1 Samuel: Chapter 12
In this chapter, we see Samuel giving his farewell address to the people.
Chapter Recap
We see Israel gathered following the events of the foregoing chapter. Samuel finds it as a suitable time to “announce his retirement” and bid farewell to the people and his formal duties. The whole chapter essentially records his message to the people, where he clears himself from all suspicion or mismanagement while he administered, reminds the people of the great and wonderful things God has done for them and their ancestors, warns them of doom if they do not follow the LORD, while also stating the blessings if they truly follow the LORD. He adds to his testimony by calling to the LORD to bring rain, as a sign of what he said was indeed true, and showing his good authority. Finally he concludes by stating that he would be there to teach them till the end of his days and wishes them everything will be well.
A Good Political Leader
It is easy to forget that Samuel, and in fact all the judges, were political leaders who were called by the LORD and rallied the nation when in time of need. Some were more successful than others, but all the judges were led by the LORD. Naturally, this is the case for Samuel as well. We’ve seen his call and the numerous prophecies, even ones against his predecessor. Following that, we also saw Samuel leading the people against their enemies. But now, we see Samuel, old. Intentionally or unintentionally, rather than honoring Samuel, the people offhandedly insulted him by asking for a king - a change in the system of rule. While they did not understand truly what it meant, the underlying message they projected is that we do not want the LORD to directly rule over us, but rather we just want to be like the other nations. In essence they forgot the good that the LORD has done and is doing by directly ruling over them.
Samuel begins his speech, addressing all these. He states that he has listened to the people and has “made a king over them”, pointing to Saul, who is now here and present. By this, he calls the people and the king as witness to whatever he has to say next. He acknowledges his age, “I am old and gray headed”, calls notice to his sons (“my sons are with you”) who through their behavior also played a part in this change of government and are now subjects of the new government.
Samuel continues “I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day”, and asks if there are any grievances against him in terms of an impartial “rule”. He states that he has never taken any bribes to prevent justice, which the people also agree with and acknowledge. Samuel further reaffirms this by calling the LORD as his witness.
Now, on the surface, we see that Samuel is a very good judge. He walked as the LORD wished and exemplified a good ruler. Obviously Samuel says all these to give more weight to the rest of his message. But other than this, there are also two subtexts to his prior statements. One, it is common for people to think that there is a change in government because of some misdeeds which the former ruler did. While this is not always the case, Samuel put all those speculations to end by testifying and having the listeners to bear witness. This brings us to the second point, if Samuel’s government was good, and there were no misdeeds under his government, then why is this change in government happening? While one potential reasoning could be that Samuel was old, or that his children did not live up to his standards, which left no one to carry on this form of government, this reasoning isn’t justified. Because, one, it wasn’t the people who were running the government, but rather the LORD, and two, we have seen this form of government working with impressive success. During the time of all the judges there was peace, but the people sinned again and fell short of the LORD, which caused their enemies to raise again and take over, only for the people to later relent (sometimes only after being told about their sins by the LORD, through his prophets) and then the LORD helping them again by raising another judge to help them.
So this change in government was not because of the failure of the former government, but rather because of the people not understanding the freedom they were experiencing, the blessings they were receiving and their lack of awareness about their own sin and unbelief. They just wanted to be like the other nations. The grass was greener on the other side. With this context, we see that everything else Samuel says in this chapter is a cry to help them realize the gravity of what they have done and advice on what to do further.
A Good Spiritual Leader
Samuel prioritized the people’s relationship with the LORD above everything else. For, seeking the LORD’s kingdom first, would grant the rest anyways. We saw how he went around teaching the people and partaking in feasts with them. Samuel’s government had a more personal connection because it wasn’t merely political. It was not just to defend from enemies, but to also help them grow in their individual lives. Samuel achieved this close connection with the people and as we saw in the previous chapters, even the common folk knew Samuel’s whereabouts, to a very precise degree. One of the things Samuel did was to remind the people of their past and how gloriously the LORD has been with them and guiding them, he would also have stated the failures of their ancestors as a warning and as a caution to not repeat the same mistakes. Samuel used his farewell to again remind them of their past.
“Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and your fathers.” I Samuel 12:7
Says Samuel and recounts in short the account of Israel from the exodus from Egypt, led by Moses and Aaron, to their inheritance in this land. Which is then followed by their turmoil from their neighbors when they “forgot the LORD their God”, which is then followed by deliverance using the judges when they “cried unto the LORD and said we have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD”. This cycle was repeated for decades until the people asked for a king following their most recent backslide. Samuel concludes this segment by stating, here is your king, “whom you have chosen” and “whom you have desired” and “behold, the LORD has set a king over you”.
Samuel makes it very clear once again how there was nothing wrong with the former system, and the failures came from the people themselves. Nevertheless, the LORD who has been with them all this time has listened and given them a king they have “chosen” and “desired”. Samuel here pointed out the fallacy of the Israelites, reminded them of the facts, and also showed how much the LORD has done for them despite their rejection.
A Good Prophet
A prophet is not just someone who tells the future. While a prophet can say specific instances of a possible future, it is intended to point out a person’s mistakes and warn of the consequences. The grand prophecies we see in the bible seldom focus on an individual, and in the rare scenario where it does focus on one person it is given as a sign. So what is the role of a prophet? A prophet’s role is to warn and guide the people towards the LORD, pointing out their sins and encouraging repentance. Samuel in this farewell speech doesn’t waste a chance to guide the people. This is clearly encapsulated in the following verses.
“If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. However, if you do 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, as it was against your fathers.” I Samuel 12:14,15
“If” - emphasis on conditionality. If the people and their king (no special treatment here) fear, serve, obey the LORD and not rebel against LORD’s commandments, then they will get to continue living under the LORD’s protection, else the LORD will be against them. Pointing out their mistakes, now Samuel urged them to continue following the LORD and not to rebel. Now, he does not give this as a blanket statement. He shows that he is speaking with the authority given to him by the LORD, and gives a sign to the people to back him up, by calling to the LORD for thunder and rain. The sudden torrent during the dry season convinced the people of all that Samuel had said. They “greatly feared the LORD and Samuel”, and finally acknowledged their mistake by saying, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king ourselves.” This was a great moment for Samuel the prophet and the people.
A Good Diplomat
Samuel was a representative of the LORD to the people. He knew the LORD’s heart and his close proximity with the LORD also transformed his heart to have a burden for the people of Israel. He now comforted the people saying not to fear and encouraged them to not turn aside from following the LORD, but to serve the LORD with all their heart. He also points out the love of the LORD and how it pleased the LORD to make them His people.
The rest of his life, Samuel still acted on behalf of the LORD. He might have retired from governance, but he was always a diplomat. His mission is best epitomized by the closing verses of this chapter.
“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” I Samuel 12:23-25
Samuel’s farewell speech teaches us a lot of things. To stress one point, what we think is good for us, often would not turn out to be so. We might think that a certain course of action is the best possible, because others have done it, but it need not be the case. Rather it's best for us to stay and wait for the LORD to guide us in his time. From Samuel’s life, again, we can learn a lot of things. But to stress one point, Samuel knew his purpose. He knew he was put there for the sake of the people and to bring them to the LORD. Samuel also used his time to grow personally closer to the LORD. And this is clearly seen in his walk and talk. Samuel was not someone who would preach something and not follow it. Rather, he lived it. Let’s strive to do the same.
See you in the next one! Take care of yourself and each other!
Comments
Post a Comment