Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and 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 accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
"You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
Samuel said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and also His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."
"He is witness," they said.
1 Samuel 12:1-5
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the end of 1 Samuel, chapter 11, you’ll remember that Saul was reaffirmed as Israel’s first king at a celebration in Gilgal. All the Israelites acknowledged him as the one God had chosen to lead His people.
As we chapter 12 opens, we see where Samuel, the former judge who led Israel, takes center stage in what becomes a farewell address. Through his words, we are reminded of how he spent a lifetime of service to the Lord and, in doing so, he gained an important benefit…the benefit of innocence.
We know this because Samuel presented his life for prosecution by the very people he led. For after he reminds the people that he listened to their call for a king by going before the Lord, leading to Saul’s selection, Samuel begins to summarize the way he conducted himself as their leader.
First, we read where he refreshes their memory as to how long he had been in a position of leadership over them, reminding them that he was their “leader from (his) youth” up to the very day that he was speaking to them…a very long time indeed since Samuel was now “old and gray”.
Next, Samuel essentially places himself on trial with the Israelites serving as his jury. The scriptures tell us how he dared the people of Israel to bring a charge of wrongdoing against him saying:
“Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and 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 accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
Note here that Samuel was pretty much asking for anyone to speak up and against him if he had done anything wrong against those he had led…and he did so not just in their presence but in the presence of the Lord as well. Of interest, you may remember that the Israelite people had already been pre-warned about what was going to happen if they went through with their request to have a king. In essence, they were assured to suffer all the injustices they didn’t suffer under Samuel’s rule.
Well, we see how no one blamed Samuel for the people responded to his request for accusations by saying:
"You have not cheated or oppressed us…You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
With this determination of innocence, we could have found Samuel asking sarcastically:
“If I was so great, why did you want to get rid of me and have a king instead?”
But Samuel didn’t do this. Instead, we find him sealing their profession of his innocence by saying the following:
“The Lord is witness against you, and also His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."
And they confirmed their decision by replying:
"He is witness."
Now, we know Samuel wasn’t perfectly righteous because no mere human being has ever been, And so while he may have been seen as blameless in the way he led Israel, he was still a sinner nonetheless…just like you and me. And yet, there was something that distinguished Samuel…something that helped him lead in a way that left a positive impression on the Israelites. For Samuel allowed God to take the lead, dictating what he did and this is what led him to gain the well respected reputation he held with Israel’s people.
This leads me to wonder how we would fare in life if we carried ourselves as Samuel did. Consider these hypotheticals:
You’re together with your family for the holidays. Everyone is in a room together and you stand up before them, asking if you had ever wronged anyone there. This includes whether you adequately kept in touch with them, if you ever had gossiped or spread rumors about any of them, or if you had ever mistreated any of them in any way, shape, or form. Basically, you’re seeing whether or not someone has a charge to bring against you.
How do you think that would go?
Or maybe you’re in your workplace and a meeting is going on with your boss. Everyone is present and at the meeting’s end, you ask to address everyone.
Given permission, you stand before them and ask if anyone has a charge to bring against you…any charge of wrongdoing that you might have committed against any of them. You want to know if they have seen you as always being a team player, willing to do whatever was needed to ensure they (your co-workers) succeeded. You also are curious if you had ever let them down when they were depending on you to carry your part of the load. Finally, you’re interested in knowing if you had ever backstabbed any of them.
What would the verdict look like if they spoke freely about their experience with you?
I could probably go on and on with scenarios like this but you get the point. Too often, we don’t go about living with a concern how others might view us and as Christians, this is a dangerous mindset to adopt. For as believers in Jesus, we should always be conscientious about how people see us conducting ourselves, ever wanting them to see Jesus in what we do. After all, Christ is at the core of being a Christian. He is to be the One who is supposed to define our identity.
Samuel lived his life for God and so his life reflected His Lord and his leadership actions were righteous and just, witnessed and affirmed by the Israelite people.
Friends, we can only pray that we might have the same experience as Samuel if we presented ourselves in front of anyone or any group of people we have been associated with…with them declaring us as right and righteous with God as their witness.
How do we get there?
We follow Samuel’s lead and put Jesus first in all areas of our life, striving to live as He did without compromise and fully surrendering to the leading of the Holy Spirit who will keep us walking within God will and way.
Before you think this is impossible, remember these words from the Apostle Paul, written in his letter to the Philippians:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 4:13
Indeed, there’s nothing impossible for us to accomplish if we simply rely on the strength and power of Christ and that includes living in a way that would have others declare our innocence from any wrongdoing.
Today and every day, let us commit and strive to do just that.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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