1 & 2 Samuel

1 Samuel Chapter 12

Samuel's Farewell Address

• 1Samuel 12:1  And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. 
• 2  And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 
• 3  Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. 

Samuel was a good man all the days of his life. This was the son his mother prayed for because at first she was barren and could have no children. Samuel was a miracle child that came when his mother was older like Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist. The Lord mentioned Samuel in Jeremiah 15:1, along with Moses. Samuel's sons was removed from being in authority because of their failure to walk uprightly and be deserving of the office of a prophet.

• 1Samuel 12:4  And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. 

The people acknowledged that Samuel was a just judge over the people. I wonder why then, they wanted a king. Perhaps because of the many battles they went through and assumed a king would protect them. However, only God is powerful enough to protect any nation against evil empires.

• 1Samuel 12:5  And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. 
• 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. 

Now Samuel begins to remind the people of their past and how God took care of them and brought them out of Egypt unto the land they now occupied. Danger comes when we forsake God and trust in men (women) to save us from enemies. God used Moses and Aaron who were chosen of God to lead them but it was God's power that protected them, fed them and led them to the promised land. Moses, Aaron Joshua, and Samuel were anointed by God to lead the people. What an awesome responsibility to have.

• 1Samuel 12:7  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. 

Things went well as long as they were obedient and honored the Lord. When they began to forget to retain God in their knowledge evil took over and they needed God's deliverance again. The book of Romans chapter one explains how this happens to any nation that does not keep the knowledge of God in their land. It is sad that we see this in the United States today which began with the teaching of evolution. By the 1960s they cast prayer and bible reading from the public schools. Ten years later came abortion. Divorce for any reason, school shootings and no respect for God's word increased. We need so bad to return to the words of the bible. Not any book they call a bible that has changed the words and sometimes changed the original meaning. Ask God to lead you to a good translation rather than a paraphrase. 

Changing the words of the bible will not change God's word written in Heaven. Teaching evolution will not get rid of God. Forbidding bible reading will not stop the bible from being God's word, but it will destroy a nation. It will destroy us if we don't repent and return to God's divine definition of marriage and family. Millions of babies have already been killed because we forgot the word of God. This all will end at the coming of the Lord. As we see by studying what happens when nations of the past got so evil and they were at the point of no return, we can see easily what will happen to our own country if we don't repent and return to the fear of the Lord.

• 1Samuel 12:9  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. 

Actually all God has to do is withdraw His hand of protection and enemies will come in like a flood. Without God none of us will survive very long here as well as eternity. We need God. To forsake God is the worst thing any human being can do. The enemy of our souls has no compassion on the human race.

• 1Samuel 12:10  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. 

Baal and Ashtaroth were idols representative of false religious systems that were cruel and vain. The evil spirit behind idols and false religious systems require human sacrifices. The innocent are hurt even children and babies. Abortion is actually similar to the past worship of false gods that require child sacrifice.

• 1Samuel 12:11  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. 

Jerubbaal is actually Gideon spoken of in Judges 6,7, and 9. Bedan is acually Barak with the help of Deborah. Their story is in chapters 4 and 5 of Judges. Jephthah is a hard story to forget because of his terrible vow he made but he was used of God to deliver Israel. This is in Judges chapter 11. Then we come to Samuel which is in 1 Samuel chapter 7. Samson also was a deliverer especially in the end when he brought down the whole house upon the Philistines in Judges chapter 16.

• 1Samuel 12:12  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. 

Copying after other nations will be proven to be a mistake later on but perhaps the corruption that was in Eli's sons influenced them also.

• 1Samuel 12:14  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. 

This promise of a blessing or a curse is in the law of God given to them by the hand of Moses.

• Deuteronomy 11:26  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 
• 27  A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 
• 28  And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. 

We need to be very careful in our teaching on the grace of God. It is wonderful and gives us a new beginning with forgiveness of past sins and the power to overcome future sins but there also is a lot of "Ifs" in God's word both Old and New Testaments. They need to be studied and prayed over to build our faith and strengthen our resolve to serve the Lord without allow ourselves to yield to the temptation to return to sin. We then can have the joy of the Lord. Trying to hold onto God and  today's standards of living too, is misery. We must look to Jesus and not love the evil of this world.

• 1Samuel 12:16  Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. 
• 17  Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. 
• 18  So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 

A strong rain was not common in harvest time. By demanding a king they were not trusting in God. They were looking for a king to fight their battles and lead people into victory instead of oppression like what happened after Moses and Joshua died. However in the book of Joshua and Judges we see that their troubles were caused by forsaking God and doing evil, not because they didn't have a king. They were constantly sinning, repenting then sining again. When they called on God they were delivered by different ones God would send in His mercy, but then after a few years, they sinned again.

• 1Samuel 12:19  And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 

This happens in cycles. Here is the repentance part. Somehow when we fail to teach the children and learn from our mistakes, it carries over to the newer generations and the cycle of forsaking God begins over and over again.

• 1Samuel 12:20  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; 
• 21  And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 
• 22  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. 

This is so awesome to think about. God wants to bless, heal, save and be our God. He does not want to send judgment. It is our choice just like it was Israel's choice to receive or reject what God had for them. God has a better way for us to live, if we would only choose His way and His righteousness. Living in sin is vanity. It profits nothing. All those things are going to pass away. It's not worth it to choose that path to walk in.

• 1Samuel 12:23  Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 
• 24  Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 
• 25  But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king. 

Reading the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and the other prophets show what happens in later years when they forsook the Lord. Faithful Samuel vowed to continue to pray for them and lead them in the right direction but as we see in later years, they forsake the good way. DC

• Jeremiah 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

1 Samuel Chapter 13