18 Addressing the Nation’s Wickedness

In First Samuel 12 we see the prophet/priest/judge Samuel realizing that his life would soon be over, and therefore that the era of God using judges, and that the nation had truly moved into the era of the monarchy.

Yet, having previously calling for a national gathering to celebrate a victory over the Ammonites and to reaffirm Saul’s monarchy, Samuel used the gathering as an opportunity to express both his heart, and the heart of God.

1 Samuel’s Record

He began, by highlighting his record of being a faithful leader before God, and for the nation:

1 Samuel 12:1-5

Samuel wasn’t really defending his record as we might think, but rather he was showing what integrity in leadership should look like.

Still, Samuel was in essence “stepping back” and allowing for the transition to the absolute leadership of Saul.

No more would Israel experience anyone other than the king recognized as their national leader.

Samuel had been a faithful leader for the nation, being a man of holiness and integrity, as he led, as he himself followed the Lord.

An example is given in verse 5, where Samuel stated that the Lord could attest to his character as a leader.

This doesn’t mean that leaders are expected to be perfect, but it’s essential that leaders do not misuse their positions and do harm to the people.

In verse 5, the people concurred that Samuel’s words had been correct.

2 A History Lesson

Samuel then shifted from speaking about his record to the “record” so-to-speak of the people (nation):

1 Samuel 12:6-11

Because the people had just affirmed Samuel’s faithfulness as the Lord’s servant before them, it would have been quite difficult for them to reject his rehearsal of their sinful rebellion.

Samuel spoke “historically” of things which the people were aware of, and in some cases the incidents were very recent, even mere days old.

Even so, in every situation, there was also the fact that God’s loving deliverance was also seen.

Therefore, Samuel began the history lesson by mentioning two of the major figures of their history, Moses, and Aaron. He did so, because they were considered as the nation’s deliverers, even though it was God who was the true Deliverer.

Which is why the author mentioned, the “righteous acts of the Lord”:

1 Samuel 12:7

In verse 8 the author showed, that after the people cried it was God who delivered them, by sending them Moses and Aaron.

He then spoke of how when the people rejected God’s rule, the Lord used enemies such as the Canaanite commander Sisera to rule over them.

Likewise, their continual disobedience, led the Lord to discipline the people through continual battles with enemies, such as the Philistines and Moabites.

In verse 10, we see how the constant battles and enslavements, caused the people to cry out to the Lord:

1 Samuel 12:10

Then in verse 11, he began speaking of how after the last patriarch Joshua, the Lord used judges to lead His people.

The period of the judges bridged the eras of the patriarchs and the kings.

• The first judge mentioned was Jerubbaal. While that name doesn’t appear under a list of judges, it was another name for Gideon, due the time when he destroyed his family’s altar to the false god Baal:

Judges 6:32

• The next judge was Bedan, another name not usually seen on the list of judges.

There are two thoughts most bible commentator present concerning this name:

• The first idea is that he was a deliverer of the nation, who simply was not mentioned in the book of Judges.
• The second, and most widely accepted view is that Bedan is a variant, or another name for Barak, whom Scripture records as one of the judges:

Judges 4:6

• The next judge spoken of was Jephthah, who served the nation for six years, and was victorious over the Ammonites.
• Finally, Samuel mentioned himself (the final judge) as someone the Lord also used in the role of deliverer.

3 Rejecting the Lord

Samuel then showed how, even though the Lord had continually delivered His people, they continued to reject His rulership. He used the very recent incident (only a few weeks old) of how the people still didn’t want the Lord as their King, even after deliverance from the Ammonite commander Nahash:

1 Samuel 12:12

Samuel showed that the nation already had a “King” in the Lord, yet sadly they wanted to settle for a flesh and blood ruler to be their leader.