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God’s Story of Salvation: 1 Samuel
1:1 – 2:11
- “There was no king in those days” – sinfulness is at its all time high. What can be done? Will God rescue? A King is needed.
- Hanna, the barren loved wife, parallel to Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer. God is about to rescue.
- At her lowest point, she turns to God, and God rescues
- Hannah’s prayer summarizes the Book of Samuel
- The arrogant are brought low
- The Lord brings food to the hungry and life to to the dead (Israel has hope)
- The Lord will “give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed”
- Hannah’s prayer mirrors David’s final prayer in 2 Samuel 22. The difference is that Hannah’s prayer looks forward to the rise of righteousness through David’s kingship, David looks back on the events that brought his triumph in the Lord. Further, the prayers of David and Hannah are ultimately mirrored by Mary in her prayer (Luke 1:46-55).
- In 2:3, when Hannah speaks of the “proud” and the “arrogant,” the words in the Hebrew is literally, “Do not increase your speaking ‘O Tall One, Tall One.” Later in the story both Saul (taller than anyone else in Israel) and Goliath are David’s enemies.
- Samuel seems to be the new deliverer and prophet much like Moses. However, as Hannah reveals in her prayer, the book of Samuel will be about the rise of a King who will stand in righteousness, be victorious over God’s enemies, and bring Israel back to God (Cf. 2:35). This ultimately represents God’s ultimate spiritual deliverance in Christ.
- The above is also pictured in the echo of 2:26. Luke follows a similar pattern in describing the childhood of Jesus. Just as Samuel will bring about the rise of King David, a man after God’s own heart, so Jesus childhood hails the rise of God’s true King of righteousness. And, just as Samuel replaced Eli, Jesus replaced the whole temple system with himself as the true temple (John 2).
2:12 – 3:21
- The Lord rejects the priesthood of Eli because he honored his sons over the Lord by putting up with their immorality. In contrast, to the wickedness of the priesthood, we see the righteousness of the boy Samuel who serves faithfully in the Lord’s presence. This signals a new era in which God will rescue his people in righteousness.
- 2:18 The boy Samuel was clothed with a linen ephod. The ephod was worn by the priests. Even though Samuel is a Levite, he does not come from the house of Aaron. Yet Samuel throughout his life operates as a priest and prophet who represents God as the King. We are seeing echo type glimpses of God’s deliverance through his Messiah.
- 3:1 “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” This clearly speaks to the wickedness going on in Israel. However, it is time for God to speak and restore his people. Samuel will become God’s sole voice.
- 3:2-3 Eli sleeps in his own place, but Samuel sleeps in the temple next to the ark of God!
- Samuel is established as a prophet (3:19).
4-7
- 4: The ark of God is treated as a magical relic instead of trusting in and obeying the Lord. Jeremiah makes reference to Shiloh in this regard: Jer. 7:12-14 “Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.”
- 5:1–6:21 The Ark wreaks havoc on the Philistines after humiliating their god, Dagon. The Philistines put the Ark on a new cart with cows newly given birth and it is taken back to Israel. However, Israel does not know how to treat the Lord or fear the Lord any more than the Philistines. Seventy die for looking in the Ark. The result: “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?”
- 7: Fear comes on the people and they turn to the Lord. The Philistines attack and are defeated. Samuel judges all Israel all the days of his life.
8
- Samuel disappoints. It would have seemed that Samuel was going to be the answer, but instead, in his old age he displays similarities to Eli. Samuel wants to appoint his sons as successors, though the Lord has said nothing to indicate this was his will. Worse, his sons are evil and take bribes, and Samuel seems oblivious to the problem.
- Instead of the people asking Samuel to plead to the Lord (as in ch. 7), they come up with their own solution. Further, they have rejected God as being their King and desire “a king like all the nations” (8:5). Even after the Lord warns them of what an earthly king will do to them, “they refuse to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, ‘No! But there shall be a king over us.’” (8:19)
- Their foolishness is rooted in thinking that a mere human can be their savior. Therefore, God allows them to have their kings, and for the next four hundred years we see the disaster these kings bring upon the nation. God is setting up the world for the only King who will reign in justice and righteousness. How different Jesus is. he takes nothing from us, but gives everything to us to cause us to have joy and peace.
9-12
- Saul’s humility. At first, we see Saul being everything we would like to see in a king, which leads us to hope. Saul seems to mirror the character of Jesus.
- The attack of the Ammonites on the city of Jabesh-Gilead. Saul musters an army of 330,000 and routs the Ammonites. Some want to kill the worthless fellows who would not serve Saul. Saul refuses.
- Samuel rebukes the people for desiring a king. God confirms his feelings about their rejection by sending thunder and rain during the wheat harvest to warn them of further disobedience.
13-15 The downfall of Saul
- Saul’s faith is tested. It is difficult to know how long Saul has reigned at this point since the Hebrew is uncertain in verse 1. See Acts 13:21, Saul reigned 40 years. He had reigned long enough that the Philistines were again in control of Israel.
- This is a test of Saul’s faith. He has done well in the good times, but now the Philistines raise a monster army in response to Jonathan defeating a garrison of Philistines at Geba.
- Saul was told to wait seven days for the arrival of Samuel to offer the sacrifice prior to going into battle. But as the people deserted Saul, he could wait no longer and offered the sacrifice by himself. Therefore, at the time of great pressure, Saul trusted himself instead of God. This begins the end of Saul’s reign since God will no longer be with him.
- In this incident, Saul betrays his weak faith in God. He sees the sacrifices in a similar fashion as Israel saw bringing the Ark into battle. Instead of obeying the Lord, he follows his own superstition of thinking that a sacrifice will please God as if God is one of the “gods” of the land.
- 13:14 Samuel tells Saul that the Lord will now seek “a man after his own heart.”
- In chapter 14, Jonathan is portrayed in contrast to Saul. With perfect trust in the Lord, though he had only his armor bearer and a sword, he puts the Philistines to flight. In his desire to get glory that should be given to the Lord and Jonathan, Saul makes a rash vow cursing anyone who eats food before evening and the conquering of the Philistines. Jonathan does not hear the vow and eats honey. When told of his father’s vow, he says, “My father has troubled the land…” (14:29). Saul decides to kill Jonathan, but the military will not allow it.
- Chapter 15: God gives Saul another chance and again Saul determines to follow his own will instead of the will of the Lord. The commandment is plain: devote every living thing to destruction.
- Vs. 9: Saul spared Agag and the best of the animals
- Saul’s denials, rationalization, and disobedience
- Vs. 30: Saul finally admits his sin but shows his motivation is not true repentance: “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”
- Message:
- “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (15:22-23).
- When we do not practice what God desires, we are trying to honor ourselves over the Lord.
- Notice again that as we read the narrative, we are again disappointed. We had hoped in Samuel. Then we hoped in Saul. But humans are flawed and neither can fulfill what God desired.
16: God’s choice of a king
- Jesse parades seven sons before Samuel; doesn’t bother with bringing the youngest who is taking care of the sheep.
- Key verse (7): “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
- After anointing David, “the Spirit of the Lord rushed on David from that day forward” (13). But verse 14, “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.”
- David is called to give relief to Saul. In every way David has been pictured as God’s future king in the Messiah.
- He comes from Bethlehem
- He has no looks that someone would be drawn to him
- He is rejected by his family
- He is a shepherd
- He brings relief to the tormented
17: The Battle belongs to the Lord
- Saul and Israel still have not learned to trust the Lord. Saul is just as terrified as Israel. Saul may be king, but the king is worthless unless the Lord is with him.
- David puts his trust in God (26, 34-37).
- When David defeats their champion, fear disappears. Jesus won the battle against sin and death and has taken away our fear (Heb. 2:14-15).
18–19
- While David does not seek his own glory, Saul seeks glory for himself and is jealous of David when the people praise David.
- Saul’s attempt to have David killed by offering his daughter for 100 foreskins of the Philistines. When David succeeds Saul is even more afraid of David because he sees that the Lord is with him.
- God is with David and continues to keep Saul from killing him. Jonathan delivers him. Michal delivers him. And the Lord delivers him by making Saul strip off his clothes and prophesy all night
20–22:5 David gathers the outcasts
- Saul makes it clear to Jonathan that he intends to kill David. Jonathan warns David and David goes on the run and goes through the town of Nob where Ahimelech the high priest unwittingly helps his escape by giving him and his men the showbread and the sword of Goliath. But Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd, witnessed the incident.
- David first escaped to the Philistines, but they realize who he is, so David pretended madness in order to escape.
- 22:1-5 David went to the cave of Adullam just inside the border of Israel. 22:1-2, “And when he brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them.”
- Now we are able to clearly see David as God’s anointed picturing Jesus as the ultimate anointed King.
- David is rejected by his own nation and the leaders wanted to kill him.
- In the beginning, David’s family rejects him, but later realizes that he has been truly anointed by God and comes to him.
- Just as with David, Jesus was accused of being out of his mind.
- As with David, all those who are weary and burdened are invited to come to Jesus for refuge.
- As with David’s followers, Jesus’ disciples must sacrifice all they have in order to be with him.
- 22:3-5 David was not allowed to stay in Moab as a refuge from Saul. He must continue with his own people, face the dangers to his life, and put his trust in God.
22-23
- 22:6-23 Doeg told Saul about Ahimelech providing for David. Saul brought Ahimelech and all the priests before him, and though they assured Saul that they knew nothing about David escaping from Saul, Saul commanded Doeg to murder all of them. Eighty-five priests and all their families including infants and children are killed. Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech escaped and went to David for refuge.
- Ahimelech was the grandson of Phinehas, one of the wicked sons of Eli. This fulfilled God’s judgment on the house of Eli in 1 Samuel 2:31-33.
- Again we see a parallel to Jesus. Just as an Edomite destroyed a town full of priests, so when Jesus was born, Herod, Edomite killed all the infants of Bethlehem.
- 23: David saved the town of Keilah from the Philistines, but when Saul heard of it, the Lord told David that Keilah would turn him over to Saul. Therefore, David escaped and went to the wilderness of Ziph, but the Ziphites reported him to Saul. Again we see David’s own people rejecting him (“He came to his own and his own received him not”).
- Another parallel to Jesus: when David went to the Philistine Gentiles, they recognized him as the king, the anointed. But David’s own Jewish people do not accept his anointing.
- Repeatedly Saul thinks he has David trapped, but God always delivers David.
24–27
- David will be challenged with three temptations in the wilderness just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.
- 24: In seeking David in the wilderness of Engedi, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself, the same cave where David and his men were hiding. David’s men urged him to kill Saul, but David would not. Just as Peter urged Jesus not to take the path of suffering to obtain the kingdom and is rebuked by Jesus, so David refuses to take the easy path and rebukes his men (24:7, “And David sharply rebuked his men with these words…” NIV).
- 25: Second temptation was with Nabal. David and his men had protected his flocks, but Nabal treated him with disdain. David determined to kill all his house (like Saul!), but Abigail saved the day by interceding. David praised God for her. God then killed Nabal and David took Abigail as his wife.
- 26: David is again in the wilderness of Ziph and the Ziphites again report this to Saul. Forgetting his promise to David, Saul again went to kill David. However, David again is given the opportunity to kill Saul while he sleeps. But this time, David has grown in his faith in God and simply takes the water and spear of Saul then calls out to him from a great distance to show Saul that he is innocent. Just as with Jesus, David does not succumb to the temptations.
27-30
- 27: David leaves the wilderness and asks Achish, king of the Philistines for a country city. He is given Ziklag. From there, he made continually raids on the Canaanites in the area, thus solidifying the expansion of the Lord’s kingdom. Jesus will complete the conquest of the whole earth in the Kingdom of God.
- 28: The Philistines are gathering for battle against Israel and Saul is frightened because the Lord will not answer him. Therefore, he went to the witch of Endor desiring her to call up Samuel. When Samuel appeared, he rebuked Saul and told him that he and his sons would be killed the battle. God’s judgment is fulfilled against the ungodly. Saul never repents and prays.
- 29: The Philistines gather at Aphek for battle, the same place where Shiloh had been and Eli and his sons died. Now the same will happen to Saul and his sons. Though Achish proclaims David as innocent (just as Pilate did of Jesus), he is not allowed to go to battle against Israel (Jesus will later go to battle against his own nation, destroy the temple, and set up a new kingdom).
- 30: While David is away with the Philistines, Ziklag is attacked and all the wives and goods are taken away by the Amalekites. But David and his men pursue them, destroy them and bring all the people back with the spoils. David then gives of the spoils to the people of Judah. Jesus also will conquer and “give gifts to men.”
- 31: The victory of the Philistines and the death of Saul and his sons.
Berry Kercheville