Friday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 12
Samuel’s Farewell Address
12 Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king. 2 Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. 3 Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.”
4 “No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.”
5 “The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today,” Samuel declared, “that my hands are clean.”
“Yes, he is a witness,” they replied.
6 “It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the great things the Lord has done for you and your ancestors.
8 “When the Israelites were[a] in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land. 9 But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10 “Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from the Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Gideon,[b] Bedan,[c] Jephthah, and Samuel[d] to save you, and you lived in safety.
12 “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.
14 “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. 15 But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
16 “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. 17 You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”
18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 “Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”
20 “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. 21 Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! 22 The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
23 “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 25 But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”
Samuel’s Farewell Address
12 Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king. 2 Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. 3 Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.”
4 “No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.”
5 “The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today,” Samuel declared, “that my hands are clean.”
“Yes, he is a witness,” they replied.
6 “It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the great things the Lord has done for you and your ancestors.
8 “When the Israelites were[a] in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land. 9 But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10 “Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from the Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Gideon,[b] Bedan,[c] Jephthah, and Samuel[d] to save you, and you lived in safety.
12 “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.
14 “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. 15 But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
16 “Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. 17 You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”
18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 “Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”
20 “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. 21 Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! 22 The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
23 “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 25 But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”
Commentary:
12:22 The motivation for avoiding such delusions is grounded primarily in the fact that “the LORD will not forsake his people” (cf. Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5; Ps. 94:14). “For his great name’s sake” (cf. Ps. 106:8; Isa. 48:9; Jer. 14:7) demonstrates how his commitment to his people is bound up with his own honor. He will not—indeed, he cannot—renege on his covenant pledge to Israel (cf. Rom. 11:2). As his people, they can rely utterly on their God to provide for them.
John L. Mackay, “1-2 Samuel,” in 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. III, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 137.
John L. Mackay, “1-2 Samuel,” in 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. III, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 137.
Questions:
Israel had just been confronted with the seriousness of its sin. The people had rejected God as their King and demanded a king of their own. Now they were afraid of what their rebellion might cost them. But Samuel didn't leave them in fear. He told them to turn back to the Lord and then reminded them of something they desperately needed to hear: “The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people”.
God wasn't staying with Israel because they had earned it, they had repeatedly turned away from Him, yet He continued to show them mercy and call them back to faithfulness! His commitment flowed from His own character and love, not from their record of perfect obedience. He didn't pretend their sin was without consequences, but He also did not abandon them because they had failed.
When a family legally adopts a child, that child's place in the family doesn't disappear when they struggle, disobey, or make a mess of things. The parents don't take back the adoption papers after a difficult day. The child belongs to that family. From that secure place, the child can learn the family's rhythms, receive loving correction, and grow over time. Love doesn't mean ignoring harmful behavior; correction happens within a relationship of commitment, not as a threat that the child will be thrown out.
We don't have to clean ourselves up to earn a place in God's family. Through Christ, we are forgiven and brought in as His sons and daughters. When we sin, we still need to confess, repent, and change. God disciplines those He loves, and following Jesus means learning to live in obedience, but we aren't trying to persuade God to keep us every time we stumble.
You have been welcomed into God's family by grace, but God's grace doesn't leave us as we are, it gives us a secure place from which to grow.
God wasn't staying with Israel because they had earned it, they had repeatedly turned away from Him, yet He continued to show them mercy and call them back to faithfulness! His commitment flowed from His own character and love, not from their record of perfect obedience. He didn't pretend their sin was without consequences, but He also did not abandon them because they had failed.
When a family legally adopts a child, that child's place in the family doesn't disappear when they struggle, disobey, or make a mess of things. The parents don't take back the adoption papers after a difficult day. The child belongs to that family. From that secure place, the child can learn the family's rhythms, receive loving correction, and grow over time. Love doesn't mean ignoring harmful behavior; correction happens within a relationship of commitment, not as a threat that the child will be thrown out.
We don't have to clean ourselves up to earn a place in God's family. Through Christ, we are forgiven and brought in as His sons and daughters. When we sin, we still need to confess, repent, and change. God disciplines those He loves, and following Jesus means learning to live in obedience, but we aren't trying to persuade God to keep us every time we stumble.
You have been welcomed into God's family by grace, but God's grace doesn't leave us as we are, it gives us a secure place from which to grow.
- When someone has disappointed you repeatedly, what eventually changes in the way you see and treat them? Do you begin to define them by their failures, withdraw your care, or assume they won't change? Consider a real relationship where your patience has worn thin. What would it mean to pursue that person's good without excusing their behavior or making their progress a condition of your care?
- Samuel reminded Israel that God had chosen them as His own despite their unfaithfulness. Do you approach God as a son or daughter who belongs to Him, or as someone whose place feels uncertain whenever you fail? Where does that uncertainty show up in the way you pray, confess sin, receive correction, or obey? How does the truth of your adoption in Christ challenge that pattern?
- Think of a relationship where recurring failure has made it difficult to know how to respond with both grace and truth. Have you been avoiding an honest conversation, growing resentful, or trying to manage the other person's behavior? What would loving them faithfully require from you now; whether that means confession, a difficult conversation, a boundary, or practical support?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the ways impatience, resentment, or disappointment have caused you to see people through their failures rather than love them well.
- Thank Jesus for bringing you into God's family through His finished work, not your performance.
- Ask God to help you receive His correction without doubting His commitment to you.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
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