WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:01.900 Grace, mercy, and peace 2 00:00:01.900 --> 00:00:04.900 be to you from God, our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus 3 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:05.700 Christ. 4 00:00:05.800 --> 00:00:06.200 Amen. 5 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:12.600 First Samuel 12 is often called Samuels farewell address, but that's 6 00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:17.300 not the best label because Samuel in no way faded from the scene 7 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:19.000 after this speech. 8 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.400 You might call it a passing of the baton speech. 9 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.600 But if the baton was passed King Saul it was only a short time 10 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.500 before Samuel took it back again and gave it to someone else. 11 00:00:30.400 --> 00:00:34.200 Samuel was old but there was no lessening of his power. 12 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:37.300 We don't give Samuel his just due 13 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:43.400 when we think of him mainly, as the last judge in Israel. Or only as 14 00:00:43.400 --> 00:00:49.200 this transitional figure until David can arrive on the scene. Before he 15 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:49.900 was a judge 16 00:00:49.900 --> 00:00:53.000 he was a prophet and he was one of the great ones. 17 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:58.300 Remember how to status is described Samuel, grew in the Lord was with 18 00:00:58.300 --> 00:01:02.500 him and let none of his words, fall to the ground, and all Israel from 19 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:04.300 Dan to Beersheba 20 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.400 knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of 21 00:01:07.600 --> 00:01:10.900 the Lord. Here in Samuel, 12. 22 00:01:11.100 --> 00:01:14.000 Samuel is at the height of his prophetic powers. 23 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:18.400 He reminds me of Moses, the great prophet from the past and Elijah the 24 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:20.800 great prophet still to come, his sermon 25 00:01:20.800 --> 00:01:22.800 comes with that kind of power. 26 00:01:23.900 --> 00:01:28.000 And its power was quite evident to the people of Israel. 27 00:01:28.600 --> 00:01:32.800 You can almost hear the growing edge in Samuels voice, as he speaks 28 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.100 the smoldering, indignation ready to ignite as he first shames, the 29 00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:42.400 people with a series of rhetorical questions, designed to show them 30 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.000 how foolish they are in asking for a king. 31 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:50.000 And then following that opening salvo the Hebrew, text actually says 32 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:55.900 that Samuel invites the people to go to court with him, over all the 33 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:59.800 things that the Lord had done for them in their past. 34 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.800 Samuel then lays out the damning evidence by reminding them of all 35 00:02:04.800 --> 00:02:09.500 that God had done and how God remained faithful even when they were 36 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:10.000 not. 37 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.400 He closes his own case by naming 38 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:20.900 some of the previous judges through whom God had always delivered 39 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:26.600 Israel from their enemies. And then he names himself last. 40 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:32.200 Again, to shame, Israel for their lack of trust, and their insistence 41 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:33.300 on having a king. 42 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:38.900 Then he ends up by warning them that if they rebel against the 43 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:43.100 Lord, the Lord is going to turn against both them and that king of 44 00:02:43.100 --> 00:02:43.600 theirs. 45 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:45.200 But even here 46 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:50.100 Samuel is not finished with his imposing rhetoric. Less 47 00:02:50.100 --> 00:02:55.300 the people are unimpressed and fail to see how wicked they are and how 48 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:57.000 angry Samuel is. 49 00:02:57.200 --> 00:02:59.800 Samuel tells them that he's going to call 50 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.200 on the Lord to send thunder and rain so that they might know, get 51 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:05.700 this. 52 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:09.100 So they might know how great is their wickedness. 53 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:18.000 And then he does it and then God does it, God did what Samuel said. 54 00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:20.600 Think about that. 55 00:03:21.700 --> 00:03:27.000 The word of the Prophet is it just is the word of God. 56 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.800 Now, I can imagine that it was a terrifying storm. 57 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:36.700 Not just a little sprinkle in a few rumbles because it struck terror 58 00:03:36.700 --> 00:03:40.900 into human hearts standing in the midst of the deluge, Israel trembled 59 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:42.700 under the terrible wrath of God 60 00:03:42.700 --> 00:03:45.800 and his Prophet. They certainly knew 61 00:03:47.100 --> 00:03:52.000 that all Samuel had to do was say the word and God would destroy them 62 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:59.300 completely. And they knew that Samuel was angry standing thunderstruck 63 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:00.300 in the storm. 64 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:03.300 What would Samuel say next? 65 00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:07.500 Samuels preaching had left them in a very bad place. 66 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:11.200 He has them begging for mercy, and beg is what they do. 67 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:14.100 Pray for your servants to the Lord 68 00:04:14.100 --> 00:04:19.700 your God that we may not die for, we have added to all our sins 69 00:04:19.700 --> 00:04:24.800 this evil to ask for ourselves a king. Here 70 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:30.700 we are at the breaking point, would Samuel intercede for them or not. 71 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:33.500 Of course, he does 72 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:35.600 and it's this part of the story that I find 73 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:41.600 so interesting. A shift happens and it is so subtle that it is easy to 74 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.100 miss the grandeur of Samuel's response. 75 00:04:46.700 --> 00:04:50.500 At the point that the people are most terrified because remember, 76 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:54.300 Samuel had just done everything he could to make them terrified. 77 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.500 Samuel takes it all back. 78 00:04:57.200 --> 00:04:58.400 Don't be afraid 79 00:04:58.700 --> 00:05:01.200 he says. Wait what? 80 00:05:02.700 --> 00:05:05.800 Then he says, you have done all this evil yet 81 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:09.500 do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord, with 82 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:13.100 all your heart and do not turn after empty things that cannot profit 83 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:14.600 or deliver for, they are empty. 84 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:20.300 Then he says this, certainly the Lord will not forsake his people for 85 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:24.500 his great name's sake because it has pleased 86 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:28.000 the Lord to make you a people for himself. 87 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:29.900 Samuel 88 00:05:29.900 --> 00:05:34.100 had just finished showing and telling the people how angry he and God 89 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.200 were because of their wickedness. 90 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:37.300 Now 91 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:41.600 he is telling them that God is delighted to have made them a people 92 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:42.400 for himself. 93 00:05:44.900 --> 00:05:48.700 I noticed that that word is not accompanied by an impressive or 94 00:05:48.700 --> 00:05:49.900 powerful sign. 95 00:05:50.200 --> 00:05:54.700 This word doesn't come with, great rhetorical power, and awesome 96 00:05:54.700 --> 00:05:55.500 display. 97 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.700 I can almost hear Samuel speaking in a very different tone. 98 00:06:00.200 --> 00:06:00.800 Gentle, 99 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:03.600 almost comforting now. 100 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:10.900 It would be easy to think that this word lacks the power of that other 101 00:06:10.900 --> 00:06:13.500 word, that it is less true 102 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:19.500 somehow more fragile. Before the people knew, without a doubt that God 103 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:20.300 was angry at them 104 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:27.100 He had made that quite clear. But here God's anger seems to have 105 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:28.000 vanished. 106 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:30.500 At a word. 107 00:06:31.900 --> 00:06:35.400 Instead we see his love, his pleasure, 108 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:39.200 His Delight in these same wicked people. 109 00:06:40.900 --> 00:06:42.400 Can this word be trusted? 110 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:47.800 Is this the word of God like that other one? 111 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:53.900 Well, I'm going to say yes, and I'm going to say that this is the most 112 00:06:53.900 --> 00:06:59.900 powerful of the words that Samuel preaches in his most powerful of 113 00:06:59.900 --> 00:07:00.700 sermons. 114 00:07:02.900 --> 00:07:07.200 This shift in Samuel speaking reminds me a little bit of Elijah's 115 00:07:07.200 --> 00:07:12.300 experience on Mount Horeb after the wind after the earthquake after 116 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:12.900 the fire. 117 00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:17.000 Remember there was the still small voice. 118 00:07:18.700 --> 00:07:22.500 And there was God in all his power. 119 00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:26.700 So here after the rain, and after the thunder 120 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:34.400 here, think of Samuel simple, quiet words is the still small voice of 121 00:07:34.400 --> 00:07:34.900 God. 122 00:07:36.200 --> 00:07:41.900 This is a simple promise from God through Samuel to the people, but it 123 00:07:41.900 --> 00:07:44.100 comes with his Almighty power. 124 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:49.500 Think of this good news as the power of God for their salvation 125 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:51.400 now, not their condemnation. 126 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.600 It is the wonder and beauty of God 127 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:58.600 that Samuel brought salvation to God's people through this word. 128 00:07:59.900 --> 00:08:01.400 Remember with the storm 129 00:08:01.400 --> 00:08:03.800 God did what Samuel said. 130 00:08:03.900 --> 00:08:07.700 So here, God does what Samuel says. 131 00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:10.300 He does not forsake Israel. 132 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:11.400 Instead 133 00:08:11.400 --> 00:08:13.100 He delights in them. 134 00:08:14.900 --> 00:08:18.400 I guess the more I read this sermon, the more I like the asymmetry of 135 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:19.800 the, to preached words. 136 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:23.400 This outsized power for such a simple word. 137 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.700 After all the rhetorical pyrotechnics, the weighty verbiage the 138 00:08:27.700 --> 00:08:32.200 terrible sign expression of God's wrath, the feelings of terror and 139 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:34.400 guilt sin, and imminent death. 140 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:36.500 It's all turned away by Samuels 141 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:37.900 don't ae afraid. 142 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:42.600 You've done all this evil and then the promise outside of the law that 143 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:43.700 God is pleased to make, 144 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:46.000 make them his people anyway. 145 00:08:47.300 --> 00:08:50.700 And that still small voice changes everything. 146 00:08:52.300 --> 00:08:58.100 It is a lovely reminder for all of us who are or are going to be 147 00:08:58.100 --> 00:08:59.700 preachers and teachers. 148 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:03.800 Deaconesses and missionaries in this world. 149 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.400 Reminder of the power of the Gospel that we speak. 150 00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:14.800 For example, in the simple words, we speak and hear in the stead and by 151 00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:20.800 the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins. 152 00:09:22.400 --> 00:09:24.900 They're in those words in that promise 153 00:09:24.900 --> 00:09:26.800 we receive life and salvation. 154 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:31.500 We find out what God's will is for us outside of the demands and 155 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:33.000 accusations of the law. 156 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.000 This word, overcomes, that other condemning voice. 157 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:42.600 I am thankful for that asymmetry, and I actually look for it all the 158 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:43.100 time. 159 00:09:44.400 --> 00:09:48.900 Thou devils, all the world should fill all eager to devour us. 160 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:49.700 We tremble 161 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:50.600 not, we fear 162 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:51.300 no ill. 163 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:53.700 They shall not overpower us. 164 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:56.000 This world's Prince may still 165 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.800 scowl fierce as he will. 166 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:59.300 He can harm us, none. 167 00:09:59.300 --> 00:10:01.300 He's judged the deed is done. 168 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:03.000 One 169 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.600 little word can fell him. 170 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:07.100 Amen. 171 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:09.200 Now may the peace of our Lord 172 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.500 Jesus Christ, which passes all our understanding, keep your hearts and 173 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.300 minds together in Christ Jesus. 174 00:10:14.400 --> 00:10:14.900 Amen.