93651.9 1 Samuel

A. Theme and Background.

1. The books of First and Second Samuel are one book in the Hebrew Bible. They were first divided into two books by the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, about 250 BC. The book does not claim an author, although it is named after a principal character, Samuel. The events of First Samuel cover 110 years beginning with the birth of Samuel about 1120 BC and ending with the death of King Saul in 1011 BC.
2. First Samuel begins towards the end of the period of loosely affiliated tribes under the Judges, and focuses on the establishment of a unified government under a king. It also shows God’s providence of a barren woman Hannah, who gives birth to Samuel, and David, a lowly shepherd boy who eventually becomes king, from whose lineage would come the Messiah. It also tells of the sin and corruption of Eli the priest and his sons and of King Saul.

B. Chapters one through seven.

1. In chapter one, we are introduced to Hannah who is unable to bear a child. Year after year, she and her husband go to Shiloh where they sacrifice to the Lord. Eli was priest and he saw her lips moving while she was praying and thought she was drunk, one indication of Eli’s poor spiritual perception. Her prayer to the Lord was that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to serve the Lord all the days of his life. The Lord answers her prayer and she gives birth and names him Samuel “because I asked the Lord for him.” When he was weaned, she takes him to Eli so that all his life he would serve the Lord.
2. In chapter two, Hannah composes a marvelous song giving glory to God. We also see the depths of corruption of Eli’s sons, who treated sacrifices to the Lord with contempt and slept with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The Lord curses Eli and his sons for the evil that they are doing, and because Eli was honoring them more than he honored the Lord (vs. 2:29). But “the boy Samuel continues to grow in stature and favor with the Lord and with the people” (vs. 2:26).
3. In chapter three, Samuel continues to minister before the Lord. The chapter opens with a profound statement which reveals the state of Eli’s priesthood: “In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (vs. 3:1). The rest of the chapter relates how the Lord called to Samuel and he ran to Eli thinking it was him calling. “Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him” (vs. 3:7). Finally, on the third call, Eli realizes that the Lord is speaking to Samuel and instructs him to say, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (vs.3:10). The Lord tells Samuel of the fate of Eli and his sons which is that they will die on the same day and that his family will be cut off from the priesthood. Samuel is afraid to tell Eli of the vision but is persuaded to do so by Eli. The chapter closes with the statement that all of Israel recognized that Samuel was a prophet, and that the Lord continued to reveal Himself to Samuel through his word (vs. 3:20-21).

C. Chapters eight through fifteen.

1. Saul is anointed King and rules over Israel for forty-two years. But Saul rebelled against the Lord by not completely destroying the Amalekites, and is rejected by the Lord as King. His men took the choicest cattle and sheep as plunder as Saul was afraid of the men so he gave in to them. Samuel tells him: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings as much as obeying the Lord? Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as King” (vs. 22a; 23b). Samuel returns to his home and does not see Saul again until he dies, but he morns for him. This portion of Scripture concludes with “And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel” (vs. 15:35b).
2. God instructed Samuel to tell Saul to “Avenge the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (vs. 15:3). This needs some explanation and is worth the time and space in this lesson to investigate.

1. Passages like this are pointed to by critics of God and the Bible who say that this is genocide and is evidence that God is a moral monster. Many have walked away from the Christian faith because in their view of God, He is a cruel and vindictive entity in the Old Testament which does not match the view that they have of God as loving in the New Testament.
2. The Amalekites had attacked and waylaid Israel when they came up from Egypt (vs. 15:2; Deuteronomy 25:17-19) and this was God’s punishment. But there is something deeper and darker. Satan has always attempted to corrupt mankind beginning with his lies to Eve in the garden of Eden. This is because he knows that out of the human race will come the Messiah who will ultimately defeat him. In Genesis chapter six, fallen angels (“sons of God”) mate with human women and produce offspring called giants (Gen. 6:1-4). These were the Nephilim, a mixture of human and angelic DNA.
3. This fact, and the general wickedness and violence of humanity, was the reason for the flood. In Genesis 6:9, Noah is described by many translators as being a righteous man “perfect in his generations” which could mean that his DNA composition was not polluted by angelic genetic material. We see that Noah’s bloodline is pure from Christ’s genealogy in Luke 3:36-38. The flood was the means by which “all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth” would be destroyed. But Scripture does indicate that the Nephilim were on the earth “after that” (Gen. 1:4).
4. When the twelve spies that Moses sent into the Good Land returned, ten reported that “all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:32b-33). This was a major reason that the children of Israel did not obey God to go into the Good Land and spent the next 40 years in the wilderness.
5. Moses charges the children of Israel before they are to cross over into the Good Land in Deuteronomy 9:1-2: “Hear, O Israel: you are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom thou hast heard say, who can stand before the sons of Anak?”
6. Saul allowed the Amalekite king Agag to live (vs, 15:8) but Samuel later killed him. But we see a descendant of Agag, Haman the Agagite (Esther 3:1) devise a plot to destroy the Jews in Persia. But his plans are thwarted due to the courage of Esther. This again shows Satan’s scheme to destroy the people from whom the Messiah will come.
7. The initial conquest of the Good Land did not rid the inhabitants of the Nephilim. The story of David and Goliath, who was a giant, is considered by many to have been a son of the Anakim (Nephilim). Scripture records other giants who may have been related to Goliath (2 Samuel 21:18-22). It is interesting to note that David picked up five smooth stones in preparation of his battle with Goliath (1 Samuel 14:40). Was this a lack of faith on David’s part that one stone would not do it? Many say that he was ready to take on all the giants.
8. Regardless of the need to destroy the Nephilim, it should be remembered that God commanded, “In the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them — the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites — as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Sadly, the failure to follow this command did result in Israel’s worship of false gods and ultimately, in God’s judgement.

D. Chapters 16 through 31.

1. Chapter 16. David is anointed by Samuel to replace Saul after his seven older brothers passed before him and were rejected by the Lord (vs. 16:13). David was the youngest of his father’s sons. The oldest, Eliab who was of tall stature and of good appearance. But God “said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (vs. 16:7).
2. Chapters 17 and 18 record David’s victory over Goliath and the beginning of his service to King Saul. We also see in chapter 18 the beginning of Saul’s jealously over David’s success in battle and his favor with the people.
3. Chapter 19. Saul’s jealously over David continues. He attempts to kill David with a spear. David flees and Saul sends men to his house to kill him. But, David’s wife Michal, who is King Saul’s daughter attempts to deceive them by placing a teraphim with hair pasted on in his bed and lets him down through a window to escape. A teraphim was commonly used as a household idol possibly representing the invisible God. Such was the presence of idolatry in Israel that even David’s house had a household idol. David flees and he and Samuel go to a city named Naioth.
4. Chapters 20 through 23 record David’s pledges to Saul’s son Jonathan of lasting friendship and the continued pursuit of David by King Saul. David gathers a small army of 400 around him of men who were in distress, in debt and discontented (vs. 22:2).
5. Chapter 24.

1. Saul takes 3,000 men to attack David in his stronghold En-gedi. Saul goes into a cave to relieve himself (vs. 24:3) where David and his men are hiding in the back. David’s men urge him to kill Saul but David refuses saying how could he do that as Saul is the Lord’s anointed. He stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe but he later was sorry that he did this act (vs. 24:5). In biblical times, nobility and important persons had embordered hems of their garments symbolizing their authority. By taking a piece of Sauls’ robe, David was in effect challenging Saul’s authority.
2. Saul leaves the cave but David calls out to him and relates that he could have killed him. Saul weeps and says “you are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil” (vs. 24:17). Saul acknowledges that David will eventually be King of Israel and asks David to pledge that he will not cut off his offspring. David does so and they go their separate ways.

6. Chapter 25. Samuel dies and all Israel mourns for him (vs. 26:1). The rest of the chapter relates how a rich man Nabal, whose flocks had been protected by David’s men refused to give them a portion. David musters his men and sets out to kill him. But Nabal’s wife Abigail, who was very beautiful, hears of what had transpired and meets him with much provisions. David realizes that she spared him from committing murder. Abigail returns to her home and finds Nabal giving himself a great feast and is drunk. She waits until morning to tell him how he narrowly escaped death. Nabal “became as a stone” (vs, 25:37). Ten days later he dies and when David hears of Nabal’s death, he takes Abigail as his wife.
7. Chapter 26 relates how Saul and his army once again seek to destroy David. David has an opportunity to kill Saul while he and the entire army is in a deep sleep from the Lord. But he refuses again because Saul is the Lord’s anointed. He takes Saul’s spear and a jug of water at Saul’s head. David says of Saul: “as the Lord lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish“ (vs. 26:10). David retreats to a hill and reveals what he could have done. Saul once more repents and they go their separate ways.
8. Chapter 27 tells of how David, in order to escape Saul, goes to the land of the Philistines and joins himself to Achish, the King of Gath. Achish gives him the city of Ziklag to dwell in. From there David and his men attack the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites while deceiving Achish into thinking that he was attacking the Israelites.
9. Chapter 28 is a very strange narrative of how Saul consults the witch of Endor. The Philistines had gathered against Israel and Saul was greatly afraid. He had previously put all mediums and necromancers out of the land but the Lord had not responded to Saul’s inquiries of what he should do. Saul’s servants find this witch and he disguises himself and goes to her by night showing how fallen was his spiritual condition. She is able to conjure up Samuel who tells him that the army of Israel will be defeated and that Saul and his sons will be with him in sheol the next day fulfilling what the Lord and told Saul through Samuel.
10. Chapter 29 tells how as the Philistines gather for war against the Israelites, they see David and his men with Achish. They tell Achish that David could turn against them in battle in an attempt to reconcile with Saul. Achish reluctantly tells David to go back to the land of the Philistines.
11. Chapter 30 relates how David arrives at Ziklag after three days and finds that the Amalekites had raided and burned the city and taken hostage David’s wives and the rest of the inhabitants. David consults the Lord and is directed to pursue the Amalekites. He does so and gains the victory but, 400 young men of the Amalekites escape on camels (vs. 30:17).
12. Chapter 31 tells of the defeat of the army by the Philistines and the death of Saul and his sons. Saul is given a death wound by Philistine archers. He tells his armor bearer to kill him lest the Philistines abuse him. The armor bearer is afraid to do so; Saul falls on his own sword ending his life. The chapter concludes with the Philistines taking Saul’s body and those of his sons and fasten them to the wall of Bethshan. But the men of Jabesh-gilead came by night and retrieved the bodies and gave them proper burials.

E. Discussion questions, application and passing it on.

1. Eli was the priest in charge of the Tabernacle, but his sons were worthless men and did not know the Lord (vs. 2:12). Eli knew of their sin and rebuked them but to no avail. Have you seen examples of failure to train up children in the Lord in their early years resulting in their living sinful lives as adults? What might Eli have done years earlier that would have changed his son’s characters?
2. Under Eli, the Israelites treated the ark as a good luck charm by taking it into battle. Where do you see examples of where Christians today use the things associated with the faith in such a manner? What might you say to a person who demonstrates this?
3. This lesson spent much time on the Lord’s command to Saul through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites.

1. Do you know someone who has walked away from the Christian faith due to what they believe is God requiring genocide in the Bible? Do you believe you are better prepared to discuss this issue with them?
2. Besides the story of Esther and Haman, a descendent of Agag, the surviving Amalekites attacked David’s home while he was away with the Philistines (Chapter 30). This was the result of not obeying God’s commandment. Has God directed you to deal with a particular sin which you have not thoroughly addressed? How might this sin plague you in the future?

4. David’s older brother would seem to have been the obvious choice for the new king as he was tall and of good appearance. But he was rejected as the Lord looks not on the outward appearance but on the heart. Some today in ministry have charisma and are able to sway a crowd with their words. How would the Lord evaluate their hearts? How would He evaluate yours?
5. The presence of a household idol in David’s home shows how embedded was the practice of idolatry in Israel. Do you have images of Christ, Mary or other things which could be considered idols in your home?
6. Saul consulted a medium and Samuel appears which is the only time in Scripture where a deceased person appears to someone. Such activity was strictly forbidden in the Old Testament and those who practiced such things in Israel were to be put to death (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But we today could be drawn into a form of this by consulting the horoscope, seeing a palm reader or fortune teller. Many have encountered demons and opened themselves up to oppression by using an Ouija Board. If you have been associated with any of these things, what must you do now?