1 Samuelchapter 12

A.Whose ox have I taken? Samuel renders his accountvv. 1-5

1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me, and I have set over you a king. 2 Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.” 4 “You have not wronged us or oppressed us,” they replied, “nor have you taken anything from the hand of man.” 5 Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.

B.A history lesson: they forgot, they cried, he sentvv. 6-15

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is the One who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now present yourselves, so that I may confront you before the LORD with all the righteous acts He has done for you and your fathers. 8 When Jacob went to Egypt, your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve You.’ 11 So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely. 12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God, then all will be well. 15 But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.

C.Thunder in wheat harvest, and a prophet who will not stop prayingvv. 16-25

16 Now, therefore, stand and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19 They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.” 20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty. 22 Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way. 24 Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

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Chapter summary

Samuel lays down the judgeship with an audit of his own record: whose ox have I taken, whom have I defrauded, of whose hand have I taken a bribe?

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Samuel lays down the judgeship with an audit of his own record: whose ox have I taken, whom have I defrauded, of whose hand have I taken a bribe? The people clear him. He rehearses Egypt, the judges, and the deliverances, names the demand for a king as evil in Jehovah's sight, and calls for thunder and rain in wheat harvest as the sign; the people fear greatly. His answer is grace with a spine: fear not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn not aside; only fear Jehovah and serve him in truth with all your heart. And of himself: 'Far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you' (12:23).

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Samuel, Nathan, Gad — 1 Samuel overview

A. 1–5 Whose ox have I taken? Samuel renders his account
B. 6–15 A history lesson: they forgot, they cried, he sent
C. 16–25 Thunder in wheat harvest, and a prophet who will not stop praying

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

1 Samuel 84 verses
- 1 Samuel 8:1When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
- 1 Samuel 8:5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
- 1 Samuel 8:7And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
- 1 Samuel 8:20Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”
- Read 1 Samuel 8 →
Joshua 242 verses
- Joshua 24:14Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Joshua 24:20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
- Read Joshua 24 →
1 Samuel 102 verses
- 1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
- 1 Samuel 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
- Read 1 Samuel 10 →
Exodus 142 verses
- Exodus 14:13But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
- Exodus 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
- Read Exodus 14 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

1 Samuel 112 verses
- 1 Samuel 11:1Soon Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
- 1 Samuel 11:14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.”
- Read 1 Samuel 11 →
Micah 62 verses
- Micah 6:1Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
- Micah 6:4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.
- Read Micah 6 →
Isaiah 12 verses
- Isaiah 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Isaiah 1:20But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Read Isaiah 1 →
Judges 42 verses
- Judges 4:2So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
- Judges 4:6She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun.
- Read Judges 4 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.