1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And 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 said, “He is witness.”
6 And Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the LORD their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army 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 out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the 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 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will 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 and your king. 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon 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 this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully 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.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Samuel was old and, with a king established over Israel, he was about to step out of his role of leader and judge of Israel. Samuel’s sons had failed to continue the leadership of their father and now stood “with” the people instead of “over” them. Samuel’s last act as judge was to put himself on trial with the people as prosecutors and the Lord presiding over them. Samuel had a long tenure as a judge, from his youth until that day. He asked for anyone to come forward if he had defrauded or oppressed or stolen from them and he promised to make it right. The people declared that he had been a righteous judge. Having affirmed his credibility as a judge, he addressed them as a prophet. He had proved trustworthy in the past so his word for the future could be counted on.
Samuel now put Israel on trial. Samuel described the Lord’s righteous acts. He began with the Lord sending Moses and Aaron to deliver them from Egypt when they cried out to Him. God used these two men to bring Israel out of bondage in Egypt and settle them in the land, but it was the Lord who was the deliverer. But Israel forgot the Lord so He allowed them to fall to the nations surrounding them. Israel again cried out to the Lord in recognition of their sin and God sent judges including Jerubbaal (Gideon), Barak, Jephthah, and finally Samuel who again were God’s instruments in delivering them from the nations. When Nahash, king of the Ammonites rose against them, they declared they wanted a king of their own, though God was their king. Now God had done what they asked and given them a king. Despite their sin in asking for a king, God was gracious and willing to continue to bless them if they, and their king, would obey His voice and do what He commanded. But if they were to ignore Him and rebel against his commandments, then God would be against the nation and their king. As a sign that they had indeed sinned in their request for a king, Samuel told the people that God would send thunder and rain which was not expected during the time of the wheat harvest. The Lord sent thunder and rain that day and the people feared the Lord and emplored Samuel to pray on their behalf so they would not die at the hand of God. They acknowledged and confessed their sin by asking for a king. Samuel told them not to be afraid. Yes, they had done wrong, but they could return to following and serving God. He reminded them that anything else they could focus on was empty and could not be of real benefit to them nor deliver them because they are empty. Finally, he reminded them that God would not forsake His people because of His own great name’s sake as He had chosen to make them His people. Samuel would continue to mediate for them in prayer and teach them the right way to live because to do anything else would be a sin against the Lord. If the people would listen to and live the right way, then God would continue to bless them. If they did not, then they could expect God’s judgment.
How wonderful to know that God’s grace is extended to us after we have made bad decisions. We cannot change the choices we have made but we can repent and then make new decisions today. Today, will you choose to follow the Lord with all your heart?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection: Matthew 27-28