As with all the historical narratives of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit's purpose in giving us the books of 1 and 2 Samuel was not just to record events that transpired. It was primarily to teach spiritual lessons to the original readers, and to readers of all time, by revealing the causes and effects of various human responses to God's grace.7God guided the inspired writers of Scripture to teach theology as well as to record history. This is clear in all the so-called historical books of both Testaments. We can see this as we examine the reasons God selected the particular events and facts that He recorded for inclusion out of the mass of possible data that He could have set forth.
Scholars have disputed what it was that the writer chose to emphasize primarily in the Books of Samuel. Some have felt his unifying purpose was to demonstrate the sovereignty of God.8Some believe it was to show that God provides leadership for His people.9Others have seen the purpose as something else. I believe those who see the record of what happens to individuals and nations when they trust and obey God's Word or fail to do so have identified the primary purpose.10
For the Israelites, their commitment to obey the Mosaic Covenant out of trust in God and gratitude for His calling them to receive His grace would result in God blessing them (Deut. 28:1-14). However if they despised His grace and departed from His will as expressed for them in the Mosaic Covenant, He would curse them (Deut. 28:15-68). Moses had explained God's "blessing"in Deuteronomy. It included fertility for the Israelites personally as well as for their herds and crops. It included the ability to defeat their neighbor enemies and to enjoy peace and prosperity. It also included other material and social advantages as well as the enjoyment of an intimate spiritual relationship with God. God's "curse"on the other hand would be barrenness, defeat, oppression, and many other undesirable conditions.
In Samuel we have a record of how commitment to the will of God results in blessing for individuals, groups of individuals, and whole nations. This commitment should rest on an appreciation for God's initiative in reaching out to undeserving sinners in grace. We also see how disregard for God's Word because of a failure to appreciate God's grace inevitably leads to blasting, a curse from God. These lessons are not new; the Books of Samuel are not emphasizing these things for the first time in Scripture. The Book of Joshua is a positive lesson that people who trust and obey God succeed. They even accomplish supernatural feats and prosper. The Book of Judges gives the other side of that coin. People who disregard God fail, become unproductive, suffer defeat, and die. The Books of Samuel continue the emphasis begun in Genesis and Exodus that Deuteronomy clarified, namely, that our response to God's grace will determine our destiny.
