2023-10-29
1 Samuel 12
In asking for a king, the people had rejected the kingship of Jehovah and the leadership of Samuel, the last of the judges
The twelve tribes had been governed by judges for nearly 500 years, but times had changed and the people wanted a king.
Before leaving office as judge, Samuel had to set the record straight and bear witness that his hands were clean and the people could find no fault in him.
now he stood before them “old and gray-headed” and challenged them to accuse him of using his authority to benefit himself.
In the East, it was expected that civil officials would use their offices to make money, but Samuel hadn’t taken that route. He obeyed the Law of Moses and kept his hands clean (Ex. 20:17; 22:1–4, 9; 23:8; Lev. 19:13; Deut. 16:19; 24:14). With such a godly example before them, we wonder why his sons took bribes.
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Josephus, Nahash was campaigning over a large area. It was that Ammonite threat that seemingly provoked Israel to demand a human king
They should have confessed their sin of unbelief and trusted Him alone. But what did they do? No sooner did the Ammonites attack than the Jews asked for a king and exchanged the rule of the Lord their King for the leadership of a mere man! God gave them what they asked for, but Israel lost something in the transaction.
Then Samuel demonstrated the awesome power of the Lord by “praying up a storm” during the dry season of wheat harvest (mid-May to mid-June). This miracle reminds us of the signs Moses and Aaron did in Egypt. Samuel was proving to the people that God could do anything for them if they trusted Him and obeyed, but that a mere king was helpless apart from the Lord.
The Lord would not reject or forsake His people because of His holy covenant and His great faithfulness. God’s purpose was to use Israel to bring glory to His name, and He would fulfill that purpose
Samuel made it clear that, no matter what they decided, he would obey the Lord.
For God’s people not to pray is to sin against the Lord, yet if there’s one thing lacking in our churches today, it is prayer, particularly prayer for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1–4).
Unfortunately, Israel did disobey the terms of the covenant and God had to send them in exile to Babylon.
From time to time, churches and other Christian ministries face new situations and decide they must make organizational changes. Each ministry needs a Samuel to remind them of the spiritual principles that never change: the character of God, the Word of God, the necessity of faith, and the importance of obedience.
Methods are many, principles are few;
Methods always change, principles never do.
As the old Youth for Christ slogan expressed it, “Geared to the times but anchored to the Rock.” Some changes are inevitable and necessary, but they need not destroy the work of God.