Scripture Daily

Context No. 3209 of 4322 · 1 Samuel

Context · Reflection

1 Samuel 12:12-17: in context

12“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. 13Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the LORD your God. 15But if you will not listen to the LORD’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16“Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the LORD’s sight, in asking for a king.”

Samuel confronts Israel about their demand for a king. When you saw Nahash the Ammonite coming against you, he says, you told me, no, a king shall reign over us, though the LORD your God was your king. Here now is the king you asked for. If you fear the LORD and obey, it will be well; if you rebel, his hand will be against you. And to prove their sin, he calls down thunder and rain in the dry harvest.

Samuel names the real problem behind the demand for a king: fear. When you saw Nahash coming, you said, a king shall reign over us, though the LORD your God was your king. Fear of a visible threat drove them to want a human king they could see, rather than trust the invisible God who had always saved them. And yet Samuel does not leave them in despair. Even now, if they and their king will fear and obey the LORD, it can still go well. God works even through the flawed choices his people make in fear, calling them still to follow him.

When fear drives me toward visible securities instead of trusting the God I cannot see, do I hear the call to follow him even in the situation my fear created?

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