In 1 Samuel Chapter 8 Israel wants to be like the other nations, but God had always wanted them to be different to the other nations.

The “if” game is never possible, but what if Israel had truly followed the law from the beginning, how could this have been a unique nation unlike any other? Firstly poverty in Israel would have been minimal, the economy would have been strong, the land would have been healthy and produced continual harvests because of the sabbath rests, effectively fertilising the land.

Other nations would have become jealous and it would have demonstrated that the fertility cults of other nations were false. Even without active evangelism, the nation would have become a witness to the power of God. Other nations would have wanted to have become like them. Instead with narrow minds they want to be like the other nation ...