Month: August 2023

1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way.

In Samuel’s speech to the people, he says he will continue to act as priest for the people, though now they have a king. He will not cease to pray for them. A priest brings the people to God, making sacrifices for them and praying for them. His role as Judge is finished as he turns over political power to the new king. But he promises to continue in the role of priest, praying for the people.

As part of the priesthood of all believers, we too pray without ceasing for other people, especially for family and friends that God has placed under our care. This is an important priestly function Christians never cease carrying out even unto old age. Prayer is like breathing in that it is a natural part of life that continues until death. Unceasing prayer is the natural response to the Gospel.

Then also Samuel continues to function in the role of prophet. He would continue to teach the people the Word of God, the good and right way. He could not retire from that role either. We also as believers are called to be witnesses to Jesus, sharing what God has done for us and what the Spirit has revealed to us. Teaching by words and deeds is also a natural response to the Gospel. We want others to know and believe

1 Samuel 12:18, 20-21 So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that say: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel….And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

As if to prove the truth of his words of warning and encouragement, Samuel prayed for the Lord to send thunder and rain. And He did! When the people heard it they greatly feared the Lord, and His prophet. He warned them not to turn aside from the Lord and encouraged them to remain faithful. The people responded with great fear. Fear means that they saw God as real and He meant what He said. In other words, they believed.

After hearing the Law in the thunder of his words, Samuel then spoke the Gospel saying, “Fear not!” Believe the reality of the One True God who does both: thunders judgment and rains mercy. The holiness of the God you are afraid of for just judgment on sin is the same God of Love who shows mercy and forgives sin. This is Gospel that saves us and gives the power to weak sinners to serve the Lord without turning aside to empty things that cannot help.

Fear has two sides: God is so real that He frightens us into faith, and His love is so real and close that all fear is gone and love takes over. This Gospel elicits the response of faithful service. We believe!

1 Samuel 12:24-15 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigns over you continue following the Lord your God. But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

The elder Samuel had called the people together after Saul’s first victory, and he reminded them of how good God is and how blessed they could be. Even though they got the king they asked for against God’s perfect will, they must still believe the Lord and obey His commandments. Their peace and wellbeing depends on serving only the Lord. If not, the Lord Himself will be against them.

The revealed truth for all of us humans is always this: fear, love, and trust in God above things and the peace of God and the joy of the Lord will rule your hearts and lives. We don’t always see or feel this, but we believe it to be true. When we truly believe God we will love Him and do what He says. And when we sin and fail, we repent, believe the gospel, and the peace of the Kingdom rules our lives. We respond to trouble and adversity by repentance and faith. We respond to God’s goodness and mercy by worship and obedience. Continuing to follow Jesus as Lord is the greatest blessing.

1 Samuel 12:10 And they cried unto the Lord and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashteroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

In rehearsing what righteous acts God has done for the people, Samuel repeats the oft-repeated cycle of oppression, repentance, prayer, deliverance, and peace. They confess that they have forsaken God to serve false gods; they ask for help and forgiveness; God raises up a Judge to deliver them from their enemies; he rules during a period of peace. Until next time, and the cycle repeats.

This scenario played itself out again and again in Israel’s history: Sin, Repentance; Prayer, Deliverance, Peace. This same pattern of events repeats itself in our own lives also, except that it is daily and simultaneous. Sin and Deliverance are always and ever active side by side. Every time we sin, which is daily, we forsake the Lord and serve the self god. Daily we repent and believe and pray for help. And always, for He never forsakes us, Jesus is there as our Savior and Lord. And always we enjoy peace while we serve (believe) Him in His Kingdom. Sin, idolatry, penitence, forgiveness, and peace are ongoing realities in our lives at the same time, all the time. Therefore, our penitential prayer never ceases.

1 Samuel 12:7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers.

Samuel had gathered the people together for the thankful response of worship, to introduce the new king, and to announce his retirement. Then he began to rehearse before them all the righteous acts of salvation by the Lord for them from the days of Moses through the Judges to this day. The response of reasoning with them was to proclaim the gospel history of Salvation, for the purpose of instilling faith and increasing the level of loyal commitment. With the installation of a king Israel was opening a new chapter, and Samuel wanted to re-encourage them to renew their faith and faithfulness.

For this same reason we need to rehearse the history, retell the story, remind of the Gospel, and remember the righteous acts of salvation. This is why the Christian Church has installed the practice of public worship every Lord’s Day. The preacher reasons with us proclaiming what great things the Lord has done for in Christ. This Gospel reminds us to renew the kingdom within the heart. The Gospel is a reasonable account of the story of Jesus, inspiring us to faith and good works.

1 Samuel 11:14-15 Then David Samuel to the people, Comem and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Saul had just led Israel in a resounding victory over the Ammonites. To thank God and give Him the glory, Samuel gathered the people to renew the kingdom. The Lord had already given the kingdom, but sinners need to periodically renew, refresh, personalize, make present, and activate the power and the blessings of the kingdom of God in their hearts and lives. This we do weekly in public worship with Communion and daily in morning devotions remembering our Baptism. The kingdom is always in us, but we are not always aware of it.

The sacrifices of peace offerings are expressions of worship and thankfulness for the Gospel. The sacrifice that avails before God is the death of Christ on the cross. This sacrifice is announced every Sunday. We make peace with God by believing in Jesus and by receiving the gospel that proclaims the victory of Christ.

In our daily and weekly worship we rejoice greatly because we are reminded of the rich blessings of the kingdom of God within and of the awesome love of God for sinners like me. With these constant reminders we are renewed in spirit and filled with joy. With enough reminders we are continually in a state of renewal, thankfulness, and great joy.

1Samuel 11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

To muster the people to go to battle against the Ammonites, Saul sent a graphic and urgent message to all the people, pieces of oxen. Saul’s bold move stirred them into action, and Israel won a decisive battle. Saul’s response to the plight of the brothers in Jabesh was decisive and fruitful.

Because of the graphic nature of the call to action the fear of the Lord fell upon the people and they came out with one consent. We don’t know whether they would have responded without such a grisly message or not, but the fact remains that the message stirred up the fear of God, and all came out to battle. Perhaps they simply feared for the loss of their own oxen, but that fear was transferred into a believing and obedient fear of the Lord. This fear (really, sincere faith) stirred them up and moved them to action.

Likewise, we also “fear and love God so that we may, or may not….” This kind of genuine faith (fear and love) stirs us up to fight against our enemies of sin and evil and live a godly life. This kind of faith is born in us by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. We are brought to see the ugly and foul nature of sin, death, and evil and to use the spiritual weapons of God’s love to defeat the Enemy. There is value in responding to evil with the fear of the Lord.

1 Samuel 11:4, 6 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept….And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

Nahash of the Ammonites besieged the city of Jabesh of Israel. They would make peace if they could gouge out the right eyes of the Israelite inhabitants. Jabesh asked respite for seven days to see if the rest of Israel would help them. This was the news that was brought to Saul and the residents of Gibeah.

In the face of this bad news of an evil enemy the people cried out loudly and wept before God. God answered by sending the Spirit of God upon Saul and stirring him up to righteous anger when he heard the bad news. Then Saul cut up a yoke of oxen and sent the pieces throughout Israel to rally the people to follow Saul into battle. They routed the Ammonites and saved Jabesh-gilead.

Our response to the bad news about what our spiritual enemies (sin, death, and the devil) are doing is to pray, cry out, and weep before God. God’s Spirit comes upon our King, Jesus, and stirs Him to anger and action. And our enemies are utterly defeated at the Cross and the Tomb. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, and the pain and misery of sin-caused death moved Him to resurrection victory.

1Samuel 10:27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Samuel, and God, relented and chose a king to rule, even though this act was a rejection of God the Savior. After Saul was chosen and anointed, some went with Saul, whose hearts God had touched. But others, called the sons of Belial, mocked and despised Saul.

Later, after the Spirit of God left him, Saul became an enemy of David, and he hunted him to kill him. But when David had an opportunity to kill Saul, he refused to do so out of respect to the Lord, saying, “Touch not mine anointed.” David respected the office that God appointed. These sons of Belial did not. Even their unbelieving title (sons of Satan) shows the kind of people they were.

However, the response of Saul in this instance was exemplary: he held his peace. He did not try to defend himself or fight back, for the Spirit was still with him. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you….Rejoice and be glad….Pray for those who abuse you.” The response is: let it go and give it to God! We can learn from Saul in this instance: hold your peace. Often, this response can diffuse a tense situation.

1Samuel 10:6, 10 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man….And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

After Samuel anointed Saul to be king, he predicted what would soon happen to Saul: he said the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him and he would prophesy. And so it happened: a company of prophets met him and he prophesied among them play. A prophet is someone who speaks God’s words. They would instruct and inspire people to live in faithfulness to God. When his friends heard inspired words they said, “is Saul among the prophets?”

The Holy Spirit did not come upon all people everywhere until Pentecost, but He did come upon judges, kings, and prophets temporarily in the OT. The Spirit came upon Saul at his anointing and gave him power to prophesy. The Spirit was in evidence through his prophesying. Unfortunately, power and pride overtook Saul and later God sent an evil spirit to him. Later Saul was much different than early Saul.

In our own lives also the Holy Spirit will give believers the right words at the right time to give comfort, wisdom, encouragement and edification to other people. And sometimes we even prophesy inspiring words to ourselves. We pay particular attention to words that come from God through human instruments. On the Day of Pentecost Peter declared, Acts 2:17: “And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”