Episode Details

Remember

1 Samuel 12, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 11/29/2020

Introduction:

One of the great dangers for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is forgetting who we are. We can fall prey to viewing the church as merely a social organization to which we belong. Perhaps you see the church as a convenient social activity, a nice occasional add on to your consumer life. It’s a place you go to get a shot of Jesus to get you through. But is this what the church is meant to be?

Israel faced such identity crises many times in her history, perhaps none more so than in the chapters we have covered in recent weeks. The people longed to be like all the nations (8:20), and thus they demanded that Samuel the prophet anoint a king to reign over them (8:6, 20). Now we come to chapter 12, on the heels of the great military victory of chapter 11, and Samuel will give his final address as the judge of the people. He has ruled over them for decades, and though he will continue in his prophetic office, his time as a judge concludes in this chapter. 

The Innocence of Samuel, v1-5

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before 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? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.” 

Samuel here draws the attention of the people to some obvious facts. First, in v1, he has obeyed their voice. They demanded a king, and here Saul is. Samuel, obeying the voice of the Lord, obeys the voice of the people. He also seems in verse 2 to contrast himself with Saul. He says I have walked before you from my youth until this day. But now it is the king who walks before you. Walking before in this context means to function as a leader, to go ahead, to be the pointman. Samuel has been that, but here he is, an old man with worthless sons, and the people have given up on him and the judgeship. They demanded a king, and so they now have one. 

But Samuel wants to make clear that this is not the result of some massive moral failure or corruption on his part. Here I am, testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. What a bold statement! Samuel is confident that they can’t land any solid punches against him. It’s as if he is saying, really? You thought you needed to replace someone who was actually honest in this position? Good luck with that one! And he is exactly right, they have nothing to say: You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand. There is no corruption present in Samuel, and the people know that full well.

Why is this important? I think it’s important because Samuel is going to be making some serious accusations later on in the text. And the people can’t be having the escape valve of but what were we supposed to do? We just had to do this. No they didn’t. It was their own willfulness and lack of faith that brought them here, and they need to know that. Samuel is innocent in their eyes, in Saul’s eyes, and in God’s. 

The Guilt of the People, v6-18

6 And Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the l