And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
1 Samuel 12:20 (ESV)
Samuel was the last of the Judges. He led Israel from his youth until old age. But toward the end of his life, the people asked Samuel to give them a king like all the other nations had. Having a king was not necessarily a bad thing. Except they already had one. God was their king (1 Sam. 8:7; 12:12), but they wanted a human king like everyone else.
Up until this point, Israel was more of a confederation of tribes than it was a united nation. The hope was that a king would unite them. And in particular, develop an army that would be able to defend them from outside threats, of which there were many (1 Sam 12:12).
Samuel tried to talk them out of it, but they were insistent, and God told him to go ahead and appoint them a king. But be sure to warn them about what a king would do (1 Sam. 8:9). And so Saul was anointed to be their first king.
In the verse quoted above, Samuel told them that what they had done by rejecting God as their king and demanding a human king was evil. They had failed.
But Samuel assured them that there was still hope for them. Don’t turn aside from following God, but serve Him with all your heart. You have messed up big-time. But it does not have to be the end. Start afresh, seek God, and follow after Him.
This is just as true for us today. When we fall short and disobey our Lord, we always have the opportunity to repent, start afresh, and seek to follow Him faithfully. Don’t let your past failures keep you from serving God. He is gracious, merciful, and forgiving.
