THE BOOK OF 1 SAMUEL

You may have a king but trust the Lord

1 Samuel 12:12-22 SCC 12/14/14

 

WHEN YOU SERVE THE LORD DO SO WITH PERSONAL INTEGRITY 1-5

Samuel had not given the people occasion to demand a king

Why did Samuel feel the need to justify his behavior publicly?

1. Perhaps he knew that because the people had rebelled against God by demanding a king they would experience discipline from the Lord. When it came he did not want anyone to think he was responsible for it.

2.Also, it is likely that Samuel took the people’s request for a king as a personal rejection of himself. He probably wanted to show the people that they had no reason to reject him because of his behavior. No one concludes that living a life of commitment to God, as he had lived, would bring God’s discipline. The discipline to come would be a result of the sin of the people, not Samuel.

3. He was also seeking to vindicate the type of rule he represented that was God’s will for Israel then. Here a keyword is the verb take v 3. If kingship was to be characterized by the tendency to take rather than to give (1 Sam 8), it was otherwise with the prophet. As he stepped down from high office, Samuel’s hands were empty v 5. If Samuel is found “not guilty” of all the charges the Israelites have made against him, then by inference Israel must be guilty of having falsely made these charges.

NB: Basically four biblical priorities to live by depending upon the season of your life.

WHEN WE SLIGHT THE LORD IT’S OFTEN BASED ON FORGETTING HIS FAITHFULNESS TO US 6-12

Neither had God given the people occasion to demand a king.

1. Samuel scans Israel’s history from the day of the nation’s birth at the exodus to the present moment, when Israel now has the king they demanded v 6. Citing illustrations from the major periods (the exodus and Israel’s wilderness wanderings, the possession of the land under Joshua, and the period of the judges), Samuel seeks to demonstrate a very consistent pattern of behavior on Israel’s part, and on God’s part in dealing with His people v 7-8. One cannot pin negligence on God.

2. Although God graciously gives His people deliverance from their enemies, Israel forgets God v 9. So the Mosaic Covenant stipulated that God give the nation over to its neighbors, enemies and oppressors who afflict God’s people (Sisera, Philistines and Eglon). Deuteronomy’s message: do not forget God!

3. The Israelites then acknowledge their sin and cry out to Him for deliverance, which He graciously grants v 10. The point: it was not Moses and Aaron who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage -- it was God. It was God who “appointed Moses,” and it was God who “brought their fathers out from the land of Egypt.” From the very beginning, it has never been men – not even great men like Moses – who were Israel’s deliverers, it was God. He cites instance after instance of God’s care and protection of His people, as their King v 11. The aftermath: so that you lived in security v 11.

THE FIRST STEP BACK TO GOD IS ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGING THE SIN THAT CAUSED IT 12-18

1. In verse 12, Samuel links the history he has just recited to the present situation. Like the Israelites of old, God’s people are once again oppressed by a neighboring nation. Samuel seems to stress the fact that something “snapped” when Nahash and the Ammonites attacked Israel. Somehow he managed to terrorize them, so that they felt a king was necessary. The response of the Israelites of Samuel’s day to this threat is not like the Israelites he has just described in the preceding verses. They understood that the oppression they suffered at the hands of their enemies was due to their sin. The Israelites of old repented of their sin and cried out to God for deliverance.

2. This is not so with those who now stand before Samuel at Gilgal. These folks do not acknowledge that the reason for their troubles is sin. They attribute their problems to bad leadership, specifically Samuel and his sons’ “bad leadership.” Their solution is not to repent of their sin and cry out to God for deliverance; their solution is to get rid of Samuel and obtain a king just like the other nations have! Notice the “No” at the beginning of the Israelites’ response to Samuel in verse 12. They do not want deliverance God’s way; they want deliverance their way. Well, Israel has their king, but God’s people must know that their demands for a king constituted a most serious sin. It was a failure to trust God. It was putting their trust in a man, rather than in God.

3. In spite of the sin Israel commits against God by asking for a king, God is gracious to His people. Samuel tells the people that Saul is their king, not His king. This king is the one they have chosen, the one for whom they ask v 13. God sets this one over them as king, but he is their king. Samuel seems to say that the obedience of the nation to the command of the Lord is the key to national peace and prosperity -- not the prowess of their leader v 14. The king is not the key to Israel’s success. The key is Israel’s trust in and obedience to her God v 15 (‘of the Lord’ repeated three times here).

4. In a fashion, which appears Elijah-like, Samuel announces divine judgment as an indication of the seriousness of Israel’s sin in asking for a king, which is imminent v 16-17. Though it is not the time for storms or great rain, in response to Samuel’s prayer, a great thunderstorm breaks upon the nation. The storm is a reminder that Samuel is God’s prophet, and that rejecting him is not a good idea. It gives great emphasis to Samuel’s words, which exposes the demand for a king as a sin. The outcome of Samuel’s preaching and especially the storm is the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel v 18.

NB: Judgment and favor is tied to the land for Israel. The lands bounty is dependent upon Israel’s obey.

GOD IS GRACIOUS WHEN WE REPENT AND CONFESS THE SIN OF SLIGHTING HIM

1. The people’s rebellion against God was not something they could undo v 19. First, notice that the people do not look to their king for deliverance, but to Samuel. The Israelites now recognize that their foremost problem is not political leadership, but sin. For this, they request Samuel to pray to the Lord on their behalf. Samuel is known as a man of prayer Jer 15:1; Psa 99:6.

2. Second, Samuel urges the people of Israel to trust in God rather than in men. Nevertheless Samuel counseled them to follow and serve the Lord faithfully from then on v 20. They should not fear that God would abandon them because of their sin of demanding a king.

3. Without minimizing the magnitude of their sin, Samuel gives them good reason for faith, hope, and endurance. They must not “turn aside from following the Lordv 20, but they must turn aside from going after “futile things which can not profit or deliverv 21. Specifically, this is a king who trusts and serves in place of God. It is not wrong, per se, to have a king. It is wrong to trust in any man for deliverance. Only God can truly save and deliver. He would not cast them off because He had promised to stay with them and had committed Himself to them. His name (reputation) would suffer if He abandoned them v 22. NB: God risks his reputation based upon our lives.

4. Third, Samuel urges the Israelites to trust in God, whose faithfulness is the basis for their hope and salvation v 23-24. Israel’s obedience and service to God is spoken of as the result of God’s grace, not its cause. God comes to the rescue of His sinful people because they “cried out” for God’s deliverance, not because they are worthy of it v 8, 10. Even so, God was willing to grant their request and give them a king, and to continue to keep His covenant with them. The change to a monarchy, however, did not set aside the Mosaic Covenant and its requirements. God would continue to bless Israel if they and their king obeyed His commandments v 24. If they or their king rebelled against His commandments, then God would bring judgment on them v 25.

Conclusion

God actively disciplines His people when they sin. God consistently chides us to correct our lives and keep us on the right path. God does not punish is. He attempts to correct us. We punish ourselves.

Be careful not to secularize sin. The Israelites fail to discern that their problems (the oppression they experience from the neighboring nations) are of divine origin, and that it is divine discipline of their sin. It was not the result of inadequate leadership but sin. Sin is a spiritual issue not a secular one. We are not higher animals who can be trained and engineered but spiritual creatures needing regeneration.

God is our ultimate and final leader. We idolize our leaders and put our faith in them rather than in God. God is the ultimate source of our trials and testing’s and chastening, and blessing.  

Our greatest battle is forgetting God and slighting Him. I like to hike and often I say ‘look up’ because it is natural to keep head down to watch steps and forget I am hiking. Can be so busy performing spiritual gymnastics, your relationship with God gets lost in the weeds.

Prayer is the way to avoid slighting God in your life. Prayer is a God-given discipline that avoids forgetting God, His faithfulness, His ability, and His concern. Enumerate His faithfulness.