1 Samuel 12:6

SAMUEL REHEARSES THE BLESSINGS OF THE THEOCRACY

"And Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the saving deeds of the Lord which he performed for you and for your fathers. When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. But they forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin king of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. And they cried to the Lord, and said, `We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Ashteroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.' 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 dwelt in safety. 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. If you will fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to 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 hearken to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king."

Samuel's purpose here was to convince the people of their sin in demanding a king. He pointed out that without an earthly king and while living under the guidance of their true heavenly king (God), all of the great victories of God's people had been achieved. He called attention to the quadruple pattern so characteristic of the Book of Judges: (1) the apostasy of Israel; (2) their consequent oppression; (3) their crying to God for deliverance; and (4) God's sending a deliverer in the person of various judges. Samuel followed no chronological sequence in the things mentioned, but he did conclude the citations by a reference to the deliverance which God had achieved in Samuel's own deliverance of the people at Ebenezer.

"Barak" (1 Samuel 12:11). Some versions read Bedan here; but no judge of that name is known; and thus the correction as it stands here is most likely correct.

"And Samuel" (1 Samuel 12:11). Some of the radical critics have a fit about the appearance of Samuel's name here in the mouth of Samuel himself. Why? It flatly contradicts their efforts to get Samuel out of both 1Sam. 11,1 Samuel 12, but here it is just the same.

"There is nothing improper or out of place in Samuel mentioning his own judgeship. It had supplied a remarkable instance of God's deliverance (1 Samuel 7:12-15); and as it was the last, as well as one of the greatest deliverances, it was natural that he should have done so."[8]

Furthermore, Hebrews 11:32 also corroborates the appropriateness and necessity of Samuel's being mentioned here.

"It was necessary for Samuel to mention his own role in leading them successfully against the Philistines at Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:7-13), in order to emphasize that current events proved that the Lord had not abandoned his people, but had continued his deliverances."[9]

It has always amazed this writer to observe the ingenuity and persistence of some radical critics of the Bible whose avid and unreasonable search for contradictions and unhistorical statements in the sacred text staggers the imagination. Here is another example:

"And when you saw that Nahush the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, `No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the Lord our God was your king" (1 Samuel 12:12).

Willis stated both the critical objection and the effective answer of it:

"Some scholars assume that Samuel's reference to Nahash is a reference to his attack on Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 11:1-3) (an unnecessary assumption, jbc) and that his reference to the peoples' demand for a king here is the same as that of 1 Samuel 8:19 (another unnecessary assumption, J.B.C.). Since this does not agree with the apparent chronological sequence of events in 1 Samuel 8-11; and since this seems to contradict the Lord's statement in 1 Samuel 9:16, that Samuel is to anoint Saul prince over Israel to save them from the Philistines, some conclude that Samuel's statement here is unhistorical."[10]

But, again from Willis: "That does not explain how such an idea ever emerged. The Ammonites and the Philistine were allies against Israel (Judges 10:7,11); and there is no reason why they might not have asked for a king because of dangers they were facing from both the Philistines and the Ammonites."[11] Additionally, the obvious solution to the alleged difficulty lies in the fact cited by R. P. Smith, "It is probable that there had been threats of war, and even incursions from the Ammonites against Israel by Nahash before his attack on Jabesh-gilead."[12]

Thus, Samuel's reference here to Nahash might well have referred to a threat from Nahash at a time previous to his actual invasion. In an account as abbreviated as this one in First Samuel, in which events separated by years, even decades and centuries, appear side by side, it is simply unintelligent to allege contradictions of statements which we cannot place chronologically in sequence. If we knew all the facts; and we certainly don't, then we are certain that all would be plain to us.

"If you will fear the Lord ... if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord ..." (1 Samuel 12:14). "Samuel here made it plain to Israel that the monarchy itself would not save them from the ups and downs of the past."[13]

"Then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king" (1 Samuel 12:15). This was the penalty against Israel and their king if they did not follow the Lord and obey his commandments.