1 Samuel 12:14

14 `If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been -- both ye and the king who hath reigned over you -- after Jehovah 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.''

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FOOTNOTES:

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

1 Samuel 12:14 In-Context

12 `And ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God [is] your king!

13 And, now, lo, the king whom ye have chosen -- whom ye have asked! and lo, Jehovah hath placed over you a king.

14 `If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been -- both ye and the king who hath reigned over you -- after Jehovah your God.

15 `And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah -- then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers.

16 `Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which Jehovah is doing before your eyes;