Samuel's Exhortation to Israel (1 Samuel 12:1-11)

1 Samuel 12 and Samuel’s Integrity Before Israel

Okay, we're gonna get started in Sunday school. If you would be seated, we'll begin. This morning, we're going to be once again in the book of 1 Samuel, and it will be in chapter 12. So if you would turn there, we'll read the text first.

I'm gonna do verses one through 11 in chapter 12 of 1 Samuel. Then Samuel said to all Israel, behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you. Now here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray.

And behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my youth, even to this day. Here I am, bear witness against me before the Lord, his anointed and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken?

Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you. They said, you have not defrauded or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.

He said to them, the Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have found nothing in my hand. And they said, he is witness. Then Samuel said to the people, it is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt.

So now take your stand. And I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did for you and your fathers. When Jacob went to Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

But they forgot the Lord, their God. So he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazar, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of King Moab. And they fought against them.

They cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served Baals and the Asteroth. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies and we will serve you. Then the Lord sent Jeroboam and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you so that you lived in security.

God’s Covenant Faithfulness and Israel’s Rejection of Their King

Father, as we begin this morning, we just pray that you will be honored and glorified through the teaching and preaching of your word. We thank you, Father, what you have provided us with. We thank you for your son, who provided the way of salvation through his perfect sacrifice.

We ask now, Lord, that you would guide us, illuminate your word to us, and grant us understanding that we may not only know these precepts, but that we would practice them by your grace. We just pray this in Jesus' precious name, amen.

Well, it's not hard to follow Phil Johnson. I don't feel a bit intimidated. So as we begin this morning, we're thankful for all the teaching that we've had through the past conference, and we look forward to the next one.

In the Old Testament, God made covenants with Israel at Sinai and prepared and provided leaders who would carry out its terms and stipulations. For several hundred years, Israel was led and ruled by prophets and judges.

These prophets and judges ruled in accordance with God's law. These leaders would oversee and shepherd Israel as Jehovah led them, until Israel turned away and became apostates. They no longer sought or sought or obeyed their true king, Jehovah.

But now they've demanded that Samuel appoint a king like other nations. Remember in back to chapter 10, Samuel being a prophet and a judge and a lifelong servant of Jehovah had anointed Saul, who God had chosen to be king over Israel.

They had also publicly approved Saul as their king and leader, and the Israelites chose him and approved Saul by casting lots. In chapter 11, Jehovah gives victory over Nahash and the Ammonites, as their newly elected King Saul led them.

Now in chapter 12, Samuel addresses all of Israel at Gilgal, which some theologians consider one of Samuel's longest discourses. There are 205 Hebrew words in this discourse. His address divides itself in three parts.

First, the testimony to Samuel's integrity as judge in verses one through five. Second, the reproof of the people for their disobedience in ingratitude, verses six through 17. And then finally, the divine testimony to Samuel's uprightness and teachings, verses 18 through 25.

There's actually three literary devices interwoven in this passage. Some theologians and commentators say that what appears first to be a farewell speech quickly moves into a prophetic oracle as Samuel issued stern warnings and challenged Israel to reject the sins of the past.

At the same time, underneath the speech in the prophetic oracle is a renewal ceremony emphasizing Israel's accountability to the covenant. It is important to remember that though Israel had now become a monarchy led by Saul as their first appointed king, Samuel still remains as judge over Israel.

Though Samuel was overshadowed by the king and his military, Samuel would, Saul that is, Samuel would remain as judge until his death, which occurs in chapter 25, verse one. Chapter 12, let's begin there in verse one.

Then Samuel said to all Israel, behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me and I have appointed a king over you. So as we look back in chapter eight, in verse seven, we read that Jehovah instructs Samuel, listen to the voice of the people in regard to all they say to you.

For they have now not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Then again, in verse nine of chapter eight, now then listen to their voice. However, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.

He was going to give them warning. You want a king? You're turning away from your king, Jehovah? And now you want a man to rule over Israel? Okay, this is what's going to happen. So he gives them the warning of all the things that would happen with a monarchy.

And then in verse 22 of chapter eight, the Lord said to Samuel, listen to their voice and appoint a king. So Samuel said to the men of Israel, go every man to his city. He dispersed Israel after he told them, or God told them that he was to appoint a king.

Samuel had a lot of reservations and deep concerns that the people of Israel had rejected Jehovah as their king. And rather, they wanted a king like other nations. They had become at this point, complete apostates.

They've turned from trusting in God and following his law to following and pursuing idols and now wanting a man to rule them rather than Jehovah. This demand of the Israelites for Samuel to appoint a king like other nations grieved him.

However, he did as God instructed him and appointed a king to rule over Israel. Their rejection of God again reflects their sinful condition. Chapter 12, verse two, we look at now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray.

And behold, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth, even to this day. So as he begins, Samuel points out to the people that they now have their king who would protect them and lead the nation.

Samuel's role, however, is to elevate the religious and moral life of the Israelites. He was still their judge as well as their prophet, but he would be the last of the judges and prophets to rule. The metaphor used of shepherding, it was the king would be like shepherding the flock or guiding and guarding them.

Jehovah had been their shepherd and their leader as well as their protector. And on numerous occasions when God would raise up enemies against Israel to attack them, this was the result of Israel's stubbornness and sinful practices.

God used the enemies of Israel and their aggressive attacks to turn the Israelites away from their practices of sinful practice and draw them back to himself. That was the consistent pattern of the Israelites, which we'll look at in the book of Judges in a bit.

They no longer were willing to worship and serve their true king and obey his law, but rather they worshiped idols and served other gods. Think about that. They have Jehovah leading them through judges and prophets.

And then because of the sons of Samuel, Babija and Joel, which were perverted and also cheated the people as they ruled, they raised up against Samuel. They demanded a king. They required the elders to go to Samuel and to ask him to appoint a king.

They no longer wanted him to serve in that way. Second portion of 1 Samuel 12 .2, but I am old and gray and my sons are with you. This isn't the farewell address since we know Samuel continued to serve as judge.

What Samuel is pointing out now is he has served Israel as their judge. And even though he's old and his sons, Joel and Abijah are known, and even though they had turned aside to dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice, Samuel maintained his integrity as judge over Israel.

Samuel doesn't deny that he didn't profess to be ignorant of the charges that had been made or brought against him. He knew what they said. He now declares, and I have walked before you from my youth even to this day.

So now he's going to defend his integrity as God's servant, as judge. Samuel knew that the people resent and distrust anyone given great authority for the simple reason that often leaders misuse their power.

There was a man in the 19th century by the name of Lord Acton, who was considered one of the greatest historians of the 19th century in England. He made this statement regarding powerful leaders. Quote, power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely, end quote.

Well, we can find vivid example of the corruption and absolute corruption that power has been given to leadership in this country. And yet we know that God is sovereign over us, his people. Samuel could stand before all Israel and declare that he had walked before Israel from his youth even to this day.

He wasn't corrupt, he wasn't dishonest as he judged over Israel. So now he continues this discourse and defends his integrity. Verse, in verse three, we read, here I am, bear witness against me before the Lord is anointed.

Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you. So now he's getting very specific.

Says, here I am, and in the following verses, he said, they're witnessing, God is witnessing this testimony, and his anointed, King Saul, as well, is viewing and listening to his testimony. So he starts out, and the literal translation in the original infers answer as against me.

It's a literal legal term. In other words, he's using the terminology they would use when someone was becoming before a legal court and being judged. And he says, witness against me. The literal translation from the original refers answer as in the court of justice to be found to the questions of the judge.

Now Samuel addresses the people of Israel. He wants to testify before the Lord and his anointed, King Saul. But Samuel is saying, if there's any charges against my honesty and integrity as judge over Israel, I stand before you that I may bear witness not only before all Israel, but before Jehovah and his anointed.

Remember, they refer to Saul as anointed, because going back to chapter 10, verse one, we read, then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him, and said, has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over his inheritance?

Again, Samuel is referred to as the Lord's anointed. In 1 Samuel 24, verse six, we would read this. So he said to his men, this is David speaking, far be it from me, because of the Lord, that I should do this thing to my Lord and the Lord's anointed to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord's anointed.

So in this text, Dave is referring to King Saul, the Lord's anointed. When he fused to stretch out his hand against him, remember, David had fled Saul, as we'll see as we get into that, but he had fled Saul and Saul was trying to kill him.

He was jealous of David. David not only loved God, but he was lifted up as a hero amongst the people of Israel. So Saul became jealous and he tried to send people out to kill David. So now Saul wants to testify before all Israel being completely transparent.

If there were any charges of impropriety or dishonest gain or perverting of justice, let the people of Israel testify openly before the Lord, as well as King Saul. This is what he's saying to Israel. If you find anything in me where I have perverted justice or have taken from anyone's hand, then I will restore it to you.

The great judge of Israel now placed himself on trial. He challenged anyone amongst the Israelites to testify against him, that he had stolen, that he had cheated or oppressed or taken a bribe. Far from assuming that he would be instantly vindicated, Samuel declared that if it turned out he had done any of these things, he would make it right.

When he uses the term bribe, it should be rendered ransom. Literally this signifies a covering and money used by the guilty person to influence a judge. So that's what he was inferring. Did I ever take a bribe to influence anything against me?

No.

Such persons that do that are generally powerful men who have oppressed and wronged others and the knowledge that they can cover their offenses by using their own illicit gain. In other words, using the money that they've extorted from somebody else to pay off a judge so that he would not render a verdict against him.

This practice continues today, not only in the Middle East, but in our country as well as other countries.

Verse four, they said,.

You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand. And he said to them, verse five, the Lord is witness against you and his anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.

And they said, he is witness. Speaking of the Lord, Jehovah. There's a passage in Leviticus in chapter six, which I'll read verse two through five. When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him or a robbery, or if he is extorted from his companion or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely so that he sins in regard to any one of the things man may do, then it shall be when he sins and becomes guilty that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found or anything about which he swore falsely.

He shall make restitution in full and add one fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering. That gives the premise for what Samuel was calling these people to listen to.

He was not guilty of any of these things. Otherwise he would have been guilty of disobeying God's law as well as defrauding the people. As he continues in verse five, he said to them, the Lord is witness against you and his anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.

And then they said, he is witness. In verses six and seven, then Samuel said to the people, it is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. So now take your stand that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did for you and for your fathers.

So now he's gonna give them a history lesson. They needed to be reminded of just how much God had done for his chosen people, Israel. They had neglected that, they had forgotten that, and now he's going to remind them.

So take your stand that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did for you and your fathers. Having already exonerated himself as a judge, Samuel next turns to address Israel as a prophet.

One of the longest single quotations quoted in Samuel and in the Hebrew Bible, this is in the Hebrew Bible, which begins here and actually runs through verse 17. And this quotation may be divided in three parts.

First, a historical introduction, six through 12. Second, Samuel gives a warning in 12, chapter 12, verse 13 through 15. Third, Samuel calls upon the Lord to perform a miracle. As a judge, God gave Samuel the power to perform miracles and Samuel chose to do so at this time, which was the beginning of the wheat harvest.

He did this so that all Israel would realize the great sin of rejecting Jehovah as their king and demanding a king to lead them. Samuel reminded in verse six Israel that the Lord had established Moses and Aaron as their leaders to bring them up from the land of Egypt.

They were in Egypt, they were being oppressed by Pharaoh and all the Egyptians, they were enslaved, they were tortured, they became slaves with being fully oppressed every day. And then Moses and Aaron delivered them.

So too, it was time for Israel to stand and be confronted with the evidence for all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did in their behalf. In verse seven, the trial mode of verse three is maintained, but this time, the people are the defendants.

When Samuel begins in verse seven, he addresses Israel in a formal manner. So now take your stand that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did for you and your fathers.

Now take your stand and the original means station yourselves. Take your places, stand forth. In the United States military, I can't speak for all branches, but in the Marine Corps, when a senior officer or even a senior enlisted man addressed somebody in their unit, all the members were called to attention.

That is, they would stand straight, put their arms at their side, look straight and listen. There wasn't to be any word spoken. They were to remain silent and stand in attention till the commander completed what he was addressing him with.

So this word is giving that picture. He wanted their full attention, no distractions, no talking. He wanted to address them and reprove them and point them back to the Lord. So he addressed him in a formal way.

He chose leaders over them. Now, Samuel reminds them how Jehovah had appointed Moses and Aaron, who had brought their fathers up from the land of Egypt. God did so through faithful men and delivered them from their enemies.

God used mighty miracles that he worked through them for Israel's deliverance. So as we consider the work that God did through his prophets and his judges, he would give them the ability to perform a miracle.

He would perform it for them. It's interesting, the pattern can be seen at work in Samuel's brief history lesson. During a period of crisis, whether because of enslavement in Egypt or because of sin and idolatry, Israel would repent and cry for help.

Then the Lord would hear their cry and send a covenant leader to them. The threat of Nahash, the Ammonite, of which Samuel points back in verse 12, was no different than before. Israel was threatened by this wicked king of the Ammonites, but this time Israel once again had lost faith in their true king, Jehovah, and his divine pattern of deliverance.

Instead of trusting in Jehovah, they demanded a king. Now, at this time, God used the king to deliver him from the Ammonites. Samuel held Israel accountable to the covenant pattern of deliverance, yet they were found wanting.

They didn't remember the things that God had done for them, and instead, they had reverted to idolatry. Can you imagine that? Jehovah God provided for them everything they needed. The condition was this, that they obey his law.

When they didn't, he would rise up an enemy and they would attack Israel. Israel would cry out to the Lord, repent, turn back to him, God would deliver him, and this pattern was continuous. We read the book of Judges, we see it throughout the entire book.

Verse eight, when Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. Now, Samuel addresses the Israelites as a judge and prophet.

He points out to Israel that Jehovah has acted judgely by you and that you have dealt unjustly with him, speaking of God, Jehovah. Samuel vindicates God's dealing with them against the charge of having failed to protect them and their subsequent demand for a king.

Jehovah had not only brought their fathers out of Egypt, but he also settled them in this place where they are, near the Jordan. But they forgot, verse nine and 10, the Lord their God. So he sold them into the hands of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazar, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab.

And they fought against them. They cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and served Baals and the Ashtoreth. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.

Look at that conditional promise of Israel. They're bargaining. And yet God, in his mercy, did deliver them. But they will pay a consequence. They forgot Jehovah their God. The theocracy, as we have seen in chapter 10, and previous, was a moral government under which the idolatry continued.

They continued in sinful practices. And all that Israel had done was punished by Jehovah when he would withdraw his protection from them and allow an enemy to attack them. In Judges chapter three, in verse 30, we read this, or 31, after him came Shamgar, the son of Anath, who struck down 600 Philistines with an ox code and Sisera.

In Judges four, chapter four, verses one and two, then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold him into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazar, and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosha.

Hi again.

These examples pointed out by Samuel were well-known amongst the Israelites. They were, all these three earlier oppressors to Israel had been reversed in order that they found God and turn back to him because God then delivered them once they repented.

Back in chapter 12, verse 10, they cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreth, but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies and we will serve you.

This continual pattern continued all the way through the Old Testament, and as we see here, they worshiped what they called Baals and Ashtoreth. Baal was the Canaanite idol, which is one of their chief male deities.

The inhabitants of Canaan were addicted to Baal worship. They had that idol that they worshiped, which is now being adopted by the Israelites. The idol of Baals was their farm god, which was to produce extra crops so they would worship this idol and it would serve them in bringing extra crops.

This is what they were thinking this idol would provide. The Ashtoreth was also one of the Canaanite idols. It was a goddess, an idol identified with the planet Venus. The name is cognate with the Babylonian Ishtar and the goddess of fertility.

These pagan deities were also adopted and these sinful Israelites adopted them. Now they acknowledged before Samuel by confessing outwardly of their forsaking the Lord that they had served these pagan deities.

Having now shown signs of repentance, the Israelites have now called out to Jehovah to deliver them from the enemy's hands. This cycle of sin continued and yet they had brought them to the place of trusting in a man rather than their Lord God Jehovah.

Verse 11, then the Lord sent Jeroboam and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around so that you lived in security. The Lord would deliver Israel from their enemies when they had repented and turned back to him.

A merciful God, even though they had turned from him, disobeyed his law and served idols. And now yet when they repent, God forgives them and delivers them from their enemy. So Samuel now points out the history of those numerous times that the Lord had delivered them from the hands of their enemies.

And he points back to those that God had delivered his people through the judges. He had appointed these judges to guide the people to victory. Their deliverance only came to the Israelites when they repented and turned back to God and asked for his forgiveness and deliverance.

God never gave deliverance until they put out the idols and repented. We find similar patterns of Israel's continual sinning in the Lord bringing judgment and punishment upon his chosen people Israel when they were unfaithful to him.

In Judges chapter two and verses 11 through 14, we read this. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baals and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed themselves down to them.

Thus, they provoked the Lord to anger. So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel and he gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them and he sold them into the hands of their enemies around them so they could no longer stand before their enemies.

So God had decimated them because of their disobedience and that continual disobedience, but he used that to lead them back to himself in repentance. When we get to Judges 2 .11, we read this. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baals.

So those who did not know God, at following the time of Joshua, began doing evil in the sight of the Lord. So Joshua, under Joshua, the people of Israel did not sin. They followed the Lord in obedience.

When Joshua died, when God took him home, then they reverted back to following and worshiping idols. The Lord raised up judges beginning with Othiniel, the son of Canaas, which were Caleb's younger brother.

In Judges 3, verses nine and 10, we read this. When the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them. Othiniel, the son of Canaas, Caleb's younger brother, the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel.

Remember, when God worked through these judges, he would pour his spirit upon them during the time that they served him to empower them to carry out this service. When the judges went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan and Rishanim, king of Mesopotamia, into his hands so that he prevailed over Cush Rishanim.

Throughout the Old Testament, when Israel would turn from their king, Jehovah, the Lord would continually bring judgment upon them. When they repented once again, he would turn back to them. We find similarly in the New Testament when Christians continually turn from God, he brings discipline.

We read in Proverbs 3, Old Testament, 11 through 12. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, nor loathe his reproof. For whom the Lord loves, he reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

And then the author of Hebrews in chapter 12, we read this in verses five through six. And have you forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him.

For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives. What a great promise. Though when we sin and turn against God, he brings us back to himself and he forgives us, but he uses discipline and sometimes scourging when a person doesn't.

But that also shows that they are sons of God, sons and daughters of God. We serve a loving God who loves his elect so much that when we turn away or sin against him by disobeying his word, he disciplines us for our own sake and for his.

God has given his word, the scriptures, in order to bring us to salvation and to honor and serve him through obedience to his word. We read in Hebrews also, 12, one and two. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joys set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

God provided his perfect sacrifice through his son. The author of Hebrews refers back to chapter 11, those who were the great cloud of witnesses, demonstrating those whom God views to display faith even when they never saw the promises.

In chapter 11, verse 39, we read, and all these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised. So even though they were looking forward to the promised Messiah, they never saw him and yet faithfully served him and were brutally martyred for his sake.

So as we look at this and recognize, not only in the Old Testament, what God has done for his people, but in the New Testament, what God has provided, which just brings us to the place of worshiping more.

We love our God and we want to serve him. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for what you've provided through your word to us and for granting us the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And Father, we pray that you would be glorified through the teaching and preaching of your word.

And we pray that as we gather together collectively as your children, that we bring honor to you in praise and songs and hymns, and through the not only revelation and preaching of your word, but the empowerment to obey.

We give you praise in Jesus' precious name, amen.