Verse 5

the Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness--that, by their own acknowledgment, he had given them no cause to weary of the divine government by judges, and that, therefore, the blame of desiring a change of government rested with themselves. This was only insinuated, and they did not fully perceive his drift.

Verse 7

HE REPROVES THE PEOPLE FOR INGRATITUDE. (Sa1 12:6-16) Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you--The burden of this faithful and uncompromising address was to show them, that though they had obtained the change of government they had so importunely desired, their conduct was highly displeasing to their heavenly King; nevertheless, if they remained faithful to Him and to the principles of the theocracy, they might be delivered from many of the evils to which the new state of things would expose them. And in confirmation of those statements, no less than in evidence of the divine displeasure, a remarkable phenomenon, on the invocation of the prophet, and of which he gave due premonition, took place.

Verse 11

Bedan--The Septuagint reads "Barak"; and for "Samuel" some versions read "Samson," which seems more natural than that the prophet should mention himself to the total omission of the greatest of the judges. (Compare Heb 11:32).

Verse 17

HE TERRIFIES THEM WITH THUNDER IN HARVEST-TIME. (Sa1 12:17-25) Is it not wheat harvest to-day?--That season in Palestine occurs at the end of June or beginning of July, when it seldom or never rains, and the sky is serene and cloudless. There could not, therefore, have been a stronger or more appropriate proof of a divine mission than the phenomenon of rain and thunder happening, without any prognostics of its approach, upon the prediction of a person professing himself to be a prophet of the Lord, and giving it as an attestation of his words being true. The people regarded it as a miraculous display of divine power, and, panic-struck, implored the prophet to pray for them. Promising to do so, he dispelled their fears. The conduct of Samuel, in this whole affair of the king's appointment, shows him to have been a great and good man who sank all private and personal considerations in disinterested zeal for his country's good and whose last words in public were to warn the people, and their king, of the danger of apostasy and disobedience to God. Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 13

Verse 1

And Samuel said unto all Israel,.... When assembled at Gilgal, after they had recognized Saul as their king, and he was established in the kingdom, and while in the midst of their mirth and joy: behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye have said unto me; respecting the affair of a king, to which it must be limited, as appears by what follows; otherwise it is possible, in some things they might apply to him about, he did not think fit to hearken to them, and grant their request, or speak for them: and have made a king over you; that is, had by the direction and appointment of God chosen one by lot, anointed and declared him king; for it was the Lord alone, that, properly speaking, made him a king.

Verse 2

And now, behold, the king walketh before you,.... He invested with his office, and in the exercise of it, and goes in and out as the captain, commander, and leader of the people; it is expressive of his being in the full possession of regal power and authority, and therefore Samuel might speak the more freely, as he could not be thought to have any hope and expectation of being reinstated in his government, or to have parted with it with any regret; and he wisely took this opportunity of reproving the people for their sin of desiring a king, when Saul was settled and established in his kingdom, and when they were in the midst of all their mirth and jollity, who might, from the success that had attended this first adventure of their king, conclude that they had done a right and good thing in requesting to have one: and I am old, and grey headed; and so unfit for government, and very willing to be eased of the burden of it: he must surely be more than fifty two years of age, as the Jews generally say he was, since it is not usual at such an age to be grey headed; see Gill on Sa1 8:1; however, on this account he merited reverence and respect, and demanded attention: and, behold, my sons are with you; as private persons in the condition of subjects, making no pretension to government; and if they had committed anything criminal, they were open to the law, and might be charged, and tried, and treated according to their deserts; and there they were, and might be asked what questions they thought proper with respect to what they knew of his conduct; and to be hostages or bail for him, if they could prove anything against him; or to be taken to make satisfaction for any injuries committed by him: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day; his manner of and conversation from his infancy to this time was well known to them, and he had spent all his days in the service of God, and for the good of Israel.

Verse 3

Behold, here I am,.... No longer the supreme governor, but a subject, and accountable for any misdemeanour charged upon me, and to which I am ready to give answer, being now at your bar to be tried and judged before you: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed; signifying, that if they had anything to lay to his charge, that they would produce it, and give proof and evidence of it in the presence of God, in whose name they met, and of Saul, anointed king, and supreme judge and ruler of the nation: whose ox have I taken? by force to employ in his own service in ploughing his ground, or treading out his corn: or whose ass have I taken? to ride about on in his circuit, or to carry any burden for him: or whom have I defrauded? of their money or goods, by any artifice circumventing and cheating them: whom have I oppressed? struck, beaten, broken, or caused to be so used wrongfully; to whose person have I been injurious any more than to their property? Some derive the word from a root which signifies favour and goodwill, and interpret it as some of the Rabbins do, of his not taking money of persons with their goodwill; or rather, that he had done nothing as a judge for favour and affection, but had acted the upright part, without regard to rich or poor, friends or foes: or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? his meaning is, that he had never taken a gift or present from any person to favour his cause, that was to be brought before him, and give it for him right or wrong; to connive at any injury he had done, or to turn away his eyes from seeing where the justice of the cause lay; or that he had not received money to spare the life of a criminal that deserved to die; for the word used for a bribe signifies a ransom price, see Deu 16:19. and I will restore it to you; the ox or ass, money or goods, gifts and presents, or bribes taken, or make compensation for any injury done to the persons or estates of men. Some render it, "I will answer you" (f), or give in an answer to any such charges when exhibited. (f) "respondebo vobis", Munster.

Verse 4

And they said,.... One in the name of the rest, or they all cried out as one man: thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us; had done them no wrong, neither privately nor publicly, by fraud or by force: neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand; as a gift, present, or bribe, to fit your his cause. Some would infer hence that be took nothing of them for his support and maintenance, and that he lived upon his own substance; but that is not likely or reasonable; it was but just that they should support him and his family suitably to his character as a judge, whose whole life was spent in their service.

Verse 5

And he said unto them, the Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day,.... Should they hereafter reproach and vilify him, and charge him with any acts of corruption, injustice, and violence: that ye have not found ought in my hand; that they had nothing to accuse him of and charge him with throughout his whole administration, but had asserted his innocence and integrity, had honourably acquitted him, and given him a fair character: and they answered, he is witness; the omniscient God is a witness against us, should we depart from this testimony, and Saul, the Lord's anointed, is a witness that we have fully cleared thee from any imputations of maladministration. The word is singular, he "said" or answered (g), that is, Israel said, the whole body of the people, they all replied as one man: the reason why Samuel made such a speech at this time, when he resigned his government to Saul, was not only to secure his own character, but to suggest to Saul how he should rule and govern according to his example; and that having established his own character, he could the more freely, and with the better grace, reprove the people for their sin, as in some following verses. (g) "et dixit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; Drusius.

Verse 6

And Samuel said unto the people,.... Having cleared and established his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people some of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the present time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their King: it is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron; raised them from a low estate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides, and governors of his people Israel. Kimchi thinks this refers to what goes before, and that the sense is, that God, that raised Moses and Aaron to great honour and dignity, was a witness between him and the people; in which he is followed by some Christian interpreters. Ben Gersom makes mention of the same, but rather approves of the connection of the words with what follows, as does Abarbinel, and is doubtless most correct; the Targum is,"who hath done mighty things by the hands of Moses and Aaron:" and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt; when they were in bondage there, and that by the means of Moses and Aaron, by whose hands he wrought signs and wonders and inflicted plagues on the Egyptians, which made them willing at last to let Israel go.

Verse 7

Now therefore stand still,.... Keep your place, and do not as yet break up the assembly, but wait a little longer patiently, and with reverence and attention hearken to what I have further to say: that I may reason with you before the Lord; as in his presence; and which he observes to command the greater awe upon their mind, and the greater regard to the subject of his discourse and resolutions; which would be: of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers; not only in a way of judgment delivering them into the hands of their enemies, when they sinned against him, but rather in a way of mercy and kindness in delivering them out of their hands.

Verse 8

When Jacob was come into Egypt,.... With his family to see his son Joseph, and dwelt there; or rather the posterity of Jacob are meant, who settled in Egypt, and continued there many years, and at length were oppressed by the Egyptians, and brought into hard bondage: and your fathers cried unto the Lord; by reason of their bondage, for help and deliverance: then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt; after various messages carried by them from the Lord to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and after many signs and wonders wrought by them, by which the heart of that king was at last brought to consent to their dismission: and made them dwell in this place; the land of Canaan; they conducted them through the Red sea, guided them through the wilderness, and accompanied them, especially Moses, to the borders of the land of Canaan; for neither of them went into it, but died before the people's entrance there. Joshua, the successor of Moses, of whom Samuel makes no mention, introduced Israel into it, conquered the land for them, and settled them in it; though Moses and Aaron, as they were the instruments of bringing them out of Egypt, were the cause, by conducting them through the wilderness, and by their prayers, counsels, and instructions, of their entrance into and settlement in it: besides, Moses appointed Joshua in his stead, and ordered him to lead the people there, and directed to the division of the land among them, yea, two tribes and an half were settled by him on the other side Jordan; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read in the singular number, "he made them dwell, that is, the Lord".

Verse 9

And when they forgat the Lord their God,.... The worship of the Lord their God, as the Targum; that is, they fell into idolatry, which is a plain instance and proof of forgetfulness of God; for such that neglect his worship, and serve idols, may be truly said to forget him: he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor; who was general of the army of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, Jdg 4:2, where they are said to be sold into the hands of Jabin, here into the hands of Sisera; because it is highly probable he was sent against them by Jabin, and subdued them, as he afterwards was sent by him, when they rebelled against him, and were delivered out of his hand: and into the hand of the Philistines: as they were in and before the times of Samson, Jdg 13:1. and into the hand of the king of Moab; as in the times of Ehud, Jdg 3:14, the exact order of these things is not observed: and they fought against them; the king of Moab, Sisera, and the Philistines, and overcame them, and so they fell into their hands.

Verse 10

And they cried unto the Lord,.... When in the hands of their enemies, and in bondage to them, and cruelly oppressed by them: and said, we have sinned; the word for "said" is in the Cetib, or written text, singular, and in the Keri, or marginal reading, plural; and may signify, that everyone of them had a sense of their sin, and made acknowledgment of it; their confession was universal, as their sin was: because we have forsaken the Lord; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum: and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth; See Gill on Jdg 2:11; see Gill on Jdg 2:13. but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee; they did not ask for a king to go before them, and fight their battles, as they did now, but applied to the Lord for deliverance, promising to serve him as their King and their God.

Verse 11

And the Lord sent Jerubbaal,.... Or Gideon, as the Targum, for Jerubbaal was the name given to Gideon, when he first became a judge, Jdg 6:32. and Bedan; if this was one of the judges, he must have two names, or is one that is not mentioned in the book of Judges; the Targum interprets it of Samson; so Jerom (h), for the word may be rendered "in Dan"; one in Dan, who was of the tribe of Dan, as Samson was; and it was in the camp of Dan the Spirit of God first came upon him; and Kimchi observes that it is the same as Bendan, the son of Dan, that is, a Danite; and though he was after Jephthah, yet is set before him, because he was a greater man than he; and this way go the generality of Jewish writers (i); but a man of this name being among the posterity of Manasseh, Ch1 7:17. Junius, and who is followed by others, thinks that Jair is meant, and is so called to distinguish him from a more ancient Jair, the son of Manasseh, and with whom the order of the judges better agrees, see Num 32:41 but the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions read Barak; and he may rather be thought to be meant, because he was the instrument of delivering Israel out of the hand of Sisera, the captain of the host of Hazor before mentioned, Sa1 12:9 and agrees with the words of the apostle, Heb 11:32, who mentions those judges much in the same order: and Jephthah, and Samuel; meaning himself, who was the last of the judges, and who speaks of himself as of a third person, as Lamech does, Gen 4:23 and this he did not out of ostentation, but to observe that God had made him an instrument of delivering them out of the hand of the Philistines, which must be fresh in their memory, as he had made use of others before him, when he sent judges, and not kings, and therefore they had no need to ask a king. The Syriac and Arabic versions read Samson instead of Samuel, and which also agrees best with Heb 11:32. and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every side; not the judges, but the Lord; for the word for "delivered" is of the singular number: and ye dwelled safe; in the greatest security and confidence, without any fear of enemies, having God their King in the midst of them, and stood in no need of any other king to protect and defend them. (h) Heb. Trad. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. K. (i) So in T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 25. 1.

Verse 12

And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you,.... Or "but yet" (k); however, notwithstanding though the Lord had been so kind and gracious to them, as to raise up judges one after another to deliver them, when they cried unto him, yet when they perceived that Nahash the Ammonite was preparing to make war with them, instead of applying to the Lord for his protection, they desired to have a king to go before them, and fight their battles, as follows: nay, but a king shall reign over us; though Samuel told them they had no need of one: when the Lord your God was your King; and would protect and defend them, if they applied to him, and would put their trust in him; and he himself Samuel was their judge, and would be their general and commander, and they had experience of success under him to the utter destruction of their enemies, Sa1 7:10 and yet, notwithstanding all this, they insisted upon it to have a king. According to Abarbinel, this preparation of Nahash to war with them was after they had asked for a king, and was a punishment of them for their request; and yet they repented not of it, but in effect said, though Nahash, and all the enemies in the world come against us, we will not go back from our request, but insist on it, that we have a king to reign over us; such was their obstinacy and perverseness. (k) "videntes autem", V. L. "sed", Tigurine version; "et tamen", Vatablus, Piscator.

Verse 13

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired,.... For though God chose their king for them, it was at their request; they chose to have a king, and desired one, and they approved of and consented to, and confirmed the choice he had made, and so it was in effect their own: and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you; he gratified them in their desires; though he did not suffer them to make themselves a king, he suffered them to have one, and he gave them one; this power he reserved to himself of setting up and pulling down kings at his pleasure.

Verse 14

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice,.... All worship and service of God, and obedience to his word and ordinances, should spring from fear and reverence of him; and therefore the whole of worship, both external and internal, is sometimes expressed by the fear of the Lord: and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord; break it, and thereby exasperate him, and provoke him to wrath and bitterness: then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you, continue following the Lord your God; the Targum is,"after the worship of the Lord your God;''which was their duty to do, and is expressed in the preceding clauses; and this therefore is rather a promise of some benefit and privilege to their duty, and to encourage them to it, since it stands opposed to the threatening of punishment in the next verse; and the words in the original are, "then shall ye &c. be after the Lord your God" (l): that is, though they had in effect rejected the Lord from being their King, by asking and having one; yet notwithstanding, if they and their king were obedient to the commands of the Lord, he would not cast them off; but they should follow him as their guide, leader, and director, and he would protect and defend them as a shepherd does his sheep that follow after him; so Jarchi takes it to be a promise of long life and happiness to them and their king,"ye shall be established to length of days, both ye and the king.'' (l) "eritis post Dominum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Piscator.

Verse 15

But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord,.... They and their king, by sinning, disregarding his precepts, both affirmative and negative: then shall the hand of the Lord be against you; by sending some judgments upon them, as famine, sword, or pestilence, particularly captivity and subjection to their enemies: as it was against your fathers; who had no king; and it is suggested that their case, who had one, would be no better than theirs; their king would not be able to save them from the hand of God: the words in the original are, "and against your fathers" (m); which is interpreted in the Talmud (n) of their fathers dead, and in their graves, and of their enemies digging them up, and taking them out in contempt; but much better, by Kimchi, of their kings, who are, or should be, fathers of their subjects, as Augustus Caesar was called the father of his; and so the Septuagint version renders it, "and upon their king"; signifying that both they and their king should feel the weight of the hand of the Lord, if they rebelled against him. (m) "et contra patres vestros", Pagninus, Tigurine version. (n) T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 63. 2.

Verse 16

Now therefore stand,.... Which does not so much respect the position of their bodies as the fixed attention of their minds: and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes; meaning the storm of thunder and rain which presently followed; which coming at a time when such things were not usual, and on a day when there was no appearance or likelihood of anything of this kind, and suddenly, at once, upon the prayer of Samuel, it was no less than a miracle, and might be called a "great thing", new and unheard of, and the pure effect of almighty power.

Verse 17

Is it not wheat harvest today?.... Of the time of wheat harvest; see Gill on Sa1 6:13. Rain usually fell in Judea only twice a year, called the former and the latter rain; and from the seventeenth of Nisan or March, to the sixteenth of Marchesvan or October, it was not usual for rain to fall, and so not in harvest, at that time especially, see Pro 26:1. R. Joseph Kimchi says, in the land of Israel rain never fell all the days of harvest; and this is confirmed by Jerom, who lived long in those parts; who says (o), at the end of the month of June, and in the month of July, we never saw rain in those provinces, especially in Judea. And Samuel not only by putting this question would have them observe that it was the time of wheat harvest in general, but on that day in particular the men, were at work in the fields reaping the wheat, &c. and so was not cloudy, and inclining to rain, but all serene and clear, or otherwise they would not have been employed in cutting down the corn; all which made the following case the more remarkable: I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; in a miraculous and preternatural way, there being nothing in nature preparatory thereunto, and this purely at the prayer of Samuel: 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; was attended with aggravated circumstances, and highly offensive to God, though he had gratified them in it, of which this violent storm would be an indication, and might serve to convince them of their folly, as well as of their wickedness, and that they had no need of a king, since Samuel their judge could do as much or more by his prayers than a king could do by his sword; and of which they had had sufficient proof before this, and that in the same way, Sa1 7:10. (o) Comment. in Amos iv. 7.

Verse 18

So Samuel called unto the Lord,.... Not in an authoritative way, or by way of command, but by prayer; so the Targum renders the clause in the preceding verse,"I will pray before the Lord:" and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; immediately, though there was no appearance of it; it was harvest time, and a fine harvest day. Josephus says (p) he sent thunder, lightning, and hail, a terrible storm and tempest it was: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel; the Lord that sent this tempest, and Samuel who had such power with God in prayer. Clement of Alexandria (q) thinks that from hence the Greeks borrowed their fable concerning Aeacus invoking God, when there was a drought in Greece; and as soon as he prayed, immediately there was thunder, and the whole air was covered with clouds; but perhaps they rather framed it from the instance of Elijah praying for rain (r), at whose request it came, Kg1 18:42. (p) Antiqu. l. 6. c. 5. sect. 6. (q) Stromat. l. 6. p. 630. (r) Vid. Schmid. in Pindar. Nemea, Ode 5. p. 110.

Verse 19

And all the people said unto Samuel, During the tempest, and in the midst of it; it was the general cry of the people, they were unanimous in it: pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not; though they had rejected him as their judge and supreme governor in desiring a king, now they were his humble servants, at least feignedly; and knowing what interest he had with God in prayer, they entreat him to make use of it on their behalf, who having sinned so greatly, had not the assurance to call the Lord their God, though they had no doubt of his being the God of Samuel, whose prayers he had heard, of which this tempest was a full proof; and was so violent, that if it continued, they were afraid they should be destroyed by the thunder and lightning, or they and their cattle, with the fruits of the earth, be washed away with the prodigious rain: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king; though Samuel had laid before them the evils and inconveniences of having a king, and had in the name of the Lord charged them with rejecting God as their king; yet nothing convinced them of their evil till this storm came, and then all their sins came fresh to their minds; and this added to the weight of them, and lay heaviest on them, that they had rejected the Lord, and slighted his prophets, and, notwithstanding all remonstrances, resolved on having a king.

Verse 20

And Samuel said unto the people, fear not,.... Being destroyed by the tempest: ye have done all this wickedness; in asking a king; that is, though they were guilty of so heinous a sin, yet there were grace and mercy with God, and they should not despair of it, so be it that they did not depart from him, but cordially served him; the Targum is,"ye have been the cause of all this evil;''the storm of thunder and rain; and though they had, he would not have them despond or indulge slavish fear: yet turn not aside from following the Lord; the worship of the Lord, as the Targum; provided they did not depart from the Lord, and forsake his worship, word, and ordinances, they need not fear utter ruin and destruction, though they had been guilty of this sin: but serve the Lord with all your heart; if their service of God was kept up, and was hearty and sincere, they might still expect things would go well with them.

Verse 21

And turn ye not aside,.... From his worship: for then; if they turned aside from that: should ye go after vain things; idols, which are vanity, and less than vanity: which cannot profit nor deliver; neither bestow good things on their votaries, nor deliver them from evils, or from the hands of their enemies for they are vain; empty, useless, and unprofitable; an idol is nothing in the world, Co1 8:4.

Verse 22

For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake. For the sake of himself, his honour and glory; should he forsake his people, and suffer them to come to ruin, his name would be blasphemed among the Heathens; he would be charged either with want of power to help them, or with want of faithfulness to his promise to them, and with inconstancy to himself, or want of kindness and affection for them; all which would reflect upon his honour and glory: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people; it was not owing to any worth or worthiness in them that they became his people, but to his own sovereign good will and pleasure; and therefore, as it was nothing in them that was the cause of their being taken by him for his people, so nothing in them could be the cause of their being rejected by him as such; it was of free grace and favour that they were taken into covenant with him, and by the same would be retained: the Vulgate Latin version is,"the Lord hath sworn to make you a people for himself;''so Jarchi interprets it, he swore, and takes it to have the same sense as in Sa1 14:24.

Verse 23

Moreover, as for me,.... As he had given them reason to believe that God would forgive their sin, by which they had offended him, rejecting him as their King, so he likewise forgave their offence against him in rejecting him as their governor under him, and so neither need fear the Lord nor him with a servile fear; and as God would still be gracious to them, if they abode by his service, so he, Samuel, would do all the good offices for them that lay in his power: God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you; for since they had returned to the Lord, and acknowledged their sin, it would have been an evil in him not to pray for them, that they might share in the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and have all good things bestowed upon them they stood in need of; this he judged to be his duty to do, and therefore abhorred the thought of being indifferent to it, negligent of it, or of dropping it: but I will teach you the good and the right way; would not only pray for them, but instruct them in the way of their duty; a way that was a good one, agreeable to the will and word of God, and in walking in which good things were enjoyed, and which being a good way, must needs be a right way; though Samuel ceased to be a judge and chief magistrate among them, he should not cease to act the part of a prophet to them, both by his prayers and by his instructions.

Verse 24

Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart,.... Fear him not with a servile fear, which is before dehorted from, but with a filial fear, a reverential affection for God; and includes the whole of religious worship, internal and external; explained further by serving him according to the truth of his word, and in a cordial, sincere, and affectionate manner; and if this was wanting in them, he suggests that his prayers and instructions would be of little avail, and not to be depended on: for consider how great things he hath done for you; in bringing them out of Egypt: settling them in the land of Canaan; giving them his laws, statutes, commands, and ordinances; sending prophets unto them, and raising up judges for them, and bestowing all good things on them, in nature, providence, and grace; though some restrain this to the great thing he had done that day, to convince them of their sin, and by which they were returned to the Lord, namely, the violent storm of thunder; which wonderful instance of the power of God, and token of his displeasure against them, they were to lay up in their minds, and not forget, that it might be a means of preserving them from sin for the future.

Verse 25

But if ye shall still do wickedly,.... Continue to rebel against God, revolt from him, and depart from his worship, and despise his prophets, and serve idols: ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king; their king would be so far from protecting, that he should perish with them, be killed by the sword, as Saul their first king was, or go into captivity, as others of their kings did. Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 13

Verse 1

The time and place of the following address are not given. But it is evident from the connection with the preceding chapter implied in the expression ויּאמר, and still more from the introduction (Sa1 12:1, Sa1 12:2) and the entire contents of the address, that it was delivered on the renewal of the monarchy at Gilgal. Sa1 12:1-2 Samuel starts with the fact, that he had given the people a king in accordance with their own desire, who would now walk before them. הנּה with the participle expresses what is happening, and will happen still. לפני התהלּך must not be restricted to going at the head in war, but signifies the general direction and government of the nation, which had been in the hands of Samuel as judge before the election of Saul as king. "And I have grown old and grey (שׂבתּי from שׂיב); and my sons, behold, they are with you." With this allusion to his sons, Samuel simply intended to confirm what he had said about his own age. By the further remark, "and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day," he prepares the way for the following appeal to the people to bear witness concerning his conduct in office. Sa1 12:3 "Bear witness against me before the Lord," i.e., looking up to the Lord, the omnipotent and righteous God-king, "and before His anointed," the visible administrator of His divine government, whether I have committed any injustice in my office of judge, by appropriating another's property, or by oppression and violence (רצץ, to pound or crush in pieces, when used to denote an act of violence, is stronger than אשׁק, with which it is connected here and in many other passages, e.g., Deu 28:33; Amo 4:1), or by taking atonement money (כּפר, redemption or atonement money, is used, as in Exo 21:30 and Num 35:31, to denote a payment made by a man to redeem himself from capital punishment), "so that I had covered my eyes with it," viz., to exempt from punishment a man who was worthy of death. The בּו, which is construed with העלים, is the בּ instrumenti, and refers to כּפר; consequently it is not to be confounded with מן, "to hide from," which would be quite unsuitable here. The thought is not that the judge covers his eyes from the copher, that he may not see the bribe, but that he covers his eyes with the money offered him as a bribe, so as not to see and not to punish the crime committed. Sa1 12:4 The people answered Samuel, that he had not done them any kind of injustice. Sa1 12:5 To confirm this declaration on the part of the people, he then called Jehovah and His anointed as witnesses against the people, and they accepted these witnesses. כּל־ישׂראל is the subject to ויּאמר; and the Keri ויּאמרוּ, though more simple, is by no means necessary. Samuel said, "Jehovah be witness against you," because with the declaration which the people had made concerning Samuel's judicial labours they had condemned themselves, inasmuch as they had thereby acknowledged on oath that there was no ground for their dissatisfaction with Samuel's administration, and consequently no well-founded reason for their request for a king. Sa1 12:6 But in order to bring the people to a still more thorough acknowledgment of their sin, Samuel strengthened still more their assent to his solemn appeal to God, as expressed in the words "He is witness," by saying, "Jehovah (i.e., yea, the witness is Jehovah), who made Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt." The context itself is sufficient to show that the expression "is witness" is understood; and there is no reason, therefore, to assume that the word has dropped out of the text through a copyist's error. עשׂה, to make, in a moral and historical sense, i.e., to make a person what he is to be; it has no connection, therefore, with his physical birth, but simply relates to his introduction upon the stage of history, like ποιεῖν, Heb 3:2. But if Jehovah, who redeemed Israel out of Egypt by the hands of Moses and Aaron, and exalted it into His own nation, was witness of the unselfishness and impartiality of Samuel's conduct in his office of judge, then Israel had grievously sinned by demanding a king. In the person of Samuel they had rejected Jehovah their God, who had given them their rulers (see Sa1 8:7). Samuel proves this still further to the people from the following history.

Verse 7

"And now come hither, and I will reason with you before the Lord with regard to all the righteous acts which He has shown to you and your fathers." צדקות, righteous acts, is the expression used to denote the benefits which Jehovah had conferred upon His people, as being the results of His covenant fidelity, or as acts which attested the righteousness of the Lord in the fulfilment of the covenant grace which He had promised to His people. Sa1 12:8-12 The first proof of this was furnished by the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and their safe guidance into Canaan ("this place" is the land of Canaan). The second was to be found in the deliverance of the people out of the power of their foes, to whom the Lord had been obliged to give them up on account of their apostasy from Him, through the judges whom He had raised up for them, as often as they turned to Him with penitence and cried to Him for help. Of the hostile oppressions which overtook the Israelites during this period of the judges, the following are singled out in Sa1 12:9 : (1) that by Sisera, the commander-in-chief of Hazor, i.e., that of the Canaanitish king Jabin of Hazor (Jdg 4:2.); (2) that of the Philistines, by which we are to understand not so much the hostilities of that nation described in Jdg 3:31, as the forty years' oppression mentioned in Jdg 10:2 and Jdg 13:1; and (3) the Moabitish oppression under Eglon (Jdg 3:12.). The first half of Jdg 13:10 agrees almost word for word with Jdg 10:10, except that, according to Jdg 10:6, the Ashtaroth are added to the Baalim (see at Sa1 7:4 and Jdg 2:13). Of the judges whom God sent to the people as deliverers, the following are named, viz., Jerubbaal (see at Jdg 6:32), i.e., Gideon (Judg 6), and Bedan, and Jephthah (see Judg 11), and Samuel. There is no judge named Bedan mentioned either in the book of Judges or anywhere else. The name Bedan only occurs again in Ch1 7:17, among the descendants of Machir the Manassite: consequently some of the commentators suppose Jair of Gilead to be the judge intended. But such a supposition is perfectly arbitrary, as it is not rendered probable by any identity in the two names, and Jair is not described as having delivered Israel from any hostile oppression. Moreover, it is extremely improbable that Samuel should have mentioned a judge here, who had been passed over in the book of Judges on account of his comparative insignificance. There is also just as little ground for rendering Bedan as an appellative, e.g., the Danite (ben-Dan), as Kimchi suggests, or corpulentus as Bttcher maintains, and so connecting the name with Samson. There is no other course left, therefore, than to regard Bedan as an old copyist's error for Barak (Judg 4), as the lxx, Syriac, and Arabic have done, - a conclusion which is favoured by the circumstance that Barak was one of the most celebrated of the judges, and is placed by the side of Gideon and Jephthah in Heb 11:32. The Syriac, Arabic, and one Greek MS (see Kennicott in the Addenda to his Dissert. Gener.), have the name of Samson instead of Samuel. But as the lxx, Chald., and Vulg. all agree with the Hebrew text, there is no critical ground for rejecting Samuel, the more especially as the objection raised to it, viz., that Samuel would not have mentioned himself, is far too trivial to overthrow the reading supported by the most ancient versions; and the assertion made by Thenius, that Samuel does not come down to his own times until the following verse, is altogether unfounded. Samuel could very well class himself with the deliverers of Israel, for the simple reason that it was by him that the people were delivered from the forty years' tyranny of the Philistines, whilst Samson merely commenced their deliverance and did not bring it to completion. Samuel appears to have deliberately mentioned his own name along with those of the other judges who were sent by God, that he might show the people in the most striking manner (Sa1 12:12) that they had no reason whatever for saying to him, "Nay, but a king shall reign over us," as soon as the Ammonites invaded Gilead. "As Jehovah your God is your king," i.e., has ever proved himself to be your King by sending judges to deliver you.

Verse 13

After the prophet had thus held up before the people their sin against the Lord, he bade them still further consider, that the king would only procure for them the anticipated deliverance if they would fear the Lord, and give up their rebellion against God. Sa1 12:13 "But now behold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! behold, Jehovah hath set a king over you." By the second והנּה, the thought is brought out still more strongly, that Jehovah had fulfilled the desire of the people. Although the request of the people had been an act of hostility to God, yet Jehovah had fulfilled it. The word בּהרתּם, relating to the choice by lot (Sa1 10:17.), is placed before שׁאלתּם אשׁר, to show that the demand was the strongest act that the people could perform. They had not only chosen the king with the consent or by the direction of Samuel; they had even demanded a king of their own self-will. Sa1 12:14 Still, since the Lord had given them a king, the further welfare of the nation would depend upon whether they would follow the Lord from that time forward, or whether they would rebel against Him again. "If ye will only fear the Lord, and serve Him, ... and ye as well as the king who rules over you will be after Jehovah your God." אם, in the sense of modo, if only, does not require any apodosis, as it is virtually equivalent to the wish, "O that ye would only!" for which אם with the imperfect is commonly used (vid., Kg2 20:19; Pro 24:11, etc.; and Ewald, 329, b.). There is also nothing to be supplied to יהוה אחר ... והיתם, since אחר היה, to be after or behind a person, is good Hebrew, and is frequently met with, particularly in the sense of attaching one's self to the king, or holding to him (vid., Sa2 2:10; Kg1 12:20; Kg1 16:21-22). This meaning is also at the foundation of the present passage, as Jehovah was the God-king of Israel. Sa1 12:15 "But if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and strive against His commandment, the hand of Jehovah will be heavy upon you, as upon your fathers." ו in the sense of as, i.e., used in a comparative sense, is most frequently placed before whole sentences (see Ewald, 340, b.); and the use of it here may be explained, on the ground that בּאבתיכם contains the force of an entire sentence: "as it was upon your fathers." The allusion to the fathers is very suitable here, because the people were looking to the king for the removal of all the calamities, which had fallen upon them from time immemorial. The paraphrase of this word, which is adopted in the Septuagint, ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ὑμῶν, is a very unhappy conjecture, although Thenius proposes to alter the text to suit it. Sa1 12:16-17 In order to give still greater emphasis to his words, and to secure their lasting, salutary effect upon the people, Samuel added still further: Even now ye may see that ye have acted very wickedly in the sight of Jehovah, in demanding a king. This chain of thought is very clearly indicated by the words גּם־עתּה, "yea, even now." "Even now come hither, and see this great thing which Jehovah does before your eyes." The words גּם־עתּה, which are placed first, belong, so far as the sense is concerned, to את־הד ראוּ; and התיצּבוּ ("place yourselves," i.e., make yourselves ready) is merely inserted between, to fix the attention of the people more closely upon the following miracle, as an event of great importance, and one which they ought to lay to heart. "Is it not now wheat harvest? I will call to Jehovah, that He may give thunder (קלוה, as in Exo 9:23, etc.) and rain. Then perceive and see, that the evil is great which ye have done in the eyes of Jehovah, to demand a king." The wheat harvest occurs in Palestine between the middle of May and the middle of June (see by Bibl. Arch. i. 118). And during this time it scarcely ever rains. Thus Jerome affirms (ad Am. c. 4): "Nunquam in fine mensis Junii aut in Julio in his provinciis maximeque in Judaea pluvias vidimus." And Robinson also says in his Palestine (ii. p. 98): "In ordinary seasons, from the cessation of the showers in spring until their commencement in October and November, rain never falls, and the sky is usually serene" (see my Arch. i. 10). So that when God sent thunder and rain on that day in answer to Samuel's appeal to him, this was a miracle of divine omnipotence, intended to show to the people that the judgments of God might fall upon the sinners at any time. Thunderings, as "the voice of God" (Exo 9:28), are harbingers of judgment.

Verse 18

This miracle therefore inspired the people with a salutary terror. "All the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel," and entreated the prophet, "Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we die not, because we have added to all our sins the evil thing, to ask us a king."

Verse 20

Samuel thereupon announced to them first of all, that the Lord would not forsake His people for His great name's sake, if they would only serve Him with uprightness. In order, however, to give no encouragement to any false trust in the covenant faithfulness of the Lord, after the comforting words, "Fear not," he told them again very decidedly that they had done wrong, but that now they were not to turn away from the Lord, but to serve Him with all their heart, and not go after vain idols. To strengthen this admonition, he repeats the תּסוּרוּ לא in Sa1 12:21, with the explanation, that in turning from the Lord they would fall away to idols, which could not bring them either help or deliverance. To the כּי after תּסוּרוּ the same verb must be supplied from the context: "Do not turn aside (from the Lord), for (ye turn aside) after that which is vain." התּהוּ, the vain, worthless thing, signifies the false gods. This will explain the construction with a plural: "which do not profit and do not save, because they are emptiness" (tohu), i.e., worthless beings (elilim, Lev 19:4; cf. Isa 44:9 and Jer 16:19).

Verse 22

"For (כּי gives the reason for the main thought of the previous verse, 'Fear not, but serve the Lord,' etc.) the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake; for it hath pleased the Lord (for הואיל, see at Deu 1:5) to make you His people." The emphasis lies upon His. This the Israelites could only be, when they proved themselves to be the people of God, by serving Jehovah with all their heart. "For His great name's sake," i.e., for the great name which He had acquired in the sight of all the nations, by the marvellous guidance of Israel thus far, to preserve it against misapprehension and blasphemy (see at Jos 7:9).

Verse 23

Samuel then promised the people his constant intercession: "Far be it from me to sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you, and to instruct you in the good and right way," i.e., to work as prophet for your good. "In this he sets a glorious example to all rulers, showing them that they should not be led astray by the ingratitude of their subordinates or subjects, and give up on that account all interest in their welfare, but should rather persevere all the more in their anxiety for them" (Berleb. Bible).

Verse 24

Lastly, he repeats once more his admonition, that they would continue stedfast in the fear of God, threatening at the same time the destruction of both king and people if they should do wrong (on Sa1 12:24, see Sa1 7:3 and Jos 24:14, where the form יראוּ is also found). "For see what great things He has done for you" (shown to you), not by causing it to thunder and rain at Samuel's prayer, but by giving them a king. עם הגדּיל, as in Gen 19:19.

Verse 1

Here, I. Samuel gives them a short account of the late revolution, and of the present posture of their government, by way of preface to what he had further to say to them, Sa1 12:1, Sa1 12:2. 1. For his own part, he had spent his days in their service; he began betimes to be useful among them, and had continued long so: "I have walked before you, as a guide to direct you, as a shepherd that leads his flock (Psa 80:1), from my childhood unto this day." As soon as he was illuminated with the light of prophecy, in his early days, he began to be a burning and shining light to Israel; "and now my best days are done: I am old and gray-headed;" therefore they were the more unkind to cast him off, yet therefore he was the more willing to resign, finding the weight of government heavy upon his stooping shoulders. He was old, and therefore the more able to advise them, and the more observant they should have been of what he said, for days shall speak and the multitude of years shall teach wisdom; and there is a particular reverence due to the aged, especially aged magistrates and aged ministers. "I am old, and therefore not likely to live long, perhaps may never have an opportunity of speaking to you again, and therefore take notice of what I say." 2. As for his sons, "Behold" (says he), "they are with you, you may, if you please, call them to an account for any thing they have done amiss. They are present with you, and have not, upon this revolution, fled from their country. They are upon the level with you, subjects to the new king as well as you; if you can prove them guilty of any wrong, you may prosecute them now by a due course of law, punish them, and oblige them to make restitution." 3. As for their new king, Samuel had gratified them in setting him over them (Sa1 12:1): "I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me, being desirous to please you, if possible, and make you easy, though to the discarding of myself and family; and now will you hearken to me, and take my advice?" The change was now perfected: "Behold, the king walketh before you" (Sa1 12:2); he appears in public, ready to serve you in public business. Now that you have made yourselves like the nations in your civil government, and have cast off the divine administration in that, take heed lest you make yourselves like the nations in religion and cast off the worship of God. II. He solemnly appeals to them concerning his own integrity in the administration of the government (Sa1 12:3): Witness against me, whose ox have I taken? Observe, 1. His design in this appeal. By this he intended, (1.) To convince them of the injury they had done him in setting him aside, when they had nothing amiss to charge him with (his government had no fault but that it was too cheap, too easy, too gentle), and also of the injury they had done themselves in turning off one that did not so much as take an ox or an ass from them, to put themselves under the power of one that would take from them their fields and vineyards, nay, and their very sons and daughters (Sa1 8:11), so unlike would the manner of the king be from Samuel's manner. (2.) To preserve his own reputation. Those that heard of Samuel's being rejected as he was would be ready to suspect that certainly he had done some evil thing, or he would never have been so ill treated; so that it was necessary for him to make this challenge, that it might appear upon record that it was not for any iniquity in his hands that he was laid aside, but to gratify the humour of a giddy people, who owned they could not have a better man to rule them, only they desired a bigger man. There is a just debt which every man owes to his own good name, especially men in public stations, which is to guard it against unjust aspersions and suspicions, that we may finish our course with honour as well as joy. (3.) As he designed hereby to leave a good name behind him, so he designed to leave his successor a good example before him; let him write after his copy, and he will write fair. (4.) He designed, in the close of his discourse, to reprove the people, and therefore he begins with a vindication of himself; for he that will, with confidence, tell another of his sin, must see to it that he himself be clear. 2. In the appeal itself observe, (1.) What it is that Samuel here acquits himself from. [1.] He had never, under any pretence whatsoever, taken that which was not his own, ox or ass, had never distrained their cattle for tribute, fines, or forfeitures, nor used their service without paying for it. [2.] He had never defrauded those with whom he dealt, nor oppressed those that were under his power. [3.] He had never taken bribes to pervert justice, nor was ever biassed by favour for affection to give judgment in a cause against his conscience. (2.) How he calls upon those that had slighted him to bear witness concerning his conduct: "Here I am; witness against me. If you have any thing to lay to my charge, do it before the Lord and the king, the proper judges." He puts honour upon Saul, by owning himself accountable to him if guilty of any wrong. III. Upon this appeal he is honourably acquitted. He did not expect that they would do him honour at parting, though he well deserved it, and therefore mentioned not any of the good services he had done them, for which they ought to have applauded him, and returned him the thanks of the house; all he desired was that they should do him justice, and that they did (Sa1 12:4) readily owning, 1. That he had not made his government oppressive to them, nor used his power to their wrong. 2. That he had not made it expensive to them: Neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand for the support of thy dignity. Like Nehemiah, he did not require the bread of the governor (Neh 5:18), had not only been righteous, but generous, had coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel, Act 20:33. IV. This honourable testimony borne to Samuel's integrity is left upon record to his honour (Sa1 12:5): "The Lord is witness, who searcheth the heart, and his anointed is witness, who trieth overt acts;" and the people agree to it: "He is witness." Note, The testimony of our neighbours, and especially the testimony of our own consciences for us, that we have in our places lived honestly, will be our comfort under the slights and contempts that are put upon us. Demetrius is a happy man, that has a good report of all men and of the truth itself, Jo3 1:12.

Verse 6

Samuel, having sufficiently secured his own reputation, instead of upbraiding the people upon it with their unkindness to him, sets himself to instruct them, and keep them in the way of their duty, and then the change of the government would be the less damage to them. I. He reminds them of the great goodness of God to them and to their fathers, gives them an abstract of the history of their nation, that, by the consideration of the great things God had done for them, they might be for ever engaged to love him and serve him. "Come," says he (Sa1 12:7), "stand still, stand in token of reverence when God is speaking to you, stand still in token of attention and composedness of mind, and give me leave to reason with you." Religion has reason on its side, Isa 1:18. The work of ministers is to reason with people, not only to exhort and direct, but to persuade, to convince men's judgments, and so to gain their wills and affections. Let reason rule men, and they will be good. He reasons of the righteous acts of the Lord, that is, "both the benefits he hath bestowed upon you, in performance of his promises, and the punishments he has inflicted on you for your sins." His favours are called his righteous acts (Jdg 5:11), because in them he is just to his own honour. He not only puts them in mind of what God had done for them in their days, but of what he had done of old, in the days of their fathers, because the present age had the benefit of God's former favours. We may suppose that his discourse was much larger than as here related. 1. he reminds them of their deliverance out of Egypt. Into that house of bondage Jacob and his family came down poor and little; when they were oppressed they cried unto God, who advanced Moses and Aaron, from mean beginnings, to be their deliverers, and the founders of their state and settlement in Canaan, Sa1 12:6, Sa1 12:8. 2. He reminds them of the miseries and calamities which their fathers brought themselves into by forgetting God and serving other gods, Sa1 12:9. They enslaved themselves, for they were sold as criminals and captives into the hand of oppressors. They exposed themselves to the desolation of war, and their neighbours fought against them. 3. He reminds them of their fathers' repentance and humiliation before God for their idolatries: They said, We have sinned, Sa1 12:10. Let not them imitate the sins of their fathers, for what they had done amiss they had many a time wished undone again. In the day of their distress they had sought unto God, and had promised to serve him; let their children then reckon that good at all times which they found good in bad times. 4. He reminds them of the glorious deliverances God had wrought for them, the victories he had blessed them with, and their happy settlements, many a time, after days of trouble and distress, Sa1 12:11. He specifies some of their judges, Gideon and Jephthah, great conquerors in their time; among the rest he mentions Bedan, whom we read not of any where else: he might be some eminent person, that was instrumental of salvation to them, though not recorded in the book of Judges, such a one as Shamgar, of whom it is said that he delivered Israel, but not that he judged them, Jdg 3:31. Perhaps this Bedan guarded and delivered them on one side, at the same time when some other of the judges appeared and acted for them on another side. Some think it was the same with Jair (so the learned Mr. Poole), others the same with Samson, who was Ben Dan, a son of Dan, of that tribe, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him Be-Dan, inn Dan, in the camp of Can. Samuel mentions himself, not to his own praise, but to the honour of God, who had made him an instrument of subduing the Philistines. 5. At last he puts them in mind of God's late favour to the present generation, in gratifying them with a king, when they would prescribe to God by such a one to save them out of the hand of Nahash king of Ammon, Sa1 12:12, Sa1 12:13. Now it appears that this was the immediate occasion of their desiring a king: Nahash threatened them; they desired Samuel to nominate a general; he told them that God was commander-in-chief in all their wars and they needed no other, that what was wanting in them should be made up by his power: The Lord is your king. But they insisted on it, Nay, but a king shall reign over us. "And now," said he, "you have a king, a king of your own asking - let that be spoken to your shame; but a king of God's making - let that be spoken to his honour and the glory of his grace." God did not cast them off, even when they in effect cast him off. II. He shows them that they are now upon their good behaviour, they and their king. Let them not think that they had now cut themselves off from all dependence upon God, and that now, having a king of their own, the making of their own fortunes (as men foolishly call it) was in their own hands; no, still their judgment must proceed from the Lord. He tells them plainly, 1. That their obedience to God would certainly be their happiness, Sa1 12:14. If they would not revolt from God to idols, nor rebel against him by breaking his commandments, but would persevere in their allegiance to him, would fear his wrath, serve his interests, and obey his will, then they and their king should certainly be happy; but observe how the promise is expressed: Then you shall continue following the Lord your God; that is, (1.) "You shall continue in the way of your duty to God, which will be your honour and comfort." Note, To those that are sincere in their religion God will give grace to persevere in it: those that follow God faithfully will be divinely strengthened to continue following him. And observe, Following God is a work that is its own wages. It is the matter of a promise as well as of a precept. (2.) "You shall continue under the divine guidance and protection:" You shall be after the Lord, so it is in the original, that is, "he will go before you to lead and prosper you, and make your way plain. The Lord is with you while you are with him." 2. That their disobedience would as certainly be their ruin (Sa1 12:15): "If you rebel, think not that your having a king will secure you against God's judgments, and that having in this instance made yourselves like the nations you may sin at as cheap a rate as they can. No, the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers when they offended him, in the days of the judges." We mistake if we think that we can evade God's justice by shaking off his dominion. If God shall not rule us, yet he will judge us.

Verse 16

Two things Samuel here aims at: - I. To convince the people of their sin in desiring a king. They were now rejoicing before God in and with their king (Sa1 11:15), and offering to God the sacrifices of praise, which they hoped God would accept; and this perhaps made them think that there was no harm in their asking a king, but really they had done well in it. Therefore Samuel here charges it upon them as their sin, as wickedness, great wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Note, Though we meet with prosperity and success in a way of sin, yet we must not therefore think the more favourably of it. They have a king, and if they conduct themselves well their king may be a very great blessing to them, and yet Samuel will have them perceive and see that their wickedness was great in asking a king. We must never think well of that which God in his law frowns upon, though in his providence he may seem to smile upon it. Observe, 1. The expressions of God's displeasure against them for asking a king. At Samuel's word, God sent prodigious thunder and rain upon them, at a season of the year when, in that country, the like was never seen or known before, Sa1 12:16-18. Thunder and rain have natural causes and sometimes terrible effects. But Samuel made it to appear that this was designed by the almighty power of God on purpose to convince them that they had done very wickedly in asking a king; not only by its coming in an unusual time, in wheat-harvest, and this on a fair clear day, when there appeared not to the eye any signs of a storm, but by his giving notice of it before. Had there happened to be thunder and rain at the time when he was speaking to them, he might have improved it for their awakening and conviction, as we may in a like case; but, to make it no less than a miracle, before it came, (1.) He spoke to them of it (Sa1 12:16, Sa1 12:17): Stand and see this great thing. He had before told them to stand and hear (Sa1 12:7); but, because he did not see that his reasoning with them affected them (so stupid were they and unthinking), now he bids them stand and see. If what he said in a still small voice did not reach their hearts, nor his doctrine which dropped as the dew, they shall hear God speaking to them in dreadful claps of thunder and the great rain of his strength. He appealed to this as a sign: "I will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder, will send it just now, to confirm the word of his servant, and to make you see that I spoke truly when I told you that God was angry with you for asking a king." And the event proved him a true prophet; the sign and wonder came to pass. (2.) He spoke to God for it. Samuel called unto the Lord, and, in answer to his prayer, even while he was yet speaking, the Lord sent thunder and rain. By this Samuel made it to appear, not only what a powerful influence God has upon this earth, that he could, of a sudden, when natural causes did not work towards it, produce this dreadful rain and thunder, and bring them out of his treasures (Psa 135:7), but also what a powerful interest he had in heaven, that God would thus hearken to the voice of a man (Jos 10:14) and answer him in the secret place of thunder, Psa 81:7. Samuel, that son of prayer, was still famous for success in prayer. Now by this extraordinary thunder and rain sent on this occasion, [1.] God testified his displeasure against them in the same way in which he had formerly testified it, and at the prayer of Samuel too, against the Philistines. The Lord discomfited them with a great thunder, Sa1 7:10. Now that Israel rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit, he turned to be their enemy, and fought against them with the same weapons which, not long before, had been employed against their adversaries, Isa 63:10. [2.] He showed them their folly in desiring a king to save them, rather than God or Samuel, promising themselves more from an arm of flesh than from the arm of God or from the power of prayer. Could their king thunder with a voice like God? Job 40:9. Could their prince command such forces as the prophet could by his prayers? [3.] He intimated to them that how serene and prosperous soever their condition seemed to be now that they had a king, like the weather in wheat-harvest, yet, if God pleased, he could soon change the face of their heavens, and persecute them with his tempest, as the Psalmist speaks. 2. The impressions which this made upon the people. It startled them very much, as well it might. (1.) They greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. Though when they had a king they were ready to think they must fear him only, God made them know that he is greatly to be feared and his prophets for his sake. Now they were rejoicing in their king, God taught them to rejoice with trembling. (2.) They owned their sin and folly in desiring a king: We have added to all our sins this evil, Sa1 12:19. Some people will not be brought to a sight of their sins by any gentler methods than storms and thunders. Samuel did not extort this confession from them till the matter was settled and the king confirmed, lest it should look as if he designed by it rather to establish himself in the government than to bring them to repentance. Now that they were flattering themselves in their own eyes, their iniquity was found to be hateful, Psa 36:2. (3.) They earnestly begged Samuel's prayers (Sa1 12:19): Pray for thy servants, that we die not. They were apprehensive of their danger from the wrath of God, and could not expect that he should hear their prayers for themselves, and therefore they entreat Samuel to pray for them. Now they see their need of him whom awhile ago they slighted. Thus many that will not have Christ to reign over them would yet be glad to have him intercede for them, to turn away the wrath of God. And the time may come when those that have despised and ridiculed praying people will value their prayers, and desire a share in them. "Pray" (say they) "to the Lord thy God; we know not how to call him ours, but, if thou hast any interest in him, improve it for us." II. He aims to confirm the people in their religion, and engage them for ever to cleave unto the Lord. The design of his discourse is much the same with Joshua's, Jos 23:1 and Jos 24:1. 1. He would not that the terrors of the Lord should frighten them from him, for they were intended to frighten them to him (Sa1 12:20): "Fear not; though you have done all this wickedness, and though God is angry with you for it, yet do not therefore abandon his service, nor turn from following him." Fear not, that is, "despair not, fear not with amazement, the weather will clear up after the storm. Fear not; for, though God will frown upon his people, yet he will not forsake them (Sa1 12:22) for his great name's sake; do not you forsake him then." Every transgression in the covenant, though it displease the Lord, yet does not throw us out of covenant, and therefore God's just rebukes must not drive us from our hope in his mercy. The fixedness of God's choice is owing to the freeness of it; we may therefore hope he will not forsake his people, because it has pleased him to make them his people. Had he chosen them for their good merits, we might fear he would cast them off for their bad merits; but, choosing them for his name's sake, for his name's sake he will not leave them. 2. He cautions them against idolatry: "Turn not aside from God and the worship of him" (Sa1 12:20, and again Sa1 12:21); "for if you turn aside from God, whatever you turn aside to, you will find it is a vain thing, that can never answer your expectations, but will certainly deceive you if you trust to it; it is a broken reed, a broken cistern." Idols could not profit those that sought to them in their wants, nor deliver those that sought to them in their straits, for they were vain, and not what they pretended to be. An idol is nothing in the world, Co1 8:4. 3. He comforts them with an assurance that he would continue his care and concern for them, Sa1 12:23. They desired him to pray for them, Sa1 12:19. He might have said, "Go to Saul, the king that you have put in my room," and get him to pray for you; but so far is he from upbraiding them with their disrespect to him that he promised them much more than they asked. (1.) They asked it of him as a favour; he promised it as a duty, and startles at the thought of neglecting it. Pray for you! says he, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in not doing it. Note, It is a sin against God not to pray for the Israel of God, especially for those of them that are under our charge: and good men are afraid of the guilt of omissions. (2.) They asked him to pray for them at this time, and upon this occasion, but he promised to continue his prayers for them and to cease as long as he lived. Our rule is to pray without ceasing; we sin if we restrain prayer in general, and in particular if we cease praying for the church. (3.) They asked him only to pray for them, but he promised to do more for them, not only to pray for them, but to teach them; though they were not willing to be under his government as a judge, he would not therefore deny them his instructions as a prophet. And they might be sure he would teach them no other than the good and the right way: and the right way is certainly the good way: the way of duty is the way of pleasure and profit. 4. He concludes with an earnest exhortation to practical religion and serious godliness, Sa1 12:24, Sa1 12:25. The great duty here pressed upon us is to fear the Lord. He had said (Sa1 12:20), "Fear not with a slavish fear," but here, "Fear the Lord, with a filial fear." As the fruit and evidence of this, serve him in the duties of religious worship and of a godly conversation, in truth and sincerity, and not in show and profession only, with your heart, and with all your heart, not dissembling, not dividing. And two things he urges by way of motive: - (1.) That they were bound in gratitude to serve God, considering what great things he had done for them, to engage them for ever to his service. (2.) That they were bound in interest to serve him, considering what great things he would do against them if they should still do wickedly: "You shall be destroyed by the judgments of God, both you and your king whom you are so proud of and expect so much from, and who will be a blessing to you if you keep in with God." Thus, as a faithful watchman, he gave them warning, and so delivered his own soul.

Verse 1

12:1-25 The reaffirmation of Saul’s kingship at Gilgal (11:12-15) was the final step in his installation as king. The event was a fitting occasion for Samuel’s farewell address as leader of Israel.

Verse 3

12:3 God’s anointed one was Saul (see 9:16). • Whose ox or donkey: Cp. Num 16:15. • have I stolen? In contrast to the behavior of kings (1 Sam 8:11-16). • Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? No, but Samuel’s sons did (8:3).

Verse 5

12:5 my hands are clean: Samuel’s life and leadership before Israel had been above reproach (cp. 1 Cor 9:1-14; 2 Cor 7:2; 11:7-9; 1 Thes 2:1-12). Saul, David, and Solomon—kings rather than prophetic judges—would not be able to make this claim.

Verse 6

12:6-25 In 12:1-5, Samuel put himself on trial and was found innocent. In 12:6-25, he put the nation on trial and found it guilty.

12:6 Moses and Aaron were not self-made leaders but were appointed by God as leaders.

Verse 9

12:9 handed them over: See Judg 3:8; 4:1-3. • the king of Moab: See Judg 3:12. Not all of Israel’s enemies in the era of the judges are listed (e.g., the Ammonites and Midianites). This list is representative to emphasize the highs and lows of that era.

Verse 10

12:10 Then they cried to the Lord: Sometimes only suffering turns people’s hearts toward God. During the period of the judges, Israel repeatedly went through cycles of sin, oppression, repentance, and rescue. • Baal and Ashtoreth: When people turn away from God, they inevitably turn to idols (see 7:3; Judg 2:13; 10:6). • An attitude such as if you will rescue us turns worship into a debased bargain, in which God must perform some action to a person’s liking. God deserves obedience and worship because he is God, not because of favors he can perform.

Verse 11

12:11 As in 12:9, this list of leaders is representative. • Bedan: Greek and Syriac versions read Barak (see Judg 4:6-24; 5:1, 12, 15). The identity of this judge remains uncertain.

Verse 12

12:12 you were afraid of Nahash: Israel’s trouble with Nahash apparently preceded 11:1-11 (cp. 8:5, 20; 10:27).

Verse 13

12:13 Even though the Israelites’ request amounted to a rejection of God as king, the Lord . . . granted it (see study notes on 8:7 and 8:8).

Verse 14

12:14-15 To show that even under a monarchy Israel must still keep its covenant with the Lord—who was always to be their true king—Samuel echoed language from the Sinai covenant (e.g., Exod 19:5-6; Lev 26; Deut 30:11-20).

12:14 Worship is meaningless if it does not result in obedience.

Verse 17

12:17 The wheat harvest occurred in late spring or early summer, when little or no rain fell in Israel. Thunder and rain would thus demonstrate God’s power as a sign of the people’s wickedness in asking for a king.

Verse 18

12:18 terrified: Cp. Exod 19:16.

Verse 19

12:19 The people asked Samuel to intercede for them (see also 7:8) rather than praying themselves probably because they were out of fellowship with God (note the use of your God rather than “our God”). • added to our sins: The sins included idol worship (12:21; see study note on 8:8).

Verse 21

12:21 worthless . . . totally useless: Israel was slow to learn this lesson (e.g., Isa 40:18-26; 44:9-20).

Verse 22

12:22 because that would dishonor his great name: God will never contradict his own character and detract from his glory (see also Isa 37:35; 43:25; 48:9-11). Therefore, he always keeps his covenant promises, even if his people do not. • his very own people: Israel is God’s treasured possession (see Exod 19:5; Deut 9:25-29). He will never abandon them (see Rom 11:1-5, 25-32).

Verse 23

12:23 I will continue to teach you: Samuel was both intercessor and educator. • Although this address marked the end of Samuel’s political leadership, he continued his spiritual ministry for some time (e.g., 19:24).

Verse 25

12:25 swept away: David later used this same Hebrew verb for Saul’s death (26:10, “die . . . in battle”) and for his own possible death at Saul’s hands (27:1, “get me”). The warning would remain in force throughout Israel’s history as a monarchy.