Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Rain And Thunder At Harvest Time.
Occasion: To Cause Reverence And
Obedience In Israel.
Location: Gilgal
Bible Text: I Samuel 11:14,15/
12:1-25 NLT
I Samuel 11:14,15 NLT
14 Then Samuel
said to the people, “Come, let us all go to Gilgal to renew the
kingdom.”
15 So they all
went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before The Lord they made
Saul king. Then they offered peace offerings to The Lord, and Saul
and all the Israelites were filled with joy.
I Samuel 12:1-25 NLT (Samuel’s
Farewell)
1 Then Samuel addressed all Israel:
“I have done as you asked and given you a king.
2 Your king is now your leader. I
stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve
you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this
very day.
3 Now testify against me in the
presence of The Lord and before His anointed one. Whose ox or donkey
have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed
you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I
will make right whatever I have done wrong.”
4 “No,” they replied, “you
have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a
single bribe.”
5 “The Lord and His anointed one
are my witnesses today,” Samuel declared, “that my hands are
clean.” “Yes, He is a witness,” they replied.
6 “It was The Lord who appointed
Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors
out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now stand here quietly before The
Lord as I remind you of all the great things The Lord has done for
you and your ancestors.
8 “When the Israelites were in
Egypt and cried out to The Lord, He sent Moses and Aaron to rescue
them from Egypt and to bring them into this land.
9 But the people soon forgot about
The Lord their God, so He handed them over to Sisera, the commander
of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of
Moab, who fought against them.
10 “Then they cried to The Lord
again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from The Lord
and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship
you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’
11 Then The Lord sent Gideon, Bedan,
Jephthah, and Samuelto save you, and you lived in safety.
12 “But when you were afraid of
Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a
king to reign over you, even though The Lord your God was already
your King.
13 All right, here is the king you
have chosen. You asked for him, and The Lord has granted your
request.
14 “Now if you fear and worship
The Lord and listen to His voice, and if you do not rebel against The
Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you
recognize The Lord as your God.
15 But if you rebel against The
Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to Him, then His hand will be
as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
16 “Now stand here and see the
great thing The Lord is about to do.
17 You know that it does not rain at
this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask The Lord
to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you
have been in asking The Lord for a king!”
18 So Samuel called to The Lord, and
The Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were
terrified of the Lord and of Samuel.
19 “Pray to The Lord your God for
us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have
added to our sins by asking for a king.”
20 “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel
reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now
that you worship
The Lord with all your heart, and
don’t turn your back on Him.
21 Don’t go back to worshiping
worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally
useless!
22 The Lord will not abandon His
people, because that would dishonor His Great Name. For it has
pleased The Lord to make you His very own people.
23 “As for me, I will certainly
not sin against The Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will
continue to teach you what is good and right.
24 But be sure to fear The Lord and
faithfully serve Him. Think of all the wonderful things He has done
for you.
25 But if you continue to sin, you
and your king will be swept away.”
In his farewell
speech, the fifteenth and last judge, Samuel spoke of the goodness
and faithfulness of The Lord, to Israel.
But though The Lord
had been faithful to them, they in turn had been faithless to Him.
And now in an act
to follow other ungodly nations around them, they demanded a king,
when The Lord Of Glory had, from the beginning, always been their
King of kings.
The
King of kings and Lord of lords:
Exodus 15:18 KJV
The Lord shall reign for ever and
ever.
II Chronicles
20:5,6 NLT
5 Jehoshaphat (King of Judah) stood
before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new
courtyard at the Temple of The Lord.
6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our
ancestors, you alone are The God who is in heaven. You are Ruler of
all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one
can stand against you!
Psalm 2:6,7 KJV
6 Yet have I set My King upon My
Holy Hill Of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: The
Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten
thee.
Psalm 24:1-10
KJV
1 The earth is The Lord's, and the
fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For He hath founded it upon the
seas, and established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into The Hill Of
The Lord? or who shall stand in His Holy Place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a
pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from
The Lord, and righteousness from The God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them
that seek Him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and The King Of Glory shall
come in.
8 Who is this King Of Glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and The King Of Glory shall
come in.
10 Who is this King Of Glory? The
Lord Of Hosts, He is The King Of Glory. Selah.
Isaiah 9:6,7 KJV
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto
us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and
His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The
Everlasting Father, The Prince Of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon
his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of The Lord Of Hosts
will perform this.
Jeremiah 23:5,6
NLT
5 “For the time is coming,” says
The Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King
David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with
wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be His name:‘The
Lord Is Our Righteousness...’
Daniel 7:13,14
KJV
13 I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son Of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient Of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
14 And there was given Him dominion,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.
Zechariah 9:9
KJV
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and
upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Matthew 2:1,2
KJV
1 Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came
wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is He that is born
King Of The Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come
to worship Him.
John 1:49 KJV
Nathanael answered and saith unto
Him, Rabbi, thou art The Son Of God; thou art The King Of Israel.
John 18:37 KJV
Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art
thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a King. To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto The Truth. Every one that is of The Truth
heareth My voice.
I Corinthians
15:25 NLT
For Christ must reign until He
humbles all His enemies beneath His feet.
I Timothy 1:17
KJV
Now unto The King Eternal, Immortal,
Invisible, The Only Wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
I Timothy
6:13-16 KJV
13 I give thee charge in the sight
of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who
before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
14 That thou keep this commandment
without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ:
15 Which in His times He shall shew,
who is the blessed and only Potentate, The King Of kings, and Lord Of
lords;
16 Who only hath immortality,
dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man
hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
Revelation 1:5
KJV
And from Jesus Christ, who is The
Faithful Witness, and The First Begotten Of The Dead, and The Prince
Of The Kings Of The Earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from
our sins in His own blood,
Revelation
15:2,3 KJV
2 And I saw as it were a sea of
glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over
the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number
of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses
the servant of God, and the song of The Lamb, saying, Great and
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy
ways, thou King Of Saints.
Revelation 17:14
KJV
These shall make war with The Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King
of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and
faithful.
Revelation
19:6,16 KJV
6 And I heard as it were the voice
of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for The Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth.
16 And He hath on His vesture and on
His thigh a name written, King Of kings, And Lord Of lords.
Samuel told Israel, that God would show His anger at their rejecting Him, by sending them rain at Harvest time.
The Living God, had preformed miracle after miracle for the people of God, and yet they wandered away from Him. And again and again the judges of Israel, would call them back to repentance and worship.
The Living God, had preformed miracle after miracle for the people of God, and yet they wandered away from Him. And again and again the judges of Israel, would call them back to repentance and worship.
Certainly we
Christians today, would never error as they did-or could we?
Proverbs 14:12
KJV
There is a way which seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 17:3
KJV
The fining pot is for silver, and
the furnace for gold: but The Lord trieth the hearts.
Proverbs 21:2
KJV
Every way of a man is right in his
own eyes: but The Lord pondereth the hearts.
Ecclesiastes
8:11-13 KJV
11 Because sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men
is fully set in them to do evil.
12 Though a sinner do evil an
hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it
shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him:
13 But it shall not be well with the
wicked, neither shall He prolong his days, which are as a shadow;
because he feareth not before God.
Jeremiah 17:9
KJV
The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Mark 7:20-23 NLT
20 And then He (Jesus) added, “It
is what comes from inside that defiles you.
21 For from within, out of a
person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft,
murder,
22 adultery, greed, wickedness,
deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
23 All these vile things come from
within; they are what defile you.”
Oh, the
insurrection, the treachery of the heart of man.
What can men do?
Psalm 119:11 KJV
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 19:14 KJV
Let the words of my mouth, and the
meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my
strength, and my redeemer.
Hebrews 4:12 KJV
For The Word Of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 3:12-19
NLT
12 Be careful then, dear brothers
and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and
unbelieving, turning you away from The Living God.
13 You must warn each other every
day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be
deceived by sin and hardened against God.
14 For if we are faithful to the
end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will
share in all that belongs to Christ.
15 Remember what it says: “Today
when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did
when they rebelled.”
16 And who was it who rebelled
against God, even though they heard His voice? Wasn’t it the people
Moses led out of Egypt?
17 And who made God angry for forty
years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the
wilderness?
18 And to whom was God speaking when
He took an oath that they would never enter His rest? Wasn’t it the
people who disobeyed Him?
19 So we see that because of their
unbelief they were not able to enter His rest.
I Corinthians
10:12 KJV
Wherefore let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall.
II Timothy
2:19-26 KJV
19 Nevertheless the foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are
His. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.
20 But in a great house there are
not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of
earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
21 If a man therefore purge himself
from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for
The Master's use, and prepared unto
every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but
follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on
The Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned
questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of The Lord must
not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance
to the acknowledging of The Truth;
26 And that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by
him at his will.
James 4:4-10 KJV
4 ...know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity (hostile) with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture
saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But He giveth more grace.
Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,
ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of
The Lord, and He shall lift you up.
