1 Samuel 12:6-13 It Is The Lord CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In 1 Sam 6:6-13, Israel essentially rejected the Lord when they demanded a king, and by doing so missed the fact that all the time since they had been a nation “it is the Lord” that had been taking care of them, instead of the men that he had used.
It is the Lord that gave them the men – God used these men to deliver Israel but in each case, the Lord had to give them supernatural assistance because they were not capable of doing the miraculous things that they did as mere men. Moses foretold the plagues, parted the Red Sea, received the commandments from the Lord, spoke of the manna, called for the water, etc, but it is the Lord that actually did those miracles. Moses could not have done them as a man. Jerubbaal [Gideon] defeated 135,000 with 300 men. It is the Lord that did that. Jephthah was given his victory by the Lord [Jud 11:32]. Samuel would be the first to admit that the Lord was working through him. So, the obvious comment is that if Saul is the Lord’s choice, the only way that he would succeed is for the Lord to work through him. He as a king is no different than all the kings of the nations that have been destroyed by Israel. A man can’t deliver them
It is the Lord that is still there for Israel; these men all died – if Israel had just put its confidence in a man then as soon as the man died Israel would be out of help. But the Lord kept helping them even after each of these men died. So, they were going to still need the Lord’s help even after Saul dies. Their confidence should have remained in the Lord and not in the king.
It is the Lord who gives lasting peace; these men only gave temporary peace – the Jews in the wilderness were pretty much at peace for 38 years and then they had 5 years of war when they got to the Promised Land. They had 40 years of rest after Gideon defeated the Midianites. They had 6 years of rest under Jephthah. And they had various amounts of rest under the other judges. But it was always temporary. Under the Lord, they will have permanent rest [millennium]. So, why would they expect Saul to do any better? It is the Lord that gives them rest.
It is the Lord who will have their full support one day; these men always lost the support of their fickle followers – they turned on Moses and Aaron. They turned on Gideon. They turned on Jephthah. They turned on the man Jesus Christ. And they were sure to turn on their kings. The only one who will ever get their faithful support is the Lord at his Second Coming. Therefore, they should expect that Saul will lose their support and, indeed, he does [1 Sam 13:11]. Ultimately, they end up supporting the Antichrist.
Conclusion: getting a man solves nothing for Israel. They need the Lord because only the Lord can do what they ultimately need. Lasting peace, salvation, provision, protection, etc. come from the Lord. Likewise, you should quit looking for a man to solve your problems. It is the Lord who will solve them.