1 Samuel 12:23

23 "As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.[a] I will teach you the good and right way.

1 Samuel 12:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:23

Moreover, as for me
As he had given them reason to believe that God would forgive their sin, by which they had offended him, rejecting him as their King, so he likewise forgave their offence against him in rejecting him as their governor under him, and so neither need fear the Lord nor him with a servile fear; and as God would still be gracious to them, if they abode by his service, so he, Samuel, would do all the good offices for them that lay in his power:

God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to pray
for you;
for since they had returned to the Lord, and acknowledged their sin, it would have been an evil in him not to pray for them, that they might share in the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and have all good things bestowed upon them they stood in need of; this he judged to be his duty to do, and therefore abhorred the thought of being indifferent to it, negligent of it, or of dropping it:

but I will teach you the good and the right way;
would not only pray for them, but instruct them in the way of their duty; a way that was a good one, agreeable to the will and word of God, and in walking in which good things were enjoyed, and which being a good way, must needs be a right way; though Samuel ceased to be a judge and chief magistrate among them, he should not cease to act the part of a prophet to them, both by his prayers and by his instructions.

1 Samuel 12:23 In-Context

21 Don't turn away to follow worthless things that can't profit or deliver you; they are worthless.
22 The Lord will not abandon His people, because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people.
23 "As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.
24 Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart, considering the great things He has done for you.
25 However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. 1 Sm 7:5-9; Nm 21:7; Rm 1:9-10
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