Overview 1 & 2

We continue in our survey of the Old Testament this afternoon

As I have said before, these lessons are quite different from what we are used to here at GCC - We are accustomed to going verse-by-verse through the books of the - It isn’t unusual for us to take months or years to go through a book of the Bible

In this class, however, we are covering each book of the Bible in about an hour - We are surveying the high points - We are looking at big themes instead of intricate details

We need both perspectives, don’t we? - We can’t just have the big picture without knowing more of the details - We can’t just know the details without knowing the big picture

This afternoon, we will continue our study through the historical books of the Old Testament - We discussed Joshua, Judges, and Ruth last month

Our plan is to discuss 1 & 2 Samuel this afternoon

Let’s pray and get started1

The books of 1 & 2 Samuel were originally one book in the - The same exists with 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles2

These two books were simply known as Samuel3

As you might guess, the book was named after the man Samuel - We will learn more about him in a few minutes

Samuel isn’t the only major player in these two books - We will be introduced to Saul, the first king of Israel - We will also meet David - There will be others who will be mentioned along the way

1 This lesson references material from Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s core seminar on the Old Testament. http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/resources/core-seminars/series/old-testament-overview/ 2 Dr. Alan B. Stringfellow, Through the Bible in One Year, 37. 3 3 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, 299.

Page 1 of 30 1 Samuel

The human monarchy of Israel will be a huge emphasis in 1 Samuel - Israel wants a human king just like the other nations around them

Other themes that appear in 1 Samuel are: - God’s character (holy, wrath, faithfulness, grace, sovereignty) - Sin (murder, rape, rebellion, idolatry, deception, anger) - Saul’s jealousy of David - Friendship between Jonathan and David

So an overall purpose of the book of 1 Samuel is: - God is establishing a human monarchy over the nation of Israel

1 Samuel is a transition between judges and kings - As we will see this afternoon, one of the main differences in leadership begins to emerge in this book

Samuel is the last of the judges - Saul is the first of the kings

I mentioned earlier that 1 & 2 Samuel were originally viewed as one book - One of the reasons why they are divided into separate books is to make them more manageable in size

Another reason is to divide them by different themes4 - 1 Samuel – transition from judges to kings - 2 Samuel – all about David’s reign as king

1 Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel, the last of the judges - And the book ends with the death of Saul, the first of the kings

So you can see the transition of leadership from a judge to a king - This covers roughly 100 years5

As 1 Samuel begins, Israel is at a low point spiritually6 - The priesthood was corrupt - The ark of the covenant wasn’t even at the Tabernacle - Idolatry was practiced - The judges were dishonest

4 Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru the Bible, 71. 5 Ibid., 71. 6 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Handbook, 90.

Page 2 of 30 This makes sense when we consider that Samuel follows the and Ruth - As we saw last month, these was definitely a period of great sinfulness

We have to keep this context in mind as we read 1 Samuel - “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before . And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1, emphasis mine)

In asking for a king, the nation of Israel desired to be like the other pagan nations - But this was an act of disobedience and defiance against God - During the period of the judges, we remember that “may the LORD, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon” (Judges 11:27) - God was already the Judge!

In granting the request for a king, let’s look at what the Lord tells Samuel - “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 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.’ 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.’” (1 Sam 8:4-7)

In Judges, Israel rejected God as Judge - 1 Samuel, they reject Him as King

Israel had already heard about the dangers of having a king - Moses spoke about this in Deuteronomy 17 - Samuel warns them as well (1 Sam 8:10-20)

But the people wanted to have a king for three main reasons - They wanted to be like other nations - They wanted to have a national judge - They wanted to have a champion of war

Isn’t it interesting, though, that these are exactly opposite of what God had instructed them to be as a nation? - Israel was to be different from the other nations, not like them - God was their Judge (Judges 11:27) - God was their Champion, fighting for them7

7 Ibid., 97.

Page 3 of 30 The book of 1 Samuel is really about three individuals - Samuel (1-8) - Saul (9-15) - David (16-31)

This will serve as our outline of 1 Samuel

I. Samuel (chpts 1-8)

The birth of Samuel is what captivates us from the very beginning of this book - Elkanah had two wives, and Peninnah - Hannah was barren, but Peninnah had children

Hannah prays and asks God for a child (1:11) - She promises that the child will be dedicated to the service of the LORD

As she pours out her soul to the Lord in prayer, Eli, the priest, is looking on - Hannah is praying quietly - She is moving her lips (1:13), but she isn’t speaking audibly

How does Eli interpret her behavior? - He thinks she was drunk (1:14)!

There is a lesson for us here - Don’t assume you know what is going on! - Don’t be too quick to jump to conclusions - Ask good questions!

We are told later in chapter 1 that God allowed her to become pregnant - God is the One who opens or closes the wombs

Hannah names the boy Samuel (1:20) - Samuel’s very name means “God hears” - This is appropriate in light of the fact that God had heard Hannah’s prayer for a son

The first part of chapter 2 is her prayer of thanksgiving (2:1-10) - She is very thankful for what God has done in her life

We are introduced to Eli’s sons in chapter 2 - 2:12 tells us, “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not the LORD”

Back in 1:3 we learn that Eli had two sons - Hophni and Phineas - In this chapter, we see that they were irreverent and sinful in how they ministered as priests (2:12-17, 22-25)

Page 4 of 30 Instead of following what the Law stated about the priests’ portion of meat, these two sons wanted the best cuts of meat - They were abusing their position and authority as priest

These two priests were also guilty of having sexual relations with some women who came to the tent of meeting (2:22)

Eli rebukes his sons for their sinful behavior - But they didn’t listen to their father (2:25)

Look with me at 1 Samuel 2:29 - A man of God tells Eli, “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?”

According to this verse, what was Eli’s great sin? - God says that Eli chose to “honor (his) sons above Me”

Let me stop and encourage you not to make this same mistake - The goal of parenting is NOT to put your children first - Your goal as a parent is to be example of someone who puts the Lord first and you pray that your children will do the same

Eli chose to put his two sons first, to the exclusion of the Lord - And He paid the price for it

Hophni and Phinehas grew up around the things of God - They were even priests - They participated in lots of religious ceremonies - But these two sons of Eli were NOT believers of the Lord

It is a good reminder that being near the things of God is not enough - There must be a personal relationship with the Lord

In contrast to the disobedience of these two priests, Samuel is growing up to be an honorable priest

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1) - There wasn’t much new revelation being spoken or written - There was a famine in the land!

Page 5 of 30 Chapter four tells us that the Israelites brought the Ark with them into battle - The Ark symbolized God’s presence among Israel - The Philistines associated the power of Israel with the Ark

So the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the Ark (4:10-11) - To my knowledge, this is the first time that the Ark was taken away from Israel

Upon hearing the news about the Ark being captured, Eli fell backward and broke his neck - He died at the age of 98 - He had judged Israel for 40 years (4:18)

The wife of Phinehas was giving birth around this time - As she gave birth, she named her son Ichabod - The name of this son means “no glory”, symbolic of the fact that God’s glory had departed from Israel

Chapter 5 is one of my favorite chapters in 1 Samuel - I always enjoy reading about this account

The Philistines took the Ark and put it in one of the temples - This temple housed Dagon, one of their gods

By placing the Ark inside their Temple with Dagon, the Philistines viewed Israel’s God as being subordinate to Dagon - In other words, Israel’s God had been defeated and was a servant to Dagon8

Look with me at some of these verses - 5:3, “When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again.” - 5:4, “But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.”

Dagon was so powerless that he couldn’t even pick itself up - The followers had to pick it up twice - (of course, we know that Dagon was just an idol that was made by humans) The Ark symbolized God’s power - God caused Dagon to fall down in deference and submission to the Ark - Quite the opposite of what the Philistines had thought

8 IVP OT Background Commentary, 1 Samuel.

Page 6 of 30 God afflicted the Philistines with tumors or boils (5:6) - So the Philistines agreed to send the Ark away from their town

In chapter 6, the Ark was returned to Israel - They place the Ark on a new cart with cows to pull it

When the Ark was received back by the Israelites, the Levites took the cart and used it to start a fire - They offered the two cows as a burnt offering (6:14)

Samuel calls the nation of Israel to repentance in chapter 7 - “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” (7:3)

The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were going to war against them - But Samuel prays and the Lord answers him

Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer (7:12) - This means “stone of help” - What a practical way of reminding Israel that God had given them help in the past!

Chapter 8 records the nation of Israel asking for a king - As we discussed earlier, this was a slap in the face of God who had been their Leader, Ruler, and Warrior

In earlier chapters, we learned that Eli’s sons were not followers of the Lord - What about Samuel’s children?

Look with me at 1 Samuel 8:1-3, “And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.” - They didn’t walk in the ways of God - They turned aside after dishonest gain - They accepted brides - They perverted justice

The people then ask Samuel to appoint a king for them (8:5) - They wanted to be like the other nations

To Samuel’s credit, he goes to the Lord about and prays about the request - God tells him to proceed

Page 7 of 30 As we read earlier, Israel had rejected God from being king (8:7) - This was just one more act of rebellion

Samuel warns Israel about what a king would do (8:10-18) - Will take your sons and make them his horsemen - Will take people to be his plowers - Will take daughters to be his bakers and cooks - Will take the best of the fields for himself - Will take 1/10 of the food for his officers and servants - Will take the best men and female servants for his work

Samuel tells them that by the time they figure out that having a king was a mistake, God wouldn’t bail them out - “the LORD will not answer you in that day” (8:18)

The people reject the warning from Samuel and want a king, just like the other nations

Our first example of leadership in 1 Samuel is Samuel himself

II. Saul (chpts 9-15)

The second example of leadership in 1 Samuel is Saul

The book of 1 Samuel contains the entire life of Saul - From birth to death

Look at how Saul is described to us in 9:2 - “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”

From a pure physical standpoint, Saul stands out - Far more handsome than other men - Far taller than any other people

Saul’s father sends him on a mission to find his lost donkeys - After Saul is gone for three days (9:20), his servant recommends that they visit the seer of the area - Perhaps the prophet could help identify the lost animals

At the same time, God is telling Samuel about Saul - The LORD tells Samuel to anoint Saul as king

Page 8 of 30 When they meet, Samuel tells Saul that the animals have already been found - This was Saul’s task, as you may remember from the first part of chapter

In 10:1, Samuel tasks a flask of oil and pours it on the head of Saul - Samuel tells Saul, “Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance”

Samuel then to Saul about some future events - Men sent from Saul’s father, to look for Saul - Men carrying goats and bread - The Spirit of the LORD coming upon Saul

All of this was designed to show Saul that Samuel was speaking for the Lord - As these things came true, Saul would know that the Lord was directing his steps

The time came for Saul to be introduced as the king - Samuel gathered the Israelites together by tribes - He selected the tribe of Benjamin

But there is a problem - According to 10:22, Saul was hiding!

Chapter 11 is Saul’s first opportunity to show his leadership as king - The Spirit of the LORD comes upon him - As a result, the dread of the LORD comes upon the land

Chapter 12 is Samuel exhorting Israel not to forsake the Lord - Look with me at 12:22, “For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name” - What a great reminder of God’s faithfulness!

Flip back to 10:8, “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do” - Saul was told the timeframe (“seven days”) - Saul was told the place (“Gilgal”) - Saul was told to wait for Samuel

Chapter 13 is the record of Saul not following the words of Samuel - He went to Gilgal - He waited seven days (13:8) - But he sinned in that he didn’t wait for Samuel

Instead, we read in 13:9 that Saul the king offered the burnt offering and the peace offerings - We read in 13:10 that as he was finishing offering the burnt offering, Samuel shows up

Page 9 of 30 Because of this sin, Samuel tells Saul the consequences of his actions - “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” (13:13-14)

Chapter 15 is another example of Saul’s sin as a king - Samuel told him, “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” (15:3)

But Saul didn’t obey the words of Samuel - Look down at 15:9, “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”

As Saul goes out to meet Samuel, he is convinced that he has obeyed the Lord - Look at his words in 15:13, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.”

Samuel responds in these familiar words in verses 22-23, “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. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king”

Notice how Saul responds to a rebuke in 15:30, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” - Saul is a man-pleaser, always thinking of what others think of him

As a matter of fact, before Samuel confronts Saul, Samuel was told that Saul had “set up a monument for himself” (15:12) - What humility!

This is a turning point in the life of Saul - It’s also a turning point in the book of 1 Samuel

Saul’s tenure as king is about to end - His usefulness has certainly reached an end

From this point forward, Saul is jealous, envious, and angry to the point of death against David

Page 10 of 30 In this next section of 1 Samuel, we will focus more on David - He is on the increase - Saul is on the decrease

III. David (chpts 16-31)

Just as Samuel anointed Saul as king, he will soon anoint David as king - But Samuel was thinking too much like you and I think - He was putting too much attention on outward appearances

God tells Samuel these familiar words in 16:7, “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” - Don’t we still struggle with this?

We learn that David was the youngest of the sons of Jesse (16:11) - We also learn that at this young age, he was a shepherd - God used this time to train him how to shepherd animals so that he would be prepared to shepherd the flock of Israel

Samuel anoints David as king (16:13) - We are told that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David at that point

In sharp contrast, we read these words about Saul in 16:14, “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him”

Chapter 17 is the familiar story of David vs. Goliath - Much has been made of David’s skill in slinging a stone against the giant

But I would submit that it is easy to miss the entire point of the chapter - It’s not about David vs. Goliath

1 Samuel 17 is about the LORD vs. the Philistines - David is more concerned about the glory of God than his own fame or recognition

God chooses to bring about victory through unconventional means - We have seen that before, haven’t we?

Chapter 18 highlights a few important themes to this book - David’s great friendship with Jonathan (Saul’s son) - Saul’s jealousy and fear of David

Page 11 of 30 Think about the life of David - His best friend is Jonathan (Saul’s son) - He now marries Michal (Saul’s daughter) - He has taken the place of Saul as king

Multiple times over these chapters, Saul attempts to kill David - Yet when David had opportunities to kill Saul, he chose not to do so - He allowed the judgment to rest in the hands of God, not himself

God protects David from these attacks of Saul - God had greater plans for David - And Saul wasn’t going to thwart those Divine plans

Chapter 21 records the account of David’s men eating the consecrated bread - You may remember that Paul alluded to this in his sermon from Mark 2:23-28

David and his men come to the priest and ask for five loaves of bread - The only bread that the priest had was the old loaves that were used on the table of the Presence - The priest allows David to have the men, as long as the men were ritually clean

Chapter 22 is yet another example of Saul’s jealousy of David - In this chapter, Saul receives word about how Ahimelech the priest had helped David - This is what we just read in chapter 21

Saul summons the priest to answer why he has helped David - Look at his words in 22:14, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house?”

Saul then tells his servants to kill the priests - But his servants refuse to do so (22:17)

Saul then turns to Doeg the Edomite and tells him to kill the priests - Sadly, he kills 85 priests (22:18) - He also attacked the city of Nob and killed “both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep…with the edge of the sword” (22:19)

It is a shame that Doeg feared Saul’s rage more than the glory of God - He should have refused to carry out this sinful act of murder and bloodshed

But there is good news from this story - God is in control, even of blood-thirsty men

Page 12 of 30 There was one priest who escaped this massacre - His name is Abiathar (22:20)

This is a critical juncture in the plot of 1 Samuel - Saul no longer has a Divine representative among his camp - David, however, has Abiathar, and will use him to consult the LORD in his behalf

Chapter 23 continues the theme of Saul pursuing David - At times, it seems that Saul will catch David - But that wasn’t God’s plan

What strikes me about David is how often he seeks God in prayer - In chapter 23 alone, he seeks God on three different occasions - David is clearly seeking to do things according to God’s plan

In chapter 24, David is given the opportunity to kill Saul - But he refuses to do so - Instead, he still refers to Saul as “the LORD’s anointed” (24:6)

Instead of killing Saul, David is near enough to cut off a piece of Saul’s garment - When they are separated, David makes Saul aware of this

Chapter 25 marks the death of Samuel - We read about that in verse 1

But chapter 25 also introduces us to a man named Nabal - His name literally means “fool”

Nabal’s wife, Abigail, speaks to David and prevents him from killing her husband - Nabal had not given David and his men food to eat and water to drink - After Nabal’s death ten days later, David marries Abigail (25:39)

Chapter 26 details how David could have killed Saul - David and Abishai sneak into the camp where Saul is sleeping

Abishai asks permission from David to kill Saul - But David refuses to give him his permission - Once again, David refers to Saul as “the LORD’s anointed” (26:9)

Instead of killing Saul, David took Saul’s spear and jug of water - This would be proof that David was close to Saul - Close enough to kill him

Page 13 of 30 In chapter 27, David lives among the Philistines for over a year (27:7) - Saul doesn’t pursue him here

Chapter 28 is one of the most unusual chapters in 1 Samuel - It involves Saul consulting with a medium

As the Philistines prepared to go to battle against Israel, Saul seeks the LORD - But verse 6 says, “When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets” - Because Saul had rejected the LORD, the LORD is not rejecting him

Saul had banned mediums from Israel (28:9) - Yet, people could easily point Saul to where a known medium lived

Saul asks this medium to bring up Samuel - Saul knew him to be a prophet of the LORD - After all, the LORD wasn’t speaking to Saul!

The medium is able to see Samuel - She even describes his appearance, which Saul recognized

Samuel’s words are penetrating to Saul - Samuel reminds Saul of his sin in offering the burnt offering instead of waiting for Samuel (1 Sam 15) - Samuel tells Saul that David will be king

But that’s not the most disturbing news that Samuel tells Saul - Verse 19 says, “Moreover the LORD will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me” - Saul would die tomorrow!

Chapter 30 records how David and his men had their wives and children taken from them at Ziklag - David inquires of the LORD through Ahimelech - The LORD assures David that he will have victory (30:8)

David and his men win the battle - Their families are restored to them - Just as the LORD had promised

Chapter 31 is the last chapter of 1 Samuel - It records the death of Saul and his three sons

Page 14 of 30 Saul is injured by an archer - He asks his armor bearer to kill him; however, the armor bearer refuses to do so - So Saul falls on his own sword (31:4)

I have outlined this book according to three different individuals - Samuel - Saul - David

Each of these men were used by the Lord - However, each of these men were sinners

Let’s learn from them and their example to follow the Lord - The consequences of disobedience can be quite steep

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6)

The next book is 2 Samuel - We will discuss that one after the break

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