13 "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 "If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. 15 "However, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16 " Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: 17 "Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves." 18 So Samuel called to 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 to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves." 20 Then Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 "And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22 "For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. 23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 "Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 "But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."
Renew Commitment to Obeying the Lord (vv. 13-15)
You Got Your Way – Fear the Lord
The Lord’s logic of covenant and holiness is relentless; the passage builds upon “now, therefore” (vv. 2,7,13). There is a rising intensity of “you have sinned, and the Lord has chastened you. But, if you will return to him, you will find mercy.” By this kind of reasoning, the Lord pursues his children. He will never lose us, despite how wayward and willful we can be. Samuel shows them the king again, the king they wanted, the king for which they rejected the Lord as their king. Samuel is God’s faithful prophet and will not leave their rebellion unchallenged. Do not think you have gotten your way. You may have what you want, but this does not mean the Lord is pleased with you or is blessing you. This is very different from the way most think. If you get what you want, it must be a sign that you are blessed. If you do not get it, then you must be in trouble with the Lord. It is very often the reverse, especially for God’s children. He sometimes gives us what we set our hearts upon not because he is pleased with us but to chasten us for setting our hearts upon something higher than for him. Our desires, even for things not sinful, are often personal idols, that break legitimate boundaries of means, calling, and need.
In love and wisdom, the Lord usually withholds what we do not really need and what would tempt us not to trust and obey him with loving hearts. Even too much earthly good makes us drowsy and unfit for cross bearing, prayer, and seeking God’s heavenly kingdom. Many of our desires are sinful in themselves, being against God’s word, or motivated by sinful ideas and aspirations, or suggested from the law of sin in our members that tries to take us captive. Other desires have an end goal not in the glory of God but in some pleasure, praise, or blessing for us. The Lord sometimes gratifies our cravings in order to chasten us for our sins. After a time, the Spirit convicts us of our ingratitude and dissatisfaction with the Lord. It may be upon the bed of sickness, or during a sermon, or a direct rebuke to the soul by the Holy Spirit that strives within us. What are we to do when we realize that the Lord is chastening us? Samuel shows them the path forward. First, we must fear the Lord, which means to reverence his wisdom, his sovereignty, and his holiness. To fear the Lord when convicted of sin brings legitimate shame to the soul – that we have sinned against his holiness and his love. To fear the Lord is a summary for all right attitudes for him – love, adoration, reverence, obedience, worship, and awe. We fear the Lord when we sincerely loathe ourselves for our sins and turn from them to his mercy promised in Jesus Christ. We fear the Lord when we renew our commitment to obey him and forsake our rebellious ways.
You Have a King – Same Lord, Law, Covenant
Though Israel sinned in asking for a king, the Lord gave them a king. And now that they have a king, their duty toward the Lord is unchanged. Circumstances may change, but whether we are blessed or chastened, we must fear the Lord and obey him. Do we have plenty? We must trust and obey. Are we scraping by and have few prospects? Are our human relationships wonderful, miserable, or the usual mix of our fallen world? We must fear and trust him to provide and guide us and satisfy us. Israel was not to think that a new king meant a new way of life. Nor are we to think that living in our times releases us to live more loosely. When men around us talk lewdly or profanely, the Holy Spirit does not lower his bar of holiness: “let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.” Living in this world, “bad company corrupts good morals,” but we often disregard this as not applying to us. We overestimate our strength, then, we fall. The Lord awakens his children from these slumbers, usually by chastening, to lead us back to the old paths of obedience, as Jeremiah said (Jer. 6:16). Repentance under chastening is from the Holy Spirit if it bears fruit in obedience to God and turns from its rebellion (2 Cor. 7:10-11).
You Must Obey – Or the Lord’s Hand against You
Many today think that the hand of the Lord no longer chastens. Thus, the threat at the end of verse 15 is indicative of the legalism of those old covenant days and inconsistent with the greater grace revealed in the new. This is a false and dangerous reading. Samuel did not call Israel back to obedience so that they could merit forgiveness or God’s favor. He calls them back to obedience, for this is the path upon which we walk with him in faith and love. The same is true for us. Our Lord gave many warnings to those who refuse to listen to his word (Matt. 7:24-27). The apostle Paul warned the Corinthians not to provoke the Lord by their pride and idolatries – with the implied threat – “are we stronger than the Lord” (1 Cor. 10:22). He is jealous of our loyalties and our holiness. He did not die for our sins to leave us in our sins. Too many want grace to be little more than a pencil eraser – erase guilt, erase memory, erase punishment. But God’s grace deals with the root of our sins – it teaches us to walk humbly with the Lord, for he is a consuming fire (Heb. 10:29-31; 12:28-29). This warning applies as much to us as to Israel, likely more. We have more grace. We have Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit, God indwelling! Shall we trifle with sin? Shall we dismiss Scripture’s warnings and thus open the door for the flesh to make inroads against us? Let us hear this warning. When the Lord chastens us, let us turn to him, forsake our rebellions – all of them – and obey him. Otherwise, we can expect his hand to be heavy against us. If we are his children, his hand will be especially hard against us if we are rebellious and hard-hearted, so that we learn obedience, as our Savior did.
Trust the Lord’s Sovereign Grace (vv. 16-22)
How Horrible to Sin against the Lord: Chastening
The Lord confirmed Samuel’s words by a strong thunderstorm during harvest season. It did not normally rain then. By this storm the Lord rebuked Israel’s rebellion. He is their King; he is also the King of the universe. He is no local god. They are not permitted to be like the other nations, for he has chosen them by his grace. They have sinned dreadfully, and it is a “fearful things to fall into the hands of the living God.” Yes, blind sinners go on their way indifferent to the everlasting judgment that hangs over their heads. Even storms, personal calamities, and other disasters do not move them very much, for sin blinds us to the realities of the judgments that are happening all around us – blind leadership that does not help a people but robs, harms their health, and embroils them in deadly wars; ruined economies due to fiat money, which is a modern example of an unjust weight and balance that dishonors the Lord. For his people, these are chastening from the Lord for our sins. By them the Lord leads us to repentance and to walk humbly and carefully before him. As with Moses, we can be very faithful to the Lord, but glaring sins in our lives do not therefore get a free pass. The Lord uses storms of various kinds to rebuke our presumption and to teach us how terrible it is to sin against him, against his love and grace to us, even against the cross of our Savior.
He Calls Us Home by Chastening: Turn to Him
The people were terrified by the storm and brought to a good confession. We have compounded four centuries of rebellion by asking for a king. Samuel’s response is surprising – do not be afraid. Yes, you have done great wickedness, but turn to the Lord and serve him with all your hearts. He is willing to forgive and receive you. What wondrous grace was displayed under the older covenant that pointed to Jesus Christ! Then, as now, grace was free, but it was not cheap. Faith and repentance mean turning to him with your whole heart. The Lord does not want half obedience but all of our hearts, so that our dominating desire is to please him. If this is present, we grow more uncomfortable with sin, even character failures that we might be tempted to dismiss as “this is just the way I am.” Sin drives us back to the Lord, not away from him. Jesus Christ died and rose again to deliver us from the penalty, power, and one day from the presence of sin.
And this is the reason for the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. He indwells to seal and sanctify, to bear witness that we are God’s children, and to empower heartfelt, loving obedience to the Lord. Ours is not a religion of rituals, formulas, and external conformity. The “kingdom of God is within you,” and the Lord will rule us completely so that his throne is our heart, individually and collectively. This means that we love him with our minds and meditate upon his word. The more our minds are governed by his truth, the will and affections will follow and be governed by the good, the promises, and the grace revealed in God’s word. So, what should we do when the Lord chastens us? Turn back to him and give him our sin-broken hearts to be renewed in sincere obedience to our great God and Savior. He chastens us because he loves us. He loves us back to the paths of righteousness. This is the only path that pleases him and satisfies us, for he made us for himself and knows what is best for us.
He Will Never Forsake His People: Sovereign Grace
Verse 22 drips with God’s sovereign grace, his saving kindness to his sinful and rebellious people. He will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake. He will not cast away his people whom he foreknew (Rom. 11:2). Israel had been rebellious from the first day Moses knew them (Deut. 9:24), and they remained stubborn throughout the period of the judges. Israel sinned in asking for a king, for they forsook the Lord as their king. Jilted, his grace spurned, and his love rejected, yet the Lord will not reject his people. He did not make them his people for any good in them, but because he loved them, and it pleased him to do so. This does not imply that Israel, then or now, is saved apart from redemption through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The true Israel embraces his promise of life and salvation in Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:28; Gal. 3:16,26-29). Israel was God’s nation because of his sovereign grace. And thus, when the Lord chastens us, and we despair of his mercy, let us remember this. We are not his people because of any good in us. When it comes to gaining God’s favor, there is nothing but demerit and cause worthy of judgment in the best Christian. His favor is freely given through Jesus Christ. We must return to him when he chastens us by trusting his promise of mercy. His grace and love are freely, sovereignly given, and he will not forsake one soul that believes upon the name of Jesus Christ. Why him? He is the Son of God, the Father’s beloved, the promised Savior of sinners. We must look away from ourselves and entrust ourselves to him to save us.
Use Every Means of Grace (vv. 23-25)
Have Your Pastors and Elders Pray for You
Samuel loved God’s people more because they were so stubborn and needed a faithful shepherd. He swore never to stop praying for them. Too few understand that prayer is not our last but first resort. Every legitimate blessing is received as a gift from heaven (1 Cor. 4:7). Samuel pledged to continue teaching them. They might not listen, but he was committed to God’s word. It is only in the good and right way of faith and obedience that we can enjoy the Lord’s blessings of love, joy, and peace (John 15:9-11). Every member of Christ’s body should regularly ask for the prayers of his pastors and elders. We have not, because we ask not (James 4:2) – or we ask selfishly or for things without any attached promise from the Lord. One reason the Lord raises up undershepherds is so that we are surrounded and upheld by believing prayer. An important aspect of their office and our duty toward them is to seek their prayers. We should also seek out their teaching and counsel. The authority, usefulness, and efficacy of pastors and elders is based upon their calling from God and depends upon our submission to his established order in his church (1 Thess. 5:12-13). Praying with your elders, and having them pray for you, breeds close relationships between elders and the church, mutual respect and dependence upon the Lord, and shared joy in him and thankfulness when he answers us. We do not pray because we see instant results. We pray because we are children of our heavenly Father, prompted by the Spirit to pray confidently, and invited by the Lord Jesus to draw near with boldness because he “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Heb. 7:24).
Fear the Lord, Hear His Word, Serve Him Wholeheartedly
Again, Samuel calls them to fear the Lord. Everything else comes from this. Faith in the Lord’s word is mightily increased when we reverence him as the faithful and sovereign God. If we fear the Lord, we will be willing to stand alone in the path of righteousness, for we are not alone – the holy and righteous God is with us. Reverencing him, we do not fear man as much and can withstand his threats and enticements, for we shall soon stand before the living God. If we fear the Lord, we dread offending him and would rather, as Calvin said, die a hundred horrible deaths than sin once against him. Fear is also worshipping him with joy as the only true God, worthy of our praise and adoration and thanksgiving. Fearing God, we do not trust princes to protect us but our faithful Father who has bound himself to us in the covenant of grace. If we fear the Lord, we will love him and be broken over our false loves, when we see how much love for us led our Savior to endure a broken heart on the cross, as he bore our reproach. The fear of the Lord is the foundation of serving him in truth, as he has revealed himself in his word and with a sincere heart. Consider all the great things he has done for us, and then give him the worship and service of your whole heart.
There is so much emphasis in the Old Testament on heart religion – wholehearted devotion to God. This does not mean excitement and emotional highs in production worship services. These are fake and false. Dramatic, choreographed worship is the opposite of wholehearted fearing and serving the Lord. In today’s worship productions, someone else is doing all the feeling, planning, and worshipping for you – you are simply responding to what you see as someone tells you. Wholehearted love and service to the Lord is more like the muddy sheep pen, in which we serve the Lord when life is not pretty. It is more like the nursing home or hospital room, where the sick and dying hold fast to the hope of the gospel and seek to praise the Lord in the valley of the shadow of death. Love to God is fed when we remember what he has done for us – the Father’s electing grace in Christ, the Son’s humbling and incarnation and sufferings and present exaltation, and the Spirit’s indwelling, quickening, sealing, and sanctifying. We must consider all that the Lord is doing around the world, past and present, to defeat and restrain his enemies, frustrate their plans, and protect and bless his people to serve and love him despite Satan’s many schemes to slander, maim, and kill us. Remember who the Lord is and what he is doing for you. Give yourself to him completely – no competing loves, no holdout areas, no cherished, secret sins, nothing but “here is my sinful, broken heart, Lord. Take me and do with me what you will. I only want to follow you, be with you, love you, and serve you.”
Hate Sin and Flee to Jesus Christ
To read v. 24 is to think of the cross of our Savior. The climax of all that Samuel said this day was a millennium later, at Golgotha. There the Lord did such great things for us that heaven is still singing praises to the Lamb. And thus, we must hate sin. If Israel was to fear the Lord and turn from their evil ways and serve the Lord with all their hearts, how much more must we? If we do wickedly, can we think to escape being consumed by God’s wrath (v. 25)? God’s grace in his Son does not nullify but greatly intensifies the glory and the warning of this scene. We have so many more things to celebrate than they did. Our joy should be boundless, our proclamation, our faithfulness to our Savior, our hope, our fellowship with him. Heaven is opened to us. We are children of God, heirs of God, joint hearts with Christ. The hands that were nailed to the old, rugged cross will one day place a crown of pure gold upon your head. You will wonder beyond all ability to penetrate such love; the weight of glory will only be upheld by the hands of love.
Now, as we wait and war, we must take to heart Samuel’s call to put away sin and obey the Lord. When the Lord chastens us for our sins, let us not sit on our hands, pout, or make excuses, but turn to him. Our loving Father is calling us back to the right way. Our gracious Savior has purchased our pardon and gives us confident access to the throne of grace. Our indwelling Spirit makes us God’s temple so that we have every resource we need for life and godliness. But we must hate sin. “All you who love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps. 97:10). We cannot serve sin and the Lord. So, put away your sins. Be honest – thought sins like worry and fear; will sins like fear of man and refusal to resolve to follow the Lord. Eye sins. Hand sins. Relationship sins. God offers us his grace. Let us turn to him. He will receive us.
Comments