1 Samuel 12: 1 – 25
Time to move on
12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and gray headed, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 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. 4 And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.” 6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: 8 When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash 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 “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. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. 15 However, if you do 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, as it was against your fathers. 16 “Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: 17 Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 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 the evil of asking a king for ourselves.” 20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. 23 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. 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
Sometimes you know it’s time to pull the plug. There are just those times when you know that you have to listen to the Holy Spirit. One of those times is when there are signs you should leave your job because they do not want your services anymore. It's never easy, and sometimes you fight against what it might be telling you, but in the long run, trusting His advice is important.
Do you feel like you don't fit in anymore? There is no need to feel bad if this seems to be going on. It just happens. As time goes on, you, as a person, start to grow and sometimes, that means you have grown out of the relationship of your current job. Whether it was because your views have changed or you don't believe in the company anymore, either way, it's just not a good fit.
I want to list for you that there are certain clues which can help you make a decision about staying or going.
You are not being acknowledged for your hard work You know that you had and have been putting all your heart into your job and that you have been sweating all night so you could meet various deadlines. But if your boss doesn't thank you or acknowledge you for how hard you have been working, well, you might be due for a change.
You’re given fewer projects and responsibilities. Any workplace will have a natural ebb and flow to their work; this is to be expected. But when management plans to cut you off from their team they certainly aren’t giving you more projects.
If you’ve been demoted, your role moves into a less important position within the company or your authority is reduced and you are given less meaningful work, it could mean exactly that they do not want you with them anymore.
You’re no longer invited to important meetings. When they want to show you that you should take the clue, managers see little advantage to having you present at meetings.
Your relationship with your boss suddenly changes. If your boss virtually disappears—where it seems like a case of “Where’s Waldo?” and you feel stymied in your job because you can’t e-mail, call, text or visit your boss without hitting a barrier or feeling shut out—he or she is probably taking the easy path: avoidance.
If your boss suddenly becomes unfriendly or critical, there’s no interest in small talk, and a smile is as elusive as your last raise, you might want to start praying what the Lord would want you to do.
Another crummy way to fight against you is with poor feedback and reviews. If your boss sends you regular messages with others delivering the messages and pointing out errors that are causing issues for the company, or if your performance review is continually coming back with reoccurring issues, there’s a good chance they are trying to send a message that they would like you to go somewhere else.
Out of nowhere, you’re being evaluated, and it’s not all rosy. Others may be evaluated, too, but yours is less than stellar. It seems that you can’t seem to do anything right. You don’t hear anything positive. But interestingly enough while you are in the vicinity of an incompetent fellow worker you hear your boss sing out praise that that person is doing an outstanding job.
If in your area of responsibility you have a budget you will find that you are greatly reduced in financing. It appears that they want you to fail yet at the same time hold you responsible for maintaining great results with no resources.
You’re kept out of the loop. Do you feel out of the loop when talking with coworkers? It might seem as if everyone knows about the latest corporate buzz and projects, but you. Or perhaps you’re kept off an email list; you later see message chains that involved your work, but you were not being copied.
Management is avoiding you. They walk by you without recognizing you.
Your colleagues are avoiding you. Much like children avoiding outcasts on the playground, co-workers tend to steer clear of sinking colleagues – who are usually the last to know. If you find that your peers and management are increasingly avoiding you, and invitations to professional and social events are trending downward, an inspection of reasons may be in order.”
You feel invisible. If you suddenly feel like it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t show up at all; your correspondence goes nowhere; your managers do not recognize your completed projects; or your project status reports are ignored—the writing is on the wall.
Someone with the same skill set as you has just been hired. Companies aren’t (generally) in the business of wasting money; this includes the avoidance of redundancy, so if you see that someone has been brought in with your same skill set, and is being trained for duties much similar to yours, unless there is a very clear reason for such an expansion, you should worry about the future of your job.
Samuel was the last official ‘Judge’ that was picked by our Great and Holy God Yahweh. We will see today much of what I just listed regarding the signs that you are not wanted anymore. You can almost feel the heartache of a man who gave his all for his fellowmen and his reward is summed up in being cast aside.
As the great man that he was Samuel thinks more about the Holy and Loving God Who was rejected. Adoni Yahweh was his life and love and the people rejected not only his leadership but the God Who so greatly cared for them.
Now that Samuel could see that Saul’s position was secure he wanted to make clear that as far as he was concerned it was the end of his own ruler ship over Israel. He indicated that he would continue to be Yahweh’s prophet on their behalf, but that they must recognize once and for all that the civil authority now lay in the hands of Saul. This clear break was very wise, for it was important to avoid possible future divisions in the kingdom. No nation could have two masters.
This desire to make a clean break explains why he so openly gave account of his stewardship. It was in order to make abundantly clear to the people that, this account having been made, he bore no further responsibility. He stressed that as a prophet he would certainly continue to pray for them, and that he would instruct them and the king in the right way. But from now on he would not interfere in the ruler ship.
This was an important moment in Israel’s history. It was the end of the period of judgeship during which leaders were appointed by Yahweh, and the beginning of a full scale kingship which was intended to lead to a dynasty.
However, before handing over Samuel will seek to bring home to the people the sinfulness and folly of what they had done. He describes how right from the time when Jacob had taken Israel into Egypt God had been their king, raising up deliverers and war leaders whenever His people sought His face. But now they had rejected God’s direct rule. From now on they would have a king, with all the consequences that would result from it. And he wants them to know that while God had graciously acceded to their request, He was not pleased about it for our Holy Master Yahweh recognized it for what it was - Rejection of His hand being directly over them.
In his farewell speech Samuel begins by making clear that he is now free from all civil responsibility for Israel. He wants them to know without any shadow of doubt that from now on he will act only as Yahweh’s prophet. The deliberate detail in which he does this emphasizes the cleanness of the break. As far as he is concerned once the people have given him clearance he ceases his duties. From now on they must look to the king whom they have chosen to watch over their interests in all civil matters. He will no longer be their ‘Judge’.
12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and gray headed, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.
Samuel begins by pointing out that he has listened to their voice and made a king over them. He wants them to be absolutely clear that it was their choice and not his. Let them recognize that he had not wanted them to have a king over them. He had wanted Yahweh to be their King. But they have gone their own way and chosen a king.
How much we all like a king (whether it be a pastor or some other person in authority). It is so much easier to have someone who will tell us exactly what to do so that no blame might be laid at our door. And we then hope that he will not make too many demands on us. But what we really do not want to have to do is look to God directly for guidance, and to commit our way totally to Him. For we know that, in His case, any demands that He makes on us will be absolute, and that such a walk requires faith and obedience. It is a call to full surrender.
Then Samuel stresses that their king walks before them (and he could have added ‘in the prime of life’) for Samuel contrasts the king with himself, old in years and grey-headed, with grown up sons who live among them. And he stresses that from his youth he has walked openly before them and served them. But that is now over. Now they must look for their young king to serve them.
3 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.
So he then calls on them to bear witness concerning him in the sight of Yahweh, and of the one whom Father God has ‘anointed’
And he asks the people whether, in the sight of these two, Yahweh and Saul, they are able honestly to accuse him of any misdemeanor? Has he taken their oxen or asses (deprived them of their most valued possessions)? Has he ever defrauded them? Has he ever oppressed them? Has he ever accepted a bribe which has made him close his eyes to the truth? If they can rightly accuse him of any of these things he will recompense them now, restoring to them what they claim that they have lost.
4 And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
Their reply is that he is clear of any of those things. They recognize that he has been honest and true in all things.
5 Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”
He then asks them to confirm the fact in front of Yahweh God and in front of the one whom He has anointed, with both of them acting as witnesses. They reply by affirming that Yahweh Himself Is witness, and as the Greater includes the lesser, so also is His anointed. Thus Samuel has a twofold witness that he has not failed them in any way. And having sworn to his innocence they now know without any doubt that Samuel’s long watch over them as Judge is over. They can no longer look to him to act in civil affairs. From now on they must look to Saul.
The people having borne witness to his faithfulness and integrity before Yahweh as their witness, he now turns the tables on them and bears witness to their faithlessness and lack of integrity in the eyes of God when God acted as their Judge, first of their fathers, and then of themselves for after He had delivered them from Egypt they had failed Him constantly. And yet even so they had also constantly depended on Him when they were in trouble, and at such times He had appointed Saviors for them. And He had done this even to the last, in appointing Saul as their present war-leader and deliverer, and in doing so He had tried to point them in the way of making him only their war-leader, and continuing in the old way. But they had refused and had rather chosen to make him their full-blown king.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers:
The one ‘on trial’ has suddenly become the accuser. He reminds them of God’s method of saving and ruling His people, that when they were in bondage in Egypt it was Father God Who had appointed Moses and Aaron to be His people’s deliverers and bring them out of the land of Egypt. Yahweh had not failed them then. And he asks them to stand and listen while he goes on to demonstrate before Adoni Yahweh concerning all the righteous things that The God of Israel has done for them and their fathers, after which he lists some of Yahweh’s appointments in terms of the names of the ones whom He sent.
8 When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.
First, when Jacob had brought the people into Egypt they had cried to Yahweh in the time of bondage that had resulted from this, and He had then sent Moses and Aaron who had brought their fathers out of Egypt into this very place that they now were. That they were there at all was due to Yahweh.
9 And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
But they had then forgotten Yahweh their God, and so He had, as it were, sold them as slaves into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor (Judges 4-5), and into the hand of the Philistines (Judges 3.31), and into the hand of Moab (Judges 3.12-30), and they had come and fought against them.
10 Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’
Here was the crunch of the matter. Each time they had forsaken the only real and living God Yahweh and had served other gods. But when they were in distress and those gods could not help them they had called on Yahweh, and had admitted their sin and idolatry, and had then prayed for deliverance and had promised to serve Him. And each time Yahweh had heard them.
11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.
And the result of their pleas was that Yahweh had sent Jerub-baal (Gideon - Judges 6-8), Bedan (‘Abdon - Judges 13.13? or Barak - Judges 4-5?), Jephthah (Judges 11-12) and Samuel, and each time He had delivered them from the hands of their enemies so that they dwelt in safety. The mention of Samuel’s own name may suggest that he was figuratively ticking off the names of the Judges on a mental list with which the people were familiar, possibly one cited at the annual feasts. It was, of course, important that his name be mentioned because it brought the deliverances right up to date. And yet the mention of his name suggested that he wanted to avoid making it personal.
12 And when you saw that Nahash 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.
And when they had seen Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, coming against them they had been provided with Saul as a war-leader, but had demanded rather that they might have him as a king, even though Yahweh their God was their King.
Samuel now stresses that, in spite of their attitude towards Him, it is still Yahweh Who has set over them this king whom they had demanded, and have now chosen. Therefore if both they and their king will continue to hear His voice and obey Him then all will go well with them. But if they refuse to listen to His voice and do not obey Him and His commandments, than they must rather expect that it will go ill with them. Thus although their choosing a king other than Yahweh will make if more difficult for them to continue looking to Yahweh, how it eventually turns out will depend on them and them alone.
13 “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.
He presents Saul to them as the one that they have themselves chosen. Please otice the emphasis on the fact that it is their choice which has been effective (even though guided by him and approved by lot) snd he stresses they have chosen him as a result of the fact that they had first asked for him. All the responsibility for these actions thus lies on them. And it is because of all this that Yahweh had set him as king over them.
What we learn about the people here had done should be a reminder to us of how often we maneuver God into doing our will, something to which He responds out of His compassion for us, and then we blame Him when things go wrong, whereas if only we had really listened to His voice in the first place, the bad outcome would never have happened.
14 If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God.
The new situation need not turn out badly. It is up to them for the appointment of a king has not altered Yahweh’s basic requirements, nor has it let the people off from obedience. It is still required of them that they fear The Great and Holy Yahweh God, and serve Him, and listen to His voice. Both they and the king must be followers of Yahweh. And the implication is that if they do this, it will be well with them.
15 However, if you do 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, as it was against your fathers.
On the other hand if having a king results in their not listening to His voice, but in their rebelling against the commandments of Yahweh, then His hand will be against them, as it was regularly against their fathers when they also neglected God.
We may ask, what difference then would having a king make? And the answer is that it would insulate them from God so that they did not have to deal with God directly. That would be left to the king. And the inevitable result of that would be that the trust of most of them would be in the king and not in God. And when things went wrong it would be the king that they blamed, rather than their own state before God.
Then, lest the people begin to think that perhaps their action has not been so bad after all, Samuel gives them a sign from God of His displeasure. It was the time of the wheat harvest, the time in Israel when the sky was daily blue and cloudless, and when rain was something far away from their minds because it was not expected for at least a few months, so Samuel calls on Yahweh to do the ‘impossible’, to bring thunder and rain at Samuel’s request. And when He does so the people are filled with awe and fear and ask Samuel to pray for them that they might not die, for they recognize now the greatness of their sin and folly in asking for a king.
16 “Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes:
Samuel faces the people and tells them to stand where they are, for in that very place they will see the great thing that The only true and living God will do before their eyes.
17 Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.”
And then he informs them what it will be. At this very time of wheat harvest (May and June) when the weather was always hot and sunny (as it always is in Palestine at this time of year, without a cloud in the sky), he will call on Yahweh to send thunder and rain so that they might recognize and see that their wickedness was great in asking for a king for themselves, something which they had done before the very eyes of Yahweh.
Control of the weather was always recognized as being in Yahweh’s hands, and the sending of rain at the right time was to be seen as one of the evidences of His blessings on His people, whereas a shortage of rain indicated His displeasure. But rain and thunder had regularly been a means by which God had revealed His judgment on His people’s enemies. Thus this rain and thunder, coming at this time, could only indicate to the people that God was angry with them.
18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
Samuel then carried out his proposal and called on our Holy Father God, and Yahweh sent thunder and rain ‘that very day’, and the result was that the people realized just how much they had angered both God and Samuel, and they were filled with fear before both of them. Samuel was not, of course, simply seeking to terrify them. In his heart he was doing it for their good so that they might learn a lesson for the future. He wanted them to recognize that this manipulation of the weather was something that their new king would not be able to do for them. And he did not want them to forget Yahweh.
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 the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”
The display of divine power made the people realize how foolish they had been, and they begged Samuel, on whom they had always depended in the past, to pray for them to Yahweh his God that they might not die in the terrible storm, for they now recognized that they had added to all their previous sins this evil, that they had sought for themselves a king. Most of them would forget it once the storm was over. But for the present it was mightily effective.
While they are in this state of remorse Samuel takes the opportunity to stress what they must do in the future. He assures them that he will not fail in his responsibilities of praying for them and teaching them in the future, and in return they are to ensure that they do not turn aside from following Yahweh, but are to follow Him faithfully, serving Him with all their heart, and not turning after what is vain and cannot profit them or deliver them.
20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.
Samuel seeks to comfort them and assure them that for now at least Yahweh intends them no harm. He accepts that they have done great evil, both in the past and in their present decision, but calls on them not to turn aside from following Yahweh. Rather they are to serve Him with all their heart. For if they do turn aside it will only be to go after vain things (false gods who are nothings) which can neither profit them nor deliver them.
22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
In return he guarantees that Yahweh will never finally forsake His people. He reminds them that He has been pleased in His unmerited love to make them a people for Himself and that He will therefore, for His own Name and reputation’s sake, be faithful to His promises.
23 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.
Samuel guarantees that he also will be faithful to them. To sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for them is something that is far from his heart. Rather they can be sure that he will continue faithfully to instruct them in the good and the right way, the way of Yahweh. If they fail it will not be because he has failed. Thus they are assured that whatever they have done, their faithful prophet who has watched over them for so long, will continue to look after their spiritual interests.
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
So what they must do in response is walk before Yahweh in the fear of God, and serve Him in truth as they consider all the great things that He has done for them.
25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
On the other hand, if they do still behave sinfully, then they will be consumed, both them and their king. Thus their responsibility towards God is still the same. They cannot hide behind their king. And with these exhortations, promises and pleas he relinquished his civic authority over them into the hands of Saul. From now on he would only have responsibility for their spiritual lives, and that only if they sought God with all their hearts.
