"OVERVIEW OF 1 SAMUEL"
Notes
Transcript
Samuel, the last judge and first great prophet in Israel, anoints the first king. Though Saul’s physical credentials are impressive, his indifferent heart attitude toward God results in the kingdom being taken away from his family. In his place Samuel anoints young David as the king-elect. David becomes a growing threat to the insanely jealous Saul, eventually fleeing to the wilderness for his very life. But God’s hand of protection is clearly upon David, even as God’s hand of judgment is being felt by Saul and his family. Foolishly consulting a medium at En Dor, Saul hears his own doom pronounced. True to the prophet’s word, Saul and his sons are killed the next day in combat. Wilkinson, B., & Boa, K. (1983). Talk thru the Bible (p. 70). T. Nelson.
Background info –
Author – Unknown
Talk thru the Bible Author
The author of First and Second Samuel is anonymous, but Jewish talmudic tradition says that it was written by Samuel. Samuel may have written the first portion of the book, but his death recorded in First Samuel 25:1 makes it clear that he did not write all of First and Second Samuel. Samuel did write a book (10:25), and written records were available. As the head of a company of prophets (see 10:5; 19:20), Samuel would be a logical candidate for biblical authorship.
First Chronicles 29:29 refers to “the Book of Samuel the Seer,” “the Book of Nathan the Prophet,” and “the Book of Gad the Seer.” All three men evidently contributed to these two books; and it is very possible that a single compiler, perhaps a member of the prophetic school, used these chronicles to put together the Book of Samuel. This is also suggested by the unity of plan and purpose and by the smooth transitions between sections.
Date – If Samuel wrote the material in the first twenty-four chapters, he did so soon before his death (c. 1015 B.C.). He was born around 1105 B.C., and ministered as a judge and prophet in Israel between about 1067 and 1015 B.C. The books of Samuel end in the last days of David; so they must have been compiled after 971 B.C. The reference in First Samuel 27:6 to the divided monarchy in which Judah is separate from Israel indicates a compilation date after Solomon’s death in 931 B.C. However, the silence regarding the Assyrian captivity of Israel in 722 B.C. probably means that First Samuel was written before this key event.
First Samuel covers the ninety-four-year period from the birth of Samuel to the death of Saul (c. 1105–1101 B.C.). The Philistines strongly oppress Israel from 1087 B.C. until the battle of Ebenezer in 1047 B.C. (7:10–14). However, even after this time the Philistines exercise military and economic control. They live in the coastal plains; and the hill country in which the Israelites dwell protects them from total conquest by the Philistines. Wilkinson, B., & Boa, K. (1983). Talk thru the Bible (pp. 71–72). T. Nelson.
Audience – Nation of Israel
Theme – “Kingdom Determined” (Theocracy to Monarchy)
Key Verses -
14 “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
Key Chapter is 15
Key Chapter (15)—First Samuel 15 records the tragic transition of kingship from Saul to David. As in all three changes recorded in First Samuel, God removes His blessing from one and gives it to another because of sin. “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king” (15:23). Wilkinson, B., & Boa, K. (1983). Talk thru the Bible (p. 72). T. Nelson.
Keep in mind that the book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges. As we study the book of 1 Samuel this morning it is essential that you realize that Samuel is the last Judge as well as the greatest prophet since the time of Moses.
Abrahamic Covenant – Land, Seed, and Blessing
The book is a book of transition –
As we embark on the book of 1 Samuel we will see 1) A God Ruled Kingdom, 2) A Man Ruled Kingdom, and 3) A Man Ruled Kingdom back to a God Ruled Kingdom .
Interrogative question - Who or what is in charge of your life?
1. A God Ruled Kingdom – 1-7
1. A God Ruled Kingdom – 1-7
Samuel a man marked by obedience
20 It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
1:20 – Hannah Bears a child – keep in mind that Hannah has been barren for many years, she pray’s and asks the Lord to give her a child, and she then makes a commitment to the Lord that if He would give her a child then he would be dedicated to the Lord for his entire life. - God is obviously in charge
1 Samuel 3:1–14 (NASB95)
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. 2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was,
4 that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 The Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him.
8 So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 “In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 “For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.
14 “Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
3:1-14 – The call of Samuel – We began to see how Samuel remains faithful to the Lord!
19 Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. 20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.
3:19-20 – “The Lord was with him…”
They turn away from the Lord –
1 Samuel 4 (NASB95)
1 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.
3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.”
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.
7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 “Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
9 “Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.” 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head.
13 When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching, because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. So the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?”
17 Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.”
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years. 19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”
4 – the nation of Israel does not trust in the Lord for deliverance – in fact it says the Philistines began to defeat them and then the nation of Israel went to Shiloh to get the Ark of the covenant – essentially they were using the Ark as a good luck charm –
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
7:3-4 – Samuel calls for repentance – when the Israelites followed the Lord, He delivered them from the Philistines
You see the first 7 chapters deal with Samuel judging the nation of Israel – As He and the nation were obedient to the Lord, God provided for them – W see here how as a result of their obedience God provides for them by delivering the Philistines into their hands –
Let’s get a little more practical – Who is in charge of your life? Yourself or the Lord?
2. A Man Ruled Kingdom – 8-31
2. A Man Ruled Kingdom – 8-31
Chapter 8 is a key chapter in the book of Samuel –
“Demand for a King” - 8
8:5 – People’s desire
5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.”
The reason they wanted a king was to be like everyone else
Samuel’s response is outright disgust
The Nation no longer wants God to lead them in fact they want a visible king to lead them
“Precautions of a King” –
8:10-18 – if a king comes these things will happen –
1 Samuel 8:10–18 (NASB95)
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. 11 He said, “This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots.
12 “He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
13 “He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 “He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants.
15 “He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. 16 “He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work.
17 “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Take your sons and appoint them to his chariots
Appoint them as horsemen
Men will be commanders of thousands
Men will be commanders of fifties
They will plow the ground
Reap his harvest
Make implements of war and equipment
Take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers
Take the best of your fields and vineyards and love orchards and give to his servants
Take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards
Take male servants and female servants
Best of your young men
Your donkeys
Force them to work
Take a tenth of your flocks
You will be his slaves
The Lord will not answer when you cry out –
“The Nations response to the precautions” – 8:19-22
1 Samuel 8:19–22 (NASB95)
19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
Did not listen or accept what was said
They wanted to be like the other nations
The Lord said obey their voice
“Choosing of a King” 9:2
2 He had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
Saul is a good looking man
Handsome and tall
He looks very good from an outward appearance
10:1 – Saul chosen to be king
1 Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?
“Characterized by self-reliance” -
11:5-7 – Saul puts his confidence in himself not the Lord
1 Samuel 11:5–7 (NASB95)
5 Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
13:8-9 – When Samuel did not come he once again took matters into his hands
8 Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
14:24-25 – Rash vow –
24 Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 25 All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
“Rejection of Saul” 15
15:1-3 – Saul was given very clear instruction
1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
15:5-9 – Saul did not obey what he was told
1 Samuel 15:5–9 (NASB95)
5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. 6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
15:22, 26 – The wanted you to obey Him – however, you have forsaken that and as a result you will no longer be king
22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
3. A Man Ruled Kingdom back to a God Ruled Kingdom -
3. A Man Ruled Kingdom back to a God Ruled Kingdom -
David a man marked by faith
13:11-14 - David – “A Man After God’s Own Heart”
11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12 therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” 13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
16:7-8 – the Lord looks at the heart
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
16:13 – David is anointed as the next king
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
David is used in the king’s service
David defeat’s Goliath
18:1-2 – David and Jonathan develop a heart friendship
1 Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. 2 Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.
Saul becomes very jealous of David and wants him killed
SO WHAT??
Who is in charge of your life?