1 Samuel 12:6-16

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of Egypt.

7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your ancestors.

8 “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9 “But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.

10 They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’

11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal,^[a] Barak,^[b] Jephthah and Samuel,^[c] and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.

13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.

14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good!

15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

16 “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!

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1 Samuel 12:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 12

In this chapter Samuel, resigning the government to Saul, asserts the integrity with which he had performed his office, and calls upon the people of Israel to attest it, who did, 1Sa 12:1-5, he then reminds them of the great and good things the Lord had done for them in times past, 1Sa 12:6-11 and whereas they had desired a king, and one was given them, it was their interest to fear and serve the Lord; if not, his hand would be against them, 1Sa 12:10-15 he terrifies them by calling for thunder in an unusual time, 1Sa 12:16-19 and then comforts and encourages them, that in doing their duty God would be with them, and not forsake them, otherwise they might expect nothing but ruin and destruction, 1Sa 12:20-25.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 30

1. S Exodus 3:10; Exodus 6:26; Micah 6:4
2. S Joshua 24:1
3. Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 3:14; Jeremiah 2:9; Jeremiah 25:31; Ezekiel 17:20; Ezekiel 20:35; Micah 6:1-5
4. S Judges 5:11
5. S Genesis 46:6
6. S Exodus 2:23
7. S Exodus 3:10; Exodus 4:16
8. S Deuteronomy 32:18; S Judges 3:7
9. S Deuteronomy 32:30
10. Judges 4:2
11. S Joshua 11:1
12. Judges 10:7; Judges 13:1
13. Judges 3:12
14. S Judges 3:9
15. S 1 Samuel 8:8; Judges 10:10,15
16. S 1 Samuel 7:3; Judges 2:13
17. Judges 6:32; Judges 6:14,32
18. S Judges 4:6
19. S Judges 11:1
20. S 1 Samuel 7:15
21. S 1 Samuel 11:1
22. S 1 Samuel 8:5
23. 1 Samuel 25:30; 2 Samuel 5:2; 1 Chronicles 5:2; Judges 8:23; 1 Samuel 8:6,19
24. S 1 Samuel 8:5; Hosea 13:11
25. S 1 Samuel 9:20; 1 Samuel 10:24
26. S Joshua 24:14
27. Jeremiah 4:17; Lamentations 1:18
28. ver 9; Leviticus 26:16; Joshua 24:20; Isaiah 1:20; Jeremiah 4:17; Jeremiah 26:4
29. S Exodus 14:14
30. S Exodus 14:13

Footnotes 3

[a]. Also called "Gideon"
[b]. Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew "Bedan"
[c]. Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac "Samson"