Explore the Bible Lesson Preview July 3, 2016 Feared Background: 1 Samuel 12:1-25 Lesson: 1 Samuel 12: 12-22

Transcription

1 Explore the Bible Lesson Preview July 3, 2016 Feared Background: 1 Samuel 12:1-25 Lesson: 1 Samuel 12: Motivation: At the end of Chapter 11, a new leader is beginning his reign. Here in chapter 12, a long-serving leader is finishing his work. I. Samuel s Transition (1-11) A. Timing: Then Samuel said to all Israel, I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you. (1) HCSB: p. 460: 12:1 Samuel spoke to all Israel, that is, to all who gathered at Gilgal. In light of Israel s king now being in place and Samuel s advancing age, God s prophet may have decided this was the time to begin wrapping up his leadership. At the same time, Samuel s speech was powerful, calling Israel to remember its past failures and to live in light of God s covenant in the days ahead. B. Transition 2 Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until today. (2) HCSB: p. 460: 12:2 Samuel s tenure of service had begun when he was a boy serving Eli (1:24-28). Now Saul was doing (leading) what Samuel had done (led). The kingship was in place and would bring a new and more comprehensive administration than Israel had known under Samuel s leadership. 1 / 8

2 C. Trust 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you. 4 You haven t wronged us, you haven t mistreated us, and you haven t taken anything from anyone s hand, they responded. 5 He said to them, The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today that you haven t found anything in my hand. He is a witness, they said. (3-5). It was important to Samuel to have open accountability. He knew that he was a moral man; however, he wanted the people to acknowledge publicly his integrity and give him the opportunity to right any alleged wrongs. D. Trip Then Samuel said to the people, The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. 7 Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts He has done for you and your ancestors. 8 When Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord, and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. (6-8) HCSB: p. 461: 12:8 Over four centuries separated Jacob s trip to Egypt and the exodus. In the end, after Moses and Aaron died, God settled them in the Promised Land. As they considered the awesome truth of this one verse, the Israelites should have realized that God was their all-sufficient King. But Samuel had much more history to recount. 2 / 8

3 E. Trials: 1. Infidels: Sisera, Philistines, Moabites (9) and Ammorites (12) 2. Idols: Baal and Ashtoreth (10) 3. Influencers: Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel (11). Samuel is listed as the last of the Judges and thus he is a key transitional figure to the monarchy. II. The Covenant Revisited (12-15) A. Invasion But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, No, we must have a king rule over us even though the Lord your God is your king. (12) HCSB: p. 461: 12:12 Samuel rebuked the people for desiring a human king. When Nahash threatened them, they forgot the Lord s past acts of deliverance and clamored to be like the other nations. B. Indictment Now here is the king you ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you (13) Samuel felt personally rejected by the people s desire to have a king; moreover, he felt their actions to be a rejection of God. In spite of this, he was magnanimous toward Saul and was desirous of a smooth transition. HCSB: p. 461: 12:13 The words the king you ve chosen, the one you requested emphasize that ultimately Saul was the people s choice. The Lord guided the process and put him in command, but only in response to the people s denial of His kingship. 3 / 8

4 C. Indication If you fear the Lord, worship and obey Him, and if you don t rebel against the Lord s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God. (14) 1. Conditions - Proper Attitude: If you fear the Lord - this fear doesn t imply avoidance such as the fear of snakes. Rather it carries a sense of reverence, reference and high regard for His position in relationship to ours. - Proper Actions: (If you) worship and obey Him - a healthy fear of the Lord will naturally lead to worship and obedience. Hymn: Trust and Obey - Proper Avoidance: If you don t rebel against the Lord s commands - unfortunately, the Israelites had a long history of rebellion and disobedience. 2. Results: the right attitude and actions will erect a barrier against disobedience. D. Implication However, if you disobey the Lord and rebel against His command, the Lord s hand will be against you and against your ancestors. (15) God s covenant contained both good news as well as bad news. Samuel was faithful to deliver both sides. III. A Sign Delivered (16-18) A. Sign Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. (16) present yourselves was in the form of an official summons similar to 10:19 and 12:7. God was to confirm Samuel s pronouncement with a miraculous sign from heaven (1 Kings 18:38). 4 / 8

5 B. Sin Isn t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord s sight by requesting a king for yourselves. (17) The great evil stemmed from a lack of trust in God. As mentioned previously, God s will and God s timing are related but separate issues. Whereas in the past, the Israelites had responded to foreign invasion with repentance and reliance upon God, in the most recent invasion (12) the people clamored for a king. A prophet to the end, Samuel was not shy in denouncing sin and upholding what was right. (Is. 46:9-10) C. Significance Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. (18) HCSB: p. 461: 12:18 The Israelites realized the miraculous nature of what was happening and greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. Such an amazing sign could only mean they had offended God. IV. God s Mercy and Grace (19-22) A. Confession They pleaded with Samuel, Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so we won t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves. (19) The thunder and rain was accepted as a Divine sign and resulted in a change of attitude. Instead of demanding their own way, the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. The changed attitude resulted in repentant hearts and a cry for intercession. B. Comfort Samuel replied, Don t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don t turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. (20) Having admitted their sin and rebelliousness, the people were not to become discouraged and cease serving God. Samuel exhorted them to put God in first place. (I Sam. 15:22-23) HCSB: p.461: 12:20 Samuel agreed the people had committe d evil b y asking for a king. However, what was done was done, and now a king was God s will for Israel. The commands don t be afraid and don t turn away 5 / 8

6 emphasize immediacy. The people were afraid and were considering turning away in light of God s judgment. Rather than fear or flight, Samuel instructed, they should worship (or serve ) the Lord wholeheartedly. C. Counsel Don t turn away to follow worthless things that can t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. (21) HCSB: p. 461: 12:21 The command, Don t turn away is different in structure from the command in verse 20. Here it emphasizes a general prohibition Don t ever turn away. The Hebrew word translated worthless things and worthless is tohu (Gn. 1:2, formless ) and here probably designates the worthlessness of following false gods. False gods are likened to emptiness in Is 41:29, and nothing in Is 44:9. D. Continuation The Lord will not abandon His people, because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people. (22) Believer s Study Bible, p. 393: 12:22 This crucial declaration makes abundantly clear the principle by which God was operating in behalf of Israel. God s program for the nation of Israel was never based upon the inherent worth or loveliness of Israel, but rather upon the sovereign disposition of God. God s continuing program for Israel is not dependent upon Israel s faithfulness to God, but upon God s faithfulness to His Word and to His purposes (Deut. 7:6-8). Because of His Great name s sake, God will not forsake His people. In other words, God has announced a plan for Israel which He must accomplish, or else disparage His name by faithlessness (cf. Ezek. 37:11). (Rev. 21:3; Phil. 3:20; John 1:12; Rom. 8:14-18; I John 3:1-3). V. Important Things (23-25) A. Prayer As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way. (23) Believer s Study Bible, p. 393: 12:23 Samuel was clearly in sorrow because of the people s insistence upon a king. To his credit, Samuel allowed neither personal hurt nor the knowledge of Israel s future sorrow to deter him from two overwhelming spiritual tasks: (1) a continued life of intercession, since failure to pray for God s people is sin against God; and (2) the teaching of a good and right way. Those two tasks continue to be the spiritual tasks of God s shepherds in any era. (I Thes. 5:17-18; Dan. 6 / 8

7 6:10; Ps. 55:17; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:26, 34). B. Thankfulness Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you. (24) Gratitude should be the theme song of our Christian walk! (Phil. 4:6) C. Warning However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away. (25) Obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings judgment. This was the consistent theme of the Judges period; Samuel puts the people on notice that God s plan hadn t changed. (Deut. 28:30; esp. 29:16-29) Application: 1. Bad circumstances give the opportunity for great leaders to be known. (Phil. 4:13; I Cor. 10:13) 2. Good leaders are empowered by God to act with courage and wisdom. (Dan 2:20; Jas. 3:14-18; Joshua 1:8-9) 3. The transition between leaders must be handled with God s direction. (Ps. 23:4; Heb. 13:20-21) Leader Pack item 4: Timeline of 1 Samuel Biblical Illustrator p. 27 Rain as Divine Communicator 7 / 8

8 Notes: **You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: g ; also, the Highpoint Bible Study (Downtown) is available on MP3 at the HFBC site under the Highpoint link/downloads. Dates: /13 7/17 Pastor Gregg s Sabbatical; 7/10 HUB Ultimate WF; 7/10-14 Houston 1:8/Houston Project thru 15 th ; 7/18 RUSHWEEK Rally; 7/22-28 RUSHWEEK 2016; 7/24 Lord s Supper; 7/24 SPF Birthday Bash; 7/29 Family Mission Trip (Loop Only); 7/31 School Supply Collection; 8/6 Inspirational Writer s Conference; 8/8 - HUB Battlefield; 8/13 Oasis Single Mom s conference; 8/19-20 HUB LBS Volunteer Leader Hunt; 8/21 - Welcome to the Loop; 8/21 Back to School Sunday; 8/21 - SPF Birthday Bash; 8/27 Parent Conference with Tim Elmore; 8/31 AMP/WIRED Back 2 School night. 8 / 8