Opening Overture

Charting the Course (1 & 2 Samuel)

!!! Be DONE BY 10:55 AM !!!

Introduction:

What has the power to brighten any mood…. or to bring sadness and melancholy? Music….. Music has the ability to impact our moods and emotions in a way that no other medium can.

Music can take someone who is sad and carry them to a happier place….. but music can also remind us of times of sorrow and sadness. Its incredible how powerful music can be. — That is one of the reasons why music is one of the top 3-4 issues that people typically argue the most in the church.

Music can greatly impact our emotions… but it can also be used as a vehicle that helps us to tell a story in a way that people will not only remember it… but will be impacted by it.

God has recorded for us in His Word a wonderful story about heroes and villains… about unlikely people being used to accomplish extraordinary things… a story that begins with barrenness and then leads to battle. It includes great victories as well as unexpected upsets.

It’s a wonderful narrative of real people and how they lived through real historical events…. all as part of God’s plan of redemption. And God has preserved this great historical narrative for us in His Word. Today we are going to begin our study of one of the greatest narratives in the Bible… the books of 1 and 2 Samuel.

As we begin charting the course today, there are at least 3 reasons why we are going to dedicate the greater part of 2021 to the study of this book.

First, 1 and 2 Samuel provide us with a context for understanding the rest of Scripture

Studying through 1 & 2 Samuel helps us to understand:

- How and why Israel became a monarchy and what that monarchy has to do with Jesus and his kingdom.

- We will see that one of the reasons why Israel became a monarchy, according to God himself in 1 Samuel 8:7, is because “they have rejected me from being king over them”. The rest of the book—and really, the rest of the Old Testament—serves as a warning to us: “This is what happens when you reject God from being your king.”

- 1 & 2 Samuel shows us when the kings and the people of Israel received God as their rightful king, worshiping and obeying him, they experienced great blessing. But when they rejected him, worshiping idols and rebelling against God, they experienced great judgment. —> The same can be said about today… rejecting God as King, doesn’t lead to blessing, but to judgment.

- Studying through 1 and 2 Samuel provides us with ample opportunities to be pointed to Jesus.

Unlike Adam, Eve, and everyone else in the history of the world , Jesus would obey God perfectly. Furthermore, he came to die for the sins of his people, the same ones who refused to receive God as their rightful king. And that’s not all: Jesus is coming again to inaugurate his perfect, eternal rule, where he will sit on the throne of David forever as a permanent blessing to his people.

2. Paints a picture of “heroes and villains”

Through our study we will encounter the real life events of three of the most memorable characters in all the Bible: Samuel, Saul and David.

Samuel is the prophetic center of the story.... He is the One who is greatly used to call the rebellious nation of the Judges back to God.

- Saul is considered a villain, and in many respects, the title is well-deserved. He rejects God and disobeys his commands.

He was more concerned with saving face than walking in faith and repentance. Power went to his head and corrupted him to the point that even after God rejected him from being king, he tried to kill the man God chose to succeed him.

But Saul wasn’t entirely evil. He demonstrated mercy toward those who initially didn’t want him to lead, he led Israel to defeat her enemies, and he gave God full credit for his earliest victories.

- David is considered a hero, and in many respects, the title is well-deserved. He loved God with his whole being, and sought to obey him wholeheartedly. He demonstrated great faith in God and great loyalty to Saul, even as Saul sought to kill him. But David also sinned greatly against God, Bathsheba, and Uriah by committing adultery and murder as well as brought discipline on Israel when his pride led him to number the people.

As we go through our study, it will become very clear that no human being is perfectly good or completely evil. Instead, every person’s intentions and actions are some mixture of good and evil.

This is going to provide us with many opportunities to show that Jesus—the only perfect man—is the Savior that Saul needed, that David needed, and that you and I so desperately need.

3. Teaches us to hope in God rather than in human government

Given our current political climate, perhaps there’s no greater time for us to study through 1 & 2 Samuel.

Any student of history knows that people have always fallen into the temptation to trust in human government rather than God.

Every election cycle, members of both major political parties (along with members of the media) work to convince voters that our problems will be solved if we elect the right candidate. But if we elect the wrong candidate, a doomsday situation will unfold, and our worst fears will be realized. And many of us actually believe them.

In 1 Samuel, the people of Israel are convinced that all of their problems are based in the the fact that they don’t have a king—just like all the other nations. Like so many people today, they believed if they just had the right person in the right office, their problems would disappear.

Through Samuel, God warned them what would happen if they appointed a king to rule over them. He would abuse his position of power, tax them heavily, and lead them to cry out to God for deliverance. But they appointed one anyway, convinced that they knew better.

Even King David, who was the best picture of Jesus Christ among all the kings of Israel, still sinned in many ways.

Our study of these books are extremely useful because they help us to realize that no human being—except Jesus Christ—is ever going to fully solve all of our problems.

Through our study it will become increasingly clear that Jesus is the king we need.

Those are just a few of the reasons why we are going to dive into the Old Testament this year and study through the books of Samuel.

Now let’s work through the “what, when, where, and why’s” of the book and briefly look at the traveling instructions so we don’t get lost along the way.

I. What

(Genre) - Historical Narrative

Narrative: Written or spoken account of connected events… a story.

Historical Narrative is a written or spoken account of connected true events.... a real life story of real life events…

In the Old Testament there are several types of Genre. (see genre handout)

1 & 2 Samuel would fall into the genre of History. While 1 & 2 Samuel does include some poetry and some prophecy, it is all set in the context of a historical story line. Historical Narrative.

What does Historical Narrative do? It tells historical information in the context of a story. We learn historical data… we learn about real people that lived in a real time… .and did real things. This is the real history of Israel as they go from a nation to a kingdom… then to a divided kingdom.... ultimately pointing us to the eternal kingdom.

God has chosen to communicate and reveal truth about Himself in many different ways. One of those ways is through His Special revelation.... preserved for us in His Word. The Bible.

Narrative: about 43% of the Bible (communicating truth through a story line)

Poetry: about 33% of the Bible (communicating truth through poetic literature and song)

Discourse: about 24 % of the Bible (communicating truth through the record of personal conversations)

II. Who

Traveling Instructions (re-explain the importance and process of traveling instructions)

Author: Anonymous.... most scholars think that Samuel could have written or provided the information for much of the book. But God probably used multiple authors and/ or contributors/ compilers to deliver the books of 1 & 2 Samuel.

There is evidence in the text that the final author/ compiler could possibly have been someone who lived after the reign of Solomon when the kingdom was divided, but prior to the first deportation in 722 B.C.

Original audience: Most likely pre-exilic Israel (but eventually Israel in Exile)… reminding the people how God had delegated elements of sovereignty to the nation of Israel, especially through its divinely elected Davidic kings.

The writer seems to want to remind his readers of how David’s Kingly reign was a demonstration of what it meant to rule under God. — Also, the writer points the reader to the reality that through David’s royal house, his greater Son, the Anointed One/ Messiah, would eventually come.

Through aspects of the Davidic Covenant, the writer points to a day when the Anointed One, Jesus, would come.

III. When

When Israel escaped Egypt and God gave Moses the Law at Mt. Sinai, Israel became a nation. And at the head of that nation was God, their King. Israel was established as a Theocracy (meaning that God was their king). When Israel entered the Promised Land, they failed at obeying God and the other pagan nations were allowed to stay… which greatly assisted in Israel’s constant trend to run after false gods....

As Israel moved farther away from God (their king), the Judges arose to bring Israel back. This cycle happened over and over again and is recorded in the book of the Judges. As the book of Judges closes the mentality of the people was that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. Even though God was supposed to be their king… they were living as if they had no king… no structure… no real purpose.

Then… we come to the books of Ruth and 1 Samuel. In a time of utter spiritual darkness, Ruth and Samuel appear as two bright lights… shining hope to all who would care to look.

When 1 Samuel begins, it is during a turning point in Israel’s history. It is a time when the Period of the Judges comes to an end and the nation of Israel’s status as a nation under God as their king is in a pretty poor condition.

Throughout the book of Judges, we are shown that neither the judges or the priests could help the people from wandering away and yielding to the corrupting influences. We see this through the testimonies of Samson and Eli to name a few.

The nation of Israel was in a condition where they desperately needed reformation from within — outward. So, as we begin 1 Samuel, we see God renewing His Theocracy on a religious and moral level. To initiate this needed revitalization, God begins to call His people to repent and return to a life where God is at the center of everything through the prophets.

As God raises up Samuel, he serves in a prophetic office, instead of the priesthood to lead and judge the nation so that they would return to their true king… Yahweh.

Time frame when the actual events took place (there are several different opinions about these dates)

Samson: B.C. 1076 - 1056

Eli’s Rule: B.C. 1115- 1075

Samuel’s Life: B.C. 1105 - 1013

Saul’s Reign: B. C. 1051 - 1011

David’s Reign: B. C. 1011 - 971

These dates aren’t super important… but it does help us to see that many Bible events happen simultaneously.

Both Eli and Samuel would have been alive and ministering during the lifetime and ministry of Samson. Their events took place in different parts of the country, but their lives definitely had some overlap.

1 & 2 Samuel covers a period of time in Israel’s history that spans about 150 years.

IV. Where

Map of Israel...

Most of 1 & 2 Samuel take place in the central Israel region.

V. Why?

Why was it written?

The short answer is so that mankind would see and understand truths about God in a way that we would not have otherwise been able to see them.

Through the events recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel, we are able to learn about certain aspects of God’s character that we would not have otherwise been able to know. --- Remember when God revealed His Word to us… He revealed truths about Himself to us.

God has made Himself known to us… through His Word… and through the events that he has organized and orchestrated throughout history.

Now, 1 & 2 Samuel is meant to be read together as one book.... That is why we are putting them together in our study. Of course you can study them independently, but in order to get the flow of the narrative as a whole, they must be read and studied together.

1 Samuel = 31 chapters (810 verses)

2 Samuel = 24 chapters (695 verses)

That is 55 chapters total! (1,505 verses) If we started today and covered one verse a week, it would take us over 28 years to study through this book! ---> Whose ready to get started? :-)

There are so many amazing ways that we could go about our study.... and there are so many amazing truths to cover that it is hard to pinpoint which approach is the best.

As we Chart the course together today and outline our study, I’ll explain the approach that we are going to take.

The amazingly awesome thing about God’s Word is… that in 10 years we could go through 1 and 2 Samuel again… taking a slightly different approach and be able to draw out even more amazing truths from God’s Word.

God’s Word is so amazingly complex that we could never mine out all of its rich treasures. But, it is also so simple that a child can read it and understand its truth.

If you were to sit down and read through the narrative of 1 and 2 Samuel you would see that the entire book can be divided into three main sections. Each section is identified with a song. .... But these are more than just songs.... they can almost bee viewed as mile markers throughout the narrative of Israels’ history.

1 Samuel 2:1-10 is Hannah’s Song

2 Samuel 1 is David’s Song of Lament (over the death of Saul and Jonathan)

2 Samuel 22 is David’s Song of Deliverance

[show table on screen/ in notes — talk through the table]

It is interesting as you look at those three songs, Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 seems to serve as an overture for the entire book. When you look at Hannah’s song in the context of the entire narrative, it helps to set the pace and tempo of the narrative and gives us an overall summary of the storyline of the entire book.

Now that we have an idea of what our study will look like, for the rest of our time today I would like for us to listen to the Overture of the book again … and catch a glimpse of what God has in store for us throughout our study of His Word this year.

Exposition of Hannah’s Song

In Hannah’s prophetic song.... most of the main ideas and key topics of the book are outlined as she sings.

Here are some of the main themes that you will see come up quite often throughout our study:

Great reversals and unexpected turn overs

God is the One who will establish His king

God uses unexpected (unlikely) people (to accomplish extraordinary things)

The battle belongs to the Lord (this will repeat over and over again)

Anointed One (The theme of the Anointed One runs throughout almost every event.... pointing to the long awaited “Anointed One” who was promised so many years ago in the Garden in Genesis 3:15.

There are also multiple attributes of God that are introduced in Hannah’s song that are developed and celebrated throughout the entire book.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s listen to Hannah’s Song again as we look at 2 Samuel 2:1-10 together.

As I read, see if you can identify any of these main ideas and themes that flow from the text of Scripture recorded in Hannah’s heartfelt and prophetic song.

1 Samuel 2:1–10 ESV

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

It is amazing that a woman who has suffered through the pains of barrenness… and shame has now sung these words that should inspire us to rise up and look far beyond our own circumstances.

When we are introduced to Hannah, her circumstances have her in a place of barrenness and shame. By the time she finishes her song in chapter 2:10, her prayer has become a prophecy with implications for the whole world… and all of human history!

What an amazing God we serve… who sees us in our imperfectness… and hears us when we pray… and provides the grace and mercy that we need to carry on.

What Characteristics of God does Hannah focuses bring out in her song?

Steadfast

Strong

Consistant

Holy

Knowledgable

Judge

Creator

The giver of strength

Provider of Salvation

A God who uses unlikely people.. to accomplish extraordinary things

A God to whom the battle belongs

A God of Great reversals and unexpected turnovers

A God who will establish not only his King… but His Anointed… who will reign forever. (Amen!!!)

Just in the opening lines of Hannah’s song, she expresses the depth of her faith in God. She speaks of her joy and delight in the Lord as she rejoices in the Lord… and is abundantly glad in His provision.

Initially as you read Hannah’s prayer, you can see her confidence in God is clear… but so is the pain of the years of her circumstances that she has endured. As you continue to read, we see that there is something much more… much deeper to her song than just her life circumstances. At some point in the song, her prayer is no longer about her… but about what God was actively doing in the world.... in order to set the stage for His Anointed One to come!

If you look at Hannah’s prayer here in chapter 2 as a summary for the entire book you can see Samuel’s understanding and experience of God come through the words of verses 1 and 2.

His Hope is firmly in the Lord, rejoicing in the Lord’s salvation… steadfast source of support, strength, and sovereign provision.

Then in verse 3 you can almost see the writer of the book speaking to Saul.

Then, as you read through verses 4-8, you see the evidence of God’s sovereign hand in the dealings of the world… God using unexpected… unlikely people to establish His will...

As you come to verses 9 and 10, you can’t help but see glimpses of God working in David’s life. But, understanding that something bigger than David is going on. We can see that the great truths proclaimed here echo throughout the storyline of the entire book…

God will guard the feet of the faithful, but the wicked shall be cut off....The battle belongs to the Lord… God will establish His King… His anointed One. ---- This theme of God’s anointed runs throughout the book.

It is a beautiful song… that is worth you digging deeper into. We’ll touch on it more next week.

If you want an interesting study, compare Hannah’s Prayer with David’s Song in 2 Samuel 22. There are many interesting connections. It almost functions as a conversation with Hannah calling.... and David answering.

Another interesting study is when you compare Hannah’s song with Mary’s Magnificat. There are some pretty cool parallels.

Conclusion/ Application:

Ways our study will help us to grow this year:

It will help us to continue to grow in our understanding of God and His Character

It will help us to gain a more foundational understanding of God’s plan of salvation

It will help us to grasp the importance of godly leadership… and teach us how to be effective godly leaders. (It will also teach us how to support godly leaders… and raise up godly leaders…)

It will help us to see God’s plan for biblical conflict resolution

It will help us to truly see the importance of raising up and multiplying godly disciples

We will see the need for personally and corporately practicing the spiritual disciplines...

There are several main ideas that are going to be reinforced over and over as we work through our study together.

God will establish His king (..... we could also say that God will establish His will.....)

God uses unexpected/ unlikely people (to accomplish extraordinary things for His glory!)

The Battle Belongs to the Lord (.... while we have a responsibility to act and be wise in all areas of life… it is a huge comfort and enabling truth to rest on...... no matter what battle you are fighting… the outcome and the victory already belong to the Lord! Our role and opportunity is to fall in line with what God is doing… and trust in the victory that He has already provided.)

God is Holy! He is the Lord! He is the Author of History… orchestrating the events of the world so that His plans are accomplished! Its an amazing story.... framed by some amazing songs! — I’m so excited to be able to walk through God’s Word with you each week!

!!! Be DONE BY 10:55 AM !!!