I Samuel 12 tells us that the people of Israel had “messed up” by asking for a king so that they could be like all the other peoples. God showed them clearly in :17 that this was a sin, and very importantly, in :19 they admitted their sin. The big question is: NOW what were they going to do?

Verse 19 goes on to tell us that the people asked Samuel to intercede for them: “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we will not die …”. They knew that they had sinned, and deserved condemnation. They knew that they were not in the position to do anything about it; they were unworthy. But they turned to one who could intercede for them, and asked HIM to “stand in the gap” between them and God. Samuel did intercede for the people, and they were on the road to being able to recover from their “mess up.”

The people of Israel model for us what WE need to do when we have “messed up” too. We can’t deal effectively with our sin; we can’t work a reconciliation between us and God. But thankfully, there is One who can! In fact, we have Someone much better even than Samuel: the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! I Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one Mediator also between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 7:27 tells us that He is the perfect intercessor, and that “He always lives to make intercession for (us).” I John 1:9 encourages us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If you’ve “messed up” — and we all have at some time or another — don’t try to cover it up, or to deal with it yourself in some way; take it to the Intercessor, to the Lord Jesus, who loves you and gave Himself on the cross for you. You WILL find forgiveness for your sin, and can be back on the road to a restored relationship with God.

Tomorrow we will look at a common mistake people make regarding their relationship with God once they’ve “messed up” — and how I Samuel 12 encourages us not to succumb to it!