Your Kingdom Come: An Introduction to 1, 2 Samuel

Introduction:

The word Democracy comes from the compound word GREEK DEMOS- people and KRATIS which means rule, power. We live in a nation where the people rule in such a way that we appoint leaders who lead us. The power lies in the hands of the people who unify under the preamble of the US Constitution:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The preamble sets the stage for a government of elected representatives and leaders, established and governed by the people of this nation.

Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1788,

“Great confusion about the words democracy, aristocracy, monarchy...Democracy in my sense, where the whole power of the government in the people, whether exercised by themselves or by representatives, chosen by them either mediately or immediately and legally accountable to them...Consequence, the proposed government a representative democracy...Constitution revocable and alterable by the people. This representative democracy as far as is consistent with its genius has all the features of good government.”

What, then is a THEOCRACY?

Again if you dissect the compound word it is thus a THEOS KRATIS, rule of God in its most literal sense. Israel was a Theocracy and that theocracy is the one of the main subjects of our study of 1,2 Samuel. Defining this term simply, Ronald Youngblood states that a theocracy among God’s people was…

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary Theocracy

direct government of the nation of Israel by God Himself or His earthly representatives. Although theocracy is not a biblical word, the concept of God’s rule on earth is thoroughly biblical. In a theocracy human rulers interpret and carry out the divine ruler’s will.

It is a joy to being our study of this OT book and if you noticed in the title of this sermon, we will be studying both 1 and 2 Samuel. We will do so because they tell the story of God bringing about a king in Israel, a king who was designed to rule under God’s leadership and authority, a man after God’s own heart. We study these books together to get the piece of the bigger picture of God establishing his kingdom in the world that He created. We study these books to reflect upon the idea that God is sovereign and even in his creation of the world and humanity in it, God never relinquished his sovereign rule and power. He never abdicated the throne . He never takes time away from his governing duties over all His creation.

What we will see as we study the life of Samuel, Saul, and David is the revelation that no earthly judge or king will ever lead in such a way that truly honors the God and his will. The texts we will study will point us to a hope of a Messiah, an anointed one, God in the flesh who will come to earth to lead perfectly, die substitutionally, rise powerfully, and be seated eternally on His throne.

1. Rearranged Pieces

Now one of the main reasons that we are going to study both 1 and 2 samuel is because they were designed that way. If you do not know, our collection of OT books are the that the Jews possessed but held them in a different order. We know that different order as the HEBREW BIBLE. The Jews collecition of writings fit in three well known categories,

LAW (Torah) Gen-Deut

PROPHETS (Nevi’im) FORMER: Jo, Ju, 4 books of Kingdoms LATTER:Isa, Jer, Ezek, 12 minor prophets

WRITINGS (Ketuvim) Ps, Job, Prov, Ruth, SoS, Ecc, Lam, Esther, Daniel, Ezra/Neh, Chronicles

This is a more chronological way to look at the Scriptures. For example, notice in your notes that the writings follow the history of Israel and its captivity. Who were Esther and Daniel from a historical perspective? They were a Jewish man and Jewish women living in exile under the rule of their captors.

Jesus mentions these three categories in Luke 24:44

“44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”” (the Psalms represents the WRITINGS as a whole. Jesus is not discounting the others books found in the Writings).

Now where is 1 and 2 Samuel in this list? They are actually found in the 4 books of the Kingdoms. Originally bound up in 1 book, 1-2 Samuel was actually considered 1-2 Kingdoms while 1-2 Kings, as we know it, would have been 3-4 Kingdoms. The reason for the breaking up of these books were mainly for practical reasons.

When the Hebrew Bible was translated into the Greek language, which was known as the Septuigent, the OT books were reorganized and eventually the Hebrew Bible was printed with the order of the OT that we are familiar with today, the 39 books, not the 24 books that were original.

Therefore, it is best that we study both 1-2 Samuel together to get the complete story that was being told by the writers and the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21 “21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

II. A Piece of History

Now that we have established the reason that we are studying the books together, let us consider the context of the books that we will be studying. Before we can dive into this narrative, let’s us see how history has unfolded and led the Israelites to this point. The two previous books of history that precede these are Joshua and Judges. You can summarizes those who narratives as Conquest and Consequence.

Conquest: In Joshua, God leads the Israelites after years of wandering to the finally achieve His promises by the conquest of Canaan. This promise land, flowing with milk and honey sets up the great story of the Messiah as this wandering people became a settled people looking for a Savior. Their cultural leader, Joshua and later Caleb, served as faithful men who trusted God to fulfill his promises, even when the majority doubted. Even as God blessed the tribes of Israel with a land, Israel failed to drive out all the inhabitants as God commanded.

Consequences: Judges could be called Consequences because this describes the main story line of the writing. God raises up leaders called judges to assist in the salvation and rescue of Israel from the hands of its enemies. Those acts of violence and dominance come in direct relation to the consequences of Israel’s disobedience in Joshua and therefore they face punishment from God once again. Turn w me to Judges 2

Judges 2:14–19 “14 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. 16 Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.”

This leads us then to the historical accounts we find in 1-2 Samuel. Just as the rest of Scriptures before these books, we are on a constant journey through history. The wide angle lens begins in Genesis and Gods creation and the human activity in relationship with God. There is grace given by God in the midst of sin and rebellion from man. By Gen 12, the story quickly zooms in to God establishing his people through Abram and his family. As God established the people of Israel, the reader continually walks with them, seeing God’s promises fulfilled in spite of Israel’s failures. We travel with them to Egypt, through their escape and wanderings in the wilderness. Now the story settles in Canaan, the Promised Land. This land is the stage for our study through 1-2 Samuel as well as many of the places that Jesus walked in His day. It is in the land of Canaan that familiar places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem and others exist.

Of course, all of this is God bringing about his purposes in the midst of human desire and rebellion. Note with me some of the ways God teaches these great truths through the historical accounts of 1-2 Samuel :

God raises up faithful leaders to do great things for God’s glory as they are empowered by His spirit. These leaders are not previously spectacular people and yet calls them in their weakness, does miraculous and mighty things through them and in that God receives the glory. We will see David and his leaders slay giants. We will see a shepherd become a king. We will the son of a jealous king sacrifice greatly to protect his innocent and persecuted friend. There is much to learn in these chapters about how God calls and uses those he calls up in leadership. wherever God calls you to serve others and lead others, you and I should be challenged to learn valuable truths from these writings about self-sacrifice, humility, patience, mercy and trust in the Lord as we lead.

God defeats his enemies for his own glory and he uses his faithful followers to accomplish the unimaginable victories. There are many enemies that will be defeated in these chapters such as false-gods, mighty armies, unfaithful kings, and enourmous giants who defy the name of the God of Israel. All of these historical accounts not only occured in the history of this world but they teach God’s people to turn from fear when we serve the One True God. With insurrmountable odds that we face on any given day, these accounts will simply remind us to seek refuge and strength in the God who loves us.

1 Samuel 2:6–8 “6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 “The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. 8 “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.”

God soveriengly brings about good through the plans of evil men. We are reminded once again in the Scriptures that being faithful to God means that we will be in conflict with the world. That conflict brings calamity and unrest in our lives. It is a promise handed down by the Lord Jesus, “a slave is not greater than his Master, if they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” We will see God’s servants face horrible situations in 1-2 Samuel like the continual pursuit of David from Saul and eventually from David’s son Absalom. Imagine for a moment your own family seeking to harm and kill you so they can rule in your place. David writes in Psalm 119

Psalm 119:75–76 “75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. 76 O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant.”

Psalm 119:71 “71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”

David suffered greatly and yet was reflective in such a way to see the hand of the Lord guiding him and teaching him in and through the purposeful affliction in his life.

God justly judges the rebellion and sin of his people, especially the leaders of His people and His earthly kingdom. We will get to see the first monarchy established in Israel and how uses His kings to accomplish mighty purposes. Some may read the accounts of Saul becoming king and assume that Israel sinned against God by wanting a king. But actually according to Deut 17, God allowed kings to be established over his people as long as that King submitted to the leadership of God over all.

Deuteronomy 17:14–20 “14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16 “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 18 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.”

It is was not the sin of the people to want a king, but it was sinful that the people wanted a king to go before them in battle. The hearts of Israel sought out a man to lead them over their enemies instead of God. God justly gave them what they asked for in Saul and even though his rule had good years, it was characterized by demise for the people. Similarly, we will see the consequences of Israel’s sin when the Phillistine army captures the ark of the covenant and the writer states “the glory has departed from Israel.”

These are just some of the themes that we will see as we study through these writings together.

A. Author

Now when it comes to the author, we cannot identify clearly who wrote this revelation outside of the Holy Spirit. We cannot say that it is simply Samuel because Samuel dies in 1 Samuel 25. He is not even mentioned in the 2 Samuel. Other authors have been proposed like Nathan the prophet but even that fails with no evidence and only speculation. What we must come to understand is simply that the Holy Spirit guided these words through earthly authors to which are unknown to us.

B. Date

If we want to consider a date as to when these books were written, we must look to the historical events that take place. Since the main subjects of these books are Samuel, King Saul and King David, then we can deduce from these writings and historical evidence the dates that surround their lives. It is most likely that Samuel the prophet was born somewhere around 1080 BC and David’s death came around 970 BC. This would span the events of the 2 books of Samuel. As far as a date of authorship, we must conclude that the books must have been written sometime after David’s death in 970 BC, which would have been during Solomon’s reign as king.

C. Outline

A simple outline of 1 Samuel 1 would be found in the historical figures themselves.

1-7 tells the story of Samuel

8-15 focuses on Saul as King

16-31 looks to David who is anointed new king as the Lord turns his face away from Saul.

A more detailed outline of both books have been mapped in a chaism by author Peter Leithart which seems a helpful outline to consider.

A Birth of Samuel, 1:1–2:11 (Hannah’s song, 2:1–10) B The corruption of Eli’s house, 2:12–3:21 C Exile and return of the ark, 4:1–7:17 D Saul’s rise, 8:1–12:25 E Saul’s fall, 13:1–15:33 F David in Saul’s house, 15:34–20:42 G Saul versus David, 21:1–27:12 H Saul’s death, 28:1–2 Sam. 1:27 (lament) G′ House of Saul v. House of David, 2:1–4:12 F′ David as King, 5:1–9:13 E′ David’s fall, 10:1–12:31 D′ Absalom’s rise, 13:1–15:12 C′ Exile and return of David, 15:13–19:43 B′ Rebellion of Sheba, 20:1–26 A′ The True King, 21:1–24:25 (poems, 22:1–23:7)*

*Peter J. Leithart

III. A Piece of His-Story

Of course as historical accounts of Scripture, we know that they are just merely pieces of the bigger tapestry of revelation that points to Jesus Christ.

Luke 24:44 “44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.””

While we can learn application of our lives by considering the strength of God’s power over our enemies, it’s unwise to look at Goliath as your enemy and you are king David. Instead, see David’s slaying as a type of Christ, who took down all forces and enemies that reject the name and glory of God when he died and rose from the grace. Of all the things that the narratives in 1-2 Samuel, none is greater than the promise of a Messiah that will sit on the throne of David. Hannah prays in her prayer in 1 Samuel 2

1 Samuel 2:6–10 “6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 “The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. 8 “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them. 9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10 “Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.””

Even before kings were established in Israel, Hannah moved by the Holy Spirit prays v 10, he will give strength to his KING and will exalt the horn of His anointed.” This prayer is the first time the word anointed is used to speak of a person. Other cultures in their day were anointing their kings and we know that 1-2 Samuel will reveal the anointing of Saul and the David. But it is the proper name “His anointed” that stands to mean so much more. “His anointed” means “Messiah” and it was the beginning of that term pointing to a promised future king that is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus from the Davidic line that stands to fulfill all the eternal promises of Davidic kingdom.

In the end of this written account, we will see and understand that no matter what earthly king or ruler might stand at a podium or rule from a throne, there will always be a gap that cannot be closed, a chasm that cannot be travailed in him. This leads us to desire the greatest leader, the greatest Savior, the Greatest King.

Psalm 22:27–28 NASB95

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s And He rules over the nations.

Philippians 2:9–10 “9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”