Session 5
Feared
1
Samuel 12:12-22
Context:
1 Samuel 12:1-25
Memory
Verse: 1 Samuel 12:20
Main
Idea: God’s character and power demand
reverential fear.
FIRST
THOUGHTS
Lou Gehrig stands among some of the most
famous New York Yankee baseball players. He was elected to the game’s highest
honor, the Hall of Fame, in an unprecedented act shortly after his retirement
from the game. Gehrig’s name has become interchangeable with the debilitating
disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) that forced him to retire in 1939.
Though he is remembered for his remarkable accomplishments and longevity on the
baseball diamond, perhaps his lasting legacy is the farewell speech he gave at
Yankee Stadium on the day of his retirement. He corrected those who might
surmise he was a victim of bad luck. Instead, he counted the many blessings he
had been given and concluded that he considered himself the luckiest man on the
face of the earth.
If you were preparing your farewell speech,
what would be the major emphasis of your remarks?
Chapter 12 records a pivotal moment in
the Book of 1 Samuel and in the public ministry of Samuel the prophet. What at
first appeared to be the public inauguration of Saul as king became Samuel’s
farewell address to the nation and includes his lengthiest speech. As one might
expect, the prophet’s last words to the people touched on what was most
important. Samuel called on the nation of Israel to renew their covenant with
God. Part of their responsibility in this covenant was to fear and reverence
God.
I. UNDERSTAND
THE CONTEXT
1
Samuel 12:1-25
This chapter marks one of the most
significant episodes in the history of Israel. There are a number of such
pivotal episodes. Among them would be the call of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), the
exodus from Egypt (Ex. 7–15), the covenant at Sinai (Ex. 19–24), the conquest
of Canaan (Josh. 3–12), the covenant with David (2 Sam. 7), and the fall of
Jerusalem (Jer. 52). Like all of those events, 1 Samuel 12 marks a radical
change in the history of Israel. It signaled the end of the loose confederation
of judges and the beginning of the Israelite monarchy. From the day Samuel gave
the address recorded here until the fall of Jerusalem, kings would rule the
Israelites. There would be no going back to the old order.
Samuel’s speech marked the standard by
which God would judge Israel now that they were a monarchy. Henceforth, God’s
judgment would always make reference to the ruling kings. The nation would be
evaluated in terms of whether the king did good or evil in the eyes of the Lord
(see 1 Kings 11:6; 15:26; 16:25; 2 Kings 8:18; 10:30). In order to grasp the
crucial place 1 Samuel 12 holds, we need to see how it is laid out.
1.
Samuel established his credentials with the testimony of his life (vv. 1-7).
2.
Samuel retold the story of Israel from the exodus to the request for a king
(vv. 8-12).
3.
Samuel laid down God’s conditions (vv. 13-15).
4.
Samuel established his credentials with a sign (vv. 16-18).
5.
The people responded with repentance and fear (v. 19).
6.
Samuel gave words of exhortation and comfort (vv. 20-25).
Samuel established his credentials first
by asking if anyone had cause to accuse him of having abused his power. Had he
taken someone’s property, such as an ox or donkey, or had he taken a bribe? The
people willingly affirmed that Samuel had done no such thing. If he had behaved
in such a manner, he would have had no moral authority to rebuke them or to lay
down God’s requirements. Since no one could make such a charge, he told them to
brace themselves for what he had to say.
As Samuel retold the story of Israel, he
focused on how God had always saved them from their troubles. Through Moses and
Aaron, God had saved them from slavery in Egypt. When they sinned, God punished
them with attacks from the Moabites, Philistines, and other enemies. When they
repented, God gave them judges, including Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel
himself. These heroic figures gave them victories and security. But when Nahash
of the Ammonites began to terrify them, the old strategy of calling out to God
for help was no longer good enough for them. They wanted a king. Samuel’s point
was obvious. For hundreds of years God had proven that He could save Israel
from any foe, as long as they put aside their idols and turned to Him for help.
But now they were placing their hope in a king.
II. EXPLORE
THE TEXT
A. The covenant revisited (1 Sam. 12:12-15)
12
“And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you
said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. 13
And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold,
the Lord has set a king over you. 14
If you will fear the Lord and
serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who
reigns over you will follow the Lord
your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of
the Lord, but rebel against the
commandment of the Lord, then the
hand of the Lord will be against
you and your king.
Verses 12-14
In one sense, everything had
changed. Israel went from being a loose confederation with no central
government to being a monarchy. Political and social life would be radically different.
In another sense, nothing had changed. The terms that set the relationship
between God and Israel were found in the Sinai Covenant. It had been
established at Mount Sinai, as described in Exodus 19–24, and reaffirmed and
given careful elaboration on the Plains of Moab just before the conquest, as
described in Deuteronomy. The core of the law was the Ten Commandments, but
many other stipulations and regulations supplemented and explained the core.
Israel had laws that governed the function of their judicial system, their
property rights, how they were to worship God, and many other details of
life—including even how they were to dress. But the whole of the law came down
to a few simple ideas. Israel was to show devotion to God by keeping His commands
and especially by shunning idols and other gods. Doing this, they would love
God with all their hearts. And Israel was to respect the rights, persons, and
property of others. Doing this, they would love their neighbors. If they did
these things, God would keep them safe and well.
This was the essence of the
Sinai Covenant, and when Israel adopted a monarchy, none of it changed. Israel
would still be judged by these terms. Samuel could not have put it more
succinctly: If you will fear the Lord
and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who
reigns over you will follow the Lord
your God, it will be well. Samuel’s words sound redundant; obviously, if
they obeyed God they would follow Him. But in this case, you will follow Him
effectively means, “you will be right with Him.” In other words, God wouldn’t
lay any more duties on them, and they would be under His protection as long as
they kept the covenant and stayed away from idols. This would be true of both
the king and the people. Both had to keep the covenant, and in that sense,
being under a monarchy would make no difference in regard to how they related
to God.
How
would having a king change the relationship between God and His people? How
would it be different? How would it be the same?
Verse 15
The contrary was also true: But
if you will not obey the voice of the Lord,
but rebel against the commandment of the Lord,
then the hand of the Lord will be
against you and your king. Samuel makes the same point in verse 25. If the
Israelites failed to keep the Sinai Covenant, having a king would make no
difference. Both king and people would be destroyed for their sin.
The Christian church
throughout its history has existed under many forms of government. The first
churches existed under a multi-national empire governed by an emperor in the
city of Rome. Persecution of the churches was at times severe. The late empire
became officially Christian, and this produced different problems for the
churches. The fall of Rome brought about chaos and many small states—the
medieval world of duchies and kingdoms and competing dynasties. Christians in
the east found themselves under Islamic states. The modern world has seen
churches toiling under officially atheistic states in communist regimes.
Christians in America lived first under a foreign power, then under a republic
with a very limited government, and now under a fairly omnipresent republic
operating through a vast bureaucracy. Governments and the ideologies that
support them come and go, but the essential duties laid upon the churches
remain the same. We are to hold fast to our confession of Christ and to the
word of our testimony. We are to behave with integrity and kindness, and we are
to walk humbly with our God. We are look to God and to no human being for our
salvation. No one can deny that Christians in different eras and places have
lived in radically different circumstances, but the core of our identity and of
what God expects of us remains the same.
List
some different circumstances in which Christians live. Some are in prosperous
societies and some are in poor ones. Some are persecuted and others are not.
The world has many governments with many ideologies. How might our Christian
duties change, if at all? What duties do not change? Do different circumstances
make it easier to live as a Christian?
B. A sign Delivered (1 Sam. 12:16-18)
16
Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17
Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know
and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18
So Samuel called upon the Lord,
and the Lord sent thunder and rain
that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord
and Samuel.
Verses 16-18
Rain came to Israel in a
predictable pattern. The rainy season in Israel began in late October and
lasted until February. November–December rains were the “early rains” and
January–February rains were the “latter rains.” Planting of cereals took place
before the rains, and the rain was essential for the growth of the grains.
Cereal harvest began with the barley crop around the time of Passover
(generally in March or April). This was followed by the wheat harvest, which
ended around the time of Pentecost, in May or early June. We see this sequence
in Ruth 2:23, which indicates that Ruth worked the fields of Boaz first during
the barley harvest and then through the wheat harvest. Samuel spoke to the
Israelites at the time of the wheat harvest, meaning that it was probably May.
Rain was virtually unheard of in Israel at this time.
In addition, rain at harvest
time could spell disaster. Proverbs 26:1 alludes to this: “Like snow in summer
or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.” If the fields were
wet, it would be very difficult to cut, bind, carry, and thresh the heads of
grain. Wet grain would be more likely to rot. And, of course, the crops could
be badly damaged if the storms were severe.
When Samuel called down rain
in the normally dry month of May, he was doing two things. First, he was
demonstrating that the words he was about to speak truly came from God. His ability
to command the rain to fall showed that he was a true prophet of God. Second,
the rain at harvest time was a vivid metaphor. Storms in May implied that the
harvest would be ruined; by analogy, Israel’s request for a king would end
badly. The untimely rain, like a locust plague or like a drought in mid-winter,
implied the wrath of God. Israel’s request for a king had been an act of
rebellion. In addition, rains at this time implied a bad harvest, and this
implied a year of want and the danger of starvation. In short, it was an
economic disaster. Samuel had warned the people that having a king would be
economically ruinous for them. The king would seize their lands, their cattle,
their servants, and even conscript their children (1 Sam. 8:11-18). Thus, their
king would come down upon them and their fields like a storm out of season.
Are all
signs from God miraculous? In Matthew 16:2-4, Jesus told the Pharisees that an
evil generation seeks a miraculous sign, but that they could not discern the
signs of the times. Do you see any “signs” of what God is doing on the horizon
right now?
C. God’s Mercy and grace (1 Sam. 12:19-22)
19
And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for
we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20
And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil.
Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord,
but serve the Lord with all your
heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot
profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for
his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.”
Verse 19
The Israelites were
obviously alarmed by what they saw. The rainstorm not only vindicated Samuel,
but it implied that they had committed a great sin in asking for a king. It is
noteworthy that they did not try to take back their request for a king. They
knew that what was done could not be undone. They instead asked Samuel to
intercede for them: for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for
ourselves a king. That is, asking for a king was just one of many sins for
which they bore deep guilt. Their request looks back to the precedent of the
first great prophet of Israel, Moses, who interceded for the nation when it
built the golden calf (Ex. 32:11-14).
Verse 20
Samuel responded with words
of compassion and reassurance: “Do not be afraid.” He did not deny that
what they had done was wrong (the words you have done all this evil affirm
that the Israelites were right to view their request as a sin). But he knew
that God was forgiving and could redeem even bad decisions. The Israelites
would need to do two things.
First, they should remain
loyal to God. They should not turn away from following Him. Sometimes, our sin
can so discourage us that we give up entirely. People abandon the faith not
because they are angry at God but because they are convinced that their guilt
is so terrible that they cannot possibly come back. They should resolve to
continue to serve God and to do what is right even though their actions make
them feel unworthy.
Verses 21-22
Second, they should shun all
idols. These are the empty things that Samuel mentioned. Ancient peoples
turned to idols for health, for prosperity, and for protection from enemies.
The Israelites had turned to a king for protection. But looking to an idol was
many times worse. If the people would simply place their trust in God, He would
continue to watch over them and sustain them, king or no king. Put another way,
asking for a king was a sin, but it was not a fatal sin. Worshiping an idol was
a fatal sin.
Samuel vowed that he would
not sin against God by ceasing to pray for Israel (v. 23). His attitude showed
great maturity. Had he been bitter, he would have said, “Well, they didn’t
listen to me, so they can just live in the mess they have made for themselves!”
But he did not do this. He would continue to ask God to heal them and be
merciful to them. He did, however, leave them with a warning. If they did not
heed his advice and serve God faithfully, nothing else they did would matter.
Both they and their king would go down together (v. 25).
Do you
sometimes get so frustrated at political decisions your country or your
government has made that you cease to pray for them? Do you do the same thing
to family members, to friends, or to your church, when they do something that
is wrong? Why should you continue to pray for people even when you know they
have made a bad decision?
We sometimes make very bad
decisions. These are decisions that are not only wrong but that can never be
fully undone. To give a simple but obvious example: we all have at times gotten
into bad relationships. We can often escape such entanglements with relative
ease. But a bad marriage is something we never fully escape. Years can be lost
in such a marriage, and we can never get those years back. Even if the marriage
ends by death or divorce, it will be with us to the end of life. And this is
just one example. There are many decisions that have repercussions that we
never fully escape.
But even very big, very bad
decisions do not mean that our relationship with God is forever ruined. To a
great extent, it is not changed at all. God forgives, and the clearest picture
of His heart of forgiveness is seen in the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus
Christ. What God wants both before and after our bad decisions is that we fear
and serve Him, that we grow in faith and grace, and that we love one another.
The Israelites made a bad
decision that changed their nation forever. Nevertheless, God’s marching orders
for them—that they keep the Sinai Covenant—remained the same. No matter what we
have done, God’s marching orders for us remain unchanged: that we should
believe and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Describe
the balance between God’s judgment and His grace. When can they complement each
other? When do we see both working simultaneously?
KEY
DOCTRINE
God’s Purpose of Grace
God’s grace is the glorious
display of His sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and
unchangeable.
BIBLE SKILL
Compare and contrast similar situations.
Read 2 Corinthians 13:7–10,
and describe how Paul prayed for the Corinthian Christians. The church at
Corinth was filled with troubles, conflicts, and false beliefs. How does Paul’s
attitude compare to Samuel’s attitude towards God’s people? How do both of them
demonstrate a deep love for God’s people in spite of their failings?
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