Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
The words belong to Samuel's parting address at Gilgal, after the people's welcome of Saul as king had ended. They stand in the account of Israel rejecting God's rule to choose human authority and the customs of surrounding nations, though God had saved and delivered them. The setting at Gilgal recalled God's acts for Israel and the consequences of trusting human judgment rather than seeking God's counsel.
The verse is Samuel's call for Israel to stand and see a great visible sign that the Lord would do before their eyes in response to the demand for a king. The promised sign would demonstrate the Lord's power. The sign was given to make clear the seriousness of rejecting God's rule and asking for a king.
At wheat harvest, which is normally dry in May and June, Samuel called on the Lord and God sent thunder and rain. The thunder and rain revealed the people's wickedness in asking for a king and led them to fear the Lord and acknowledge and confess their sin.
The words belong to Samuel's parting address at Gilgal, after the people's welcome of Saul as king had ended. They stand in the account of Israel rejecting God's rule to choose human authority and the customs of surrounding nations, though God had saved and delivered them. The setting at Gilgal recalled God's acts for Israel and the consequences of trusting human judgment rather than seeking God's counsel.
The verse is Samuel's call for Israel to stand and see a great visible sign that the Lord would do before their eyes in response to the demand for a king. The promised sign would demonstrate the Lord's power. The sign was given to make clear the seriousness of rejecting God's rule and asking for a king.
At wheat harvest, which is normally dry in May and June, Samuel called on the Lord and God sent thunder and rain. The thunder and rain revealed the people's wickedness in asking for a king and led them to fear the Lord and acknowledge and confess their sin.