Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Samuel 12
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
1 Samuel 12
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
1 Samuel 12
"And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you." — 1 Samuel 12:1 (ASV)
And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
"I have not stood in your way. I have not sought my own honour. I have at once frankly resigned my office among you."
"And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day." — 1 Samuel 12:2 (ASV)
"My sons come here today, not as my successors, but as fellow subjects with you of your newly-chosen king; they are not in opposition to him any more than I am." Like an old servant who is about to be dismissed, Samuel asks them to bear witness to his character; and this he does, partly as a lesson to the king who had taken his place, and partly as a vindication of himself in relinquishing his office.
"Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you." — 1 Samuel 12:3 (ASV)
It is so common a thing among Eastern judges and rulers to expect bribes, that you cannot, in those countries, take a single step in a court of law without bribery. It was therefore a very unusual circumstance that Samuel was able to challenge anyone to say that he had ever wrongfully taken so much as a single farthing.
And the great rulers, in those countries, are accustomed to enriching themselves by levying heavy taxes upon the people. But Samuel affirmed that his services had been perfectly gratuitous, so that all he had done for the people had cost them nothing. If they had any fault to find with his government, it could only be because it had been so just and also so cheap; his yoke had indeed been easy on their necks. What a fine sight it is to see an old man able, in this way, to challenge all who had known him, throughout a long life, to testify that he had not led a selfish life, or studied his own interests even in the least degree!
"And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man`s hand. And he said unto them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness." — 1 Samuel 12:4-5 (ASV)
In the most solemn way, they cleared him; when he rendered to them the account of his stewardship, they all bore witness that everything had been done, not merely according to strict rectitude, but in the most generous spirit of self-consecration. May all of us be enabled so to live that, when our sun goes down, it will be as cloudless a sunset as that of Samuel!
"And Samuel said unto the people, It is Jehovah that appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before Jehovah concerning all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which he did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place." — 1 Samuel 12:6-8 (ASV)
A remembrance of past mercies is very profitable to us. National mercies ought not to be forgotten, and personal favors should always be fresh in our memory. Alas! the old proverb is all too true: "Bread that is eaten is soon forgotten." So it is, even with the bread which God gives us; we eat it, yet soon forget the hand that fed us. Let it not be so with us.
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