We are saturated with it as our cultural entertainment. It's on a screen and does not happen in reality. Right?
But for the Israelites then, and for millions of Christians TODAY, fear is used as a means of overpowering, controlling and attempting to stop God's people from acting on His behalf.
1 Samuel 11:1
It was Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, who has a reputation of gouging out Israelites right eyes that caused God's chosen people to desire a king who could fight their battles. 
1 Samuel 12:12 NLT “But
when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and
said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king. 13 All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
The men of Jabesh-gilead were indebted to their appointed King, Saul, for what he did for them. When Saul was killed by the Philistines, they risked their lives to rescue his corpse and return it to Israel. A preview of how these folks would feel about Saul is seen in chapter 31.
1 Samuel 31:11-13 NLT
11 But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all
their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took
the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to
Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
*In the book of Judges 21:10-12 we remember who lives in Jabesh-gilead. Now as we read 1 Samuel...this place is inhabited by a bunch of Israelite men with a wife they basically stole (after murdering her parents and all humans in their city except for the 400 virgin girls! Then these girls were forced into marriage to the Israelites!
Judges 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy[a] all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The pinnacle to understanding this brutality and non-Western, non-modern way of thinking is this: 25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
*In the book of Judges 21:10-12 we remember who lives in Jabesh-gilead. Now as we read 1 Samuel...this place is inhabited by a bunch of Israelite men with a wife they basically stole (after murdering her parents and all humans in their city except for the 400 virgin girls! Then these girls were forced into marriage to the Israelites!
Judges 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy[a] all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The pinnacle to understanding this brutality and non-Western, non-modern way of thinking is this: 25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
1 Samuel 11:3
In a world where tyranny was the norm, it’s possible that they may have grown accustomed to such brutality that having their right eyes gouged out and becoming slaves was superior to the torture and annihilation of their whole culture.
"Lord, may we and our children after us NEVER know this kind of tyranny or slavery! I pray your protection over us and boldness for You in all we say and do!"
Yet, our brothers and sisters TODAY who live every minute of every day in a culture of fear are my encouragement, my source of strength to not give up and I must remember to pray for them. They are on the battlefield of brutality, waging as soldiers in the war that most of us will never experience on the front lines. Here are just a few current photos from Voice of the Martyrs of current abuses from people who hate followers of Jesus.
This is my brother in China.
These are my brothers who were beheaded because the were bold for Jesus.
This is most gruesome, But I include it, because it was his reality for following Jesus. We are no different than him. We just happen to live in another country where this tyrrany is not the norm. Yet, our brothers and sisters TODAY who live every minute of every day in a culture of fear are my encouragement, my source of strength to not give up and I must remember to pray for them. They are on the battlefield of brutality, waging as soldiers in the war that most of us will never experience on the front lines. Here are just a few current photos from Voice of the Martyrs of current abuses from people who hate followers of Jesus.
This is my brother in China.
1 Samuel 11:5
How can fear affect us? The people in this text, wept. They were grieved. There is no indication they would have taken action without Saul stirring them up. People who are anointed to lead react differently than people who are anointed to follow and serve.
As leaders and followers in Red Door community and the family at large, it is important to remember this. If everyone acted 'just like me' then the whole lot of us would either be a bunch of bossy maniacs or a bunch of crybabies. We need a little of both to make things work smoothly! :) (Or a bunch of grace to realize that we are all a bunch of mess ups that the Creator of the Universe is using for His purposes.)
1 Samuel 11:15As leaders and followers in Red Door community and the family at large, it is important to remember this. If everyone acted 'just like me' then the whole lot of us would either be a bunch of bossy maniacs or a bunch of crybabies. We need a little of both to make things work smoothly! :) (Or a bunch of grace to realize that we are all a bunch of mess ups that the Creator of the Universe is using for His purposes.)
I asked, 'Why did Saul hide in a basket at the announcement of his anointing as king AFTER he had already been informed that he would be king?" Had he been so insecure and fearful of people that he had hid himself? Unknown. But then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and God changed his heart so that he conducted himself with great boldness and authority. Here he reaped the results of this new found purpose. It’s possible that he became addicted to all the recognition and acclaim he received. He moved his confidence from the Lord to the praises of the people. Then when the people began to praise David more than him, jealousy took over and began his demise.
This was a lot for chapter 11. For chapter 12, if you are getting hungry, then before we continue on, you can pull up a rock, grab a dehydrated snack from your knapsack, or I can share some fresh caught small mouth bass with you that I just caught! Butter and garlic ok? Mosquitoes aren't so bad so let's eat quickly and keep on studying!
This was a lot for chapter 11. For chapter 12, if you are getting hungry, then before we continue on, you can pull up a rock, grab a dehydrated snack from your knapsack, or I can share some fresh caught small mouth bass with you that I just caught! Butter and garlic ok? Mosquitoes aren't so bad so let's eat quickly and keep on studying!
1 Samuel 12
1 Samuel 12:1
A godly leader responds to God, not man.1 Samuel 12:2
Samuel was one of the very few characters in the Bible who never had a dark secret revealed in his life. He was faithful to God always. His children didn’t turn out well, but he wasn’t criticized for that the way Eli was. That implies that wasn’t his fault. Even God’s children rebelled at Him (Genesis 3:6-7), and He was the perfect Father. This is not to imply that Samuel was perfect, he sinned. Yet, he was an upright and God-seeking man. Wouldn't it be lovely to have this be YOUR reputation, MY reputation? You can; I can. It's a choice. Everyday.
What legacy do we leave and how do others who know us (the real us) speak of us? And when we are dead, how will those left speak of us? Let us all remember that we can also create a legacy of uprightness, obedience, trust-worthiness, and good reputations for God's glory.
1 Samuel 12:5,6,8
Samuel was establishing that it wasn’t his fault the people had rejected God’s form of government through prophets and spiritual leaders and instead had chosen a king like the nations around them.
They forgot or did not care that their nation began with Moses and Aaron, not a king. The theocratic form of government instituted by Moses was also of God. The people had rejected that form of government and thereby had rejected God too.
1 Samuel 12:9
They didn’t have a government problem. They had a morality problem. Bad forms of government are good when good people rule, and likewise, good forms of government are bad when evil people rule.1 Samuel 12:10
In times past, when the Israelites repented, God delivered them. This would have continued if they had cooperated with God’s plan, but they wanted a form of government that would bring them God’s blessings without their commitment to God.
1 Samuel 12:12
There is something special about 12:12 for me...what do you think it might be?
Ok...back to 1 Samuel 12:12
By the people choosing Saul as their king, they had rejected God as their King. I’m sure the people didn’t see it that way before Samuel made this point. But that was exactly what had happened. All of this happened because of the people’s fear of Nahash (remember, the king of Ammon who gouged out their right eyes???).
If they had been dwelling in the love of the Lord, His perfect love would have cast that fear out (see 1 Jn 4:18) and this desire for a king would never have gotten them into all the trouble that it did.
1 Samuel 12:13
We need to be careful what we ask God for. He will give us things that we want though they are things we don’t need.1 Samuel 12:15
Even though the Lord was dealing in mercy with the nation of Israel, His mercy did have limits. There needed to be some cooperation with Him. Through Christ’s atonement, we have a better covenant where the mercies of the Lord will never run out. Thank You, Jesus!
1 Samuel 12:17
So Samuel is saying that although it doesn’t usually rain at this time of year, God was going to send rain and thunder to illustrate His displeasure. Check out this website that states a current description of Israel's summer weather.
http://www.israelweather.co.il/english/page3.asp?topic_id=76&topic2_id=91&page_id=87
Choosing a king was not just a carnal mistake. This verse says it was wickedness. Yet, the Lord still loved them and worked within the system where they replaced Him.
1 Samuel 12:19
If this thunder and rain made the people repent of their request for a king, that raises the questions: Why didn’t the Lord do this in the beginning, before He supplied them with a king? Wouldn’t this have solved the problem and returned them to a theocracy?
It might have straightened things out for a while, but they had a systemic problem; i.e., the problem was deep in their hearts. It would have surfaced again. They just didn’t have hearts to trust in God alone:
Deuteronomy 10:12
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
They wanted someone physical to fight their battles for them. That’s not the way the Lord wanted it.
Deuteronomy 10:12
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
They wanted someone physical to fight their battles for them. That’s not the way the Lord wanted it.
God wanted them all to turn to Him. What beauty in that!
1 Samuel 12:20
Like these Israelites, our failure to be what the Lord wants us to be should not stop us from serving the Lord. Even under this Old Covenant Law, the Lord showed them mercy and promised them blessings if they would continue to serve the Lord. How much greater is His mercy under our New Covenant where all our sins have been placed upon Jesus.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[b] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21(ESV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[b] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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