There Goes The Judge (1 Samuel 12)

For more than 25 years, Michael Cicconetti was judge for a relatively small Ohio county. But he regularly gained national attention. In 2005, he was elected president of the American Judges Association.^[1] The media once said he had “the wit of Judge Judy and the wisdom of Solomon.”^[2]

It was his sentences that went viral. Rather, it was the choices he offered the guilty. They could choose jail or a more unusual punishment meant to teach the defendant a valuable lesson.

A woman convicted of stealing from a church was ordered to spell out “I stole coins from this church” in coins and apologize to every person who came one Sunday. A man who ripped off a Salvation Army red kettle would have to spend 24 hours homeless.

Then there is the case of 19 year old Victoria Bascom. She and a friend took a cab and skipped out on paying. Cicconetti gave Victoria a choice: 30 days in jail or walk 30 miles in 48 hours.

At first Victoria was upset. But later she said, “I’m lucky he gave me this option.”^[3] Not only did the judge give grace, he doubled down on mercy. As she walked, he personally checked up on her. He saw her pace was not enough to finish in 48 hours. So he reduced the sentence to 20 miles.

There was a crowd on hand for Judge Cicconetti’s final day of rulings. After the last gavel, everyone started clapping.

Our text shows Samuel’s last day as judge over Israel. It doesn’t end with clapping, but crying as the nation is punished for their sin. But in his final ruling, Samuel gives the guilty defendants a choice. They could either walk with God or they could swerve off the path into emptiness and ruin.

Would they choose the walk? Will we choose to walk with God? Today we choose who we will serve, who we will follow. The choice set before us is following or wandering – life or death.

1 Samuel 12:1-3 – ¹ Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you. ² Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now. ³ Here I am. Bring charges against me before the LORD and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”

On his last day in court, Judge Samuel does something remarkable: He puts himself on trial. He invites anyone in the nation to bring an accusation of wrongdoing against him.

His words are a powerful bookend. The very first thing he said in his story was “Here I am.”^[4] Now, on the final day of his official service as judge and he says once again, “Here I am.” Samuel has been faithful and upright in his choices both before God and man. He finished well.

Friends, we are called to live righteous lives. Meaning we choose to do what God has commanded, go God’s way, and be like Jesus. Not just when it’s easy or popular, but day by day. The Bible says we are to live “above reproach.”^[5] Here’s how Paul fleshes it out in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:14-16a – ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling and arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked & perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, ¹⁶ by holding firm to the word of life.

Sounds hard, doesn’t it? It’s a high calling. But this is the Christian life. And if we are in Christ, we have the power we need to follow this command. It’s not one way of living, it’s the Christian way.

1 Samuel 12:4-5 – ⁴ “You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone,” they responded. ⁵ He said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they said.

When the people demanded a king, they were not only turning from God’s authority, they were also rejecting the judges He selected. The Israelites are making a mistake and taking a terrible risk.

You have a judge, chosen by God to help the people, he had never done anything to hurt them or take advantage of them. But still the people say, “Give us a king.”

Ironically, what was the first thing Saul did when he started to lead? Threatened to kill their oxen. So here’s Samuel, filled with God’s wisdom and power and grace. He has a spotless track record. Israel says, “give us a king.” And right away the king says, “I’ll kill all your oxen if you don’t do what I want.”

None of Israel’s kings would live up to the integrity of Samuel. Not even David. Many of them would be terrible for the people. But that’s what happens when we stop pressing into our relationship with the Lord and go our own way. We settle for less and bring loss upon ourselves.

1 Samuel 12:6-7 – ⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “The LORD, who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. ⁷ Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the LORD about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.

Judge Samuel now brings charges against the nation. He says, “I’m going to confront you.” The charge was: Were they faithful? Samuel had been. More importantly, the Lord had been.

The people acted as if they had no other choice than to demand a king. But Samuel will show that God had been nothing but faithful and powerful and generous toward them for hundreds of years.

If you had a neighbor who, out of the kindness of his heart, mowed your front lawn every single week for the last 20 years and he always did a good job, would you go hire someone to do the job for $200 a week? That would be silly, right? And that’s the basic point Samuel is going to make.

One of the best things we can do to maintain a healthy spiritual attitude toward God is to remember the great things He has done for us. That’s one of the reasons we sing about them so often. Because when we do not fill our hearts with memories of God’s faithfulness, complaining rushes in. Discontent rushes in. Frustration and jealousy and greed rush in. And error follows.

1 Samuel 12:8-12 – ⁸ “When Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the LORD, and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them. ¹⁰ Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the LORD and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹ So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. ¹² But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’—even though the LORD your God is your king.

How much does the Lord have to do for me before I will trust Him? How many times does He have to reveal His goodness before I no longer make decisions motivated by fear and doubt? It’s so obvious when we read the Old Testament, isn’t it? We see these stories and think, “Just trust the Lord!” But the same unfaithfulness lives in my heart. The same propensity to worry that God won’t really come through for me this time.

The people were afraid of Nahash. We saw he was a scary guy. Yet what had the Lord done? He rescued them from enemies in the north, , the south, enemies in the west, enemies in the east.^[6]

Faith doesn’t mean we never have trouble. It means that in trouble we trust the Lord.

Psalm 46:1-2 – ¹ God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. ² Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas.

That is the faith we want. One that sees the works of God and is at rest, knowing that He is God. If you’re in some sort of crisis today, it is not time to withdraw from Jesus. It’s time to press into Him.

Meanwhile, we get a reminder here of how God does things. In most cases He decides to use His people to do His work. You and me! Notice in each of these troubles – whether it was Egypt or the Philistines or Moab or Nahash – what did God do? He appointed and sent His servants.

What has God appointed and sent you to do? It’s something. Some calling He has placed on your life. Being appointed was not just an Old Testament thing.^[7] In John 15, Jesus said that all of us are appointed to go and bear fruit. Is that happening in your life?

1 Samuel 12:13 – ¹³ “Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the LORD has placed over you.

God was always faithful, always good, always right, always victorious. Would that be true of every kings? They might be brave, they might not. They might be virtuous, they might not. They might be holy, they might not. Quite a gamble. But there was no turning back. Their choice was locked in.

1 Samuel 12:14-15 – ¹⁴ If you fear the LORD, worship and obey him, and if you don’t rebel against the LORD’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. ¹⁵ However, if you disobey the LORD and rebel against his command, the LORD’s hand will be against you as it was against your ancestors.

Even now the Lord would be gracious to them. They had made a terrible, unfaithful choice despite God’s track record, despite the warnings, but the Lord still kept the door open. They could still walk with Him. He would still lead and help and provide for them. One commentator noted, “Everything has changed – and nothing has changed.”^[8]

To fear the Lord does not mean God wants us to cower in fright. The connotation here means awe and reverence toward the Lord.^[9] Here it’s demonstrated by a life of worship and obedience and discipleship. Following God’s leading. That’s what Samuel means by “if you fear the Lord.”

1 Samuel 12:16-18 – ¹⁶ “Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the LORD’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.” ¹⁸ Samuel called on the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

When Judge Cicconetti sentenced Victoria to walk 30 miles, there was still the matter of a fine. She would have to pay $100 to the cabbie and have four months of probation.

God offered them grace, but there were still consequences. A judicial fine, as it were. Why? Is God being vindictive? No. Remember Hebrews tells us: “The Lord disciplines the one He loves.”

God is not interested in letting us throw our lives away as we wander from Him. He forgives our sin, but sin brings consequences. One of the first things it does is destroy the spiritual fruit in our lives.

This crop would be damaged if not destroyed. That’s what happens when we rebel against God. Destruction of harvest. Damage to the fruit He wants to grow in us.

The Lord was also establishing an important aspect of this new system: The king would lead, but the prophet would have power the king didn’t have. God was not relinquishing the throne of Israel.

1 Samuel 12:19 – ¹⁹ They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

They had been convicted and now they confess. But there’s a sad aspect to what they say here. In chapter 7, when the people were afraid, they said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us.” But now we sense the rift in their relationship with the Lord. “The Lord your God.”

Of course, there were still faithful people in Israel. This text isn’t suggesting that Samuel was the only real believer. But we remember that God deals not only with individuals but also with nations. And generally speaking the nation had turned away from the Lord. The result wasn’t good.

1 Samuel 12:20-22 – ²⁰ Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless. ²² The LORD will not abandon his people, because of his great name and because he has determined to make you his own people.

Even after all this, God’s said, “You’re still My people and you don’t have to be afraid.” No matter what mistakes we’ve made, we can always turn to God. He is ready to save. He is determined to love you. He won’t force you to receive that love or to love Him in return, but He has His mind made up. He will always keep His promises. Both to the nation of Israel and to us.

But it’s a choice. Just like in Deuteronomy: “I set before you today life and death. Choose life.” Just like in Joshua: “Choose this day whom you will serve.” You can follow Jesus or you can turn away from Him. The Hebrew is vivid. It can be translated, “Swerve away after mere emptiness.”^[10]

So, we can either continue walking after Jesus as He leads us on a solid path, straight and narrow, to life everlasting and joy overflowing, or we can swerve off that path into a ravine of emptiness.

1 Samuel 12:23-25 – ²³ “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way. ²⁴ Above all, fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you. ²⁵ However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Judge Cicconetti admitted that at one point he almost quit the bench. He became so depressed with the people coming through the courtroom and he was frustrated that he couldn’t help some of them. But, he stayed and did what he could, case by case.

Samuel was no longer leading the people. But he wasn’t done being a part of God’s work. He was old and grey, but he still had things he could do. Though he was hurt by their choice, he shows the kind of mercy the Lord has. He was actively gracious and compassionate like the Lord was.

Sometimes we become limited by resources or age or disease or circumstances. The Lord still gives us power to serve Him. In prayer. In encouragement. In all sorts of ways. And no matter what stage of life or faith we find ourselves in, here is another call to worship God, fill our hearts with gratitude, fear the Lord, and to follow Him.

You know, Victoria Bescom had a friend in the cab that day that they committed their crime. The friend did not take Judge Cicconetti’s deal. The news didn’t follow up, but what a shame if she chose captivity over a long walk.

Every day we have the same choice we see presented in this story. Growth or waste. Discipleship or on some detour that leads to a dead end, the ruin of spiritual fruit, uselessness in God’s hands. Fear the Lord. Worship Him. Proclaim His goodness and power in all His righteous acts. Follow His leading. Hold firm to our Refuge and Strength. Give Him the throne, the gavel, the helm of your life.