Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 12:9

"But they forgat Jehovah their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them." — 1 Samuel 12:9 (ASV)

And when they forgot the Lord their God.—Israel's idolatry, along with the immorality and shameless wickedness that always attended it, was simply an act of rebellion against the pure government of the invisible King. This rebellion was punished by the withdrawal of divine protection. The instances cited here, where the people were given over to foreign hostile nations, are prominent examples. They are quoted as they occurred to the author, without careful attention to the order of events and times, as this was not necessary for his argument. He mentions three leading nations from the neighboring peoples—the Canaanites, the Philistines, and the Moabites—who were allowed, because of Israel’s rebellion against the Eternal, to oppress and harass the tribes of God’s inheritance for a time.

Captain of the host of Hazor.—Hazor is mentioned as the capital city of the Canaanites in Joshua 11:1, Joshua 11:10, Joshua 11:13, and following, and again as a royal residence in Judges 4:2. Sisera is specifically named as the well-known commander of the army against which Israel fought, and as the victim of Jael's bloody but patriotic act of fury.

Into the hand of the Philistines.—These “Phoenicians,” who literally lived among the Israelites, were most formidable foes to the chosen people for many years. We have previously compared their many strongholds and fortresses to those robber nests that, in the turbulent Middle Ages, disturbed the peace and were the scourge of commerce and trade in Central Europe. It was primarily because of these Philistines that Israel made such slow progress in wealth and the arts of civilization for such a long time.

The advance of the Hebrew nation, from the days of Samuel, who first truly checked these Philistine robbers, was remarkably rapid. In an almost incredibly short period, from being a poor, semi-barbarous people, the Israelites became a highly cultured, wealthy, and powerful nation. To a great extent, this strangely rapid progress was due to the complete subjugation of the Philistines under the rule of Samuel, Saul, and David.

The king of Moab.—The king referred to here is Eglon, who was slain by Ehud (See Judges 3).