Who Will You Follow?

Good to see you all here this evening. Today, this evening, I'll be preaching on 1 Samuel chapter 12, continuing our series on Samuel.

1 Samuel 12 · chapter mention

So, back when I was in school, I did the Duke of Edinburgh's award, and as part of that, as you might know, you have to go on camping trips,

which has various results, sending a bunch of school kids out into the wilderness.

And one of these trips we went on was near the Brig of Turk, and we came at a bit of a crossroads on our journey this day.

And we'd just walked up a hillside, and we were at a crossroads. We had a decision to make, and it was either go to the southeast,

and cross this moor, and go the wrong way, essentially, or go to the southwest, and go through a sort of valley,

and go the right way. And if we went across the moor, we would go the wrong way, and we would add a few hours,

at least, onto our journey. But, obviously, going the right way, we would arrive on time.

I can read a map and use a compass, so I would say, no, we should definitely go to the southwest,

look where the map's pointing in the compass, and look at where the route's going.

Well, my friend said, no, we should go to the southeast, it's definitely towards the southeast, we should definitely go to the right.

So, everybody doubted me,

not that this is a big-headed thing,

and we followed my friend, and we went the wrong way,

and we ended up walking a few extra hours,

and we had to walk through this moor,

through the heather and the bracken,

and then we had to walk down a hillside,

covered in old, dead, decaying trees,

and made very slow and painful progress,

as we walked through this thicket of

dead, brittle

branches and boughs.

And eventually,

once we had done all this,

and walked down this hillside,

we got back on to the road,

and made our way back to

the correct route.

But because we made this

wrong choice,

because we came at this

juncture in the road,

and made the wrong choice,

it added ours,

and a lot of pain,

onto our journey.

And in this chapter,

we see

the Israelites come to a crossroads as well.

They are presented with a choice to make.

They can go

with the Lord,

and follow the Lord,

or they can go their own way,

and reject the Lord.

They've committed a great sin,

by rejecting God as their king.

Despite the fact

he saved Israel

many times,

and blessed them,

they can continue to reject God,

and be destroyed,

or they can go in the right direction,

obey,

follow,

and worship God.

Put away their idols,

repent of their arrogance and pride,

and make Him their priority,

and do what is right.

Just like Israel,

we have this ongoing decision

to make as a church,

and as individuals as well.

The choice to either follow

our own sinful,

and selfish desires,

and worship them,

or,

we can repent,

and we can follow,

not our own way,

but follow the Lord's way.

This chapter marks

the end of an era,

the end of the period

of the judges.

Samuel is the last judge,

and as God's appointed leader

of the people

has gathered them together

to address them

as Saul takes over

as Israel's king.

In the emergency

in the previous chapter,

in chapter 11,

with Nahash at Jabesh Gilead,

the Israelites didn't call

for God to deliver them,

but a king.

And Saul did deliver them,

this time.

Their confidence in Saul,

in themselves,

and in their own nation,

is founded on one solitary incident

they ascribe to him,

to Saul,

rather than Saul

being used by God

to deliver Israel

from their enemies.

And as we read

the chapter,

it almost seems like

a report from a courtroom,

a courtroom that's

back to front,

where the defendant

has put

the judge

in the dock

and is judging them,

even in the face

of their own guilt.

So in verses 1 to 5,

Samuel gives an account

of his leadership

of Israel under the Lord.

Samuel asked the Israelites,

as we heard,

in front of God

and the new king Saul,

if he had cheated anyone,

stolen from anyone,

or been an unjust judge.

In verse 3,

when Samuel asked them

whose donkey

or oxen he had taken,

this is set up

in contrast

to the king

taking the livestock

of the people

for his own use,

as we heard about

from chapter 8.

In verse 5,

Samuel is vindicated

as a just ruler

and by the Israelites

vindicating Samuel,

they also vindicate

the Lord

as Samuel's leadership

comes from the Lord

and Samuel's good deeds

are from the Lord.

So Samuel's been faithful

because he followed

the Lord

and not his own way

and not his own desires.

Samuel has remembered

the Lord,

everything he's done

for him and Israel

and followed the Lord

faithfully.

And for verses 6 to 15,

Samuel goes on the offensive

and confronts Israel

with everything God

has done for them

despite their sin.

In verse 7,

Samuel says to all Israel,

Now then,

stand here,

I am going to confront you

with evidence

before the Lord

as to all the righteous acts

performed

by the Lord

for you

and your ancestors.

As we read,

these verses

contain all the righteous

deeds of God

and his faithfulness

to his rebellious people,

Israel.

They are reminded

of the countless times

the Lord has led them,

delivered them,

cared for them

and had mercy on them.

Israel perhaps thought

that they would hear

that God had mistreated

them in some way

or abandoned them

in their hour of need

to their enemies.

However,

from verse 8,

God is shown to be

the loving King of Israel

who heard his people's

cries for help

and always delivered them

out of their enemies' hands.

In verse 9,

we read,

Because of all this

and the cause of all

Israel's other sins,

they forgot the Lord,

their God.

They forgot the Lord,

their God.

This is,

the Israelites are shown

beyond a shadow of a doubt

that the Lord

is worthy to be followed

and in fact

is the only one

worth following.

And this,

they forgot the Lord,

their God,

is a very serious thing

for anyone to say,

both for the Israelites

then

and their day

but also for us now.

And are we inclined

to forget

what the Lord

has done for us?

And although I've

criticized Israel here

strongly,

we should see ourselves

in their midst

at Gilgal,

hearing from Samuel,

telling them

and us

of the Lord's

faithfulness

and mercy

and his righteous deeds

for us.

The Israelites

had lost sight of God

and who they were

in relationship to God

and can we be

accused of the same?

Yes.

Do we forget God

and who he is?

Yes.

Each one of us

is a fallen,

broken and sinful

human being

and even though

we have the word

of God here

as a constant reminder

of God's faithfulness

and redemption

all through the Bible,

we still often

go astray

and chase after idols

and follow after

our own way.

Just like Israel

needed to be called back

in repentance

and be disciplined,

we also need to be called back

in repentance

and faith

when we forget

the Lord our God.

I'm sure as well

that we all have

personal examples

of God's faithfulness

to us personally.

However,

we all too often

put a king

in God's place.

We chase after

idols

our own way

and forget

who God is

and what he's done

for us.

Some examples,

in the West

we're inclined

to put

our careers,

jobs

and working

commitments high up

on our list

of priorities.

We see our bosses

and their words,

instructions

and directions

as more important

to follow

than the Lord's.

Our work team

is more important

than our church family.

We can put family

before God

spending more time

with them

than the Lord.

Our friends

can distract us

and lead us away

from the Lord

if we're not careful

as well.

Even the way

we use our free time

can take precedence

over our God

and King.

In our modern world

of social media

and fast news

we can feel

the pressure

of others

even in our own homes

and what they follow

and worship

to do the same.

To conform

to the culture

of our day

and forget God

in that way

and follow

our own way

and follow

other things.

And I've put

many things

in my times

since I've become

a Christian

before the Lord

my God

and unfortunately

I know

for a fact

as I keep going

that my changeable

heart

will forget

God

like Israel did

and elect

and follow

another king

in his place.

And then

in verse 12

the problem

of Israel

forgetting God

is further

explained

in this

instance

context

at

Nahash

Gilead

with Nahash

Jabesh

Gilead

sorry

when at the

end of the

verse it reads

no

we want a

king to

rule over us

even though

the Lord

your God

was your king

even though

the Lord

your God

was your king

Israel knew

the Lord

was their king

and they owe

allegiance to him

before all others

and to him alone

but they let

themselves be

distracted and led

away from

following him

wholeheartedly

as we live our

lives will we

do the same

will we allow

ourselves to be

led away

to follow other

things

or will we

cling to God

and follow him

wholeheartedly

now the Israelites

must understand

the full gravity

of their sin

that they've

forsaken

and forgotten

the Lord

their God

in place of

a mortal man

like them

they've chosen

to follow another

and a creature

like them

they've chosen

to put

a creature

in the place

of the creator

instead of

placing all their

faith

and trust

in the mighty

God and king

who created

them

the world

and brought

them to where

they are now

where they stand

in front of Samuel

they chose to

turn their backs

on him

and follow Saul

instead

they knew God

was their king

and they were not

to be the same

as the nation

surrounding them

but rather

be separate

and different

from them

and their worship

service

of the true

and living God

it was through

this difference

that the Israelites

would draw their

neighbours to Israel

to worship God

that people from

all over the world

would hear of the

mighty deeds

of the king of Israel

and be drawn

towards Israel

to swear allegiance

to this God

and worship him

as all men should

however

in the request

for a different

king to rule

over them

Israel are going

in the opposite

direction

and want to

become like

their neighbours

rather than

mirroring

being an example

to their neighbours

which is a picture

of us

and our sinfulness

as well

we all want

to go our own

way

in opposition

to the Lord

and his purpose

for us

then in verse 14

the Israelites

and Saul

their new king

are exhorted

to fear the Lord

obey him

serve him

and follow him

and even though

they've committed

this great sin

and turned their

back on God

and asked for a

different king

if they do this

the Lord will bless

them

although they've

committed this

great sin

the Lord will

still bless them

and in the next

verse

verse 15

God warns Israel

that if they

don't fear him

obey him

and serve him

then his hand

will be against

you

as it was

against your

ancestors

continuing that

cycle

that judges

cycle

where Israel

sin

forsake God

and then God

sells them

into the hands

of their enemies

Israel turning

back

and crying out

to God

and the Lord

having mercy

and delivering

them

and although

I've spoken

about the judges

cycle here

in this incident

it's all

throughout

the Old Testament

when Israel

forsake the

Lord their God

and their

enemies come

against them

to draw them

back to God

their king

so Israel

have asked

for a new

king

and sinned

by forgetting

the Lord

their God

and have been

reminded of

all his great

deeds for them

and have been

presented with

two options

two paths

to follow

either follow

the Lord

and be blessed

or follow

a human

king

and eventually

be destroyed

and although

Israel as I've

said have

committed this

great sin

God is

merciful

he disciplines

Israel by

sending a huge

storm on

the Israelites

crops

in Israel

there's a very

small rainy

season

and if that

didn't come

at the right

time

or were shorter

or longer

than expected

the fine

balance would

be tipped

and crops

would fail

people would

go hungry

and the

local economy

would go

into meltdown

God knew

all this

and performed

this miracle

to show

his power

and to make

the Israelites

fear him

once again

after they'd

forgotten him

and rejected

him

so they would

hear his voice

and turn back

to following

him

not in an

unreasonable

or cruel

way

but in the

way a loving

father

disciplines his

children

for their

benefit

to draw

them off

the wrong

path

and back

onto the

right path

for those

of you

who are

parents

there are

various ways

of disciplining

your children

and various

examples

of when you've

disciplined

your children

to make them

see what

they've done

is wrong

and to show

them the

right thing

to do

when a child

goes to

touch a

hot hob

their father

won't sit

and watch

them touch

the hot metal

and badly

burn themselves

he'll stop

them and make

them understand

that it's not

for their own

good to do

that and show

them the correct

way to go

not out of

spite but

out of love

the right

thing for

them

with this

storm the

Israelites are

reminded in

no uncertain

terms that

the Lord is

God and

whoever they

choose to

be their

king is no

comparison to

him and

his power and

his ultimate

authority

but the end

of the passage

is really

astonishing

and the end

of the passage

is really

beyond our

understanding and

our comprehension

the Israelites

have turned

their backs

on God

they have to

be reminded

of everything

God has

done for

them again

God has

disciplined

his wayward

people but

then in verse

20 Samuel

says to them

do not be

afraid do

not be

afraid it's

beyond our

comprehension that

God has

forgiven this

trespass but

he does up

until now it

may have seemed

like doing

gloom that it

was over for

Israel that God

couldn't possibly

forgive this

sin again

but there is

hope yet

there is good

to come out

of this

not that Israel

will learn and

suddenly do all

the right things

and get it right

in the future

no again like

this passage

shows us it

is because of

what God will

do and what

he has done

for his people

as we read

further in the

Old Testament

the Lord will

perform many

more mighty

acts to save

Israel and

then the ultimate

good news God

will perform

for Israel

and us

is that the

true king

came to

earth

the Lord

Jesus came

died and

rose again

so that we

can follow him

and be saved

even at this

point which

seems so low

and so dark

we see God's

grace mercy

and righteousness

displayed to

his people

although Israel

have erred so

badly God

will not destroy

them he won't

send them away

and he won't

cast them out

of his presence

and we

likewise

will not be

destroyed for

our sin

we won't be

sent away

and we won't

be cast out

of his presence

and this made

me consider how

we the church

respond to

and follow God

like Samuel

says do we

fear God

do we serve

God

and do we

follow God

or do we

turn our

backs on God

and chase

after other

things of the

world and

idols and

our own

sinful desires

so next

month on

the 5th of

November we

mark the

gunpowder plot

when Guy

Fawkes and

others attempted

to blow up

parliament with

King James

inside

unlike this

passage Guy

Fawkes was

not pardoned

or forgiven

King James

allowed the

law to

take its

course and

Guy Fawkes

was executed

for treason

like you would

expect from

any monarch

King James

let the person

attempting to

kill him

overthrow his

authority and

the kingdom be

brutally executed

likewise the

Israelites

deserved death

but the Lord

didn't enact

the full course

of the law

but rather

showed mercy

instead of

acting like

any other

monarch and

enacting full

justice and

destroying Israel

the Lord

relented and

had mercy on

his wayward

people

just like

the Israelites

we deserve

death for

our treason

and our

rebellion

but instead

we are also

shown mercy

rather than

incur the

just punishment

our actions

deserve

and as we

read further

in the story

of Saul

and the kings

of Israel

and Judah

that would

follow him

it appears

that all of

this was in

vain

Israel's

clamouring for

a king

as the

human kings

of Israel

and Judah

fail

they lead

Israel away

from God

into idolatry

they forget

God and

his acts

and his mighty

deeds for

Israel in the

past and

his promises

for the future

and they don't

keep the law

for kings that

we've spoken

about in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

and because of

all this Israel

eventually splits

into the northern

kingdom of Israel

and the southern

kingdom of Judah

they continue to

sin and not

follow God

and both Israel

and Judah

are led away

into exile

but we can

take hope

this all acts

as tension

building

these human

kings merely

make the people

of Israel

yearn and

groan for

God's promised

king the

Messiah the

Lord Jesus

and how he

would lead

God's people

who will be

the king

Israel needs

that can truly

lead Israel

in fear in

the Lord

serving the

Lord

and obeying

the Lord

but just

like Israel

here didn't

follow their

true king

God

they didn't

follow the

Messiah

the Lord

Jesus when

he came to

the earth

to save his

people from

their sins

but this

didn't stop

the Lord

Jesus from

completing his

task and he

has indeed

freed his

people from

their sins

by allowing a

perfectly

obedient life

dying on

the cross

and rising

again triumphantly

from the grave

he was rejected

once when he

came as a

suffering servant

but there is a

day approaching

when the Lord

Jesus will

return to the

earth to claim

his prize and

his bride the

church

where every knee

will bow and

all tongues

confess that he

is king

on that day he

will not be

rejected again

all will see him

and all will

recognize that he

is king

some in jubilation

that the king

has finally returned

and some in

shock but none

will be able to

reject his

authority and

kingship on

that day of

judgment and

justice

for the church

for those who

believe that

will be a

glorious day

but for those

who reject the

Lord Jesus in

life it will be

a terrible day

when they

acknowledge the

king that they

have rejected

who they have

not followed in

life

for anyone here

tonight who

hasn't decided to

follow the Lord

Jesus the true

king I would

urge you to

consider your

position tonight

to consider the

path you're on

to consider the

person you are

rejecting and to

consider the

consequences and

where that path

will eventually

lead

so going forward

how should this

affect our walk

with the Lord

individually and

as a congregation

our faith in the

Lord and his

mercy and his

grace his

faithfulness and

his righteousness

and promises should

abound more and

more each day in

the passage God

and Samuel are

shown to being

good and faithful

leaders Samuel

hasn't defrauded

stolen or being

corrupt throughout

his tenure God's

deeds on behalf of

Israel are expounded

and show the

amazing things he's

done for his

people Israel

yet they still

turn away and

chase after a

man and

something ultimately

that won't

satisfy them and

not last

however we can

see from this

chapter where the

Israelites went

wrong and we can

go in the opposite

direction use their

example as a light

to shine us onto

the right path to

follow the Lord

there are any

number of things

in our modern

lives that will

try to lead us

away from God

to lead us away

from the Lord

to place them in

the highest place

of importance in

our lives

our culture puts

as I've said

previously a high

value on success

in the workplace

both so you can

boast to other

people outside

and within

competition within

your own workplace

pressure to get

promoted and pay

rise which often

means other things

drop down your

priority list

more time spent at

work late nights

and overtime and

one of the first

things to be cut by

many is Bible

reading prayer and

church and time

spent with the

Lord our eyes

taken off the

king and cast on

another and for

many the first stage

of focusing your

attention on your

job and work

is striving at

university for

good grades to

achieve this job

later on

forgetting that

you're there to

glorify God and

worship him through

your studies and

not to become

fixated on them

and to worship

them in that way

and the pressures

of raising children

taking them to

school

extracurricular

activities and

spending time with

them we can get

sidetracked and

forget the one

who's given these

good gifts

worshipping and

chasing after the

good gifts

themselves the

king gives us

and in the process

for getting his

goodness to us

many of us are

grandparents which

has its own

challenges and it

can be a challenge

in itself to keep

the Lord as our

king and not let

our affections and

loyalty be drawn

from our families

from God rather to

our families and

grandchildren

children those of

us with no

families are no

more immune to

the temptation of

being sidetracked

and distracted from

God for our time

and our attention to

be given to friends

and activities we're

involved in hobbies

interests and social

engagements which

will all leave us

empty in the end

in Scotland and

various other places

in the west people

are obsessed with

football and sport

and many people

play pay more

attention to league

tables and how

their preferred

athletes and

favourite sports

stars are performing

than anything else

body image is

massively important

to many people

everywhere we turn

in social media

the television

adverts when

we're walking

around are either

trying to convince

us to slim down

or to bulk up

both options

taking hours of

our time

our money

thought when

we're away from

the gym or

wherever we

exercise

and attention

most importantly

that should be

placed on God

and then from

there we end up

worshipping our

own image and

worshipping the

image of created

beings

and as well

in this process

of thinking about

this we can get

distracted by

technology

most of us have

phones

and tablets

and these

things

take up a

huge amount

of our time

looking at

them

and they

as well

can become

a snare

to us

and our

attention

in the face

of all these

other things

we become

like Israel

in this passage

falling after

other things

rebellious

and we forsake

the Lord

our King

we forget

how he

has led us

and all the

mighty acts

he has done

for us

so we

must choose

who we

follow

the real

king

or an

imposter

the real

king

or a

usurper

in our

lives

all the

good things

we receive

and all the

good things

we are a

part of

have been

given to

us

and we've

been led

into things

by God

we need to

cling to the

Lord

in our lives

we should pray

and ask

the Lord

to show

us

where we

forget

him

and repent

of whatever

we put

in his

place

whatever that

may be

and turn

back to

following him

and going

on the

Lord's

path

and not

our own

but

when we

do fail

as we

will

and we

all

inevitably

will fail

in this

we will

give our

affection

loyalty

time

and attention

to other

things

in place

of God

we should

remember

what God

says to

Israel

in this

passage

and remember

that he

says do

not be

afraid

God

will draw

his people

back to

himself

when we

go down

a wrong

path

with

discipline

and will

not carry

out the

law

as it

should

be

and as

we

deserve

as our

king

the Lord

Jesus

has taken

the punishment

once and

for all

it's complete

for all our

disobedience

and rebellion

and while he

carried that

to the cross

for us to

pay the

penalty

for that

and all

our other

sin

just like

Guy

Fox

was

executed

we

deserve

the

punishment

of

the

law

but

because

of

the

Lord

Jesus

we

can

stand

confidently

before

God

the

Father

because

of

the

Lord

Jesus

perfection

and

righteousness

as

Samuel

says to

the

repentant

Israel

they will

continue

to pray

for them

and teach

them

we should

be praying

for each

other

in this

as well

it's all

too easy

with all

these things

I've spoken

about

to become

sidetracked

and possibly

not even

realise

that we are

going down

this wrong

path

we should be

praying that we

should always

follow the

Lord as

the Lord's

people

that we

should die

to ourselves

pick up our

crosses

and follow

him

pray for our

other Christian

brothers and

sisters throughout

the city

that they would

follow the

Lord as

well

and as a

church we

should be

speaking the

gospel and

the Bible

and God's

word to

one another

instructing each

other in the

way of the

Lord to

help each

other to

follow the

Lord

so just

like me and

my friends

on my

camping trip

back all

those years

ago in

school we

all have a

choice to

make we

all have two

paths in

front of us

every day

and we need

to make a

decision as

to which one

we'll go

down which

one we'll

follow

that day it

wasn't that

serious we

had to have

a bit of an

unpleasant walk

with our stuff

on our back

and it

took us a

lot longer

to get to

where we

were going

but this

choice is

very serious

the consequence

of choosing

the wrong

path and

who to

follow will

lead to

destruction if

we choose

the wrong

path but

the right

path is

God's path

and leads

to eternal

life

so will

we put

away our

idols and

follow the

Lord wholeheartedly

will we

follow our

king or

will we

reject him

and follow

a usurper

will we

follow the

Lord Jesus

and be

saved or

reject him

and in

turn be

rejected

just in

closing I

would urge

you as

Samuel says

to the

Israelites to

fear the

Lord to

serve the

Lord and

obey the

Lord and

pray for me

as I've been

saying to you

to fear the

Lord serve

the Lord and

obey the

Lord thank

you