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[0:00] I'm going to sing to God's praise from Psalm 94. Psalm 94, verse 9, singing down to verse 15.

[0:20] Verse 9, The Lord had planted the ear of man, and here then shall not he. He only formed the eye, then shall he not clearly see.

[0:32] He that the nations doth correct, shall he not chastise you? He knowledge unto man doth teach, and shall himself not know.

[0:44] Man sought to be but vanity, the Lord doth well discern. Blessed is the man thou chastenest, Lord, and makes thy law to learn.

[0:54] That thou mayst give him rest from days of sad adversity, until the pit be digged for those that work iniquity.

[1:05] For sure the Lord will not cast off those that his people be, neither his own inheritance. Quit and forsake will he. But judgment unto righteousness shall yet return again.

[1:20] And all shall follow after it, that are right-hearted men. And so on these verses, Psalm 94, verses 9 to 15.

[1:31] The Lord did plant the ear of man, and here then shall not he. The Lord did plant the ear of man, and here then shall not he.

[1:56] He only formed the eye, and then shall he not clearly see.

[2:12] He that the nations doth correct, shall he not chastise you?

[2:31] In all his yon to man doth teach, and shall himself not know.

[2:49] Man sought to meet the divine energy.

[3:00] The Lord doth well discern. Let's give some unnotchishness, Lord, and make thy law to learn.

[3:26] That thou mayst give him rest from these all sad adversities.

[3:44] Until the pit be picked for those that work in a way deep.

[4:04] For sure the Lord will not cast off those that discapably.

[4:23] Neither is only inheritance, quick and parsing will be.

[4:42] But judgment unto righteousness shall yet return again.

[5:01] And all shall follow after it, that a light-hearted man.

[5:20] Now, I guess to turn to the chapter that we read. We're going to look at the whole chapter. But we can read again at verse 13.

[5:35] 1 Samuel chapter 12, verse 13. 1 Samuel chapter 13.

[6:08] 2 Samuel chapter 13.

[6:26] 3 Samuel chapter 13. 3 Samuel chapter 13. 4 Samuel chapter 13. 1 Samuel chapter 13.

[7:04] rightly by that name, all seem to have taken place in foots and starts. I was thinking of the recent coronation of King Charles III, although it was a one-day event, if you like, there were parts to it, and different parts were important. And in that sense, when you look at the events leading up to the establishing of Saul as king over Israel, it followed parts, if you like, so that they taught us one thing, they spoke of one thing, but they were not the entire package. They weren't fully the establishing of Saul as king. Some parts were preparatory until finally, the last occasion, we saw Saul presented to all Israel. And all Israel present, all Israel acknowledging his role over them and a celebration that accompanied that. But this chapter, following on from it, seems to be an appendage, if you like. It seems to be an unnecessary part to what has already taken place. You would have thought that the chapter could equally easily have appeared prior to the coronation. But it is a reminder to us that that the events as a whole are teaching us that the place that Israel has in the sight of God is changing. In the sense that there is a departure from having God as their king with the judges ruling in his name to having the judges and their role terminated and a king to rule in their place. That this is a point in the experience of Israel that is clearly a different era being represented.

[10:11] Curtailing the age of the judges and the beginning of the judges and the beginning of the judges. A new era in their experience. And you would imagine from the words of Samuel himself at the beginning of the chapter, saying, Now behold, Now behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old and grey-headed. And behold, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. That Samuel is there more or less saying to them, or so it would seem that that his role is now complete, that he has nothing more to do with them.

[10:59] But that would be wrong. Yes, his role as judge is at an end. But his role as prophet, a servant of the Lord dealing with the people in God's name, that continues and will continue until the reign of Saul is at an end.

[11:19] As we said, his role as judge is coming to an end. But the relationship that exists between Israel and God is to continue.

[11:37] But the first thing we can notice, and it's just a few thoughts that we're going to mention on the whole of the chapter. The first thing is that, and so I'm critical of Samuel because of this, that he is once again drawing attention to the fact that he is not going to be a part of the chapter.

[12:07] That it was the fact that it was the fact that it was the people that desired a king to reign over them. This is something that he places entirely at their door.

[12:19] He seems to want to emphasize that by stating that the reason for seeking a king had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

[12:31] And, you know, some people, some people, some people are suspicious that there is a spirit of envy or jealousy in the heart of Samuel.

[12:47] But nothing could be further from the truth. And you have this tension, if you like, within the way that God noticed in these verses that we last read.

[13:08] There is this tension.

[13:23] It's tension. God is giving them their desire. But it would also need to be remembered that God had promised, and we've noticed this before, that there would be a king set over Israel.

[13:38] But what the people forgot was that he should be the God who would initiate that change.

[13:49] He would be the God who would bring about that change in relationship at his time rather than their time. And Samuel, as God's mouthpiece, is reminding the people, this is what you wanted, this is what you've desired, and God has given you your desire.

[14:14] And almost to emphasize that Samuel has his hands clean. Their choice has nothing to do with him.

[14:25] In this sense, that his role as judge was a perfectly adequate role which would have sufficed to meet all their needs.

[14:43] And he ushers them into, as it were, the courtroom, or the presence of a courtroom. And he invites them to witness against him if he had done anything that was improper.

[15:01] In verses 3 and 4 you see how witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken?

[15:12] Whose ass have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? And so on. He is inviting them to judge him. And to say, well, if I have done wrong, then you do well to ask me to be replaced.

[15:33] To seek a king who would do better than I have done. But his judgment was without bias. His service was one that he fulfilled without self-advancement.

[15:51] And he showed no favoritism in the manner in which he conducted his role as judge. In all of these things his hands were clean.

[16:01] And in that sense they could not suggest and would not dare suggest that they were right in requiring somebody or asking for somebody to take his place.

[16:15] And Samuel is quite deliberate in the way. And Samuel is quite deliberate in doing that. Now, he doesn't explain why he is doing it. But it's almost as if he is preparing the way for what the future will hold for them.

[16:30] You have asked. You have sought. You have desired. And God has given you what you have desired. You have desired it, not with any good reason.

[16:44] Because what you had was from God. And what you had was according to God's statute. And nothing that was done by me was against what God commanded.

[16:59] The second thing that you can notice how he reminds those he is addressing of the relationship that they should have with God.

[17:11] He brings them into the reflection, if you like, by reminding them of the historical context of the relationship with God.

[17:27] They are a covenant nation obliged to serve their God. He is their king. He is their subject to him.

[17:41] And as a covenant people, they are obliged to the covenant obligations that the covenant places them under as his people.

[17:53] And he outlines for them the framework that the covenant operates in. It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

[18:09] Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did to you and to your fathers.

[18:20] So he takes them right back in their history. Something that seems unnecessary. Something that every one of them would have been quite aware of.

[18:34] They would know their background. They would know their genealogy. They would know the history of God's dealings with them. And yet he sees foot to remind them of it.

[18:48] Samuel's dealings with Israel throughout his own ministry frequently brought them back to be confronted with the grace of God in their lives.

[19:06] The provision that God had made for them on countless occasions. Their obligations to them simply on the basis of the goodness and the grace and the mercy of the Lord in their experience.

[19:21] But what is true of them, even as they are refreshed and have their memories refreshed, that being reminded of who God is and who they are and their covenant status, it teaches us how easily they forget it.

[19:47] We touched on this on Sunday. How the book of Exodus in chapter 12 was a book that presents to us God's provision for his people and their obligations to remember what God had done for them in redeeming them from the hand of the oppressor, Egypt.

[20:17] Similarly, in the New Testament, why does God see fit to remind his people of the same truth that you would think would be branded upon their conscience and upon their memories, indelibly so that they would not dare forget it.

[20:38] And yet what we find is again and again is that he has to remind them. He has to bring to their attention the very things that you would think and imagine that they could not forget.

[20:54] One writer puts it like this, Every generation of Israel has entered into a covenant with God, just like their forbearers before them.

[21:07] And they knew the obligations under which they were meant to serve God. They knew that every obedience to God was rewarded.

[21:19] They knew that every departure from God's law would bring God's displeasure. Every one of them. And yet, what Samuel is doing, what the Lord's servants have to do repeatedly, is that the very thing that you would think is unnecessary, remind them of who God is.

[21:48] It is a perennial problem in the experience of God's people that they forget. They forget who God is.

[22:25] Your obligations to Him. For who He is, what He has done for you. Just one example from the book of Deuteronomy, where God speaks to the people and He says to them, Beware that you forget not the Lord your God in not keeping His commandments.

[22:56] Beware that you do not forget His commandments, His judgments, His statutes that He Himself has commanded you to keep.

[23:09] Why does He have to do that? Well, you know why. And I know why. Because not only do we fail to remember, we choose to forget.

[23:25] That's the way. We fail to remember and we choose to forget because it suits us to forget. It suits us to follow our own inclinations into sin and into the areas in life which would marrow our relationship with God.

[23:47] Choosing to forget or to ignore the potential there is for great harm to our spiritual life and to our relationship with Himself.

[23:58] So the reiteration of the consequences is well deserved. You can almost, well, if you've ever had to speak to a child and to tell them something that you've told them before, whether it's in the context of a teaching situation in the home or in school or whatever, you will tell them and repeat what you've told them before and you will say, well, these are the consequences of your actions.

[24:38] If you do this, this is what will happen. And they will say to you, oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. We've heard it all before. We know it all too well. But the problem is that no matter how often you tell them that something is bad for them, that something is damaging to them, that something has a potential for danger in their experience, the fact that they know it is not something that will deter them from doing it more often than not.

[25:13] The verse 16 seems to be extreme, does it not? Now therefore stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

[25:24] It seems as if in the context of teaching them this truth and reminding them of this fact that Samuel is going to create for them a concrete example of what God's displeasure involves.

[25:40] He says to them, is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the Lord and ye shall send thunder and rain that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king.

[25:59] He is going to provide them with proof positive that what they sought was not God's will for them in the sense that they should have waited for the Lord.

[26:13] They should have desired the will of God to be fulfilled in their experience rather than their will being impressed upon God and God supplying them with what ultimately would lead to disaster, literally.

[26:32] But what he provides is clearly understood by them because geographically and in the sequence of the seasons what was going to occur was entirely unlikely.

[26:58] The storms, the thunder and the rain would have passed. That season was over and the time was now more akin to drought a period of dry weather which would lead to the harvest.

[27:18] So what was being called from God was something that was entirely unnatural and they knew it to be so. They knew it to be God's doing.

[27:31] How do you think that would work in our generation? Well, God is speaking to us in various ways and if he spoke in this way he would say it's just global warming.

[27:49] It's global warming. That's what causes it. It's something... There's a reason for it in nature. There's a reason for it in the circumstances created by mankind himself.

[28:04] It's not the doing of a divine being. But Israel knew to be God. Israel appreciated that it was God.

[28:15] Israel were afraid that it was God and they cried out to the prophet to plead for them.

[28:27] All the people said unto Samuel Pray for your servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not. They recognised that their sin was the cause of what took place.

[28:43] If you were to say publicly that God is responsible for the events that we see so obviously surrounding us in our own day and generation if you attribute that to God you would be laughed at.

[29:05] The powers that be would laugh at you but the very people that laugh at you those who are ruling over their own little kingdoms wherever they are while they laugh just you look at the kind of world in which they live.

[29:28] Just look at the kind of society that they're ruling over and look at the kind of lives that they lead.

[29:38] Is there any one of them who would dare to be like Samuel and say examine my life. Look at the way I conduct myself. Look at the way I do business.

[29:49] My hands are clean. My heart is pure. And into vanity I have not yielded myself. Can any of them say that their hands are clean and their heart is pure like Samuel could?

[30:05] I don't think so. And yet the people recognise God in the midst of what he is doing.

[30:18] And they go to Samuel and Samuel reminds them and reminds us that the God who is God over all is one who is able to deal with them in this way.

[30:42] Fear not you have done all this wickedness yet turn not aside from following the Lord but serve the Lord with all your heart. He's just saying something that we need to remind ourselves of.

[30:56] The remedy to God's displeasure is to turn to him not away from him. the remedy for it is to repent of sin and to flee to God which is what Samuel counsels them to do.

[31:15] The storm brought the people to cry out to God and that is what they did. Two final thoughts very briefly and it's this Samuel cannot forget his own covenant relationship with God nor can he forget the obligations that he is under as God's servant.

[31:42] He says in verse 23 as for me God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you but I will teach you the good and the right way.

[31:57] So that suggests to me that those who believe that it was out of a fit of peak or envy that Samuel was dealing with the people in the way that he did it's way off the mark.

[32:13] He has a concern for the people of God he has a concern for the covenant nation of God and as such he cannot renege on his own responsibilities and his responsibilities are to act as their intercessor to plead their cause and to seek to present the truth of God to them and he continues to do that he reminds them.

[32:47] He reminds them the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name sake because it has pleased the Lord to make his people.

[32:57] God is not forsake and is that what they need to be reminded of. They are covenant breakers when they go away from God.

[33:11] They are covenant breakers and yet the God of the covenant has not broken the covenant. God is faithful to his covenant and all the reasons for it and for preserving it what you have to conclude is are found in himself.

[33:35] He doesn't find it in his people. The original reason for there being a covenant are found in God and the only reason for continuing that covenant relationships are found in God.

[33:51] You read the words of the apostle Paul when he is writing to the church in Romans. Chapter 10 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

[34:11] For I bear them record that they have a seal of God but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

[34:28] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law that the man which do these things shall live by them.

[34:41] But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wife say not in thy heart who shall ascend into heaven. and so on. That is to bring Christ down from heaven who shall descend into the deep.

[34:58] The word that Paul is identifying there, the relationship that he is identifying there is a relationship of faith. A relationship that exists between God's people and the God who is their God.

[35:15] If you follow on his logic into the next chapter he says this of God Has God cast away his people?

[35:27] God forbid for I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew what he not what the scripture saith of Elias how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying Lord they have killed thy prophets and digged down thine altars and I am left alone and they seek thy life but what saith the answer of God unto him I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal even so at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election his grace is no more grace and so on what Paul is teaching there is the covenant relationship that God has with his people is entirely of his making and entirely of his preservation but that doesn't negate the culpability that they are guilty of if they depart from it he will not cast them off but he will call them to account they will experience his chastisement they will experience his condemnation because of where they have gone where they should not have gone see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the

[37:08] Lord in asking you a king Samuel the prophet continues to bring God's word before a people who so readily forget what that word is and nothing changes in this world nothing changes in the experience of God's people our history teaches us how things were how things could be and how things should be and how things turned out but we are difficult and really we are so difficult to teach so hard to learn the lessons that the scripture sets before us and Samuel God's servant is kept in the place where he will deal with

[38:10] God's people in this way and the people's king as he himself will very quickly depart from the word that God has given to him well may he bless to us these few thoughts let us pray in order God do not allow us to overlook the most symbol of truths that speak to us of our negligence of our forgetfulness of how readily we depart from the truth notwithstanding the danger that that involves and the wrath that we will incur because of it we pray for wisdom to always be attentive to your word and to learn to follow the path that you have set before us in order to gain good at your hands forgive every sin we pray and remember all we entrust to your care and keeping forgiving us in

[39:26] Christ the Redeemer's name amen I'm going to sing in conclusion verses from Psalm 89 in Galic verse 33 Psalm 89 and verse 33 Germ G E G T H Et last które'm j estem read.

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[42:58]  Oh Oh Oh The缸 May grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all never and always Amen