PPic: Oberon Golf Course - Links Pro Am 2006

PGA Chaplain Bible Studies

An Overview of the bible - Study 1: 1 and 2 Samuel

1 and 2 Samuel represent an important transition in the nation of Israel. Israel move from the unstable period of the judges where “everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes” to the establishment of a divine monarchy where God takes the initiative after the nation’s misguided request for a king.

The books derive their name from Samuel who is Israel’s last judge and first prophet. A prophet’s main role is to bring the word of the Lord; to Kings, Priests and the nation. 1 Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel that comes from the earnest prayer of the barren Hannah at Shiloh, the place for worship. There are similarities between the barren Hannah with Sarah, Rebecca and Rachael of patriarchal times. God is doing something new. Samuel, Hannah’s son is set apart to serve God at the place of worship. When he grows up, he will take over as Priest from the corrupt Eli and his sons. Samuel is both a Priest and a Prophet to Israel.

Hannah’s prayer in Chapter 2:1-10 where she goes from poverty to prosperity in a way prefigures the good fortunes that are to come to the nation.

Chapters 5 and 6 include the capture of the ark by the Philistines and its removal to Ashod where they encounter problems in their temple. It seems that God had deserted Israel and is punishing the Philistines. The Philistines return the Ark to Israel in Chapter 6 to an Israelite family. But again because of restrictions with the Ark 70 died looking inside; and they in turn passed it on to the Levites who were called to look after the Ark. In Ch 8 we have Samuel reaching old age and none of his sons walking with God. The nation asks Samuel to appoint a king like the other nations. (See Ch 8: v 1 to 22). This proves to be a big error.

Saul is anointed (where the word Messiah comes from that will be important from now on) King and God’s Spirit comes mightily upon him, but his reign is doomed to failure because; first his rule will be harsh and second Israel wanted to be like the other nations of the world. This is in stark contrast to God’s hopes for the nation where they would be different to the other nations with God as their leader. (See Exodus Ch 19:3-6 for eg). In Chapters 9 through to Chapter 15 Saul’s reign as King is promoted and he has some success in defeating their enemies. On two occasions though (Ch 13 and 15) Saul disappoints Samuel by first not waiting for Samuel before offering a sacrifice (See Ch 10:verse 8) and for keeping alive some animals of the Amalekites (See Ch 15:1-9). This was the last straw and the rejection of his leadership.

Samuel and Saul show the interesting relationship that will exist between a Prophet and King. The Prophet is always in the dominant role from God’s point of view. (See Ch 12).
The time has come for God to establish his choice as ruler, Ch 16. David is the youngest of a family of 8 sons and was not even considered, but again it shows how differently God thinks to us, (see verse 7). From the moment David is anointed as King, an evil spirit comes upon Saul and torments him all the days of his life. David’s great victory over Goliath in 1 Samuel Ch 17 raises him to great prominence in the nation, yet he is unwilling to become King when Saul is still alive. Saul becomes jealous of David (See 1 Samuel Ch 18: verse7) and seeks to kill him. In the meantime David is developing a special friendship with Saul’s son Jonathon and marrying Saul’s daughter Michal. Even though Saul is out to kill David, it is David who spares his life when he could kill him (See Ch 24 and 26). Saul’s eventual death at the end of 1 Samuel in Ch 31means David is anointed King over the whole nation.

As David gains power and influence throughout the nation, Jerusalem becomes the central city where his rule is established. In 2 Samuel Chapter 6 the Ark is brought to Jerusalem. David accomplishes something that has never been achieved before, his military victories means peace in the land from their enemies with a united Israel with one leader.

It is in this setting that David seeks to build a permanent place for the Ark, for God’s presence among them. In 2 Samuel Ch 7 we have God’s answer and while David is not permitted to build a house of worship, God gives David a promise of enormous significance for understanding the bible. God’s promise is that he will establish David’s rule forever, continuing on through his sons. This relationship with God will be like a father (God) and Son (King).See Ch 7:5 -16. This promise becomes foundational for the future history of the nation and how Jesus comes as the Son of David to be our King.
After a couple of chapters that describe some of David’s other military victories, we reach the end of the ideal description of David’s reign.

In 2 Samuel chapters 11 through to the end of 2 Samuel in Ch 24 we have a very different view of David. What begins in adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah ends up with a divided family all seeking power.  (See 2 Samuel Ch 12:7 to 12). This starts with Absalom seeking to take over as king and David is forced to run away in Chapter 16. He only returns to Jerusalem after a number of his sons have been killed. So David spends much of his early life running away from Saul and then later running away from his sons. 2 Samuel ends on a tragic note with the counting of his army and the punishment that resulted in 70,000 men dying.

David’s army was mighty and so was he, but in the end it is God who is King, something he learned when he was a boy, but had forgotten. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel are an important transition to an established nation, with God as King and his representative. We also begin a new movement with the prophets who speaks the word of God and many of the rest of the books of the Old Testament are named after Prophets.
David is similar in many ways to Abraham and Moses. They were great leaders God appointed, who loved and served God; yet had many weaknesses. Nevertheless they were the leaders God used to fulfil his promises along with Hannah where the books of Samuel begin. The small book of Ruth (named after a Moabite and foreigner like Rahab) from the Judges era is another example of God using women in desperate circumstances that contribute to the bigger picture of God’s way of life that lead us to David.

Next Study – 1 Kings Chapters 1 to 11.

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