Bible Strands
1 Samuel 12:15
But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samuel addresses the assembled Israelites and their newly appointed king, marking the conclusion of his leadership and the transition to the monarchy. The text states that disobedience and rebellion against the Lord’s command will bring His hand against them just as it did against their fathers.
The words — The Hebrew מְרִיתֶם (me.ri.Tem) means "you will rebel," paired with פִּי (pi), literally "mouth," to denote God’s authoritative command. This phrasing frames rebellion not as mere mistake but as deliberate defiance against spoken divine instruction.
The thread — The warning mirrors Joshua 24:20, where forsaking the Lord triggers disaster, and Isaiah 1:20, which ties rebellion to being devoured by the sword. The pattern of conditional covenant loyalty and corresponding judgment recurs in the historical and prophetic literature.
Why it lands — The passage demands a direct choice between obedience and rebellion, with the latter guaranteeing divine opposition. Readers must acknowledge that covenant loyalty is non-negotiable and that disobedience activates the same consequences faced by previous generations.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
- Isaiah 1:20 But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Leviticus 26:14 If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
- Deuteronomy 28:15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- 1 Samuel 12:9 But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
- Romans 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- 1 Samuel 5:9 But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.