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.
