1 Samuel 12:12-15

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6-15

Samuel, having sufficiently secured his own reputation, instead of upbraiding the people upon it with their unkindness to him, sets himself to instruct them, and keep them in the way of their duty, and then the change of the government would be the less damage to them. I. He reminds them of the great goodness of God to them and to their fathers, gives them an abstract of the history of their nation, that, by the consideration of the great things God had done for them, they might be for ever... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:12

And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you ,.... Or "but yet" F11 ותראו "videntes autem", V. L. "sed", Tigurine version; "et tamen", Vatablus, Piscator. ; however, notwithstanding though the Lord had been so kind and gracious to them, as to raise up judges one after another to deliver them, when they cried unto him, yet when they perceived that Nahash the Ammonite was preparing to make war with them, instead of applying to the Lord for his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:13

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired ,.... For though God chose their king for them, it was at their request; they chose to have a king, and desired one, and they approved of and consented to, and confirmed the choice he had made, and so it was in effect their own: and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you ; he gratified them in their desires; though he did not suffer them to make themselves a king, he suffered them to have one, and he gave... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:14

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice ,.... All worship and service of God, and obedience to his word and ordinances, should spring from fear and reverence of him; and therefore the whole of worship, both external and internal, is sometimes expressed by the fear of the Lord: and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord ; break it, and thereby exasperate him, and provoke him to wrath and bitterness: then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:15

But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord ,.... They and their king, by sinning, disregarding his precepts, both affirmative and negative: then shall the hand of the Lord be against you ; by sending some judgments upon them, as famine, sword, or pestilence, particularly captivity and subjection to their enemies: as it was against your fathers ; who had no king; and it is suggested that their case, who had one, would be no better than... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 12:12

When ye saw that Nahash - This was not the first time they had demanded a king; see before, 1 Samuel 8:5 . But at the crisis mentioned here they became more importunate; and it was in consequence of this that the kingdom was a second time confirmed to Saul. Saul was elected at Mizpeh, he was confirmed at Gilgal. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 12:14

If ye will fear the Lord , etc. - On condition that ye rebel no more, God will take you and your king under his merciful protection, and he and his kingdom shall be confirmed and continued. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6-15

The immutable condition of well being. The facts are— 1 . Samuel, having shown his right to be heard, calls on the people to hearken to his argument. 2 . He refers to historic instances to show that trouble always came with unfaithfulness to God, and prosperity with a return to fidelity. 3 . He reminds them that their desire for a king implied distrust of God. 4 . Recognising the new order of things, he insists that the adversity or prosperity of the nation rested where it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:12

Nahash the king of the children of Ammon. This makes it probable that there had been threats of war, and even incursions into the Israelite territory, by Nahash before his attack on Jabesh-Gilead. We thus, too, should be able to account for the rancour displayed in his wish so to treat the men of that town as to make them a reproach to all Israel; for his hatred of Israel may have grown in intensity in the course of a harassing war, or he may have learnt to despise a people incapable of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:13

Behold the king whom ye have chosen!... behold, Jehovah hath set a king over you. We have here the two sides of the transaction. The people had desired a king, chosen and appointed by themselves, to represent the nation in temporal matters; Jehovah gave them a king to represent himself, with authority coming from God, and limited by God. Most, too, of the kings of Judah were as truly representatives of Jehovah as any of the judges had been, and David even more so. Desired is rather... read more

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