Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him

1 Samuel 12:1-25

Key Verse 12:24

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

It is so easy to abuse God’s grace. In my life of faith the hardest thing for me to learn is not to abuse God’s grace. It is because ‘we are saved by God’s grace alone’. ‘We live by grace’, and ‘We are not under the law but under grace.’ So many times I ended up abusing God’s grace and sinned so much. I wasted so much time. That is why not to abuse God’s grace becomes the most challenging thing in my Christian life. Probably it is the same for the Israelites. So in his farewell speech Samuel helps his people not to abuse God’s grace. We want to see how Samuel helps his people not to abuse God’s grace. Mainly he did it in two ways. First, by setting a good example, and second, by warning them. My message has two parts. I. Testify against me (v.1-5) II. I am going to confront you (v.6-25) Part I will talk about ‘setting a good example’ and Part II will talk about ‘warning them.’

Part I. Testify against me (v.1-5)

In this part Samuel helps his people not to abuse God’s grade by setting a good example. He teaches them by example.

Now look at verses 1-5. 

“Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. [2] Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. [3] Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right." [4] "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand." [5] Samuel said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.” 

Samuel was a good leader. He was able to call the Lord and all of his people as witnesses for his innocence. How many people can do so? Many people can call God as witness of their mistakes and sins. So I don’t know how many people can call God as a witness of his innocence for his entire life. Even the king David, who was known as the man after God’s own heart, could not do so. But Samuel was able to. As the lifetime judge he did not take anything from anyone’s hand and he did not take any bribe. He did not cheat anyone and he did not oppress anyone. Although he had such authority as the judge for the whole nation for such a long time he served his people with humility and integrity before the Lord. So he said to them, “Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed.” (v.3) In this way Samuel helps his people not to abuse God’s grade by setting a good example. 

Part II. I am going to confront you (v.6-25)

In this part of the passage Samuel teaches his people not to abuse God’s grace by warning them.

Samuel’s warning started from the story of their forefathers. 

Look at verses 6-9. “[6] Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. [7] Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your fathers. [8] "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. [9] "But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.”

The forefathers of the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Out of great pain they cried to the Lord for help and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron and he brought them out of Egypt and settled them in the promised land. But as soon as they felt comfortable and secure they forgot the Lord their God, and they begin to indulge in their sinful pleasure. They did not remember the reason why the Lord their God delivered them from slavery and did not serve him. Then what does the Lord do? 

He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. The expression ‘He sold them’ shows that the Lord would make them slaves. They would be sold as slaves again. Figuratively speaking they would go back to their life of Egypt as slaves again. As long as they forget the Lord their God he kept selling them into the hand of Sisera, the Philistines and the king of Moab. 

Now look at verses 10-15. “[10] They cried out to the Lord and said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' [11] Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. [12] "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the Lord your God was your king. [13] Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. [14] If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God--good! [15] But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” 

The forefathers of the Israelites cried out to the Lord when they were enslaved by Sisera, the Philistines, and the king of Moab. Then the Lord their God sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel and the Lord delivered them from the hands of their enemies. Samuel did not name all of judges but these 4 judges represent all of judges in the book of Judges. When they cried out to the Lord their God, this is what they say 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.'” (v.10b) They acknowledged that they sinned. Their sin is to forsake the Lord their God and serve the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Instead of serving the Lord their God they served the Cannanite idols. Then they promised to say, “we will serve you if you deliver us from the hands of our enemies.” Many times we also pray, “Oh, Lord, please help me this time. I promise that I will be faithful to you and I will do what you want me to do.”

So the emergency prayer of the forefathers of the Israelites is “'We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.'. The Lord accepted their emergency prayer and answered it. Verse 11 reads, “[11] Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.” Here Samuel suddenly changed the pronoun from ‘they’ to ‘you’ meaning from ‘the forefathers of the Israelites’ to ‘the Israelites’ who were standing before him. Why? It is because their problem is the same, and their sin is the same, and their behavior is the same. All men are the same in the sense that we share all same problems – forgetting the Lord our God and not serving the Lord but idols when we live securely and comfortably. Do you live securely these days? Be careful that you may not fall into the same sin of the Israelites, forgetting the Lord your God.

Another thing happened. Nahash, king of Ammonites was moving against them. Then they could have cried out to the Lord their God for help.  When they do surely the Lord their God could help them. But instead of crying out to the Lord for his help, they came to Samuel and demanded a king. Let us read verse 12b “'No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the Lord your God was your king.” They asked for a king. But they said to Samuel, “even though the Lord your God was your king.” They meant that the Lord is not their God and their king. No wonder that they were demanding a king whereas Samuel did not need a king. He has already one. 

The Lord listened to their request and gave them a king. Samuel said in verses 13-15. “[13] Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. [14] If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God--good! [15] But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” 

Although the king was given but it was not the end of the problems. In fact having king did not change anything. It did not solve their problem even a little bit because Samuel said in verses 14-15, “[14] If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God--good! [15] But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” 

Samuel said ‘both you and your king’ instead of just ‘you’. Both they and their king should obey the Lord their God. If not the Lord’s hand will be against them, as it was against their forefathers.

Samuel’s word in verse 15 is powerful because it is based on historical fact. “But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.”

“His hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers”. Do you know what it means? It means the Lord will sell them again as salves to their enemies. They will be enslaved again as they had been in Egypt. 

So the real enemy of the Israelites were not Sisera or Nahash or Ammonites or Moabites or Philistines. Their real enemy is themselves. Their disobedience will bring the Lord’s hand against them. It will make the Lord their enemies. Then regardless of who are their enemies the Israelites will be defeated and enslaved by them. They don’t need to know who are their enemies. They will be defeated.

Now Samuel gave them another warning through thunder and rain.

 

Look at verses 16-18. “[16] "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! [17] Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king." [18] Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.”  

Israel’s wheat harvest time is dry season like our Summer. But when Samuel called upon the Lord to prove that it was a terribly evil thing to ask for the king the Lord answered his prayer and the same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. Then all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. It is audio and visual education in addition to their own bodily experience. They were all soaked in rain and get wet but they could not move or talk. With their own eyes and ears and bodies they heard the thunder and saw rain and experienced the powerful demonstration of the Lord’s power which can be against them and which can be displayed to punish them. When do you fear someone? Is it not the time when you realize that he has power over you and he can use it against you? The Israelites realized it at that time. 

Look at verse 19. “[19] The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king." But they still said, “Pray to the Lord your God” They did not say that the Lord is their God. 

The Israelites did not need a king because the Lord their God never failed to deliver them from the hands of their enemies. As long as they rely on the Lord as their king the Lord always delivered them. He never failed to work as their king. But now they asked a king, and that is why it was a rejection of the Lord who is their king. 

Suppose you have a bible student. You have never failed to be a good bible teacher. But one day he says to you, “Well, I want another bible teacher”. How would you feel? You may ask ‘why’. He may say, “Well, I want to try someone else.” Certainly you would feel betrayed and hurt. To ask for a king was the same to the Lord.

   Let’s read verses 20-25. “[20] "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. [21] Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. [22] For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. [23] As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. [24] But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. [25] Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."” 

When they were afraid to die, Samuel said to them, “[20] "Do not be afraid,". You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.” Samuel taught the forgiveness of the Lord and undying hope for his people. He said, “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.” What he meant is what is past is past and they just need not to turn away from the Lord but serve the Lord with all their hearts. In order to do so they need to turn away from the idols. “Idols” are something we seek when we live according to our sinful desires. Such idols are our lustful desires, greed, selfish ambition, vain conceit and so forth.

In verses 22 and 23 Samuel reminded them that they still have two things despite all of their evilness. What are those? The first one is ‘the Lord’s acceptance’. Look at verse 22. Let’s read it. “[22] For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.” “The Lord will not reject his people” What does it mean? It means ‘he will accept his people.’ Here we can see clear contrast between the Lord and the Israelites. The Israelites rejected the Lord their God as king even though the Lord did not do anything wrong. But the Lord accepted them despite their rejection of him. If someone rejects you don’t you feel that you want to reject him too? Yes, we all do. If someone says ‘I don’t like you’ you probably want to say, ‘me, too’. The Lord did not reject his people. He did not reject the Israelites because the Lord was pleased to make them his own. They have already become the Lord’s possession and the Lord’s own. So if they are under shame the Lord’s name will be under shame. So for the sake of his great name and for the sake of his own honor the Lord do not reject them but to accept them and keeps helping them. If the Lord is a man, human being, he would probably say, ‘If you reject me, I will reject you too. Bye!” But the Lord is not a man.

2 Tim. 2:13 reads, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

There is one more thing that they have despite their evilness. What is it? It is Samuel’s prayer and teaching. Let’s read verse 23. “[23] As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” Despite all their failure the Lord blessed them with the prayer support of their leader Samuel and his teaching of the way of the Lord. What a blessing they have from the Lord.

Do you have your Bible teacher? Do not complain against him because he is probably one or two people among all peoples on earth who pray for you. You better not to dare to complain against him. If you do you are digging your own grave. Rather you should be eternally thankful to God who sent such a person who pray for you.

Do you have anyone who can teach you the way of the Lord which is good and right? Then you should be thankful again for the Lord who sent such a precious teacher for you. Galatians 6:6 reads, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” God says that the recipients of the spiritual instruction should be so thankful that they should share ‘all’ good things with their instructor. 

Despite all of our failure and evilness the Lord still provided us our spiritual leaders and shepherds who pray for us and teach the way of the Lord. So let us be eternally thankful instead of complaining against them.

Actually through intercessory prayer and teaching the way of the Lord Samuel set a good example to teach what it means ‘to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully.’ How can we be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all our heart? By offering intercessory prayer and teaching the way of the Lord. By following the good example of Samuel. Indeed Samuel was teaching his people by his own example. 

He asked his people to consider what great things the Lord has done for them. Then they will not say to Samuel, “the Lord your God” and ‘the Lord your king.’ How can we make sure that the Lord is our God and the Lord is our king? By considering what great things he has done for you. Think about how many times the Lord forgave us and gave us his grace all the time. Consider how many times he loves us as if we did not sin. Consider what great things he has done for us through his servants.

Samuel’s last word in his farewell speech is “Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away." 

   

Do you know the end of all the kings of the Israel? From starting Saul, David, down through all the kings the people persisted in doing evil and both they and their kings were swept away. The end of the story of all things is this. The last king of the Israelites was Zedekiah. 

2 Kings 25:5-11 

    “[5] but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, [6] and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. [7] They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. [8] On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. [9] He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. [10] The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. [11] Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon.” 

    The Israelites persisted in doing evil and indeed both they and their kings were swept away. This is the end of the story of all kings in Israel.

What does the story teach us? No human king is perfect. There is only one perfect king, and he is the Lord himself. The Lord their God is the only true king and perfect king but they rejected him. Their rejection of the Lord their God reminds us of their rejection of the true king, the Lord their God when he appeared in human form. Jesus is the Lord their God and he is the only true king. He said in John 18:37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."”

Jesus is the king and it is the truth. But they rejected him and crucified him. The Lord God probably saw their rejection of Jesus when he saw how the Israelites rejected him in today’s passage. That is why asking the king was so evil before the eyes of the Lord. 

In conclusion, how does Samuel help his people not to abuse God’s grace? Mainly he did it in two ways. First, by setting a good example, and second, by warning them. He set up a good example by offering intercessory prayer and teaching the way of the Lord. He also warned them that they would be sold and enslaved again by the hand of the Lord if they do not obey the Lord. 

One word: Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him

---