Choose Your King An Introduction to 1 Samuel (1 Samuel 2 verses 1 to 10)

 

Introduction

 

Today we begin our new series of studies in 1 Samuel. But if this book is to speak to us as God intended then we must have a proper appreciation of what this book is all about. And so, this morning, I want to set the scene for our studies over the coming months by considering…

…the Context…

…the Content…

…and the ‘Calling’…

…of 1 Samuel.

It is often difficult to ‘get into’ Old Testament books- they are filled so much that seems so far removed from contemporary life. And as we study 1 Samuel, we will encounter giants and witches, bloody battles and envious scheming. But Samuel is more than a collection of strange stories.

In Samuel we encounter a tumultuous time in the history of God’s People and we see God powerfully out His purposes. We see God bringing hope in hopelessness and establishing His king on the throne for the good of His People and the glory of His Name.

And most wonderfully of all, we see Jesus. And seeing Him in and through Samuel will enable us to see Him afresh, and understand afresh what it means to follow Him today. In Samuel we are called to choose Him as our King- the King that God knows we need- to be King of our lives.

So, let’s begin our studies of 1 Samuel by considering the… Context

When we talk about the context of a text- whether in Scripture or elsewhere- we are thinking about several key aspects. We need to know who wrote it, what was happening when they wrote it, and what was their reason for writing it.

The author of 1 Samuel is unknown. More accurately, Samuel is an anonymous work.

Jewish tradition regarded Samuel as its author but, aware that he died, acknowledged the book was completed by Gad the seer and Nathan the prophet. It has also been suggested that another, known simply as the ‘narrator’ used several reliable resources to compose the story in its present form.

This might be true, but we cannot know for certain. What is important to us is to remember that the text we now hold in our hands was ultimately authored by the Holy Spirit according to God’s perfect purposes.

So, as we journey through Samuel, we remember that we aren’t simply listening to some very interesting or confusing stories, but we are hearing the very Word of God- the Word of God that is useful for ‘…teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ (1 Timothy 3). Every passage we study in the coming weeks is will help to shape us, individually and corporately, to be the people God intends us to be. So let us come with humility and expectancy; and let us come prepared to meet with God and engage in His Truth.

We need to know who wrote Samuel. We also need to know what was happening when they wrote it.

Samuel was probably written soon after the end of David’s reign, around 971 B.C. After Israel divided into two kingdoms, a prophet in Judah was guided by the Spirit to compose a history to explain why God’s People were in their current situation and to provide guidance for the future. And so, this brings us to our need to know the reason for writing Samuel.

Samuel traces the history of God’s People from a situation where they had no king, via the rule of the king they want, to the beginning of the reign of the king they need. The people demand a king, and God gives them Saul. It is a disaster. Then God chooses and gives them David. And in David, we see the ruler that God’s people need- yet we also see his flaws. So David points us away from himself and to the ultimate ruler, the King God has chosen to rule His People eternally- David’s descendant, Jesus.

However, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We must, first, consider 1 Samuel’s storyline, we must consider the contents of this story…Content

The most helpful way to do this is to focus on the three main characters as they emerge chronologically. With each character the plot thickens and the story develops.

First, we encounter Samuel, the ‘kingmaker’- the prophet God graciously provided. Our story begins with desperation in dark times- times of moral depravity and a lack of spiritual leadership. But there is also hope. As we see throughout Scripture, God often makes hopelessness the starting point for a new work.

This new work begins with Hannah. Hannah is infertile. This in itself is significant. We see again and again in God’s Word infertile women whose children play a major role in God’s grand work- think of Sarah and Isaac, or Rachel and Joseph.

So, when we read of Samuel being born to the previously childless Hannah, we take note that God is at work again. And we remember the words of verse 5 we read earlier:

⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

Here is one of the great themes of Samuel: God intervenes in difficult circumstances and brings wonderful reversals. God is always at work in the lives of His People.

Our role is to trust Him and live faithfully for Him. This is what Hannah did. In the opening Chapters we see Hannah keeps her word to God and dedicates Samuel to the Lord’s service- leaving him with Eli in the Tabernacle at Shiloh. It was there that one-night God commissioned Samuel to be a prophet. And through Samuel, a man of prayer and devotion to God’s Word, God revives the nation of Israel.

Indeed, in the coming weeks we will learn vital lessons about the importance of prayer and the power of God’s Word. As we read of Samuel’s life and how God worked in him, and through him, we will be challenged about our own devotional lives and encouraged to make corporate prayer a vital component in our walk with God. When God’s People are on their knees and in His Word God will move powerfully.

Samuel’s ministry brought spiritual renewal. But it was a ministry conducted against the backdrop of ongoing Philistine aggression. It was to solve the Philistine problem that senior Israelite figures came to Samuel to ask him to appoint a king over the nation.

Samuel was angered by this request. He saw it as a rejection of God and of His rule, and of their identity as God’s Chosen People; now they wanted a king like all the other nations had instead of trusting in God’s perfect rule. But while Samuel was angered by their request, he reluctantly complied at God’s instruction. The People’s desire for a king paved the way for the appearance of Saul, a king in God’s place.

And, from a human standpoint, it was obvious why the people chose Saul. Saul was a physically impressive specimen- standing head and shoulders above the rest. He looked like a king who could take the fight to the Philistines. And initially things went well- he won a spectacular victory at Jabesh Gilead and brought his sceptics onboard.

But, after this promising start, Saul’s reign began to collapse. Firstly, he failed to give Samuel his God-given place as prophet- panicking in the face of Philistine aggression. Then he failed to properly obey God’s clear command regarding how to deal with the Amalekites. Saul looked to himself and reflected the human ideals of kingship rather than God’s perfect rule.

In verses 2 and 3 of our passage we read:

² “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

³ “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

God’s People need to humbly trust and obey His Way and His Word. This is the only way to truly flourish under His rule. But like Saul, so often we seek to live our own way- we exchange flourishing under God’s rule for toiling under our own desires.

And so, Saul was rejected by God. Now a new king had to be found. And it is at this point that we are introduced to Samuel’s main character. In Chapters 16 to 30 we meet David, the king in waiting- a man after God’s own heart.

In Chapter 16 we meet David who is anointed by Samuel as God’s surprising choice to be the next king. From this moment things would never be the same for David. Soon he entered Saul’s service as armour-bearer and music therapist. Then he entered the public imagination and saw his public popularity rise rapidly. After his defeat of Goliath, David became a rising star in Saul’s army, forged a life-long friendship with Jonathan, married into the royal family.

Saul was on the wane, David was on the rise. It seemed clear David would become king sooner rather than later. But once again events took an unexpected turn.

Saul’s suspicion and jealousy of David boiled over and David was forced to go on the run. The final chapters of 1 Samuel record Saul relentlessly, but unsuccessfully, hunting David. David was under God’s protection and held on to God’s promises to establish him and his dynasty. Twice David had opportunity to kill Saul but refused to harm God’s anointed. While Saul acted in fear, David had faith in God

David embodied the final verses of our passage, which teach us to trust in God and make Him the King over all of life:

“It is not by strength that one prevails;
¹⁰     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

David was not only committed to God’s plan for his life, but also God’s timing. He trusted in God completely; God was David’s true King. God’s time for David finally arrived with Saul’s death on Mount Gilboa. The king in waiting could finally ascend to his throne.

So, we know a little of the context to Samuel, we have considered the contents of the story, but why was why should we study Samuel? To answer this question we must consider the ‘calling’ of the book…Calling

We live in an age when autonomy, personal freedom, is perhaps our culture’s highest value. Or, to put it another way, we live in time when everyone does what is right in their own eyes.

This attitude is not new. Indeed, it is the closing sentiment of the Book of Judges. In the Hebrew Bible, unlike in our English Bibles, the order of the books means that 1 Samuel follows Judges. So the last thing you read before the opening of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible is the last verse of Judges: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

In many ways, the story told in Samuel is the solution to this problem. The book of Samuel starts with no king, but ends with the king after God’s own heart.

Now, while it is true that Israel had no king; the bigger issue was that they refused to acknowledge their true king: God. The real problem was not the lack of a king, but a lack of obedience to the true King.

We will see that this issue continues throughout Samuel. We see Israel asking for a king. We see the rule of the first king, Saul, and wonder whether Israel having a king is much of an improvement on Israel having no king. Even the rise of King David will prove a mixed blessing.

Samuel leaves us looking beyond this history of ancient Israel. As we see the disastrous reign of Saul, the king Israel asked for, and as we see the flawed reign of David, the king God blessed His People with, we are being pointed towards Jesus, the King God’s People truly need. So, the history of the first kings leaves us longing for the rule of the ultimate King.

And, as in ancient Israel, God’s People are called to ‘choose your king’. We must decide who will have our ultimate allegiance. The message of Samuel, as in all of Scripture is: Choose King Jesus. In Samuel, we will see Jesus Christ, and see afresh what it means for us to follow Him as King in an age that worships personal freedom.

Samuel is about Israel’s first kings, Saul and David: how they came to the throne, and how they fared. But more than that, Samuel is about the great King, the Lord God. In Samuel we catch glimpses of who God is, what He does, what life is like with Him and without Him, and what life can become by His grace.

These stories are part of our family history as children of faith. We study them so that we might be instructed, encouraged, and empowered to glorify God, our true King.

Conclusion

Choose your King.

This is the focus of our studies in Samuel in the coming season of Church life. In every aspect of our lives we must make Jesus the supreme authority- His wisdom, grace, love, and purity must saturate who we are, what we do and say and think. This is the high calling of God’s Chosen People.

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper today, we have an opportunity to declare our allegiance to our King, to resolve to let Him rule our lives completely, and to seek His help to live for Him. Let us do that now…