Serve him faithfully with all your heart
1 Samuel 12:1-25
Key Verse : 1 Samuel 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.”
This is the final farewell speech of Samuel in his public life. In this speech, Samuel’s life as a God’s servant is well described. He was honest before God and his people and probably to himself. This is the gold standard for all servants of God about how he or she should serve. He felt blameless before God and his men and himself. Who can dare to say like Samuel at his farewell speech? In this sense, he is the great servant of God. He pointed out their sins and gave his final instruction to the Israelites how they should live.
1. Read verses 1-5. How did Samuel serve all Israel as a leader throughout his life? (1-3) What is the response of the Israelites to Samuel’s challenge? (4) Who are the witnesses to Samuel’s claim? (5)
1-1) Read 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.
1-2) How did Samuel serve all Israel as a leader throughout his life? (1-3)
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.”
This shows Samuel’s integrity as a public servant. He had faithfully served the Israelites from his youth to the late of his life and he’d never cheated anyone or taken bribes or abused anyone with his power.
1-3) What is the response of the Israelites to Samuel’s challenge? (4)
4 “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” They acknowledged Samuel as an honest Judge.
1-4) Who are the witnesses to Samuel’s claim? (5)
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.
The Lord was the witness. God knows all our hidden sins and inner life, so nobody can hide from Him.
2. Read verses 6-11. What did the Lord do through Moses and Aaron? (6, 8) What does Samuel say to the people? (7) How did the Lord discipline the Israelites when they forgot the Lord their God? (9) How did the Lord deliver them from the hands of their enemies when they cried out to Him? (10, 11)
2-1) Read verses 6-11.
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. 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,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472a" \o "See footnote a"a] Barak,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472b" \o "See footnote b"b] Jephthah and Samuel,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472c" \o "See footnote c"c] and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
2-2) What did the Lord do through Moses and Aaron? (6, 8)
“It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.”
God used Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites up out of Egypt and settled them in the promised land.
2-3) What does Samuel say to the people? (7)
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.”
They neglected or ignored to see all of God’s righteous acts performed for them as their king.
2-4) How did the Lord discipline the Israelites when they forgot the Lord their God? (9)
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.
When the Israelites forgot the Lord their God, God disciplined them by using the Pagan armies.
2-5) How did the Lord deliver them from the hands of their enemies when they cried out to Him? (10, 11)
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,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472a" \o "See footnote a"a] Barak,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472b" \o "See footnote b"b] Jephthah and Samuel,[HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1samuel%2012&version=NIV1984" \l "fen-NIV1984-7472c" \o "See footnote c"c] and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
Whenever they cried out to the Lord and confessed their sins, God never abandoned them but delivered them from the hands of the enemies by using his chosen leaders, such as Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel.
3. Read verses 12-19. When did the Israelites ask Samuel for a king? (12) What is Samuel’s warning against the Israelites and their king? (13-15) How does Samuel show the Israelites the evil thing they did in the eyes of the Lord in asking for king? (16-18) What do the people say to Samuel? (19)
3-1) Read verses 12-19.
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. 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. 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.”
3-2) When did the Israelites ask Samuel for a king? (12)
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.
3-3) What is Samuel’s warning against the Israelites and their king? (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.
If they rebel against his commands and do not obey him, the Lord’s hand will be against them as it was against their fathers.
3-4) How does Samuel show the Israelites the evil thing they did in the eyes of the Lord in asking for king? (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.”
Samuel taught them how evil it was before the eyes of the Lord when they asked for king. He wanted to prove it by asking the Lord to send thunder and rain out of the season.
3-5) What do the people say to Samuel? (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.”
4. Read verses 20-25. What does Samuel tell the people to do? (20, 21) Why won’t the Lord reject his people? (22) What will Samuel continue to do for them? (23) What does Samuel emphasize for the people to do? (24) What is his last warning for the Israelites? (25)
4-1) 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.”
4-2) What does Samuel tell the people to do? (20, 21)
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.”
4-3) Why won’t the Lord reject his people? (22)
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.
He won’t reject them as his people for the sake of his name.
4-4) What will Samuel continue to do for them? (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.”
He was chosen as a shepherd and Judge for them. So he would not fail to pray for them. If he fails to pray, it would be great sin for him.
4-5) What does Samuel emphasize for the people to do? (24)
“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.”
He urged them to remember God’s grace and fear Him with reverence and serve him with all their hearts.
4-6) What is his last warning for the Israelites? (25)
25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.” God is the sovereign Lord and He can punish the Israelites and their kings if they persist in doing evil and rebel against God.
Copyright © 2024 LA UBF All rights reserved.