Day 1049: A sad exchange - 1 Samuel 12 vs 8 - 15

8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.

12-13 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us’, when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14-15 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will 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 and your king. 1 Samuel 12:8-15 English Standard Version

Chapters 8 to 12 of this book describe a key sad moment in the history of Israel. Chapter 7 ended with how the Israelites were facing a terrible defeat by the Philistine army, but how God “had thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines, and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel.” And, following that victory, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; (Stone of help). For he said, 'Till now the Lord has helped us.'” (1 Samuel 7:10-12) Yet, very soon afterwards, the people had come to Samuel and told him that they wanted a King (like other nations) to save them from their enemies. So what does Samuel now remind them of in vs 8?

He reminded them how from the very beginning it had been God who had shown Himself to be their saviour. It was by His mighty strength that they had been rescued from the oppression they'd experienced from the powerful Egyptians. But, after some time in the land God had brought them to, they had forgotten Him, and started worshipping the idols of the people of the land. So God gave them into servitude to the Philistines. This brought them back to their senses and they realized their great sin in forgetting who God was, and forsaking Him. What happened when they cried out to God for forgiveness, and for help? (vs 11)

God had repeatedly rescued them by means of people He sent. They were His instruments, but it was God Himself who brought about their salvation. This explains the sadness and concern with which Samuel spoke the words we read in vs 12-15. His sadness is in vs 12-13. When threatened by a cruel man named Nahash, Samuel says “you asked for a king to reign over you, when the Lord your God was your king.” That was a terrible exchange.

Samuel's concern is seen in vs 14-15. He points out that life would only go well with them if they, AND the king they had demanded, remained faithful to the Lord, and obeyed His commandments. Samuel knew that a king could be just as able to fall into sin, and to rebel against God, as the people were. The years that would follow would show just how valid Samuel's concern was.

There's an application here that Christians can make. An old hymn calls believers to 'Stand up for Jesus' in the hostile world we live in. But it goes on to make a wise point that says: “Stand up, stand up for Jesus! Stand in His strength alone; The arm of flesh will fail you; You dare not trust (even) your own.” Let us never exchange our dependence on God for dependence on man. Our ultimate trust must not not be in people, be they politicians, physicians, or even pastors, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.