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Alright, 1st Samuel chapter 12, 
just by way of review, remember what we have seen. In chapter 
7, the people of Israel actually do what Samuel says. In chapter 
7, it tells us that Samuel judged Israel. He called the people 
to repentance, to put away their idols. They did that. Then the 
Lord God sent, or the Lord God drove out the Philistine threat. 
They erected an Ebenezer. They acknowledged that the God 
of heaven and earth had been their help. So chapter 7 was 
a positive statement concerning Israel under the judgeship of 
Samuel. When we get to chapter 8, however, 
we see that Israel rejects God in essence. They want a new form 
of government to meet with the Ammonite threat that has presented 
itself. And remember that God tells Samuel 
to give them what they want, and he tells them or describes 
for them what manner of king or what sort of practice the 
king will engage in. Well, then when we get to chapter 
9, we have a story about lost donkeys and a found king. And 
in chapters 10 and 11, Saul is anointed to the kingdom, he is 
the monarch, and in chapter 11, specifically, it's his first 
war. Saul showed himself as a leader, 
as a military leader, as one who gave victory to Israel over 
the Ammonites. And so what we have now in chapter 
12 is probably a covenant renewal ceremony. Davis said that Israel 
had broken covenant in asking for a king, and this covenant 
must be renewed. For that reason, repentance and 
renewal constitute Samuel's agenda at Gilgal. So they're still at 
Gilgal. That's where chapter 11 ended. 
And here in chapter 12, as I said, Samuel addresses the nation of 
Israel. It would be similar to what we 
find in Joshua 24, covenant renewal there at Shechem. here Covenant 
Renewal at Gilgal. So beginning in chapter 12 at 
verse 1. Now Samuel said to all Israel, 
indeed, I have heeded your voice and all that you said to me and 
have made a king over you. And now here is the king walking 
before you. And I am old and gray-headed. 
And look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from 
my childhood to this day. 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. And they said, you have not cheated 
us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's 
hand. 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. They answered, he 
is witness. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And the Lord sent Jerob, 
Baal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the 
hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt in safety. 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. 
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. 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. 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. Now, therefore, stand and see 
this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. 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. 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. 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. And 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. And do not turn aside, for then 
you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, 
for they are nothing. 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. 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 
in the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve 
him in truth with all your heart. For consider what great things 
he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, 
you shall be swept away, both you and your king. Amen. Well, as we look at this particular 
section, there's four observations or four subsections that I want 
to notice. First, the vindication of Samuel 
in verses 1 to 5. Secondly, the indictment of Israel 
in verses 6 to 12. Thirdly, the exhortation to pursue 
faithfulness in verses 13 to 19. And then the reminder of 
God's covenant in verses 20 to 25. Though the word covenant 
is absent, the concept, the idea, the realities of covenant religion 
are present throughout this particular chapter. As I said, it's similar 
to what we find in that covenant renewal ceremony in Shechem in 
Joshua chapter 24. So part of the procedure here 
is that Samuel wants the people to own the fact that they have 
sinned against God. You do not renew covenant without 
repentance. You do not seek to fix something 
without first humbling yourself before the Lord God Almighty. 
And as a result, the things that we see in this particular chapter 
are very practical for us in the Christian church today, and 
I hope will prove to be helpful to each and every one of us because 
we certainly all find ourselves in a position where we have sinned 
against the Lord and we need to repent and we need to humble 
ourselves and go to Him. Well, ultimately, the reason 
why we can go to Him, it's not because of our goodness, it's 
not because of our righteousness, it's not because of our wisdom, 
but it's because of the God of the covenant. It's his oath, 
his covenant, his faithfulness that provides the foundation 
upon which we go back to him in repentance. So let's look 
first at the vindication of Samuel. This is something that Moses 
does in the book of Numbers. He highlights the fact that he 
had not stolen, he had not exploited. Paul the Apostle does this in 
Acts chapter 20. I have covenanted no man's silver. 
You know that I have worked hard. What I think Samuel is doing 
is vindicating himself before Israel because he currently is 
the defendant, but he's going to become the prosecuting attorney. 
He is going to upbraid them and indict them for particular breaches 
of the covenant. So initially, he sets out his 
covenantal innocence, not the fact that he's an innocent man, 
not the fact that he's a sinless man, but in terms of God's covenant 
with the nation of Israel, it's Israel who has violated it, it's 
not Samuel. Samuel has proven to be a faithful 
servant to God. Samuel has been a faithful servant 
to the children of Israel, and so very specifically notice in 
verse 1, he says, Indeed I have heeded your voice and all that 
you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now here 
is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray-headed, 
and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from 
my childhood to this day." There are indications there of this 
transition as well, from judgeship to kingship. Samuel refers to 
the fact that I have walked before you. My judgeship is formally 
over. His job as prophet, his job as 
intercessor, his job as a religious reformer in this particular nation 
has not ceased, but in terms of judging, he doesn't do that 
now because Israel has a king. She has a monarch. So he speaks 
specifically of having a king and he speaks specifically of 
him having walked before them previously, or before the Lord 
previously. So the transition is complete. 
Remember there was a private anointing of Saul, there was 
this public election of Saul, there was battle that Saul won, 
victory that he achieved over the Ammonites, and then this 
sort of public declaration, long live the king, and a celebration 
and feasting and rejoicing in God for the good gifts that he 
had given unto them. And so then Samuel turns his 
attention to his integrity and to his fidelity. He says, 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. Now, we like the concept of blind 
justice, you know, that statue of Lady Justice that There's 
the scales and she has a blindfold on. Well, that's a good thing. 
The idea is that justice is blind in the sense that we're no respecters 
of persons. It doesn't matter if you're rich 
or you're poor. It doesn't matter if you're black 
or you're white. It doesn't matter if you're Canadian or you're 
an African. Justice is blind to those particular things. That's 
not what's in view here. The idea being is that he has 
not received a bribe to blind his eyes so that he doesn't render 
justice, so that he doesn't give righteousness with reference 
to these particular judgments. Matthew Henry comments on this 
particular section because, as I think you'll see throughout 
the remainder of the chapter, it's straightforward. He tells 
Israel, you have sinned against God, you need to repent, you 
need to forsake, and you need to get your act together according 
to the covenant. We ask the question, why does 
he spend these first few verses vindicating his own righteousness? 
Matthew Henry says 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." I think that's a great principle. Samuel is highlighting 
the reality that he has not violated this particular principle, and 
so he's in a very excellent position or posture to be able to sue 
these people for their breach of the covenant. Remember Jesus' 
words with the woman caught in adultery, he who is without sin, 
let him cast the first stone. Jesus is not saying he who is 
a sinless perfect man. He's saying he who is without 
this particular sin. He among you that doesn't have 
a problem with adultery. He among you that doesn't have 
a girlfriend on the side. He among you that hasn't violated 
this particular precept. Built into the law is this idea 
that if you're going to testify against someone, you really ought 
to make sure that you have your act together, or else it's hypocrisy. Now again, that does not mean 
that they're still not sinful and wrong, but this whole idea 
of justice, especially on the part of a civil leader in Israel, 
this is absolutely crucial and absolutely necessary that he 
lays this foundation. And notice what the people have 
to say at this particular report. Verse four, they said, you have 
not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from 
any man's hand. Now, if we could just moralize 
for just a bit, I don't want to get far afield here, but wouldn't 
it be wonderful to live in such a way that when we're old and 
we're gray headed, we're able to say with Samuel, you know 
what manner of life I've lived among you. You know that I did 
not exploit your people. You know that I did not steal 
your stuff. You know that I was a man of 
integrity and faithfulness and fidelity to God's arrangement 
or to God's covenant. And to have the people that we 
know the best say something like this, you have not cheated us 
or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's 
hand. I think certainly the emphasis 
in this section is not on the example of Samuel, but we would 
be foolish not to take a moment to appreciate the example of 
Samuel. He is a faithful man. He is a 
godly man. He is a man who in the 11th hour 
is able to say to the people that he led and that he governed 
and that he communed with. You know that I have not oppressed. You know that I have not cheated 
you. And those people say, absolutely, we know, Samuel, that you were 
indeed a faithful man. May God instill that in us so 
that when we're on our deathbed and we're able to say something 
like that, our children aren't rolling their eyes or they're 
not saying, really, is that actually the case? Because We thought 
you were just a big fat hypocrite. We ought to strive to be faithful 
now, so that when we are on that deathbed, we're able to testify 
in such a way. I've always thought that about 
the statement of the Apostle in 2 Timothy chapter 4. You know, 
that great statement concerning the Apostle when he realizes 
that his time to die is at hand. Chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, verse 
6, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the 
time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, 
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. The only way 
that a man can say that in the eleventh hour. The only way that 
a man can say that when he is facing certain death is because 
for hours 1 to 10, he's actually done it. You cannot say, I have 
fought the good fight, if you haven't fought the good fight. 
You cannot say, I have finished the race, if you have not successfully 
run the race. And you certainly cannot say, 
I have kept the faith, if you have not had a pattern and a 
habitual acclimation to faith keeping throughout your life. 
You see, brothers and sisters, Samuel is able to make this testimony 
and have the people of God say, you're right, you haven't done 
these things, you've been a faithful man. Paul is able to say this 
in 2 Timothy chapter 4, because they were faithful in life. We 
need to strive and pursue and seek by the grace of God to be 
the things that the Lord calls us to be. We are justified freely 
by His grace. Nobody rejoices in that truth 
like I'd rejoice in that truth. We are not commended to God, 
or we do not enter into heaven, based one iota on any of our 
works. We are justified freely by His 
grace, according to the active and the passive obedience of 
our beloved Lord Jesus, but certainly as justified sinners We now enter 
into the life of sanctification. And those justified freely by 
His grace want to pursue the things that are pleasing to Him. 
They want to be faithful as husbands, as wives, as fathers, as mothers. They want to be faithful in their 
workplaces. They want to shine His lights 
in a crooked and perverse generation, out of gratitude to God, out 
of a love and appreciation to God. Samuel was a faithful man. And brothers and sisters, if 
we profess saving religion in Christ, it needs to be the case 
that we put our money where our mouths are and that we live faithfully 
now so that we can die well then. That is what Samuel was able 
to achieve. And then notice, after this, 
he moves into this indictment of Israel. Now, very specifically, 
why does he do this here? I think John Gill answers. He 
says, 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. Now, I just love that phrase, 
mirth and jollity. Do you see what Gil is saying? 
They have just installed Saul as the monarch. What was Saul's 
first order of business? Killing Ammonites until the heat 
of the day. Saul neutralized the threat of 
Nahash and the Ammonites. Wouldn't the people be inclined 
to forget their sin in asking for a king? In their mirth and 
jollity, they would be rejoicing in the reality that Saul had 
delivered them from Nahash. Remember, Nahash was that especially 
nasty fellow that liked to collect right eyes from Israelites so 
they weren't militarily ready for combat. Nahash was the sort 
of guy that liked to make necklaces with eyeball. I don't know if 
he actually did that. but he wanted to gouge out right eyes 
as the terms of a covenant. I mean, Nahash was a nasty fellow. So that Saul was able to neutralize 
that threat, the children of Israel could have been inclined 
to forget the reality that we rejected Yahweh in our desire 
for this king. So I think Gil is absolutely 
right. 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? So you see, Samuel 
has a particular agenda. If it's covenant renewal that's 
in view at Gilgal, Samuel has to first start with the bad news. You see, we do not repent and 
we do not forsake our sins. unless it is pointed out to us. Now certainly it's pointed out 
when we're studying our Bibles or when we hear sermons. There 
is that utilization or that utility of the text of Scripture. Convince, rebuke, exhort. It's 
profitable for doctrine, conviction, reproof, and instruction 
in righteousness. The Word comes to us and it finds 
us out. But there are times and seasons 
in our Christian life where because of a faithful brother, or a faithful 
sister, or a faithful husband, or a faithful wife, where they 
come to reprove us for our sin. We gotta know the bad before 
we actually start to deal properly. We've got to embrace the reality 
that we have sinned against a holy God before we start to fix things. We've got to get our house in 
order, and this is precisely what Samuel is going to do with 
the people here. Now notice, with reference to 
the indictment of Israel, verses 6 to 12, we see it break down 
into two sections. First, the Lord's acts on their 
behalf, and secondly, the people's rejection of God. Now notice 
in verses 6 to 11, what is Samuel saying to that? Samuel is saying 
that God has always been there for you. God has always been 
there for you. When the people of Israel went 
down into Egypt, who came to deliver them? Yes, it was Moses 
and Aaron in terms of the human instrumentality, but it was God. God raised up Moses. God dispatched 
Moses. God sent Moses to Pharaoh and 
said, let my people go. God orchestrated the exodus and 
the deliverance of Israel from the land of Egypt. when they 
get into the promised land and they sin against God. And then 
God raises up these foreign oppressors. And then these foreign oppressors 
come and start to deal severely with the children of Israel. 
And then it comes time for deliverance. What does God do? God delivers, 
God raises up the judges. So he moves from the Exodus to 
the period of the judges. And if you notice very specifically 
in verse 9, what is their crime? It says, And when they forgot 
the Lord their God, Now that is the highest breach of the 
covenant. I mean certainly if you've got 
a body of law and documentation on how you are to relate to your 
God, at the very top has to be the forgetting of God. I mean, 
you could probably eat a jackdaw and it would probably be alright 
with you, or a carrion vulture. Those things were prohibited 
under the terms of the Old Covenant, but probably not as bad as forgetting 
God. You see, they weren't just playing 
with a little bit of sin, they forgot God, They bowed to Baal, 
they bowed to the Ashtoreths, and as a result, God sent in 
these foreign oppressors, and then they cried out, and God 
delivered them. Notice specifically at verse 
11, a reference to the judges. The Lord sent Jerob Baal Badan, 
or B-Dan. Who is this B-Dan? The marginal 
reading in the New King James ascribes it to Samson. I'm sorry, Beric. The Septuagint 
and the Syriac version have it as barren. Kyle and Dalich agree 
with that. They say it was probably a scribal 
error, and that means just a misprint of a word. The original autographs 
of the scriptures are without error. When these documents were 
copied, occasionally scribes made mistakes. That's why there's 
what's called variant readings from time to time. in the Bible. So probably this Bedan is Barak 
and he fits with the rest of these particular men. The Lord 
sent Jeroboam, that is Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel and 
delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side 
and you dwelt in safety. So you see what he's doing. What 
shows a people their sin or what frames the people of God's sin 
better than the grace of God, right? I've often thought that 
a man who goes out and commits adultery against his wife is 
a terrible criminal. He's a horrible man. I think 
we'd all agree with that. He's a wretch. He's a vile man. He's a wicked man to go out and 
commit adultery. Now, there are some times when 
a woman has rejected the overtures of her husband, and she has been 
a terrible wife. Not that we justify the man for 
that, but there is a context. But what if a woman who's godly 
upright, meets all the needs of her husband, she goes overboard 
to make sure that she's a faithful, good, godly wife. I think that 
man's crime is exacerbated. It looks that much worse because 
he has a good wife and he has sinned against much grace. The same is what is going on 
here. What Samuel is doing is framing 
their rejection of God in the most grave terms. God has been 
there for you. God was there at the Exodus. 
God was there with the Philistines and with the Moabites when it 
was the period of the Judges. It was God who sent Ehud with 
that message for big Eglon when he stuck him with that knife. 
It was God who was behind jail when she took the tent peg and 
drove it in Sisera's head under Barak's watch. It was God who 
raised up Jephthah, a man who was an outcast of Israel, a man 
who was disdained by his own nation. And nevertheless, God 
sends that man to deliver the children of Israel. God was there 
every step of the way. God has preserved you. God has 
blessed you. God has delivered you. And notice 
what happens according to verse 12. He says, 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. We can just read through that 
and not think twice about it. But just imagine, Samuel has 
said, God saved you through Moses and Aaron. God saved you through 
Jephthah. God saved you through Barak. 
God saved you through me. God saved you through Samson. 
God saved you through Gideon. God saved you every step of the 
way. And when Nahash and the Ammonites 
show up, suddenly God's not good enough? Suddenly God can't do 
it? God can't destroy Nahash and 
the Ammonites? Davis says, ah, but the most 
contemporary crisis always seems the worst. Now I want us to see 
that this is us, brethren, in our lives God delivers, God blesses, 
God helps, God keeps, God is there, and then a crisis comes 
and what happens? We freak out. We lose it. The last person we go to is God. The last one we bow before is 
God. We look for all these other helps. 
We look for all these other means. We look for all these other techniques 
to fix our particular problems. Even though God has always been 
there, God has always carried us, God has always delivered 
us. That's the emphasis of the passage. Nahash comes, and you 
forget God? Nahash comes, and you forget 
the exodus? Nahash comes, and you forget 
the judges? You just lose all sense of reality, 
and you cry out for a king? Davis says, but the most contemporary 
crisis always seems the worst. In the current emergency, the 
memory of Yahweh's righteous acts, that's the language used 
in verse 7, dissolves in Israelite amnesia. Here comes Nahash. Isaac will appreciate this. Davis 
is a bit of a punster too. Wreaking optical destruction. Wreaking optical destruction. I love that. He wanted to gouge 
out right eyes, right? That's optical destruction. Here comes Nahash wreaking optical 
destruction. There is no cry for help, but 
a demand for a king. No seeking for deliverance from 
Yahweh, but specifying the method in which deliverance must come. 
No appeal to the true king. No trust in Yahweh to send adequate 
leadership as he had always done. Their help, they assume, is not 
in the proven arm of Yahweh, but in the new form of government. 
You see, I understand it's difficult when things hit us, when difficulties 
come, when trials face us. What is our response? Is it typically, 
God Almighty, please help us? Now, I'd like to think that is 
our response. But maybe it's not always that. I've got to fix this. I've got 
to do this. I've got to call this person. 
I've got to sort this out. Let's just be still and know 
that God is God. Let's reflect upon his power, 
his might, his majesty, his works. Let's reflect upon Romans 8.32 
when it comes to dealing with a specific spiritual issue. Romans 
8.32, you hopefully know the particular passage. He who did 
not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, How shall 
he not with him also freely give us all things? God delivers you 
from Egypt? God delivers you during the period 
of the judges? God's not going to deliver you 
from Nahash and the Ammonites? Is Nahash and the Ammonites better, 
bigger, stronger, and more powerful than Pharaoh? Is he bigger, better, 
stronger, and more powerful than all of the men that ruled in 
the pagan nations at the time of the judges? But even more 
than that, is he bigger, better, and stronger than God Almighty? 
God was able to do amazing things in Egypt. How did the people 
leave that with Egyptians throwing gold at them? Go already, please, 
take this and leave. I mean, talk about a turn of 
events. Look at the period of the judges. 
Who would have thought that sturdy jail would have used her tent 
peg that morning to crush the head of an oppressor of God's 
holy people. You see, God is in this. God 
is for us. God does not leave us nor forsake 
us, and Israel forgot that. Samuel reminds them and he indicts 
them accordingly in verses 6 to 12. So God's grace is the backdrop 
that highlights the gravity of our sin against God. I think 
about this as Christians. I mean, we've got the blood of 
the covenant. We've got the Lord Jesus, who 
in his doing and dying and rising has saved us from our sins. Perhaps 
it's that thought in mind that Paul then uses when he speaks 
things like what we find in 2 Corinthians 7. Therefore, having these promises, 
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." I mean, 
when Paul comes to deal with sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 
6, that whole idea of not being joined with a harlot, what's 
his fundamental argument? Christ died for you. Christ purchased 
you body and soul. As a result, don't give that 
body to a harlot. You see, it's a pretty simple 
stretch of logic or simple application of logic. What about Romans chapter 
12? It's our reasonable, our rational 
service to give everything to God. I beseech you, therefore, 
brethren. And Romans 12.1 is a peculiarly 
well-located exhortation, because what happens in Romans 1 to 11, 
the exposition of the Christian gospel, the great truths of total 
depravity and the universal condemnation of sin, the reality that but 
now A righteousness has come that was witnessed by the law 
and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, received through faith 
in Christ. Justification by faith alone, 
imputation because of the righteousness of Christ, the ideas of sanctification 
and the Spirit. All these things have been expounded 
in detail. So 1 to 11 is the doctrinal foundation. In chapter 12, verse 1, I beseech 
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present 
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which 
is your reasonable service. I think the idea is, is that 
based on what God in Christ has done in bringing you out of darkness 
into marvelous light, It is reasonable. It is rational. It is spiritual. It is a no brainer that you present 
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He 
has saved you body and soul. He didn't save you body and soul 
so that you may continue in sin, but rather he saved you so that 
you will no longer present your members as instruments of unrighteousness. Romans chapter six. You see, 
it's a no-brainer. The grace of God leads inevitably 
to gratitude which is fleshed out in lives that pursue those 
things which are pleasing to the Lord God Most High. So Samuel 
effectively indicts the nation of Israel. I doubt if anyone 
at that particular time were saying, What do you mean, Samuel? They knew exactly what he meant. 
And Samuel knew they knew exactly what he meant. So that brings 
us to verses 13 to 19. He exhorts them to pursue faithfulness. And this is in the covenant. Again, the word covenant isn't 
there, but the sanctions of the covenant are specified. verses 
14 and 15. If you obey God, you get the 
blessings of the covenant. You disobey God, you get the 
cursings of the covenant. This is a covenant people living 
under this arrangement. Samuel has upbraided them and 
indicted them for their sin. He now tells them their specific 
response and their specific duty under God with reference to their 
covenant obligation. Verse 13, now therefore here 
is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. Essentially 
what he's saying as well is that we've gone from transition, we've 
gone from the period of judgeship to kingship, but the covenant 
hasn't changed. Whether you're under the Judge 
Samuel, you're under the Judge Samson, you're under the Judge 
Gideon, or you're under the King Saul, you're under the King David, 
whatever that arrangement is in terms of national government, 
you're still under obligation to God to give him the honor 
and the glory and the obedience that you entered into with him. 
back at Sinai. So basically, what he does is 
tell them, notice in verse 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. Where do these things 
come from? Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28. Those are good passages to keep 
in your noggin. Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28. This is backbone. This is foundation. This is the sanctions attached 
to the covenant. there's blessings if you obey 
in the land, there's cursings if you disobey in the land. Now, 
we know, because we've read the rest of the Old Testament, that 
they go, oh, about a minute, and then they sin again, right? 
Isn't that the continual pattern? Isn't that the repetition that 
we see? Isn't that the consistency in 
the Old Testament? Remember that the law of God 
functioned in Several ways in the Old Testament, but one way 
in particular was to show the people their need for Christ. 
Every time God said, keep my law, and they broke it. Every 
time they tried to do what the covenant said, and they broke 
it. There was that opportunity to remind the people that there's 
a Messiah coming. There's a Christ coming. There's 
a deliverer coming who will obey, who will achieve righteousness, 
and who will ultimately die for his people so that he may save 
them from their sins. So yeah, every covenant renewal 
ceremony, what happens a chapter later? I mean, they get the Ten 
Commandments in Chapter 20 of Exodus, right? They get the covenant 
law in 21 to 23, the application of the decalogue. 24, what do 
they say? Not once, but twice. All that 
you have said, we will do. Right? Wasn't that the obligation 
under the old covenant? Isn't it beautiful that Jesus 
is our covenant head in the new covenant? Isn't it beautiful 
that Jesus says, all that the Father has given me, I will do? 
That we are united to him by grace through faith, that he 
won, he merited, he did what Israel could not do. Israel at 
Sinai swears fidelity to the covenant and they break it. 32, 
right? You go from 24, they start building 
the tabernacle. 32, Moses comes down. What does 
he see? They're dancing before a gold 
calf. I mean, that's the pattern in Old Covenant religion. Yes, 
God knew that. It's not like God's saying, oh 
man, I can't believe they're doing that. There was a period 
of tutelage. When Paul talks about us not 
being under a tutor anymore in Galatians 3, it's not the moral 
law, not as if that's abrogated. It was the old covenant system 
that served as a tutor for these people to drive them to Christ, 
the telos, so the end of the law, the end of that old covenant 
era and system because Jesus did what they could never do. 
Truly beautiful, the way these things jive and work together. 
Nevertheless, it was a real promise, 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. And there were good 
times, there were good seasons in Israel. Remember, the old 
covenant is not exactly what the new covenant is. There was 
a national element, there's a political element, there's a body politic 
element involved in the Old Covenant. So when they went in the land 
and they obeyed, God did bless them. But notice in verse 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." So you see, not 
only did God engage in righteous acts and delivering them with 
reference to Egypt and with reference to the period of the judges, 
there was a lot of judgment along the way, right? When Israel sinned, 
what happened? They reaped the curses of the 
covenant. Covenant renewal. The sanctions 
associated with the covenant. The sanction is simply, if you 
obey, you get blessed. If you disobey, you get cursed, 
right? You all know what sanctions are. 
Well, not all of you. If you have children, you know 
what they are. And if you have been a child, at least in a Christian 
home, you know what a sanction is. You touch that and I spank 
you. That's a sanction, okay? It's 
that simple. God says to Israel, you go and 
you do that, then you will be disciplined. You will be chastened. 
Now notice this sign for confirmation of what Samuel has said. Have you ever heard of Death 
Valley in California, right? Now, it doesn't snow in Death 
Valley in July. It just wouldn't happen, right? Just couldn't happen. I mean, 
it could, feasibly. It's not like it couldn't, but 
it's just not normal. Well, rain during the wheat harvest 
in Israel is just not normal. It just doesn't happen. You get 
early rains, you get latter rains. May, June, when you bring in 
or you harvest the wheat, there's no rain. It just doesn't rain. And so when Samuel says in verse 
16, now therefore stand and see this great thing which the Lord 
will do before your eyes 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. Isn't it too bad, in some sense, 
that he has argued so logically? And he has argued so consistently? He has argued so rigorously that 
now he has to use a sign? I think we should conclude from 
this, or at least extrapolate a principle. Let the Word of 
God itself move us to repentance. You shouldn't need, you know, 
rain or snow and Death Valley to get you to repent. You shouldn't 
need an act of Congress. You shouldn't need, you know, 
some miraculous thing. Well, when the Lord sends, you 
know, sunshine in February, well, actually, he's done that. I can't 
say that. Chilliwack's been amazing. It's really been amazing. When 
He does this, then I'll know He wants me to repent. The Word 
of God tells you to repent, repent. That's it. Christian, if you 
know you're in sin, and the Bible tells you that, you do not need 
to wait for affirmation. You do not need to be confirmed. 
You don't need to pray about it. How many times do people 
do it? No, you need to repent. Pray, 
prayerfully repent, repentfully pray. I just need to think. No, you don't need to think about 
it. When you are sinning, you need to repent to God right away. 
I don't know where we got this whole, well, I just need to think 
about it. No, you just need to repent. 
That's it, right? How come it isn't that cut and 
dry? How come it is that we actually 
think it's OK to get away with things or to try and get away 
with things? So what happens here is that 
Israel has to actually hear thunder and rain in May, June, during 
wheat harvest, That's what ultimately brings them to this place. Now, 
I realize they could have said, but Samuel, we're ready to repent. 
Samuel just goes into this sign of confirmation. But I'm just 
making the observation. Don't make it have to come to 
that. I mean, don't make it be the case that your earth has 
to crumble before you'll repent, that life has to completely be 
in shambles. Okay, I think I'll repent now. 
The moment you see the sin in your heart, the moment you face 
that stuff in the scripture, maintain short accounts with 
God. If 1st John 1.9 means anything, it means that. Maintain short 
accounts with God. Which, by the way, as we proceed 
through this passage, we can put 1st Samuel 12 right next 
to 1st John 1.9. We can put 1st Samuel 12 right 
next to Psalm 25.11. Right next to Psalm 130 verses 
3 and 4. 1st Samuel 12 is that glorious 
of a passage. Now, 1 John 1, 9, if we confess 
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse 
us from all unrighteousness. We know he's dealing with Christians. 
We know he's dealing with believers. We know that he's dealing with 
people who have come by grace to God through the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Well, why do we need to confess 
our sins to God? Some have thought. Because God 
not only has that judicial role and He has justified us freely 
by His grace and declared not guilty because of the doing and 
the dying and the rising of Christ, but He's our Father, right? And 
we want to maintain good relations with our Father. We want to make 
sure that if we confess our sins, we realize He's faithful and 
just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
We want the smile of God. And sin is a breach in that arrangement. And so when we see our sin, we 
ought to confess it, we ought to forsake it, and we ought to 
find mercy. Proverbs 28, 13, another one 
that's in this strain of text that we'll see in just a moment. 
But back to this rainstorm. Notice. So Samuel called to the 
Lord, verse 18, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, 
and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. I thought, that's interesting. 
Of course you fear the Lord, because he sent the thunder and 
the rain. But you also fear the man who asked for it, and it 
happened. Right? I mean, come on. Samuel has just 
prevailed mightily with God. When they cry out to Samuel in 
the next verse, pray to God for us, they know why. Because Samuel has the ear of 
God. Samuel has access at the throne 
of grace. Samuel goes. And Samuel's, again, 
faithful man. Samuel says, it would be sin 
for me not to pray for you people. It's an amazing passage of scripture. 
At any rate, so Samuel called to the Lord, the Lord sent thunder 
and rain that day and all the people greatly feared the Lord 
and Samuel. Davis said this, he said it showed this sign, 
this thunder and rain, it showed that covenant curses were not 
mere official words talked away in a canonical document. Remember 
about eight minutes ago I said there's two passages you should 
remember. You should put them in your noggin. Leviticus 26 
and Deuteronomy 28. Very good. Here's what he's referring 
to. This thunder and rain on that 
day showed that the covenant curses were not mere official 
words tucked away in a canonical document, but lively threats 
of a living God who had the power to impose them at any, even a 
most unlikely time. So when that rain came and that 
thunder blasted, they realized that this god has the ability 
to wipe out the very wheat we are supposed to be harvesting. 
I mean, some speculate that that's actually what happened, that 
that was the case, that this was judgment from God for them 
having rejected him and seeking out a king. And then notice, 
it provoked them to fear the Lord. Again, Davis makes this 
beautiful comment. He said, if God grants us a sight 
of our own sin and of His displeasure, this is very important. I quoted 
Davis, I've quoted him freely this time, I do a lot, but he's 
just really nailed this section. He said, if God grants us a sight 
of our own sin and of his displeasure, we can be sure he does not do 
so merely to see us tremble, but to see us both tremble and 
be restored. You see, there's a remedial end 
here, okay? This is all grace and kindness 
and mercy and goodness. You see, if God didn't care about 
Israel, He wouldn't approve that. If God didn't care about Israel, 
He wouldn't send Samuel. If God didn't care, he wouldn't 
deal with them at all. The fact that God shows you your 
sin, yes, it is to promote trembling, but it's also with a view to 
restoration. Davis says in 1 Samuel 12, we 
see both the kindness and the severity of God. I love that 
bit in Revelation chapter 3, when Jesus rebukes the worst 
of the churches in Asia Minor. Revelation chapter 3. I mean, 
the worst is Laodicea. I mean, Jesus threatens to spew 
them out of his mouth, to vomit them right out of his mouth. That's terrible, right? The old 
covenant, the land would vomit out its inhabitants, and the 
new covenant, the Lord Christ will vomit out those who make 
a profession and live like the devil. But notice what he says 
to the church in Laodicea. Verse 18 of chapter 3, I counsel 
you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be 
rich, and white garments that you may be clothed. that the 
shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your 
eyes with eyesalve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke 
and chasten." Isn't that beautiful? As many as I love, I rebuke and 
chasten. As many as I love, I rebuke and 
chasten. What's God's way or what is God's 
means to call us back to himself? Very often it's through rebuke 
and chastening. We'd like, you know, emails and 
Twitters and you know, little love notes from God, hey, come 
on back. But it's chastening and it's rebuke. You see, we're 
hard-headed and we're hard-hearted and sometimes we need the weight 
of the law of God to crush us so that we will repent. As many 
as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore, be zealous and repent. That is essentially what's going 
on in 1 Samuel chapter 12 as well. So the people ask for prayer 
on their behalf. 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. That's good. They 
got it. They got it. It's, you know, 
found its way into their heads and hearts. And that brings us 
finally to the reminder of God's covenant. Notice in verses 20, 
to 25. First, the encouragement to God's 
people. 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. This is the passage that I indicated 
earlier that you can set next to Psalm 2511. Pardon my iniquity for your name's sake, for it 
is great. Psalm 130, he says, if you, Lord, 
should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is 
forgiveness with you that you may be feared. First John 1.9, 
we've already covered that. Look at what Samuel says in verse 
20. 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." Isn't that beautiful? That's God. Notice he doesn't say, well, 
that's it, it's over, you're done. It's over, you're gone. 
Davis, again, makes this statement. He says, do you see it? You don't 
go back and wallow in your guilt, relive the tragic mistake, the 
big one that has soured your life. You don't make yourself 
miserable by bathing your mind in the memory of your rebellion, 
punching the replay button and going over the whole messy episode 
in lurid and precise detail as though such misery makes atonement. I think that's in us. I remember 
hearing Al Martin on the Atonement once, and he said, there is a 
sin among Protestants. It's a Protestant penance. If 
you were brought up Roman Catholic, you know the idea of penance. 
Penance is punishment. You go into the box, and the 
priest says, OK, your sins are forgiven you, but. You gotta 
go say, you know, 10 Hail Marys and 5 Our Fathers or whatever 
the arrangement may be. Again, terrible. We're gonna 
punish you by making you pray. Imagine teaching children that. Here's your punishment. You have 
to pray. No wonder people, when they hit 
18, flock out of the Roman Catholic Church. It's been a nightmare, 
man! At any rate, so what we have 
is this penance. I have to do something before 
I'm fully accepted with God. Albert Martin is right. There's 
an evangelical penance. The idea of confessing our sins, 
finding forgiveness, and moving on is sometimes absent among 
the people of God. Albert Martin uses the illustration, 
a man sins against his wife. He finally confesses it to God, 
he gets forgiveness from God, confesses it to his wife, gets 
forgiveness from her, and then he walks around pouty and this 
and that, and I'm sorry, and I can't... Look, you've been 
forgiven, you need to move on. And this is precisely the flow 
of the narrative. Samuel said to the people, do 
not fear. You have done all this wickedness, yet do not turn aside 
from following the Lord. This is a problem with a simple 
answer. There's times when people say, 
you know, brother, I haven't been reading my Bible as I ought. 
Then read it. Pick it up. It's one of those 
problems that has a very simple answer. I've sinned against the 
Lord. Confess it, forsake it, and find 
mercy. That's what Proverbs 28, 13 actually 
says. You say, well, that will make 
you have low views of sin. No, it won't. It will make you 
have high views of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. You 
will value grace, you will sing the praises of God, you will 
realize that once we have done this great wickedness, nevertheless 
our God says there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. Davis says, the big one that has soured your 
life. You don't make yourself miserable by bathing your mind 
in the memory of your rebellion. Punching the replay button and 
going over the whole messy episode in lurid and precise detail as 
though such misery makes atonement. Misery, on your part, does not 
make atonement. It's the blood of Jesus. Galatians 
2.21, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness 
comes to the law, then Christ died in vain, brethren. If somehow 
my standing with God is bettered because I have misery, what are 
we saying about the cross? We are with Rome saying that 
the cross isn't fully efficacious and that we need to add some 
merit to it to make it full and robust. Now again, I'm not suggesting 
for a moment some antinomian spin that has no concept whatsoever 
of sin. I've said, repent of your sin. 
But brethren, when you repent and you confess, according to 
Proverbs, according to 1 John, according to Psalm 130 verse 
4, and according to 1 Samuel 12 20, God forgives you, God 
restores you, God receives you. David says, no, you go forward 
in basic, simple fidelity to Yahweh from that point on. That's the point. Yet, do not 
turn aside from following the Lord. What happened to David? 
David gets found out in grievous sin. Does he go sit on a pole? Does he go to the priest and 
get his, you know, penance of 10 Hail Marys and five Our Fathers? I have sinned against the Lord. 
Say, well, that wasn't enough. Why wasn't that enough? Why is 
it not enough to do what God actually says? He who confesses 
and forsakes shall find mercy. Why isn't that enough? Well, 
he has to feel bad. What are we talking about here? 
You don't think he actually felt bad for having committed murder 
and adultery? How do you know what he's got 
going on in his head? Brethren, the idea is, is that 
when we sin, we go to God through our mediator, the Lord Jesus. 
We believe the gospel, the truth of the power of the blood, and 
we move on, man. We read our Bibles, we pray, 
we go to church. I mean, sometimes I've heard 
that. Sometimes I, you know, people say, I just, it's been 
so long since I read my Bible. I've fallen into this pattern. 
My answer is very simple. Read your Bible. You don't have 
to go feel bad for 15 days and then read your Bible. I got to 
really show God I feel bad and then I can read. Just read the 
Bible, man. That's it. Pick it up and read 
it. There's problems in the Christian life that have very easy fixes. We just need to do it. And then 
notice what is central in all of this is verse 22. Essentially 
in verse 21 he says, stay away from idols. Do not turn aside 
to idols, for then you would go after empty things, idols, 
which cannot profit or deliver, because they're idols, for they 
are nothing. Verse 22 is central to the entire 
chapter, 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. 
That's covenant. That's it. Right there. It's 
God. It's God's will. It's God's sovereignty. It's God's do we? It is according to the Geneva 
Bible of His free mercy, and not of your merits, and therefore 
He will not forsake you. With reference to His name, God 
calls Israel to be His chosen people, to be His special possession, 
so that when the nations look upon Israel, they know that Yahweh 
is their God. So because God is so connected 
with the nation of Israel, if they suffer or if they are cut 
off, it reflects upon God, it reflects upon His name. Gil comments 
on this phrase, for the sake of Himself, His honor and His 
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 honor and glory. See, God has a vested 
interest in keeping his people, doesn't he? God has covenanted 
to do this and not to forsake them. God is in this for the 
long haul with Israel and certainly in the new covenant arrangement 
Our Lord Jesus has us in his hand, and there is no one who 
can snatch us out. We are safe and secure, not because 
of our good deeds, but because of Christ's gospel, because of 
his life and his death and his resurrection. So 22 is ultimately 
the anchor to the entirety of the chapter. They're in covenant 
because of God. They are protected because of 
God. They are not forsaken because of God. It's all about God. So 
the whole idea here is you have sinned, you have done this great 
wickedness, yet do not turn aside, follow after him. Why? Because 
he set his love upon you, not because you were more numerous 
or because you were more righteous, but because God in his free grace 
and his mercy elected you under this covenant arrangement. And 
then notice at the very end, 23 to 25. Moreover, as for me, 
far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord and ceasing 
to pray for you. Samuel says, if God, the Lord, 
isn't going to reject his people, then I'm certainly not going 
to reject his people. Samuel is going to pray for them. 
And Samuel, along with other prophets mentioned in the scripture, 
pray for the people of God. and Samuel as well teaches. So 
we see this prophetic ministry with a hint of the priestly in 
terms of prayer, intercession. Samuel typifying or at least 
pointing forward to us or for us to the one who intercedes 
for his people, the one who instructs his people, the one who has ultimately 
saved his people. And then it ends with this exhortation 
in verse 24, only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all 
your heart for consider what great things he has done for 
you. You see that pattern? We think about what God has done 
for current. strength in the present. That's 
why reading your Bibles, that's why attending church, that's 
why the Lord's Supper, all these things are helps to promote a 
recollection, a recall, a remembrance of who God is and what he does 
so that when we face those difficulties, we have that to guide us, to 
keep us, and to stay us in the midst of it. Davis says in another 
place that amnesia produces apostasy. We forget God. And we end up 
in a bad, bad place. Well, brethren, this is a wonderful 
chapter. The faithfulness of Samuel is 
certainly a good lesson. The righteous acts of God is 
certainly something we ought to consider as well in this context, 
as well as in our context. Do this in remembrance of me, 
the Lord Jesus said. Certainly, as we reflect upon 
the fact that God did not spare his own son, but delivered him 
up for us all. How will he not with him? freely 
give us all things. This ought to encourage us, and 
this ought to help us, and this ought to promote for us faithfulness 
in terms of God's Word. And that Edward moat, we sang 
it tonight, I think it ties in well with verse 22. His oath, 
his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood. When 
all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for this look at 1 Samuel 12. We thank you for the theme that 
runs through it, of your mercy and your goodness and your kindness 
to your covenant people. May we reflect upon that in our 
situation and how wonderful it is that the mediator of the new 
covenant is even the Lord Jesus Christ, who has secured our salvation, 
who has fulfilled all the terms and obligations of this covenant 
arrangement and how we thank you that you've blessed us richly. 
And may these things promote in us a desire to pursue those 
things which are pleasing in your sight. We ask that you would 
go with us now and watch over us and bring us together on the 
Lord's day that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. And 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.