1 Now Samuel said to all Israel: "Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 "And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 "Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you." 4 And they said, "You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand." 5 Then 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 answered, "He is witness." 6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 "Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: 8 "When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 "And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 "Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.' 11 "And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 "And when you saw that Nahash 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.
Samuel Passes the Mantle of National Leadership (vv. 1-5)
Here is the King! Samuel Presents Saul to the Nation
Elihu said, “Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom” (Job 32:7). The young, however, have a hard time listening to the aged. We shuffle older men into retirement and hustle older pastors into their quiet studies. Youth is a wonderful time of life to spread one’s wings, gain strength, and devote oneself energetically to serving the Lord. Youth, however, needs wise age for its guide, or strength will degenerate into pride and energy will substitute for prudence. Israel had not been listening to Samuel, but at the Lord’s direction he listened to Israel. “Behold the King! He stands before you.” Samuel humbly passed the mantle of national leadership to Saul. It was a noble and generous action on his part, for the people disrespected him. Whenever we demand to have our way but do not seek counsel from those in authority over us, we slight the Lord and the men whom he has elevated over us (1 Thess. 5:12). Why would Israel reject Samuel’s government, and therefore the Lord’s? His government had been easy and cheap, demanding little from the people, with the majority of the work falling upon his shoulders. True, his shoulders now stooped a little under a crown of gray hair and many labors for the Lord. But like his Savior, Samuel’s “yoke had been easy and his burden light.”
We should consult the older wise men whom the Lord has placed in our lives. They may have lost some physical strength and vigor, but older, godly men who have walked with the Lord have more experience than the young. They have seen many good intentions come to nothing and much energy wasted by Christless self-reliance. Thus, when aged wisdom speaks, we should listen. The messenger should not be judged by his appearance but by whether or not he speaks God’s word to us. Young people, never disrespect your parents by thinking you know more than they do or that you know what is best for you. You do not. I say this not on my authority but on the Lord’s. He gives you parents and elders because you do not know what is best for you. He would have you seek and listen to your parents and elders. The Lord honors those who willingly submit to the authority he has placed in their lives. The same is true of elders and pastors. Scripture says we are to honor those in authority over us and to esteem them highly in love for their work’s sake (1 Thess. 5:12-13). We may not like them or agree with them on secondary matters, but the Lord will never excuse our rebellion and disdain because we thought we knew better than our elders. Submission to lawful authority does not depend upon agreement with that authority, assuming it is not commanding us to sin. Israel has a king, but they will soon suffer for their decision and for not listening to Samuel’s voice. Will we listen to reason? To those whom the Lord has placed over us? Or will we stubbornly follow our own desires and cling to our own opinions. This is the sad definition of a man who is right in his own eyes.
Here I Am! Samuel Defends His Administration
Good leadership is also under authority. Samuel knew that Israel had rejected the Lord for their king, but the Lord told him to listen to the people. Samuel did not demur, even when listening meant that his own administration was severely disrespected and ultimately rejected. He took this opportunity, however, to defend his good government. First, he reminds Israel – and there were 330,000 men gathered – that he had served the Lord and the nation since his childhood. Samuel’s early call to be God’s prophet was well-known. “Behold, here I am” – still serving the Lord, still serving you. Can anyone find fault with my administration? Have I taken anyone’s goods or corrupted justice by taking bribes? Samuel is not simply defending himself. He knows he is standing in the Lord’s place. It is like he is saying, “Has anyone found fault with the Lord that you would reject his government and choose a human king?” No, the people had to admit. We have never been oppressed by you, Samuel. Samuel urged them to speak up. He pressed them because he would have their minds clear and their consciences tender at this moment of victory to hear what he was about to say to them. It would be hard to hear, and harder to obey. When a good man’s authority is rejected, such as a father or mother, elder or pastor, bad consequences will follow. The Lord will not have his authority despised.
Samuel Reasons with Israel (vv. 6-12)
The Lord Advances Whom He Wills
In this vein of truth, Samuel grounds his reasoning with the people. The Lord remains their king. Samuel begins by declaring that the Lord advanced Moses and Aaron. This is a profound truth. Moses and Aaron were the most unwilling leaders, but the Lord raised them up, pushed them forward, and used them to deliver his people from Egypt. They were in some measure like the Lord Jesus Christ, “who exalted not himself to be made a high priest” (Heb. 5:5). He did not please or serve himself in anything (Rom. 15:3). There is a foundational humility in all legitimate, God-approved leadership in the home and church, even in society. The Lord exalts whom he wishes. “For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, not from the south. But God is judge: he puts down one and sets up another” (Ps. 75:6-7). Thus, in all the misery that Israel experienced in the wilderness, they were rebelling against authority that God had exalted. Samuel gives a biting rebuke. In rejecting me, you are rejecting whom the Lord has elevated. You are exalting your own opinions and not humbling yourself under the Lord’s hand. Misery stalks rebels. It is the same with all rebellious teens, sulky wives, abusive husbands, and complaining congregations. God raises up the authorities in our lives. Our response to them is our response to the Lord. Will we be humbly obedience or proudly stubborn?
All Your Misery from Your Sins, but the Lord Delivered
Upon this foundation of the Lord’s authority, Samuel tells the multitude to stand still so that he can reason with them. The word translated “reason” is a form of “judge.” Samuel commands them to stand still and receive the Lord’s judgment. They may have rejected Samuel and the Lord, but Samuel will fulfill his office and not leave the national scene pouting. He will speak. He will speak as one whom the Lord has elevated. The Lord gives rejected men grace to speak his word, not because men are praising them and receiving all they say, but when men are rebelling. Though proud men reject godly authority, the Lord has raised them up, and they must speak for him. If parents and pastors and civil magistrates seek to please children and church members, they cannot be servants of Christ (Gal. 1:10). We can only speak for the Lord if we are humbled under his hand and upheld by his strength so that we know we are called and standing where he has placed us.
Samuel reasons with the nation or judges them in terms of God’s righteous and faithful acts toward them. Jacob went down to Egypt a small group, and the Lord brought them out from under Egyptian bondage and gave them the land he had promised to Abraham. But they forgot the Lord – you also have forgotten the Lord. Celebrations of victory ought to be tempered by the remembrance of our many sins and that our victory is undeserved. Victory in a Christian’s life leads to humility, not pride. Not so in Israel, and the Lord sold you again into bondage – to Sisera, then the Philistines, the Moabites – the Lord has many arrows of truth to pierce his stubborn people. Then, you cried to the Lord, and he delivered you. Notice Samuel related this to their sin. All their miseries were due to their disobedience to the Lord. Why can we not learn this 3,500 years after Samuel spoke these words? We are miserable in this life, miserable under tyrants, miserable in our sins, miserable in our technologically advanced ignorance because we have rebelled against the Lord. If turning to him were as hard as climbing Mount Everest, it would be worth perishing in the attempt, if only to head in the opposite direction from the sins that bring so much trouble to us. But it is not like climbing a high mountain – the Lord carries us. When we confess our many sins and idolatries to the Lord, he delivers us. He raised up the judges – Gideon, Bedan (Balak?), and Jephthah. The Lord delivered you.
You Craved a Human King, but the Lord Is Your King
The Ammonites have now come up against you, and what have you done? Have you turned to the Lord? No, you demanded a human king. Samuel’s defense and reasoning anticipates Stephen’s over a 1,000 years later (Acts 7). If time were a means of grace, Israel would never have perished as God’s holy nation. But time alone never cracks our fallen, rebellious heart. We must have God’s grace, or we shall crave the wrong things and blame the wrong people for what has happened to us. In mercy, the Lord raised up deliverers for his people. They never listened to them for long, but they followed their sinful hearts. They rebelled against the Lord’s authority, against the Lord’s men. Samuel gave the gathered nation a righteous punch in the nose. For five centuries, you have been rebellious, as Moses said earlier: “You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you” (Deut. 9:24). I have no doubt that the same is true of us. We may not be rebellious in the same areas, for we must keep some areas in good shape so that we can live with ourselves and have a foundation to blame others for what is happening. But is there in us core submission to the Lord? To the men whom he has raised up to guide us? To fathers and mothers in the home, elders and pastors in the church, leaders in society? The only way we submit to the Lord as our King is if we are submissive to the lawful authority he raises up over us. If our turning to the Lord is legitimate, we will yield to Samuel’s reasoning and judge ourselves in its light. Are we submissive or rebellious? Are we wise men who are listening to our Savior’s word and doing it, or “moron men,” the fools who insist upon following their own opinions?
Samuel Reasons with Us
Walk with God from Childhood and Seek Nothing for Yourself
How would Samuel reason with us in our particular times? He would judge much the same. First, he would remind us that godly character in union with Christ glorifies our heavenly Father. Whatever the times in which we live, godliness is profitable. Thus, if we are children hearing God’s word, we must resolve to walk with him from our childhood. My young hearers, remember Samuel’s call as a boy. The Lord calls you now through his word. Do not let the word fall on hard hearts and deaf ears. Ask the Lord to soften your heart and open your ears. Resolve now, resolve fully to walk with the Lord. The alternative is to follow your own heart and become a Hophni, Phinehas, or Dinah – to go out in the world, see what is out there, find something to satisfy your foolish heart, while hoping not to get burned too badly. Reject this. Every authority from the Lord in your life is telling you to give your life to him. He will change and sanctify your heart and its desires, so that you grow in grace and knowledge. And from this point, seek nothing for yourself. In the strength of Jesus Christ by fellowship with his word and in prayer, fight every sinful impulse to do your own thing, think your own thoughts, or go your own way. Samuel was able to speak to the people at this moment because he had lived serving the Lord his entire life. The Lord elevated him. The Lord grew and strengthened him. He will do the same for you.
See the Connection between Sin and Misery
Israel’s sins brought misery upon them. This seems like an obvious connection, but it is denied by sinners. The miseries that come to the sinner he blames upon someone else. This is truer in our day and in our nation than in the past. Then, men had some sense of sin and the Lord’s displeasure. Now, the Lord has given many over to depraved thinking, so that even if they are not inclined to the basest perversity, they refuse to recognize that sin is destroying their lives and our nation. This is a work of the Spirit (John 16:8-11). At the heart of Israel’s idolatries and compromise with the surrounding nations was pride and stubbornness. These will soon ruin Saul (1 Sam. 15:23). They are ruining us. Pride kills. It kills men’s souls, families, relationships, and nation. Pride trusts itself and will not submit to God’s authority. When suffering for its willfulness, pride will not turn back to parents, spouses, or elders, confess its evil, and seek God’s mercy. We can tell our futures by the way we are relating to the Lord’s authorities in our lives. Do not be easy with your self-judgments at this point. Press hard upon your soul, and ask the Spirit to search you diligently with the light of his word. Have we been made teachable before the Lord? Are we wise in our own eyes, so that we follow our opinions and fancies, and stiffen when challenged or confronted? Or, has the Spirit of God taken away our heart of rebellion so that we submit our minds to be governed by God’s word and our lives to him as a living sacrifice of praise.
Remember and Trust the Lord’s Mercies
Israel might have chosen the wise, narrow path of humility. Humility is so beautiful and strong. Here was old, rejected Samuel rebuking the people. Why? So that they would turn back to the Lord. Why did he rehearse the Lord’s faithfulness in raising up deliverers for them? So that they would repent of their stubbornness and turn to the Lord, so that they would be broken. This is really the only way we know whether we are proud and stubborn or if the Lord has made us meek like our Savior. Our will is broken before him. We do not trust our own opinions unless we can quote chapter and verse from his holy word. We do not stiffen when rebuked but weep before the Lord that we are not wholly given to following him. And then, as here, when the Lord sends someone to remind us of his faithfulness and mercies, our hearts leap with wonder and faith. Why would the Lord send a minister to warn me? Why do my parents appeal to me again and again? Why does my spouse encourage me to trust the Lord, not myself? Because the Lord will not forsake his people whom he has foreknown. Thus, the Lord’s mercy is our hope. He knows who we are, how proud and stubborn we are, that we cannot hear the mildest correction or criticism without becoming peevish. And if he sends us a strong rebuke, as he did that day through Samuel, it is a wonder if we do not kill the messenger. This has happened many times in the world to God’s servants the prophets and gospel ministers. It is happening today. God’s children hear his warnings and humble themselves. God’s truth hardens the heart of his enemies. Satan and his children of disobedience hate the light.
Follow the Lord as Your King
Samuel never told them to abandon their new king. All his warnings and history lessons and rebukes called them back to their true King, the Lord. One way we apply this today is by resolving daily and especially now before God’s word, when he is offering grace to us, to follow him as our King. Whatever our political system or the evils of our day, we have a shining, glorious, strong, faithful King. Will he really receive us and help us? Yes. He is a King who gives what he commands. Does he require obedience? He will give strength. Does he require faith in his word? He gives it as a gift. Does he require us to take up the cross and follow him? He has already taken up the cross of our curse and delivered us from our sins. He has already done all the hard, redeeming work of salvation. Do we think it will be hard to forsake the world as it is today, with sin so common and attractive and redefined as freedom? Perhaps, but suffering for our pride is far harder. Sin’s pleasures are but for a season. The young and beautiful whose lives of debauchery are so celebrated will soon be old and wrinkled, thrown away by their children as ugly and used up. Our destiny as followers of the Lamb-King is beauty to beauty, strength to strength, joy to joy. Affections set upon the King who “greatly desires our beauty” and makes us beautiful feeds desire for holiness, for HIM. Follow him. He never disappoints or dissatisfies. He is fairer than ten thousands, the desire of the nations, and the Exalted One at the Father’s right hand.
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