WEBVTT 00:00:01.929 --> 00:00:21.769 We are in 1 Samuel chapter 12. Does anybody want 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:24.609 to summarize the chapter for us before we read 00:00:24.609 --> 00:00:48.530 it? then let's read it first Samuel chapter 12 00:00:48.530 --> 00:00:51.909 and verse 1 and Samuel said well actually let's 00:00:51.909 --> 00:00:57.270 start in chapter 11 verse 14 then said Samuel 00:00:57.270 --> 00:01:00.429 to the people come let us go to Gilgal and renew 00:01:00.429 --> 00:01:03.509 the kingdom there and all the people went to 00:01:03.509 --> 00:01:06.750 Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:10.150 Lord in Gilgal And they sacrificed sacrifices 00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:13.250 of peace offerings before the Lord. And there 00:01:13.250 --> 00:01:16.650 Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:21.189 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have 00:01:21.189 --> 00:01:24.209 hearkened unto your voice, and all that ye said 00:01:24.209 --> 00:01:27.750 unto me, and have made a king over you. And now 00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:31.150 behold, the king walketh before you, and I am 00:01:31.150 --> 00:01:34.489 old and gray -headed, and behold, my sons are 00:01:34.489 --> 00:02:02.379 with you. And I will restore it to you. And they 00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:05.890 said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed 00:02:05.890 --> 00:02:09.370 us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's 00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:12.729 hand. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness 00:02:12.729 --> 00:02:16.110 against you, and his anointed is witness this 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:19.449 day, that ye have not found ought or anything 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:22.750 in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:26.770 Then Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord 00:02:26.770 --> 00:02:29.629 that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:33.250 your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now, 00:02:33.250 --> 00:02:36.090 therefore, stand still, that I may reason with 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:39.009 you before the Lord of all the righteous acts 00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:41.990 of the Lord, which he did to you and to your 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:45.530 fathers. When Jacob was come into Egypt, and 00:02:45.530 --> 00:02:48.370 your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:51.490 sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your 00:02:51.490 --> 00:02:54.330 fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in 00:02:54.330 --> 00:02:57.289 this place. And when they forgot the Lord their 00:02:57.289 --> 00:03:01.520 God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:04.419 of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the 00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:07.159 Philistines, and into the hand of the king of 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:10.599 Moab, and they fought against them. And they 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:13.020 cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:15.180 because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served 00:03:15.180 --> 00:03:19.199 Balaam and Astaroth. But now deliver us out of 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.580 the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:26.419 And the Lord sent Jeroboam, and Badan, and Jephthah, 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.620 and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:32.360 of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.360 safe. And when ye saw that Nahash, the king of 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:39.719 the children of Ammon, came against you, ye said 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:42.599 unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.259 when the Lord your God was your king. Now therefore 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:49.520 behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:52.599 ye have desired, and behold, the Lord hath set 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.199 a king over you. I will fear the Lord and serve 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.400 him and obey, or I'm sorry, if ye will fear the 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:03.319 Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.300 rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:08.819 shall both ye and also the king that reigneth 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:11.919 over you continue following the Lord your God. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.340 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:17.660 but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.399 then shall the hand of the Lord be against you 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.519 as it was against your fathers. Now, therefore, 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:26.180 stand and see this great thing which the Lord 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:29.740 will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:33.079 today? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.899 send thunder and rain, and ye may perceive and 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:39.019 see that your wickedness is great, which ye have 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:41.759 done in the sight of the Lord in asking a king. 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:45.019 So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:48.180 sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:51.389 greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:54.269 people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:57.589 unto the Lord thy God, that we die not, for we 00:04:57.589 --> 00:05:01.069 have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask 00:05:01.069 --> 00:05:05.250 us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:08.949 not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn 00:05:08.949 --> 00:05:11.790 not aside from following the Lord, but serve 00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:15.569 the Lord with all your heart. And turn ye not 00:05:15.569 --> 00:05:18.689 aside, for then should ye go after vain things 00:05:18.689 --> 00:05:21.490 which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:24.790 vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:27.990 for his great namesake, because it hath pleased 00:05:27.990 --> 00:05:32.550 the Lord to make you his people. Moreover, as 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:35.329 for me, God forbid that I should sin against 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:38.689 the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. But I will 00:05:38.689 --> 00:05:41.910 teach you the good and the right way. Only fear 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.800 the Lord. and serve him in truth with all your 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.899 heart, for consider how great things he hath 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:52.100 done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:56.180 ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:03.779 Excuse me. So that's quite a speech that Samuel 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:08.500 delivers to the people. It's another, I guess 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:12.949 it's really the last of the Direct commentary 00:06:12.949 --> 00:06:17.069 that the author gives us on this new institution 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:22.769 of king in Israel. How would you categorize that 00:06:22.769 --> 00:06:26.550 chapter? Positive towards kingship or negative 00:06:26.550 --> 00:06:33.769 towards kingship? Negative towards kingship. 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:43.019 Particularly what kind of kingship? It takes 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:48.439 them away from the Lord because why? It takes 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.839 them away from the Lord. Anytime we take away 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.839 from something, we're going to something else, 00:06:53.899 --> 00:07:05.160 right? Which is? Well, that's what the vain things 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:08.220 are, idols for sure. But it takes away from the 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:10.779 Lord's kingship because it delivers them to what? 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:18.379 The kingship of a man. Remember, that's the distinction 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:22.160 between the kings and all the other kingdoms 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.560 around them. Answer to no one. They were God 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:29.600 in their country. And so to take a king for the 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.079 Israelites then is saying that God is not my 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.680 king. Saul is my king. He has ultimate authority. 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:37.420 That's what they asked for. That's what they 00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:40.930 got. And that kind of gives us a reason then. 00:07:40.970 --> 00:07:43.350 What do you think this is renewing the kingdom? 00:07:44.689 --> 00:07:47.129 Anybody got any ideas on that? That's from chapter 00:07:47.129 --> 00:07:51.389 11. Is this a farewell? Some people think this 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:53.569 is a farewell speech from Samuel. It's obviously 00:07:53.569 --> 00:07:58.329 not that. Unless he says farewell and then comes 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:06.230 right back. So it's not a farewell speech. Well, 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:09.089 in what way is it? How did they renew the kingdom? 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:16.350 From chapter 11, verse 14. Then said Samuel to 00:08:16.350 --> 00:08:19.290 the people, Come and let us go to Gilgal and 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:26.310 renew the kingdom there. Is this a covenant renewal 00:08:26.310 --> 00:08:30.410 ceremony? Is that what this is? Remember, they 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:33.370 did that in Moab. They had the Sinai covenant. 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:37.200 They renewed it in Moab. But, is that what this 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:39.120 is? Did they renew it again here? They renewed 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:44.139 it in Joshua. Does anybody see any mention of 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:49.639 the covenant here? No. Okay. But we do see some 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:52.080 kind of covenant language, right? I'm the Lord 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:54.580 your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:56.740 That's the way he started back in Exodus chapter 00:08:56.740 --> 00:09:01.460 20. So if it's not a covenant renewal, in what 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:04.899 way is the... Is the kingdom going to be renewed? 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:15.460 Or what exactly is being renewed? Okay. So kingship 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:22.100 is only going to be effective if what? Okay. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:28.080 So Samuel in his speech, and whoever the editor 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:32.610 is that compiled this book for us, is giving 00:09:32.610 --> 00:09:36.070 an opportunity to the people of Israel. Look, 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:41.309 you've done this wicked thing, but the Lord has 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:44.629 given you a king, and it's not the end of the 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:48.330 world. If you and the king will follow the Lord, 00:09:48.610 --> 00:09:52.590 submit to his authority in your life, then everything 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:56.610 will be at peace with you. That's basically what 00:09:56.610 --> 00:10:00.460 Samuel is saying, right? That's the only way. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.980 Otherwise, it's just going to be a disaster. 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:09.139 And if you run ahead at all in Samuel, then you'll 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.100 see that indeed that's what we get is a disaster. 00:10:16.059 --> 00:10:20.500 The people asked for a king. And then even in 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:24.379 chapter 12, verse 1, Samuel says, I've hearkened 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:26.740 unto your voice and all that you said to me, 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:28.700 and I've made a king over you. Now, who told 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:34.000 him to do that? Okay, it's exactly what the Lord 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.200 told him to do. Remember back in what, chapter 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:40.600 7 or 8? Hearken unto their voice in all things 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:47.500 and appoint them a king. And then the Lord selected 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:52.519 Saul. He anointed him to be king over Israel. 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:59.700 And it's a disaster. So what does that mean? 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:04.120 Have you thought about that? If you talk to the 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.340 skeptics or you talk to the Bible critics or 00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:08.399 you talk to the God haters, we can put those, 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.320 we can call them whatever you want to, what would 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.960 they say? God made a mistake. They would say 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.679 either God is not sovereign and all -powerful 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:24.200 or what he did was totally wrong, right? Why 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:26.879 would he give them, why would he grant their 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.700 request that was wicked and then make them pay 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:33.080 the consequences for that sin? Is that right? 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:47.399 So what's the answer to that question? When we 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:50.259 make bad decisions, when we go the wrong way, 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.090 God oftentimes answers that. a request with misery 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:58.970 in our lives. We go after something. We don't 00:11:58.970 --> 00:12:03.029 secure anything outside of God's power and authority. 00:12:03.809 --> 00:12:07.990 I can't pick up a baseball without the power 00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:10.990 of Jesus in my body holding me together, right? 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:13.590 He could at any time say, oh no, David, you're 00:12:13.590 --> 00:12:15.850 not going to pick up that baseball, right? Do 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:19.269 we agree with that? Okay, so that all the time 00:12:19.269 --> 00:12:22.370 in our lives, we bear the consequences for our 00:12:22.370 --> 00:12:26.789 bad decisions. And God is not the author of our 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:29.370 bad decisions. He doesn't tempt us to go in the 00:12:29.370 --> 00:12:33.110 wrong way. He doesn't coax us or push us or force 00:12:33.110 --> 00:12:38.090 us to go in the wrong way. But he gave them everything 00:12:38.090 --> 00:12:40.929 that they wanted. Remember, it was God's intention 00:12:40.929 --> 00:12:46.159 to bring a king to Israel. But in his time, and 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:49.059 a man of his choosing. And who was the man of 00:12:49.059 --> 00:12:56.299 God's choosing? David. In spite of the fact that 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:01.799 Saul wears the crown, God anoints, he makes his 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:04.539 selection then. The people have made their selection, 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:08.980 and then God makes his selection. All right, 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:12.600 what would we make of these first, what, six 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:16.649 verses where Samuel says, Look, I'm old. I've 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:19.350 walked before you since I was a kid. Remember, 00:13:19.549 --> 00:13:22.610 his mom dropped him off right after he was weaned. 00:13:23.129 --> 00:13:26.429 Have I stolen anything from you? Have I taken 00:13:26.429 --> 00:13:30.049 any bribes? Have I done anything against any 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:34.750 of you? If I have, I'll pay it back. Right? That's 00:13:34.750 --> 00:14:16.740 a fair summary. Why does he do that? Well, you 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:20.139 could say it's a contrast between judges and 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:26.350 kings. If you were saying that to somebody, what 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:28.129 would be the purpose of you saying that to them? 00:14:34.970 --> 00:14:42.129 Okay. Now you've hit on it. Look, I haven't walked 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:44.990 honestly before you all the time. I haven't taken 00:14:44.990 --> 00:14:48.149 a bribe. Now what happens when you take a bribe? 00:14:49.269 --> 00:14:52.289 You wind up lying to somebody, right? That's 00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:55.809 the whole point of the bribe. Or somebody, or 00:14:55.809 --> 00:14:59.230 you haven't stolen anything. So he hasn't been 00:14:59.230 --> 00:15:01.470 telling them things that are going to make them 00:15:01.470 --> 00:15:04.269 act in a certain way that's going to enrich him. 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:09.549 He's confessing to them and offering to anyone 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:12.769 to stand up and testify against him that he's 00:15:12.769 --> 00:15:15.029 done nothing but tell them the truth and walk 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:18.250 honestly. Why would I not then now at this point 00:15:18.250 --> 00:15:20.269 be telling you the truth and walking honestly 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:22.980 before you? What I'm telling you here doesn't 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.820 have any motive other than I'm trying to give 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:30.100 you the truth. And this is the way, this is just 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:33.620 the way that it is. This is the cold, hard truth. 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:37.080 These are the facts of the matter. And I don't 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:40.100 know, when we were reading, it's a pretty, it's 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:46.059 a dark day in Israel. They left their God. Alright, 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.240 so that's why he lays that out. Now, what's the 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:59.000 application there for us? Okay, so we ought to 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:02.539 live an honest life before our families, before 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:05.580 our neighbors, before the people that work, everywhere 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:07.700 that we go. Anybody that knows us ought to know 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:12.740 that we aren't sugarcoating the truth. We aren't 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:16.080 trying to enrich ourselves at someone else's 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:19.860 expense. I'm just living honestly. And when the 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:22.240 Lord gives opportunity then for you to speak 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:25.700 into that person's life, it will be from a position 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:29.970 of strength. It will be from a position of honesty. 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:37.210 There's no reason for them to distrust you. What's 00:16:37.210 --> 00:16:41.970 one more thing then that we can learn here? Who 00:16:41.970 --> 00:16:48.250 else walked honestly and told us the truth? And 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:51.970 did he come from that position? What did he take 00:16:51.970 --> 00:16:56.110 from you? Nothing. What bribe did he take? Nothing. 00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:01.169 So we can believe what he said. What did it cost 00:17:01.169 --> 00:17:03.769 him to be able to tell us the truth? Everything. 00:17:05.829 --> 00:17:09.650 So that's the biblical pattern. And in that way 00:17:09.650 --> 00:17:12.369 we can. We can see Jesus. We can see Jesus here 00:17:12.369 --> 00:17:17.049 again in a little while. Now we have this. Samuel 00:17:17.049 --> 00:17:20.809 recounts the past for him. Now he doesn't recount 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:24.750 the entirety of Israel's history. But he does 00:17:24.750 --> 00:17:27.869 summarize it. He starts where they all start. 00:17:28.049 --> 00:17:30.430 So when you're reading your Old Testaments, when 00:17:30.430 --> 00:17:32.650 you're reading your New Testaments, when you 00:17:32.650 --> 00:17:37.390 see some reference to the Lord, it's the Lord 00:17:37.390 --> 00:17:40.529 that advanced Moses and Aaron and brought your 00:17:40.529 --> 00:17:42.630 fathers up out of the land of Egypt. That's a 00:17:42.630 --> 00:17:45.490 little clue that what we're dealing with here 00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:49.529 in these next few verses, it might be three or 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:51.769 four. It might be in the New Testament, I think 00:17:51.769 --> 00:17:54.210 the longest one there in Acts, it might be eight 00:17:54.210 --> 00:17:58.960 or ten. Or you can kind of see it in the same 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:06.259 kind of genre as the genealogies. They're telling 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:10.460 a story. He's summarizing Israel's history in 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:16.519 this. And it's nothing if it's not consistent. 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:20.119 That's the best thing that we can say. There's 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:22.440 never been a more consistent people than the 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:30.890 Israelites. Where was their consistency? They 00:18:30.890 --> 00:18:34.170 were consistent in their turning away from the 00:18:34.170 --> 00:18:38.369 Lord after his deliverance and then turning towards 00:18:38.369 --> 00:18:41.170 him for a little while before turning away from 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:43.869 him again. And every time that they turned away, 00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:53.700 what happened? They were definitely oppressed. 00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:08.079 The Lord redeemed them out of Egypt. He paid 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:10.400 the price. Whatever the price was to get them 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:13.279 out of Egypt, that's what he did. The same thing 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:15.799 that Jesus did for you and for me. He redeemed 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.680 us with his own blood. Redeemed, how I love to 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.220 proclaim it. redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:27.380 We sing it. When someone buys you, they own you. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:31.160 Do we realize that? It's no accident that the 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:34.319 New Testament speaks of Christians as what? The 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.559 terrible S word that we've tried to erase from 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:42.400 history. Slaves. Over and over again. Slaves 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:46.940 or servants. In either case, the idea is you've 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:49.099 been bought with a price. You no longer belong 00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:54.160 to yourselves. So serve the one that bought you. 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:59.160 But we don't serve an evil taskmaster. We serve 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.240 a gracious, loving Father and a Lord and a Savior 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.980 that leads us in the right direction for our 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:14.130 good because He loves us. It was the Lord that 00:20:14.130 --> 00:20:19.529 sent Moses and Aaron. Now, I do think about that. 00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:21.609 I don't have an answer, but I thought maybe somebody 00:20:21.609 --> 00:20:26.890 did. Why don't we have a full listing of all 00:20:26.890 --> 00:20:31.029 the judges, or why do we have these specific 00:20:31.029 --> 00:20:34.910 judges listed? Anybody come up with anything 00:20:34.910 --> 00:20:46.299 there? Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, 00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:48.359 they sold into the hands of the Philistines, 00:20:48.380 --> 00:20:51.200 the king of Moab. That's some of them, that's 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:55.140 not all of them. And then for the judges, we 00:20:55.140 --> 00:21:00.259 have who? We have Jeroboam, who is, which is 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:08.339 who? Gideon. And then we have Badan. Does everybody 00:21:08.339 --> 00:21:17.759 have Badan in their Bible? What version are you 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:25.160 reading from? Badan, Jephthah, and Samuel. Do 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:31.420 you have Samuel in that? Okay. So who is Badan? 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:34.640 Anybody got any idea? Anybody do any head scratching 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:41.200 on that one and have to go figure it out? Is 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:47.490 it a mistake? What's the answer? Well, here's 00:21:47.490 --> 00:21:51.930 the best answer that I've got for you. I don't 00:21:51.930 --> 00:21:55.490 know how many years it has been between Barak 00:21:55.490 --> 00:22:00.589 and whenever this was put together when Samuel 00:22:00.589 --> 00:22:07.109 was talking. But language changes over the years. 00:22:07.670 --> 00:22:12.670 And so the best scholar, because he agrees with 00:22:12.670 --> 00:22:22.339 me, But Dan is the phonetic spelling. So over 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:26.859 the years, and it doesn't appear that way, obviously, 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:29.839 in our English, but in the Hebrew, it's the way 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.700 to spell it, the way that it sounds, rather than 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:35.039 the way that they spelled it back in the day 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.900 in Barak. So that's why the ESV went with Barak. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:44.589 So that's who that is. Of course, he's the one 00:22:44.589 --> 00:22:49.329 that went with Deborah and in reference to Sisera. 00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:53.490 But I can't come up with anything else other 00:22:53.490 --> 00:22:58.670 than the fact that in each one of these cases, 00:22:58.750 --> 00:23:01.809 Israel is in the same place where they are right 00:23:01.809 --> 00:23:07.089 now. The Lord has delivered them, and they've 00:23:07.089 --> 00:23:10.130 turned away again. And the deliverance has always 00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:14.500 come at the hand of a judge. Now, we're going 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:19.319 to go from judge to king. But it's a reminder 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:22.859 of what? You belong to the Lord, and what has 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:31.700 the Lord done? He's delivered you time and time 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:37.140 and time and time again. He's been faithful to 00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:40.329 his word. Even though you have turned away. In 00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:43.890 each one of these very specific cases. You're 00:23:43.890 --> 00:23:46.849 dwelling safe. He delivered you. And you're dwelling 00:23:46.849 --> 00:23:51.589 safe. And then. Now this. I don't know if anybody 00:23:51.589 --> 00:23:54.349 thought about this. But in verse 12. When you 00:23:54.349 --> 00:23:56.769 saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon 00:23:56.769 --> 00:23:59.109 came against you. You said unto me nay. But a 00:23:59.109 --> 00:24:01.029 king shall reign over us. When the Lord your 00:24:01.029 --> 00:24:04.190 God was your king. Now that doesn't fit in the 00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:08.519 timeline that we have here in Samuel. But. So 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:11.579 that just lets us know that everything is not 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:16.059 necessarily chronological in our Bibles, which 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:19.099 is perfectly fine when the author of the book 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:21.460 is trying to stress a point and he's trying to 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:24.539 teach us a lesson. He's not writing a strict 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:28.319 history or a history lesson chronologically. 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:35.920 But here then, in this last case, what? Samuel... 00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:38.990 Well, first the Lord defeats the Philistines. 00:24:38.990 --> 00:24:42.930 Remember, the ark goes around by the Philistines' 00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:45.569 own hands. They just say, oh, well, the ark defeated 00:24:45.569 --> 00:24:48.490 this city. Let's take it to the next city. And 00:24:48.490 --> 00:24:50.289 they take it to the next city, and that city 00:24:50.289 --> 00:24:53.109 is defeated. That's just the Lord. No army, no 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:56.869 judge, no nothing. Just the Lord God Almighty 00:24:56.869 --> 00:25:01.569 delivering his people and defeating the Philistines. 00:25:02.289 --> 00:25:05.819 And then what? You have Samuel. And he delivers 00:25:05.819 --> 00:25:10.359 them again. And then this King Nahash comes while 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:14.519 they're gathered together. And they panic and 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:16.640 they say, okay, we've had enough deliverance 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:18.779 by judges. I mean, basically that's what they 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.839 said. Yeah, the judge has been really effective 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:25.599 in our history. Secured us salvation, defeated 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.900 our enemies, but I think it's time for a change. 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:34.960 Let's go with a king now. In that context, you 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:40.440 can see why it is that Samuel says this is a 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:51.240 wicked thing that you've done. It's a great wicked 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:52.960 thing. And then he praises the Lord and the Lord 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:59.619 sends thunder and lightning. Rainstorm. Now look 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:02.400 at verse 14 though. If ye will fear the Lord 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:07.599 and serve him and obey his voice. That's three 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:14.079 things. Are they different? What are we to understand 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:19.359 about those three things? What does it mean to 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:34.299 fear the Lord? And foundational or fundamental 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:38.920 to that, before any of that happens, what? Okay, 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:41.920 you've got to know something about them and believe 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.859 it. Look, if I don't believe that God is almighty 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:47.920 and God tells me that he's almighty, is that 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:52.779 going to be scary to me? No. Now, I'm an idiot, 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:55.940 I'm a fool, because God is almighty. He is sovereign. 00:26:56.140 --> 00:27:00.130 But I don't believe it. So if I believe the revelation 00:27:00.130 --> 00:27:02.849 of God, if I believe what God has told me about 00:27:02.849 --> 00:27:05.990 him, that's going to necessarily cause me to 00:27:05.990 --> 00:27:12.529 stand in wonder and awe and holy terror should 00:27:12.529 --> 00:27:15.029 I decide to slap him in the face and disrespect 00:27:15.029 --> 00:27:18.549 him. That's what it means then, to stand in awe 00:27:18.549 --> 00:27:23.630 of God. Behold the glory of the Lord, the power 00:27:23.630 --> 00:27:26.190 and the sovereignty of the Lord. You've got to 00:27:26.190 --> 00:27:28.569 believe. There's faith. Okay, then what's the 00:27:28.569 --> 00:27:37.829 next thing? Serve. What does that mean? Okay, 00:27:52.230 --> 00:27:56.799 then what would obedience be? That's different 00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:00.059 than serving then? Yes. Okay, show us the difference. 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:07.380 Literally. To serve somebody, I guess I'm not 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:09.259 thinking about like a servant who does what they're 00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:13.880 told, but if I serve you, I'm doing things that 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:16.599 are in alignment with your will, and if I obey 00:28:16.599 --> 00:28:19.640 you, then you're literally telling me to do something, 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:22.599 and then I'm doing what I've been told. Okay. 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.900 I guess we're kind of muddying. Yeah, you're 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:28.460 mixing them up a little bit. That's why, to me, 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:31.980 the serving has an eye towards listening, hearing. 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:36.940 If I truly am standing in fear of God, then what? 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:41.339 I want to hear from Him in some kind of way. 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:46.180 My ears are tuned to Him and to Him alone. Because 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:47.980 there's all kinds of other voices all around 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:49.940 me saying all kinds of different things to me. 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:53.380 But my ears and my attention is turned towards 00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:57.569 God. It's only then if I fear him, if I believe 00:28:57.569 --> 00:29:00.710 who he is, and I listen to what he has to say, 00:29:00.869 --> 00:29:05.269 that I can obey. So to serve the Lord means that 00:29:05.269 --> 00:29:07.549 the entire, like Jake was saying, the entirety 00:29:07.549 --> 00:29:15.069 of my being is geared towards serving the one 00:29:15.069 --> 00:29:19.200 who has redeemed me. And that service... includes, 00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:22.200 or maybe it starts with, listening and hearing 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:24.859 what the Lord has to say. The three always go 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:28.539 together. You can't claim that you fear the Lord, 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:32.000 but you don't listen to Him. You can't claim 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.920 that you fear the Lord, that you listen to Him, 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:39.099 but you don't obey Him. You can't say, I obey 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:44.250 the Lord, but I've never heard from Him. The 00:29:44.250 --> 00:29:47.529 three go together. They went together for Israel 00:29:47.529 --> 00:29:49.150 if they were going to serve the Lord, if they 00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:50.690 were going to honor the Lord and bring glory 00:29:50.690 --> 00:29:53.809 to His name. And they go for you and for me. 00:29:53.950 --> 00:29:56.150 Now how does that work itself out in our lives? 00:29:59.829 --> 00:30:03.630 Do we feel like we have a holy reverence, an 00:30:03.630 --> 00:30:06.029 awe and a fear of the Lord that is sufficient? 00:30:09.329 --> 00:30:12.829 Who here thinks that when... Jesus returns and 00:30:12.829 --> 00:30:14.690 we're going to say, oh, it's just exactly what 00:30:14.690 --> 00:30:19.069 I was expecting. When he whisks us away into 00:30:19.069 --> 00:30:22.029 glory and we stand before God, who thinks that 00:30:22.029 --> 00:30:24.289 one thought that's going to cross your mind is, 00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:28.690 wow, I had this figured out. Okay, so the first 00:30:28.690 --> 00:30:34.210 thing is that we haven't arrived at the reverence 00:30:34.210 --> 00:30:38.700 and the awe of God until we get to glory. So 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:41.220 if I haven't arrived there yet today, then what 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:44.420 am I doing? Trying to get a little bit closer. 00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:49.359 Trying to expand my vision. Hoping that somebody 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:51.740 will magnify the name of the Lord before me. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.680 Hoping that somebody will cause my knowledge 00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:58.900 of Him to increase so that my vision of Him and 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:03.500 my spiritual eyes will be more clear. Where are 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:17.519 we going to find that? But my heart is there. 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:20.880 That's where the hope is, right? That's my desire. 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:22.819 That's what I want. And so then I'm going to 00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:27.500 find it in the Word. Where are we going to hear 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:31.079 the voice of God? If we're going to obey Him, 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:34.720 we said, we have to hear Him. So how are we going 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:41.079 to hear God? From His people? Where else? From 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:51.509 His people when they speak. God's truth. I was 00:31:51.509 --> 00:31:53.950 waiting for you to finish. I know you were trying. 00:31:55.049 --> 00:32:00.289 Where else are we going to get it? Well, if the 00:32:00.289 --> 00:32:02.210 people of God are going to speak God's truth, 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:05.609 then we're going to also hear it when we read 00:32:05.609 --> 00:32:10.250 God's truth. He can use the means of other believers. 00:32:10.410 --> 00:32:17.539 He can use the means of Anybody in the local 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:23.259 church? I don't want to diminish the role of 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:26.039 the elder. I don't want to diminish the role 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:29.880 of the people of everybody else here. The Lord 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:33.519 can speak his voice to you and to me through 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:35.880 the means of anyone in the group. That's why 00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:43.180 he brought us all together. Undoubtedly. He has 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:46.819 chosen the means of teaching and preaching to 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:49.819 minister his truth to his people. So we ought 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:52.519 to be here when the word is taught. We ought 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:54.640 to listen when our brothers and sisters are talking 00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:57.519 to us. And we ought to be in the word on a regular 00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:03.819 basis. Then what? Is it enough to just go through 00:33:03.819 --> 00:33:06.000 the motions that show up on Sunday and Wednesday? 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:09.160 Maybe be really faithful in your devotional time 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:11.539 at home. Maybe you're one of those people that 00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:15.019 has set aside a time and every day you're with 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:18.279 the Lord. Or every day you're in your quiet place 00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:20.119 and you're reading your Bibles. Is that enough? 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:28.420 Is that what honors and pleases the Lord? No. 00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:31.759 What honors and pleases the Lord? Obedience. 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:37.539 What? Obedience. Okay. Following Him. Believing 00:33:37.539 --> 00:33:40.779 Him. So the point of your time with the Lord 00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:44.279 in your quiet places is not to check off a list. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.279 God is not a list keeper or a list giver and 00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:51.279 saying, check it off your list. What I'm looking 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:53.700 for is a bunch of people that are really good 00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:57.819 at check marks. Can you imagine that God sent 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:01.119 his son into the world, shed his blood so that 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:04.339 you could check off a list every day or every 00:34:04.339 --> 00:34:08.230 week? I mean, it's the most hideous thing that 00:34:08.230 --> 00:34:12.050 there is. To put any kind of stock in that or 00:34:12.050 --> 00:34:14.650 to think that you have somehow honored the Lord. 00:34:15.949 --> 00:34:19.429 But, if your time with the Lord is spent listening, 00:34:19.690 --> 00:34:22.949 how am I going to understand this and then apply 00:34:22.949 --> 00:34:27.250 it in my life? How am I going to test the Lord 00:34:27.250 --> 00:34:29.190 here in this thing that I'm reading about today? 00:34:30.309 --> 00:34:32.630 And how am I going to commit that to Him in prayer? 00:34:33.289 --> 00:34:35.630 And then how am I going to look for him as I 00:34:35.630 --> 00:34:39.389 try to allow it to play out in my life as I change 00:34:39.389 --> 00:34:42.570 directions here or there? That's what honors 00:34:42.570 --> 00:34:44.590 the Lord. And the three of them go together. 00:34:45.690 --> 00:34:48.170 Anybody that tells you that they fear the Lord, 00:34:48.349 --> 00:34:51.090 that they read their Bible all the time, but 00:34:51.090 --> 00:34:53.269 the obedience part is not something that they're 00:34:53.269 --> 00:34:55.849 interested in, you can guarantee that person 00:34:55.849 --> 00:34:57.929 doesn't know anything about the Lord, they don't 00:34:57.929 --> 00:34:59.570 fear the Lord, and they haven't listened to the 00:34:59.570 --> 00:35:16.599 Lord. Verse 14 is a restating of it. And then 00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:19.500 again, in verse 15, I don't know what everybody 00:35:19.500 --> 00:35:22.519 has. What do you have in the ESV? Then shall 00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:24.800 the hand of the Lord be against you as it was 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:26.820 against your fathers, is what I have in the King 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:29.079 James. What do you have, Jake? I said that the 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:31.179 hand of the Lord will be against you and your 00:35:31.179 --> 00:35:36.449 king. Okay. So this is one of those. verses that's 00:35:36.449 --> 00:35:39.469 notoriously hard to translate, but the idea seems 00:35:39.469 --> 00:35:42.730 to be one or the other. Either the Lord's hand, 00:35:42.909 --> 00:35:45.030 if you don't follow the Lord, his hand is going 00:35:45.030 --> 00:35:48.050 to be against you and your king or against you 00:35:48.050 --> 00:35:52.449 and your entire family. The King James has you 00:35:52.449 --> 00:35:55.750 and the way he was against your fathers. In other 00:35:55.750 --> 00:36:01.130 words, everybody in the community is going to 00:36:01.130 --> 00:36:06.090 bear this. The consequences of not following 00:36:06.090 --> 00:36:08.929 the Lord. Nobody in the community is going to 00:36:08.929 --> 00:36:12.610 escape it. Do we dare think for a minute that 00:36:12.610 --> 00:36:17.929 when the oppressors came that there wasn't faithful 00:36:17.929 --> 00:36:22.469 Israelites? But they were oppressed the same 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:24.630 way their neighbors were who were worshiping 00:36:24.630 --> 00:36:29.409 the Baal or the Asherah. The entire community 00:36:29.409 --> 00:36:36.539 is going to come under the The discipline, the 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:38.960 chastening of the Lord if you turn away from 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:45.039 him. Now what do you think about this? What happens 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:49.800 here? It's wheat harvest time. Jake, you're not 00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:53.360 really a farmer. You've got a grandpa who was 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:56.880 a farmer. If Bryson was here, I'd ask him. But 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:59.639 what happens if the hay is laying down? Matt 00:36:59.639 --> 00:37:06.219 can probably tell us. And then it rains. The 00:37:06.219 --> 00:37:08.139 same thing with the wheat harvest. Imagine your 00:37:08.139 --> 00:37:10.039 wheat, I think Little House on the Prairie had 00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:12.500 that one time, remember? The wheat's ready and 00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:14.480 it's just looking beautiful out there. And then 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:17.300 along comes the hail and the thunderstorm and 00:37:17.300 --> 00:37:19.500 it knocks it all down and it's impossible to 00:37:19.500 --> 00:37:21.380 harvest. The only way you can harvest it at that 00:37:21.380 --> 00:37:23.900 point then is to get in there with your fingers 00:37:23.900 --> 00:37:30.940 and try to gather up some kernels of wheat. And 00:37:30.940 --> 00:37:32.500 that's what happened. They're in the middle of 00:37:32.500 --> 00:37:34.880 harvest. And Samuel calls the thunderstorm. Which 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:36.679 isn't supposed to happen that time of year. And 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:44.599 the Lord answers them. And. I will call unto 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:50.019 the Lord. He'll send thunder and rain. And see 00:37:50.019 --> 00:37:52.019 that your wickedness is great. Which you have 00:37:52.019 --> 00:37:53.659 done in the sight of the Lord. And ask him for 00:37:53.659 --> 00:37:56.139 a king. And Samuel called unto the Lord. Verse 00:37:56.139 --> 00:37:58.559 18. And the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. 00:37:58.659 --> 00:38:01.900 And all the people greatly feared. The Lord and 00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:06.619 Samuel. So the Lord was speaking. He was speaking 00:38:06.619 --> 00:38:09.699 when he sent that thunderstorm. He wasn't speaking 00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:12.940 Hebrew, but he was delivering a message. And 00:38:12.940 --> 00:38:20.179 what was the message? Clouds and thunder and 00:38:20.179 --> 00:38:23.900 rain. Well, I mean, it definitely was here, right? 00:38:23.980 --> 00:38:25.920 You've done this wicked thing and now the thunderstorm 00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:46.880 is coming. Well, it was confirmation both of 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:53.860 their wickedness and the power of God and the 00:38:53.860 --> 00:38:58.219 assurance that God would be faithful to his word. 00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:02.380 Right? It's all those things. God's almighty. 00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:04.579 He's delivered you up to this point. Now he's 00:39:04.579 --> 00:39:06.940 going to be God over the thunder and the rain. 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:15.710 Who was the thunder and rain God? That was the 00:39:15.710 --> 00:39:22.289 veil. So that's God overruling the great veil. 00:39:30.230 --> 00:39:34.030 The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, what 00:39:34.030 --> 00:39:37.369 the Bible says. If you're not listening to the 00:39:37.369 --> 00:39:41.030 Lord when a natural disaster happens or when 00:39:41.030 --> 00:39:46.429 you are just Caught up with the beauty of nature. 00:39:46.550 --> 00:39:53.289 Then you have missed the voice of the Lord. When 00:39:53.289 --> 00:39:55.469 the Lord sends a hurricane. And thousands of 00:39:55.469 --> 00:39:57.750 people die. Hundreds of people die. A hurricane 00:39:57.750 --> 00:40:00.690 whips through somewhere. Or a tornado whips through 00:40:00.690 --> 00:40:02.989 a small town. And people die. People's homes 00:40:02.989 --> 00:40:11.510 are destroyed. What's the message? Oh it's just 00:40:11.510 --> 00:40:14.179 a natural disaster. Who can control the tornado? 00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:19.340 It just goes where it happens to go. That's what 00:40:19.340 --> 00:40:23.179 everybody says, right? We can't even predict 00:40:23.179 --> 00:40:28.340 the tornadoes. But what's the real, what's the 00:40:28.340 --> 00:40:34.219 Lord saying when he does that? Is it cold -hearted? 00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:41.599 Is it mean? Is it ruthless? What's it supposed 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:47.019 to communicate? I guess it communicates that 00:40:47.019 --> 00:40:50.619 there's really no reason that this tornado didn't 00:40:50.619 --> 00:40:56.579 kill you. Okay. But overall, generally speaking, 00:40:56.780 --> 00:41:07.909 what's the message? Two words. Sin kills. The 00:41:07.909 --> 00:41:13.429 consequence of sin is death. Now, if you ever 00:41:13.429 --> 00:41:17.469 have an opportunity to talk to somebody, that 00:41:17.469 --> 00:41:22.989 sounds like the cold -heartedest thing that anybody's 00:41:22.989 --> 00:41:26.789 ever heard of. You mean to tell me this little 00:41:26.789 --> 00:41:29.650 baby died, and the only thing that you've got 00:41:29.650 --> 00:41:32.769 to tell me is that God is declaring in the tornado 00:41:32.769 --> 00:41:38.000 that sin kills? You don't have something nice 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:44.860 to say? My heart goes out to those parents that 00:41:44.860 --> 00:41:48.099 lost that kid. But the message from the Lord 00:41:48.099 --> 00:41:53.780 is truth, which is that sin kills. And the only 00:41:53.780 --> 00:41:56.119 reason that anybody dies in this world is because 00:41:56.119 --> 00:41:59.820 of sin. And the Lord is declaring to you that 00:41:59.820 --> 00:42:03.800 your day is coming. Turn to Him now while it's 00:42:03.800 --> 00:42:06.780 yet today. That's the message. Now if you want 00:42:06.780 --> 00:42:09.800 to be ostracized, if you want people to think 00:42:09.800 --> 00:42:13.219 you are a no good, dirty, rotten scoundrel, then 00:42:13.219 --> 00:42:15.760 you go ahead and proclaim that. But when you 00:42:15.760 --> 00:42:18.579 do, just know that that's the same truth that 00:42:18.579 --> 00:42:21.760 God was declaring back here and he has been declaring 00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:25.619 since then and before then. That's the message. 00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:28.880 And it's a message of peace. It's a message of 00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:33.519 hope. It's a message of grace. There is no hope 00:42:33.519 --> 00:42:36.460 in this world. Everything in this world is a 00:42:36.460 --> 00:42:41.480 disaster because of sin. So when they run you 00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:44.239 out, just know that you're in a long line of 00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:46.340 people that have been run out for declaring the 00:42:46.340 --> 00:42:57.840 word of God. But do it. So then the people are 00:42:57.840 --> 00:43:02.019 scared. And this isn't the same kind of fear. 00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:04.159 It didn't bring the fear of the Lord into them. 00:43:04.519 --> 00:43:07.860 They're scared to death. Why? For two things. 00:43:07.940 --> 00:43:11.599 Number one, apparently this God is really interested 00:43:11.599 --> 00:43:16.099 in exactly what this guy Samuel is saying here 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:21.000 in Gilgal. And number two is, we got to eat. 00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:25.980 And now the thunderstorm just came and wiped 00:43:25.980 --> 00:43:33.320 out our wheat harvest. You'd be scared too. And 00:43:33.320 --> 00:43:35.940 they said to Samuel, pray for thy servants that 00:43:35.940 --> 00:43:39.019 we die not. For we've added this unto our sins. 00:43:40.119 --> 00:43:42.420 We're agreeing with you. We've been doing this 00:43:42.420 --> 00:43:44.679 for years. We agree with all the things he told 00:43:44.679 --> 00:43:46.579 us have gone on before. Now we've added this 00:43:46.579 --> 00:43:51.679 to it. Pray for us. And what does Samuel say? 00:43:52.559 --> 00:43:55.920 In verse 20, fear not. Ye have done all this 00:43:55.920 --> 00:43:59.139 wickedness. Yet turn not aside from following 00:43:59.139 --> 00:44:02.500 the Lord. but serve the Lord with all your heart. 00:44:04.380 --> 00:44:08.360 Has there ever been a more hopeful verse in all 00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:14.139 the Bible? Who here is going to say, I have never 00:44:14.139 --> 00:44:19.679 failed in my life? But everybody here is going 00:44:19.679 --> 00:44:22.719 to say, I have failed, and not only failed, but 00:44:22.719 --> 00:44:26.460 failed repeatedly. What's the Lord tell me to 00:44:26.460 --> 00:44:31.269 do? Well dwell on that for a while. Go sit in 00:44:31.269 --> 00:44:34.929 the corner and think about it. Do some good regretting. 00:44:36.030 --> 00:44:38.889 Maybe get yourself a whip and beat yourself over 00:44:38.889 --> 00:44:40.489 the back with it for a little while. Is that 00:44:40.489 --> 00:44:44.050 the message from the Lord? I mean these people 00:44:44.050 --> 00:44:47.909 have turned to idols. Vain things that profit 00:44:47.909 --> 00:44:50.989 nothing. When the Lord God has delivered them 00:44:50.989 --> 00:44:53.829 and kept them safely every time they've walked 00:44:53.829 --> 00:44:56.690 with him. And what does Samuel tell them to do? 00:44:57.389 --> 00:44:59.329 Does he say yeah you're right. It's too late 00:44:59.329 --> 00:45:02.110 now though. You've got a king. Not even going 00:45:02.110 --> 00:45:06.510 to just bear with it. No. He says what's in the 00:45:06.510 --> 00:45:09.909 past. Is in the past. We can acknowledge it. 00:45:10.070 --> 00:45:13.309 But look forward. Fear the Lord and serve him. 00:45:13.349 --> 00:45:15.610 With all of your heart. And everything will be 00:45:15.610 --> 00:45:19.809 fine. That's how big of a God you have. And that's 00:45:19.809 --> 00:45:23.389 how much grace there is. In his presence. Now 00:45:23.389 --> 00:45:26.070 for you and for me. That's hope. That's hope 00:45:26.070 --> 00:45:30.849 for tomorrow. God tells us to move forward with 00:45:30.849 --> 00:45:34.329 him. Forget the past. It's over. It's done. You've 00:45:34.329 --> 00:45:51.389 confessed it. Now move forward. Verses 22 and 00:45:51.389 --> 00:45:54.030 23. For the Lord will not forsake his people 00:45:54.030 --> 00:45:57.650 for his great namesake. because it hath pleased 00:45:57.650 --> 00:46:01.090 the Lord to make you his people. God's name is 00:46:01.090 --> 00:46:04.190 at stake. If he turns his back on his people, 00:46:04.329 --> 00:46:06.510 then he isn't the God that he said that he was, 00:46:06.570 --> 00:46:10.849 faithful and true to the end. Moreover, as for 00:46:10.849 --> 00:46:13.050 me, God forbid that I should sin against the 00:46:13.050 --> 00:46:16.210 Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach 00:46:16.210 --> 00:46:21.510 you the good and the right way. Has there ever 00:46:21.510 --> 00:46:24.050 been a person who didn't need an intercessor? 00:46:26.730 --> 00:46:30.130 Are we that person? Now, we go directly to God, 00:46:30.309 --> 00:46:32.949 right? We pray to him. We don't pray to a priest, 00:46:33.010 --> 00:46:38.570 a human priest. But we have an intercessor who's 00:46:38.570 --> 00:46:42.710 consistently pleading for us before the Lord 00:46:42.710 --> 00:46:48.130 in his throne room. Samuel was doing the same 00:46:48.130 --> 00:46:51.550 thing for them, and it pleases the Lord. We want 00:46:51.550 --> 00:46:54.570 to apply it a little bit further? It pleases 00:46:54.570 --> 00:46:58.769 the Lord when you pray for your fellow Christian. 00:47:06.050 --> 00:47:10.090 And thirdly, we just say this. The beginning 00:47:10.090 --> 00:47:14.590 of king, the ending of judges, does not mean 00:47:14.590 --> 00:47:19.250 the end of a prophet. And so Samuel's role has 00:47:19.250 --> 00:47:21.849 changed. He's no longer judge in Israel. There's 00:47:21.849 --> 00:47:24.880 a king now. But that's not going to stop them 00:47:24.880 --> 00:47:27.400 from doing the work of a prophet, to declare 00:47:27.400 --> 00:47:29.860 the truth and to pray and to intercede for the 00:47:29.860 --> 00:47:32.659 people and to teach them the way that they should 00:47:32.659 --> 00:47:38.159 walk. Now that ought to be, we all should aspire 00:47:38.159 --> 00:47:41.159 to be Samuels in our home and in our places of 00:47:41.159 --> 00:47:44.699 work. The person that's going to pray for the 00:47:44.699 --> 00:47:46.340 people that mean something to us, that's going 00:47:46.340 --> 00:47:49.780 to teach the people. It's going to show them 00:47:49.780 --> 00:47:52.059 the way that's going to consistently be there 00:47:52.059 --> 00:47:55.139 and walk with them. Whether you're a man or a 00:47:55.139 --> 00:47:58.659 woman, a mother or a father, a husband or a wife, 00:47:58.820 --> 00:48:02.519 whether you're a boss, an owner, or just a run 00:48:02.519 --> 00:48:05.760 -of -the -mill employee, we want to be Samuels 00:48:05.760 --> 00:48:09.639 wherever we are. We want to walk honorably before 00:48:09.639 --> 00:48:13.559 people. We want to have the truth ready at the 00:48:13.559 --> 00:48:16.539 Spirit's disposal so that we can spill it out 00:48:16.539 --> 00:48:19.610 wherever we are. And then we want to take those 00:48:19.610 --> 00:48:22.190 people that we care about to the Lord in prayer. 00:48:22.349 --> 00:48:27.489 The Lord uses those prayers to bring grace into 00:48:27.489 --> 00:48:31.469 those people's lives. It's no small task. It's 00:48:31.469 --> 00:48:38.769 not unimportant. All right, we've got a couple 00:48:38.769 --> 00:48:41.369 minutes now. You can take over and ask questions. 00:48:53.840 --> 00:48:56.239 So generally then, we'll sum it up with this. 00:48:57.500 --> 00:49:00.519 This book is negative towards kingship. The way 00:49:00.519 --> 00:49:03.360 that it came about, the asking for it, very negative. 00:49:04.239 --> 00:49:08.639 It's positive and optimistic only in the grace 00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:11.719 of God and in God's way. And if they'll follow 00:49:11.719 --> 00:49:15.639 God's way, then everything will be well. And 00:49:15.639 --> 00:49:18.820 it's perfectly consistent throughout the entire 00:49:18.820 --> 00:49:22.219 book, throughout the entire Bible. When you turn 00:49:22.219 --> 00:49:25.199 away from God, trouble. When you walk with God, 00:49:25.420 --> 00:49:25.880 blessing.