The LORD will Not Abandon You

The LORD will not Abandon His People

1 Samuel 12:20–22 KJV 1900

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.

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Last week, we saw King Saul victorious in battle and we left the text with the people of Israel going to renew the Kingdom. It absolutely boggles the mind to think of how gracious God is with us as a people. We saw in Saul a king that had some challenges but persevered. He was radical in his leadership style. Anytime you grow an army by cutting up two oxen and sending wording throughout the land saying, anyone who does not show will look like this, you are a radical King. We looked at the problem of negotiating with Nahash and how as God’s people, as black people, we need to first of all, stop making treaties with people who hate so that you can be there slave. Second, people who hate will only accept you on their terms and the terms are never good. As a matter of fact, Nahash said he wanted to cut their right eye out, to make them a “disgrace to all Israel”. So now they have made your look normal to you but they have determine that the only way they will accept you is if you look like a “disgrace to your own people” yet you are willing to allow this. It is interesting to me to see the black men Trump is comfortable with. He is not comfortable with and elected official, who is black. He is not comfortable with any black man that reads and applies what he reads and is smart. When he wants to speak to the black community he reaches for Kanye West, who is happy being a “disgrace to all Israel”. When he wants to reach black America he reaches for Omarosa, it is said, she was voted the most hated woman on television. We are still negotiating with Nahash when we seek those who hate us to approve our standing in our own community.

Now in chapter 12 we are seeing a very interesting discussion with the prophet. He is about to discuss some real issues with them and before he does establishes some things between them. When the people have shifted into a new paradigm, it is time for a real as we say”come to Jesus conversation”. While God was your king and you were unique we did things a certain way. Now, you wanted this change but you need to understand, this change does not change your covenant with God. Your paradigm may change but you still belong to God. What I mean is, when you change from having a job to owning your business, you cannot do things the same way and you really should not view yourself the same way. When you are running your own business that changes you.

It means you are a business owner. A business CANNOT behave like an employee. A home owner ought not to behave like one who rents. With this new paradigm comes new challenges and new ways of viewing things. Not just a new of doing this but a new way of viewing things. So you have a King now. You are a nation, like the others. Before we have this conversation we need to get some things straight about our relationship because I am about to say somethings that are hard to hear. Samuel says I have been your prophet for a long time. Have I ever dishonored my office? Have I stolen from any of you? Have commited any crimes among you, if so, let’s put it all on the table so we can make it right. I will pay any restitution that I need to do to settle any accounts.

The people agreed that he had not broken any laws or done anything that has disgraced his office as prophet in Israel. He began to speak about how God not only kept you but your families, your ancestors, everyone that meant something to you, God kept them. When your ancestor lost sight of God and forgot about the LORD. So the LORD turned them over to Sisera, also Philistine.

You, when you were in fear of Nahash, you forgot the LORD, and wanted a King like the “other nations”. You forgot the LORD and asked for a King. But God was kind to you and not only gave you the victory but gave you a King. Here is the warning:

1 Samuel 12:14–15 KJV 1900

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: 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.

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1 Samuel 12:14–15 NLT

“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.

1 sam 12

1 Samuel 12:14 BHS/WIVU

אִם־תִּֽירְא֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֗ה וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֤ם אֹתוֹ֙ וּשְׁמַעְתֶּ֣ם בְּקֹלֹ֔ו וְלֹ֥א תַמְר֖וּ אֶת־פִּ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וִהְיִתֶ֣ם גַּם־אַתֶּ֗ם וְגַם־הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר מָלַ֣ךְ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אַחַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Here is the warning from the prophet. I want you to recognize something, he does not say, in order for you to be blessed your GDP needs to grow every year at least 3% annually. He did not say, you must like everyone and get along with everybody. He does not warn them that they must look a certain way. Their success is tied to their behavior concerning God. Look at the admonitions. There are four thing that Israel/IHP must do. Those four things are spelled out in verse 14:

1Sam. 12:14 אִם־תִּֽירְא֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֗ה וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֤ם אֹתוֹ֙ וּשְׁמַעְתֶּ֣ם בְּקֹל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א תַמְר֖וּ אֶת־פִּ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וִהְיִתֶ֣ם גַּם־אַתֶּ֗ם וְגַם־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר מָלַ֣ךְ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אַחַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם

Fear the LORD

Worship the LORD

Listen to his Voice

Do not Rebel against the LORD’s Command

If you do this the prophet says, both you and the king will show that you recognize the LORD as your God. Let’s unpack this.

How do I fear the LORD?

The word fear is the word yare in the Hebrew which means to fear, to revere, to respect. The verb fear is in the Qal imperfect form. Qal is the normative form of most verbs but the issue here is the imperfect. The imperfect form speaks to an “incomplete action”. Here the prophet is suggesting you have feared him but your not done yet. You revered him, but you can give him more. What the prophet is saying, is you need to step up your game! If you want to be go to another level, your respect for God has to go to another level. You can succeed but if you want it to count, step up your respect for God. Now in the imperfect it also suggests that the incomplete thing will remain incomplete. What this means is that understand that you will always be able to Fear God more! There is always another level in your respect for God. This is not something you can finish and determine you are complete. Fear God, you’re not finished yet.

How do I Worship The LORD?

This is interesting because even in the english translations there is a bit of tension in the wording. In the King

James and the New Revised Standard Version the word translates as serve. In the New Living Translation the word used hear is Worship. So already, this speaks to me, because the suggestion is the the word servant and worshiper have a close relationship. The term used in the Hebrew is avadtem, in its plural form

47. עָבַד

עָבַדתם

5647. עָבַד

5647. עָבַד ʿabad, aw-bad´; a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.:—x be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, + husbandman, keep, labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self), (be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er), transgress (from margin), (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper,

What we are learning from this word is the worshiper is a servant. But the word has another connotation which is that the worshiper is a slave to God. We have spoken about this before especially when we look at many of the Pauline epistles. The slave has only law and that is the law of his or her master. This means, if God tells me to do a certain thing and the world tells me to do something else, I must obey God. I am a servant of God. I am a worshiper. I cannot deviate. If I want to step my game up, I have got to be a worshiper. I cannot succeed and serve two masters. That means, I cannot even be my own God and get the results I want.

How do you serve God? The way you worship God? Here’s a question.

Would you be ok with the service you have rendered God?

If someone kept their word to you, the way you keep your word to God, would you bless them?

Before you answer, remember, you did not go to bible study this week. Remember, you lugged your way here this morning because last night was real important. How have you been doing with you tithe? Before you answer, it’s tithe and offering? How is your prayer life? When was the last time you went into worship in your house where no one saw, so you could not get credit for it. Some of us don’t worship unless there is the potential to be applauded for our..........................

How do I Obey him?

Completely! The word for obey, Shamatem. Plural, remember he is speaking to all of Israel. The shama, the word for hear. Again this is in the perfect form. Here, God completely. Don’t apply anything to what you hear or take away from what you hear. God’s word is not conditional. One of the problems with this directive is that often, we allow our reasoning to talk us out of obeying God. By this I mean that have resolved that blind trust is a difficult thing to do, but the prophet is not requiring blind trust. Actually, when trusting God is the issue, you have an actual cloud of witnesses that inform our trust in God. This cloud of witnesses have taught us again and again that we are not as knowledgeable as God and would do well to trust Him implicitly but we let reason talk us out of it. Obey him means to trust Him implicitly. Without hesitation or doubt because God has never been wrong before, since or ever.

How do I not rebel?

The rebel tamru, is in the hiphil tense which functions in the causative. So if the word is rebel it become to cause to rebel. So, do not cause yourself to rebel. You need to prevent yourself from rebelling.

Now here is the problem with this one. Many of you are not going to like this. This word of God, where did it come from, especially at this time. 1 Samuel was not written yet. Where do they the word of the LORD? Yes we can say that they have the Torah, but a lot of what they understood to be the word of the LORD comes from the prophet. Do you trust that your prophet hears from God and if he of she does, why don’t you obey him or her? Not rebel, do what you know to be the word of God.

Another thing, in our context, how do you know the word of God and not come to bible study or stay home and watch the service online. God is calling for more. Also, do you read his word? You have the word of God. Do you read and obey and rebel not from the word you are reading?

Then the prophet says, shall you and the King, show that you recognize the LORD as God.

Question, Do want you life to SHOW that you recognize the LORD as God?

Then the prophet warns us.

1 Samuel 12:15 KJV 1900

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.

1 Sam

1 Samuel 12:15 NLT

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.

1 samuel