This guide gives you ready-made questions and leader’s notes for 1 Samuel 12, the chapter where Samuel gives his farewell address to Israel after they have asked for a king. It is written for small groups, Sunday school classes, and personal study. You can work through the questions in order or pick the sets that suit your time and your group.
1 Samuel 12 at a Glance
Samuel opens by pointing to his own record of faithful leadership, inviting the people to testify against him if he has wronged them. Then he recounts how the LORD rescued Israel again and again in the past, even when they forsook him. He confronts their request for a king, but he also gives them a way forward: fear the LORD, obey him, and do not turn to empty things.
The chapter ends with a dramatic sign of God’s power, a storm in the middle of the wheat harvest, followed by fresh repentance from the people and Samuel’s promise to keep praying for them. Read as a whole, it moves from accountability to remembrance, from warning to hope.
Observation Questions
Use these questions to slow the group down and make sure everyone has seen what the text actually says before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask people to point to the verse for each answer, and let quieter members answer first.
1 Samuel 12:3
Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a ransom to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
(WEB)
Read this verse early to set the tone for the chapter. Samuel’s open invitation to be examined before the LORD models accountability and integrity, and it gives the group a reference point for the rest of the study.
1 Samuel 12:14-15
14 If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the LORD your God. 15 But if you will not listen to the LORD’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
(WEB)
These verses state Samuel’s central condition clearly. Reading them aloud helps the group hear the link between obedience, blessing, and consequences without needing to over-explain it.
1 Samuel 12:19-20
19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn away from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
(WEB)
The people’s plea and Samuel’s reply show repentance and reassurance side by side. Hearing both in one reading helps the group see that fear of God and comfort in God belong together.
1 Samuel 12:22
For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself.
(WEB)
This verse gives the reason God will not forsake his people. Reading it aloud gives the group a steady truth to hold when they feel their own failures weigh heavily on them.
1 Samuel 12:24
Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.
(WEB)
Samuel’s final call to fear the LORD and serve him in truth is a fitting summary. Ending a reading here lets the group carry a clear, positive charge into their closing discussion or prayer.
Memory Verse for 1 Samuel 12
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you do not forsake your people, even when we have wandered after things that cannot save us. Forgive us for the ways we have trusted vain things instead of you. Help us to remember your faithfulness in our own lives, to fear you and serve you in truth, and to listen closely to your voice. Give us wisdom in our relationships and in the authorities over us. Teach us to pray for one another as Samuel prayed for Israel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
