“I’ve really blown it this time. How can the Lord ever forgive me for this?” Maybe you’ve experienced that sort of crushing guilt. And maybe you’ve drifted away from worship or Bible study or even from prayer as a result.

The people of Israel would certainly understand. They had to admit that, all during the time Samuel had served as a judge over them, he hadn’t cheated or oppressed any of them (12:3-4). And they knew that God had delivered them time and time again from all sorts of enemies – even from the Egyptians and the Philistines – by the hands of prophets like Moses and judges like Gideon and Jephthah (12:8-11). In short, the only reason they had to change their system of government, the only real reason they wanted a human king was because they had lost confidence in the Lord’s reign over them (12:12).

So, as they heard the thunder and felt the raindrops from a storm that came during what was usually a very dry season of the year (12:17), they couldn’t deny the truth of Samuel’s words: they had really screwed up. Their desire for a human king was truly wicked, nothing short of a rebellion against the Lord.

So, what could they do? They couldn’t turn back now, because God had already given them what they wanted by anointing a king to rule over them (verse 13). And so, imagining that God could never forgive them, they might have been tempted to turn aside, to embrace other gods instead, even though such gods were not only powerless but phony (12:21). And many modern people have given up on God and turned to drink or drugs, to money or sex for the same sorts of reasons.

But that doesn’t mean God has given up on us. No, even though His people had rebelled against Him by clamoring for a king, Samuel insisted that he would still pray for them (12:23). More importantly, God promised that He would not abandon them (12:22). No matter what they had done in the past, God said that His people could continue to follow Him (12:14) – if they would fear Him and obey Him (12:14, 24), thus abandoning their rebellion and turning away from any false gods.

And Jesus makes the same offer to all who would trust in Him today. There is no crime so serious, no sin so heinous for which His blood cannot atone. And He promises never to cast out anyone who comes to Him in faith, anyone whose heart the Father stirs to repentance (John 6:37). So no matter what we’ve done or left undone, let’s take Jesus at His Word today, trusting Him not only to be our Savior but also our Lord. For we can be sure that He will always lead us in the good and right way (12:23).

I Samuel 12:1-25 (NASB)

Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you.
2 “And now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day.
3 “Here I am; bear witness against me before the LORD and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.”
4 And they said, “You have not defrauded us, or oppressed us, or taken anything from any man’s hand.”
5 And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt.
7 “So now, take your stand, that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did for you and your fathers.
8 “When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9 “But they forgot the LORD their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
10 “And they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve Thee.’
11 “Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.
12 “When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the LORD your God was your king.
13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you.
14 “If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.
15 “And if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes.
17 “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king.”
18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.”
20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
21 “And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile.
22 “For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.
23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.
24 “Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
25 “But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king shall be swept away.”