First and Second Samuel were originally one book called the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (made ca. 250 B.C.) was the first to divide it into two books. The Septuagint translators titled these books 1 and 2 Kingdoms. That division has persisted ever since and has even been incorporated into subsequent editions of the Hebrew Bible (since A.D. 1517). The title "Samuel"was given by Jerome in his Latin translation, the Vulgate (ca. A.D. 400).
The Jews gave the name "Samuel"to it because Samuel is the first major character in the book. Samuel anointed both Saul and David, so in this respect he was superior to them both.
Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -
"Our guess is that the author was a high state official in frequent attendance at the court, enjoying the full confidence of David and his household, who served David throughout his reign in Jerusalem and also Solomon during the early years of his reign, and whose duties may have been connected with literary work."1
Most conservative scholars prefer the view that Samuel may have written or been responsible for noting the record of earlier events in the book (chs. 1-24). Then some unidentifiable writer put it in its final form later, perhaps soon after Solomon's death.
Rationalistic critics of the book tend to believe it was the result of much more piecing together, and some of them date its final form as late as 500 B.C.2
The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11; 5:5). This means he came to power in 1011 B.C. Saul also reigned for 40 years (Acts 13:21) so he became king in 1051 B.C. We can estimate the date of Samuel's birth fairly certainly on the basis of chronological references in the text to have been about 1121 B.C.4Thus the Book of Samuel covers about 1121-971 B.C., or about 150 years of history.
We should note that the first part of 1 Samuel overlaps historically with the end of the judges period that we find in the Book of Judges. Apparently Samson was born just a few years before Samuel. Samson's 20-year judgeship evidently began shortly before the battle of Aphek (1104 B.C.) at which time Eli died (1 Sam. 4:18). It ended not many years before the battle of Mizpah (1084 B.C.) when the Philistine domination of Israel ceased temporarily (1 Sam. 7:13). Samuel's ministry therefore probably ran concurrent with that of Samson until Samson died. Saul began to reign about 35 years after Samson died (i.e., 1051 B.C.). Samuel evidently lived about 30 years after that.5
First and 2 Samuel are really one story. The translators divided them into two books for convenience, not because of subject matter.
First Samuel records Israel's transition from amphictyony to monarchy.
The key passage that explains this transition is 8:4-7. Two statements from this passage are especially significant.
The human desire that produced the transition expressed itself in verse 5: "Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."God had brought Israel into existence as a nation to be unlike all the nations (Exod. 19:5-6). The essence of its uniqueness was Yahweh's rule over it as King. God wanted Israel to be a demonstration for all the world to see how glorious it can be to live under the authority of God.
The real meaning of the people's request comes out in verse 7: ". . . they have rejected mefrom being king over them."During the period of the judges, religious apostasy spread and characterized Israel. The people refused to obey their King. It is this attitude that finds expression in verse 5. The people wanted to substitute the false for the true. This is the essence of sin, and it results in idolatry. Every idol is a witness to man's need of God. When people reject the true God they must put something in His place to meet that need. Human beings musthave a god.
Israel turned from God as her King in 1 Samuel. She desired a king like the other nations. This book shows the immediate effects of that desire.
One of the great revelations of 1 Samuel is how from the human viewpoint God adapts to continue His reign.
This statement appears to contradict 8:7, but it does not. The people rejected Yahweh, but they did not dethrone Him. The first act is possible, the second is not. This is a major lesson of 1 Samuel. The great revelation of this book is not primarily its three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David. It is Yahweh reigning by adapting to human situations and moving surely and steadily toward the fulfillment of His purposes. In spite of disobedience or obedience, failure or success, rebellious or loyal people, the reign of God moves on. We see this great lesson in the history of 1 Samuel's three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David.
The writer introduced Samuel's story with his mother Hannah's experience with God. Hannah was a great woman of faith who lived in the judges period. Her faith became God's foothold for advance. Her song reveals a profound appreciation for Yahweh as the God who reigns over all (2:6-8, 10). The similarities between this prayer and Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1 are interesting and noteworthy.
Samuel was a prophet. In one sense he was the first of the prophets (Acts 3:24). Of course, Moses was a prophet and so was Abraham, but Samuel was the first of the order of prophets who mediated between God and the Israelites during the monarchy. The kings of Israel and Judah were never mediators between God and the people in the sense of speaking for God to the people. Whenthe Israelites rejected Yahweh as their king, He withdrew from close communion and intimate fellowship with them. He never recognized their kings as standing between Himself and them to mediate His Word to the people. He chose their kings for them. He allowed their desire for a human king to work itself out in ultimate disaster through the centuries that followed. Yet He never spoke to the people through the king. He always spoke to them through the prophets. Samuel was the first of these. David, of course, was a king and a prophet. The role of the kings was to govern the people. The role of the prophets was to reveal God's will to them.
With Samuel the office of prophet in Israel emerges as that of Yahweh's authoritative representative to His people. Samuel became the king-maker finding and anointing both Saul and David. >From now on when God had a message for the people it normally did not come directly to the king but to the king and the people through the prophet. The prophet's office was always superior to that of Israel's kings. (You have the privilege of speaking for God to your generation. You have a high calling similar to that of Israel's prophets.) When Israel rejected Yahweh as her king, God chose Samuel, the child of a woman's simple faith, trained him in the tabernacle, and called him when he was only a boy. Then He gave him a message to deliver and sent him to anoint Saul as the king after the people's own heart, and David as the king after God's own heart. The prophets became God's mediators, His messengers, and the interpreters of His law. Thus Yahweh reigned though He adapted His methods of ruling by raising up the prophets. He called Samuel as the first of these mediators. During the monarchy God provided guidance through two offices rather than through one as He had done previously. The kings provided political leadership, and the prophets gave the people spiritual leadership. God had previously provided both types of leadership through single individuals namely Moses, Joshua, and the judges.
Saul's story is one of the most tragic in Scripture. It is unusually fascinating and has tremendous power in its appeal to our lives. When God placed Saul on Israel's throne He answered the prayer of His rebellious people in 8:5. God "gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them"(Ps. 106:15; NASB).
Saul was a revelation to the Israelites of what the possession of "a king like the nations"really meant. He had unusual physical strength, but he was fitful and he failed the people. He had mental acumen, but he was moody and eventually turned into a madman. He was sluggish and dull spiritually lacking in spiritual insight and power, and eventually he abandoned Yahweh for a witch.
His reign was also a disaster. At the beginning of his reign, Israel was virtually without a leader. At its end it was under the control of an enemy neighbor. Saul was never able to expand the borders of Israel because he never was strong enough to dominate his enemy neighbors. David on the other hand did both of these things. At the end of Saul's reign, Israel had almost destroyed itself through its wars with the Philistines.
David's story is one of the most glorious in Scripture. After Saul, God gave His people another king, but this time he was a man after God's own heart.
God prepared David for the throne by putting him through training as a shepherd in the fields, a courtier in the palace, and an "outlaw"in exile. (By "outlaw"I do not mean David was lawless but that he lived outside Saul's control.) His shepherd training prepared him to care for and protect the Israelites under his charge. His courtier experience prepared him to deal with high governmental leaders. His "outlaw"years perfected the disciplines that enabled him to become a strong ruler. These disciplines included relying on God in every situation, practicing self-restraint, and leading his people.
In all David's training God was reigning, moving forward to the fulfillment of His plans and purposes. God had previously done this by making the child of faith, Samuel, His prophet. He had also done this by making outwardly promising Saul a revelation to the nation of her sins in turning away from God.
The second great revelation of this book is that people cooperate with God by either being loyal or by being disloyal to Him.
In Samuel's case he had opportunity to glorify God because of his parentage, his call by God, and his appointment as God's prophet. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently God's messages got delivered, and God's work moved ahead. Samuel was an instrument of blessing.
In Saul's case he had opportunity to glorify God too. His opportunity came in his call by God, his anointing by Samuel, his friendship with Samuel, his popularity with the people, and his personal abilities. He responded disobediently, with disloyalty to God as seen in his vacillating and self-will. Consequently he failed as a king, and he died under the judgment of God. His life was a failure.
In David's case his opportunities were his call, his anointing, his waiting, and his suffering. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently he became God's instrument of progress and blessing. He was a success.
Each man had his opportunity, made his response, and experienced the consequences of his response. Two obeyed, one disobeyed. All cooperated with God in fulfilling His ultimate purposes either to his own blessing or to his own blasting.
As a result of these two major revelations I would summarize the message of 1 Samuel as follows. God will accomplish His purposes regardless of man's personal response to Him. However man's response to God's revealed will determines a person's own success or failure in life.
First Samuel teaches us the methods of the sovereign God. All territory is within God's jurisdiction, every person is under His control, and all events are in His hands. All of God's plans and purposes are moving toward accomplishment. He makes use of all antagonistic facts and forces as well as all positive facts and forces. He also makes use of all the agents He has chosen to use regardless of their responses. Paul's comments in 2 Tim. 2:20-21 are very much to the point here.
First Samuel also teaches us that God's ultimate victory is independent of the attitudes and actions of individuals and groups of people (e.g., Israel) toward Him. Nevertheless the ultimate destiny of individuals and groups of people depends on their attitudes and actions toward Him.
Samuel was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. Saul was disobedient, was God's instrument, and experienced destruction. David was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. My attitudes and actions do not determine God's ultimate victory, but they do determine my ultimate destiny. Everything depends on my choices and me regarding my earthly destiny. Nothing depends on me regarding God's ultimate victory. God uses all people, loyal and rebellious, to produce His ultimate purposes. However we determine the outcome of our lives by our attitudes and responses to Him. We see these principles working themselves out around us all the time. Dr. Walvoord is an example of a Samuel or a David in our day. The DTS graduates in prison are examples of the Sauls of our day.
I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3
A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:10
1. Hannah's condition 1:1-8
2. Hannah's vow 1:9-18
3. Hannah's obedience 1:19-28
4. Hannah's song 2:1-10
B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2:11-36
1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17
2. Hannah's godly influence on Samuel and its effect 2:18-21
3. Eli's lack of influence on his sons and its effect 2:22-26
4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36
C. God's first revelation to Samuel ch. 3
1. Samuel's call 3:1-18
2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a
II. The history of the ark of the covenant 4:1b-7:1
A. The capture of the ark 4:1b-22
1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11
2. The response of Eli 4:12-18
3. The response of Phinehas' wife 4:19-22
B. Pagan fertility foiled by God ch. 5
C. The ark returned to Israel by God 6:1-7:1
1. The plan to terminate God's judgment 6:1-9
2. The return of the ark to Bethshemesh 6:10-18
3. The removal of the ark to Kiriath-jearim 6:19-7:1
III. Samuel and Saul 7:2-15:35
A. Samuel's ministry as Israel's judge 7:2-17
1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4
2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14
3. Samuel's regular ministry 7:15-17
B. Kingship given to Saul chs. 8-12
1. The demand for a king ch. 8
2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16
3. The choice of Saul by lot 10:17-27
4. Saul's effective leadership in battle 11:1-11
5. The confirmation of Saul as king 11:12-12:25
C. Kingship removed from Saul chs. 13-15
1. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal 13:1-15
2. Saul's struggle against the Philistines 13:16-14:23
3. Saul's cursing of Jonathan 14:24-46
4. Saul's limited effectiveness in battle 14:47-52
5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15
IV. Saul and David 1 Sam. 16-31
A. David's rise as the new anointed 16:1-18:5
1. God's selection of David for kingship ch. 16
2. The reason for God's selection of David ch. 17
3. The results of God's selection of David ch. 18:1-19:17
B. David driven out by Saul 19:18-20:42
1. God's deliverance in Ramah 19:18-24
2. Jonathan's advocacy for David ch. 20
C. David in exile chs. 21-31
1. David's initial movements chs. 21-22
2. Saul's pursuit of David ch. 23
3. David's goodness to two fools ch. 24-26
4. The end of Saul's reign 27-31
(Continued in notes on 2 Samuel)
