Books of 1 & 2 Samuel
First Impressions
- What do you see in these books that tells you
about the Original Reader?
The Original Readers of the books of Samuel would
have been Israelites living in Israel sometime after the reign of King
David. 1 Samuel begins with an account
of the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:19-20) and highlights the lives of three
men: Samuel, Saul, and David. 2 Samuel
highlights the life of just one man: King David. The original readers of the books of Samuel
would have been familiar with Israelite’s history during the lives of Samuel,
Saul, and David. For example, they would
have known that Israel had been ruled by judges; however, Israel was now being
ruled by a king instead. They would have
known both the successes and the failures of their leaders. They would have recognized that God is the
ultimate ruler over Israel.
- What do you see in this book that tells you
about the author?
According to Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps
and Charts (p. 97), “the two books of Samuel were originally one continuous
account in the Hebrew text, but English translations (following the Greek and
Latin translations) divide Samuel into two books.” Further, it states that the author of the
books of Samuel “is anonymous but was probably composed by an unnamed prophet
who compiled written chronicles of prophets such as Nathan and Gad the seer (1
Chr. 29:29).” The author of the books of
Samuel would have been intimately familiar with Israelite’s history beginning
with the birth of Samuel (who would later become priest, judge, and prophet of
Israel) through the reigns of both King Saul and King David.
- What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in
this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the "main idea"?
God blesses the obedience of His people and
punishes the disobedience of His people.
The books of 1 and 2 Samuel record three major transitions in leadership
for the nation of Israel. The first
major transition was the transfer of leadership from Eli to Samuel. Eli and his sons were serving as priests;
however, they sinned against God. In
response, God punished Eli and his sons for their sinful disobedience (see 1
Samuel 1:27-36). However, Samuel did
what was right in the eyes of the LORD and God blessed him for it. Not only did Samuel replace Eli as priest, he
became a judge and prophet over Israel as well.
In his old age, Samuel appointed his two oldest sons, Joel and Abijah,
as judges over Israel (1 Samuel 8:1).
However, his sons were not like him and the Israelites demanded a king
from Samuel (see 1 Samuel 8:4-5). God
recognized that they were really rejecting Him as their king (see 1 Samuel
8:7-9). God told Samuel to do as they
say and give them a king (1 Samuel 8:22); however, God through Samuel warned
them about what would happen as a result of their choice. God then led Samuel to appoint Saul as their
first king (see 1 Samuel 17-24).
Initially, King Saul obeyed God and God blessed him; however, King Saul
soon disobeyed God and God punished him by removing his kingdom from him (see 1
Samuel 13:13-14). God then led Samuel to appoint David as the next king. David was “a man after God’s own heart” and
he obeyed God. God richly rewarded David
for his obedience (see 2 Samuel 5-16).
However, David also sinned against God (e.g. adultery and murder) and
God punished him for his sins as well.
God blesses the obedience of His people and punishes the disobedience of
His people.
- What is the primary reason this book was
written?
The primary reason the books of Samuel were
written was to remind the Israelites of their history connecting the time of
judges with the time of kings. The
Israelites would be reminded of their covenant with God. They would be reminded that God is faithful
to His people. They would be reminded
that God blesses the obedience of His people.
They would be reminded that God punishes the disobedience of His people
as well. The Israelites would be
reminded that God loves them.
Theme Tracing
- What do these books show about the character
and nature of God?
These books of Samuel reveal a great deal about
the character and nature of God. They
reveal that God is faithful to His people and He keeps His covenants with
them. They reveal that God blesses the
obedience of His people and God punishes the disobedience of His people. They reveal that God is the Most High
God. For example, God made Dagon, the
god of the Philistines, bow down to the Ark of the LORD (see 1 Samuel
5:1-5). Further, God struck the
Philistines with a plague of tumors. God
is holy. God killed seventy men because
they looked into the Ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 6:19). God also struck Uzzah dead when he reached
out his hand and steadied the Ark of God (2 Samuel 6:6-7). God will not abandon his people even when
they do wrong. For example, Samuel
reassured the Israelites when they asked for a king by saying to them, “Don’t
be afraid. You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the
LORD with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols
that cannot help or rescue you – they are totally useless! The LORD will not
abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the LORD to make you his
very own people.” (1 Samuel 12:20-22).
God loves His people and God desires relationship with His people. God seeks men and women “after His own heart”
(see 1 Samuel 13:14).
- What does this book show about God's redemptive
plan for mankind?
According to Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps
and Charts (page 86), “David is one of the primary Old Testament types of the
person of Christ. He was born in Bethlehem, works as a shepherd, and rules as
king of Israel. He becomes the
forerunner of the messianic King; the New Testament specifically calls Christ
the ‘seed of David according to the flesh’ (Rom. 1:3) and ‘the Root and the
Offspring of David’ (Rev. 22:16). There
are many similarities between David and Jesus.
David was born in Bethlehem.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
David was a shepherd of sheep.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd of His people. David was the king of
Israel. Jesus is the King of kings and
the Lord of lords! Jesus is the
fulfillment of God’s promise to David (see 2 Samuel 7:16).
Application questions
- Personal Application
While I was studying the books of 1 and 2 Samuel,
I found myself focusing on the life of David.
I observed that David possessed many strengths; however, he possessed
some weaknesses as well. In other words,
David was an imperfect man. As an
imperfect man myself, I could readily relate to David. Despite his imperfections, David was indeed “a
man after God’s own heart” whom God used in a mighty way to accomplish His purposes. While studying David’s life in the books of 1
and 2 Samuel, I could not help but think about my own life as a man. What kind of man am I? What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? What kind of man would I really like to
be? What would be written about me if
someone were to write a book about my life?
Would I be remembered as “a man after God’s own heart”? Would I be remembered as a man of great
faith? Would I be remembered as a man
who truly loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength? Would I be remembered as a man who truly
loved others as himself? My personal
application of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel is to continue studying the life of
David. Further, I will be writing down a
description of the kind of man I would really like to be. For now, I will simply state that I truly desire
to be “a man after God’s own heart.”
- Point of Passion
My point of passion is to know God and to make
Him known. While studying the books of 1
and 2 Samuel, I noticed that the author highlighted the lives of three men:
Samuel, Saul, and David. Each of these
men possessed both strengths and weaknesses.
None of them was perfect. Neither
are we. However, we can learn from them
by studying their lives. We can learn
from their successes. We can also learn from
their failures. We can then
apply what we have learned to our own lives.
Since my passion is to know God and to make Him known, I want to help others
get to know Him by encouraging them to really study the lives of individual men
and women in the Bible.
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