1 Samuel 12:6-15

1 Samuel 12:6–15 (KJV (WS))

6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers. 8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. 12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. 14 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: 15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Introduction

Samuel is back in the spotlight for this morning’s message. vs 7

This time, instead of telling a young man named Saul to stand still, he’s telling the entire nation of Israel to stand still.

Samuel wants to remind the people of all the righteous acts of the Lord.

When Samuel speaks of the righteous acts of God, he is talking about the benefits of Jehovah.

The benefits that were promised by God to Abraham.

A promise that God made with full knowledge of the sins and failures of the people.

It was a promise of grace.

Stand still in this passage has a judicial tone to it.

Like when a parent makes their quarreling kids come and stand still for a lecture.

Samuel is going to read them the riot act.

Samuel rehearses Israel’s history from Jacob to the present day. vs 6, 8-11

He starts with Jacob, the father of the 12 tribes, moving to Egypt during the 7 years of famine.

Joseph had been sold by his brothers.

God had used him to save much people.

When a Pharoah arose that didn’t know of Joseph’s contributions, he enslaved the Hebrews for 400 years.

The people had cried out to the Lord, and God had responded by sending Moses and Aaron to deliver them.

The people had not chosen Moses, God had chosen him, equipped him, and sent him.

This first history lesson establishes a pattern that the people need to remember.

Anytime thy had cried out to God for help he had sent them help.

In his time, he had sent them someone to deliver them.

But, this wasn’t the only piece of the pattern.

The second piece of the pattern was that any time God delivered the people (gave them what they were asking for) it was only a matter of time before they forgot about Him.

This leads to the second lesson form their history that Samuel alludes to.

It’s a lesson that God’s prophets and preachers have been referring to ever since.

It’s the story of the book of Judges.

Israel responded to God bringing them to the promised land by entering in to a crazy cycle of sin, oppression, cry, deliverance.

They compromised their faith.

They worshipped the false gods of the people that God had defeated.

Over and over through the book God raised up deliverers to respond to the people’s cries.

Jerubbaal

Bedan (Barak)

Jephthah

Samuel

These men were used to deliver the people from their enemies.

Sisera

Philistines

Moab

God provided for them to live safe in the land.

He had never failed them.

He had never abandoned them.

He had been righteous and faithful to them, even though they had been faithless and disobedient.

Now a new threat has arisen.

Nahash the king of the Ammonites.

Rather than responding to their history with gratitude and trust in the face of this latest threat, the Israelites demand a king.

This request was a disappointing act of hostility against God.

Samuel reminds them that they had had a king; God had been there king.

He had been a faithful, righteous ruler over the people.

He had never failed them.

He had been gracious to them.

And yet, they rejected His reign.

God granted their request to have a human king.

He selected the man to fill that role.

God had chosen a king for them, just as He had chosen their past leaders.

Though the people saw this as a new dynamic in Israel, Samuel has some thoughts for them to consider.

Samuel reminds Israel that their relationship and responsibility to God will continue as it has in the past.

The people may have felt like they flexed their muscles.

God is never surprised.

He never forsakes his people.

Samuel’s point in these verses is to speak a word of grace and warning at the same time.

The word of grace communicates the goodness of God despite the hostility of the people.

If the people and the king that God had given them would follow Him, He would continue to care for them.

They could still experience the power of God among them protecting and providing for them.

The word of warning communicates the continued responsibility to God.

A king would not prevent God from judging them for disobedience.

As He judged their fathers, He would judge them.

Don’t you know that even in this word of warning, we see God’s mercy.

While judging the previous generations, God never forsook His people.

Samuel’s aim in this passage is to encourage the people not to despair.

Even in judgment, God is merciful.

What was needed was for the people to repent and serve God in the future.

A king would not change God’s faithfulness to Israel.

The people had gotten caught up in the press of their culture.

Samuel has challenged them to stand still and remember.

The human in charge doesn’t change who God is.

He still judges sin.

He still blesses obedience.

He will never forsake his people.

He is faithful.

Application

All Christians need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness.

Our children need to be taught about God’s faithfulness.

So that they will turn to him when they are in need.

So they will have confidence in their God.

So they will have fear and respect for God.

How will they learn of these things if they don’t have parents that are convinced of them?

If we want our kids to trust God, we must trust him first.

This trust must go beyond words.

It needs to be seen in our actions.

If your past is filled with spiritual regrets or failures, as a Christian, you can be confident that God has not abandoned you.

If conditions in your world change, you can be confident that God will still bless your obedience.

Every follower of God needs to remember the words that Jesus reiterated in the New Testament “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”