KNOW YOUR BIBLE IN 50 DAYS:
A GUIDE TO ALL 66 BOOKS

Previous Chapter | Full Table of Contents | Purchase Book | Next Chapter

CHAPTER 9 – 1 Samuel: Approx. 1100 B.C.-1011 B.C.

First Samuel is the ninth book of the Bible followed by 2 Samuel, the tenth book of the Bible. These two books appeared in the Hebrew Bible as one book with the title “Samuel”. The Septuagint (LXX) divided Samuel into two books. The English title comes down to us from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate which has the title Liber I Samuelis which is translated “The First Book of Samuel.”

Authorship

According to Jewish tradition the first 24 chapters of the book, 1 Samuel, were written by Samuel, with the remainder of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel written by the prophets Nathan and Gad. Nathan lived to at least 931 B.C.

Summary

First Samuel records the transition of Hebrew (Jewish) government from judges to the death of the first king of the single, united monarchy of Israel. This period runs from about 1100 B.C. to 1011 B.C.

The book opens with the account of a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. As it happened, Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Hannah mourned about her barrenness and on a visit to the Temple she prays to God and makes a vow to God that if God gave her a son, she would give him to God all the days of his life.

God answers Hannah’s prayer and she gives birth to a son, Samuel. When Samuel is weaned, she takes him to the Temple and dedicates him to God, leaving Samuel at the Temple with the high priest, Eli. Hannah subsequently had other children.

Hophni and Phineas, two sons of Eli, were priests and they did evil, but Eli did not restrain them. God called Samuel when he was yet a young child and told Samuel what He would do to Eli, Eli’s sons, and Eli’s descendants. When asked by Eli what God had said, Samuel tells Eli all that God had said to him.

God establishes Samuel as a prophet in Israel. It happens that the Philistines and Israel make war, during which the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant which Israel had taken from their own Temple. Hophni and Phineas die in the war, and Eli, when he hears all the news of the war, falls backward and breaks his neck so that he dies.

However, God plagues the Philistines for having the Ark in their possession and so they return the Ark to Israel. After this, The Philistines again make war against Israel but God delivers Israel when Samuel prays for them.

When Samuel is old, he makes his sons judges over Israel but these sons do evil and, therefore, the people reject them. The people then ask Samuel to make them a king like all the other nations. God says to Samuel that, by Israel’s request, Israel had rejected God Himself but, nevertheless, God chooses a man named Saul to be king over the Israel. Samuel anoints Saul as king as commanded by God.

Saul has an initial victory in saving Israel’s ally, the Gibeonites, from the Ammonites who had made war against the Gibeonites. However, when the Philistines gather themselves to once again war against Israel, Saul sins by usurping Samuel’s role as the priest of Israel.

While Israel cowers in fear of the Philistines, Saul’s son, Jonathan, engages the Philistines and achieves a victory over them. Saul and Israel then go into battle with Saul declaring that anyone who eats anything before evening should die. But Jonathan did not know of Saul’s command and he, therefore, eats honey that day. Thus, Saul wants to kill Jonathan for disobeying his command, but the people saved Jonathan from Saul’s hands.

After this God sends Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, but Saul disobeys God and saves their king, Agag, alive as well as the best of the Amalekite’s sheep and oxen. God, therefore, rejects Saul as king and sends Samuel to secretly anoint a young man named David as king of Israel. The Holy Spirit then departs from Saul and an evil spirit, that is, an evil angel also known as a demon, troubles Saul.

The Philistines then gather themselves for war against Israel with a giant named Goliath going before them. The people of Israel are afraid of Goliath and the Philistines, but David bravely kills Goliath. The Philistines, therefore, flee and Israel chases after them killing many of them. Saul then takes David and sets him over the men of war of Israel, and David marries one of Saul’s daughters.

But when the people sing and give more praise to David than to Saul, for the victory over the Philistines, Saul becomes jealous of David. Jonathan, however, loves David and acknowledges David as Israel’s future king. But Saul persecutes David, trying to kill him numerous times. Thus, David flees from Saul and hides himself, and notwithstanding this, David refuses to kill Saul when he has the opportunity. David also marries again.

After this, Samuel dies and the Philistines make war once more against Israel. God does not answer Saul’s prayers regarding the war, and so Saul visits a woman with a familiar spirit, that is, a demon, and Saul believes that he receives an unfavourable message about the war from Samuel who is dead. Shortly after this, Saul, Jonathan, and two other sons of Saul, are killed in battle by the Philistines in 1011 B.C.

Themes

• The sin of parental indulgence of children.
• Leaders who disobey God.
• Satan at work to cause nations to reject God as their King.
• Satan at work to cause anger, envy, and murderous intent, in people’s hearts.
• Satan at work to cause repeated wars against God’s people.
• Bravery.
• Waiting for God’s timing to bring relief from persecution.

God as Revealed in the Book

• God as humanity’s King, counsellor, and defence, against evil.
• God’s rejection of those who do evil.
• God’s acceptance of those who worship Him and honour Him.
• The supremacy of God’s will over the will of humanity.

Connections with the Rest of the Bible

God says, “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” Proverbs 27:4. “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” James 3:16. Thus, Saul yielded himself to Satan, and so had unending anger and envy toward David, God’s choice as the future king of Israel.

David on the other hand, obeyed God’s command, “Say not thou, I will recompense [repay] evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.” Proverbs 20:22. So, David exhibited much patience and love in his dealings with Saul, believing God was his defence.

Spiritual Applications

Pray to God sincerely and ask God to help you to do His will, believing that God will help you, and thus you will be enabled to make the spiritual applications noted below:

• Exercise godly restraint and discipline of your children.
• Be obedient to God’s commandments and do not reject God.
• Keep yourself from anger, envy, and murderous intent.
• Be brave and do exploits for God.
• Always wait on God’s timing in the affairs of your life.

Previous Chapter | Full Table of Contents | Purchase Book | Next Chapter