seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 12:16 “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”
18 Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.
19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
18 Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.
19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
This explanation is from the easy English site.
The wheat harvest is in the dry season. There is no rain or thunder in this season. (In 7:10-11 God sent thunder to frighten the Philistines.) The Israelites were very frightened when God sent the rain and thunder in the dry season. The storm was the way that God spoke to the Israelites. They realised that they had sinned. They were afraid that God would kill them. But Samuel knew that God loved the Israelites. God chose them as his special people. The Israelites were afraid of God. But Samuel did not want them to turn away from God because of their fear. The people could not change what they had done. But Samuel encouraged them to live the right way in the future. The Lord had been very kind to them in the past. He would be kind to them in the future, if they obeyed him. But if they did not obey the Lord, he would remove them. The Lord wanted his people to serve and worship only him.
One of Samuel’s duties as a priest was to pray to God. Samuel knew that this was very important. He said that he would sin against God if he did not pray for the Israelites. He also had to teach the people the right way to behave. Samuel had done both these things while he led the people. Samuel obeyed God. And he had to continue this work.
One of Samuel’s duties as a priest was to pray to God. Samuel knew that this was very important. He said that he would sin against God if he did not pray for the Israelites. He also had to teach the people the right way to behave. Samuel had done both these things while he led the people. Samuel obeyed God. And he had to continue this work.
OK.... Suppose it's a hot summer day... like in the 100's and some guy starts to pray for snow.... and it snows.... how would that affect you?
It was the wheat season.... in the wheat season it has to be dry and warm to keep the wheat from being damaged by mold or mildew. Mold or mildew could destroy the whole crop..... Samuel prayed and God sent thunder and rain. So this rain storm that Samuel prayed for would be like praying for snow on a day in the 100's and getting it.... it was on cue and it was a natural occurrence... no cgi....
The commentary reminds us that back in Samuel 7 God sent a thunderclap so loud that an army ran....
1 Samuel 7:10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
So this prayer wasn't like the prayers that are muttered by unbelievers at a business meeting because prayer is put on the program in a show of faith....This prayer wouldn't be one of those longwinded frilly prose laden snoozers we hear when a bigshot gets the nod.... this is a big bad prayer... offered by a guy who actually had one on one conversations with God Himself. When Samuel prayed... God responded.... and that's a big deal.... This gave God the opportunity to be the loud one....
