1 Samuel 12 - Samuel's Last Address to the Nation

Previously in 1 Samuel, we saw King Saul go to battle against the Ammonites and soundly defeat them.  After this, the entire nation rallied around Saul, and Samuel had them all go to Gilgal to renew the kingdom.  They offered peace offerings unto the Lord, and Saul, along with all the people rejoiced greatly.  It was a coronation that was more like a big Church service.  The following chapter is really a continuation of this event, and Samuel takes the opportunity to speak to the people.  Sometimes the word of God edifies and comforts us, but sometimes it corrects and exhorts us.  As joyous as the worship part of the service was, we may have a tendency to think the sermon would follow suit, however, in this case, it would be more of the corrective and exhorting type.

Samuel said, “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.  And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.  Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”  The people responded that he had not done any of those things.  It’s not such an amazing thing that Samuel would state he was a man who judged with integrity, for we see corrupt leaders proclaim their own honesty and integrity all the time.  What is amazing is that the people had nothing bad to say of him, but agreed that he was an honest man.  Oh, that the same would be said of us.  Samuel responded that the Lord and the king were witness against them that they did not find anything in his hand.  He had been a good leader, and there was no real good reason for them to have been discontented with him other than they wanted to be like the world.

He told them to stand still, and he would reason with them before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to them and their Fathers.  Next, he gives them a little history lesson.  He reminded them that it was the Lord who brought them out of Egypt by the hand of Aaron and Moses when they cried out to Him and brought them into their land.  However, when they rebelled, the Lord sold them into the hands of their enemies.  Then, when they would cry out to the Lord and confess their sins, He would raise up judges (Samuel being the last) to deliver them.  In other words, this was the Lord’s manner of governing His people, He would raise up someone to lead them by serving them rather than a king to rule over them.  However, when Nahash came against them, they became fearful and insisted on having a king.  Now, they had asked for a king before Nahash came against them in battle, so it would seem as though they had begun to reconsider their choice.  However, when Nahash came on the scene, they abandoned these thoughts for fear of what might happen to them.  They insisted on a king when God was their King.  Fear has an amazing way of convincing us to give up our God-given freedoms, and in some cases, those that have been secured by bloodshed.  The past two years of COVID are pretty convincing evidence of this.

Samuel stated, “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the Lord has set a king over you.”  Notice again that they made their choice, and God gave them what they wanted.  He told them that if they would fear, serve, and obey the Lord, they would continue in a right relationship with Him.  However, if they did not obey the voice of the Lord, then His hand would be against them just like it was with their fathers.  The problems they previously had were because of their sin, and having a king would not change this.  The Lord would still deal with them in the same manner, king or no.

As proof the Lord did not approve of their wickedness in requesting a king, Samuel told them that he would pray to the Lord to send thunder in rain in the middle of their wheat harvest.  For those of us who have lived in farm country, rain is not good when it is harvest time, especially for wheat, hay, or cherries.  So, Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day.  The people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel, and they said, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”  Samuel told them to not be afraid despite having done all this wickedness.  The Lord’s discipline is never unto someone’s destruction, but is done for their own good.  He told them to not turn aside from following the Lord, but to serve Him with all their hearts.  He told them to not turn aside from the Lord, for then they would go after empty things (idols) which could not profit or deliver, for they are empty.  The Lord would not forsake His people for His great name’s sake, for it pleased Him to make them His people.  This is true for us as Christians as well: although we may have wickedly sinned against Him, and though He may discipline us, He will not forsake us, for it has pleased Him to make us His people. 

Samuel continued, Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.  Wow! I like this about Samuel.  He considered it a sin to not continually pray and intercede for the people.  The people had rejected his leadership and asked for a king, and it may have been tempting for him to give up on them.  However, he did not give up on them because he feared God and loved the people enough to want to teach them the good and right way.  This would be his last address to the entire nation, and it may have also been tempting to try to end on a good note.  However, his fear and love for God kept him from yielding to that temptation.  Again, this is what made Samuel such a great leader.  Sure, he was bothered by their rejection of him, but he cared more what the Lord thought of him.  If we are serving people for what we may get from them, we will be sadly disappointed.  If they turned on Samuel, and if they turned on the Son of God, they will turn on us as well.  However, if we serve others out of our fear and love for God, we will remain faithful in our love and service to them even when that love is not returned.

Samuel feared God, and he admonished the people to do the same.  He told them to serve the Lord in truth with all their hearts.  They needed to come to God the right way, and they needed to be sincere about it.  He told them to consider what great things the Lord had done for them.  God is a God worth serving because of the great things He has done for us.  No god has stepped off his throne, took on human flesh, loved and served people, and allowed those same people to put him to death so he could save them.  No other god has given us life, breath, and everything else we have to enjoy.  He is our Father, King, Comforter, and Friend.  He truly has done and continues to do great things for us.  He deserves to be served in truth with all our hearts.  Samuel ends with the warning that if they would still do wickedly, they and their king would be swept away.  He is a great God, but He is also a God who will not allow wickedness to go unpunished.

Reader, are you serving the Lord in truth with all your heart?  Do you profess to be a Christian, but are doing so insincerely?  The Bible says we are to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are in the faith.  This does not mean we are to worry whether or not we have lost our salvation, but question our faith if there is a biblical reason for it.  Did you put on Jesus Christ merely to improve your life rather than to forgive and save you from your sins?  Did you trust in the wrong Jesus, a Jesus who is made in your own image to suit your fleshly desires rather than the true and living God as the Scriptures proclaim Him to be?  If you have not genuinely been born again, please do so today.  Place your complete trust in the Jesus Christ of the Bible for salvation, and repent from your sins.  If you continue to do wickedly in rejecting the Son of God, you will be swept away on the day of judgment, but if you receive Him as Lord and Savior , you will receive everlasting life.  Are you a believer who is walking in rebellion to the Lord?  Remember, it is the Lord who has saved us from Hell, the cruel bondage of sin, and has given us victory over Satan.  Maybe you are fearful of what the consequences might be if you simply do what the word of God says, but we can never go wrong if we obey the Lord.  Do not go after those things that are empty, for they cannot satisfy.  If you continue in your rebellion, you will still be a child of God, but the Lord may send you a thunder storm in the middle of your harvest.  This could be literal if you are a farmer, or if not, it could be something else.  He knows how to make His discipline count.  If we still persist in our sin, we will rob ourselves of the Lord’s blessing, and some of this loss can be permanent.  However, if He does, it is because He loves us and is pleased to have made us his children.  We needn’t be afraid, for He will never leave or forsake us, but we may find ourselves riding the bench (to borrow a sports analogy) until repentance becomes more desirable to us.  So far, Saul has reigned well, but in the following chapter we will see him make a mistake that will have permanent consequences.