Samuel’s Farewell Address (Part 2)

1 Samuel 12:12-25 NLT
¹² “But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king. ¹³ All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
¹⁴ “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. ¹⁵ But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
¹⁶ “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. ¹⁷ You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”
¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. ¹⁹ “Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. ²¹ Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! ²² The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
²³ “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”

xamine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 12:12-25 NLT
Samuel’s Farewell Address (Part 2)

¹² “But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon,

Review:

The Ammonites were a nomadic race descended from Lot’s youngest daughter.

• At this point in history, the Ammonites were a constant threat from the east to Israel, while the Philistines were a threat to Israel from the west. 

you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king. 

The Israelites wanted a human king to protect them from their enemies.

1 Samuel 8:5 NLT
⁵ “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

1 Samuel 8:20 NLT
²⁰ “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

Israel wanted a king for all of the wrong reasons.  Israel was rejecting God.

1 Samuel 8:7 NLT
⁷ “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. 

Man’s way

• Israel was turning away from God and was putting their trust in a king and his army.

God’s way:

Isaiah 41:10 NLT
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. 

¹³ For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you. 

¹³ All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.

God granted the people’s request.

From previous lesson.

How did it go with Saul, David, and Solomon?

Saul and his sons were killed in battle.

David was a man after God’s own heart.

Solomon’s wives turned his heart to worship other gods.

After these three kings, the nation is divided into Israel and Judah.

The history of both kingdoms is a litany of ineffective, disobedient, and corrupt kings.

Judah – 20 kings – 8 good some or all of the time

Israel – 19 kings – all bad

Hosea the prophet talks about this:

Hosea 13:9-11 NLT
⁹ “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel—
yes, by me, your only helper.
¹⁰ Now where is your king?
Let him save you!
Where are all the leaders of the land,
the king and the officials you demanded of me?
¹¹ In my anger I gave you kings,
and in my fury I took them away. 

• God’s response: In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away.

Two choices.

¹⁴ “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. 

Granting the people a king did not change God’s expectations of the people.

These were not new expectations for the Israelites.

Joshua 24:14 NLT
¹⁴ “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.

Deuteronomy 10:12 NLT
¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.

• The correct response would be to fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and do not rebel against the Lord’s commands.

¹⁵ But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, 

• • The wrong response would be to rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him.

Consequences.

then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.

The Sinai covenant (conveyed to the people of Israel by Moses)

Exodus 19:5-6 NLT
⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ⁶ And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NLT
¹⁵ “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. ¹⁶ For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
¹⁷ “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, ¹⁸ then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
¹⁹ “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰ You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Joshua 24:20 NLT
²⁰ If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”

Leviticus 26: Blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

The Sinai covenant demanded obedience to God. 

• “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.

This applies with or without a king!

• Samuel asks for a sign from the Lord.

¹⁶ “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. ¹⁷ You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest.

The wheat harvest occurred in late spring or early summer, when little or no rain fell in Israel.

Leviticus 26:4 NLT
⁴ I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 

I will give you rain at the proper time, CEB

I will send you rain in its season, NIV

then I will give you your rains in their season, ESV

Deuteronomy 11:13-14 NLT
¹³ “If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, ¹⁴ then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil.

I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”

Rain and thunder at this time of year was unheard of.  It just did not happen.

Thunder and rain would demonstrate God’s power as a sign of the people’s wickedness in asking for a king.

¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel.  

God sent rain and thunder to authenticate Samuel’s words to the people.

God got their attention.

The people were terrified.  They recognized their sinful motives.

¹⁹ “Pray to the Lord your God for us,

The people turned to Samuel.

Samuel, you pray for us.

“your God”

or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”

Idol worship (verse 21)

Asked for a king with wrong motives.

Having a king is not necessarily wrong.  Asking for the wrong reasons was sinful.

Asking for a King – rejecting God

• The people realized that their sin could result in their death.

²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong,

Idol worship and asking for a king with wrong motives. 

but

Addressing the central issue in the controversy surrounding the establishment of a king.

make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. 

Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT
⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Deuteronomy 10:12 NLT
¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. 

• Make sure that you worship the Lordwith all your heart. 

²¹ Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! 

Deuteronomy 4:28 NLT
²⁸ There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

Jeremiah 10:3-5 NLT
³ Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
⁴ They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
⁵ Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

Psalm 135:15-17 NLT
¹⁵ The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths but cannot speak,
and eyes but cannot see.
¹⁷ They have ears but cannot hear,
and mouths but cannot breathe.

Hosea 4:12 NLT
¹² They ask a piece of wood for advice!
They think a stick can tell them the future!
Longing after idols
has made them foolish.
They have played the prostitute,
serving other gods and deserting their God.

• Idols are totally worthless. Israel was slow to learn this lesson. 

²² The Lord will not abandon his people,

because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

Isaiah 43:25 NLTBR>²⁵ “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.

• God will always keep His covenant promises, even if His people do not. 

²³ “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. 

1 Timothy 2:1 NLT
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT
Never stop praying. 

• Samuel was taking his role as a prophet to Israel very seriously. He will continue to instruct and pray for the Israelites. 

And I will continue to teach you what is good and right.

Samuel will continue to serve as a prophet, even though the people of Israel have a king. 

Samuel summarizes his instructions. 

 ²⁴ But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 

“I will continue to teach you what is good and right” quoting Samuel.

Fear the Lord.

Serve Him faithfully.

Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.

Exodus 19:5 NLT (repeated from verse 15)
⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

(remember also the Deuteronomy passage referred to in verse 15)

• Fear the Lord. Serve Him faithfully.  Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 

²⁵ But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”

Sin has consequences.

“Swept away” but a remnant will always remain.

Joshua’s challenge to the Israelites.

Joshua 24:14-15 NLT
¹⁴ “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

• Sin has consequences.

This was not an easy lesson for the Israelites to learn.