1 samuel 12:2'0-25

RE-READ 1^ST SAMUEL CHAPTER 12: 20 – end
 
Here’s the thing: God, through Samuel, is concerned that since what Israel has done is so terrible and apparently permanent, and the depth of their evil deed will have such widespread and long term effect (and the people are coming to realize it), that they’ll simply throw up their hands in despair and give up. This concern is one that many of us in this room, or who are listening, may be confronted with right this very minute thinking: I have done such evil in my life, even doing great evil as a redeemed person who knows Jesus as my Savior, how can God still love me? Why would the Lord still put up with me? How can it possibly be that in this seemingly bottomless pit of diminished circumstances in which I now find myself (circumstances caused by my own destructive behavior and attitude), that I have any reason for hope? Hope for a better future or even hope for a restored relationship with God?

And here is Samuel’s (God’s) answer to this humanly insolvable dilemma:  “just don’t turn away from following Yehoveh; serve Him with all of your heart.”

Let me paraphrase this: You indeed have done great evil, now don’t turn yourself over to it. You have done a wicked thing, but the Lord has not abandoned you, so don’t abandon Him.

Humans are the oddest creatures. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve known or counseled who either have decided, or were on the verge of deciding, that what they had done now destined them for Hell so they may as well live like it. They were doomed, and God had disposed of them (and they knew they richly deserved it), so they may as well eat, drink and be merry because what else was there to live for?

Little upsets and angers me more than to hear a Believer (or worse a Christian leader) say that grace didn’t exist until the New Testament era. That statement is either one of utter ignorance of the Scriptures or is itself an act of purposeful blindness or rebellion meant only to fulfill a manmade denominational doctrine.

If what we are reading right now isn’t about divine grace, then grace doesn’t exist at all. And by the way, grace goes back to Creation, and we can read about the Lord bestowing His grace when human merit was nowhere present, over and over in the Torah. By God’s grace Israel is forgiven for this amazing affront to God. And all He requires is for them to reestablish their trust and faith in Him and to demonstrate their sincerity by means of obedience to Him. And how is this obedience demonstrated? By scrupulously following His ways, as defined and already established in His Torah. It’s there for us to read and examine to this very day. Their circumstances would not change, but they could set their hearts on God and be faithful even within these circumstances.

The second part of God’s (and Samuel’s) concern is expressed beginning in verse 21. The concern is that on the one hand, if Israel is convinced they are doomed and with no hope, they will seek to replace Yehoveh with the false gods of the region, which amounts to placing their hopes in nothing. And on the other hand if they want to stick to God Almighty, in their great desire to show repentance and sincerity they might be tempted to do all sorts of whacky, hollow, and meaningless things that accomplish absolutely nothing. Things that do not add to their righteousness, do not atone, and are not at all demanded by God. And the effect of either of those two bad choices is to wind up even FURTHER from the Lord, offending Him even more. And yet, these two choices are probably the most common ones that Believers choose when we have greatly sinned and our guilt has overwhelmed us.

God merely says, “Come home”. Grace. Come home, the door’s open. But you must come home on God’s terms, not yours’. God’s terms seem too easy so they don’t satisfy our human desire to DO something BIG! God’s terms are the terms that have always been, but we want to do something new and spectacular. Sell our house and drop $100,000 in the collection plate. Shave our heads, put on an itchy brown burlap robe and check in to a Monastery. Pray 12 hours a day. I’ve known of people who have quit their job, leave their family behind and penniless, and go on a mission all the while thinking they are doing a righteous thing that will show the Lord just how serious they are about wanting to please Him.

Folks, it’s this same kind of misguided mentality that has kept millions (maybe billions) of men and women from coming to Messiah; the New Testament calls it The Stumbling Block. It is that faith, trust, and love of God (through Yeshua) are the only requirements for redemption. Anything we try to add to it but demeans it. However for the bulk of mankind faith is just too easy and it doesn’t satisfy our want to do something that makes us feel as though we’ve merited our salvation through deeds and expressions of worthiness. Samuel knew His people well and that they would immediately begin to think of countless actions to work their way back into God’s good graces, none of which had any value to Yehoveh whatsoever. And you know what? Those ways were bound to look suspiciously like the ways their pagan neighbors would attempt to get back into the good graces of one their gods that they thought they had offended.

So there’s the good news: God is going to conditionally forgive Israel for rejecting Him and choosing a human king to rule over them. But there’s also another piece of information supplied that although not new is humbling all over again. Verse 22 says, “For the sake of His great reputation He will not abandon His people”. Sometimes it is implied by theologians that all that God does is for our benefit; not true. The protection of His Holiness and Holy Name easily outweigh our needs and well being. His concern is less for the people of Israel (who have knowingly and purposefully violated the covenant and if not for His decision to offer grace are done for); but rather it is to uphold His Holy Name.  In fact, Samuel will continue to intercede on Israel’s behalf not so much for Israel’s sake as for the sake of God’s reputation.

So in verse 23 Samuel reiterates that he will continue to be an intercessor for Israel because to do otherwise would be a sin added to his account. This is just another way of saying, “I’m not going to intercede for you because you deserve it. I’m going to intercede for you because that’s the assignment God gave to me and for me to NOT do it would, therefore, be my sin”.

Leaders (especially of congregations) I am speaking specifically to you now so please hear this: when your people speak against you, show you disrespect or ingratitude, gripe and are never satisfied you are NOT given permission by God to abandon your post. When the people you have taught, cried with, loved, cared for, and served for years hurt you or demand more than you can possibly give, you must not stop striving to lead them in the ways of righteousness. Rather, you must persevere all the more because obviously your people need it all the more.

Easy? Hardly. But perhaps you can look at things another way. If you don’t see the people reciprocating in an appropriate way to your dedication to them, maybe you can see that for God’s unfathomable reasons it remains your holy job to teach them the ways of the Lord and to care for them on behalf of our Savior. And it would be sinful to do otherwise.