(8) When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. (9) And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. (10) And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (11) And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. (12) And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. (13) Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. (14) If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: (15) 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.
These verses form the great outlines of Israel's history, from the deliverance out of Egypt, to the hour of Samuel's address on this occasion. The design of this discourse was, to show God's unceasing goodness, and Israel's continual disobedience. I detain the reader just to remark, that the Bedan here noticed in Samuel's discourse, is not mentioned before in the history of Israel. It should seem from his being placed, in the relation, between Jerubbual and Jephthah, that it must have been some one of Israel's deliverers, who lived between the periods of these men. Some have thought it was Jair. See Judges 10:3. But we may, at least, derive this instruction from the silence, which the Holy Ghost hath been pleased to observe, respecting this man, that many precious servants of the Lord, no doubt, will be found at the last day, whose memories have not been recorded with public notice. Many a sweet flower blooms, and sheds its fragrance on the mountain, unnoticed by every eye, but His, by whom it is formed.