The Pleasure of God in Making a People for Himself
A story is told about British preacher G. Campbell Morgan who once went to hear another man preach and realized that he was listening to one of his very own sermons. Line by line, point by point, he was listening to one of his own sermons being re-preached. Afterwards, he went up to meet the preacher and said, "That was a very good sermon. I greatly enjoyed it—especially the first time I heard it."
Ouch. That must have been awkward.
I have a slightly similar feeling this morning as I prepare to preach on 1 Samuel 12. This chapter is, more or less, a sermon delivered by Samuel at the end of his public ministry. And I get to re-preach this sermon to you today. That's quite a challenge, especially the part about summoning the thunderstorm.
But humour aside, we really do want to listen to what Samuel had to say to Israel on that day, and then consider the really good news that this passage has for you and me living all these 3,000 or more years later.
Let's start by picking up the context and remembering where we are in the story. After Saul was anointed by Samuel, he was given a really strong hint that he was supposed to go home and deal with the Philistines in his hometown, after which he was to go to Gilgal and wait for Samuel. And the idea was that there he would be publicly coronated after proving himself.
Instead, he just goes home. So Samuel has to take matters into his own hands. He calls Israel together at Mizpah, where Saul—hiding among the baggage—is chosen by lot before the people. But he still hasn't proven himself. He still basically goes home and keeps farming.
It's kind of like this guy really doesn't want to be king. So God gives him another chance, throwing him an underhand with Nahash the Ammonite. And in the power of God's spirit, Saul delivers Jabesh-gilead, and after that the people finally go up to Gilgal and publicly affirm Saul's kingship now that he's proved himself worthy of the office.
And it's right on the heels of this event that we get to Samuel's address here in chapter 12. It's possible that this speech was given right there at Gilgal, but even if the setting is different, this is the next event after chapter 11.
And here's why that's important: Saul has been affirmed as king. And Samuel, as judge, is passing the baton.
Now we need to remember that Samuel had more than one role. As a complete leader, he was Israel's prophet, speaking to them from God; their priest, offering sacrifices and representing them to God; and their judge, serving as a national and even a military leader.
But now, with the king in place, it's time to pass the baton from judge to king. And this isn't just a personal passing of the baton from Samuel to Saul—this is a massive transition in the life of Israel as the age of the judges transitions into the age of the kings. This is a major hinge-point.
And it's really crucial that Samuel make this transition well. As the last judge, he needs to turn in his badge so that the nation knows they have one leader to look to.
And yet, Samuel is not retiring as prophet and priest. In fact, his role as prophet is going to be extremely crucial in the chapters ahead. Because Israel's king was not supreme, doing whatever they wanted. They were under the word of the Lord, and needed to respond to the voice of the prophets.
So we could consider this a partial retirement on Samuel's part. He's finished in one of his roles, but will continue to serve in others. And that's why the heading that you might see in some of your Bibles—"Samuel's Farewell Address" or "Farewell Speech"—isn't super helpful. Because Samuel is not saying good-bye.
This is, however, his final public speech and the end of his term as Israel's judge. Which helps explain Samuel's choice of topic in the first six verses.
1. Samuel's Integrity (vv. 1-6)
Let's begin as Samuel introduces his speech here in verses 1-2. “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. 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’” (1 Samuel 12:1–2).
Samuel is pointing out the obvious. He's been around a long time—a long enough time to become old and grey, and for his sons to grow up and be with and known by the people. He's walked before them—a phrase that speaks of serving in an official capacity, and might hint at the fishbowl-like scrutiny of serving as a leader.
And now the king walks before them. They asked for a king, and here he is. The king has replaced the judge.
And as Samuel looks back over his years of service as judge, he says to the people, “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 and I will restore it to you’” (1 Samuel 12:3).
What's going on here? What Samuel is doing is testifying to his integrity as a leader. In all of these long years of walking before them as a judge, he has been a man of integrity and honesty. He hasn't taken anybody's ox or donkey or money. He hasn't used his authority over other people to his own advantage. He hasn't accepted any bribes from people.
This is huge because these are very common ways for leaders to fall. This is how Samuel's own sons fell! They fell prey to the power of leadership and began to dip into the perks of leadership. They used their authority for their own benefit instead of the benefits of others.
This is why 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 say church leaders must not be lovers of money or greedy for gain (1 Tim. 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2). It's why Paul tells Timothy to flee from the love of money (1 Tim 6:10-11).
How many people throughout history, up to the present day, have used spiritual leadership among God's people to their own advantage?
And it's not just about money. That word "oppressed" in verse 3 is so key. It speaks about mistreating or even crushing someone. It's what Israel's enemies did to them (Judges 10:8). It's what bad leaders do to the people under their care, making their leadership a heavy burden that makes their people feel smothered instead of empowered.
And Samuel didn't do any of that. We know this because he asks them publicly in verse 3: "Testify against me and I will restore it to you."
Wow. He is so confident that he puts it to the people and lets anybody respond. Can you imagine a Christian leader doing this at their retirement party? "If I've taken anything from you I shouldn't have, if I've crushed anybody with my leadership, here's an open mic. Tell me what I've done wrong, and I'll make it right." Wow.
And here's how the people respond. Verse 4: “They said, ‘You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.’ 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’” (1 Samuel 12:4–5).
Samuel is making sure the people know that he has been a man of integrity who has served them and not himself. Who has given and not taken. And this is so important, because he's not bragging. He's not just setting an example. He's making a contrast between himself and the king.
Do you remember chapter 8 where he told the people what it would be like to have a king? That phrase he repeated again and again? "He will take." He's going to take your sons and daughters and the best of your crops and your animals and on and on he went (1 Sam 8:11-17).
The king is going to use his office to serve himself, in other words. But I haven't done that, says Samuel. I've served you with honesty and integrity.
So his words here are a reminder that the people rejected this integrity for a man and an institution that would take, take, take. They chose that.
2. Israel's History (vv. 7-15)
If Samuel's criticism of their choice of a king is subtle in these first few verses, it gets very explicit in the following verses, as Samuel very directly tells the people how tragic of a choice they've made in demanding a human king. And he does this by reminding the people how good of a king God, who is witness to his integrity, had been to them.
“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” (1 Samuel 12:7).
And he goes back to Egypt, starting with Jacob's sojourn there, the Exodus, and their settling in the land. He spends most of his time reminding them of the period of time they've just come out of—the time of the judges where, in verse 9, they "forgot the Lord their God."
But how, after being sold into the hands of their enemies, they would, verse 10, cry out to the Lord and repent. And how, verse 11, the Lord sent them deliverers again and again to deliver them.
“And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety” (1 Samuel 12:11). Notice how he includes himself in the list? And reminds them that, under these judges, they were fine?
But, verse 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” (1 Samuel 12:12).
Here's where we get one of those bombshell revelations that the Biblical authors are so good at saving up and surprising us with: Nahash, the snake-king who was going around gouging out people's eyes? It was the threat of him that prompted Israel to ask for a king. And now they're here, and there's no going back. Verse 13: “And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you” (1 Samuel 12:13).
Samuel is sure to mention that the Lord has set a king over them. In other words, God has not let Himself be replaced. He's given them a king, but He's not going anywhere. His covenant with them is still in force. That's the point of verses 15-16:
“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. 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” (1 Samuel 12:14–15).
What Samuel is saying here is nothing new. These are the terms of the covenant given to Israel by Moses. This is basically a summary of Deuteronomy 28. And that's the point. Samuel is basically saying: you have a king, but nothing fundamental in your arrangement with God has changed. You might have rejected Him, but He hasn't rejected you. The covenant is still in force.
3. The Lord's Displeasure (vv. 16-18)
Without catching a breath, Samuel keeps going, because he isn't the only person with something to say that day. God himself is going to express His displeasure with Israel that day in a way that they won't miss—in a way that they can't attribute to the ramblings of a grumpy old man who's just been forced into retirement.
Verse 16: “Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain."
Wheat harvest took place in the summer, the dry season, when rain was scarce. This is like a snowstorm in July if you live in Saskatchewan—not impossible, but really, really unlikely. And what's the message here? "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’” (1 Samuel 12:16–17).
The connection point here is that, like we saw a few weeks ago, thunder is connected to God's voice. Remember when the Lord thundered with a mighty sound against the Philistines?
What's happening in this totally unnatural thunderstorm is basically God raising His voice with Israel. I hesitate to say that, because often when human parents raise their voice, it's because they've lost control and are venting in a sinful and harmful way.
But there is a time and a place to use a loud voice in a deliberate and controlled way that cuts through the confusion, arrests attention, and makes it very clear that what's happening in that moment is not okay. And we know that because that's what God is doing here with Israel.
Verse 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” (1 Samuel 12:18).
God is raising his voice with his children, and they fear him—greatly fear him—as they should. They have sinned, and God is not happy with them. This storm is a clear sign of his displeasure.
And the people get it. They get the message. Verse 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.’”
The people understand that God could legitimately strike them dead that day. His anger is warranted, given the way they've added to all of their sins the evil of asking for a king. They are right to reach out to their mediator to ask for prayer that they don't die.
And we shouldn't move on too quickly from this point. God's displeasure—His anger—at our sin is a theme we certainly don't overemphasize most of the time in the Western church. In fact, I've seen people get really upset—which is ironic, right?—when they encounter this idea that God is angry with us for our sin.
But this is a key biblical teaching, and we can't white it out without doing great damage to our understanding of the gospel. How does Paul open up his explanation of the gospel in Romans 1? “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18).
Over and over again, the Bible describes God's anger and wrath in vivid and personal terms. “Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire” (Isaiah 30:27).
Now, the Bible is also clear to show us that this wrath of God is not the fitful outburst of an out-of-control temper. God, by nature, is slow to anger (Ex. 34:6). His wrath is a just and controlled response to rebellion and wickedness. His anger coexists with his love. But that doesn't make his anger any less real, or any less fierce.
And this hasn't changed in the New Testament. Jesus did not come to tell us that God has just decided to stop being angry at sin. Jesus came to bear the anger of God in place of us. That's what was happening on the cross. The dark sky, the shaking ground—these are phenomena described by the prophets that speak to God's wrath. Jesus was bearing God's wrath instead of us on the cross.
So let's make this personal here for you and me: if you have never felt yourself in the place of Israel in verse 18, aware of your sin, trembling before the just anger of God, knowing He could justly strike you dead, there is a good chance that you have not yet understood the gospel.
The gospel will not be truly good news to you until you have felt the reality of divine wrath against your sin. Until you know that, like Israel, though the Lord has been so good to you again and again, you've so often turned to other things to rescue and satisfy you, and God does not just shrug his shoulders at that. He has every right and reason to be very, very angry with you and to pour out his wrath on you in judgement.
4. The People's Hope (vv. 19-25)
This is the awareness that makes the gospel good news, because we cry out, like the people in verse 19, "pray for us that we may not die." Or, in the language of the New Testament, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13).
And then the good news is really good news. The good news is that, despite what we deserve, God is unimaginably kind to us. Don't miss the beautiful gospel logic in verse 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’” (1 Samuel 12:20).
Think of what is assumed here by what he says. If they aren't supposed to be afraid, even though they've done all this evil, but keep following the Lord, that means that the Lord is going to let them keep following him despite all the evil they've done. Their wickedness is not going to end their relationship with him. They get to keep following him.
Verse 21: “And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.” Implication? The Lord can profit and deliver, and He's going to keep doing that! Even after everything you've done, He’s going to keep on blessing you and delivering you.
Are you sure, Samuel? Are you sure you're not assuming too much here?
No way. Look at verse 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” (1 Samuel 12:22).
Here it is. Here is the beating heart, not just of this passage, but of God's whole relationship with His wayward people over these centuries. Yahweh is not going to forsake his people, despite all they've done, and here is the reason, given to us in two parts. Two layered reasons.
First, and most ultimately, the Lord—Yahweh—will not forsake his people for his great name's sake. God's people are His people. His name is on the line. If He forsakes them, it will bring disgrace upon Himself.
And so He will not forsake them, even though they deserve it, for the sake of His name.
This is not a strange or a unique idea in the Bible. Think of how Moses pleaded with God when the people sinned with the Golden Calf. He basically said, "What will the Egyptians say about you?" (See Exodus 32:11–12). Think of what the Lord said to Israel years later through Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36. ““Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came” (Ezekiel 36:22).
And through Isaiah the Lord made it as explicit as possible: ““For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:9–11).
God saves His people and does not cast them off for the sake of His name.
And second—and not disconnected—God will not cast them off because of His pleasure in making a people for Himself.
“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” (1 Samuel 12:22).
Israel didn't make themselves. God made them, and He made them for Himself—for His own possession, for His own glory. And He did that because He wanted to. That's the basic sense of "it has pleased the Lord." He made you for Himself because He wanted to.
Many times God tells Israel that He didn't choose them because of anything particularly awesome about them. He chose them because He chose them. And it pleased Him to make them a people.
Taken together, it's not hard to see that both of these reasons are rigorously God-centred reasons. God will not forsake His people, despite what they deserve, because of God.
And I wonder if we might wrestle with that a little bit. I wonder if we tend to think about the relationship between us and God as fairly reciprocal. We know we're supposed to worship God and not ourselves, but we imagine God returning the favour by being fixated on us instead of Himself.
And that's just not what God has told us at all. God is absolutely committed to Himself and His own glory. And yes, there is a relational aspect to this within the Trinity—the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father—but we should have no problem just acknowledging that God's basic allegiance is to Himself.
When we love anything other than God, including ourselves, it's called idolatry, because there is only one God. How much more must the triune God be committed to the most valuable, most worthy being in the universe—Himself?
And we might ask, does this mean that God doesn't love us, and the answer is, of course He loves us. But He doesn't love us in the Hollywood sense of love, as if He wants to spend all eternity staring into our eyes telling us how wonderful we are.
He loves us, which means He wants to invite us to spend eternity enjoying and experiencing the most satisfying reality of all—which is Himself.
This is what John 17 tells us. From all of eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit have loved each other with perfect, intense love, and by making us and saving us, God has invited us into that love. Heaven will be loving God as God loves God. Or, in the trinitarian way Jesus explains it in John 17, loving the Son with the very love of the Father.
Isn't that stunning? Because God loves us, He wants to give us the best thing ever, which is Himself. God's commitment to Himself and His own glory is the best news in the world for us. Because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
And here in 1 Samuel, God's commitment to His own glory is good news for Israel, because it means they are safe and will not be cast off, despite what they deserve.
It also means that Samuel is going to keep praying for them—not because it's what they deserve, but because anything less would be sinning against the Lord. He's going to keep on instructing them in the good and the right way, verse 23. No retirement from that duty.
Even so, there is a warning. This is not a blank cheque. They must, as he reminds them again in verse 24, fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully as they consider all the great things He has done. Because judgement will come to them and their king should they persist in their wickedness.
But even that is just a repeat of the covenant promises, assuring them that their king has been bundled into their relationship with God instead of ejecting them from His covenant.
Conclusion & Application
So, here we are this morning. What about us?
Four of you were just baptized today. What is your hope, your confidence as you face whatever lies in your future? Is it not this—that the Lord will not forsake you for His great name's sake, because it pleased Him to make you a part of His people for Himself?
Some of you students are leaving here today after completing your studies, and what is your hope and confidence as you look to the future? Is it not the same answer?
Some of you come into this building this morning gripped with guilt, and your conscience slays you, and you wonder if you've gone too far. Is this not your hope—that the Lord still calls you to follow Him, to stop turning aside to worthless things, and to seek Him with your whole heart?
Some of you are just really tired, and you've had a tough week, and as you think about the week ahead—let alone whatever years or decades are in front of you—you don't know how you're going to make it.
Is this not good news to each of us here this morning—that “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” (1 Samuel 12:22)? This is an infinitely firm foundation for any single one of us to stand on today.
So we go now to the table, where we remember how Christ proved His love for us when He bore God's wrath in our place. As we do that, we'll sing praises to God, giving His great name the glory that He deserves. As our service closes, we'll sing about His faithfulness that will sustain us to the end.