1st Samuel Chapters 12-13 – John Karmelich

1. When I wrote the introduction in my first lesson on 1^st Samuel, I made the statement that the opposite of faith is fear.” When one lacks faith in God, fear comes in.

a) The overriding theme of these two chapters is about fear and faith.

b) Samuel the Prophet is urging the Israelites to remember their history.

i) He recites some of the Israelites history how God has bailed out the nation.

ii) Samuel is saying in effect, “Look folks, God has saved your forefathers out of situations much worse than what you’re going through. Trust in Him, and you won’t have to worry about your problems”

iii) Jesus himself spends a paragraph on not-worrying in Matthew 6:25-34.

c) The problem is the Nation of Israel were too busy looking around, and not looking up to God. They focused on what was around them.

i) That focus is what led them to ask for a king. It is like peer pressure. All the nations around them had a king, and they wanted to be like everyone else.

ii) King Saul, the first King of Israel was a reflection of what the nation was going through. He was a man full of fear because He was not a man of faith.

a) Oh sure, Saul went through all the rituals of a good Jewish boy and man. I’m sure he attended synagogue and made all the right sacrifices. That is all good and well. The problem with Saul is “when push came to shove”, Saul lacked the obedience to be a good king because Saul lacked the trust in God to be a good king.

b) Faith is all about trusting in what you can’t see. The classic example is a chair. Faith is saying a chair will hold my weight. The application of faith is actually sitting in that chair. Doing all the “religious stuff” of going to church etc. is like saying the chair holds your weight. How one lives their life outside of church is just like sitting in that chair.

iii) In Chapter 13, we will read of the Israelites being defeated by the Philistines

a) While we don’t read of the actual battles, we do read the results. We read how the Israelite solders deserted. We read of the Israelite people hiding in caves. The whole lesson is about fear.

d) Fear, if not kept in check can consume us. It grows and grows if it is not counteracted with faith. Just like the Philistine army “consuming” the Israelites is how we can be consumed by our own fears.

i) Sometimes fears are real and sometimes we fear the unknown. There is a classical expression that says, “Most of the things we fear in life never happen”.

ii) For the Israelites, the fears were real. They saw their enemies attacking them. Instead of turning to God, they ran in fear.

iii) The lessons for us to learn from this chapter are not to say, “Oh those poor Jewish people. They should have trusted God more.” ☺ The point is to take personal inventory and see what fears can and do consume us.

e) OK, lets’ suppose we are dealing with fear. What is the solution?

i) Often the correct solution is to take “baby steps”. It is to say, “For the next 30 seconds, I’m not going to worry about this problem”. Then try another 30 seconds. It is to ask God to help you moment by moment to overcome your fears.

f) Speaking of fears, this is a long lesson and I don’t want to ramble too long in my intro. ☺

2. Verse 1: Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. ² Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. ³ Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

a) First, let’s recap what was happening in Chapter 11:

i) Saul was publicly anointed King of Israel.

ii) Saul then leads an army over a victory over a neighboring tribe, the Ammonites.

iii) The last few verses of Chapter 11 were “party time”. The people were all gathered together to celebrate the victory and give God credit. Sacrifices were made to God for this specific victory. Samuel was doing the sacrifices as Israel’s spiritual leader.

iv) Chapter 11 had a happy ending.

b) Chapter 12 is still the same setting and the same location. Samuel is now giving a speech to all of Israel, or at the least a vast majority of the Israelites with all the leaders present.

i) Let me paraphrase was Samuel is saying in these verses: “Whether I liked it or not, God has raised me up to be a leader over you. I wasn’t a king, but I became a spiritual leader and was a judge over issues. Now I’m an old man. You people asked for a king and now you’ve got one. God still called me to be a spiritual leader, but no longer a government leader. Just to prove that I’ve accepted this role, notice my two sons are not up on stage with me, but down there with you as part of the common folk (that’s the idea of Verse 2). Further, I’m about to give you some predictions by God. To validate that I am a man of my word, let me give a brief summary of my life in that I’ve never cheated or stole from anyone”

ii) What Samuel is about to do is give a harsh speech to the Israelites over the problems that are going to come because Israel has chosen a king for themselves.

a) These first few verses set the tone. It is Samuel reminding the people of what has happened in the past as well as his reputation.

iii) If you read the last few lines, it sounds like Samuel is bragging.

a) These verses read as if Samuel is saying, “Hey, I’m a holier-than-thou kind of guy. I’ve never messed up and I’m here to tell ya’ all about it.” ☺

b) That is not the intent of those verses. This is about Saul putting his reputation on the line. Samuel is about to predict all sorts of bad things that are going to happen to Israel.

c) This is about earned respect. Samuel wanted to establish his credibility. I seriously doubt that Samuel was arguing that he was perfect, he is just stating his case that he has been loyal to God all of his life and that he is putting his credibility on the line of what Samuel is about to preach.

c) OK, time for the personal application. What can we learn from these verses?

i) First comes the importance of a good reputation: God is saying it is more important than money or anything else the world has to offer:

a) “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1 NIV)

b) If Samuel didn’t have such a reputation, people wouldn’t take him seriously. Again, this is not about being perfect. People understand when we make mistakes because we all do. This is about dedication. Samuel had a reputation of being dedicated to God and respected him for it.

c) That same type of dedication is what people are looking for in us. When we tell others about God, our reputation is on the line. We want people to know that our trust in God is an integral part of our lives and we “live it” as well as preach it. People won’t take seriously what you have to say about God unless you have the reputation of being dedicated to God.

ii) The second thing we can glean from this paragraph is about leadership style.

a) The fact that Samuel didn’t put his sons up on the stage is “putting his money where his mouth is”. Samuel purposely didn’t want them up there with him to show that he wasn’t showing any family favoritism.

b) Grant it, Samuel could have had his sons next to him and still said how God is choosing Saul and not his sons. Sometimes the visual picture like not having the sons on stage says a lot more than the words themselves.

c) The last few verses are Samuel’s speech about his own life. Notice the speech did not go on for three pages. ☺ Samuel spent enough time to establish the point without going on and on about it.

d) Samuel ends this little speech with the phrase, “If I’ve done anything wrong, let me know and I’ll make it right”. Notice the humility of that statement. Samuel isn’t claiming he was perfect. If anything, he is saying, point something out and I’ll deal with it.

3. Verse 4: "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."

a) The crowd responded positively. Notice the crowd did not say, “Hmm…let us think about for a bit”. The fact that the crowd responded quickly and positively says a lot for Samuel’s reputation.

b) The interesting thing is we live in a world of high-speed communication where every political and religious leader is scrutinized under a microscope. I don’t think it is possible for someone in our society to get away with anything if they tried.

i) One also has to remember that God holds our leaders to a higher standard. Therefore, God doesn’t let our religious leaders “get away” with anything. I’m going to argue that all significant, scandalous sin by religious leaders eventually comes out in public as God cares about his reputation.

c) Now comes the personal application: Before God can raise you up to any point of prominence, God wants you to work on keeping your reputation clean. Again, this is about dedication and obedience. This is not about perfection. This is about sticking close to God. This is about having a good “healthy” fear of God to a point you care about your actions as you don’t want to offend God.

4. Verse 5: Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.

a) What Samuel is doing in these verses is “putting himself on trial”. He wants the crowd to judge him. The purpose of those verses stating Samuel’s reputation is Samuel’s “defense” in front of the people. Now Samuel asks the crowd to be his judge. They found Samuel not guilty of any misrepresentation before God.

b) That is what we all need to strive for in our lives. A reputation of being dedicated to God and not being guilty of any significant crime.

i) I can think of a number of prominent religious leaders who can state that. I can also think of a number of other ones who have lost that reputation due to say, some adulterous scandal that has ruined their lives. What’s the difference between the two?

ii) I would argue that both types of leaders are tempted. Both types of leaders pray to God and seek God for forgiveness. The danger is letting power and prominence go to your head. When you start to lose a healthy fear of God and start focusing on one’s own prominence is when the downfall occurs.

5. Verse 6: Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.

a) From Verse 6 to Verse 12, Samuel is giving a history lesson. Notice Verse 7 states, “I am going to confront you with evidence”.

i) What Samuel is doing is holding the nation of Israel accountable by their history. The idea is that they should learn from their forefathers and not make the same errors. Jesus stated the line, “to much is given, much is required” in Luke 12:48. God saying in effect, “Since you knew better, you should have acted better”.

b) Samuel is starting to recite a summary of the history of Israel with an emphasis on the following repeated pattern:

i) First, God is blessing the Nation of Israel;

ii) Then the Israelites get complacent and turn away from God.

iii) Then God punishes the Israelites for turning away from God.

iv) Then the Israelites cry out to God to save them.

v) God in his love for the Israelites picks a person to lead the Israelites to victory. God blesses the Israelites out of His love for them.

vi) Then the Israelites get complacent again… The pattern continues.

c) Before we “tisk tisk” the Israelites, that pattern is part of the life of every Christian.

i) We enjoy God’s blessings in our life and get complacent. We start to focus more on the blessings themselves and less dependant and less thankful on the God who has given us those blessings.

ii) God says to us in effect, “OK, you want to ignore me for awhile? No problem. I’ll just ignore you for awhile.” ☺ Watch what happens.

iii) After we mess up or get into trouble, we, like the Israelites then turn back to God. You can almost hear God saying, “Hey, good to hear from you! It’s been awhile!”

iv) God in His love for us, then blesses us and helps us out.

v) The problem is we continue this “downward cycle” because we constantly get our focus off of God and unto our own situations.

6. Verse 8: "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

a) Samuel just recited 400 years of ancient Israelite history in one sentence.

i) Jacob was the leader of a family of 70 (including great grandchildren) whom God said to go settle in Egypt. Four hundred years later that family grew into millions. Through Moses and his brother Aaron, God lead those people to the land of Israel. It remains to this day the greatest single Exodus at one time.

ii) Let me try to summarize the point of this verse: “Hey folks, you’re not living here in Israel out of luck, or because the local residents invited you here. You are only living in this land because God made it possible.” What God is asking of you in return is gratitude and obedience.

a) That message is the same for us. God has saved us for eternity. What God expects of us in exchange for that free gift is gratitude and obedience.

7. Verse 9: "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. ¹⁰ They cried out to the LORD and said, `We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' ¹¹ Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

a) What you are reading in Verses 9 to 11 is a summary of the Book of Judges.

b) In between the time the Israelites conquered the land of Israel by Moses’ successor Joshua and the time of 1^st Samuel is a 400-year (more or less) time period covered in the book of Judges. The pattern of “seek God, get complacent, God judges, sorrow, repentance, turn to God, God blesses, get complacent, God judges, etc. repeats itself over and over again in the book of Judges like a never ending cycle.

i) Verse 9 to 11 paraphrases that idea and gives some examples.

ii) I could go into technical details of the specific events and names stated in these verses, but I think you get the idea.

iii) The names in this section tie to the Book of Judges. A few names in this section are debated among scholars as to who is Samuel specifically discussing. The main point is “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Samuel is stating how Israel has messed up in the past. Learn from those mistakes!

8. Verse 12: "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, `No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the LORD your God was your king.

a) Now the verses are getting more personal. Samuel is no longer stating history from decades and centuries ago. He is now talking about what happened last Tuesday. ☺

b) Verse 12 mentions Nahash king of the Ammonites. This is the guy we read about in Chapter 11 of Samuel. In case you forgot, we’re now in Chapter 12. This is the leader of the people who attacked an Israelite town and said, “Surrender and gouge out an eye”. This is the group over which King Saul led an army to defeat.

c) Samuel’s point is like all the other events of ancient Israelite history this is God working in their lives now and not just some ancient story.

i) This brings up the question of ancient history and modern times. Some people wonder, “Why does the bible “end” several thousand years ago?” Why aren’t there more recent bible-type events that are part of part of God’s word? The answer is God is working today the same way He worked back then. In a sense, the stories of the bible have been repeated throughout history since that time frame. There is no need for further revelation because the patterns of the way God worked that time are still at work today.

ii) That is what Samuel is trying to get across in this history lesson. Samuel spent a bunch of verses reciting history and in Verse 12 states what just happened. It is to show how God is still working today as He has in the past.

d) There is a second lesson to this verse, and this ties to my opening theme.

i) When the Ammonites were threatening the Israelites, the Israelites wanted a king to lead them to victory.

ii) Samuel’s point is in a sense, “Look folks, God has bailed out this country throughout its history whenever you have turned to him. Why would you want a king now since God has a 100% batting average of protecting you?” ☺

iii) This gets back to one’s fear overtaking one’s trust of God.

iv) The other nations around Israel had a king and the Israelites wanted to be like “everyone else”. The Israelites were looking left and right instead of “up”. They got their focus on the nations around them instead of on God.

9. Verse 13: Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.

a) Maybe it’s just me, but if I were Saul, I would be red with embarrassment right now. Imagine hearing this from Saul’s perspective: “Hey folks, God doesn’t want you to pick a king. It is wrong, but God relented and let you have one. Here he is next to me”. ☺

i) On the other hand, since God has picked Saul, I believe Saul understood that God put him in charge, and there God laid responsibility upon him.

ii) The problem we are going to read with Saul over the next few chapters is that Saul reflected the attitude of the people themselves. The Israelites were dealing with fear and God gave them a leader that reflected that fear. We are going to read of Saul’s disobedience to God as a reflection of the people’s disobedience to God.

10. Verse 14: If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God--good! ¹⁵ But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

a) Here is Samuel giving the main point of the history lesson stated up to this verse:

i) Samuel is saying, “Your ancestors rebelled against God and paid the price. If you learn from their mistakes, and be obedient to God, you will be fine despite the fact you picked this king to rule over you. On the other hand, if you choose to act just like they did, you will suffer just like they did.”

ii) Notice these commands are to the people and not to Saul.

iii) The lesson here is when a country collectively turns their back on God, we shouldn’t blame the leadership. The problem is staring at us in the mirror.

iv) Saul’s upcoming failure is a king is a direct reflection of how the people act.

b) What does this mean practically for you and me? Does this mean that if I sin badly enough, the whole county is going to go to pot? ☺

i) Most likely no. ☺ This is about collective judgment and collective responsibility.

ii) It starts with individuals like you and me praying for our country and for its leadership. Once we go down that path of prayer for our country, I find that God honors that prayer and it grows.

iii) There was a terrific story some years back about a very corrupt city in South America that had one of the highest murder rates in the world. One man started to fast and pray daily for that city. “All of a sudden” the newspaper reported there murder rate decreased the next day and week for the first time in years. That man got others to join him and soon it became a movement. That city’s reputation changed over the next few years and much of the bad element disappeared. It was a living example how God can bless a location because those who trusted in God were turning toward him. It also shows how one person can make a difference.

11. Verse 16: "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! ¹⁷ Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." ¹⁸ Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.

a) These three verses would make a great scene for a movie.

i) First you have to understand that the time of the year when the wheat harvest happens, there is no rain. This is desert county. There are many months out of the year where it never rains and this was that time of the year.

ii) Imagine Samuel saying, “To prove all I am saying is true, thunder and rain will happen right now. All of a sudden, thunder breaks out and it starts raining.” It is like those medieval wizards calling down for thunder and it happens on the spot.

iii) The last sentence says, “So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.” Personally I would be too if all of that happened as it did.

b) It makes you wonder how Samuel was inspired to do this. I assume that God told him to do this in some form or fashion and Samuel did it. I also suspect that when Samuel started this speech, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. If it was on the verge of rain prior to the speech, the crowd wouldn’t be that impressed.

12. Verse 19: The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

a) It is always interesting how a visual reminder gets people to repent. You get the impression that as Samuel was giving his speech about asking for a king, the audience was thinking, “Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard all of that. Now give us a king”. Once the thunder and lightening started up, their attitudes changed. ☺

b) This reminds me of a classical joke that traffic cops use. It says that when they pull someone over, a warning is good for five miles and a ticket is good for ten miles. The point is that when people see visual signs for repentance, those signs are only good for a short time. Once things are back to normal, they don’t change.

i) Notice the Israelites still wanted the king, despite their awe over Samuel.

ii) We will read of the mistakes and sins the Israelites will collectively make in the next chapter as they focus on their fears and not God.

iii) Jesus said, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31 NIV). Jesus’ point is that miracles are not enough to change people on a long-term basis. There has to be a commitment to follow God. “Listening to Moses and the Prophets” is a way of saying one has to study their bible and be committed to its teachings.

13. Verse 20: "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.

a) Verses 20-25 are to me, the most important verses in this text. It’s pay attention time! ☺

b) It starts with the phrase “Do not be afraid”.

i) I’ve stated in earlier lessons the opposite of faith is not “no faith” but fear.

ii) Fear is to worry about the future and negative possibilities.

iii) Sometimes fear is a good thing. Our bodies have a set of instincts to help keep us from danger.

iv) Fear, in this context is about getting our focus off of God and unto their problems.

a) The Israelites wanted a king because they were afraid of the surrounding nations. Despite the fact they understood it was not God’s will, they wanted a king out of fear so they could have “protection”.

c) Verses 20-21 makes the statements of turning toward God and away from idols.

i) When we think of idols, we think of some ancient people bowing down to statues. Those statues represented the gods that they worshipped. Many gave in to idols due to peer pressure. The surrounding nations worshipped other gods and had statues representing those gods. To worship those gods meant to be loved by others around them. It is giving in to peer pressure.

ii) We still have idols today, only they aren’t in statue form.

iii) I always argue that everybody has a god or a series of gods. If you look how someone spends their spare time or spare income, you’ll find their gods. Today, if you look at people’s bumper stickers or license plate holders, you’ll often learn what is their god.

a) I’m not arguing anti-hobby. I’m arguing over anything and everything that takes your heart away from the true God. A false god is anything in which you put your hope upon other than God himself.

b) For example, you could be trusting in your own “wits” to get out of a situation. That is making an idol of yourself or self-discipline.

c) You could be trusting in your wealth to bail you out of a problem. That is making an idol out of money. You could be trusting in another person for protection. Again, that is making an idol out of that person.

iv) Which leads us back to this verse. Samuel is not pleading with the people to reject Saul as king. God has already “reluctantly” agreed to that request. What God is saying through Samuel is to trust in God over and above that king and no not turn to anyone other than God himself for help in our lives.

14. Verse 22: For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.

a) Here is an important verse to comprehend.

b) The key phrase to understand is “The LORD will not reject his people”.

i) Let’s get it straight that “His people” is the Nation of Israel. God never ever stated anywhere that He has completely and 100% rejected the Nation of Israel from being the “His people”. They have been punished lots of times for disobedience, but God made unconditional promises to that nation, and God cannot go back on those promises as His reputation is on the line.

ii) Combine that thought with: God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and the fact that God does not change. (Malachi 3:6).

iii) Paul taught in Romans that there will come a day in the future after the “church age” that God will once again turn his focus upon the Nation of Israel:

iv) “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved”. (Romans 8:25b-26a, NIV). The “full number of Gentiles” refers to Christian church. There is some specific number of saved people that make up the Christian church. Then Jesus comes back for the church. Then God turns his attention back on Israel. Not due to the “goodness” of the Nation of Israel, but due to God’s unconditional promises to Israel.

c) OK John, that’s neat. I’m not Jewish, what does that have to do with me?

i) First of all, it teaches us to have respect and support for the Nation of Israel. God said He will bless those that blesses Israel and curses those that curse Israel. That statement was made to Abraham and it applies to his direct descendants. That same statement was made to Abraham’s son as well. (Genesis 12:3, 27:29)

ii) Second and more important, we pray for God’s blessing not due to our goodness, but because God’s reputation is on the line. God promises us unconditional blessings. We don’t pray to God based on our goodness, but on God’s.

d) The last phrase states, “Because the LORD was pleased to make you his own”.

i) The same way God was pleased to make the Nation of Israel “his own” is the same way God was pleased of those He called among the Gentiles (non-Jews) to spend eternity with God. How do you know if you were “called” by God? Easy! ☺ Accept Jesus as payments of your sins and you know that God picked you. If God is perfect, then He must know all things. If He knows all things, He knows who will choose to commit their lives to Him. Since we don’t know all things, from our perspective, it is “free-will”. Since God knows all things, from His perspective, we are “pre-destined” to be with Him forever.

ii)