{"id":33018,"date":"2024-10-17T22:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-12_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-10-01T21:13:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T04:13:05","slug":"1-samuel-12_12-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-12_12-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Run from God. Run to Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel\u00a0 12:12-25 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 12:12-25.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a012<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em><\/strong>12<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n12<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’–even though the LORD your God was your king.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse\u00a012: \u00a0Here we learn the most immediate reason why the Israelites wanted a human king so much: they felt threatened by the Ammonites and thus cried out for a king to save them.\u00a0 They repeated the same mistake that their ancestors before them had made: trusting in human effort more than in God, forgetting that God was with them and looking only to people for help.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0Pressure has this way of revealing what\u2019s really in our hearts and where we really put our hope.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a012<\/em><\/strong>:13-15 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.\u00a0<\/em>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God–good!\u00a0<\/em>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-15: \u00a0See below discussion on verses 24-25.<\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a012<\/em><\/strong>:16-18 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!\u00a0<\/em>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.”\u00a0<\/em>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Then\u00a0<\/em>Samuel\u00a0called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of\u00a0<\/em>Samuel.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-18: \u00a0To further show that the Israelites did evil in God’s sight when they asked for a king,\u00a0Samuel\u00a0calls on God to send a rainstorm in the middle of harvest time, a highly unusual occurrence.\u00a0 And God does.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 12:18-22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Samuel called upon the\u00a0LORD, and that same day the\u00a0LORD\u00a0sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and of Samuel.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the\u00a0LORD, but serve the\u00a0LORD\u00a0with all your heart.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For the sake of his great name the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will not reject his people, because the\u00a0LORD\u00a0was pleased to make you his own.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19 to 22: \u00a0The Israelites finally realize that they had sinned against God by demanding a king.\u00a0 Now they fear what God might do to them.\u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0reassures them and tells them not to run further from God, but to run back to Him.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Whenever we sin against God, we may be tempted to run further away from God out of fear and shame (Gen 3:10).\u00a0 But\u00a0Samuel\u00a0gives sound advice here:\u00a0whenever you sin against God, don’t run\u00a0<\/strong>from<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0God. Run\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The worst thing you can do after you sin is to keep running away from God, to keep turning to useless idols that cannot help you (v21).\u00a0 The best thing you can do after you sin is to run immediately back to God.\u00a0 Aren’t you glad we can always run back to God after we sin, since He will not reject His people and is pleased to call us His own (v22)?<\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a012<\/em><\/strong>:23 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 23: \u00a0The Israelites were fortunate to have\u00a0Samuel, their leader, prophet and priest, to pray on their behalf and to teach them God’s Word.\u00a0 We’re even more fortunate, for\u00a0whenever we sin, we have someone greater than\u00a0<\/strong>Samuel<\/strong>\u00a0— Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit — interceding on our behalf\u00a0<\/strong>(see Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:26-27).<\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a012<\/em><\/strong>:24-25 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.\u00a0<\/em>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-25: \u00a0Samuel\u00a0echoes the message of the old covenant here, the same message Moses spoke: obey God fully and you will live under God’s blessing; disobey God and you will die under His curse.<\/p>\n

Yet how many of us can say that we have obeyed God fully?\u00a0 None of us can.\u00a0 We all deserve to perish because of our failure to obey God completely.\u00a0 But because God loved us, He sent Jesus Christ to obey all of God’s commands on our behalf and to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our disobedience.\u00a0 Jesus took away the curse that we deserved and gave us the blessing that we could never earn.\u00a0 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not\u00a0perish<\/em>\u00a0but have\u00a0eternal life<\/em>. (John 3:16)<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for being the rock I run to when I’m under pressure.\u00a0 Thank You that even when I sin, I can still run to You, knowing that You speak to God in my defense (<\/em>1<\/em>\u00a0John 2:<\/em>1<\/em>) and meet me with mercy and compassion.\u00a0 Praise You for being my amazing Saviour and Friend!\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 12:12-25.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a012:12\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0
\n12\u00a0“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’–even though the LORD your God was your king.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verse\u00a012: \u00a0Here we learn the most immediate reason why the Israelites wanted a human king so much: they felt threatened by the Ammonites and thus cried out for a king to save them.\u00a0 They repeated the same mistake that their ancestors before them had made: trusting in human effort more than in God, forgetting that God was with them and looking only to people for help. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33018"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33021,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33018\/revisions\/33021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}