1 Samuel 12:1-25

Israel’s First King

1 Samuel

Helen Pocock

Chapter 12

Samuel speaks to all the *Israelites for the last time

v1 Samuel said to all the *Israelites, ‘I have done everything that you wanted me to do. I have given you a king to rule you. v2 Now you have a king to lead you. I am old and my hair is grey. My sons are here with you. I have been your leader from the days when I was young until now. v3 Here I am. I have not done any wrong things. If I have, you must accuse me to the *Lord and his *anointed king. I did not steal anyone’s *ox or *donkey. I did not hurt anyone because I had not been honest. I saw the wrong things that people did. But I never accepted money to pretend that I did not see them. However, if I have done any of these things, I will give you what I have taken’.

v4 The *Israelites answered, ‘You have always been honest. You have not hurt any of us. You have not taken anything from anyone’.

v5 Samuel said to the *Israelites, ‘The *Lord is a witness of what you have said today. The *Lord’s *anointed king is also a witness of this: You said that I am innocent’.

They replied, ‘He is a witness’.

All the *Israelites now accepted Saul as their king. Samuel had led them for a long time. He had been a good leader. Samuel had even given them the king that they wanted. Samuel was honest. He was fair. The people could trust him. He did not take anything from them. All the *Israelites agreed with this. In chapter 8, Samuel had warned them that a king would take a lot from them. Perhaps Samuel wanted the king to hear how he should lead the people. God had chosen Samuel to lead the *Israelites. Samuel led the *Israelites in the way that God wanted. Then God chose and *anointed Saul as king. Now Samuel wanted Saul to lead the *Israelites in God’s way. Samuel was still the priest. The people could still trust Samuel to lead them as a good priest.

In verse 5, the people said ‘He is a witness’. ‘He’ could refer to the *Lord or to the king as the witness.

v6 Then Samuel said to all the people, ‘The *Lord chose Moses and Aaron. The *Lord brought all the *Israelites out from the country of Egypt. v7 You must stand up now because I will judge you. I will remind you about all the good things that God did. God did these things for you and for your families who lived many years ago. v8 Jacob and his family went to the country of Egypt. About four centuries later the people from the family of Jacob (the *Israelites) asked the *Lord to help them. The *Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They brought the *Israelites, your family, out from the country of Egypt. They brought them into this place.

v9 But the *Israelites forgot the *Lord their God. Sisera led an army from the town of Hazor. He fought against the *Israelites. The *Philistines and the king of Moab also fought against the *Israelites. The *Lord allowed these enemies to win. They made the *Israelites become their slaves. v10 Then the *Israelites called out to the *Lord. They said, “We have *sinned. We left the *Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Save us from our enemies and we will serve you”. v11 So the *Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel. The *Lord saved you from all your enemies. Then you lived in safety.

v12 But then you saw that Nahash, who was the king of the *Ammonites, was coming to attack you. So you said to me, “No. We want a king to rule us”. However, the *Lord your God was your king. v13 Now here is the king that you chose. He is the one that you asked for. The *Lord has made him your king. v14 You should fear the *Lord and serve him. You must obey the *Lord. You must not oppose his commands. You and the king who rules you must follow the *Lord. v15 You might not obey the *Lord. You might oppose his commands. If you do, he will oppose you. He will do to you what he did to the *Israelites in the past’.

You can read about Jacob in the *Old Testament book of Genesis. His birth is in chapter 25. He went to Egypt in chapter 46. The account of Moses and Aaron is in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. The book of Joshua describes how the *Israelites came into the land where they now lived. The events in verses 9-11 are in the book of Judges. The *Israelites asked for a king in 1 Samuel 8. But the account of the attack by Nahash is not until chapter 11. In the past, Nahash had probably attacked other countries that were near *Israel. Perhaps the *Israelites thought that Nahash would attack them in the future.

In these verses, Samuel spoke as a *prophet. The *Israelites knew a lot about what had happened to them in the past. In verses 6-11, Samuel reminded them again. God had given them all that they needed. He had rescued them from all their enemies. Samuel reminded them that God had chosen leaders for them. These leaders led them in the battles. The *Israelites had success and won their battles. Then Samuel reminded the *Israelites that they had often stopped *worshipping God. Instead, they *worshipped *idols. So God let their enemies defeat them.

The *Israelites’ main *sin is in verse 9, ‘they forgot the *Lord their God’. God wanted the *Israelites to *worship only him. He was their king. When they *worshipped the *Lord, their life was good. When they *worshipped other *gods, their enemies won the battles. But when the *Israelites started to *worship the *Lord again, the *Lord helped them.

In verses 12-15, Samuel reminds the *Israelites that they refused the *Lord as their king. Instead, they wanted a man as their king. But the *Lord was still their king. The *Israelites had to obey the *Lord. Their king had to obey the *Lord. In verse 15, Samuel warns the *Israelites not to oppose the *Lord. When they did this in the past, the *Lord punished them. If they do it in the future, the *Lord will punish them again.

v16 Now stand still. See the great thing that the *Lord will to do. v17 It is time for the wheat harvest now. I will pray. The *Lord will send *thunder and rain. Then you will know that you did an evil thing against the *Lord. You asked for a king.

v18 Samuel prayed to the *Lord. That day the *Lord sent *thunder and rain. All the people were afraid of the *Lord and of Samuel. v19 All the people said to Samuel, ‘We are your servants. Pray to the *Lord your God for us. Do not let us die. We have *sinned many times in the past. Now we have *sinned because we asked for a king’.

v20 Samuel said, ‘Do not be afraid. It is true that you have *sinned. But do not turn away from the *Lord. Serve the *Lord with all of your spirit. v21 Do not *worship *idols. They cannot help you. They cannot save you. They have no use. v22 The *Lord does not change his decisions. He decided to make you his own people. He will not leave you. v23 As for me, I will not stop praying for you. I will *sin against the *Lord if I stop. I will teach you the good and the right things to do. v24 You must give the *Lord honour. You must serve him with all your spirit. Remember the wonderful things that he did for you. v25 But if you continue to *sin against God he will remove you and your king’.

The wheat harvest is in the dry season. There is no rain or *thunder in this season. (In 1 Samuel 7:10-11 God sent *thunder to frighten the *Philistines.) The *Israelites were very frightened when God sent the rain and *thunder in the dry season. The storm was the way that God spoke to the *Israelites. They realised that they had *sinned. They were afraid that God would kill them. But Samuel knew that God loved the *Israelites. God chose them as his special people. The *Israelites were afraid of God. But Samuel did not want them to turn away from God because of their fear. The people could not change what they had done. But Samuel encouraged them to live the right way in the future. The *Lord had been very kind to them in the past. He would be kind to them in the future, if they obeyed him. But if they did not obey the *Lord, he would remove them. The *Lord wanted his people to serve and *worship only him.

One of Samuel’s duties as a priest was to pray to God. Samuel knew that this was very important. He said that he would *sin against God if he did not pray for the *Israelites. He also had to teach the people the right way to behave. Samuel had done both these things while he led the people. Samuel obeyed God. And he had to continue this work.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.

Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Lord ~ the name of God in the Bible. The special name of God that he announced only to the Israelites (Genesis 3:13-15). It links God with his covenant (promise) to them.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil to show that God has chosen him for a special job.'ox, oxen ~ another name for a cow. Oxen is the plural.
donkey ~ an animal like a small horse. Donkeys can carry heavy loads on their backs. People ride on them.
Philistines ~ the Israelites’ main enemies at that time. They lived on the west side of the country of Israel.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
Ammonite ~ a person who came from the family of Ammon, who was the grandson of Lot (Genesis 19:36-38).
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
prophet ~ a person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
idol ~ an object that people worship instead of the real God. People make idols from wood, stone or metal. An idol was usually an image of a person, animal or object. Idols are false gods.

worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
gods ~ gods with a small ‘g’ are all the false gods.
thunder ~ the loud noise in the sky that happens during a storm and lightning.