get your interest, then you can’t have it in the first place. It is an instinct for those who belong to Him to obey Him. We are at war with the flesh. The flesh isn’t too happy with that, but the heart knows just how sweet it is.

Thus, a major element in all of this is emphasizing the heart-led way. Sure, you can be heart-led without spiritual birth. And it’s pretty safe to say the majority of those spiritually reborn are not heart-led. That’s a major element in what we do. We are breaking down the lie that faith is rational, that the fleshly reason can handle the task. It cannot; it never has and it never will.

We do not rely on human reason to move people to the heart-led path of faith. We do things that are designed to break through the barriers of fleshly logic so the heart can come in and seize control from the brain. The truth of Jesus Christ is not knowledge in the mind, but a commitment from the heart.

Truth is never propositional; it is forever provisional. It always rests on the personal connection we have with God and His Creation. It is utterly impossible for the flesh to actually know anything. The intellect believes it knows, and tends to be quite arrogant about it’s imaginary ability to handle reality. However, it’s a lie.

That’s because the fallen world in which we live is a lie. It’s shadows and mists with only the appearance of solidity. We aren’t trying to help people see better facts; we want the facts to fall at the feet of Christ’s Person. It’s not a question of what we can know, but how we should proceed. We characterize; we tell parables. That’s the language of ultimate truth. That’s how we break through the barriers of human reason. That’s how we humble the flesh so that the heart can assume supremacy in the soul.

The world at large believes it relies on human reason, but even that is a lie. It relies on human lusts. The Bible lists three of them that seem to be the roots of everything about the Fall: Lust of the Flesh, Lust of Sensory Perception and Boastful Pride of Sentience (AKA reason). Yeah, I changed some of the words; it’s a better translation of what the author was getting at.

I’m not going to tell you that our current realm of existence is alive; I’m going to tell you that you can’t make sense of it unless you treat it so. You have to characterize in your mind that Reality is a living entity, a person who treats each of us just a little differently. It’s almost the same as saying we are living in a simulation. What you experience is not Ultimate Reality. That’s something we cannot encounter in our present fleshly form. Rather, I’m telling you that what you’ll experience is best understood if you tune your perception of things to include the notion that reality is alive, sentient and willful. Furthermore, our individual experiences and perceptions of reality will vary because reality itself is variable.

By now I’ve already trashed mainstream Christian religion, along with the mainstream secular viewpoint. Mainstream Christian believers will consider us nuts, as does the rest of secular world, just for different reasons.

This is not the time to hide our madness. Now I’m not saying you can’t infiltrate and pretend to be normal when the mission requires it. Divine wisdom includes tactical guidance on when to keep a lid on it, waiting for those teachable moments when the Lord is ready to reveal Himself to someone. We operate on multiple levels and sometimes you shouldn’t throw pearls before swine. But make no mistake, by common definition, the truth of Jesus Christ is complete madness.

We aren’t appealing to people’s reason; we are speaking to their hearts. The language of the heart is parable, symbolism, characterizations. That’s how we operate in the fleshly realm to break through the flesh to awaken something eternal. If there’s nothing spiritually alive in them, then it will drive people away. Jesus did that very thing quite intentionally when He spoke of the Bread of Life to the milling circus crowds and they left. Divine revelation polarizes. We have no say in who is drawn and who is driven away, but if you don’t make an honest effort to express the divine truth, you have lied.

Not all of us will use words. This is where I remind you that building shalom in your life is your witness. Whether that means words, artistry, or just sweeping the sidewalk doesn’t make any difference. When you exhibit shalom both as way of life and the rewards for that life, you have slapped aside human reason and hammered home to the heart that you have the peace everyone else longs to find.

This is the background for what comes in the next post.

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Package Deal

Posted on July 9, 2020 by ehurst

Civilization is roughly defined as a set of rules and customs that enable cities. It enables people to live together in close quarters without killing each other. In other words, it is the Tower of Babel — yet another attempt to have shalom without the presence and power of divine revelation.

Babylon is the first recorded cosmopolitan society. It was quite contrary to God’s revealed will for people outside the Garden of Eden. Living in a fallen world requires that we be dispersed into tiny groups, and that we not cultivate the kind habits required for living in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There is only one reason for building cities, and that is to concentrate resources, something that inevitably signals materialism. Whatever else Nimrod had in mind, it was most certainly about control and amassing labor and materials.

Whatever it is that comes in the package with urban living, it’s not what God wants for us. We should not have to tread lightly in society; we should be able to move with firm conviction and confidence. It should be a virtue to run roughshod over sensitive people, because nobody should be sensitive. It’s not logic that makes you tough-minded, but conviction. We are supposed to cultivate people walking in their convictions.

That’s not to say we can’t be kind and supportive, but there should be a clear goal of moving folks to confidence and tolerance. We should train souls to be patient with human frailty, which is not the same thing as being sensitive.

Then again, we can always be sensible about where we are when we aren’t at home. We should encourage honoring each other within our own domains. Someone should always own the turf, and their ways rule within that domain. While passing through, we accommodate things we might not do ourselves, but we remain strong in our own ways. We should know the whys of our traditions and customs, and respect those of whomever holds the ground.

It’s not about anyone’s feelings, but how they cope with life after the Fall. Respect has limits, and must be reciprocal. There is always room for negotiation. Mostly it’s a matter of leaving people alone with their particular brand of folly, since you have your own follies.

Yet it’s impossible to avoid a sense of superiority in the ways and customs of your tribe. It’s not that everyone else’s tribe is wrong, but there has to be room for what gives people confidence to function. If you don’t believe in the superiority of your own culture, then you don’t have a culture. Go find one that fits you and stick with it.

The Bible is pretty clear: If you want peace with God, life can be tolerable as you seek the Life above. The only way to claim peace with God is to embrace His revelation. His revelation is always in terms of covenant obedience. Without a covenant to bind you with others of like calling and faith, you cannot have shalom. Your life is meaningless without a covenant. With a covenant, you need little else. You want want to avoid cities where conditions may hinder your covenant obedience.

It’s a package deal. You either take the whole package from God, our you serve the Devil. Guess who is the god of man-made civilization? Only in Christ can we find the peace that allows us to live together. And He has proved beyond all doubt that no city on this earth can ever embrace His revelation without the people dispersing away from whatever Tower of Babel holds them together.

Note: Calm down. If you sense the Lord’s call to live in a particular city, that’s fine. Just know that it’s not God’s ideal for humanity. Whatever it is that comes in the package of living in a city will always include moral corruption and self-indulgence. Be guarded against it; don’t let your heart be trapped in the urban environment. Sometimes getting involved in God’s redemptive work means camping at the Gates of Hell.

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A Reason to Live and Die

Posted on July 5, 2020 by ehurst

Creation is a tool for His glory.

We are not all called to do the same thing. There will never again be a covenant nation on the earth. The one that once stood failed to adhere to their covenant, so the only path to peace with God is through individual spiritual redemption. We will still be His people, but our identity is rooted in Heaven, not on this earth. So this is no longer an earthly covenant nation of people in one place. We are a kingdom of hearts throughout this world preparing to leave it.

We do not need to act in concert. God does not require that for His glory. Rather, He has revealed through His Son that what holds us together is a moral and spiritual bond, a mystical union that transcends human understanding. We come together in fellowship quite literally against all the fleshly boundaries that should keep us apart. We do not look for human reasons to feel like we belong together.

What holds us together is a transcendent orientation, a shared heart-led faculty of faith. We celebrate faith that drives us in a thousand different directions, not fleshly unity. Should the days ahead find me out in the field of battle against some human foe led by demons, I will celebrate your faith to face torment and persecution as spiritual warfare against the same demons provoking fear inside your soul.

If you believe the Lord requires you to submit to persecution, then you had better do that. You can trust Him to guard your health against a forced vaccine, or to simply handle with grace the suffering and death that comes from it. You will know in your heart which outcome God wants you to handle in demonstrating His shalom. If I am killed, it will be no different, for it is faith in my convictions that puts me there. In the Kingdom of Heaven, death is just a circumstance.

Radix Fidem is not about outcomes; I’ve said that before. It’s not about the choices you make, but how you arrived at those choices. Sure, I’ll be glad for some fellowship in the field, but that’s not a call for you to join me. That’s a call for you to pray and follow your own convictions, and tell me all about the miracles of God at work in your life. That will encourage me to stay faithful to my own mission.

His glory is our reason to live and die.

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Law of Moses — 1 Samuel 12:6-25

Posted on July 4, 2020 by ehurst

The people got their king. The Lord chose Saul, a handsome Benjamite man who stood head and shoulders above the average Israeli man. His reign was more like a warlord than a proper king. He called the people to battle against the Ammonites and they won. Samuel was about to retire from his formal leadership duties, and called the nation to hear his last word of prophecy as Judge.

He started by recounting how the Lord had led them through judges, starting with the Exodus. Then he listed a few of the major wars they had with neighboring kingdoms, pointing out how Jehovah had no trouble defeating their enemies through the leadership of judges. Yet here comes one of the lesser threats, and they come insisting that God give them a king to lead them into battle.

So here you go, Israel. Behold your king! And if you obey the Lord, things will likely go well enough. But if you disobey Him, it won’t matter who wears the title, because you’ll be under some other nation’s yoke again.

Then as a reminder of just Whom they were dealing with, Samuel put on a demonstration. Here it was the wheat harvest, long after the early and latter rainy seasons. Samuel said he would call on the Lord to send a highly unseasonable thunderstorm and rain that would threaten their wheat harvest. Before the day was over, it came.

So the leadership confessed that they had sinned, and begged Samuel to intercede for them so that harvest would not be destroyed, nor would they be struck by lightening out in the open hills where they were gathered. Samuel told them they really had nothing to fear unless they forgot this lesson and chased after empty idolatry again. They must follow the Lord with all their hearts.

Of course, Samuel affirmed that he was not retiring from praying for them, only retiring from judging. But if they slipped back into idolatry, they and their king would suffer.

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A Good Time to Prepare

Posted on July 3, 2020 by ehurst

The mission of the gospel is the whole point of living.

I know this picture doesn’t really look like much, but it represents about 200 yards of the roadside I cleared this morning. The foliage previously jutted out into the traffic lane to the point it was scratching vehicles that passed by, unless they drifted left almost across the center line. It was my contribution to Independence Day festivities.

Do you see how this glorifies our Lord? Do you see how this is the gospel in action? It wasn’t just because I was annoyed by the foliage when I rode past on my bike; it was a problem for everyone who uses this road. Why the county road crews have done nothing for the several years it was a problem I cannot say, but I took care of it.

You must live the gospel in your daily existence. All the more so do we pursue His glory during times of chaos. His promise is not that we avoid tribulation, but that He empowers us to handle it in a way that reflects His glory. His glory is always in our best interest; it’s always consistent with His intention for us.

In my convictions, a mandatory vaccine would cross that line in the sand, representing the Mark of the Beast. That may not be the case for you; it’s between you and the Holy Spirit. I can tolerate a lot of evil that I cannot control, but my conscience demands I draw the line with something that invasive and so clearly intended to harm. Those not killed by the virus risk being killed by the vaccine, or by starvation from economic distress.

Look for the homeless population to swell. I could easily be among them if things go badly here in Oklahoma. Up to now, I’ve sensed things will go well here, that we have a good chance our leaders will refuse to play along with bad federal policy. I can’t guess what you’ll face where you live. You’ll have to prayerfully watch that for yourself. But I can tell you I’m quite ready and willing to go on the run, to seek a safe refuge, if that becomes necessary. Unless there’s a viable and significant organized resistance, there’s not much use in violence. I won’t say no use, but not much. Folks, it really will be that bad.

And I’m quite serious when I suggest the SJWs will do their darnedest to close off any access to publication they don’t approve of, particularly on the Net. I’m convinced there is a high probability of my other blog being shut down in the coming months. Even this blog is somewhat at risk; already the mail service attached to this blog is blocked by a lot of ISPs. We may have to resort to some kind of encrypted private communications other than email and blogs.

But while it’s still possible, I’m encouraging all you to make sure for yourselves that you are ready to face this with little or no communication. When it’s gone, it will be sudden and without warning. Here are the email addresses I use right now:

jehurst@gmail.com
ehurst909@gmail.com
ehurst@radixfidem.blog
br073n@outlook.com
jhurst18@cox.net

The first is my oldest, from way back when Gmail was still new. The second one is more recent. Again, the one in the middle may not be able to send to your address. The Outlook account is paid for (part of Office 365), and it has been quite reliable. The last is my home ISP account. Keep in mind that, so far, the forum has been quite safe, and features a means for passing private messages. If every other means of publication goes down, the forum will be the fallback. It would be very easy to make it members only.

You’ll have to decide how much these things matter to your in your Kingdom service.

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What’s Required of You

Posted on June 30, 2020 by ehurst

There a burning sense of duty in my heart. It’s as if things can’t happen fast enough so I can respond with the Word of the Lord. I have a million things to say, but not until the context calls for the message. It is the context that gives birth to the words.

Honestly can I say that I did not plan on doing a fundraiser for the new bike. Someone else was moved to make that happen. Even then, once I got half-way into it, I became convinced that the bike I first targeted was not the right one. I can’t even recall now how I ended up with a gravel bike instead of a touring or mountain bike. Truth is, my flesh would still prefer a mountain bike, but my heart knows beyond all doubt I got the right one. I’m not sure what it’s right for, but my convictions shout loudly that this will be perfect for the unseen mission ahead.

The same story with the laptop. Do I really need a laptop, since I have such a fine desktop system? Somehow, I’m convinced I do. My flesh did not like letting go of that fancy little thing I bought a couple of years ago, but I knew in my heart it was necessary. It was just dandy for a while, but then the situation changed. So I gave it away to a brother in the Lord to support his mission, and bought something cheaper. I still don’t know what this new one is for, but my convictions tell me it’s important for something unseen.

If I’m crazy, I hope I can confine the damage to myself. But I can’t be silent about the story God says I have to tell. I have always wondered when the crisis would get rolling; it’s here now. I’m about to find out what this anticipation exploding in my chest for the last two decades means.

If you don’t sense that same anticipation, there’s nothing I can do to give it to you. This is not about selling the idea; it’s about supporting those already under conviction about it. If you keep running up against that big mountain of expectation about things, then maybe I can help you find the shape of it so you’ll know what to do about it.

May the Lord help you see what He requires of you.

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Is It Wrong to Be Human?

Posted on June 29, 2020 by ehurst

A critical element in the warfare we now see within the US is the business of shaming. It’s used as a bludgeon. The obvious answer to this to be a ghost who cannot be struck: Have no shame.

It’s not as if we can avoid the very human sense of regret, so that we humbly ask God for pardon from our sins. But shame is not a healthy ingredient in all of this. Shame is the sense that we have something to hide from the morally superior, while regret is trying to clean up the mess. As one of my friends says, you need to be ready to expose the skeletons in your closet before someone else does.

But the assurance of God’s forgiveness should never be in doubt. This is where faith comes into the equation; by faith we can gain that sense of assurance that we can still be used by God. He uses broken vessels because there aren’t any other kind, but only those who submit to Him.

To be a fallible human is not a sin, but it is because of sin nature that we are creatures of flesh. This is not what God had in mind; we weren’t designed for this. Our fleshly existence is the penalty for choosing to ignore divine revelation. Someday this will all go away and all things will be restored to God’s original concept.

Hell is not the prison; this fallen existence is the prison. Hell is facing God without a covenant relationship that makes us family. It means serving your time in prison without repentance. It means standing before God with the full guilt for rejecting Him, and the full assurance there is no longer any remedy offered.

Don’t accept the shame thrown at you by others. We who have been redeemed gladly admit to being mortal, yet without wallowing in it. We can see clearly in the mirror of the Word that we are corrupt and perverted, but we also see the power of God to cleanse and deliver. Granted, there’s no need to provocatively yell in public all our sins. Rather, we admit to the truth when it becomes pertinent.

So handle it well with the Lord in prayer before facing the enemy and his millions of flaming darts. Don’t be a target for false shaming. No one is any better, so they have no standing to accuse. Only Christ can point out your sins, because He was the innocent Lamb of God who died for those sins.

“Yep, I’m as racist as you are.” Just change the word “racist” to whatever false accusation is being hurled at you. The only difference is that we have knelt at the foot of the Cross and repented. “Show me your repentance,” is another good reply.

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Law of Moses — 1 Samuel 8

Posted on June 27, 2020 by ehurst

There is something subtle that most Western readers miss in this chapter. It’s not a question of having a single leader; Samuel was already that. In the past they had Moses, Joshua and a few judges who played that role. There’s no sin in asking for another judge. There’s no sin in asking for a senior national elder. But a king is a different matter.

Had the people asked for restoration of the Tabernacle and a High Priest, it would have helped a great deal. They didn’t seem to care much about that. They wanted to be like the nations around them, which is precisely the wrong thing to request. It was a slap in the face of God, who was their true King. If God is King, then the resource burden is confined to His tithe, His devoted tribe of servants, etc. With a human king, it adds another tithe on all produce and people and labor, and more.

The first three verses of this chapter show us there is a valid complaint. This is the weakness of inherited leadership over divinely appointed leadership. Samuel should have had the sense to seek the Lord for a better successor long ago. Who can say how things broke down with his sons, but it was a bad situation and they were not judging righteously.

So the tribal elders gathered to Samuel at his old home, Ramah (Ramathaim-zophim AKA Rathamin). Instead of asking his guidance, they presented a demand they had agreed upon before they came. When Samuel approached the Lord, he got a sympathetic ear. But the Lord took it as a personal insult Himself. In essence, the response was to give them what they wanted, but to also warn them what it would cost.

Thus, Samuel counts out for them the kinds of things a human king must have to reign. It’s an impressive list, and just scratches the surface. Then Samuel added a warning: You can choose your own king, and when things go bad, God will not deliver you from what may come to seem like your worst enemy ever.

They didn’t care at all about that. They insisted on being like every other nation in that region. This was the voice of fear, wanting a cheap answer to a complex problem they had made for themselves. So Samuel returned to the Lord to hear from Him; was Jehovah sure He wanted to do this? Yep. Give them what they want. Samuel dismissed the assembled elders because it wasn’t going to happen that day.

From this narrative, we learn just how truculent Israel was. They refused to see what a grand and special nation they could be, not requiring the follies of fleshly accommodation typical of the rest of the world. Yet it also shows just how weak the Covenant could be against the sins of laziness (refusing to occupy all the land and driving out the Canaanites) and fear (wanting a fearsome human ruler instead of an even more fearsome God). This is part of how the Law teaches us not to expect much, even when men have a direct revelation from God, unless they are individually redeemed and walking in faith.

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