1 Samuel 12:14

14 If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey him, and don't rebel against what he says, then you and your king will follow the LORD your God.

1 Samuel 12:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:14

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice,
&c.] All worship and service of God, and obedience to his word and ordinances, should spring from fear and reverence of him; and therefore the whole of worship, both external and internal, is sometimes expressed by the fear of the Lord:

and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord;
break it, and thereby exasperate him, and provoke him to wrath and bitterness:

then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you,
continue following the Lord your God; the Targum is,

``after the worship of the Lord your God;''

which was their duty to do, and is expressed in the preceding clauses; and this therefore is rather a promise of some benefit and privilege to their duty, and to encourage them to it, since it stands opposed to the threatening of punishment in the next verse; and the words in the original are, "then shall ye &c. be after the Lord your God" F12: that is, though they had in effect rejected the Lord from being their King, by asking and having one; yet notwithstanding, if they and their king were obedient to the commands of the Lord, he would not cast them off; but they should follow him as their guide, leader, and director, and he would protect and defend them as a shepherd does his sheep that follow after him; so Jarchi takes it to be a promise of long life and happiness to them and their king,

``ye shall be established to length of days, both ye and the king.''


FOOTNOTES:

F12 (hwhy rxa-Mtyyh) "eritis post Dominum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Piscator.

1 Samuel 12:14 In-Context

12 But when you saw King Nahash of Ammon coming to attack you, you told me, 'No, a king should rule over us,' 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 put a king over you.
14 If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey him, and don't rebel against what he says, then you and your king will follow the LORD your God.
15 But if you don't obey the LORD, if you rebel against what he says, then the LORD will be against you as he was against your ancestors.
16 Now then, stand still and watch this great thing the LORD is going to do right before your eyes.
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