Samuel’s speech marks a turning point in Israel’s history. Judges will no longer lead them; instead, a king will now guide their nation’s affairs.
And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that you have said to me, and have made a king over you.
And now, behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and gray, and behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth until this day (1 Samuel 12:1-2).
Samuel, much like entering a courtroom, invites people to witness against him. He presents himself as a faithful servant of God and asks them to judge if his claims are true.
Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”
They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.”
And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
And they said, “He is witness” (1 Samuel 12:3-5).
Samuel suggested a good test for leaders in business, politics, or religion.
- Have they taken things they shouldn’t?
- Have they defrauded people?
- Have they oppressed the public?
- Have they accepted bribes to favor their connections?
Some say it was Abraham Lincoln, while others believe it was Teddy Roosevelt who said, “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time.”
Though we might not fool everyone all the time, we can never fool God. Samuel wanted to know if they believed God approved of his behavior, and their answer was yes.
God’s Courtroom
Samuel turned to the people and asked them to step into God’s courtroom. He recounted Israel’s greatest act in history: the exodus from slavery in Egypt. He also spoke about how God cared for them during the conquest of the land and their recent victory over the Ammonites.
Samuel reminded them that God had always cared for them, but questioned how well they had responded to Him.
The answer was, “Not well at all!”
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king (1 Samuel 12:12).
In theory, God was the king of Israel, ruling through prophets and judges. Some were exemplary, like Moses, while others, like Samson, were terrible. Still, the idea was that God ruled over them.
Now, they asked Samuel for a king to be like the surrounding pagan nations. Clearly, this was a rejection of God’s rule over their lives.
A common theme in the Gospels is the struggle over control. Opponents resisted Jesus and eventually crucified him because they felt he was taking away their power and profits. They rejected Jesus as Lord and Savior because they wanted to keep control of their lives instead of surrendering it to Him.
Paul asks us to examine our lives. He urges us to give control to the rightful Lord, and that isn’t ourselves, but King Jesus.
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 