Samuel Calls Israel to Fear Our Father
12 1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to your voice in everything you said to me, and I have set a king over you." 2 And now, here is the king, leading you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you; I have served you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I stand. Testify against me before our Father and before his anointed: Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me look the other way? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.
4 They said, "You have not cheated us or oppressed us or taken anything from anyone's hand."
5 He said to them, "Our Father is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."
6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It was our Father who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, stand here, and I will bring my case against you before our Father concerning all the righteous acts that he did for you and for your ancestors.
8 When Jacob went into Egypt, your ancestors cried out to our Father, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But they forgot our Father, and he handed them over to Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab, and these fought against them.
10 Then they cried out to our Father and said, "We have sinned, for we have forsaken our Father and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you." 11 So our Father sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he rescued you from the hand of your enemies on every side, so that you lived in safety. 1 1 v11 Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon, the judge who tore down his father's altar to Baal.
12 But when you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you, you said to me, "No, we want a king to reign over us"—even though our Father was your king. 13 So now, here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See, our Father has set a king over you.
14 If you will fear our Father and serve him and listen to him, and not rebel against his command, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow our Father, then all will be well. 15 But if you will not listen to our Father, and you rebel against his command, then the hand of our Father will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.
16 Now then, stand still and see this great thing that our Father is about to do before your eyes. 17 Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to our Father, and he will send thunder and rain. Then you will realize how great the evil you have done in our Father's sight by asking for a king for yourselves. 2 2 v17 Rain almost never falls during the wheat harvest in early summer, so the sudden thunderstorm was unmistakably a sign from our Father.
18 So Samuel called to our Father, and he sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared our Father and Samuel.
19 All the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to your Father, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king for ourselves."
20 Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid. You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from following our Father, but serve him with all your heart. 21 Do not turn to empty idols that can do no good and cannot rescue, for they are empty. 22 For our Father will not forsake his people, for the sake of his great name, because it has pleased him to make you a people for himself.
23 As for me, I could never sin against our Father by stopping my prayers for you; I will teach you the good and right way. 24 Only fear our Father and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.