Chapter 12

1 Samuel testifieth his integrity. 6 He reproveth the people of ingratitude. 16 He terrifieth them with thunder in harvest time. 20 He comforteth them in God’s mercy.

1. I have hearkened. The kingdom of God is based upon the principle of free choice. The fact that God knows the end from the beginning does not in any way limit man’s making his own decisions (see Ed 178). When God made known to the people before they entered Palestine that the time would come when they would ask for a king (Deut. 17:14), He was not expressing His will in the matter, but only unfolding to them the course events would take.

In all that ye said. God had given them a king who measured up to their ideals, at least in so far as appearance was concerned, and seemed also to meet the spiritual standards desired by God. During the past few months Saul had proved himself to be possessed of the Spirit of God. He was quiet of demeanor, patient toward his enemies, humble before the Lord, obedient to the counsel of the prophet, energetic in warfare, decisive in emergencies, and foremost in self-sacrifice.

A king over you. Had the Lord permitted Israel to hold an election, the political aspirations of the larger tribes would no doubt have resulted in confusion and bitter division. Through the casting of lots, one was taken from the smallest of the tribes. Israel was to realize the continuing need of divine guidance. Even though they now had a king in accordance with their desires, they must remember that it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God that progress can be made (see Zech. 4:6). They should have been willing to follow their judge, Samuel, who had led them through many a crisis during the decades of his ministration. But now that their decision in favor of a monarchical form of government had been irrevocably confirmed, Samuel sought to make it clear to them that a leader can go no faster than his people are willing to follow, and that his moves must be conditioned by their voluntary choice. Though he sensed untold dangers ahead, he bore no resentment in his heart toward them, nor did he in any way whatsoever forsake them and leave them to their own devices.

Here I am. The aged prophet was not self-centered. He sought to bring the people, now greatly excited as a result of their recent victories and happy over the appointment of a king, calmly to take inventory of God’s dealings in the past and to survey the prospects of the future. Under the monarchy now established Samuel’s services as judge would no longer be needed. The king would surround himself with men of war (ch. 14:52), and the moral influence of Samuel would be overshadowed by the physical force at Saul’s command. Yet Samuel could still be God’s spokesman and could still be the channel through which the Spirit of God would direct His people.

It was a time of great crisis for Samuel, and he felt that to a large extent the convincing quality of the message he was about to present depended upon his own integrity of character. Except for this his counsel would have little weight. They had known him from his birth; they had known of his work as a prophet; they were witnesses of his conduct as judge and prophet; they knew of his exemplary character; they were personally acquainted with the justice and fairness of his judicial decisions; they readily admitted that he had never enriched himself by his office; they were convinced that his sole object in life was to enforce the mandates of God for their welfare.

Samuel’s life shows distinctly that character, like a plant, is of gradual growth. From his childhood, a spirit of consecration had controlled his faculties. As the sap supplies the elements of growth to the plant, so the Holy Spirit became an inner, silent force permeating all his thoughts, feelings, and actions, until all men could see that his life followed the divine pattern. Samuel’s symmetrical character was the result of individual acts of duty, performed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thus it is today. “In all who submit to His power the Spirit of God will consume sin” (DA 107). It is fully as possible to be a Samuel today as it was a thousand years before Christ.

6.It is the Lord. This Jehovah whom they all had called to witness was the One who “advanced”—literally, “made”—Moses and Aaron. He was the One who protected them from the revenge of Pharaoh, and brought them forth out of the house of bondage. Yet by seeking a king they implied that God could not protect them from the ravages of the marauding bands of surrounding nations even when they were settled in their own cities and were no longer slaves.

9. They forgat the Lord. Surrounded as they were in Egypt by idolaters, and living now among nations that practiced the most degrading forms of worship, Israel found it difficult to be God’s peculiar people and to bear witness by their lives of a better way to meet the tangled problems of life. The styles of worship were then as fixed as styles of dress are today. It took a great deal of courage to withstand the tide of public opinion, and few were willing to attempt to do so. Long before the migration to Egypt, Lot had felt that he and his family could live in Sodom and not be influenced by the prevailing customs about them. Sad were the results of his decision. God forbade Israel to make any alliances with native idolaters. But, weary of war, they thought it better to associate intimately with the Canaanites. Sad were the resulting oppressions of Eglon, king of Moab (Judges 3:12–14), of Sisera, captain of the hosts of Jabin (Judges 4:2), of the Philistines (Judges 13:1), and of others.

10. They cried. This supplication consists of two parts: (1) a confession of waywardness in not following their Guide, and (2) a plea for deliverance, accompanied by the promise to serve God faithfully thereafter. But man seems forever incapable of learning from the experience of others. He follows his own inclinations until it is almost too late, and finally, in sheer desperation, admits his own need of outside assistance. He thinks he has learned his lesson and will never fall again.

Solomon, for instance, went into the laboratory of life and tried out every conceivable highway to happiness. But with each experiment he found nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit (Eccl. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 15, 17, 23, 26; etc.). Finally he came to the conclusion that the fear of the Lord and obedience to His precepts constitute the whole duty of man (Eccl. 12:13). But even with such examples before them men soon forget the conclusions of the wise man till they have traversed the same road themselves and proved to their own satisfaction that what a man shows he is sure to reap.

11. Jerubbaal. Another name for Gideon, reminiscent of the occasion when he broke down the altar of Baal (see Judges 6:25–32).

Bedan. There was no judge by the name “Bedan.” The LXX and Syriac read “Barak.” The Hebrew letter d closely resembles the letter r, and n the letter k (see on Gen. 10:4; 25:15). Others identify “Bedan” with “Abdon” (see Judges 12:13, 15), pointing to closer similarity between these two names in Hebrew than between “Bedan” and “Barak.”

Jephthah. The champion of Israel when the children of Ammon first attempted to repossess the land of Gilead (Judges 11). Jephthah told the Ammonites that he relied on the power of God to protect Israel in their possession of the land (Judges 11:24), and his victory over them was a complete as Saul’s later proved to be.

Samuel. The Syriac and Lucian’s recension, or revision, of the LXX have “Samson” instead of “Samuel,” perhaps because it was thought that Samuel would have been too modest to mention his own name. Other scholars think “Samuel” was inserted in the margin by a later scribe and thus finally admitted into the text. But whereas the Hebrew name “Barak” might easily be mistaken for “Bedan,” or, even more likely, “Abdon” for “Bedan,” because of a similarity between the letters, the name “Samson” could never be mistaken for “Samuel,” because of the dissimilarity of the letters.

14. If ye will fear the Lord. Beside themselves with joy over victory, the Israelites had, without though either for the future or for God’s protective leadership in the past, crowned Saul king. As Adam, by his own free choice, had chosen a way of life contrary to the divine will, so Israel now cast the die that was to affect the subsequent life of the entire nation. Nevertheless God assured the hosts of Israel of divine guidance if they would acknowledge their dependence on Him, accept His counsel, and follow His bidding.

15. If ye will not obey. Israel had rebelled against God in asking for a king. They had often rebelled in the past, yet each time they cried to the Lord help had been forthcoming.

The hand of the Lord. They could not say God’s hand had been against them—He had protected and saved them repeatedly, even though in selfishness and folly they turned from Him again and again. He sought to lead them to respond voluntarily to His love as individuals. How else were they to learn that no nation can be saved as a nation, but that each individual must decide for himself irrespective of his environment?

17. Thunder and rain. God could give Israel no more impressive evidence than rain in the time of wheat harvest (May or June; see pp. 108, 110). Rain then would be startling. In Palestine the spring rain normally ceases before Passover time, and the dry season sets in immediately. Rain comes again in the autumn, preceding the planting of wheat and barley.

That ye may perceive. They were to perceive two things: (1) that they had sinned before the Lord in demanding a king, and (2) that God loved them and would never forsake them. That day they added another memorial to the many evidences already theirs, that the returning prodigal was more than welcome in the Father’s house.

20. With all your heart. Servitude to God is a voluntary enslavement resulting from love. Man will do for love what he will not otherwise do. Samuel loved the Lord, and his service was that of a bondslave who delighted to be with his master. As the people witnessed such companionship between Samuel and the Lord, it tended to create the same desire in their own hearts.

21. Turn ye not aside. True love is not static; it is progressive. God stood ready to reveal His continuing love for Israel, and it grieved Him when they became self-centered and forgot Him. He steadfastly loves man and invites him to return this love in the form of devoted service.

23. I will teach you. Samuel assured the people that he had no grudge against them for their choice, and that he would devote his life to further instructing them in the things of God. Although he would not have the responsibility of government, now that they had appointed a king, yet as prophet he would still be God’s representative to them. Samuel sensed the dangers of the future. He knew that it would be impossible for man to do right without the Spirit of God to direct him. He began to realize that his burdens as prophet would probably be heavier even than in the past, yet he was determined that no one should ever be able to point the finger at him in reproachful terms, declaring that he had not stood by Israel through all the vicissitudes of life. He had been loyal to them as a judge; now that they had demoted him, as it were, he would prove that his love for them, like that of God, was unchanged.

24. Consider. One of the greatest needs of men today is time for meditation—meditation on God’s infinite goodness and the evidences of His care and guidance.

Ellen G. White comments

1–25PP 614, 615

1–4, 11PP 614

12   PP 615

13   PP 636

16–25PP 615

19   SC 44; 5T 641