August 10, 2023

We must learn from the failures of those before us and faithfully seek to follow God.

1 Samuel 11 - 12

Shannon Taliaferro
Thursday's Devo

August 10, 2023

Thursday's Devo

August 10, 2023

Thursday's Devo

August 10, 2023

Thursday's Devo

August 10, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 12:24-25

"Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

1 Samuel 11 - 12

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.

5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel's Farewell Address

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me 1 12:3 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is witness, 2 12:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, 3 12:8 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the LORD their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, 4 12:9 Septuagint 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. 10 And they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak 5 12:11 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 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. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey 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. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king. 6 12:15 Septuagint; Hebrew fathers 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

Footnotes

[1] 12:3 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me
[2] 12:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness
[3] 12:8 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them
[4] 12:9 Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor
[5] 12:11 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan
[6] 12:15 Septuagint; Hebrew fathers

S2:154 1 Samuel 11 - 12

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 11 - 12

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." When I read 1 Samuel 11 and 12, these familiar hymn lyrics echo in my thoughts. We see the people of Israel—the very people God has repeatedly sought, delivered, and provided for—demand an earthly king. It's tempting—for a moment—to roll my eyes at how many times the Israelites repeat the same cycle of sin, repentance, and deliverance. My heart is pierced by reminding me how often I live the same cycle.

Why is it that we "wander" from the Lord? It starts with where we fix our eyes. The Israelites were busy looking at other nations. Eager for their neighbors' respect, even envy, the Israelites wanted a king who would command attention and garner admiration. A king who could be seen. And like the Israelites, I am quick to be consumed by the world around me, thinking that a relationship, a raise, or even my reputation will be a lasting source of happiness and security. Samuel reminds the people of Israel "not [to] turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver" (1 Samuel 12:21).

Samuel directs the people of Israel to consider their history of turning from the Lord so they might learn from their past. But their same history also testifies to who God is and what He has done for them. He has shown incredible patience, mercy, and love for them. Samuel bids the people to "fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all [their] heart[s]" in response (1 Samuel 12:24).

There's a word for this response: worship. When we remember our God's majesty and mercy, we understand that the world does not hold anything for us. We stop chasing after "empty things." And like the hymnist, we pray:

Come Thou fount of every blessing.
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing.
Call for songs of loudest praise.

This month's memory verse

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

– Mark 10:45

Discussion Questions

1. What pulls your attention away from God? 

2. What do you think is the underlying reason for your divided attention?

3. God used Samuel to warn the Israelites to learn from the sin of their past. How does God warn you? How well do you heed His warnings?

4. How have you seen God exhibit His patience, mercy, and love when you have wandered from Him?

5. Challenge: Ask the Lord to show you someone whom you can encourage by sharing your story of God's goodness and mercy in your life.

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Shannon. Great point about God’s history lesson. A favorite teacher points out that “God has a resume”. Which is kind of odd to consider. Baal? Dagon? Molech? Not so much. But, playing off the song you cite- “When I ponder, I cease to wander And start to wonder At His love.”
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Hugh Stephenson

Is the Bible just one big leadership manual? Or one big relationship manual? Or both? Actually the best one sentence rendering I know is this- “The Bible is an 800,000-word love letter to you.” Larry Crabb says this in 66 Love Letters- “The Bible is a love story that begins with a divorce. Everything from the third chapter of Genesis through the end of Revelation is the story of a betrayed lover wooing us back into His arms so we can enjoy the love of family forever.” All that said- I see the Bible as both/and. God conveys his desire for unity with me, for me to have a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus, and to live a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. The critical component of my surrendered life is compacted in Luke 9:23; a life verse for me. In order to live that verse out I need to understand a great deal about God’s intent for ALL relationships. Clearly, he places a huge amount of emphasis on leadership in all settings.
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Hugh Stephenson

SIDEBAR- I am taught that all of Jesus’s statements to His disciples that pertain to discipleship start with the word … “If…”. The power in this is incredible. The creator of the universe deeply desires unity with me and gives me the choice. END What does all have to do with leadership? These two chapters convey important truths about how I am to lead myself and others. -Saul starts off well in leadership. He shows humility and then embraces the Spirit’s empowerment that LORD gives him to live out his calling. We’ll see in coming days that it doesn’t last. His pride leads to disobedience to the Word as conveyed by Samuel. -Samuel’s life of faithfulness in leadership is evident. He asks for testimonies of any wrongdoing by him as a leader/judge. What a great model this is. Just about right out of re:gen. If he’s missed wrongdoing then he wants to know so he can confess, repent, ask for forgiveness, and make amends so that the relationships are reconciled and restored. Then he reminds the people of God’s resume of faithfulness. And their demand for an earthly king. And then concludes with an “IF…” statement that echoes Moses and Joshua. Three other “IFs” follow. Lastly- through Samuel, God reminds me that I am to pray with and for all those under my authority. What I’m focused on is the heart behind Saul’s response and on the heart behind Samuel’s response. The contrast is quite a dichotomy and a great lesson.
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Michael Scaman

The serpent rears it's head, meaning of Nahash the Ammonite King: Strong's Hebrew: 5175. נָחָשׁ (nachash) -- a serpent God raises up Saul to crush the head of the serpent. Would he be the one spoken of in Genesis? Spoiler alert. No. Saul will deliver Israel form many problems.... but he is not the coming ultimate anointed of God... that would be Jesus.
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Michael Sisson

Re: 1Sam 11:1 1Sam 11:1 (NASB) Now >>>Nahash<<< the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.” Nahash = “serpent” As Michael Scaman has already touched upon, G-d raises up Saul, His anointed, as a type of the Messiah to come. As Saul utterly defeated Nahash, so Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) will ultimately crush “that ancient serpent who is Satan” (Rev 12:19; 20:2) in a fulfillment of Gen 3:15. Re: 1Sam 11:7 1Sam 11:7 (NASB) He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out as >>>one man.<<< Heb. “echad” = Eng. “one,” as in a compound unity of persons When sharing the Gospel, particularly with Jews, it’s difficult to describe the triune nature of the G-dhead when the word “Trinity” never appears in the biblical text. However, the same truth is hinted at in Dt 6:4 (i.e. the Shema), perhaps THE most familiar verse in Judaism. While G-d might have chosen to use “yachid” to describe an indivisible singularity, instead He deliberately chose to use the word “echad”…a word which can describe a compound unity. In Dt 6:4 (i.e. the Shema), “echad” is describing a compound unity of persons in the G-dhead. 1Sam 11:7 provides another important example where “echad” describes a compound unity of persons coming together as “one man.” Re: 1Sam 12:2 1Sam 12:2 (NASB) “Now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and >>>behold my sons are with you.<<< And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. See 1Sam 8:5. It’s interesting the G-d does not hold Samuel responsible for his wayward sons, as He held Eli responsible for his wayward sons.(1Sam 3:13) Re: 1Sam 12:14 Excellent political advice, regardless of the form of governance you live under. Re: 1Sam 12:19 The Hebrew reveals they didn’t merely ask for a king; they demanded a king. Here, the Israelites finally acknowledge demanding a king was evil. Interestingly, G-d anticipated their demand in Dt 17:14-15. Re: 1Sam 12:20-25 See Pr 3:5-6.
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Sue Bohlin

SHANNON!!! So good to "see" you today! Thanks for your devo, sister! Did you know you'd be the third person to invoke "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing"?? I loved Samuel's statement, ". . . far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you . . . ." Whoa. Does this teach us about the heart of God's shepherd or what??! Samuel sets the bar high, a bar we get to see matched in Paul's letters in the New Testament, as he often mentioned his continual prayers for the church. I think we've lost an awareness of the power of prayer--and we've been consumed by self-centeredness as well. How often do any of us think of our failure to pray for God's people as a sin against God? I am convicted.
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morgan houghton

1.What pulls your attention away from God? Comparison,discontentment, selfishness, and like we read today, where i’m allowing my eyes to be fixed! 2. What do you think is the underlying reason for your divided attention? I think it comes down to a lack of trust in my God. I think i know better, and if I can just get my hands in a situation to work it around then it will be much better. What a lie. 3. God used Samuel to warn the Israelites to learn from the sin of their past. How does God warn you? How well do you heed His warnings? He gently brings up thoughts and people that represent different periods in my life and in my relationship with Him that remind me of my past and how He has worked in my heart. 4. How have you seen God exhibit His patience, mercy, and love when you have wandered from Him? God has exhibited so much patience and mercy and love in my life all throughout, but especially in these moments when i’ve wandered from Him. He has given me blessings I don’t deserve, friendships that have been such a help to me, and a realization of what a blessing the family He has given me has been. 5. Challenge: Ask the Lord to show you someone whom you can encourage by sharing your story of God's goodness and mercy in your life. Not sure what exactly this will look like, but I ask for this opportunity in your name Lord, and for your glory.
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Jason Cromwell

#3. The Holy Spirit. I start to get really nervous and sweaty and I feel this hot feeling when I try to sin or even think about it.
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Amy Lowther

1. Anything can pull my eyes away from God, but experience I have had learning His words and applying what I have learned helps me return to Him with ease when necessary. 2. Divided attention can be because we each have choice. 3. If I do not listen to God, things go wrong. I heed God’s warnings by choosing to start everything with God. This increases my chances of success and feeling good while it decreases my chances of mistakes. 4. God exhibits His patience, mercy, and love for me through keeping me calm and humble in workload increases which occur if I wander from Him. 5. God, thank you for all you do for me. God be with everyone to use your strength wisely and to ask questions when they have them so we all may live in the glory you provide. Amen.