Text -- 1 Samuel 12:20-25 (NET)

12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. 12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. 12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. 12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! 12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Sa 12:20

With a desponding fear, as if there were no hope left for you.

Wesley: 1Sa 12:21

After idols; as they had often done before; and, notwithstanding this warning, did afterwards.

Wesley: 1Sa 12:21

So idols are called, Deu 32:21; Jer 2:5, and so they are, being mere nothings, having no power in them; no influence upon us, nor use or benefit to us.

Wesley: 1Sa 12:22

That is, for his own honour, which would suffer much among men, if he should not preserve and deliver his people in eminent dangers. And this reason God alledgeth to take them off from all conceit of their own merit; and to assure them, that if they did truly repent of all their sins, and serve God with all their heart; yet even in that case their salvation would not be due to their merits; but the effect of God's free mercy.

Wesley: 1Sa 12:22

Out of his own free grace, without any desert of yours, and therefore he will not forsake you, except you thrust him away.

Wesley: 1Sa 12:24

_Otherwise neither my prayer nor counsels will stand you in any stead.

JFB: 1Sa 12:17-25

That season in Palestine occurs at the end of June or beginning of July, when it seldom or never rains, and the sky is serene and cloudless. There could not, therefore, have been a stronger or more appropriate proof of a divine mission than the phenomenon of rain and thunder happening, without any prognostics of its approach, upon the prediction of a person professing himself to be a prophet of the Lord, and giving it as an attestation of his words being true. The people regarded it as a miraculous display of divine power, and, panic-struck, implored the prophet to pray for them. Promising to do so, he dispelled their fears. The conduct of Samuel, in this whole affair of the king's appointment, shows him to have been a great and good man who sank all private and personal considerations in disinterested zeal for his country's good and whose last words in public were to warn the people, and their king, of the danger of apostasy and disobedience to God.

Clarke: 1Sa 12:20

Ye have done all this wickedness - That is, although ye have done all this wickedness: what was past God would pass by, provided they would be obedient in future.

Clarke: 1Sa 12:21

After vain things - That is, idols; which he calls here התהו hattohu , the same expression found Gen 1:2. The earth was תהו tohu ; it was waste, empty, and formless: so idols; they are confusion, and things of naught, for an idol is nothing in the world, it is not the representative of any intelligent being.

Clarke: 1Sa 12:22

The Lord will not forsake his people - He will not as yet cast you off, though you have deserved it. His purpose in preserving them in their land and religion was not yet accomplished. It was not however for their sake that he would not cast them off, but for his own great name’ s sake. He drew his reasons from himself.

Clarke: 1Sa 12:23

God forbid that I should sin - They had earnestly begged him, 1Sa 12:19, to pray to God for them, that they might not die; and he tells them that he should consider himself a sinner, should he cease to be their intercessor

Clarke: 1Sa 12:23

But I will teach you the good and the right way - I will show you, as long as I am with you, what true religion is; it is the way to happiness and heaven. It is right - there is no crookedness in it; it is good - there is no evil in it.

Clarke: 1Sa 12:24

Only fear the Lord - Know, respect, and reverence him

Clarke: 1Sa 12:24

Serve him - Consider him your Lord and Master; consider yourselves his servants

Clarke: 1Sa 12:24

In truth - Be ever honest, ever sincere; with all your heart - have every affection engaged in the work of obedience; act not merely from a principle of duty, but also from a pious, affectionate sense of obligation. Act towards your God as an affectionate child should act towards a tender and loving parent

Clarke: 1Sa 12:24

Consider how great things - Review the history of your fathers, review your own life; see what interpositions of power, mercy, goodness, and truth, God has displayed in your behalf! Has he not daily loaded you with his benefits?

Clarke: 1Sa 12:25

Ye shall be consumed - If ye do wickedly you shall be destroyed, your kingdom destroyed, and your king destroyed. Here they had set before them life and good, death and evil. Never was a people more fully warned, and never did a people profit less by the warning; and they continue to this day monuments of God’ s justice and forbearance. Reader, What art thou? Perhaps a similar monument. Consider therefore what great things God has done for thee.

Defender: 1Sa 12:23

Samuel's great heart, both for the Lord and for the people of Israel, is beautifully revealed in this promise. Although he was deeply disappointed in their decision to have a king after he had devoted his whole life to leading them successfully and with equity, he would still pray for them and teach them God's ways. This is a great example for Christian leaders who, through no fault of their own, have been replaced by someone else."

TSK: 1Sa 12:20

Fear not : Exo 20:19, Exo 20:20; 1Pe 3:16

turn not : Deu 11:16, Deu 31:29; Jos 23:6; Psa 40:4, Psa 101:3, Psa 125:5; Jer 3:1

TSK: 1Sa 12:21

vain things : Deu 32:21; Jer 2:5, Jer 2:13, Jer 10:8, Jer 10:15, Jer 14:22, Jer 16:19; Jon 2:8; Hab 2:18; 1Co 8:4

cannot profit : Psa 115:4-8; Isa 41:23, Isa 41:24, Isa 44:9, Isa 44:10, Isa 45:20, Isa 46:7; Jer 10:15

TSK: 1Sa 12:22

the Lord : Deu 31:17; 1Ki 6:13; 2Ki 21:14; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 15:2; Psa 94:14; Isa 41:17, Isa 42:16; Jer 33:24-26; Lam 3:31, Lam 3:32, Lam 5:20; Heb 13:5

for his great : Exo 32:12; Num 14:13-19; Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27; Jos 7:9; Psa 106:8; Isa 37:35; Isa 43:25, Isa 48:11; Jer 14:7, Jer 14:21; Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14; Eph 1:6, Eph 1:12

it hath : Exo 19:5, Exo 19:6; Deu 7:7, Deu 7:8, Deu 9:5, Deu 14:2; Mal 1:2; Mat 11:26; Joh 15:16; Rom 9:13-18, Rom 11:29; 1Co 4:7; Phi 1:6

TSK: 1Sa 12:23

God forbid : Act 12:5; Rom 1:9; Col 1:9; 1Th 3:10; 2Ti 1:3

in ceasing : Heb. from ceasing

I will teach : Psa 34:11; Pro 4:11; Ecc 12:10; Act 20:20; Col 1:28

the good : 1Ki 8:36; 2Ch 6:27; Jer 6:16

TSK: 1Sa 12:24

fear the Lord : Job 28:28; Psa 111:10; Pro 1:7; Exo 12:13; Heb 12:29

in truth : Psa 119:80; Joh 1:47

consider : Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:14; Isa 5:12; Rom 12:1

how great things : or, what a great thing, etc. Deu 10:21; Psa 126:2, Psa 126:3

TSK: 1Sa 12:25

But if : Deut. 32:15-44; Jos 24:20; Isa 3:11

ye and : 1Sa 31:1-5; Deu 28:36; Hos 10:3

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Poole: 1Sa 12:20

Fear not to wit, with a servile and desponding fear, as if there were no hope left for you.

Poole: 1Sa 12:21

Turn ye not aside to wit, after idols; as they had often done before; and, notwithstanding this warning, did afterwards.

Should ye go or, should ye turn aside ; which words are easily to be understood out of the foregoing branch, such ellipses being most frequent in Scripture, as Deu 1:4 1Ki 14:14 2Ki 9:27 .

Vain things so idols are called, Deu 32:21 Jer 2:5 , and so they are, being mere nothings , 1Co 8:4 , having no divinity nor power in them; no influence upon us, nor use or benefit to us.

Which cannot profit nor deliver i.e. which will not only be unprofitable, but highly pernicious to you; the contrary affirmative being understood under the negative, as Exo 20:7 Num 21:23 Deu 2:30 .

Poole: 1Sa 12:22

For his great name’ s sake i.e. for his own honour, which would seem to suffer much among men, if he should not preserve and deliver people in eminent dangers; as if he were grown feeble, or forgetful, or inconstant, or unfaithful, or regardless of human affairs, or unkind to those who own and worship him, when all the rest of the world forsake him. Hence this argument hath been oft pleaded with God, not without good success, as Exo 32:12 Num 14:13 , &c. And this reason God here allegeth to take them off from all conceit of their own merit; and to assure them, that if they did truly repent of all their sins, and served God with all their heart, which is here supposed, yet even in that case their salvation would not be due to their merits, but only the effect of God’ s free mercy.

It hath pleased the Lord to wit, out of his own free grace, without any desert of yours, as he saith, Deu 7:7 9:5 ; and therefore he will not easily forsake you, except you thrust him away.

Poole: 1Sa 12:23

Think not that because you have so highly disobliged and rejected me, that I will revenge myself by neglecting to pray for you, or by praying against you, as I have now done for your conviction and humiliation, and so for your preservation; I am sensible it is my duty, as I am a man, a Israelite, a minister, a prophet, to pray for you.

But I will teach you Heb. and I will , &c., i.e. I will not only pray for you, which is one branch of my duty; but will also teach and instruct you, which is the other branch of it. And though you have cast me off from being your judge and ruler, yet I will not cease to be your instructer and monitor, to keep you from sin and destruction.

Poole: 1Sa 12:24

Fear the Lord, and serve him otherwise neither my prayer nor counsels will stand you in any stead.

He hath done for you or, among you , both at this time and formerly.

Haydock: 1Sa 12:20

Following, as that would imply despair. To come boldly before him would argue presumption. Therefore, St. Mary Magdalene keeps at the feet of Jesus Christ. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Sa 12:21

Vain and wicked idols. Hebrew thohu, full of "confusion" and disorder.

Haydock: 1Sa 12:22

Sake. This motive often proved the salvation of Israel, Exodus xxxii. 12. The Scriptures wholly tend to impress upon our minds, a sense of our own weakness, and of God's infinite glory and perfection. (Calmet) ---

We may all say, "Our hope to rise is all from Thee---our ruin's all our own." (Austin.[St. Augustine?])

Haydock: 1Sa 12:23

The Lord. For a pastor to neglect instruction, is not only detrimental to the people, but injurious to God. (Haydock) ---

Way. None contributed more than Samuel to keep the people within due bounds, during the reign of Saul. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Sa 12:25

Together. Septuagint, "shall be rejected." Saul soon experienced the effect of this prophetic menace; and the Jews were, at last, also cast away. (Haydock)

Gill: 1Sa 12:20

And Samuel said unto the people, fear not,.... Being destroyed by the tempest:

ye have done all this wickedness; in asking a king; that is, though they were guilty of so heinous a sin, yet there were grace and mercy with God, and they should not despair of it, so be it that they did not depart from him, but cordially served him; the Targum is,"ye have been the cause of all this evil;''the storm of thunder and rain; and though they had, he would not have them despond or indulge slavish fear:

yet turn not aside from following the Lord; the worship of the Lord, as the Targum; provided they did not depart from the Lord, and forsake his worship, word, and ordinances, they need not fear utter ruin and destruction, though they had been guilty of this sin:

but serve the Lord with all your heart; if their service of God was kept up, and was hearty and sincere, they might still expect things would go well with them.

Gill: 1Sa 12:21

And turn ye not aside,.... From his worship: for then; if they turned aside from that:

should ye go after vain things; idols, which are vanity, and less than vanity:

which cannot profit nor deliver; neither bestow good things on their votaries, nor deliver them from evils, or from the hands of their enemies

for they are vain; empty, useless, and unprofitable; an idol is nothing in the world, 1Co 8:4.

Gill: 1Sa 12:22

For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake. For the sake of himself, his honour and glory; should he forsake his people, and suffer them to come to ruin, his name would be blasphemed among the Heathens; he would be charged either with want of power to help them, or with want of faithfulness to his promise to them, and with inconstancy to himself, or want of kindness and affection for them; all which would reflect upon his honour and glory:

because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people; it was not owing to any worth or worthiness in them that they became his people, but to his own sovereign good will and pleasure; and therefore, as it was nothing in them that was the cause of their being taken by him for his people, so nothing in them could be the cause of their being rejected by him as such; it was of free grace and favour that they were taken into covenant with him, and by the same would be retained: the Vulgate Latin version is,"the Lord hath sworn to make you a people for himself;''so Jarchi interprets it, he swore, and takes it to have the same sense as in 1Sa 14:24.

Gill: 1Sa 12:23

Moreover, as for me,.... As he had given them reason to believe that God would forgive their sin, by which they had offended him, rejecting him as their King, so he likewise forgave their offence against him in rejecting him as their governor under him, and so neither need fear the Lord nor him with a servile fear; and as God would still be gracious to them, if they abode by his service, so he, Samuel, would do all the good offices for them that lay in his power:

God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you; for since they had returned to the Lord, and acknowledged their sin, it would have been an evil in him not to pray for them, that they might share in the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and have all good things bestowed upon them they stood in need of; this he judged to be his duty to do, and therefore abhorred the thought of being indifferent to it, negligent of it, or of dropping it:

but I will teach you the good and the right way; would not only pray for them, but instruct them in the way of their duty; a way that was a good one, agreeable to the will and word of God, and in walking in which good things were enjoyed, and which being a good way, must needs be a right way; though Samuel ceased to be a judge and chief magistrate among them, he should not cease to act the part of a prophet to them, both by his prayers and by his instructions.

Gill: 1Sa 12:24

Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart,.... Fear him not with a servile fear, which is before dehorted from, but with a filial fear, a reverential affection for God; and includes the whole of religious worship, internal and external; explained further by serving him according to the truth of his word, and in a cordial, sincere, and affectionate manner; and if this was wanting in them, he suggests that his prayers and instructions would be of little avail, and not to be depended on:

for consider how great things he hath done for you; in bringing them out of Egypt: settling them in the land of Canaan; giving them his laws, statutes, commands, and ordinances; sending prophets unto them, and raising up judges for them, and bestowing all good things on them, in nature, providence, and grace; though some restrain this to the great thing he had done that day, to convince them of their sin, and by which they were returned to the Lord, namely, the violent storm of thunder; which wonderful instance of the power of God, and token of his displeasure against them, they were to lay up in their minds, and not forget, that it might be a means of preserving them from sin for the future.

Gill: 1Sa 12:25

But if ye shall still do wickedly,.... Continue to rebel against God, revolt from him, and depart from his worship, and despise his prophets, and serve idols:

ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king; their king would be so far from protecting, that he should perish with them, be killed by the sword, as Saul their first king was, or go into captivity, as others of their kings did.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Sa 12:20

¹ tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 12:21

¹ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 12:22

¹ tn Heb “on account of his great name.”

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 12:20

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: ^{( m )} yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

^{( m )} He shows that there is no sin so great, but it shall be forgiven, if the sinner turn again to God.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 12:22

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you ^{( n )} his people.

^{( n )} Of his free mercy, and not of your merits, and therefore he will not forsake you.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 12:24

Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your ^{( o )} heart: for consider how great [things] he hath done for you.

^{( o )} Unfeignedly, and without hypocrisy.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Sa 12:1-25

1 Samuel testifies his integrity.

6 He reproves the people of ingratitude.

16 He terrifies them with thunder in harvest time.

20 he comforts them in God's mercy.

Maclaren: 1Sa 12:13-25

1 Samuel 12:13-25

Samuel's office as judge necessarily ended when Saul was made king, but his office of prophet continued. This chapter deals with both the cessation and the continuance, giving at first his dignified, and somewhat pained, vindication of his integrity, and then passing on to show him exercising his prophetic function in exhortation, miracle, and authoritative declaration of Jehovah's will.

I. The First Point Is The Sign Which Samuel Gave.

Usually there is no rain in Palestine from about the end of April till October. Samuel was speaking during the wheat harvest, which falls about the beginning of June. We note that he volunteered the sign, and, what is still more remarkable, that he is sure that God will send it in answer to his prayer. Why was he thus certain? Because he recognized that the impulse to proffer the sign came from God. We know little of the mental processes by which a prophet could discriminate between his own thinking and God's speech, but such discrimination was possible, or there could have been no ring of confidence in the prophet's Thus saith the Lord.' Not even a Samuel among them that call upon His name' had a right to assume that every asking would certainly have an answer. It is when we ask anything according to His will' that we know that He heareth us,' and are entitled to predict to others the sure answer.

It seems a long leap logically from hearing the thunder and seeing the rain rushing down on the harvest field, to recognizing the sin of asking for a king. But the connecting steps are plain. Samuel announced the storm, he asked God to send it, it came at his word; therefore he was approved of God and was His messenger; therefore his words about the desire for a king were God's words. Again, God sent the tempest; therefore God ruled the elemental powers, and wielded them so as to affect Israel, and therefore it had been folly and sin to wish for another defender. So the result of the thunder-burst was twofold--they feared Jehovah and Samuel,' and they confessed their sin in desiring a king. They were but rude and sense-bound men, like children in many respects; their religion was little more than outward worship and a vague awe; they needed signs' as children need picture-books. The very slightness and superficiality of their religion made their confession easy and swift, and neither the one nor the other went deep enough to be lasting. The faith that is built on signs and wonders' is easily battered down; the repentance that is due to a thunderstorm is over as soon as the sun comes out again, the shallowness of the contrition in this ease is shown by two things,--the request to Samuel to pray for them, and the boon which they begged him to ask, that we die not.' They had better have prayed for themselves, and they had better have asked for strength to cleave to Jehovah. They were like Simon Magus cowering before Peter, and beseech-ina him, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken may come upon me.' That is not the voice of true repentance, the godly sorrow' which works healing and life, but that of the sorrow of the world which worketh death.' The real penitent will press the closer to the forgiving Father, and his cry will be for purity even more than for pardon.

II. Samuel's Closing Words Are Tender, Wise, And Full Of Great Truths.

He begins with encouragement blended with reiteration of the people's sin. It is not safe for a forgiven man to forget his sin quickly. The more sure he is that God has forgotten, the more careful he should be to remember it, for gratitude, humility and watchfulness. But it should never loom so large before him as to shut out the sunshine of God's love, for no fruits of goodness will ripen in character without that light. It is a great piece of practical wisdom always to keep one's forgiven sin in mind, and yet not to let it paralyze hopefulness and effort. Ye have indeed done all this evil … yet turn not aside from following Jehovah.' That is a truly evangelical exhortation. The memory of past failures is never to set the tune for future service. Again, Samuel based the exhortation to whole-hearted service of Jehovah on Jehovah's faithfulness and great benefits (1 Samuel 12:22-24). It is suicidal folly to turn away from Him who never turns away from us; it is black ingratitude, as well as suicidal folly, to refuse to serve Him whose mercies encompass us. That divine good pleasure, which has no source but in Himself, flows out like an artesian well, unceasing. His nature and property' is to love. His past is the prophecy of His future. He will always be what He has been, and always do what He has done. Therefore we need not fear, though we change and are faithless. He cannot deny Himself.' His revealed character would be dimmed if He abandoned a soul that clung to Him. So our faith should, in some measure, match His faithfulness, and we should build firmly on the firm foundation.

III. Samuel Answers The People's Request.

Samuel answers the people's request for his prayers with a wise word, full of affection, and also full of dignity and warning, all the more impressive because veiled. He promises his continued intercession, but he puts it as a duty which he owes to God rather than to them only, and he thus sufficiently asserts his God-appointed office. He promises to do more than pray for them; namely, to continue as their ethical and religious guide, which they had not asked him to be. That at once makes his future position in the monarchy clear. He is still the prophet, though no longer the judge, and, as the future was to show, he has to direct monarch as well as people. But it also hints to the people that his prayers for them will be of little avail unless they listen to his teaching. Whether a Samuel prays for us or not, if we do not listen to the voices that bid us serve God, we shall be consumed.'

MHCC: 1Sa 12:16-25

At Samuel's word, God sent thunder and rain, at a season of the year when, in that country, the like was not seen. This was to convince them they had done wickedly in asking a king; not only by its coming at an unusual time, in wheat harvest, and on a clear day, but by the prophet's giving notice of it before. He showed their folly in desiring a king to save them, rather than God, or Samuel; promising themselves more from an arm of flesh, than from the arm of God, or from the power of prayer. Could their prince command such forces as the prophet could do by his prayers? It startled them very much. Some will not be brought to see their sins by any gentler methods than storms and thunders. They entreat Samuel to pray for them. Now they see their need of him whom shortly before they slighted. Thus many who will not have Christ to reign over them, would yet be glad to have him intercede for them, to turn away the wrath of God. Samuel aims to confirm the people in their religion. Whatever we make a god of, we shall find it deceive us. Creatures in their own places are good; but when put in God's place, they are vain things. We sin if we restrain prayer, and in particular if we cease praying for the church. They only asked him to pray for them; but he promises to do more, to teach them. He urges that they were bound in gratitude to serve God, considering what great things he had done for them; and that they were bound in interest to serve him, considering what he would do against them, if they should still do wickedly. Thus, as a faithful watchman, he gave them warning, and so delivered his own soul. If we consider what great things the Lord hath done for us, especially in the great work of redemption, we can neither want motive, encouragement, nor assistance in serving him.

Matthew Henry: 1Sa 12:16-25

Two things Samuel here aims at: -

I. To convince the people of their sin in desiring a king. They were now rejoicing before God in and with their king (1Sa 11:15), and offering to God the sacrifices of praise, which they hoped God would accept; and this perhaps made them think that there was no harm in their asking a king, but really they had done well in it. Therefore Samuel here charges it upon them as their sin, as wickedness, great wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Note, Though we meet with prosperity and success in a way of sin, yet we must not therefore think the more favourably of it. They have a king, and if they conduct themselves well their king may be a very great blessing to them, and yet Samuel will have them perceive and see that their wickedness was great in asking a king. We must never think well of that which God in his law frowns upon, though in his providence he may seem to smile upon it. Observe,

1. The expressions of God's displeasure against them for asking a king. At Samuel's word, God sent prodigious thunder and rain upon them, at a season of the year when, in that country, the like was never seen or known before, 1Sa 12:16-18. Thunder and rain have natural causes and sometimes terrible effects. But Samuel made it to appear that this was designed by the almighty power of God on purpose to convince them that they had done very wickedly in asking a king; not only by its coming in an unusual time, in wheat-harvest, and this on a fair clear day, when there appeared not to the eye any signs of a storm, but by his giving notice of it before. Had there happened to be thunder and rain at the time when he was speaking to them, he might have improved it for their awakening and conviction, as we may in a like case; but, to make it no less than a miracle, before it came, (1.) He spoke to them of it (1Sa 12:16, 1Sa 12:17): Stand and see this great thing. He had before told them to stand and hear (1Sa 12:7); but, because he did not see that his reasoning with them affected them (so stupid were they and unthinking), now he bids them stand and see. If what he said in a still small voice did not reach their hearts, nor his doctrine which dropped as the dew, they shall hear God speaking to them in dreadful claps of thunder and the great rain of his strength. He appealed to this as a sign: " I will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder, will send it just now, to confirm the word of his servant, and to make you see that I spoke truly when I told you that God was angry with you for asking a king. "And the event proved him a true prophet; the sign and wonder came to pass. (2.) He spoke to God for it. Samuel called unto the Lord, and, in answer to his prayer, even while he was yet speaking, the Lord sent thunder and rain. By this Samuel made it to appear, not only what a powerful influence God has upon this earth, that he could, of a sudden, when natural causes did not work towards it, produce this dreadful rain and thunder, and bring them out of his treasures (Psa 135:7), but also what a powerful interest he had in heaven, that God would thus hearken to the voice of a man (Jos 10:14) and answer him in the secret place of thunder, Psa 81:7. Samuel, that son of prayer, was still famous for success in prayer. Now by this extraordinary thunder and rain sent on this occasion, [1.] God testified his displeasure against them in the same way in which he had formerly testified it, and at the prayer of Samuel too, against the Philistines. The Lord discomfited them with a great thunder, 1Sa 7:10. Now that Israel rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit, he turned to be their enemy, and fought against them with the same weapons which, not long before, had been employed against their adversaries, Isa 63:10. [2.] He showed them their folly in desiring a king to save them, rather than God or Samuel, promising themselves more from an arm of flesh than from the arm of God or from the power of prayer. Could their king thunder with a voice like God? Job 40:9. Could their prince command such forces as the prophet could by his prayers? [3.] He intimated to them that how serene and prosperous soever their condition seemed to be now that they had a king, like the weather in wheat-harvest, yet, if God pleased, he could soon change the face of their heavens, and persecute them with his tempest, as the Psalmist speaks.

2. The impressions which this made upon the people. It startled them very much, as well it might. (1.) They greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. Though when they had a king they were ready to think they must fear him only, God made them know that he is greatly to be feared and his prophets for his sake. Now they were rejoicing in their king, God taught them to rejoice with trembling. (2.) They owned their sin and folly in desiring a king: We have added to all our sins this evil, 1Sa 12:19. Some people will not be brought to a sight of their sins by any gentler methods than storms and thunders. Samuel did not extort this confession from them till the matter was settled and the king confirmed, lest it should look as if he designed by it rather to establish himself in the government than to bring them to repentance. Now that they were flattering themselves in their own eyes, their iniquity was found to be hateful, Psa 36:2. (3.) They earnestly begged Samuel's prayers (1Sa 12:19): Pray for thy servants, that we die not. They were apprehensive of their danger from the wrath of God, and could not expect that he should hear their prayers for themselves, and therefore they entreat Samuel to pray for them. Now they see their need of him whom awhile ago they slighted. Thus many that will not have Christ to reign over them would yet be glad to have him intercede for them, to turn away the wrath of God. And the time may come when those that have despised and ridiculed praying people will value their prayers, and desire a share in them. " Pray "(say they) " to the Lord thy God; we know not how to call him ours, but, if thou hast any interest in him, improve it for us."

II. He aims to confirm the people in their religion, and engage them for ever to cleave unto the Lord. The design of his discourse is much the same with Joshua's, Jos 23:1 and Jos 24:1.

1. He would not that the terrors of the Lord should frighten them from him, for they were intended to frighten them to him (1Sa 12:20): " Fear not; though you have done all this wickedness, and though God is angry with you for it, yet do not therefore abandon his service, nor turn from following him. " Fear not, that is, "despair not, fear not with amazement, the weather will clear up after the storm. Fear not; for, though God will frown upon his people, yet he will not forsake them (1Sa 12:22) for his great name's sake; do not you forsake him then."Every transgression in the covenant, though it displease the Lord, yet does not throw us out of covenant, and therefore God's just rebukes must not drive us from our hope in his mercy. The fixedness of God's choice is owing to the freeness of it; we may therefore hope he will not forsake his people, because it has pleased him to make them his people. Had he chosen them for their good merits, we might fear he would cast them off for their bad merits; but, choosing them for his name's sake, for his name's sake he will not leave them.

2. He cautions them against idolatry: " Turn not aside from God and the worship of him"(1Sa 12:20, and again 1Sa 12:21); "for if you turn aside from God, whatever you turn aside to, you will find it is a vain thing, that can never answer your expectations, but will certainly deceive you if you trust to it; it is a broken reed, a broken cistern."Idols could not profit those that sought to them in their wants, nor deliver those that sought to them in their straits, for they were vain, and not what they pretended to be. An idol is nothing in the world, 1Co 8:4.

3. He comforts them with an assurance that he would continue his care and concern for them, 1Sa 12:23. They desired him to pray for them, 1Sa 12:19. He might have said, "Go to Saul, the king that you have put in my room,"and get him to pray for you; but so far is he from upbraiding them with their disrespect to him that he promised them much more than they asked. (1.) They asked it of him as a favour; he promised it as a duty, and startles at the thought of neglecting it. Pray for you! says he, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in not doing it. Note, It is a sin against God not to pray for the Israel of God, especially for those of them that are under our charge: and good men are afraid of the guilt of omissions. (2.) They asked him to pray for them at this time, and upon this occasion, but he promised to continue his prayers for them and to cease as long as he lived. Our rule is to pray without ceasing; we sin if we restrain prayer in general, and in particular if we cease praying for the church. (3.) They asked him only to pray for them, but he promised to do more for them, not only to pray for them, but to teach them; though they were not willing to be under his government as a judge, he would not therefore deny them his instructions as a prophet. And they might be sure he would teach them no other than the good and the right way: and the right way is certainly the good way: the way of duty is the way of pleasure and profit.

4. He concludes with an earnest exhortation to practical religion and serious godliness, 1Sa 12:24, 1Sa 12:25. The great duty here pressed upon us is to fear the Lord. He had said (1Sa 12:20), " Fear not with a slavish fear,"but here, "Fear the Lord, with a filial fear."As the fruit and evidence of this, serve him in the duties of religious worship and of a godly conversation, in truth and sincerity, and not in show and profession only, with your heart, and with all your heart, not dissembling, not dividing. And two things he urges by way of motive: - (1.) That they were bound in gratitude to serve God, considering what great things he had done for them, to engage them for ever to his service. (2.) That they were bound in interest to serve him, considering what great things he would do against them if they should still do wickedly: " You shall be destroyed by the judgments of God, both you and your king whom you are so proud of and expect so much from, and who will be a blessing to you if you keep in with God."Thus, as a faithful watchman, he gave them warning, and so delivered his own soul.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 12:20-21

Samuel thereupon announced to them first of all, that the Lord would notforsake His people for His great name's sake, if they would only serveHim with uprightness. In order, however, to give no encouragement to anyfalse trust in the covenant faithfulness of the Lord, after the comfortingwords, "Fear not," he told them again very decidedly that they had donewrong, but that now they were not to turn away from the Lord, but toserve Him with all their heart, and not go after vain idols. To strengthenthis admonition, he repeats the תּסוּרוּ לא in 1Sa 12:21, withthe explanation, that in turning from the Lord they would fall away toidols, which could not bring them either help or deliverance. To the כּי after תּסוּרוּ the same verb must be supplied from thecontext: " Do not turn aside (from the Lord), for (ye turn aside) after thatwhich is vain ." התּהוּ , the vain, worthless thing, signifies the false gods . This will explain the construction with a plural: " which do notprofit and do not save, because they are emptiness "( tohu ), i.e., worthlessbeings ( elilim , Lev 19:4; cf. Isa 44:9 and Jer 16:19).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 12:22

" For ( כּי gives the reason for the main thought of the previousverse, 'Fear not, but serve the Lord,' etc.) the Lord will not forsake Hispeople for His great name's sake; for it hath pleased the Lord (for הואיל , see at Deu 1:5) to make you His people ."The emphasis lies upon His . This the Israelites could only be, when they proved themselves to bethe people of God, by serving Jehovah with all their heart. "For His greatname's sake," i.e., for the great name which He had acquired in the sight ofall the nations, by the marvellous guidance of Israel thus far, to preserve itagainst misapprehension and blasphemy (see at Jos 7:9).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 12:23

Samuel then promised the people his constant intercession: "Far be it fromme to sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you, and toinstruct you in the good and right way," i.e., to work as prophet for yourgood. "In this he sets a glorious example to all rulers, showing them thatthey should not be led astray by the ingratitude of their subordinates orsubjects, and give up on that account all interest in their welfare, butshould rather persevere all the more in their anxiety for them"( Berleb. Bible ).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 12:24-25

Lastly, he repeats once more his admonition, that they would continuestedfast in the fear of God, threatening at the same time the destruction ofboth king and people if they should do wrong (on 1Sa 12:24 , see 1Sa 7:3and Jos 24:14, where the form יראוּ is also found). " For see whatgreat things He has done for you "(shown to you), not by causing it tothunder and rain at Samuel's prayer, but by giving them a king. עם הגדּיל , as in Gen 19:19.

Constable: 1Sa 8:1--12:25

B. Kingship Given to Saul chs. 8-12

"Clearly these five chapters constitute a literary unit, for they are immediately preceded by the formula that marks the end of the story of a judge (7:13-17) and immediately followed by the formula that marks the beginning of the account of a reign (13:1; . . .). The divisions of the unit . . . alternate between negative and positive attitudes toward monarchy (not as contradictory but as complementary): 8:1-22, negative; 9:1-10:16, positive; 10:17-27, negative; 11:1-11, positive; 11:12-12:25, negative . . ."⁹³

In this section and the next (chs. 13-15) the writer skillfully contrasted the blessing that comes as a result of obeying God's will with the cursing that comes from disobedience. Chapters 8-12 are generally positive and record Saul's successes. The section opens and closes with Samuel giving a warning to the Israelites.

Constable: 1Sa 12:1-25

Samuel's second warning to the people ch. 12

The writer wrote chapters 12-15 very skillfully to parallel chapters 8-11. Each section begins with Samuel warning the people about the dangers of their requesting a king (chs. 8 and 12). Each one also follows with a description of Saul's exploits (chs. 9-10 and 13-14) and ends with Saul leading Israel in battle (chs. 11 and 15). This parallel structure vividly sets off the contrast between Saul's early success as Israel's king and his subsequent failure. The reason he failed is the primary theological lesson of these chapters, and it is a continuation of the fertility motif.

Chapter 12 is another most important theological passage in Samuel along with 1 Samuel 7 and 2 Samuel 7. Here Samuel explained Israel's future relationship with Yahweh and the Mosaic Law since the people insisted on having a king and had rejected Yahweh and Samuel.

"With this address Samuel laid down his office as judge, but without therefore ceasing as prophet to represent the people before God, and to maintain the rights of God in relation to the king."¹²⁷

"This chapter . . . formally marks the end of the period of the judges . . ."¹²⁸

Constable: 1Sa 12:19-25

Samuel's reassurance of the people 12:19-25

The people's rebellion against God was not something they could undo. Consequences would follow. Nevertheless Samuel counselled them to follow and serve the Lord faithfully from then on. They should not fear that God would abandon them because of their sin of demanding a king. He would not cast them off because He had promised to stay with them and had committed Himself to them (Exod. 19:5-6). His name (reputation) would suffer if He abandoned them.

Not only did the Israelites need to walk in obedience to God, they also needed the supportive intercession of Samuel that would bring down God's enablement so they could follow Him faithfully. This Samuel promised them, too. Intercession is a vitally important ministry of leaders of God's people, and Samuel realized this (Jer. 15:1; Ps. 99:6).

"Prophetic intercession is regarded as essential to Israel's continued prosperity; only when her doom is sealed is a prophet told to desist (Je. 11:14; 14:11). Samuel's ministry of intercession and teaching, exercised independently of the offices of state, becomes the norm for those who followed him in the prophetic succession. These are the irreducible aspects of the prophetic office' (McCarter, p. 219)."¹³⁰

To fear and serve God faithfully the Israelites would need to remember God's faithfulness to them in the past and to bear in mind the certain consequences of disobedience (cf. Deut. 28:41, 64-64; 30:15-20). The dark alternative was being swept away in exile.

This chapter sets forth clearly the basic principles by which God deals with His people. As such it is very important. It explains why things happened as they did in Israel and in the personal lives of the major characters that the writer emphasized.

In chapters 8-12 the record emphasizes that even though the people insisted on having a king God gave them one who was personally admirable and victorious in battle. Everything about Saul in these chapters is positive. God gave blessing to His people as long as their representative submitted to His authority.

Guzik: 1Sa 12:1-25

1 Samuel 12 - Samuel's Speech at Saul's Coronation

A. Testimony to Samuel's integrity.

1. (1-3) Samuel talks about his leadership over Israel.

Now Samuel said to all Israel: "Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you."

a. Samuel said to all Israel: After the victory of Saul over the Ammonites in 1 Samuel 11, Samuel knows the nation will now begin to look to this king for leadership. Here, in this chapter, he is helping Israel to make the transition from Samuel's leadership to Saul's leadership. Samuel makes this clear when he says, "now here is the king" and "I am old and gray headed." Samuel is telling Israel that his day is over, and Saul's day is beginning.

i. It is true that Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life (1 Samuel 7:15), but now that a king has been raised up, his role will change and diminish. Samuel never officially "stepped down" from leading Israel as a judge, but he would not allow his shadow to eclipse Saul. Perhaps he knew Saul would have enough trouble on his own, and didn't want to be accused of subverting Saul's reign as king.

ii. In this, Samuel shows himself as a truly godly man. He is willing to pass from the scene when God raises up another leader. His heart is the same as John the Baptist's heart towards Jesus: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). Samuel would not grasp onto a position when God was changing it.

b. Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you have said to me: Samuel wanted it clearly known that it was not his idea to appoint a king over Israel. This idea began in the hearts of Israel, not in the heart and mind of God. God allowed it, and directed its execution, but it was the voice of the people that prompted it.

c. My sons are with you: In 1 Samuel 8:1-5, Samuel was challenged to take his sons out of leadership in Israel, because they were not godly men. Though it must have been difficult, he did it. The words my sons are with you are proof; Samuel's sons were simply a part of the assembly of Israel, not "up on the platform" with Samuel.

i. "It is generally agreed that these words intimate that Samuel had deprived them of their public employ, and reduced them to a level with the common people." (Clarke)

d. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day: Samuel remembers his humble beginnings as a child, dedicated to the LORD and serving Israel and the LORD at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:18, 3:1).

i. I have walked before you is not the idea "I have been on display before you." Instead, it is the idea of a shepherd walking before his flock, leading it on. Samuel had been a godly leader and shepherd for Israel these many years.

e. Witness against me before the LORD: As Samuel speaks to the nation about the transition of leadership, he wants it clear that he has not defrauded or oppressed or been corrupt in anyway. He simply challenges the nation: "If I have wronged you or been corrupt, come forward now and declare it."

i. This is impressive as an example of the godly character of Samuel. Certainly, few people could give such an invitation to accuse!

ii. Why? Why does Samuel do what seems to be a purely self-justifying and self-glorifying thing? From what we know of the character of Samuel in other passages, we have to believe this is more than him saying, "Look at how good I am." Instead, it seems that Samuel wants the nation to know that he has passed a good legacy of leadership to the new king Saul. He wants Israel to recognize that he hasn't handed Saul a mess that he has to clean up. If Saul should prove to be a poor leader, no one could say it was because of the bad example set by Samuel.

f. I will restore it: It seems as if Samuel is saying, "I may have wronged someone without knowing it. If that is the case, state it now, so I can make it right. I don't want to leave any unfinished business." This testifies to Samuel's humble heart.

2. (4-5) Israel affirms the blameless leadership of Samuel.

And they said, "You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand." Then 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 answered, "He is witness."

a. You have not defrauded us or oppressed us: Israel knew Samuel had been a good, godly leader. He had not led them for what he could get from them, but for what he could give to them.

i. This is a priceless testimony for any leader. How precious to stand before your own people, and to hear them affirm the integrity of your leadership! Samuel could only make the challenge of 1 Samuel 12:3 because he knew the answer ahead of time.

b. The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day: Samuel settles the matter. All parties agree that he has led Israel well. This is the second time Samuel has mentioned His anointed in this passage, and the phrase refers to Saul, because he was anointed as king (1 Samuel 10:1). Samuel deliberately included Saul in all this to make the idea of a transition between his leadership and Saul's clear.

c. In what sense was the LORD witness against them? If Israel were to later accuse Samuel of wrong, he could call them back to this time, and what they said here would be a witness against them. As well, if Israel ever tried to blame Saul's problems as king on Samuel, what they said here would be a witness against them.

B. Samuel challenges Israel to serve God under their new king.

1. (6-12) Samuel gives a brief history lesson.

Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.' And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. And when you saw that Nahash 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."

a. The righteous acts of the LORD: Samuel, in this remembrance of God's work from the time of the Exodus until his present day, focuses not on the history of Israel, but on the history of the righteous acts of the LORD.

b. Who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place: Israel should remember their salvation from slavery and the new life God gave them in the Promised Land. This is one of the righteous acts of the LORD.

c. He sold them into the hand of Sisera: Israel should remember how God allowed a disobedient Israel to be under the domination of their enemies, as a chastisement intending to bring them to repentance. This is one of the righteous acts of the LORD.

i. We should recognize God's chastisement as one of the righteous acts of the LORD. His discipline is just as righteous as His deliverance.

d. They cried out to the LORD . . . now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You . . . And the LORD sent . . . and delivered you: Israel should remember that when they cried out to God, confessed their sin and humbled themselves in repentance before Him, that He delivered them. This is one of the righteous acts of the LORD.

i. The list of the deliverers God used (Jerubbaaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel) shows two things. First, it shows Israel was constantly in need of deliverance because of their sin, and God kept delivering them when they repented. Second, it showed that God didn't need just one man. He could use many different leaders to do His work in Israel. So, even if Samuel is old and gray headed (1 Samuel 11:2), God can now raise up a Saul.

ii. Jerubbaal was another name for Gideon (Judges 6:32). Who was Bedan? We have no mention of him in the book of Judges. Perhaps he was a deliverer known in their history, but no recorded in the book of Judges. Or, Bedan may be a variant spelling or name for Barak, mentioned in Judges 4:6. The Septuagint, an ancient translation of the Old Testament, translates the name as Barak. Other ancient translations have Samson, and some commentators believe Jair is intended. But really doesn't matter!

iii. Youngblood feels that one reason Gideon is mentioned is "because he specifically refused to establish dynastic as opposed to divine rule over his countrymen . . . for which refusal he must surely have been one of Samuel's heroes."

iv. "The language of vv.9-11 is heavily dependent on terminology characteristic of the Book of Judges. The dreary cycle of rebellion-retribution-repentance-restoration described throughout that book . . . is reprised here." (Youngblood)

e. Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you: Samuel remembers the most recent example of God's deliverance for Israel (recorded in 1 Samuel 11). Samuel is tying together the story of God's deliverance for Israel, from the time of the Exodus to the present day. Each of these were examples of the righteous acts of the LORD.

i. Why the history lesson? Because as Israel makes the transition into monarchy, they need to remember the righteous acts of the LORD. Everything the LORD wants to do in our lives now is in the setting of what He has already done in our lives.

f. You said to me, "No, but a king shall reign over us," when the LORD your God was your king: As they begin to live under the king, Samuel reminds the nation of their disobedience desire for a king. The LORD had been a good king for Israel, but they wanted a king for carnal, fleshly reasons.

2. (13-15) If you fear the LORD: a choice for Israel.

"Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you. If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. However, if you do 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, as it was against your fathers."

a. Here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired: Samuel probably had the feeling, "Here is the king you wanted. You will find that he isn't quite the king you need, but he is the king you wanted."

b. If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice: Samuel presents Israel with an important choice. They had been disobedient in their desire for a king, yet God had given them a king. Even so, if they would fear the LORD and serve Him, God could still bless them.

i. One wrong turn had not put them out of God's plan forever. Yes, Israel should have never sought a human king. But now they had one, and Samuel simply calls them to serve the LORD where they are at now. We need to know that one wrong turn doesn't wreck our lives before God! Instead of agonizing over the past, get right with God today. Fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and God will bring good even out of yesterday's wrong turn.

c. However, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD . . . then the hand of the LORD will be against you: Samuel puts the choice before Israel. They had made a wrong turn, yet God puts them at fork in the road. On one side is submission to God and obedience; on the other is rebellion and disobedience. If they choose the wrong path, they can trust God will not bless it.

d. As it was against your fathers: Every individual every generation is tempted to think of itself as a special exception. They know of the righteous acts of the LORD in previous generations, yet somehow feel they are excepted from God's correction or judgment. Samuel is reminding Israel they are not any different from their fathers, and God will not deal with them any differently than He did with their fathers.

3. (16-18) God confirms Samuel's word with a sign.

"Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves." So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

a. Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do: Samuel will pray and ask God to send a sign to confirm His word. This is a concession to the wicked hearts of the people, because Samuel knows only a sign from God will impress them.

b. That you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves: Why would Samuel and the LORD wait until now for such a dramatic sign? Why not do it when Israel first asked for a king, so they would have known their sin right then, and taken back their request for a king?

i. Because God had a purpose in allowing the "people's king," Saul, to come first.

ii. Because if it had happened in the first days of Saul's reign, the people would have cast him off just as quickly, and just as wrongly, as they asked for him. Now, that his reign has been confirmed by the victory of 1 Samuel 11 and accepted by the people, they can be more directly confronted with their sin.

iii. Because Samuel might have been accused of reproving the people out of a personal sense of hurt. By waiting until now, everyone knows that Samuel isn't saying, "Get rid of Saul so I can lead the nation again."

iv. Because now, Israel rejoiced greatly (1 Samuel 11:15). They were perhaps a little too excited about their new king, and Samuel wants them to have a more spiritual perspective.

v. "This is an excellent way of preaching - to mingle promises and threatenings. Sour and sweet make the best sauce." (Trapp)

c. The LORD sent thunder and rain that day: Thunder and rain were unusual during the wheat harvest. This was a truly remarkable sign from God.

i. The sign was especially meaningful because one of the common gods of that day was Baal, who was thought to be the god of thunder and rain. The LORD was showing that He was the true God of the weather.

ii. Because it was the wheat harvest, the sign displayed not only God's power, but His judgment also. Heavy rain during the harvest could destroy all their crops. The sign was a warning. "In that part of the world not only is 'rain in harvest . . . not fitting' (Prov. 26:1), it is so totally unexpected that it could easily be interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure." (Youngblood)

d. The people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel: The result was good, but it shows something weak and carnal in the hearts of the people. Didn't they know God was this powerful before? Perhaps their knowledge of it was purely intellectual knowledge. They could have known the power and majesty and sovereignty of God in their hearts before this, and then it would have been unnecessary to bring a sign before the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

i. Even more impressive than thunder during harvest time is the thunder of the Holy Spirit's conviction in the heart. Even more impressive than rain during harvest time is the love of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The inner work is more effective in making us serve God than any outward sign, no matter how impressive.

e. I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder . . . So Samuel called to the LORD: This is an impressive example of power in prayer. Samuel is known in the Bible as a mighty man of prayer (Psalm 99:6, Jeremiah 15:1).

4. (19) Israel sees their sin of desiring a king.

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 the evil of asking a king for ourselves."

a. Pray for your servants: Samuel had just shown himself a mighty man of prayer, and Israel now knows how much they need prayer. It made sense to ask Samuel to pray for them!

b. We have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves: Finally, Israel sees their sin of wanting a king. They see it too late; if only they had realized it in 1 Samuel 8, when Samuel first warned them! Now they are stuck with a king, yet God can still turn it for good if Israel will repent and seek the LORD.

i. It is sad that it took thunder and rain for Israel to be impressed with God's power and majesty. What will it take for us to fear the LORD and treat Him as a God of power and majesty?

ii. Trapp on we have added to all our sins: "By occasion of this sin, they came to the sight and recognition of many more. Our lives are as full of sins as the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks."

5. (20-25) Samuel exhorts Israel to walk right with the LORD today.

Then Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

a. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart: Samuel will not minimize Israel's sin. Yet, he does not want them to dwell on the sin of the past, but to get on walking with the LORD today.

i. The Living Bible puts the thought well: Make sure now that you worship the Lord with true enthusiasm, and that you don't turn your back on Him in any way. We can't do anything about yesterday, and at the present moment we can't serve God tomorrow. At the present moment, all we can do is not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Satan would love for us to live in the past or in the future; to do anything but serve the LORD with all we have right now!

b. Do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing: Samuel wants Israel to know that rejecting the LORD, and turning aside from Him, just doesn't work. If they will not serve God out of spiritual reasons, then let them do it for pragmatic reasons: nothing else can profit or deliver!

i. It is precious place in our walk with God when we realize this. It isn't easy to come to this place; we usually learn by bitter experience that nothing else can profit or deliver. But how wonderful to say with Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). What a gift to know that as tough as it might be serving God, it is only worse to turn aside from Him!

c. For the LORD will not forsake His people . . . it has pleased the LORD to make you His people: Samuel wants Israel to know that God loves them. This is why, despite the sin of their past, they can get on with serving the LORD and still see His blessing. Because God loves them. His favor towards Israel was not prompted by good they had done, were doing, or promised to do. It was for His great name's sake, because it pleased the LORD to do it. The reasons were in Him, not in Israel.

i. Why doesn't God give up on Israel? Because He loves them. Why is God willing to put away the sin of the past? Because He loves them. Why is God willing to give them a new start? Because He loves them. Only God's love makes any sense of this!

d. Far be it for me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: Samuel knew the best thing he could do for Israel was to pray for them. His words to them would make no difference if the LORD was not working in their hearts, and the best way to cultivate the working of the LORD in their lives was through prayer.

i. Samuel could have felt hurt that the people rejected him and the LORD as leaders over the nation. He might have been bitter against the people, and refused to pray for them. But Samuel was a more godly man than that. "Think not that because you have so highly disobliged and rejected me, that I will revenge myself by neglecting to pray for you, or by praying against you, as I have now done for your conviction and humiliation, and so for you preservation; I am sensible it is my duty, as I am a man, an Israelite, a minister, a prophet, to pray for you." (Poole)

ii. Many would say, "I promise I will start praying for you." For Samuel, starting to pray was a non-issue, because he was already praying. For him, the issue was ceasing to pray. "Samuel had become so rooted in the habit of prayer for the people that he seems to start at the very thought of brining his intercession to an end." (Spurgeon)

iii. This statement of Samuel makes it plain: it is a sin for a leader of God's people to stop praying for them. It is the most basic of his duties as a leader. If it is sin to stop praying, how much worse must it be to even fail to start praying!

iv. But the blessing of unceasing prayer is not the property of the preacher or leader alone. All can share in it. "Perhaps you will never preach, but you may pray. If you cannot climb the pulpit you may bow before the mercy-seat, and be quite as great a blessing." (Spurgeon)

e. I will teach you the good and the right way: Samuel would pray, but he would not only pray. There was still a place for teaching, and Samuel would faithfully fulfill that role as well.

i. So, is it better to preach or to pray? "Whether a minister shall do more good to others by his prayers or preaching, I will not determine, saith one; but he shall certainly by his prayers reap more comfort to himself." (Trapp)

ii. Samuel wants the people of Israel to know that even as he is stepping back and allowing Saul to emerge as a leader, he will not forsake Israel. He will continue to lead and to serve them, but more in a spiritual way, through prayer and teaching. Saul will take the more visible reins of leadership.

f. Only fear the LORD . . . for consider what great things He has done for you: All of our service, all of our obedience, all of our love for God should be put in this context. We do it because of the great things He has done for us. We don't serve God so as to persuade Him to do great things for us. He has done the great things, and asks us to receive them by faith. Then we serve Him because of the great things he has done for us.

i. We can only keep perspective in our Christian lives if we keep focused on what great things He has done for you. And if we lose perspective, everything is distorted. Police in Seal Beach, California, got an urgent call from a resident looking through his new telescope: a pink Corvette was being ravaged in the surf, and the caller was afraid that someone might be trapped inside. Officers rushed to the scene, but couldn't find the car. The man confirmed he could still see it, so officers came to his house to take a look. Through his telescope, they saw it too: a "Barbie-sized" toy car on the beach, highly magnified by the powerful lens. "Had he panned his telescope up a little from the ocean . . . he would've realized what he was looking at," said police Sgt. Rick Ransdell. The cops recovered the toy, which was less than a foot long, he said. Many people tend to magnify their problems and lose sight of what great things He has done for you.

g. If you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away: This warning became the sad legacy of Israel, when they were conquered and taken from the land in captivity.

i. "Never was a people more fully warned, and never did a people profit less by the warning." (Clarke)

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF SAMUEL. The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book of Samuel with more propriety than now, the second being wholly occupied with the relation of transactions that did not take place till after the death of that eminent judge. Accordingly, in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, it is called the First and Second Books of Kings. The early portion of the First Book, down to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, was probably written by Samuel; while the rest of it and the whole of the Second, are commonly ascribed to Nathan and Gad, founding the opinion on 1Ch 29:29. Commentators, however, are divided about this, some supposing that the statements in 1Sa 2:26; 1Sa 3:1, indicate the hand of the judge himself, or a contemporary; while some think, from 1Sa 6:18; 1Sa 12:5; 1Sa 27:6, that its composition must be referred to a later age. It is probable, however, that these supposed marks of an after-period were interpolations of Ezra. This uncertainty, however, as to the authorship does not affect the inspired authority of the book, which is indisputable, being quoted in the New Testament (1Sa 13:14 in Act 13:22, and 2Sa 7:14 in Heb 1:5), as well as in many of the Psalms.

JFB: 1 Samuel (Outline)

• OF ELKANAH AND HIS TWO WIVES. (1Sa 1:1-8)
• HANNAH'S PRAYER. (1Sa 1:9-18)
• SAMUEL BORN. (1Sa 1:20)
• HANNAH'S SONG IN THANKFULNESS TO GOD. (1Sa 2:1-11)
• THE SIN OF ELI'S SONS. (1Sa 2:12-17)
• SAMUEL'S MINISTRY. (1Sa 2:18-26)
• A PROPHECY AGAINST ELI'S HOUSE. (1Sa 2:27-35)
• THE LORD APPEARS TO SAMUEL IN A VISION. (1Sa 3:1-10)
• ISRAEL OVERCOME BY THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 4:1-11)
• ELI HEARING THE TIDINGS. (1Sa 4:12-22)
• THE PHILISTINES BRING THE ARK INTO THE HOUSE OF DAGON. (1Sa 5:1-2)
• DAGON FALLS DOWN. (1Sa 5:3-5)
• THE PHILISTINES ARE SMITTEN WITH EMERODS. (1Sa 5:6-12)
• THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (1Sa 6:1-9)
• THE ARK AT KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Sa 7:1-2)
• THE ISRAELITES, THROUGH SAMUEL'S INFLUENCE, SOLEMNLY REPENT AT MIZPEH. (1Sa 7:3-6)
• WHILE SAMUEL PRAYS, THE PHILISTINES ARE DISCOMFITED. (1Sa 7:7-14)
• OCCASIONED BY THE ILL-GOVERNMENT OF SAMUEL'S SONS, THE ISRAELITES ASK A KING. (1Sa. 8:1-18)
• SAUL, DESPAIRING TO FIND HIS FATHER'S ASSES, COMES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 9:1-14)
• GOD REVEALS TO SAMUEL SAUL'S COMING, AND HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE KINGDOM. (1Sa 9:15-27)
• SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL, AND CONFIRMS HIM BY THE PREDICTION OF THREE SIGNS. (1Sa. 10:1-27)
• NAHASH OFFERS THEM OF JABESH-GILEAD A REPROACHFUL CONDITION. (1Sa 11:1-4)
• THEY SEND TO SAUL, AND ARE DELIVERED. (1Sa 11:5-11)
• SAUL CONFIRMED KING. (1Sa 11:12-15)
• SAMUEL TESTIFIES HIS INTEGRITY. (1Sa 12:1-5)
• HE TERRIFIES THEM WITH THUNDER IN HARVEST-TIME. (1Sa 12:17-25)
• SAUL'S SELECTED BAND. (1Sa 13:1-2)
• HE CALLS THE HEBREWS TO GILGAL AGAINST THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 13:3-4)
• THE PHILISTINES' GREAT HOST. (1Sa 13:5)
• THE ISRAELITES' DISTRESS. (1Sa 13:6-8)
• SAUL, WEARY OF WAITING FOR SAMUEL, SACRIFICES. (1Sa 13:9-16)
• JONATHAN MIRACULOUSLY SMITES THE PHILISTINES' GARRISON. (1Sa 14:1-14)
• SAUL SENT TO DESTROY AMALEK. (1Sa 15:1-6)
• HE SPARES AGAG AND THE BEST OF THE SPOIL. (1Sa 15:7-9)
• GOD REJECTS HIS FOR DISOBEDIENCE. (1Sa 15:10-11)
• SAMUEL SENT BY GOD TO BETHLEHEM. (1Sa 16:1-10)
• HE ANOINTS DAVID. (1Sa 16:11-14)
• THE ISRAELITES AND PHILISTINES BEING READY TO BATTLE. (1Sa 17:1-3)
• GOLIATH CHALLENGES A COMBAT. (1Sa 17:4-11)
• DAVID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE, AND SLAYS HIM. (1Sa. 17:12-58)
• JONATHAN LOVES DAVID. (1Sa 18:1-4)
• SAUL ENVIES HIS PRAISE. (1Sa 18:5-9)
• SEEKS TO KILL HIM. (1Sa 18:10-12)
• FEARS HIM FOR HIS GOOD SUCCESS. (1Sa 18:13-16)
• HE OFFERS HIM HIS DAUGHTER FOR A SNARE. (1Sa 18:17-21)
• JONATHAN DISCLOSES HIS FATHER'S PURPOSE TO KILL DAVID. (1Sa 19:1-7)
• SAUL'S MALICIOUS RAGE BREAKS OUT AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 19:8-17)
• DAVID FLEES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 19:18-23)
• SAUL PROPHESIES. (1Sa 19:24)
• DAVID CONSULTS WITH JONATHAN FOR HIS SAFETY. (1Sa 20:1-10)
• THEIR COVENANT RENEWED BY OATH. (1Sa 20:11-23)
• SAUL, MISSING DAVID, SEEKS TO KILL JONAHAN. (1Sa. 20:24-40)
• JONATHAN AND DAVID LOVINGLY PART. (1Sa 20:41-42)
• DAVID, AT NOB, OBTAINS OF AHIMELECH HALLOWED BREAD. (1Sa 21:1-7)
• HE TAKES GOLIATH'S SWORD. (1Sa 21:9)
• AT GATH HE FEIGNS HIMSELF MAD. (1Sa 21:10-15)
• DAVID'S KINDRED AND OTHERS RESORT TO HIM AT ADULLAM. (1Sa 22:1-8)
• DOEG ACCUSES AHIMELECH. (1Sa 22:9-16)
• SAUL COMMANDS TO KILL THE PRIESTS. (1Sa 22:17-19)
• ABIATHAR ESCAPES AND FLEES AFTER DAVID. (1Sa 22:20-23)
• DAVID RESCUES KEILAH. (1Sa 23:1-6)
• SAUL'S COMING, AND TREACHERY OF THE KEILITES. (1Sa 23:7-13)
• DAVID ESCAPES TO ZIPH. (1Sa 23:14-18)
• SAUL PURSUES HIM. (1Sa 23:19-29)
• DAVID IN A CAVE AT ENGEDI CUTS OFF SAUL'S SKIRT, BUT SPARES HIS LIFE. (1Sa 24:1-7)
• HE URGES THEREBY HIS INNOCENCY. (1Sa 24:8-15)
• SAMUEL DIES. (1Sa 25:1-9)
• THE CHURLISH ANSWER PROVOKES HIM. (1Sa 25:10-13)
• ABIGAIL PACIFIES HIM. (1Sa. 25:14-35)
• NABAL'S DEATH. (1Sa 25:36-44)
• SAUL COMES TO THE HILL OF HACHILAH AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 26:1-4)
• DAVID STAYS ABISHAI FROM KILLING SAUL, BUT TAKES HIS SPEAR AND CRUSE. (1Sa. 26:5-25)
• SAUL HEARING THAT DAVID WAS FLED TO GATH, SEEKS NO MORE FOR HIM. (1Sa 27:1-4)
• DAVID BEGS ZIKLAG OF ACHISH. (1Sa 27:5-12)
• ACHISH'S CONFIDENCE IN DAVID. (1Sa 28:1-6)
• SAUL SEEKS A WITCH, WHO, BEING ENCOURAGED BY HIM, RAISES UP SAMUEL. (1Sa. 28:7-25)
• DAVID MARCHING WITH THE PHILISTINES TO FIGHT WITH ISRAEL. (1Sa 29:1-5)
• THE AMALEKITES SPOIL ZIKLAG. (1Sa 30:1-5)
• BUT DAVID, ENCOURAGED BY GOD, PURSUES THEM. (1Sa 30:6-15)
• AND RECOVERS HIS TWO WIVES AND ALL THE SPOIL. (1Sa. 30:16-31)
• SAUL HAVING LOST HIS ARMY AT GILBOA, AND HIS SONS BEING SLAIN, HE AND HIS ARMOR-BEARER KILL THEMSELVES. (1Sa 31:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER THEIR DEAD BODIES. (1Sa 31:8-10)
• THE MEN OF JABESH-GILEAD RECOVER THE BODIES AND BURY THEM AT JABESH. (1Sa 31:11-13)

TSK: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

The First Book of SAMUEL, otherwise called " The First Book of the KINGS."

TSK: 1 Samuel 12 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Sa 12:1, Samuel testifies his integrity; 1Sa 12:6, He reproves the people of ingratitude; 1Sa 12:16, He terrifies them with thunder in harvest time; 1Sa 12:20, he comforts them in God’s mercy.

Poole: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL OTHERWISE CALLED

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.

THE ARGUMENT.

IT is not certainly known who was the penman of this Book, or whether it was written by one or more hands; nor is it or any great importance; for since there are sufficient evidences that God was the chief author of it, it matters not who was the instrument. As when it appears that such a thing was really an act of parliament, or of the council-table, it is not considerable who was the clerk or which was the pen that wrote it. And this is the less material in such historical hooks, wherein there is but little which concerns the foundation of faith and good life, and therefore it was not necessary to name the writer of them. It may abundantly suffice that there were in these times divers prophets and holy men of God; as Samuel, and Nathan, and Gad, and David himself, who might each of them write some part of this and the following book. But if any man will out of perverseness doubt or deny that these wrote it, yet this I suppose no discreet and impartial man will deny, that it is wholly incredible that such books should be written in their times, and recommended to the church as a part of the Holy Scriptures, and so received by the succeeding generation, without their approbation, who had so great a power and authority in the church and commonwealth of Israel.

Poole: 1 Samuel 12 (Chapter Introduction)

SAMUEL CHAPTER 12 .

Samuel having appointed a king unto the people, testifieth his own integrity, to which they witness, 1Sa 12:1-5 . He setteth before them the sins of their ancestors, and their own sin in asking a king, 1Sa 12:6-13 ; comforts them if they will obey the Lord; threateneth the disobedient; terrifies them by thunder in harvest: they confess their sin, and desire to be reconciled to the Lord, 1Sa 12:14-19 . He comforts and exhorts them to fear and serve the Lord; promising also to pray for them, 1Sa 12:20-25 .

MHCC: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

In this book we have an account of Eli, and the wickedness of his sons; also of Samuel, his character and actions. Then of the advancement of Saul to be the king of Israel, and his ill behaviour, until his death made way for David's succession to the throne, who was an eminent type of Christ. David's patience, modesty, constancy, persecution by open enemies and feigned friends, are a pattern and example to the church, and to every member of it. Many things in this book encourage the faith, hope, and patience of the suffering believer. It contains also many useful cautions and awful warnings.

MHCC: 1 Samuel 12 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Sa 12:1-5) Samuel testifies his integrity.

(1Sa 12:6-15) Samuel reproves the people.

(1Sa 12:16-25) Thunder sent in harvest time.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Samuel

This book, and that which follows it, bear the name of Samuel in the title, not because he was the penman of them (except of so much of them as fell within his own time, to the twenty-fifth chapter of the first book, in which we have an account of his death), but because the first book begins with a large account of him, his birth and childhood, his life and government; and the rest of these two volumes that are denominated from him contains the history of the reigns of Saul and David, who were both anointed by him. And, because the history of these two kings takes up the greatest part of these books, the Vulgar latin calls them the First and Second Books of the Kings, and the two that follow the Third and Fourth, which the titles in our English Bibles take notice of with an alias: otherwise called the First Book of the Kings, etc. The Septuagint calls them the first and second Book of the Kingdoms. It is needless to contend about it, but there is no occasion to vary from the Hebrew verity. These two books contain the history of the last two of the judges, Eli and Samuel, who were not, as the rest, men of war, but priests (and so much of them is an appendix to the book of Judges), and of the first two of the kings, Saul and David, and so much of them is an entrance upon the history of the kings. They contain a considerable part of the sacred history, are sometimes referred to in the New Testament, and often in the titles of David's Psalms, which, if placed in their order, would fall in these books. It is uncertain who was the penman of them; it is probable that Samuel wrote the history of his own time, and that, after him, some of the prophets that were with David (Nathan as likely as any) continued it. This first book gives us a full account of Eli's fall and Samuel's rise and good government, ch. 1-8. Of Samuel's resignation of the government and Saul's advancement and mal-administration, ch. 9-15. The choice of David, his struggles with Saul, Saul's ruin at last, and the opening of the way for David to the throne, ch. 16-31. And these things are written for our learning.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel 12 (Chapter Introduction)

We left the general assembly of the states together, in the close of the foregoing chapter; in this chapter we have Samuel's speech to them, when he resigned the government into the hands of Saul, in which, I. He clears himself from all suspicion or imputation of mismanagement, while the administration was in his hands (1Sa 12:1-5). II. He reminds them of the great things God had done for them and for their fathers (1Sa 12:6-13). III. He sets before them good and evil, the blessing and the curse (1Sa 12:14, 1Sa 12:15). IV. He awakens them to regard what he said to them, by calling to God for thunder (1Sa 12:16-19). V. He encourages them with hopes that all should be well (1Sa 12:20-25). This is his farewell sermon to that august assembly and Saul's coronation sermon.

Constable: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

First and Second Samuel were originally one book called the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (made ca. 250 B.C.) was the first to divide it into two books. The Septuagint translators titled these books 1 and 2 Kingdoms. That division has persisted ever since and has even been incorporated into subsequent editions of the Hebrew Bible (since A.D. 1517). The title "Samuel" was given by Jerome in his Latin translation, the Vulgate (ca. A.D. 400).

The Jews gave the name "Samuel" to it because Samuel is the first major character in the book. Samuel anointed both Saul and David, so in this respect he was superior to them both.

Date and Writer

Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) and some of it even after the division of the kingdom following Solomon's death (e.g., 1 Sam. 27:6). These features have made it difficult to date the book.

"Our guess is that the author was a high state official in frequent attendance at the court, enjoying the full confidence of David and his household, who served David throughout his reign in Jerusalem and also Solomon during the early years of his reign, and whose duties may have been connected with literary work."¹

Most conservative scholars prefer the view that Samuel may have written or been responsible for noting the record of earlier events in the book (chs. 1-24). Then some unidentifiable writer put it in its final form later, perhaps soon after Solomon's death.

Rationalistic critics of the book tend to believe it was the result of much more piecing together, and some of them date its final form as late as 500 B.C.²

Scope

The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.³ David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11; 5:5). This means he came to power in 1011 B.C. Saul also reigned for 40 years (Acts 13:21) so he became king in 1051 B.C. We can estimate the date of Samuel's birth fairly certainly on the basis of chronological references in the text to have been about 1121 B.C.⁴ Thus the Book of Samuel covers about 1121-971 B.C., or about 150 years of history.

We should note that the first part of 1 Samuel overlaps historically with the end of the judges period that we find in the Book of Judges. Apparently Samson was born just a few years before Samuel. Samson's 20-year judgeship evidently began shortly before the battle of Aphek (1104 B.C.) at which time Eli died (1 Sam. 4:18). It ended not many years before the battle of Mizpah (1084 B.C.) when the Philistine domination of Israel ceased temporarily (1 Sam. 7:13). Samuel's ministry therefore probably ran concurrent with that of Samson until Samson died. Saul began to reign about 35 years after Samson died (i.e., 1051 B.C.). Samuel evidently lived about 30 years after that.⁵

Old Testament History
Events	Biblical References
Creation to Israel's move to Egypt	Genesis 1-50
The Exodus	Exodus 1-18
Israel at Mt. Sinai	Exodus 19--Numbers 10
The Wilderness Wanderings	Numbers 11-21
Israel on the Plains of Moab	Numbers 22--Joshua 2
The Conquest and Division of Canaan	Joshua 3-24
The Amphictyony	-Judges 1-1 Samuel 7
The Reign of Saul	1 Samuel 8-31; 1 Chronicles 10
The Reign of David	2 Samuel 1-24; 1 Chronicles 11-29
The Reign of Solomon	1 Kings 1-11; 2 Chronicles 1-9
The Divided Monarchy	-1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 10-31
The Surviving Kingdom of Judah	2 Kings 18-25; 2 Chronicles 32-36
The Return under Zerubbabel	Ezra 1-6
The Return under Ezra	Ezra 7-10
The Return under Nehemiah	Nehemiah 1-13

Message⁶

First and 2 Samuel are really one story. The translators divided them into two books for convenience, not because of subject matter.

First Samuel records Israel's transition from amphictyony to monarchy.

The key passage that explains this transition is 8:4-7. Two statements from this passage are especially significant.

The human desire that produced the transition expressed itself in verse 5: "Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." God had brought Israel into existence as a nation to be unlike all the nations (Exod. 19:5-6). The essence of its uniqueness was Yahweh's rule over it as King. God wanted Israel to be a demonstration for all the world to see how glorious it can be to live under the authority of God.

The real meaning of the people's request comes out in verse 7: ". . . they have rejected me from being king over them." During the period of the judges, religious apostasy spread and characterized Israel. The people refused to obey their King. It is this attitude that finds expression in verse 5. The people wanted to substitute the false for the true. This is the essence of sin, and it results in idolatry. Every idol is a witness to man's need of God. When people reject the true God they must put something in His place to meet that need. Human beings must have a god.

Israel turned from God as her King in 1 Samuel. She desired a king like the other nations. This book shows the immediate effects of that desire.

One of the great revelations of 1 Samuel is how from the human viewpoint God adapts to continue His reign.

This statement appears to contradict 8:7, but it does not. The people rejected Yahweh, but they did not dethrone Him. The first act is possible, the second is not. This is a major lesson of 1 Samuel. The great revelation of this book is not primarily its three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David. It is Yahweh reigning by adapting to human situations and moving surely and steadily toward the fulfillment of His purposes. In spite of disobedience or obedience, failure or success, rebellious or loyal people, the reign of God moves on. We see this great lesson in the history of 1 Samuel's three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David.

The writer introduced Samuel's story with his mother Hannah's experience with God. Hannah was a great woman of faith who lived in the judges period. Her faith became God's foothold for advance. Her song reveals a profound appreciation for Yahweh as the God who reigns over all (2:6-8, 10). The similarities between this prayer and Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1 are interesting and noteworthy.

Samuel was a prophet. In one sense he was the first of the prophets (Acts 3:24). Of course, Moses was a prophet and so was Abraham, but Samuel was the first of the order of prophets who mediated between God and the Israelites during the monarchy. The kings of Israel and Judah were never mediators between God and the people in the sense of speaking for God to the people. When the Israelites rejected Yahweh as their king, He withdrew from close communion and intimate fellowship with them. He never recognized their kings as standing between Himself and them to mediate His Word to the people. He chose their kings for them. He allowed their desire for a human king to work itself out in ultimate disaster through the centuries that followed. Yet He never spoke to the people through the king. He always spoke to them through the prophets. Samuel was the first of these. David, of course, was a king and a prophet. The role of the kings was to govern the people. The role of the prophets was to reveal God's will to them.

With Samuel the office of prophet in Israel emerges as that of Yahweh's authoritative representative to His people. Samuel became the king-maker finding and anointing both Saul and David. >From now on when God had a message for the people it normally did not come directly to the king but to the king and the people through the prophet. The prophet's office was always superior to that of Israel's kings. (You have the privilege of speaking for God to your generation. You have a high calling similar to that of Israel's prophets.) When Israel rejected Yahweh as her king, God chose Samuel, the child of a woman's simple faith, trained him in the tabernacle, and called him when he was only a boy. Then He gave him a message to deliver and sent him to anoint Saul as the king after the people's own heart, and David as the king after God's own heart. The prophets became God's mediators, His messengers, and the interpreters of His law. Thus Yahweh reigned though He adapted His methods of ruling by raising up the prophets. He called Samuel as the first of these mediators. During the monarchy God provided guidance through two offices rather than through one as He had done previously. The kings provided political leadership, and the prophets gave the people spiritual leadership. God had previously provided both types of leadership through single individuals namely Moses, Joshua, and the judges.

Saul's story is one of the most tragic in Scripture. It is unusually fascinating and has tremendous power in its appeal to our lives. When God placed Saul on Israel's throne He answered the prayer of His rebellious people in 8:5. God "gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them" (Ps. 106:15; NASB).

Saul was a revelation to the Israelites of what the possession of "a king like the nations" really meant. He had unusual physical strength, but he was fitful and he failed the people. He had mental acumen, but he was moody and eventually turned into a madman. He was sluggish and dull spiritually lacking in spiritual insight and power, and eventually he abandoned Yahweh for a witch.

His reign was also a disaster. At the beginning of his reign, Israel was virtually without a leader. At its end it was under the control of an enemy neighbor. Saul was never able to expand the borders of Israel because he never was strong enough to dominate his enemy neighbors. David on the other hand did both of these things. At the end of Saul's reign, Israel had almost destroyed itself through its wars with the Philistines.

David's story is one of the most glorious in Scripture. After Saul, God gave His people another king, but this time he was a man after God's own heart.

God prepared David for the throne by putting him through training as a shepherd in the fields, a courtier in the palace, and an "outlaw" in exile. (By "outlaw" I do not mean David was lawless but that he lived outside Saul's control.) His shepherd training prepared him to care for and protect the Israelites under his charge. His courtier experience prepared him to deal with high governmental leaders. His "outlaw" years perfected the disciplines that enabled him to become a strong ruler. These disciplines included relying on God in every situation, practicing self-restraint, and leading his people.

In all David's training God was reigning, moving forward to the fulfillment of His plans and purposes. God had previously done this by making the child of faith, Samuel, His prophet. He had also done this by making outwardly promising Saul a revelation to the nation of her sins in turning away from God.

The second great revelation of this book is that people cooperate with God by either being loyal or by being disloyal to Him.

In Samuel's case he had opportunity to glorify God because of his parentage, his call by God, and his appointment as God's prophet. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently God's messages got delivered, and God's work moved ahead. Samuel was an instrument of blessing.

In Saul's case he had opportunity to glorify God too. His opportunity came in his call by God, his anointing by Samuel, his friendship with Samuel, his popularity with the people, and his personal abilities. He responded disobediently, with disloyalty to God as seen in his vacillating and self-will. Consequently he failed as a king, and he died under the judgment of God. His life was a failure.

In David's case his opportunities were his call, his anointing, his waiting, and his suffering. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently he became God's instrument of progress and blessing. He was a success.

Each man had his opportunity, made his response, and experienced the consequences of his response. Two obeyed, one disobeyed. All cooperated with God in fulfilling His ultimate purposes either to his own blessing or to his own blasting.

As a result of these two major revelations I would summarize the message of 1 Samuel as follows. God will accomplish His purposes regardless of man's personal response to Him. However man's response to God's revealed will determines a person's own success or failure in life.

First Samuel teaches us the methods of the sovereign God. All territory is within God's jurisdiction, every person is under His control, and all events are in His hands. All of God's plans and purposes are moving toward accomplishment. He makes use of all antagonistic facts and forces as well as all positive facts and forces. He also makes use of all the agents He has chosen to use regardless of their responses. Paul's comments in 2 Tim. 2:20-21 are very much to the point here.

First Samuel also teaches us that God's ultimate victory is independent of the attitudes and actions of individuals and groups of people (e.g., Israel) toward Him. Nevertheless the ultimate destiny of individuals and groups of people depends on their attitudes and actions toward Him.

Samuel was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. Saul was disobedient, was God's instrument, and experienced destruction. David was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. My attitudes and actions do not determine God's ultimate victory, but they do determine my ultimate destiny. Everything depends on my choices and me regarding my earthly destiny. Nothing depends on me regarding God's ultimate victory. God uses all people, loyal and rebellious, to produce His ultimate purposes. However we determine the outcome of our lives by our attitudes and responses to Him. We see these principles working themselves out around us all the time. Dr. Walvoord is an example of a Samuel or a David in our day. The DTS graduates in prison are examples of the Sauls of our day.

Constable: 1 Samuel (Outline)

Outline

I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3

A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:10

1. Hannah's condition 1:1-8

2. Hannah's vow 1:9-18

3. Hannah's obedience 1:19-28

4. Hannah's song 2:1-10

B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2:11-36

1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17

2. Hannah's godly influence on Samuel and its effect 2:18-21

3. Eli's lack of influence on his sons and its effect 2:22-26

4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36

C. God's first revelation to Samuel ch. 3

1. Samuel's call 3:1-18

2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a

II. The history of the ark of the covenant 4:1b-7:1

A. The capture of the ark 4:1b-22

1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11

2. The response of Eli 4:12-18

3. The response of Phinehas' wife 4:19-22

B. Pagan fertility foiled by God ch. 5

C. The ark returned to Israel by God 6:1-7:1

1. The plan to terminate God's judgment 6:1-9

2. The return of the ark to Bethshemesh 6:10-18

3. The removal of the ark to Kiriath-jearim 6:19-7:1

III. Samuel and Saul 7:2-15:35

A. Samuel's ministry as Israel's judge 7:2-17

1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4

2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14

3. Samuel's regular ministry 7:15-17

B. Kingship given to Saul chs. 8-12

1. The demand for a king ch. 8

2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16

3. The choice of Saul by lot 10:17-27

4. Saul's effective leadership in battle 11:1-11

5. The confirmation of Saul as king 11:12-12:25

C. Kingship removed from Saul chs. 13-15

1. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal 13:1-15

2. Saul's struggle against the Philistines 13:16-14:23

3. Saul's cursing of Jonathan 14:24-46

4. Saul's limited effectiveness in battle 14:47-52

5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15

IV. Saul and David 1 Sam. 16-31

A. David's rise as the new anointed 16:1-18:5

1. God's selection of David for kingship ch. 16

2. The reason for God's selection of David ch. 17

3. The results of God's selection of David ch. 18:1-19:17

B. David driven out by Saul 19:18-20:42

1. God's deliverance in Ramah 19:18-24

2. Jonathan's advocacy for David ch. 20

C. David in exile chs. 21-31

1. David's initial movements chs. 21-22

2. Saul's pursuit of David ch. 23

3. David's goodness to two fools ch. 24-26

4. The end of Saul's reign 27-31

(Continued in notes on 2 Samuel)

Constable: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL;

otherwise called,

THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the Hebrews, the Books of Samuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two kings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by the Fathers, the First and Second Book of Kings. As to the writer of them, it is the common opinion that Samuel composed the first book, as far as the twenty-fifth chapter; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first and wrote the second book. See 1 Paralipomenon, alias 1 Chronicles, xxix. 19. (Challoner) --- The authors of the Third and Fourth Books of Kings were also prophets, but we know not exactly their names. These works have nevertheless been always esteemed authentic (Haydock) and canonical. (Worthington) --- Ven. Bede takes occasion to observe, from the Books of Kings (or as the Septuagint read, "of kingdoms;" Haydock) being placed after that of Judges, that the everlasting kingdom of Christ will succeed the general judgment. The translation of the priesthood and of the regal dignity, recorded in these books, denote also that Christ would united both in his own person; as the two wives of Eleana intimated, that both Jews and Gentiles would acknowledge the same Lord. (St. Jerome; St. Augustine; &c.) --- The transactions of Heli, Samuel and Saul, and the persecutions which David sustained from the latter, form the subject of the first book, (Haydock) during the space of 100 years. All the four books carry down the sacred history near 600 years, from the year of the world 2849 till the transmigration of Juda, in the year 3420. (Calmet) (Usher)

Gill: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 SAMUEL

This book, in the Hebrew copies, is commonly called Samuel, or the Book of Samuel; in the Syriac version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet, which is the First Book of the Kings; and the Septuagint version, the Book of the Kingdom: it has the name of Samuel, because it contains an history of his life and times; and the Jews say ^a it was written by him; and as it may well enough be thought to be, to the end of the twenty fourth chapter; and the rest might be written by Nathan and Gad, as may he gathered from 1Ch 29:29 as also the following book that bears his name; and both may be called the Books of Kings, because they give an account of the rise of the kings in Israel, and of the two first of them; though some think they were written by Jeremiah, as Abarbinel; and others ascribe them to Ezra: however, there is no doubt to be made of it that this book was written by divine inspiration, when we consider the series of its history, its connection and harmony with other parts of Scripture; the several things borrowed from it, or alluded to in the book of Psalms, particularly what is observed in Psa 113:7, seems to be taken out of 1Sa 2:8, and the sanction which the Lord gives to it, by referring to a fact in it, whereby he stopped the mouths of the Scribes and Pharisees cavilling at his disciples, Mat 12:3, compared with 1Sa 21:3, yea, even, as Huetius ^b observes, some Heathen writers have by their testimonies confirmed some passages in these books, which they seem to have been acquainted with, as Nicolaus of Damascus ^c, and Eupolemus ^d; it contains an history of the government of Eli, and of the birth of Samuel, and his education under him; of the succession of Samuel in it, and the resignation of it to Saul, when he was chosen king; of his administration of his office, and of things done in the time of it, both before and after his rejection, and of the persecution of David by Saul, and is concluded with his death.

Gill: 1 Samuel 12 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 12

In this chapter Samuel, resigning the government to Saul, asserts the integrity with which he had performed his office, and calls upon the people of Israel to attest it, who did, 1Sa 12:1, he then reminds them of the great and good things the Lord had done for them in times past, 1Sa 12:6 and whereas they had desired a king, and one was given them, it was their interest to fear and serve the Lord; if not, his hand would be against them, 1Sa 12:10 he terrifies them by calling for thunder in an unusual time, 1Sa 12:16 and then comforts and encourages them, that in doing their duty God would be with them, and not forsake them, otherwise they might expect nothing but ruin and destruction, 1Sa 12:20.