Day 1043: Faithful if others fail - 1 Samuel 12 vs 1 - 7

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2-3 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and grey; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”

4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” 5-7 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.” And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 1 Samuel 12:1-7 English Standard Version

Chapter eleven ended with Saul, following his great victory over Nahash and the Ammonites, being confirmed as king of Israel, and the gracious spirit he showed towards those who'd previously despised him. I mentioned how sad it was that, after such a good beginning, his life would go on to the sad end described in a later chapter of this book. What did Samuel say at that time which showed how important he believed it was to serve God faithfully all our days? (vs 2-3)

In the New Testament the apostle Paul spoke in a similar way in his older years. Writing to his younger friend Timothy he said: “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience.” (2 Timothy 1:3) He also said: “I’ve fought the good fight, I’ve finished the race, I’ve kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) When he was saying farewell to Christians at Ephesus, he was able to say to them “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.” (Acts 20:33) What a blessing it is to look back on a life that has been faithful to God!

Lovely as it is to be able to say, with a clear conscience, that we've never exploited anyone in any way, it's just as important for those who've known us best to be able to confirm that. We see that in vs 4. Samuel had conducted himself in such a way that everyone knew he had always been an honest servant of God towards them.

Once again, this was also true of the apostle Paul. As he prepared to visit Christians in Corinth, many of whom had given him a hard time, he was able to say to them: “I'm ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions, but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have, and expend myself as well.” (2 Corinthians 12:14-15) That’s surely the way that everyone who follows Christ ought to go about serving His people. Not taking advantage of anyone, but giving of ourselves for them.

So Samuel was able to say that the God who had originally anointed Moses and Aaron as a pattern for those who would lead His people, and the king whom Samuel had recently anointed, were witnesses to their confession that he had been faithful to God. In a way, he was reminding them that the demand for a king had come from themselves, not from him. They were the ones who were not trusting God's leadership as they ought to have. That's why he goes on to say: “Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that He performed for you and for your fathers.” Because they had let God down, Samuel was going to faithfully remind them of God's past mercies in order to stir up their trust and obedience again. May God give us such faithful pastors.