Serve the Lord
1 Samuel 12:20
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
Samuel was presenting Saul to Israel as their new king. However, he had to impress upon them that they had rejected God in asking for a king. He gave a few highlights of history, emphasizing the challenges from foreign enemies, challenges that had all been met by God, through the warrior-judges, of which Samuel was the last. He describes himself as their leader since he was young.
Yet he did not consider himself a king. God was King.
They asked for a king in response to another military threat, though God had saved them in the past without using a human king.
Samuel did not see their request as a good thing, though God chose to grant it; yet his talk climaxed in a call for renewed obedience to God. He punctuated the sermon with a thunderstorm out of a blue sky.
The people, stunned at the display, admitted to their sin and begged for Samuel's prayers.
His answer began with this verse. It is such a good one. At all times my past and present sin discourages me and takes my attention from God to myself. But the answer is the same: Turn to God. Serve Him with all my innermost thoughts.
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
Samuel was presenting Saul to Israel as their new king. However, he had to impress upon them that they had rejected God in asking for a king. He gave a few highlights of history, emphasizing the challenges from foreign enemies, challenges that had all been met by God, through the warrior-judges, of which Samuel was the last. He describes himself as their leader since he was young.
Yet he did not consider himself a king. God was King.
They asked for a king in response to another military threat, though God had saved them in the past without using a human king.
Samuel did not see their request as a good thing, though God chose to grant it; yet his talk climaxed in a call for renewed obedience to God. He punctuated the sermon with a thunderstorm out of a blue sky.
The people, stunned at the display, admitted to their sin and begged for Samuel's prayers.
His answer began with this verse. It is such a good one. At all times my past and present sin discourages me and takes my attention from God to myself. But the answer is the same: Turn to God. Serve Him with all my innermost thoughts.
posted by ruthees @ 1:55 PM
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