1 Samuël 12:12

12 Als gij nu zaagt, dat Nahas, de koning van de kinderen Ammons, tegen u kwam, zo zeidet gij tot mij: Neen, maar een koning zal over ons regeren; zo toch de HEERE, uw God, uw Koning was.

1 Samuël 12:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:12

And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon
came against you
Or "but yet" ^F11; however, notwithstanding though the Lord had been so kind and gracious to them, as to raise up judges one after another to deliver them, when they cried unto him, yet when they perceived that Nahash the Ammonite was preparing to make war with them, instead of applying to the Lord for his protection, they desired to have a king to go before them, and fight their battles, as follows: nay,

but a king shall reign over us;
though Samuel told them they had no need of one:

when the Lord your God was your King;
and would protect and defend them, if they applied to him, and would put their trust in him; and he himself Samuel was their judge, and would be their general and commander, and they had experience of success under him to the utter destruction of their enemies, ( 1 Samuel 7:10 ) and yet, notwithstanding all this, they insisted upon it to have a king. According to Abarbinel, this preparation of Nahash to war with them was after they had asked for a king, and was a punishment of them for their request; and yet they repented not of it, but in effect said, though Nahash, and all the enemies in the world come against us, we will not go back from our request, but insist on it, that we have a king to reign over us; such was their obstinacy and perverseness.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F11 (wartw) "videntes autem", V. L. "sed", Tigurine version; "et tamen", Vatablus, Piscator.

1 Samuël 12:12 In-Context

10 En zij riepen tot den HEERE, en zeiden: Wij hebben gezondigd, dewijl wij den HEERE verlaten, en de Baals en Astharoths gediend hebben; en nu, ruk ons uit de hand onzer vijanden, en wij zullen U dienen.

11 En de HEERE zond Jerubbaal, en Bedan, en Jeftha, en Samuel, en Hij rukte u uit de hand uwer vijanden rondom, alzo dat gij zeker woondet.

12 Als gij nu zaagt, dat Nahas, de koning van de kinderen Ammons, tegen u kwam, zo zeidet gij tot mij: Neen, maar een koning zal over ons regeren; zo toch de HEERE, uw God, uw Koning was.

13 En nu, ziet daar den koning, dien gij verkoren hebt, dien gij begeerd hebt; en ziet, de HEERE heeft een koning over ulieden gezet.

14 Zo gij den HEERE zult vrezen, en Hem dienen, en naar Zijn stem horen, en den mond des HEEREN niet wederspannig zijt, zo zult gijlieden, zowel gij als de koning, die over u regeren zal, achter den HEERE, uw God, zijn.