1 Samuel Series Wk 10 - “Faithful Under God’s Banner”

  There are those in media, and in work places that attach themselves to whatever, or whoever is in the spotlight. They may befriend the popular person, or wear the latest fashion. They see the rising star and attach themselves to them. A famous example of this is Don King and Mike Tyson. Don King came from a modest neighborhood in Cleveland where his desire to be a lawyer gave way to him becoming a bookie. He was denied entrance in to law, so he employed the Machiavellian principles of being feared rather being loved, into his life. 

King became ruthless in his dealings as he built his promotional empire. It was in the 1980s when King met the up-and-coming Mike Tyson. King saw the potential in the young boxer and crafted matches that favored Tyson, and contracts that favored him. In the end, King and Tyson’s relationship is looked upon, at the very, least as a chaotic partnership, but to some, King is seen as the reason Tyson had the downfall in the ‘90s that he did.

It’s this idea of clinging to another’s fame, which we’ll see in our passage today as we get back to our series in First Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 14, verse 1. And as we open up to First Samuel 14:1, let’s look back over the last few weeks. 

We began the second section of First Samuel, by being introduced to the king, who the people had requested and whom God had chosen. We saw that in Saul, there were commendable attributes, like obedience, and humility, that made his beginning promising. However, finishing well is the goal, not simply starting off well. In order to finish well, we talked about how we need to go before God to be examined, so that he may transform us into the image of the Son.

Following that, we saw how Saul was made king in front of the people of Israel. After which he won his first battle, and proved that God had called him to the position. It was after the battle, that we saw the transition from the era of the Judges, to the era of the monarchy, when Saul made the decision not to punish those that had grumbled about him becoming king. We walked away from that week with the understanding that it is God who establishes kings and kingdoms, and it is God who removes them. 

In the eighth week, we read through Samuel’s farewell speech. His life was a model of faithfulness to God, one that we can look to and say, “That’s the kind of life I want to live.” Yet even though he was faithful, his sons did not follow his example, the people rejected God’s Kingship under his watch, and Saul would eventually fall as king. We walked away from that week with the understanding that, we should seek to live faithful lives, with the understanding that, though we may influence others, each of us is responsible for our own walk with the Lord. 

Finally, last week, we read how Saul, facing an overwhelming military battle, allowed his worry to push him to breaking the command of God. Saul stepped into the role of priest, made a sacrifice on behalf of the people without waiting for Samuel to arrive. Due to this, Saul showed that he had become unfaithful. When Samuel showed up, he informed Saul that what could have been a lasting kingdom, was lost on that day. It was from this that we talk about how our anxieties can cause us to rebel against God, so we need to bring them before the Lord and have them dealt with through prayer and praise, so that God’s peace may rest on us. 

With these last four weeks in our minds, we can move into chapter 14, where, like other parts of this summer series, the big thought here covers an entire chapter, and that chapter is very large. So we will only be covering pieces of it, and so your homework is to go back and read the chapter in its entirely.

Let’s read together the opening of chapter 14, starting in verse 1.

1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron.

Dropping down to verse 6, we continue to read, 

6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

v. 1-23

This sets the scene for the rest of the passage. Saul’s son Jonathan, who was leading others into battle, gets this idea in his head to go off with his armor bearer to look at the Philistine garrison. Now reading this, I don’t know if this is the story of the garrison that Jonathan defeats, that is briefly mentioned in chapter 13 verse 3, since it is in the same area. But in all my research, I couldn’t find anyone who connected the two, so we’ll treat it as a separate instance. However, if the two are the same, then Saul’s actions in unfaithfully making the offering from chapter 13, and God’s rejection of Saul makes more sense after we understand this chapter. Either way, we see Saul’s spiral away from God.

Here, we see Jonathan as a man who has a great faith in the Lord. If Saul had not fallen, then this was the next generation of king that was to be on the throne. 

In a very similar fashion to the two spies of Numbers 13, we see that Jonathan does not see human might as what wins the day, but rather Israel only wins by what God does. 

So he tells the armor bearer that they will reveal themselves to the Philistines, and if the enemy calls for them to come up, that means that God is with them. And this is what happens. The two warriors reveal themselves, the Philistines call for them, and then God sends a panic among them very similar to Samuel chapter 7, and Judges chapter 7. 

It is following this, starting in verse 7, that we’re told that the news got back to Saul about the panic in the Philistine camp. They make a quick count and find that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

Now in a ray of hope, we see that Saul had asked the priest Ahijah to inquire of the Lord as to what they should do, but when Saul heard the news of the panic, he told the priest to, “Withdraw your hand, (v.19)” from seeking God’s guidance in what to do with the Philistines. Whether this is good nor not, we’re not told, but what we do know is that Saul’s men, the Israelites who had gone to the Philistines, and some more Israelites from Ephraim joined the battle. 

This section of the passage ends in verse 23 with, “So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.” Proving that Jonathan was correct: it was God who won the day for Israel. 

v. 24-46

However, the physical victory of verse 23 quickly gives way to spiritual defeat with Saul,  in the second section of the passage. In verse 24 we read, “And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.’”

Notice that the oath is made because Saul wants vengeance on his enemies. Not the enemies of God, not the enemies of Israel, but his enemies. Saul’s focus is not on being a under-king, a prince of God, but rather, in the last two plus years that he has been king, Saul has usurped God’s rule and seeks his own. This is the very thing that God communicated through Samuel to Israel. 

It is Saul’s oath that parallels Jephthah in Judges 11:29-40. And like Jephthah’s oath, the oath maker speaks rashly and puts his family at risk.

But Jonathan doesn’t know about the oath and its punishment and he eats honey. As he is eating the honey, Jonathan is informed of the oath and punishment, and he recognizes that it was a bad pronouncement from his father. Again, we see in Jonathan what could have been the monarchy moving forward if Saul was faithful. 

Back in chapter 13 we saw how the people did not follow Samuel's lead, which was with God, but instead, they went with their choice of king, Saul. It is in verse 31 that we see how far Saul’s choices have led the people to rebel against God. We read in verse 31, “They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. (v.31-32)”

Since Saul was rash in his oath, the people were so hungry by the end of the battle that they ripped into the meat without draining the blood. Saul’s rashness in oath, led to his son’s life being in jeopardy and the people rebelling against God’s command not to eat meat with blood in it. (Gen 9, Lev. 17, Deut. 12:23)

Saul knows this is wrong and for a brief moment comes to his senses and orders the people to bring their food that it might be slaughtered properly. It is also here that Saul builds his first alter to God. 

Then in verses 36-46, we see that, once the sin of eating meat with blood in it is dealt with, Saul wants to finish the job by attacking the Philistines at night. It is here that the priest directs Saul to seek God. However, when they do, God doesn’t answer. This leads Saul to believe there is sin in Israel that needs to be dealt with. So Saul divides the people into two groups: the leaders of the people of Israel who represent the masses, and Saul and Jonathan who represent the monarchy. They cast two stones, one called the Urim and the other the Thummim. The lot points to the monarchy. So again the stones are cast and the lot falls to Jonathan. And we get this interaction between Jonathan and his father in verse 43, “Then Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ And Jonathan told him, ‘I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.’ And Saul said, ‘God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.’(v.43-44)” 

The glimmer of hope in Saul who called the people away from the sin of eating meat with blood in it, fades with his intention to kill his son. Yet the people protest, and we’re told that they ransomed Jonathan. In other words, they had to pay Saul in order to keep him from killing his son.

v. 47-52

The chapter ends with a recognition that Saul fought many enemies through out his tenure as king of Israel and he did so valiantly. But it’s in the last verse that we see something curious. The last verses reads “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. (v.52)”

Though Saul himself was considered valiant when fighting, it seems that he was not a military minded man, and instead relied heavily on Abner his army commander, and other strong and valiant men. There’s a hint of how Saul clings to those warriors who act valiantly in war, instead of clingy to the Lord. 

Yet through this whole passage, we can see that even those who are in rebellion against God, can still be used by him to accomplish God’s plans. God has purpose through Saul and even though Saul ended up rebelling, God still worked it out through others, like Jonathan. 

It doesn’t excuse Saul’s unfaithfulness, but it shows that God works even through our unfaithfulness.

This moment in Saul’s life leads into the next chapter where he gets a talking to by Samuel, and we learn about how Saul’s unfaithfulness has led to his downfall.

But its here that we can walk away with a couple of lessons. First, we need to see the Lord as our Victory Maker. There is a long history of God’s people seeing God as the one who brings victory to a situation. Deuteronomy 20:4 reads, “for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are called to recognize that we do not win victories, the Lord does.

However in that same line of thinking, we are also called to be faithful. In the situation in which Moses speaks of God bringing the victory in Deuteronomy 20:4, the context shows that the Israelites still had to go out to the battle. God calls us to the moment of battle, that we might walk in it faithfully. Through that faithfulness God works to bring about victory, whether through us, or someone else. God won the battle against the Philistines, but Saul wasn’t faithful, it was Jonathan. 

God is calling us to faithfulness so that we may fully reap the benefits of his victory. 

My challenge for you today is this: there is a banner in the bulletin. Take that and place it where you will see it everyday. Each time you see it, say a prayer like this, “Lord you win the victories, help me to faithfully walk with you that I may see and enjoy them.”Let us be a people who live under the banner of God, and rejoice in him who is our Victor. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 9 - “Peace in Faithfulness”

 Back in 2000 Eric Moussambani swan in the Olympics for his country Equatorial Guinea. Unlike most of the other competitors Eric had never seen an Olympic sized pool before, so he was at a significant disadvantage. His heat started like anyone else’s, except before the buzzer sounded for the start of the race, his two competitors both launched off their starting marks too early. This disqualified them from the heat. 

Eric swan the race alone and finished in 1 minute, and 52.72 seconds. To put that into perspective, the gold medal swimmer in the same event won with a 48.3 second time. Eric did break a record with his time, being the slowest time recorded in Olympic history, which meant he wouldn’t move on to the next round. However, he won the heat.

Eric’s story has inspired others because, even though he came to the Olympics with no chance of competing at the level of other swimmers, he worked hard and showed his dedication. Yet there is another story, the other two swimmers. Eric wasn’t real competition, yet the other swimmers’ false starts meant that neither of them could get the win. It goes to show you that sometimes, it’s not the world around us that keeps us from winning, but our own false starts. 

This idea of false starts, brings us back to our summer series in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be reading through chapter 13, starting in verse 1. As we open up to First Samuel 13:1, let’s refresh our memories on where we are so far in this second section of First Samuel.

Three week ago, we looked at God’s choosing of Saul in response to the people desiring a human king. We’re told about the commendable attributes that he had in appearance, obedience, and humility. However, we also saw a few weaknesses as well: unwillingness to finish a task, and pushing responsibility onto others. Saul seemed to have a good start, but a good start isn’t the goal, a good end is. So we talked about how the way we can end well in our walks with God is to have a consistent self-evaluation before the Lord. Where we bring our thoughts and actions before God and have him transform them to his.

Following that, we looked at Saul’s coronation as king and his first victory. The through line of which was an understanding that it is God who establishes kingdoms and wins victories, and it is God who removes kings and kingdoms from the face of the earth. We should never lose sight that no king, dictator, president, general, or prime minster establishes themselves, but it is God who does so for his own purposes. 

Finally last week, we read through Samuel’s farewell address to the people of Israel. He had been God’s prophet and judge for a good portion of his life, and he had lived in front of Israel since he was a young boy. In his life he had shown what it meant to be a faithful follower of God, and he called Israel to be faithful too. We walked away from last week with two understandings: We should seek to walk faithfully, because we are responsibly for our own walks with God. Though we may influence each other’s walks, in the end we each are answerable for how we have walked in this life.

With the stage set, we move into chapter 13, verses 1 where we’ll begin to see the cracks forming in Saul’s rule. Let’s read together.

1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 

Let’s stop right here before getting into the rest of the passage. This first verse is very confusing and if we don’t address it from the git-go, your mind might be wondering and wandering as we move through the rest of the passage. It seems to state that Saul was a one-year old when he took the throne. We know that’s not the case, because of everything we read before about Saul’s appearance being that of a fully grown, taller and more handsome than everyone else, man. So what does the “one year” language mean?

The Hebrew word that is translated “one year” is shaneh (shah-NAH), and it means X-amount of time or a revolution of time. It can be as little as a one year as stated in the text, or an entire era of time. As I interpret, the author is saying, there was the era or time when Saul wasn’t king, and then there was a time when Saul was king. How old was Saul when he became king? The Scriptures are unclear, it could be about thirty, or it could be about forty. The forty number was probably more correct because his son Jonathan was a fully grown man, which would mean that Saul had to have had him at the earliest in his twenties. But the actual age doesn’t matter, what mattes is that there was a time when Saul wasn’t king and after that, he became king. The significant part of the verse is actually the second half, where we’re told, it only took two years to get where we are in the passage. So let’s continue with it.

2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Usually we don’t do this, as our intention is to read through a whole passage before we discuss it, but I want to stop with a little tension in the air, as Saul meets up with Samuel. We cannot miss this moment. Samuel shows up on the seventh day only after Saul conducts the religious ceremonies that only the priests were allowed to perform. 

A lot can be said about this. First, on the ceremonies side of it. The reason why it was forbidden for Saul to perform these offerings is due to the prescriptions within the covenantal agreement between God and Israel. We might think, “what’s the big deal” but the reason it is a big deal is because Israel is in contract with God. It is similar to any contact we might sign to buy a car, rent a house, or have a cell phone. If we were to rent a house, pay the deposit, and then trash the place, we would be in breach of the contract, kicked out, and our deposit would be used to fix the house. The contact between God and Israel had the perception that only the tribe of Levi was allowed to make offerings to God on behalf of the people. Saul is in breach of that contract, and as the king, he is more responsibly than any other person. Remember last chapter, Samuel called the people to follow God with all their heart, and the king too. 

Secondly, why did Saul jump the gun here? When Saul first met Samuel, he was told by the women he met that the people would wait until Samuel showed up to bless the food. No matter how long it took, they waited. This was the first thing that Saul learned about Samuel, but he didn’t really learn it. What we learn in the rest of verse 11 and verses 12, is that the situation in which Saul found himself in made him anxious, telling Samuel that he “forced” himself, and so he performed the ceremony in rebellion against God’s command. He rebelled against the counsel of God’s command, against the precedent set by Samuel, and his own inclination to wait. 

In reply, this is what Samuel tells Saul in verse 13.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.

In Saul’s unwillingness to wait on the Lord and to follow his commands as an under-king to the true King, Saul lost his kingdom. It will take time for this to come about, but we learn in verse 14 that Samuel already knows that God is at work to bring about another to take Saul’s place. 

The chapter ends with the Israelites needing to make weapons out of their farming tools, a sign that under Saul’s leadership, they’re on their own once again. God isn’t providing against the overwhelming odds and we might wonder why? Why is God not providing for the people, when it was only Saul who messed up? 

The reason why is verse 15, when Samuel left the town, the people followed their human king and rose up with him. The people chose Saul over God, and God gave them over to their own desire. But that desire was contrary to God and they went to battle without God going before them. 

The chapter ends on this ominous note. What’s going to happen at the battle? Will the Philistines, with their chariots, horses, and soldiers, wipe out the Israelites with their converted farming tools? We’ll leave that for next week.

However, we can walk away with Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:25, 32-33, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Seeking God’s kingdom above the kingdoms of this earth and above the kingdoms of our own self, is what Saul failed to do. Saul only reigned for two years before his kingdom became more important that God’s. His anxiousness overrode his understanding of God’s command, his trust in his mentor Samuel, and his own conscious. Why? Because his eyes were on his circumstances and his need to make sure his kingdom was secure. Yet, as disciples of Jesus, we are called to look to Christ’s kingdom. His commands are better than ours. His example is better than any humans. His will is better than our own. 

But how do we accomplish this not being anxious and trusting the Lord? The Holy Spirit gives us this through Paul in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We over come anxiousness by rejoicing in the Lord as we bring our request before him, leaving them with him, for him to work out as he sees fit. God is the king, his will will be done whether we fight against it or not. When we fight against it, we will experience all the problems our anxiety worried about. Yet if we trust in the Lord, leaving our worries and anxiety in his hands, he will bless us with his peace and our heart and minds will be guarded against the enemy as we trust ever greater in Jesus.

My challenge for you this week is this, we are going to be taking communion and we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to pass the bread and cup together and I want you to take a moment and lay your petitions upon the Lord. Any worry of the kingdom of this world lay at the feet of the King of kings. Any anxiety that plagues your heart or mind, bring it before the God of peace. Then, pick up rejoicing that God is going to work it out in his way and in his time. 

Let us petition the Lord together in the unity of Christ, and let us rejoice with one another in the greatness of our God. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 8 - “No Excuse Faithful Walking”

 The story goes, that almost two-hundred and fifty years ago a war was raging. A man in civilian clothes was riding his horse when he came upon a group of soldiers digging a fortification. The man noticed that one of the soldiers was barking orders and telling the men to hurry up, but that soldier wasn’t helping to get the job done. 

The man stopped and asked the commander, “Why aren’t you helping if it’s that important that they get the job done?”

The leader responded, “Because I’m in charge, and if you feel so strongly about it, you get down there and help.”

The man got off his horse and helped the soldiers until the job was done. He congratulated and encouraged the men on a job well done. Then he approached the commander and told him, “You should notify top command next time your rank prevents you from supporting your men, and I will provide a more permanent solution.”

Now seeing the stranger up close, the commander recognize the man, it was George Washington, commander of the Continental Army.

Good leaders are those that will get into the dirt and help you dig. They inspire and give you an example to live by.

It’s this type of example to follow that brings us back to our Samuel Series, where we’ll be picking it back up in First Samuel chapter 12, starting in verse 1. As we open up to First Samuel 12:1, let’s look back on the last two weeks.

As we entered into the second section of First Samuel, we saw that the people had called Samuel to appoint a king for Israel, something that was in opposition to what God had desired for his people. Yet, God agreed and we saw that it was Saul who God had chosen. In the first time we saw Saul, he had a few commendable attributes, and a few weaknesses. Because of this, we walked away from that week with the understanding that each one of us may begin well, but it’s through self-evaluation before God that helps us end well.

Then last week, we saw the public appointment of Saul, his first victory, and the transition from the era of the Judges to the era of the monarchy. However, a thru line that was the undercurrent in the two chapters we covered, was that it was God who established and removes kingdoms, even as rulers seek to do what seems right to them. No matter the ruler, whether a king, a dictator, or a president, it is God who works all things for his purposes. 

With those two weeks afresh in our minds, we turn our attention to chapter 12, verse 1, of First Samuel. Let’s read together.

1 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.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

v.1-5 - The passage can be broken up into three sections. The first is verses 1-5. In these verses, we’re in the same moment where we left off in chapter 11 at the town of Gilgal. Saul has been affirmed as king of Israel, and it’s time for Samuel to transition out of being the leader. 

Here is Samuel’s goodbye and he asks the people if he has done anything wrong to them all the days that he has judged them. The people agree that Samuel has done nothing wrong. 

Samuel’s life shows what a godly walk looks like. Is it perfect? No, as we have seen his sons not follow his example. But in everything that Samuel could control, he has walked faithfully with God. Samuel has been faithful in leading  the people, he’s been faithful in considering and doing their will, and he has been faithful in treating people honestly. Samuel’s life is the type of life we should all aspire to. It is the type of life that will hear the words of Jesus, from Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It is the type of life that Paul writes in his second letter to Timothy, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Tim. 4:6-8)” 

Each one of us should aspire to live a life that glorifies God, and Samuel has lead that type of life.

v.6-18 - This leads into the second section of Samuel’s farewell. He reminds the people of all that God has done for them. He reminds them of the Exodus, where God brought the people out of slavery in Egypt. Samuel reminds the people of all the times that God sent Judges to rescue them in their times of need, he includes himself in this, as one of the Judges. God had ruled them for hundreds of years in this way, saving the people time and time again. 

Yet, the people have asked for a king. They have rejected God as their king, and are now looking to a man. Because they have done this, Samuel warns them that if the king and the people follow God, there will be blessing, but if they choose to rebel against God, following their own desires, then all that awaits them is the judgment of God.

Samuel shows that his words of divine judgment on the people if they turn from God are true, because he calls on God to bring thunder and rain. This is miraculous because this takes place during the harvest season of Israel, where such rains are rare.

v.19-25 - And so the people call on Samuel to pray for them. To intercede on their behalf and avoid God's judgment.

It’s here that Samuel calls on them to realize that though they have done an evil thing in seeking a human king over God, God still cares for his people. God’s intention has always been to make a people for himself. God will not abandon Israel, even if Israel seeks to abandon God. And Samuel, won’t abandon his post either. He isn’t dead yet, and that means his calling hasn’t come to an end. Samuel will continue to pray on behalf of the people, and he will continue to walk the path as God leads him.

But the people must take seriously their role in following God, or else God’s judgment will come down, just as the rains have come.

We can walk away with two points from this chapter. First, each of us should seek to walk faithful to the end, as Samuel did. If we have put our faith in Jesus, our lives are to be honored back to him. They are to be a praise, a testimony, an example of his faithfulness to us. Jesus is the goal, and the path to that goal is lined with countless struggles and victories that resound with the glory of God. Jesus is seeking his people to be faithful disciples of his, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to the end.

The second point we can walk away with this is, each of us is responsible for our own walk with the Lord. The past two weeks I have been thinking a lot about past teens through the ministry here. I wish that each one would be walking faithfully with God. That each one would have accepted Jesus as their Savior. That each one would be living lives that glorify God. And I’ve been thinking about all the times that I have failed in being the godly example I should have been. I’ve thought of all the times I have failed, in my anger, in my joking. And there is this little voice in the back of my head that tells me it’s my fault for these teens not following God. If I was better, they would be better. Yet, I read Samuel and he’s a paragon of walking godly before people. Everyone agreed that he was faithful, and yet, his sons did not walk with God. It was under his tenure that Israel reject God’s kingship. 

I’m not saying that I shouldn’t do better, because I should, and through the Holy Spirit, I hope that I am, but each of us has to take responsibility for our own walk with Jesus. We cannot shift blame to our parents, siblings, extended family, to friends, circumstances, pastors, or other Christians. We must realize that we as individuals are responsible for our walks. If I want to grow, I must be the one in prayer, in Bible reading, in practicing what Jesus teaches. This is what leads to a life well lived, a life like Samuel’s. Because on the day of Judgment, each of us will stand before the Lord on our own account and no one else’s. 

This however doesn’t let us off the hook of being that good example, but rather should encourage us to grow in the Lord.

So my challenge for you this week is to go before the Lord and ask, what excuses have you given to say how you have not walked better with him? I’ve done it. Not enough time, too many distractions, that’s why I haven’t been better. But those are just excuses. I don’t want excuses anymore, I want faithfulness. This is why in the past year, I have tried to do the things that I have been called to do, and no longer give excuses why I couldn’t. It’s why I am finishing up my masters. It’s why I wrote my novel, the devotional, and am working my Matthew commentary, and another novel. I don’t want excuses, because God has called me to faithfulness. This week, walk before the Lord and ask him to remove the excuses that you may walk in faithfulness.

Let us be a faithful walking people, who understand that the race isn’t over until the trumpet sounds for us. Amen.