And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2.52
Samuel was conceived in response to a prayer of a childless woman: And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head." 1 Samuel 1.10-11
The books by Samuel's name record the history of the first 2 kings of Israel, Saul and David, whom he anoints. The first King, Saul, is a King according to the preference of men, while David is the King according to the preference of God. The latter king is the beginning of a lineage from which the king of kings would come, Jesus Christ.
Samuel is the first or establisher of a school of prophets who would write the history that is contained in the books we call First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, and First and Second Chronicles: when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing [as] leader over them 1 Sam 19.20; Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they [are] written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands. 1 Chron 29.29
The Divine authority of Samuel-Kings-Chronicles is in that they were written by the prophets. They were probably collections of writings by the prophets and compiled by a prophet.
First Samuel is transitional from the Judges stage to the Monarchical stage. Samuel is the last official judge of Israel. His judgeship overlaps the reign of Saul as first king.
We learn that Samuel functioned as a priest, Samuel ministered before the Lord, [even] [as] a child, wearing a linen ephod.1 Sam 2.18.
He grew in favor with God and man, And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men. 1 Samuel 2.26 (The same was said of Christ.)
He was established as a prophet, and the Lord revealed himself to Samuel: And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel [had] [been] established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. 1 Sam 3.20-4.1.
Samuel served as a judge to Israel, to lead them in obedience to God and deliver them from their enemies: Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, [then] put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. And Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you." So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured [it] out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. ... 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 1 Samuel 7.3-12, 15
Like Eli, Samuel failed to be a good father: 1 Sam 8.3. One reason the people wanted a king is because Samuel’s sons were evil, whom he made judges: Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. ... But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." 1 Sam 8.1-5. ( Note: Could it be that if the judges are like the apostles, a limited number were official by Divine appointment or will, while the title had a more general application for others?)
Samuel 1 is a history of transition from the last judge, Samuel, to the monarchy. Saul was first official king. (362 years pass from entrance into the land under Joshua to first King Saul.) Samuel 2 is the history of David as king. Kings 1 and 2 are the reigns of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity, from the end of a single kingdom under one king to a divided kingdom of North and South followed by captivity and displacement. Chronicles 1 and 2 are the same periods of Samuel and kings, but with brevity and different perspective.
Samuel and Kings are written from a moral and prophetic perspective, centering on the history of Israel and their Kings; it is the political history of Israel and Judah, while Chronicles, covering roughly the same periods of Samuel through Kings, covers a spiritual and priestly perspective, with emphasis on the Temple; it gives the religious history of Judah. Little history of Saul is found in Chronicles, while much of David’s history is, yet no reference is made to the events of David's sin involving Uriah and the family problems that follow.
SAUL - "Make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel ... So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 8.5-7
[There] [was] not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward [he] [was] taller than any of the people. 1 Samuel 9.2
Saul was "anointed" king: Samuel took a flask of oil and poured [it] on his head, and kissed him and said: "[Is] [it] not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? 1 Samuel 10.1
“Anointed” is the Hebrew word from which we get “Messiah.” The idea is that he is the Lord’s anointed one.
This was a ritual anointing, but the real anointing is with the Spirit of God, to enable the King in his service under God to lead the people.
"Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs come to you, [that] you do as the occasion demands; for God [is] with you. You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings [and] make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do." So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 10.6-10.
SAUL’s FALL: Saul’s first disobedience as king came in an ominous confrontation between Israel and the Philistines: he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering. 1 Sam 13.8-9.
Saul took upon himself the role of a priest, contrary to the law of God. This act reveals a lack of the fear of God, taking seriously His commands.
Samuel: You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue.... 13.13
The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him [to] [be] commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 13.14
Of course, these words set forth the difference between Saul and David.
The second disobedience is Saul's failure to fulfill the command of God to destroy all the Amalekites and all their livestock: He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all [that] [was] good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. 1 Samuel 15.8-9,
God: "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul [as] king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." 15.11a
And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. 15.11b
Samuel: "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?" 15.19
Saul: "But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." 15.20-21
Samuel: "Has 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 heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is] [as] the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness [is] [as] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from [being] king." 15.22-23
Saul: "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord." 15.24-25
Samuel: "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel." 15.26
And as Samuel turned around to go away, [Saul] seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 15.27
Samuel: "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, [who] [is] better than you." 15.28
Keil and D commentary writes:
By saying this, Samuel did not reject sacrifices as worthless; he did not say that God took no pleasure in burnt-offerings and slain-offerings, but simply compared sacrifice with obedience to the command of God, and pronounced the latter of greater worth than the former. “It was as much as to say that the sum and substance of divine worship consisted in obedience, with which it should always begin, and that sacrifices were, so to speak, simple appendices, the force and worth of which were not so great as of obedience to the precepts of God” (Calvin). But it necessarily follows that sacrifices without obedience to the commandments of God are utterly worthless; in fact, are displeasing to God,
What would you put here as the “sacrifice” for today from our Christian perspective?
In Christianity today, do we see the violation of this truth?
Isn't it the attitude or approach that seeks to do what suits one's self or seems reasonable or logical?
People establish ministries that are in service to God, yet are they obedient in doing God’s revealed will?
There are areas in which people disobey God’s moral will and yet continue in a form of Christianity. For example, the movement to approve homosexuality and the increasing role of women in Church leadership.
Knowing and obeying God’s will is more important than maintaining the form or ritual.
Don’t think God is appeased just by fulfilling the ritual or form of religion.
God is pleased with the one who treasures His word and aligns himself with it.
For rebellion [ is ] [as] the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness [ is ] [as] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from [being] king." 1 Samuel 15.23
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me. Hosea 4.6
Keil and D commentary:
Opposition to God is compared by Samuel to soothsaying and oracles, because idolatry was manifested in both of them. All conscious disobedience is actually idolatry, because it makes self-will, the human I, into a god. So that all manifest opposition to the word and commandment of God is, like idolatry, a rejection ofthe true God.
In service to God, one should seek to bring all things in alignment with God’s will as we have it in Scripture.
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