1 Samuel 12:18

18 Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.^[a]

1 Samuel 12:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:18

So Samuel called unto the Lord
Not in an authoritative way, or by way of command, but by prayer; so the Targum renders the clause in the preceding verse,

``I will pray before the Lord:''

and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day;
immediately, though there was no appearance of it; it was harvest time, and a fine harvest day. Josephus says ^F16 he sent thunder, lightning, and hail, a terrible storm and tempest it was:

and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel;
the Lord that sent this tempest, and Samuel who had such power with God in prayer. Clement of Alexandria ^F17 thinks that from hence the Greeks borrowed their fable concerning Aeacus invoking God, when there was a drought in Greece; and as soon as he prayed, immediately there was thunder, and the whole air was covered with clouds; but perhaps they rather framed it from the instance of Elijah praying for rain ^F18, at whose request it came, ( 1 Kings 18:42-45 ) .

---

FOOTNOTES:

F16 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 5. sect. 6.
F17 Stromat. l. 6. p. 630.
F18 Vid. Schmid. in Pindar. Nemea, Ode 5. p. 110.

1 Samuel 12:18 In-Context

16 "Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.

17 Isn't the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord's sight by requesting a king for yourselves."

18 Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 They pleaded with Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so we won't die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves."

20 Samuel replied, "Don't be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart.

Footnotes

• [a]. Ex 9:23-25,31; 1 Kg 18:37-39; Pr 26:1