1 Samuel 12:23

23 And far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you: and 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 And turn not aside after vain things, which shall never profit you, nor deliver you, because they are vain.
22 And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because the Lord hath sworn to make you his people.
23 And far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you: and I will teach you the good and right way.
24 Therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in truth, and with your whole heart, for you have seen the great works which he hath done among you.
25 But if you will still do wickedly: both you and your king shall perish together.
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