The glory years!
The books of 1 and 2 Samuel concentrate upon the lives of three very different men: Samuel, Saul and David. They contain some graphic stories, with much human intrigue, yet throughout these books is the sense that God is in control – God is supreme - over and above history. The story begins and ends with prayer: Hannah’s prayer for a son (1Samuel 1:10-11), and David's prayer of praise and thanksgiving at the end of his life (2Samuel 24:18-25). The relationship between God and His people is an underlying theme that runs right through the narrative.
The author of these books is anonymous. We know that Samuel wrote a book (1 Samuel 10:25), and it is possible that he wrote part of this book as well. Other possible contributors to 1 Samuel are the prophets/historians Nathan and Gad (1Chronicles 29:29).
Originally, the books that we call 1 and 2 Samuel were one complete history. The translators of the Septuagint (the first Greek translation of the Old Testament), separated them, and we have retained their pattern ever since.
The events of 1 Samuel span approximately 100 years, from c.1100 B.C. to c.1000 B.C. whilst 2 Samuel covers an additional 40 years. The date of writing must be sometime after 960 B.C.
The first book of Samuel records the history of Israel in the land of Canaan as the nation moves from rule under the Judges and becomes a unified nation under its Kings. Samuel emerges as the last of the Judges, and he anoints the first two kings, Saul and David.
The second book of Samuel offers us a very selective account of King David’s reign. This book places God’s covenant with David into its historical context.
A Look at 1 Samuel
A Brief Summary
1 Samuel can be neatly divided into two sections: the life of Samuel (chapters 1-12) and the life of Saul, along with his interactions with the youthful David (chapters 13-31). It tells a graphic story.
The book starts with the miraculous birth of Samuel in answer to his mother’s earnest prayer. The name Samuel means “Asked of God”. As a child, Samuel lived and served in the temple. God singled him out as a prophet (3:19-21), and the child’s first prophecy was one of judgment on the corrupt priests.
The Israelites were at war with their perennial enemies, the Philistines, who captured the Ark of the Covenant and temporarily kept it, but when the Lord sent judgment upon them, they returned it (chapters 5-6). Samuel called Israel to repentance (7:3-6) and then to victory over the Philistines.
The people of Israel, wanting to be like other nations, desired a king to rule over them. Samuel was displeased by their demands, but the Lord assured him that it was not Samuel’s leadership they were rejecting, but His own. After warning the people of what having a king would mean: “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plough his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” Samuel 8:11-18), Samuel anointed a Benjaminite named Saul, who is crowned at Mizpah (10:17-25).
Mizpah is a place name that crops up several times in the Old Testament. Literally, the name means ‘place for watching’. It contains the sense that God is watching over his people. It is first used in Genesis 31:49, when Laban prays that God will watch over both himself and Jacob as they part company.
Saul enjoyed initial success, defeating the Ammonites in battle (chapter 11). But then he made a series of mistakes: he presumptuously offered a sacrifice (chapter 13), made a foolish vow at the expense of his son Jonathan (chapter 14), and disobeyed the Lord’s direct command (chapter 15). As a result of Saul’s rebellion, God chose someone else to take his place on the throne. God removed His blessing from Saul, and an evil spirit began goading him towards madness (16:14).
Samuel travelled to Bethlehem where he anointed a youth named David as the next king (chapter 16). Later, David had his famous confrontation with Goliath the Philistine and became a national hero (chapter 17). David served in Saul’s court, married Saul’s daughter, and was befriended by Saul’s son, Jonathan. Saul himself grew jealous of David’s success and popularity and attempted to kill him. David fled for his life, and so began an extraordinary period of adventure, intrigue, and romantic escapade. With supernatural aid, David narrowly but consistently eluded the bloodthirsty Saul (chapters 19-26). Through it all, David maintained his integrity as well as his friendship with Jonathan.
Near the end of the book, Samuel died, and Saul has become a broken man. Consumed by jealousy and wracked by depression, he turned away from God. On the eve of a battle with Philistia, Saul sought help, and having rejected God, sought counsel from a medium. During the séance, Samuel’s spirit rose from the dead to give a final prophecy: Saul would die in battle the next day. The prophecy was fulfilled; Saul, along with his three sons, including Jonathan, fell in battle, and Saul committed suicide.
Key Verses:
“But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, ‘Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.’” (1 Samuel 8:6-7)
The lesson is clear: be careful! It is so easy to reject God.
“And Samuel said to Saul, ‘Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which He commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.’” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Here is another straightforward lesson: David is a man after God’s own heart: God looks for those who are willing to serve him and will use them.
Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’ (1Samuel 15:22-23)
Saul loses God’s blessing because of his sin.
Practical Application:
1 Samuel is the story of three men:
Samuel is one of the towering figures of the Old Testament. In his life we see a combination of the roles of prophet, priest, and judge. He foreshadows the work of Christ. As prophet, he brings God’s word to the nation; as priest, he intercedes before God on behalf of the people; as judge, he leads the nation and stands for truth and righteousness.
The tragic story of Saul is a study in wasted opportunity. Here was a man who had it all - honour, authority, riches, good looks, strength and more. Yet he died in despair, terrified of enemies and knowing he had failed his nation, his family, and his God.
Saul made the mistake of thinking he could please God through disobedience. He believed that a sensible motive could compensate for bad behaviour. Perhaps his power went to his head, and he began to think that he was above the rules. Somehow, he developed a low opinion of God’s commands and a high opinion of himself. Even when confronted with his wrongdoing, he attempted to vindicate himself, and that is when God rejected him (15:16-28).
Saul’s problem is one that we all face - a problem of the heart. Obedience to God’s will is necessary for success, and if we, in pride, rebel against Him, we set ourselves up for loss.
David, on the other hand, did not seem to have much going for him at first. The youngest son in his family, even Samuel was tempted to overlook him (16:6-7). But God sees the heart and He saw in David a man after His own heart (13:14). The humility and integrity of David, coupled with his boldness for the Lord and his commitment to prayer, set a good example for all to follow.
A Look at 2 Samuel
A Brief Summary
The book of 2 Samuel is broadly divided into two main sections - David’s triumphs (chapters 1-10) and David’s troubles (chapters 11-20). The last part of the book (chapters 21-24) is a non-chronological appendix that contains further details of David’s reign, and his great prayer.
The book begins with David receiving news of the death of Saul and his sons. He proclaimed a time of mourning. Soon after, David was crowned king over Judah, whilst Ish-bosheth, one of Saul’s surviving sons, was crowned king over Israel (chapter 2).
We see here the beginning of the hostility between the northern and southern tribes – later to become the separate nations of Israel and Judah. A civil war followed, but Ish-bosheth was murdered, and the Israelites appealed to David to reign over them as well (chapters 4-5).
David moved the country’s capital from Hebron to Jerusalem and later transferred the Ark of the Covenant into his new capital (chapters 5-6). David’s plan to build a temple in Jerusalem was vetoed by God, who then promised David the following things:
· David would have a son to rule after him;
· David’s son would build the temple;
· The throne occupied by David’s lineage would be established forever;
· God would never take His mercy away from David’s house (2 Samuel 7:4-16).
David led Israel to victory over many of the enemy nations that surrounded them. He also showed kindness to the family of Jonathan by taking in Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s crippled son (chapters 8-10).
But even David falls. In 2 Samuel 11, we read that David did not join his army on their annual manoeuvres. He remained in Jerusalem, spotted the beautiful Bathsheba out sunbathing, determined to seduce her, and so began a descending cycle of increasing sin. His lust for Bathsheba led to adultery, a catalogue of lies, as he sought to cover up his sin, and ultimately to murder, as David arranged to have Bathsheba’s husband assigned to the most dangerous part of the battlefield, where he was certain to be killed. When Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin, David confessed, and God graciously forgave him. However, the Lord tells David that trouble would arise from within his own household.
This sad tale of adultery and murder mark the pivotal point of the book. Because of these events, David’s victories are overshadowed by the personal, family, and national troubles that are recorded in the rest of the book.
Trouble does come when David’s firstborn son, Amnon, rapes his half-sister, Tamar. In retaliation, Tamar’s brother Absalom kills Amnon. Absalom flees Jerusalem rather than face his father’s anger. Later, Absalom leads a revolt against David, and some of David’s former associates join the rebellion (chapters 15-16). David is forced out of Jerusalem, and Absalom sets himself up as king for a short time. The usurper is overthrown, and - against David’s wishes - is killed. David mourns his fallen son.
A general feeling of unrest plagues the remainder of David’s reign. The men of Israel threaten to split from Judah, and David must suppress yet another uprising (chapter 20).
2 Samuel concludes with a summary of David’s words and deeds (chapters 21 – 24), which serves as an appendix to the book. It includes information concerning a three-year famine in the land (chapter 21), a song of David (chapter 22), a record of the exploits of David’s bravest warriors (chapter 23), and David’s sinful census and the ensuing plague (chapter 24). These events remind us that the affairs of the people as a whole are tied to the spiritual and moral condition of the king. The nation enjoys God’s blessing when David is obedient to the Lord, and suffers hardship when David disobeys God.
Key Verses
“When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.' "” (2 Samuel 7:12 - 16).
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. (2 Samuel 22:21)
“Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?” (2 Samuel 23:5).
Practical Application
Anyone can fall. Even a man like David, who truly desired to follow God and who was richly blessed by God, was susceptible to temptation. David is not glorified to the neglect of his sin. We are given the complete picture of his character, ‘warts and all’. David’s sin with Bathsheba should be a warning to guard the heart. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
God is gracious and will forgive even the most heinous sins when we truly repent. However, healing the wound caused by sin does not always erase the scar. Sin has natural consequences, and even after he was forgiven, David had to reap the consequences of his actions. How much better to avoid sin in the first place, rather than having to seek forgiveness later!
Lessons to learn from 2 Samuel:
· Obedience brings God’s blessings;
· Disobedience leads to judgement;
· The consequences of sin cannot be avoided;
· Sin leads to ‘death’;
The two books of Samuel are amongst the most graphic and fast moving books in the Bible. They tell some exciting stories and together offer us some of the best biblical examples of the ways in which is actively involved in the day to day lives of His people. They remind us that God is with us in the course of our daily lives. Wherever we go, He is with us.
Comments