Untitled Sermon

Context

Judges Sets the Stage for 1 Samuel

After the death of Josua Israel is lead by Judges. There are not judges as we might think. Judges were essentially leaders that God brought up to deliver Israel. They were instructed to be holy but continually failed and eventually became undistinguishable from the Canaanites.

Canaanites were quite a depraved people whose wickedness went so far as child sacrifice. Rather than sticking out from among their wickedness the Israelites began to look more and more like them. God would raise a certain regional leader to be a solution for a crises - often oppression of his people. There would be peace for a time but eventually they would slip back into their wickedness.

Each Judge would serve as a mirror of the state of Israel’s spiritual condition. There is a steady decline in the morality of each judge culminating to Samson who would be the worst of them.

The last two Judges that we have would actually be recorded in 1 Samuel - namely Eli and Samuel. However, unlike the warrior Judges that proceeded them these would be priests.

They would be the directors of the people of God but it would not be enough for the people. They would seek to become more like the kingdoms they were supposed to be set apart from and desire a king. And thus we have a shift in leadership from these prominent prophets and priests governing the people to kings.

The narrative of 1 Samuel will zoom in on the life of 3 specific men - namely Samuel, Saul, and David.

The book is filled with gripping accounts that quiet easily captivate the audience - even children are greatly drawn to the accounts within this book.