For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
God's people ask for something that sounds good — but forget they already have the very best King.
Today's Story
Samuel had grown old. The people came to him and said, “Give us a king to rule over us, like all the other nations have!” They wanted to be just like everyone else around them.
This made Samuel sad, so he prayed about it. And God said something that revealed the real problem: “They are not rejecting you, Samuel. They are rejecting ME as their King. I have always been their King, leading them and caring for them — but they want a human king instead, to be like everyone else.”
God told Samuel to warn the people what a human king would be like — that a king would take their sons, their crops, and their best things. But the people insisted: “No! We still want a king, so we can be like the other nations!”
So God let them have what they asked for. But the truth was, they already had the greatest King of all — GOD Himself! No human king could ever love them or lead them as perfectly as God did. Sometimes we want to be just like everyone else and forget how good we already have it with God.
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- The people wanted a king so they could “be like everyone else.” When is it tempting to just want to be like everyone else?
- They already had God as their King, the best of all! Why is God a better King than anyone?
- What does it mean to be content — happy and thankful — with what God has given us?