The leaders of Israel come to Samuel to ask for a king. Samuel does not think this a good idea but, after praying to God, he comes back to them with God’s warning about what having a king would mean – conscripted armies, tithes and taxes. But the people insist. So, Samuel takes them all to Gilgal where they find Saul and make him their king.

The choices made by those in today’s reading impacted many generations that followed; and, as we will discover over the next few weeks, some of those consequences were big. What influences and contributes to choices that we make? Are we aware of what the consequences will or might be? Where is God in the decisions we make? And if we feel anxious about such things, remember that there is no choice that can’t be used by God to draw us closer to the kingdom.