1 Samuel 12:1-25 | Food for Thought
1 Samuel 12:1-25
Food for Thought:
Samuel’s Exit Interview. Samuel will still be around for a while as a priest and mouthpiece of God, but he’s stepping aside as the people’s overall leader in order to make room for Saul to assume his duties as king. As he’s making the “transition of power,” he invites the people to scrutinize his character and track record for any wrongs he’s done, that he might repent and repair the damage done.
Consider Samuel’s good track record. Why would he have felt the need to do this? Why would he have wanted this to be a part of his farewell speech?
What does this tell us about Samuel, even after all his years of faithfulness and leadership?
What’s the significance of having God and the king as his witnesses?
What keeps you from proactively asking folks to speak to your life and character? How might it change your life and relationships?
Samuel Turns the Tables. Samuel turns the tables on the people and offers them his own feedback (which really is the Lord’s, as well). Confirmed by a supernatural storm during the dry season, Samuel let’s them know that their demand for a king was wicked. But even though they’ve now changed their nation’s circumstances for the worse, the Lord refuses to abandon them.
Samuel recounts specific instances of God’s gracious intervention in the life of his people. What kinds of moments are these? What do they represent? Why would he select these in particular?
How does this recollection of God’s grace help us understand the reason why their demand for a king was so wrong?
Samuel says that God himself had already been serving them as their king. How is Jesus serving you as your king today?
Kings can be genuine “movers and shakers,” and they can also be little more than ceremonial figureheads. Which one is Jesus? How should that shape the way we relate with him, view him, obey him, etc., day-in and day-out?
How can Samuel say that if they remain faithful from this point on all will be well? They’re now stuck with a king in a situation created by sin. What does this say about God’s grace and what faith looks like in the wake of finding ourselves in a hard place?
Without a storm to prove the seriousness of the point, how can we be certain of both the state of our sinfulness and the power of God’s grace? What can we look to today?
Samuel’s Faithful Follow-up. After some tough words (and a good promise!), the people freak out a bit. Samuel encourages the people to not be afraid and to hold fast to their faithfulness. Despite stepping down, he’s not stepping away from the people; he’ll continue to pray for them and help them as he can.
Why did the people respond to Samuel the way that they did? What did they hear the loudest from him, and what seemed to fall on deaf ears?
Does confession / being confronted ever put you in a similar place: afraid, defensive, self-preserving, forgetting the good news amidst the bad?
How does Samuel reorient them back around to the good news of God?
Why does Samuel say it’d be a sin against the Lord if he refused to pray for the Israelites? Does that say anything about the way we should respond to other people’s sin and confession?
Samuel reminds them of grace, promises to pray, and commits to walking with them into maturity. What does this tell you about the nature of God’s people and our interdependence to one another? How is it a privilege to be with people who are “in the dark” in the midst of sin and suffering?