February 22, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Obedience Comes First

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord of time and space, I’m here at this time and place. Continue Your work in me through the Holy Spirit.

Read 1 Samuel 12:1-25

[1] Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. [2] Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. [3] Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.” [4] “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” [5] Samuel said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said. [6] Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of Egypt. [7] Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your ancestors. [8] “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. [9] “But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. [10] They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ [11] Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety. [12] “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’-even though the LORD your God was your king. [13] Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. [14] If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-good! [15] But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors. [16] “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! [17] Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.” [18] Then Samuel called on the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. [19] The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” [20] “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. [21] Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. [22] For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. [23] As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. [24] But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. [25] Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright &copy 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.&reg Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

Moral character enables a person to speak with authority. Samuel had his moral character publicly confirmed (1-5) and was then able to unleash a stern, prophetic warning (6-25). What we are gives us credibility when we speak.

How common it is to believe that a new structure and/or a new leader will solve problems in a nation–and in a local church! Samuel’s speech helps us to reflect on our own priorities and their motivation. It recalls various elements from chapters 1-11 as it addresses the present and looks ahead. Throughout his long leadership, as the people testify, Samuel has modeled what God desires: he has not “taken” (3; contrast 8:11-17). From Moses onwards, God repeatedly performed “righteous acts” (7; acts of putting right, often deliverance), although the people then “forgot” him. Asking for a king was yet another “sin,” an “evil” (19). What is the way forward, for God has now given them a king (13)?

Samuel’s charge shows how the new kingship can be integrated into the covenant relationship that already exists between Yahweh and Israel. He focuses on the central issue: a matter between “you” (“all Israel”) (1), “the people” (6), “you and the king” (14), “all the people” (18) and “the Lord” (32 times in the chapter). The priority is covenantal allegiance, worshiping him alone and following his commands “with all your heart” (20,24). In a blunt turn of phrase, Samuel warned: “idols … can do you no good, nor can they rescue you” (21). Despite their sin, the Lord remains bound to his people “for the sake of his great name” (22; Exod. 32:11-14; Ezek. 36:22, 23) and so Samuel, too, will not give up, as he guarantees prayer (23).

The history of kingship, from Saul on, was turbulent–as has been the history of the church. We have been reading about kingship, but the climax is about God and people. God’s priority is still that all give him undivided loyalty, doing what “is good and right” (23).

Apply

Reflect on the observation that the New Testament has little about church structures and office-bearers, but much about the life and behavior of congregations.

Closing prayer

Father, I realize I am not perfect, but I long to be moving forward on the pathway of spiritual growth. May my belief and behavior be consistent with each other.

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