First Samuel 12:16

The Bible says in First Samuel 12:16-20, “ Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.[17] Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.[18] So Samuel called unto 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 unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.[20] And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;” This is an important passage to understand about the chastising hand of the Lord. The people had repented. God forgave them and told them that He would bless their choice of a king, but then something bad happens. Their harvest had to be delayed because of the rain. That was a warning. Now that you have turned back to the Lord, keep following Him. You have nothing to fear as long as you keep following Him, but do not forget that He has the whole world in His hands. You will not escape His chastisement if you fall away from the Lord. Notice also that the end of verse twenty says to “serve the LORD with all your heart.” God never lowers the standard just because we are weak and sinful. Guard you heart. Keep it fixed on the Lord. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” In other words, you will make your own destiny based upon your relationship with the Lord.

The Bible says in First Samuel 12:21-25, “And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.[22] For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.[23] Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:[24] Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.[25] But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” There is a lot of important truth in these verses. Verse twenty-one uses the word “vain” twice and the words “cannot profit.” The word that is translated “vain” means “without form and empty,” like a wasteland. It is the same word that is found in Genesis 1:2 in describing the earth before any life was created: “And the earth was without form and void…” The message is clear: your life will be a total waste if you turn away from the Lord. One of the great benefits of being a Christian is that your life can become what the Lord intended it to be, accomplishing what God meant for your life to accomplish. Jesus said in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

Verse twenty-two is a verse about eternal security, and it is a verse about the faithfulness of God. God is not going to turn away from me, so why should I turn away from Him? “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake…” The Lord is always there: helping, blessing, protecting, providing, guiding, teaching. What a great God we have and He is so faithful. Surely, anyone who knows this God will not turn away from Him. The last part of verse twenty-two says, “it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” Once you come to Christ, you belong to God. You only came to Christ in the first place because He came to you by the Spirit and led you to Christ. As we just read in John 15:16, Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you…”

Samuel said in First Samuel 12:23, “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way.” Samuel said that there are two things that he will do for the children of Israel: he will pray for them and he will teach them. We can pray for everyone who crosses our path and everyone that we know about. That is a lot of praying. We need to pray because we are involved in a spiritual ministry and only God can touch the heart. Christians are told in First Timothy 2:1-2, “ I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;[2] For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Samuel said that it would be a “sin against the LORD” if he ceased praying for the people. Never give up. Never stop praying for lost souls and for other Christians. We have the great honor and privilege of being used by God for Jesus’ glory. God must do the work, and then He uses us to do it. Think of that! What a privilege. That is why Samuel said that not only would he pray for them, but also he would “teach” them. The lost souls of the world need to hear the gospel and need to see the results of the gospel in your life and in mine. Christians need to be taught also. Some Christians are young in their Christian life, and other Christians can teach them to help them grow in Christ. Some Christians have learned the wrong things, and other Christians need to teach them to help them have the right faith and not be wasting time and effort chasing rabbit trails. The Lord teaches you, not just so that you can enjoy the truth for yourself, but so that you can teach others.

In verse twenty-four Samuel said, “Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.” Once again believers are told to fear the Lord. In other words, fear the consequences of not serving Him. Serve the Lord “in truth.” Being right with God involves honesty. Confession of sin is simply being honest with the Lord each day. That is why it says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To “confess” means to say the same thing that God says about your daily sins. The sins were wrong. And you should never do them again. The result of that kind of honesty with the Lord is forgiveness and cleansing. What a kind and merciful Savior we serve. To serve Jesus “in truth” also refers to the body of truth: the revealed teachings from God in His precious Word. The better that you understand sound doctrine, the better that you will be able to serve the Lord. If you have been taught some things that are not sound Biblical doctrine, you will be diminished in your ability to serve the Lord Jesus. Some people have been taught the wrong things about the fulness of the Spirit, some have been taught the wrong things about water baptism, some have been taught the wrong things about the gift of healing and of speaking in foreign languages, and some have been taught the wrong things about who should be chosen to be pastor of a church and other wrong things about church leaders, etc. The list is very long of things that some Christians have been taught that limit their ability to serve the Lord “in truth.”

Christians are told to serve the Lord “with all your heart.” Of course, that is part of the greatest commandment according to Jesus to love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The Lord has given us such a high standard because He loves us so much, and He simply wants us to return His love. “He loved us before we loved Him.” “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend.” In the last phrase of verse twenty-four Samuel tells us to “consider how great things he hath done for you.” If you know Jesus as your Savior, then it is impossible to say how much He has done for you. Your sins are forgiven, you will be in heaven forever, and He has blessed you innumerable times every day of your life. It is just a matter of you recognizing and appreciating and remembering all that He has done for you.

In verse twenty-five Samuel gives another warning, “But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” The Lord has given a free choice to all human beings. He hopes we will serve him because we use our free choice and freely chose to follow Christ. But if we turn away from the Lord and go our own way, there will be terrible consequences. The Lord wants us to avoid those consequences.

The Bible says in First Samuel 13:1-7, “Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,[2] Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.[3] And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in 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 say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.[5] And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven.[6] When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.[7] And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.” Saul had ruled two years as king of Israel, and evidently nothing significant had happened either good or bad up to that point. But things were going to change. They always do. Saul starts building an army. Jonathan, his son, gains a military victory against the Philistines. And then war is on the horizon. The Philistines prepare for war, and many of the people of Israel are frightened. This is a time when the nation would need the Lord and they would need a good leader that the Lord could use to lead the people. The best way to be prepared for the difficult times that will come is to serve the Lord every day. Trust in the Lord in normal times, and then it will be second nature when something serious comes your way. We all have our own difficulties. These problems will try our faith and show us what is our true spiritual condition. Saul would be tried and tested. Would he do the Lord’s will? Would he trust in the Lord? Would he put God first? Were God’s commandments and God’s will important to Saul? We will find out in the next passage that the answer is “no.”

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