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1 Samuel 8:7 – Who Are the Three Kings of Israel?
Who are the three kings of Israel? Technically and literally, the immediate thought recalls Saul, David and Solomon. But I wonder if there is another way to ask and answer this question, a moral application.
Spiritually, the three kings of Israel are: Yahweh, Self, and Satan.
The first and rightful king of Israel was God Himself, Yahweh. When Israel asked for a king, God said, “They have rejected Me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7). God can be rejected today, as Jesus is our King (Acts 2).
The third king of Israel was not of their choosing, and yet it was. They did not choose to submit to Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, or Cyrus. But God turned them over to their lifestyle choices, to foreign kings, to enslavement, to the loss of privilege and promise. God essentially turned them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh (1 Cor.5:5).
In between, between rejecting God and God rejecting them, we literally have all the kings of Israel united, and Israel and Judah divided. This to me, represents the daily struggle of living in the world. Not fully pleasing God, and yet not totally enslaved to sin. If I do not abdicate my throne, and if I do not choose the God of Heaven, then I will serve the King of Hell for eternity.
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