The Only Problem Solver • 1 Samuel 12

45:02 Teaching begins

Notes

Samuel makes a final farewell speech to Israel where he tells them they are committing great wickedness against God.

They’ve just come off a great victory, experienced great unity and cooperation, success and rejoicing. They wanted a king, and they got a king, and it worked!

We find out why this is not good. The people solved their problem themselves and they wanted God to do what they wanted. This misses the point that Israel exists for God and their purpose is for His glory. And they are headed away from Him and toward futility and destruction.

We also exist for God. He doesn’t want us to solve our own problems. He wants to be glorified in saving us.

I’m reading in 1 Samuel 12 (to verse 5).

1. Samuel makes a farewell speech and gives an accounting of his service, vv. 1-5.

A. He says I’ve listened to you, you now have a king. I’m on the way out.

B. Samuel makes a point of being accountable to the people. This is your opportunity to settle up.

1. Have I taken anything that was yours? Did I abuse my authority to profit myself? Did I pervert justice?

2. That’s what leaders do. It’s a temptation to abuse power. It would be so easy to do if you are not walking in the fear of the Lord. I saw a discussion on ethics in a Parliamentary subcommittee. The discussion was on how can we get the MPs to know what right and wrong is, and do what is right and not go after corruption. It’s crazy that the MP even had to ask the question, but seriously, some people do not know the difference between right and wrong. So pray for the government that they’ll know the difference.

3. Samuel walked before the people all his life. He was open and transparent and accountable to the people, just like he’s doing right now.

4. He’s accountable because he walks in the fear of the Lord. He has to give account to the Lord and there is no covering up, no stonewalling, no “I don’t understand the question, Sir.” More than that, Samuel is the servant of the Lord. That’s always in his mind. This is not about him, it’s about the Lord.

2. Samuel recounts Israel’s history again, vv. 6-11.

A. History gives us context. When we know what happened in the past we can understand who we are and where we are in the present.

B. Israel’s history is exclusively about the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers.

C. Israel exists because God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and made covenants with them, that they would be His own nation and He would be their God. Jacob went into Egypt and the fathers cried out to God. That covers 400 years. God sent men filled with the Holy Spirit to save them, Moses and Aaron.

D. Israel’s history follows this pattern.

1. They forgot the Lord their God. Israel is unthankful, unappreciative of God’s goodness. They do not maintain relationship with God, they go after the blessings directly from these false gods of power, prosperity, and pleasure.

2. God sells them to be ruled by powers other than Himself. Guys like Sisera, the Philistines, the king of Moab, they never get tired of oppressing Israel. The false gods don’t save them.

3. They finally cry out to God: “We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Deliver us and we will serve You.” We will worship You only.

4. So God sends a man filled with the Holy Spirit to save them. Samuel understands his place in history and he knows who he is. He is one of those men raised up like God to save the nation. He leads the nation to see who they are: they are blessed through their relationship with God or destroyed because they have no relationship with God.

5. That relationship with God is everything. That is their life.

3. Now, Israel committed great wickedness against the Lord by asking for a king, vv. 12-15.

A. The leaders evidently saw the threat of Nahash the Ammonite coming for a while. They asked, “What do we do about this maniac?”

B. They came up with their own solution to the problem.

1. All the nations have a king. If we get a king he will solve the problem.

2. As they did this they ignored their history that shows them they are God’s people and He favours them. He is well able to solve their problems for them with power.

C. Okay, realise, the Lord has set a king over you with authority, but you have not changed your situation at all.

1. You are still His people, and your purpose is to follow Him and seek Him only.

2. If you rebel against Him, forget Him, seek the blessings from other gods, you will still be destroyed. Having a king makes no difference in who you are and your purpose of existing for God.

4. Samuel says, what you have done is great wickedness, vv. 16-18.

A. And he will now convince them that they are wrong.

B. There is no debate, no persuasion, no rhetoric. It’s wheat harvest, rain and thunder never happen during this season, so I will cry out to God and He will make it thunder and rain so you will know that your wickedness is great in asking for a king. he cries out to God, and it thunders and rains.

C. The people are convinced immediately: we are going to die! Pray for us!

5. Samuel speaks with grace and compassion, vv. 19-25.

A. Don’t you think it’s amazing that Samuel tells them they are wrong, proves they are wrong, and he still speaks gently to them? He does so because he represents God, and God is gracious and compassionate to His people.

B. He emphasises again: do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve Him with all your heart. Following the Lord is the source of life and blessing.

C. Don’t go after futile things that can’t save you. That means false gods, it also means thinking that kings are going to save you and give you blessing. No thing can meet your needs. They are empty, can’t fulfil their promises.

D. There is a great reason why the people can expect God to bless them. And that is for the sake of His name.

1. A person’s name is the essence of who they are. It’s like a brand name that you understand what you are getting when you purchase a particular item. You’re not getting food from Costcutter, you’re getting John Lewis.

2. The name of God is that He is good. That is the sum of what God has revealed about Himself. Exodus 34:5-7 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

3. God saved a nation of slaves out of Egypt. Even when they sinned, forgot Him, goofed up so bad, God would save them. This means that God is gracious and compassionate as is witnessed in His works for His people.

4. This is not even for their sakes. It is for His name’s sake, that He would be known rightly in the world. Through His people God is glorified. That’s His purpose for them, why He created them. If he doesn’t save them, He’s not much of a saviour. There goes His name. He will not let that happen.

5. God is going to bring all Israel to Jesus Christ and save them in the last days for the sake of His name. Ezekiel 36:22-23 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

6. He finishes this section by saying, Ezekiel 36:31-32 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

E. Now this time Israel didn’t go after false gods. But they still did wickedly for solving their problem their way and not calling out to God. That’s wicked.

6. So what?

A. If you are God’s person He created you for His purpose and His glory. Ephesians 1:3-6 what He does in saving us is “according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

B. Since that is so, then all our good comes from seeking God’s leading, strength, wisdom, and saving. That’s our relationship with God.

C. That means we don’t have to figure out solutions to our problems.

1. What do I do about my family? My job? My difficulties? I don’t know what to do. But that’s not my job.

2. That would be my job if I were like all the nations who do not have a god who can save them. Their gods are futile and empty and they can’t make any difference in their lives.

D. But I am in relationship with My God through Jesus Christ. He didn’t save me because of me. He saved me because of His great name. Therefore He will continue to save me because of His great name. Saving me is His job.

E. That answers the question: “How do I know Jesus will answer my prayers?” Because if He doesn’t answer my prayers and save me, He will ruin His name as Good, and Saviour. He won’t save me because I’m cute. But He will save me because of His great name. That’s a greater reason than me.

F. I just want my problems solved. I would be happy with that. I am prone to thinking I am on my own. I need to provide for myself as if I had no God. That is practical atheism. That doesn’t show forth Jesus to the world. That is great wickedness. Another example of this very thing is 2 Chronicles 16. King Asa solved his problem on his own, without the Lord. The prophet said, “You have acted foolishly in this.” Read it when you get home.

G. Jesus intends that He solve my problems so that the world may know that there is one true living God. Am I okay with that? Are you okay with that?

H. That’s why Samuel’s command is so important, v. 24 for consider what great things He has done for you. This means remember your personal history with Jesus. That is your context for your present situation that tells you where you are at. You stay aware that Jesus saved you then, and because He has been faithful ever since, He will save you now.

I. Write down all the good things Jesus has done for you. Take a notebook, date it, and start thinking over your life, and write it down. Write down the things that Jesus has taught you over the years and the scripture where you learned it. Start considering what great things He has done for you.

J. You don’t have to solve your own problems. Ask your Saviour to solve them for you for the sake of His great name.

Let’s pray.