Obey the Voice of the Lord
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Samuel needed to impress upon the people that the choice they were making was not without danger. They must remember how God had led them in the past and place their trust in Him, not in an earthly king. He, therefore, reminded them of their sinful past and God’s continued care. When they turned from Him, their enemies overcame them.
Without fail, God heard their prayers for deliverance and provided a liberator.
With total disregard for the way God had sustained them in the past, they now wanted an earthly king like the nations around them. Samuel brought them back to their senses: “The LORD your God was your king” (1 Samuel 12:12). Samuel now called upon the Lord to send thunder and rain upon them to show their wickedness in turning from Him to follow their own path.
Since this was May or June in Palestine, the season of the wheat harvest, it was historically a time of balmy skies and no rain. The violent storm that arose caused great fear among the people. In anguish, they implored Samuel, “Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king” (v. 19; emphasis added). The people were asking Samuel to pray to his God, not to their God.
Even in acknowledging their mistake, they still did not understand how far they had drifted from that vital connection with God. Samuel did not leave the people without hope. “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king” (vv. 23–25).
Though demoted, Samuel vowed to keep praying for Israel.
His love for them was unchanged! “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.”
