Samuel I_Chapter 12

Samuel said to all Israel, ‘I have agreed to your request from me and have established a king for you.’.

Now there is this king walking in front of you. I am old and white haired, and my sons are all with you. I have been walking in front of you from childhood until today.

I am here, and you shall bear witness against me before the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken, whose donkey have I taken, who have I bullied, who have I mistreated, from whom have I received bribes and become blind? If there is, I will repay it.

The crowd said, You have not oppressed us, mistreated us, or received anything from anyone.

Samuel said to them, “You have not found anything in my hand, as evidenced by the Lord and his anointed one today.”. They said, may he be a witness.

Samuel said to the people, “It was the Lord who established Moses, Aaron, and brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.”.

Now stand still, until I speak to you before the Lord about all the righteous things that the Lord has done to you and your ancestors.

Once Jacob came to Egypt, and when your ancestors called out to the Lord, the Lord sent Moses and Aaron to bring your ancestors out of Egypt, so that they could dwell in this place.

But they forgot the Lord their God, and he gave them into the hands of Sisera, the commander of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab. So these people often come to attack them.

They cried out to the Lord, saying, We have sinned in abandoning the Lord and serving Baal and Ashtaroth. Now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.

And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to rescue you from the hands of your enemies on all sides, so that you may dwell in peace.

When you saw Nahash the king of the Ammonites attacking you, you said to me, ‘We will have a king to rule over us.’. Actually, the Lord your God is your king.

Now, the king you have chosen is here. See, the Lord has established a king for you.

If you fear the Lord, serve him, obey his words, and do not disobey his commands, then you and the king who governs you will obey the Lord your God.

If you do not obey the voice of the Lord and disobey his commands, the hand of the Lord will attack you, just as it did against your ancestors before.

Now stand still, and see that the Lord will do a great thing before your eyes.

Isn’t this the time to harvest wheat? I cry to the Lord, and he will thunder and rain, so that you may know and see that your request for a king has been a great sin before the Lord.

So Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord struck thunder and rained rain. The people were greatly afraid of the Lord and Samuel.

The people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die, because our request for a king has added to our sins.”.

Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid.”. Although you have done this evil, do not deviate from the Lord, but serve him with all your heart.

It is unprofitable to deviate from the Lord and obey the vain God who cannot save.

Since the Lord is pleased to choose you as his people, he will not abandon you because of his great name.

As for me, I will never stop praying for you, so that I may sin against the Lord. I will teach you the right way and the right path.

As long as you fear the Lord, serve him with all your heart and soul in sincerity, and remember how great his deeds have been to you.

If you continue to do evil, you and your king will perish together.