Vernon McGee, http://ttb.org: The two Books of Samuel are classified as one book in the Jewish canon and should be considered as such. In the Latin Vulgate they are the first of four Books of Kings. Our title identifies the name of Samuel with these first two historical books. This is not because he is the writer, although we do believe that he is the writer of a good portion of it. It is because his story occurs first, and he figures prominently as the one who poured the anointing oil on both Saul and David. Samuel, then, is considered the writer of 1 Samuel up to the twenty–fifth chapter, which records his death. Apparently, Nathan and Gad completed the writing of these books. We learn this from 1 Samuel 10:25 and 1 Chronicles 29:29.
The Books of Samuel contain many familiar features. We read of the rise of the kingdom of Israel. There is also the story of Hannah and her little boy Samuel. Recorded in these books is the story of David and Goliath and the unusual and touching friendship of David and Jonathan. We have the account of King Saul’s visit to the witch of En–dor, and 2 Samuel 7—one of the great chapters of the Word of God—gives us God’s covenant with David. Finally, we have the record of David’s great sin with Bathsheba and of the rebellion of his son Absalom.
In the Book of Judges we find that God used little people, many of whom had some serious fault or defect. Their stories are a great encouragement to those of us today who are little people. However, in 1 and 2 Samuel we meet some really outstanding folk: Hannah, Eli, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David. We will become acquainted with each of them as we go through these books.
There are three subjects that may be considered themes of the Books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Prayer is the first. First Samuel opens with prayer, and 2 Samuel closes with prayer. And there’s a great deal of prayer in between. A second theme is the rise of the kingdom. We have recorded in these books the change in the government of Israel from a theocracy to a kingdom. Of great significance is God’s covenant with David given to us in 2 Samuel 7. We will comment further on the kingdom in a moment. The third theme is the rise of the office of prophet. When Israel was a theocracy, God moved through the priesthood. However, when the priests failed and a king was anointed, God set the priests aside and raised up the prophets as His messengers. We will find that for the nation of Israel this resulted in deterioration rather than improvement.
The rise of the kingdom is of particular importance. First and Second Samuel record the origin of this kingdom, which continues as a very important subject throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The first message of the New Testament was the message of John the Baptist: “… Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand†(Matt. 3:2). The kingdom of which he spoke is the kingdom of the Old Testament, the kingdom that begins in the Books of Samuel. This kingdom we find has a very historical basis, an earthly origin, and geographical borders. This kingdom has a king, and its subjects are real people.
God’s chosen form of government is a kingdom ruled by a king. Yet to change the form of our government today would not solve our problems. It is not the form that is bad—it is the people connected with it. But a kingdom is God’s ideal, and He intends to put His King on the throne of this earth someday. When Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, rules this world it will be very unlike the job men are doing today. There will be no need for a poverty program, an ecological program, or for moral reforms. Rather, there will be righteousness and peace covering this earth like the waters cover the sea.
In these books the coming millennial Kingdom is foreshadowed in several respects; and in the setting up of the kingdom of Israel we observe three things that our world needs: (1) a king with power who exercises that power in righteousness; (2) a king who will rule in full dependence upon God; and (3) a king who will rule in full obedience to God. The Lord Jesus Christ, the coming King of kings, is the very One the world so desperately needs today.
(McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible Commentary, Vol. 12: 1 & 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991.)
Notes and Outlines, Vernon McGee, http://ttb.org
1 SAMUEL
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
1 & 2 SAMUEL
I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. (Hosea 13:11)
The books of 1 and 2 Samuel give us the origin of the kingdom. The two books of Samuel were classified as one in the Jewish canon. They are the first two of four books of Kings in the Latin Vulgate.
WRITER: The name of Samuel is identified with these two historical books, not because he was the writer primarily, but because his story occurs first and is so prominent. He anointed as king both Saul and David. Samuel is considered the author up to 1 Samuel 25 (his death). Nathan and Gad completed the writing (1 Chronicles 29:29 ASV).
FEATURES:
1. The rise of the kingdom.
2. The story of Hannah.
3. The story of little Samuel.
4. The story of David and Goliath.
5. The friendship of David and Jonathan.
6. King Saul’s visit to witch of Endor.
7. God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7.
8. David’s great sin — Bathsheba.
9. David’s rebellious son — Absalom.
THEME:
Prayer — 1 Samuel opens with prayer; 2 Samuel closes with prayer.
Kingdom — The change of the government from a theocracy to a kingdom; God’s covenant with David.
Prophet — The rise of the office of prophet, who became the messenger of God in place of the priest.
KEY VERSE: 1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
COMMENT: There is a striking contrast between the characters in the Book of Judges and those in the two books of Samuel. The men in Judges seem to be ordinary and average, while here the characters are outstanding and above the average. There are 6 who stand out in 1 Samuel. They are Hannah, Eli, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David. First Samuel is a transitional book from the era of the judges to the kingdom.
The kingdom foreshadows the coming millennial kingdom in some respects. There are certain profound global lessons for us in the setting up of the kingdom.
The world needs:
1. A king with power who exercises his power righteously;
2. A king who will be in full dependence upon God and who can be
trusted with power; and
3. A king who is in full obedience to God.
CHAPTERS AND VERSES WORTH REMEMBERING:
1 Samuel 15:22 — Samuel’s word about obedience
1 Samuel 25:29 — Abigail’s word about David’s relationship to God
2 Samuel 3:33 — Abner’s epitaph
2 Samuel 7 — God’s covenant with David (note the 7 “I willsâ€)
2 Samuel 18:33 — David’s grief over Absalom
2 Samuel 22 — Song of David (Psalm 18)
2 Samuel 24:24 — David’s rebuke against a cheap religion
1 SAMUEL
I. SAMUEL: God’s prophet, priest, and judge, Chapters 1 — 8
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 — This First Book of Samuel opens with a cry of a godly woman. While the people cry for a king, Hannah cries for a child. God builds the throne on a woman’s cry. When woman takes her exalted place, God builds her a throne.
Eli, the high priest, thinks Hannah is drunk as she prays before the tabernacle in Shiloh. When he discovers her true anxiety is for a child, he blesses her. Samuel is born to Hannah and she brings him to Eli in fulfillment of her vow.
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The Birth of Samuel
1Sa 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
Ramathaimzophim: This ancient town, now called Ramla, is, according to Phocas, about thirty-six miles west of Jerusalem, and, according to modern travellers, about nine miles from Joppa and a league from Lydda, between which it is situated. It is built on a rising ground, on a rich plain, and contains about two thousand families. 1Sa 1:19; Mat 27:57, Arimathea
1Sa 1:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
Vernon McGee: this scripture does not mean God approves on a man having two wives. This just means that it is recorded. God disapproved/disapproves of having more than one wife.
LifeWay Explore the Bible: Since Peninnah was the second wife (1:2), and since the text tells us that Elkanah, the husband of the two women, loved Hannah (v. 5), we can assume that Elkanah took Peninnah as a second wife only after a number of years of trying and failing to have a son by Hannah. In ancient Israel, people believed it was essential for every landowning man to father a son to whom he could pass the property. The land was considered to be inalienable from the family that owned it. If the family fell into debt and had to sell the land, it was to be returned to them free of charge in the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:25-28). If a man died without having fathered a son, it was the duty of a near relative, usually a brother of the deceased, to father a son by the man’s widow (Deut. 25:5-10). The child would be considered the son of the deceased man, and thus the property would continue to be held by his legal (albeit not biological) descendants. In light of these customs and laws, the taking of a second wife was not an indulgence or something done on a whim. For Elkanah, a son was an absolute necessity.
1Sa 1:3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
It will become more obvious as to why Samuel mentions the two sons of Eli here in this scripture.
yearly….Exodus 34:23 (KJV) Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
1Sa 1:4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
offered….Leviticus 7:15 (KJV) And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
1Sa 1:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
worthy portion: means he gave her “more” than the others….because he loved her more.
worthy portion…The Hebrew phrase, manah achath appayim…meaning “double portion.
1Sa 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
adversary: tsaw-raw’
Feminine of H6862; tightness (that is, figuratively trouble); transitively a female rival: – adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble.
provoked:kaw-as’
A primitive root; to trouble; by implication to grieve, rage, be indignant: – be angry, be grieved, take indignation, provoke (to anger, unto wrath), have sorrow, vex, be wroth.
Why does Samuel describe the other wife as her adversary? Probably because there were family problems within the family. Vernon McGee points out that God does not approve of two wives, so this man and family were having problems.
1Sa 1:7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
1Sa 1:8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
1Sa 1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
1Sa 1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
post: mez-oo-zaw’, mez-oo-zaw’
From the same as H2123; a door post (as prominent): – (door, side) post.
1Sa 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
vowed: naw-dar’
A primitive root; to promise (positively, to do or give something to God): – (make a) vow.
LifeWay Explore the Bible: Hannah promised that if God gave her a son, she would give him up to God so that he could perpetually be a Nazirite. In ancient Israel, any man could take a Nazirite vow. The rules for the Nazirites are found in Numbers 6:1-21 and Amos 2:11-12.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5: “When you make a vow to God, don’t delay ful lling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not ful ll it.â€
1Sa 1:12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
marked her mouth: shaw-mar’
A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc.: – beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man).
Eli marked her mouth. He was trying to read her lips. But her voice was quiet, she was moving her lips but not making any voice or noise.
1Sa 1:13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
Eli had seen other people there who had been drunk. This place wasn’t always the best place to be.
1Sa 1:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
wine: yah’-yin
From an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication: – banqueting, wine, wine [-bibber].
1Sa 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
my lord: ‘âdôn ‘âdôn
aw-done’, aw-done’
From an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, that is, controller (human or divine): – lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-â€.
1Sa 1:16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
handmaid: ‘âmâh
aw-maw’
Apparently a primitive word; a maidservant or female slave: – (hand-) bondmaid (-woman,) maid (-servant).
daughter of Belial: belı̂ya‛al
bel-e-yah’-al
without profit, worthlessness; by extension destruction, wickedness (often in connection with H376, H802, H1121, etc.): – Belial, evil, naughty, ungodly (men), wicked.
complaint: śı̂yach
see’-akh
From H7878; a contemplation; by implication an utterance: – babbling, communication, complaint, meditation, prayer, talk.
1Sa 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
the God of Israel: ‘Ä•lôhı̂ym
el-o-heem’
Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: – angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
1Sa 1:18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
1Sa 1:19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
worshipped: shâchâh
shaw-khaw’
A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): – bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.
1Sa 1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
Samuel: shemû’êl
shem-oo-ale’
heard of God; Shemuel, the name of three Israelites: – Samuel, Shemuel.
Vernon McGee: This book opens with a woman crying, and a nation crying for a King. God answers both.
Samuel Given to the Lord
1Sa 1:21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
offer: zâbach
zaw-bakh’
A primitive root; to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice): – kill, offer, (do) sacrifice, slay.
1Sa 1:22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.
the Lord: yehôvâh
yeh-ho-vaw’
From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: – Jehovah, the Lord.
1Sa 1:23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.
1Sa 1:24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.
three bullocks: The LXX, Syriac, and Arabic, read “a bullock of three years old;” which is probably correct, as we read (1Sa 1:25) that they sleweth happar, “the bullock.”
1Sa 1:25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
1Sa 1:26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.
1Sa 1:27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
1Sa 1:28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
She kept her vow to God. She brought him to the Lord.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 — Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving is prophetic, as she mentions the Messiah for the first time (v. 10).
Eli’s sons are evil and not fit for the priests’ office.
An unnamed prophet warns Eli that his line will be cut off as high priest and that God will raise up a faithful priest (v. 35). Notice verse 26 — spoken only of Samuel and Jesus.
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Hannah’s Prayer
1Sa 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
horn = strength. Something to hold on to!
1Sa 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
rock: in the old testament, God is frequently referenced as a rock.
1Sa 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
1Sa 2:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
1Sa 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
1Sa 2:6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
The whole thought here is that the Lord is the giver of life. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
1Sa 2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
1Sa 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.
1Sa 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
1Sa 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
anointed = The Hebrew word Messiah. This is the first mention of the word Messiah.
1Sa 2:11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.
LifeWay Explore the Bible: SUMMARIZE: Hannah shared her burden with the Lord. She acknowledged God when He answered her prayer, and she was faithful to her commitment to the Lord.
Eli’s Worthless Sons
1Sa 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
sons of Belial = sons of the devil, they were not saved.
1Sa 2:13 And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
1Sa 2:14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
1Sa 2:15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
1Sa 2:16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
1Sa 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
These two men were not offering the sacrifice to the Lord. They were keeping it.
1Sa 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
1Sa 2:19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
1Sa 2:20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.
1Sa 2:21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
Eli Rebukes His Sons
1Sa 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
1Sa 2:23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
1Sa 2:24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress.
1Sa 2:25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.
1Sa 2:26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 — The story of the call of Samuel as a prophet-priest is ordinarily reserved for children. It is not only for the junior, but for the senior. Bring it out of the nursery and into the adult department, for it is not only a beautiful story but marks one of the great transitional periods in Scripture — the change from theocracy to monarchy, from priest to king. God spoke to a king through prophets. Samuel was not a wee child. Josephus says he was 12 years old (2:18 gives the wrong impression). Solomon was a grown man when he prayed, “I am but a little child†(1 Kings 3:7). Jeremiah was called to prophetic office when he wrote, “I am a child†(Jeremiah 1:6).
There were a total of 4 calls to Samuel: first and second were the call of God to salvation (v. 7); the last 2 calls were to service (v. 10).
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 — Israel, without consulting Samuel, goes out to battle against the Philistines — which leads to defeat. Then they bring the ark of the covenant into battle, thinking its presence will bring victory. This reveals the superstitious paganism of the people who thought there was some merit in an object. The merit was in the presence and person of God.
Verse 5 reveals gross idolatry.
Verses 6 through 8 show that the Philistines were both superstitious and ignorant.
Verse 10 tells Israel’s defeat again. The ark is captured.
Verse 18 — The capture of the ark causes Eli to collapse and fall backward, breaking his neck (he was a fat man).
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 — The captured ark is placed in the house of Dagon, idol of the Philistines. The idol falls over and breaks. In fear, they send the ark to Gath where it is then transferred to Ekron.
1 Samuel 5
The Philistines and the Ark
1Sa 5:1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
1Sa 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
1Sa 5:3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
1Sa 5:4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
1Sa 5:5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
- When the arc of the covenent had been taken by the Philistines, they had placed it “into the house of Dagon”. Dagon was the Philistine God.
- The Lord “face-planted” Dagon first, then the next night, the Lord beheaded the Dagon symbol and also cut off it’s arm.
- See Exodus 25:10-22 for the description of the Arc of the Covenant.
- See Numbers 7:89
1Sa 5:6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
1Sa 5:7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
1Sa 5:8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
1Sa 5:9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
1Sa 5:10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
1Sa 5:11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
1Sa 5:12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
- The hand of God was heavy against the Philistines.
- If used in the proper manner, God’s GLORY can be awesome for us. If used in the improper manner, God’s GLORY can be bad, even hazardous to us.
- In the Old Testament, the Glory of God was represented by the Arc of the Covenant. In the New Testament, the Glory of God has moved into the HEART of the believer.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 — Philistines return the ark to Israel, carried on a cart, to the field of Joshua at Bethshemesh. The ark is transferred to Kirjath jearim.
The Ark Returned to Israel
1Sa 6:1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
1Sa 6:2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
1Sa 6:3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
1Sa 6:4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
1Sa 6:5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
1Sa 6:6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
1Sa 6:7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
1Sa 6:8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
1Sa 6:9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
1Sa 6:10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
1Sa 6:11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
1Sa 6:12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
1Sa 6:13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
1Sa 6:14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
1Sa 6:15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
1Sa 6:16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
- Notice the Jews did not take vengence upon the Philistines for taking the arc. In the New Testament, Paul tells us to not take vengence, and leave all vengence to God.
1Sa 6:16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
- The Philistines saw how the Jews worshipped God. We should also set a good example for others to follow.
1Sa 6:17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
1Sa 6:18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
1Sa 6:19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
1Sa 6:20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
1Sa 6:21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 — After 20 years Israel prepares to receive the ark. Israel turns from Baalim and Ashtaroth to serve the Lord (v. 4).
After Israel’s victory over the Philistines, Samuel sets up a stone at Ebenezer, which means “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.â€
Verses 15 through 17 give Samuel’s extensive ministry as prophet, priest, and judge.
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 — Hosea 13:11 can be written over the remainder of 1 Samuel:
I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my
wrath.
Samuel made the mistake of making his own sons judges to succeed him. They were wholly unworthy and incompetent (v. 3). Samuel was a failure as a father.
Israel demanded a king and rejected God and Samuel. Israel was influenced by surrounding nations.
Mark Dooley, 1 Samuel , Sunday School, Sunday June 26th, 2016.
Samuel was the last of the Judges. Hanna did something that we would think as odd. She couldn’t have children, she cried to God for a child, God gave her the child, then she gave the child to God. Later, Samuel became prophet and priest.
The request for a King, shows that the people do not trust God, they wanted an earthly King, a protector. This was prophesized earlier in the Old Testament. Deut 17, 14-20.
Deut 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Deu 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.The people wanted a King, one of the reason was because they did NOT want Samuel’s two wicked sons to rule Israel.
Israel Demands a King
1Sa 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
1Sa 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
Both of Samuel’s sons names were significant. Both names were in reference to God, Jehova.
1Sa 8:3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
1Sa 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
1Sa 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1Sa 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
The people rejected God, not Samuel. Think about that! However, we too reject God, just like Israre’s people did. Everytime we sin we reject God. We are no different. We are the rejector!
Slipping away from God is “gradual”, not immediate. One day we sleep in instead of going to church, or one day we don’t say prayers or have a quiet time. Eventually, things start to slip more and more, it make takes years, little by little. That is the nature of slipping. That is why we as a church body need to be concerned about each other. The bible says bear each others burdeons. There is noone who is exempt. Anyone can slip away. So, stay in the Word, stay close to the fellowship.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
Samuel’s Warning Against Kings
1Sa 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
1Sa 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
1Sa 8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
1Sa 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
1Sa 8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
1Sa 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
1Sa 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
Samuel outlines what having a king will mean to the nation. It’s not going to be pretty, but if you want a kind, it’s going to happen.
The Lord Grants Israel’s Request
1Sa 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
1Sa 8:20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
Verse 20, there’s the REAL reason they want a king. “Then we will be like other nations.” At this time, remember, all the other nations were idolatrous.
1Sa 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
1Sa 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
1 Timothy chapter 2: 1-4 1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Our Ultimate King is God. BUT, we are called to pray for our leaders. Could it be that sometimes our leaders do NOT make good decisions, because we are not praying for our leaders like the bible has commanded us to do? Are we reaping what we are sowing because we have not followed God’s Word?
II. SAUL: Satan’s man, Chapters 9 — 15
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 — The people chose Saul. He looked like a king (v. 2). God granted their request but sent leanness to their souls (v. 17). Is Saul (v. 21) genuinely humble?
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 — Samuel anoints Saul king (v. 1). Was Saul (v. 6) converted? This verse is not the final proof. The Spirit of God came upon Balaam also, but he was not converted. Succeeding events in Saul’s life indicate that he was not. Verse 9 does not mean he had a new heart, only another heart. God equipped him for the office of king.
The reception of Saul as king was their rejection of God (v. 19). Saul’s conduct (v. 22) is evidence of a false modesty. Verse 25 gives the message of 1 Samuel.
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 — Saul began well, as he gained a victory over the Ammonites at Jabesh-gilead. All Israel accepted Saul as king (v. 15).
Chapter 12
Chapter 12 — Samuel transfers all authority to Saul and turns in his report as judge over Israel. Verse 3 is Samuel’s autobiography — he was a remarkable man. Although Saul was Israel’s choice (v. 13), God would still bless if the people would obey (v. 14). The people begin to see and acknowledge their mistake (v. 19). Verse 22 is the revelation of the marvelous grace of God.
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 — The real nature of Saul begins to show. His son Jonathan got the victory at Michmash, but Saul blew the trumpet and took credit for it (vs. 3, 4). In presumption Saul intrudes into the priest’s office (vs. 8-10). Samuel rebukes and rejects Saul (vs. 13, 14). The disarmament of Israel is revealed (vs. 19, 22).
Samuel Chapter 13
Saul Fights the Philistines
1Sa 13:1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
1Sa 13:2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
1Sa 13:3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
1Sa 13:4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
1Sa 13:5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
1Sa 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
1Sa 13:7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
1Sa 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
1Sa 13:10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
1Sa 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
1Sa 13:12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
1Sa 13:15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
1Sa 13:16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
1Sa 13:17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
1Sa 13:18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
1Sa 13:19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
1Sa 13:20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
1Sa 13:21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
1Sa 13:22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
1Sa 13:23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Mishmash.
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 — Again Jonathan gains a victory, but Saul takes credit for it (vs. 14, 15). “Saul took credit for victory…modesty gone now†(Young). Saul’s jealousy is revealed (vs. 37-45). He actually would destroy his son if he stood in the way.
1 Samuel 14
Jonathan Defeats the Philistines
1Sa 14:1 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.
1Sa 14:2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
1Sa 14:3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
1Sa 14:4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
1Sa 14:5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
1Sa 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.
1Sa 14:7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
1Sa 14:8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.
1Sa 14:9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
1Sa 14:10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
1Sa 14:11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
1Sa 14:12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
1Sa 14:13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.
1Sa 14:14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
1Sa 14:15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
1Sa 14:16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
1Sa 14:17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there.
1Sa 14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
1Sa 14:19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
1Sa 14:20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
1Sa 14:21 Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
1Sa 14:22 Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
1Sa 14:23 So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.
Saul’s Rash Vow
1Sa 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
1Sa 14:25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
1Sa 14:26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
1Sa 14:27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
1Sa 14:28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
1Sa 14:29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
my eyes have been enlightened: see how bright my eyes are now that I have had a little bit of this honey. Or see how much better I feel now that I have had a little of this honey.
1Sa 14:30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
1Sa 14:31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint.
1Sa 14:32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.
did eat them with the blood: they were starving, and when the oath was over, they quickly ate the food without doing the normal jewish routine that was normally performed.
1Sa 14:33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.
1Sa 14:34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
1Sa 14:35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.
1Sa 14:36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
1Sa 14:37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
1Sa 14:38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
1Sa 14:39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
1Sa 14:40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
1Sa 14:41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
1Sa 14:42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
1Sa 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
1Sa 14:44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
1Sa 14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
1Sa 14:46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.
Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies
1Sa 14:47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
1Sa 14:48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.
1Sa 14:49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
1Sa 14:50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
1Sa 14:51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
1Sa 14:52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
Chapter 15
Chapter 15 — Saul’s glaring rebellion is revealed in his disobedience regarding Agag. He wants to cover up his sin before the people (v. 30). Saul is rejected now as king with no hope of recovery (v. 35). Samuel loved Saul for he mourned for him. Was he Samuel’s choice? A great spiritual principle is enunciated by Samuel (vs. 22, 23).
God has given Saul an opportunity to make good after his first failure, but he failed the second time. This is God’s method all the way through Scripture (cf. Jacob, Jonah, Peter, Mark, etc.). God did not need to wait for the result — He already knew. However, the individual needed to know, and we need to know (Psalm 51:4; Romans 3:19; Revelation 15:3). We shall be tested, and we need the help of the Holy Spirit (James 1:12).
Why the extreme surgery in slaying the Amalekites and Agag? Move ahead about 500 years. Haman was an Agagite (Esther 3:1). God was protecting multitudes of the future, as He did at the Flood.
1 Samuel Chapter 15
The Lord Rejects Saul
1Sa 15:1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
1Sa 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
1Sa 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
1Sa 15:4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
1Sa 15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
1Sa 15:6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
1Sa 15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1Sa 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
1Sa 15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
1Sa 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
1Sa 15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
1Sa 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
1Sa 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
1Sa 15:15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
1Sa 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
1Sa 15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
1Sa 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
1Sa 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
1Sa 15:25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
1Sa 15:26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
1Sa 15:27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
1Sa 15:28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
1Sa 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
1Sa 15:30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
1Sa 15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
1Sa 15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
1Sa 15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
1Sa 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
III. DAVID: Gods man, and SAUL: Satans man, Chapters 16 — 31
Chapter 16
Chapter 16 = God chooses David as king to succeed Saul and sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint him as king. Another great principle is enunciated (v. 7). This is Gods method of choosing men for a particular office and task. Because Saul is forsaken of God (v. 14), David is brought into court to play upon his harp to soothe the evil spir- it of Saul.
David Anointed King
1Sa 16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
1Sa 16:2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
1Sa 16:3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
1Sa 16:4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
Prophets so often brought bad news with them, messages of doom and judgment, and people preferred not to see them at all. When Elijah turned up at the court of Ahab, he received the greeting, “Is that you, you destroyer of Israel?†(1 Kings 18:17). Also, remember that Samuel was a Judge over Isreael, not just a prophet.
1Sa 16:5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
1Sa 16:6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.”
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1Sa 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1Sa 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1Sa 16:10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”
1Sa 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
1Sa 16:12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
ruddy = glowing, healthy, redish. Esau was also ruddy.
The main point here is this….”GOD” selected David, not Samuel. Samuel was merely an agent being used by God to identify the next King.
1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David = supernatural evidence of God’s will being accomplished.
In earlier times, the Spirit came upon various judges, including Othniel (Judg. 3:10), Gideon (Judg. 6:34), Jephthah (Judg. 11:29), and Samson (Judg. 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14). In every case, the Spirit enabled the judge to overcome his enemies or some immediate danger.
Apart from Saul and David, the Bible never says that the Spirit came upon any king of Israel or Judah. In other places in the historical narrative, the Spirit of God comes upon prophets (1 Kings 18:12; 2 Kings 2:16; 2 Chron. 15:1; 20:13-15; 24:20).
David in Saul’s Service
1Sa 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.
Immediately after Samuel anointed David and the Spirit came upon him, the Spirit abandoned Saul (see 1 Sam. 16:14). Later, however, Saul prophesied again by the power of the Spirit (19:23). David, after his sin involving Bathsheba, was fearful that God would take away His Spirit (Ps. 51:11). us, it appears that the Spirit could come and go in the lives of kings. is is analogous to what we see in Samson, whom the Lord abandoned (Judg. 16:20), but later strengthened (Judg. 16:28-30).
In the New Testament, the Spirit dwells within believers primarily for their sanctification (Rom. 8; 1 Cor. 6:18-20; Gal. 5:22). Even the gifts of the Spirit are primarily for the edification of the church, and they were given to all rather than to a select few (1 Cor. 12:8-13). Paul indicated that believers can grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30), but he does not say that the Spirit might abandon us.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you.
1Sa 16:16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.”
1Sa 16:17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
1Sa 16:18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.”
Not a coincidence. God had things in control and was accomplishing his ultimate will. David is now in the throne room where he will learn, and the people will learn about David.
1Sa 16:19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
1Sa 16:20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul.
1Sa 16:21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
1Sa 16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.”
1Sa 16:23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
Chapter 17
Chapter 17 — This chapter contains the familiar episode of David slaying Goliath with a slingshot. Why did David take 5 smooth stones to slay Goliath (v. 40)? Did he expect to miss? No, Goliath had 4 sons, and David expected them to come out also. In fact, he did slay them (2 Samuel 21:22); David did not expect to miss (Judges 20:16).
David and Goliath
1Sa 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
1Sa 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
1Sa 17:3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
1Sa 17:4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1Sa 17:5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
1Sa 17:6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
1Sa 17:7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
1Sa 17:8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
1Sa 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
1Sa 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
1Sa 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1Sa 17:12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.
1Sa 17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
1Sa 17:14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,
1Sa 17:15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
1Sa 17:16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
1Sa 17:17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
1Sa 17:18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
1Sa 17:19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
1Sa 17:20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
1Sa 17:21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
1Sa 17:22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
1Sa 17:23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
1Sa 17:24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
1Sa 17:25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
1Sa 17:26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
1Sa 17:27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
1Sa 17:28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
1Sa 17:29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
1Sa 17:30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
1Sa 17:31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.
1Sa 17:32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
1Sa 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
1Sa 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
1Sa 17:35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
1Sa 17:36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
1Sa 17:37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
David had learned that God would use David’s life experiences to help deliver him from the Philistine. Also, David knew that Samuel had anointed him as the future King of Israel. David knew that God had plans for him, and David knew that God is in control of all.
1Sa 17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
1Sa 17:39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
1Sa 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
1Sa 17:42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
1Sa 17:43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
1Sa 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
1Sa 17:47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
1Sa 17:48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.
1Sa 17:51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
1Sa 17:52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
1Sa 17:53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
1Sa 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
1Sa 17:55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
1Sa 17:56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.”
1Sa 17:57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
1Sa 17:58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 — David and Jonathan become fast friends, and they make a covenant for life. Saul becomes jealous of David because of the people’s applause (vs. 8, 9) and twice attempts to slay him. David becomes the favorite of the people (v. 16). Saul gives his daughter Michal to David as wife in order to trap David.
Chapter19
Chapter 19 — Saul openly attempts to have David slain; he personally attempts to slay him with a javelin as David plays upon his harp (vs. 9, 10). David escapes and becomes as a hunted animal.
Chapter 20
Chapter 20 — Jonathan proves his love for David by protecting him (vs. 16, 17). Jonathan communicates with David the intentions of Saul by means of the shooting of arrows. Saul determines to kill David,
and David flees.
Chapter 21
Chapter 21 — David flees to Ahimelech the priest and feeds his young men with the showbread from the holy place. Then David flees to Achish, king of Gath, in Philistine country.
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 — David begins to gather his mighty men. Those who came to him were in dire need — in distress, in debt, and discontented. David is hunted as a criminal. Saul slays Ahimelech and the other priests for helping David (vs. 16-23).
David at the Cave of Adullam
1Sa 22:1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
1Sa 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
1Sa 22:3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
Moab: Saul was fighting with the Moabites. David took his parents to Moab because David’s grandmother was RUTH, who was in Moab.
1Sa 22:4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
1Sa 22:5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
Saul Kills the Priests at Nob
1Sa 22:6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)
1Sa 22:7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
1Sa 22:8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
Saul is whining here; he is having a pity-party. But notice, David also has pity-parties. But the difference is quite noticable. When Saul whines, he takes it out on his people. But when David has a pity-party, he cries out to the Lord. Just read the Psalms, you will see how differently David reacts and how Saul reacts. See Psalm 34 and 57.
1Sa 22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
1Sa 22:10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
1Sa 22:11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
1Sa 22:12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
1Sa 22:13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
1Sa 22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?
1Sa 22:15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.
1Sa 22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.
1Sa 22:17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.
1Sa 22:18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
This priest was a grandson of Eli. Remember in 1 Samuel 4, it was prophesized that Eli and his family line would be removed.
1Sa 22:19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
1Sa 22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
1Sa 22:21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests.
1Sa 22:22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.
1Sa 22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
Chapter 23
Chapter 23 — David continues to flee with 600 men (v. 13). Jonathan contacts David and recognizes that David will be the next king (vs. 16, 17). Jonathan is a great man, and his attitude and action remind us of John the Baptist.
Chapter 24
Chapter 24 — David spares Saul’s life at Engedi because he honors his office, not the man (v. 6).
Chapter 25
Chapter 25 — Death of Samuel in his retirement. David encoun- ters Nabal and Abigail. David in anger is prevented from the rash act of murdering Nabal and his servants by the presence and diplomacy of Abigail, Nabal’s beautiful wife. Nabal dies after a night of drunkenness, and David takes Abigail as wife. She was a good influence in the life of David (vs. 29, 32-34).
Chapter 26
Chapter 26 — David again spares Saul in the wilderness of Ziph. Note the contrast between Saul and David. Obviously, Saul knows that David is God’s choice, but he seeks to slay him (v. 25). David recognizes that Saul is the anointed king, and he spares him. God must deal with Saul (vs. 9-11). Is David being sarcastic with Abner (v. 15)?
Chapter 27
Chapter 27 — David in fear retreats to Philistia (v. 1). Achish of Gath gives David and his men the city of Ziklag.
Chapter 28
Chapter 28 — Saul’s interview with the witch of Endor poses and provokes many questions. The primary one relates to Samuel. Did she bring Samuel back from the dead? If so, this is the only instance in Scripture. Scripture positively condemns such practices of necromancy (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). The New Testament account of Lazarus and a rich man indicates there can be no return (Luke 16:19-31). Paul was silenced about his experience of being caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Scripture warns of these practices and predicts a future outbreak (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; Revelation 16:13, 14).
Saul was abandoned of God (vs. 6, 15). Because heaven was silent, Saul turned to hell. We maintain that Samuel did not appear. There are 2 possible explanations: (1) It was a fraud, the witch was a ventriloquist (this is the position of G. Campbell Morgan); (2) an overweening desire to communicate with dead loved ones makes people victims of deceit. We believe a false spirit appeared — not Samuel. Even the witch was deceived and frightened (vs. 12-15). The false spirit communicated nothing that was not previously revealed.
Chapter 29
Chapter 29 — The Philistines do not trust David to fight against Israel.
Chapter 30
Chapter 30 — David fights against the Amalekites because of destruction of Ziklag. Note David’s refuge (v. 6).
Chapter 31
Chapter 31 — Saul, mortally wounded in battle, tries to commit suicide. See 2 Samuel, chapter 1, for the answer to the question: “Who killed King Saul?â€
Saul failed in ruling God’s property.
The end is self-destruction.
God and His authority are rejected.
Saul spared the Amalekites; Saul was killed by Amalekites.
OUTLINE:
I. SAMUEL: God’s prophet, priest, and judge, Chapters 1 — 8
A. Birth of Samuel, Chapters 1, 2
1. Hannah’s prayer and answer, 1
2. Hannah’s prophetic prayer; boy Samuel in temple, 2
B. Call of Samuel, Chapter 3
C. Lastjudgeandfirstprophet(propheticoffice),Chapters4—8
1. Ark captured by Philistines; Word of God to Samuel fulfilled;
Eli dies and his sons slain, 4
2. God judged Philistines because of the ark; ark returned to
Bethshemesh, 5, 6
3. Samuel leads in revival (put away idols and turn to Jehovah);
victory at Ebenezer, 7
4. Israel rejects God and demands a king; Samuel warns
nation but promises a king, 8
II. SAUL: Satan’s man, Chapters 9 — 15
A. Saul received, Chapters 9, 10 1. Saul chosen as king, 9
2. Saul anointed as king, 10
B. Saul reigning, Chapters 11, 12
1. Saul’s victory over Ammonites, 11
2. Transfer of authority from Samuel to Saul, 12
C. Saul rejected, Chapters 13 — 15
1. Saul’s rebellion against God, 13
2. Jonathan responsible for victory over Philistines; Saul
took credit, 14
3. Saul’s glaring rebellion and disobedience regarding
Agag, 15
III. DAVID: God’s man, and SAUL: Satan’s man, Chapters 16 — 31
A. David anointed, Chapter 16
B. Davidtrained,Chapters17,18
1. David slays Goliath, giant of Gath, 17
2. JonathanandDavidmakecovenant;Saulgivesdaughter
Michal to David, 18
C. David disciplined, Chapters 19 — 30
1. Saul attempts to kill David again, 19
2. Jonathan helps David escape, 20
3. David escapes to Nob and Gath, 21
4. David gathers his men; Saul slays priests of God, 22
5. David fights Philistines; Saul pursues David; Jonathan
and David make covenant, 23
6. David spares Saul’s life at En-gedi, 24
7. Samuel dies; David and Abigail, 25
8. David again spares Saul’s life in wilderness of Ziph, 26
9. David retreats to land of Philistia (Ziklag), 27
10. Saul goes to witch of Endor, 28
11. Philistines do not trust David in battle, 29
12. David fights Amalekites because of destruction of
Ziklag, 30
D. Saul, mortally wounded in battle, commits suicide,
Chapter 31