Supplemental Notes: The Books of 1 & 2 Samuel compiled by Chuck Missler © 2003 Koinonia House Inc. Audio Listing 1 Samuel 1 - 3 Introduction. Background. Hannah, a Godly Mother. Saul, a Careless Father. 1 Samuel 4 - 6 Philistines capture ark of God; God’s glory departs from Israel; God provoked with Philistines because of the Ark; Ark returned to Israel. 1 Samuel 7 - 9 Summary of Samuel’s ministry; Israel demands a king; Samuel warns Acknowledgments about a king; God Chooses Saul as king. These notes have been assembled from speaking notes and related 1 Samuel 10 - 12 materials which had been compiled from a number of classic and contemporary commentaries and other sources detailed in the bibliog- Saul privately anointed king; Saul publicly installed as king of Israel; raphy, as well as other articles and publications of Koinonia House. Saul defeats the Ammonites. While we have attempted to include relevant endnotes and other references, we apologize for any errors or oversights. 1 Samuel 13 - 16 The complete recordings of the sessions, as well as supporting dia- Saul’s self-seeking and cowardice; Saul intrudes into priest’s office and grams, maps, etc., are also available in various audiovisual formats from is rejected by God; Israel is helpless before the Philistines; Jonathan’s the publisher. bold assault; Subsequent victory of Israel; Saul’s rash order overridden. 1 Samuel 17 - 20 David slays Goliath; David beloved by Jonathan; Jealous Saul attempts to slay David; David Marries Saul’s Daughter; David is protected from Saul; Saul angry with Jonathan. 1 Samuel 21 - 26 David seeks safety from Saul at Gath; Saul slays priests; David saves Keilah from the Philistines; Samuel dies and is mourned. 1 Samuel 27 - 31 David seeks shelter; Saul consults witch of En-dor; David kept from fighting Israel; Israel defeated on Gilboa; Saul and Jonathan slain. Page 2 Page 3 Audio Listing Session 1 1 Samuel 1, 2, 3 2 Samuel 1 - 4 Israel’s Last Judge David hears of Saul’s death; David received as king by Judah; Joab murders Abner; Ish-bosheth is murdered. Samuel, Israel’s last and greatest judge, was also a prophet (1 Sam 3:20) and a priest (9:12–13). In his old age he served as God’s adviser to Israel’s 2 Sanuel 5 - 7 first king, Saul. Samuel anointed Israel’s greatest king, David. David becomes king over all Israel; Jerusalem becomes capital; David Together the two books of Samuel cover the history of Israel from the brings ark to Jerusalem; David’s desire to build the LORD a house. last quarter of the 12th century B.C. to the first quarter of the 10th. They explain Israel’s transition from loosely associated tribes led by local 2 Samuel 8 - 10 judges to a unified nation led by kings. Extension of David’s kingdom; David and Mephibosheth; The The Book of 1 Samuel can be outlined as the story of two men, though Ammonite-Syrian campaigns under Joab. the Biblical focus soon shifts from the flawed Saul to his more godly successor, David. 2 Samuel 11 - 12 Outline David’s great sin; Nathan rebukes David; David repents of his sin with Bathsheba; Birth of Solomon. Samuel 1 - 8 2 Samuel 13 - 15 Early Life 1 - 3 Consequences of David’s sin; Absalom avenges Tamar and flees to Defeat at Aphek 4 - 6 Geshur; David Forgives Absalom; Absalom’s rebellion; David flees; Mizpah 7 Ark returned to Jerusalem. Demand for a king 8 2 Samuel 16 - 18 Saul 9 - 31 Ziba, the false servant of Mephibosheth; Shimei curses David; Hushai’s Saul anointed 9 - 12 warning saves David; Joab slays Absalom. Saul rejected 13 - 15 Saul and David 16 - 20 2 Samuel 19 - 21 David a fugitive 21 - 30 Saul’s death 28, 31 David’s Return and Reestablishment of Authority; Slaughter and Burial of Saul’s sons; Post-Flood Nephilim. Early Life 2 Samuel 22 - 24 The events in these opening chapters of the book center around three persons: Hannah, a Godly mother; Eli, a failing father; and Samuel, the David’s final words; His mighty men; David’s sin in taking a census. last and greatest “Judge” and a national prophet and priest. Page 4 Page 5 1 Samuel 1 6] And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. Hannah—a Godly Mother (1:1–2:11) Elkanah was a godly man but he had a divided home, and his favorite wife, Hannah (“grace”), carried a constant burden of sorrow because of her 1] Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of mount Ephraim, and barrenness and because of the persecution of the other wife. Like many his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, of us, Hannah was sure that she had the right to be bitter...Watch out the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: for those “justified” hurts! They are the most dangerous of all!1 In Hannah’s case her childlessness was a double burden. “Her rival kept This area, otherwise known simply as Ramah (“the height”), was in the provoking her in order to irritate her” (v. 6). hill country about 25 miles north of Jerusalem. Ramah was Samuel’s birthplace [vv. 19-20], residence [7:17], and burial place [25:1]. (Perhaps, Year after year when Elkanah took his family to Shiloh to worship at the according to Eusebius, it is also to be identified with Arimathea, the home tabernacle there, Hannah met her family and friends—still childless. of Joseph of Arimathea of New Testament times.) There her constant pain peaked, and she could hardly bear her fate. The Bible says that she was bitter. We can understand why Hannah felt Elkanah’s description as an Ephraimite could appear troublesome since bitter: she was denied something she wanted desperately. Hannah’s Samuel served as a priest, an office reserved exclusively for Levites. childlessness had at least two tragic effects. First, it colored her whole However, Elkanah was a direct descendant of Levi (1 Chr 6:33-38) and outlook on life. She wept often, and would not eat. She was “down- was therefore qualified to function in a priestly capacity. He was a Levite hearted.” And in her prayer to God, Hannah spoke of her condition as by lineage but an Ephraimite by residence. “misery.” How tragic when we are so burdened that we’re unable to experience the simple joys that enrich our lives. 2] And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 7] And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. While God’s perfect pattern for the family from the very beginning had been one husband and one wife, “because of the hardness of men’s The Law required all adult Hebrew males to appear at the tabernacle or hearts” (Mt 19:8), God permitted polygamy. See Deut 21:15–17. temple of the LORD for the three major religious festivals of the year (Ex 23:14-17). 3] And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 8] Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? Shiloh, the place some 15 miles north of Ramah where Joshua had located the tabernacle (Josh 18:1). Hannah’s depression was so great that she could not even recognize 4] And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and evidences of the grace of God. Hannah had no child, but she had a to all her sons and her daughters, portions: husband who loved her and who was sympathetic. We can sense 5] But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD Elkanah’s love in his words encouraging Hannah to eat: “Don’t I mean had shut up her womb. more to you than 10 sons?” According to Deut 7:13-14, having children was a sign of God’s blessing. So often when we feel bitter and downcast we too are unable to sense, Conversely the Israelites considered the inability to bear children as a in the good gifts God has given us, evidences of His love and grace. curse. Hannah’s perspective was so totally colored by her personal tragedy that she could not sense the beauty, the good, or grace with which God infuses every believer’s life. Page 6 Page 7 9] So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now 13] Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. The world “temple” in 1:9 simply means “a large public building” and The high priest at the time, Eli, thought she was drunk and rebuked her. does not refer to Solomon’s temple which had not yet been built; it refers here to the Tabernacle.