About 1 Samuel 12
In chapter 12 Samuel defends his ministry to the people of Israel, all the while encouraging them [verse 20], reminding them of God’s promise [v. 22] and informing them of the consequences of continuing to sin [verses 23-25].
“Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king. Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.”
“No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.”
“The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today,” Samuel declared, “that my hands are clean.”
“Yes, he is a witness,” they replied.
“It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the great things the Lord has done for you and your ancestors.
“When the Israelites were in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land. But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them.
“Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from the Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’ Then the Lord sent Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to save you, and you lived in safety.
“But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king. All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
“Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
“Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”
So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. “Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.” “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him.
Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”
Samuel reminded the Israelites of all the things that God has done for them; from appointing Moses and Aaron to lead them out of Egypt when they cried out to him, to sending judges to rescue them from the Philistines and Moabites, who were able to conquer them to begin with due to the Israelites forgetting about the Lord and worshipping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. And even now giving them a king, a request that came out of the Israelites fear of Nahash, the King of Ammon.
Samuel is very clear that the Israelites have a king due to them requesting it. “You asked for him, and the LORD has granted your request.” (1 Samuel 12:13, NLT).
After saying this, Samuel gives them a charge: fear and worship the LORD and listen to his voice (12:14). And he gives them consequences if they don’t do this: But if you rebel against the LORD and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors. (12:15).
Then Samuel reminded them again who God is through praying for God to send rain and God answered immediately, because God is listening to us and He is ready to answer our prayers. 1 Peter 3:12 tells us:
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.
Before we go into the last half of this chapter, I want us to take note of all Samuel has told the Israelites because it applies to us as well.
We need to remember who God is.
We need to remember what God has done.
We need to remember what God can do.
I want to give us a few of God’s name to serve as a reminder of all the above:
God is:
Jehovah Rapha - the Lord that Heals [Exodus 15:26]
Jehovah Jireh- the Lord Will Provide [Genesis 22:14]
Jehovah Nissi - the Lord My Banner [Exodus 17:13-16]
Jehobah-Raah - the Lord My Shepherd [Exodus 33:11a]
Jehovah-Shammah - the Lord is There [Ezekiel 48:35]
If we can remember all of this, we will be able to do as Samuel instructs Israel in the latter half of chapter 12:
“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”
Key things Samuel says here:
Don’t be afraid and continue on worshipping the LORD with all your heart.
The LORD will not abandon his people.
It pleases the LORD to make you his very own people.
Fear the LORD and faithfully serve him.
Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.
If you continue to sin, you will be swept away.
The last portion is not to scare us, but to remind us that there are consequences. Just as when we were children, we had to deal with the consequences of our misbehavior from our parents.
Sin is sin.
The good news is that unlike the Old Testament Israelites, we have a savior who redeemed us. And though we still should walk in righteousness, we have been cleansed of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. But Jesus didn’t just bear our sins and our sickness, when He ascended to heaven He sent down the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Just as the Holy Spirit was in Him while He did His ministry work on earth, giving Him strength to resist the devil and remain a perfect sacrifice, the Holy Spirit gives us strength to overcome temptation.
You receive the Holy Spirit the moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have access to Him and He is ready to guide you towards the plans that God has for you.
The big take away from this chapter for me is that we must remember all the things God has done for us.
What has God rescued you from?
I know my life would’ve been much different had I not submitted my life to God back in 2018. I was actually thinking about it the other day; I firmly believe that had I not listened to God back then to leave my job, the stress would’ve led me to depression which would’ve led me to going through Suicide. I can confirm that because the Holy Spirit even revealed to me back then Luke 13:6-9:
“Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’””
The same warning Samuel gave to the Israelites applied to me. Had I continued to sin - had I carried on disobeying God, I would’ve been swept away.
What I’ve learned over the years is that: even if you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior you cannot remain lukewarm. There are a few scriptures that reference our inactiveness in the Kingdom of God and the consequences that will bear:
1. Revelations 3:16
But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
2. Matthew 12:30
Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
3. Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
I was a believer but I wasn’t doing any work for the Kingdom. I was living for myself not for Jesus. Sometimes I wouldn’t even call myself a Christian. But once I made the decision to fully submit my life to God and do as He asks of me, a revival occurred in my life and here I am today, doing an entire Bible Study series on YouTube and sticking to it. That’s all Jesus.
This can be you too. Submit your life to Jesus, and live a life in pursuit of God. Not the universe, but God Almighty, the Creator of the universe. Stop worshiping the creation and seek the Creator.
Thank you for reading!
Let me know your thoughts below!
