A Sinful King and a Steadfast God
1 Samuel 15:1-35
A Sinful King and a steadfast god
1 Samuel 15:1:35
Main Idea: God is faithful to his promises even when we are unfaithful to his commands.
I. A Sinful People (15:1-3)
Misconception: God is a moral monster
Correction: God is a just judge
1 Samuel 15:2: Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.”
Exodus 17:14-17: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”
To modern ears, this sounds alarmingly like ethnic cleansing. But this is ethical cleansing rather than ethnic cleansing. This is an act of judgment against sin. Destruction will come to the Amalekites not because they are Amalekites, but because they are sinners. In a sense, this should alarm us. Not because it is unfair, but because it is fair; and because while we are not Amalekites, we are sinners. Their destruction is a picture of what humanity deserves, and faces, from God. When judgment comes, nothing—nothing—is left.
-Tim Chester
Exodus 34:6-7: The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Genesis 4:7a: …sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.
-John Owen
II. A Sinister King (15:4-31)
Misconception: God is arbitrary and fickle
Correction: God is unchanging and steadfast
1 Samuel 15:6: Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
1 Samuel 15:7-9: And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
1 Samuel 15:10-11: The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.
Frequently the first step, upon hearing such a text, is to wax theological and ask how God could be so grieved over something he, if he’s God, must have known would happen. The next step is to introduce the term anthropomorphism (attributing human forms or characteristics to God) or anthropopathism (attributing human feelings to God) in order to indicate that sometimes the Bible must use the grammar of humanity to communicate the truth about deity, that sometimes Scripture stoops to use human categories to tell the truth about a God far beyond all our categories. That is all right, but there is a danger that we will dismiss the matter there and not go back to the text!
-Dale Ralph Davis
We so focus on the form in which the truth comes that we neglect the truth that comes. Did we really hear the parallel clause in Genesis 6:6, “and his heart was filled with pain” (NIV), and sense the intensity of divine sorrow over human sin? And ought not verse 11 of the present chapter move us beyond the problem of anthropomorphisms? “I am sorry that I made Saul king, because he has turned back from following me....” It is a tragedy when Saul refuses to be Yahweh’s disciple; it grieves Yahweh. He is not a “you win some, you lose some” god. Nonchalance is never listed as an attribute of the true God. Verse 11 does not intend to suggest Yahweh’s fickleness of purpose but his sorrow over sin; it does not depict Yahweh flustered over lack of foresight but Yahweh grieved over lack of obedience…We need to know that the God of the Bible is no cold slab of concrete impervious to our carefully defended apostasies.
-Dale Ralph Davis
III. A Sorrow-Filled Prophet
Misconception: God is vengeful
Correction: God is true, good, and beautiful
1 Samuel 15:32-33: Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
Kingdom Lost (Part II)
1 Samuel 14:24-52
Kingdom Lost (part II)
1 Samuel 14:24-52
Main Idea: The Lord desires a humble heart of faithfulness more than empty religiosity and worldly success.
I. Bright Eyes and Empty Bellies (14:24-35)
Even though “the Lord saved Israel that day” (14:23), the men of Israel were “hard pressed” (14:24a; cf. 13:6) because of a fasting oath laid upon them by King Saul. His motivation is selfishly related to the vindication of his own name (14:24b) rather than a concern for the Lord and His people.
As the people fight hard for Saul, they come upon a forest dripping with honey; Jonathan, unaware of the oath, eats some of the honey and his eyes become “bright” (invigorated & refreshed). While the people are “faint,” Jonathan sees the foolishness of Saul’s oath; he has forbidden a good thing provided by the Lord, ruining the spoils of a great victory (14:30).
Saul’s foolish man-made commandment ends up causing the people to break God’s clear commandment, as they “pounce” and eat meat with blood (cf. Lev. 17:10-13, Matt. 15:3). Ultimately, Saul is acting as a legalist, driven by his own fear and insecurities to use external religiosity to manipulate and curry God’s favor.
Works righteousness or legalism [is the] subtle proclivity to seek to leverage Christ’s favor with our behavior… There is an entire psychological substructure that, due to the fall, is a near-constant manufacturing of relational leveraging, fear-stuffing, nervousness, score-keeping, neurotic-controlling, anxiety-festering silliness that is not something we say or even think so much as something we exhale. And if you trace this fountain of scurrying haste, in all its various manifestations, down to the root… you find gospel deficit. You find a lack of felt awareness of Christ’s heart.
~ Dane Ortlund, Gentle & Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners & Sufferers
II. Silly Vows and Silent Responses (14:36-46)
Though Saul has just built an altar to the Lord, he forgets about him moments later. The priest urges Saul to “draw near to God” in prayer before another attack, but “the Lord did not answer him that day” (cf. 8:18). The silence of the Lord is compounded by the silence of the people (14:39).
Saul suspects that his son Johathan has played a role in this situation, but he doubles down on his man-made oath. After Jonathan is “taken” by lot, Saul takes up the role of a prophet (cf. 13:11), willing to shed the blood of his own son who freely “confesses” his actions.
Jonathan’s conscience is unburdened and free because of his genuine faith in God, while Saul acts in wickedness, choosing himself and his foolish vow over his faithful son. The people courageously swear an oath of their own before the Lord and “ransom” Jonathan, knowing that he is the one who truly “worked with God this day.”
III. History’s Accounting and God’s Assessment (14:47-52)
This summary of Saul’s kingship seems to be positive, though it fulfills Samuel’s warnings (cf. 8:11) and hints that his kingship is coming to an end.
History’s judgment is that external human calculation of a person’s life and work. It’s what folks can observe. By such a standard, Saul had made his mark and made it well… But [history’s judgment] does not have the decisive verdict… The vital assessment cannot come from the applause of men within history but only from the God who reigns over history. What matters then is not success (whether political or military) but covenant. Yahweh is not looking for winners but for disciples. And for the Bible, covenant obedience matters far more than vocational achievement… We have then these two estimates of Saul, the historical and the covenantal. Both are true... But only one matters.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
1 Samuel 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.”
Mark 8:34-37: And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Kingdom Lost (Part I)
1 Samuel 13:1-14:23
Kingdom Lost (part 1)
1 Samuel 13:1-14:23
Main Idea: True faith in God patiently trusts in his Word, no matter our circumstances.
I. The Folly of the King (13:1-22)
As Saul officially begins his reign over the people of Israel, trouble is immediately brewing:
Jonathan’s action provokes the Philistines to muster up a great show of force that surrounds Israel “like the sand on the seashore” (cf. Gen. 22:17)
The Israelites are “trembling” with fear, and they begin to hide or scatter from Saul
The Israelites are “hard pressed” and left without any weapons to defend themselves
Despite these circumstances, Saul has been instructed to wait for Samuel to arrive at Gilgal (1 Sam. 10:8). However, Saul acts “foolishly” (cf. Ps. 14:1), and makes an unlawful sacrifice before Samuel arrives. When confronted by the prophet, he makes self-justifying excuses and blame shifts (13:11-12), and his kingdom is rejected.
Though his arguments seem sensible and rational, Saul’s sin is (at least) threefold:
He impatiently does not wait upon the Lord with a heart to obey
He superstitiously presumes upon God’s blessing
He pridefully places himself as the ultimate authority.
Saul was to wait for Samuel’s arrival, so that he would receive the prophet’s instructions about the conduct of the battle. God’s prophet would give him God’s guidance for the Philistine war. Samuel was the bearer of Yahweh’s word, and Saul’s task was to wait for it. Instead, he proceeded without it. For Saul sacrificial ritual was essential but prophetic direction dispensable. Saul’s was an act of insubordination, a failure to submit to Yahweh’s word through his prophet. By his action Saul confessed that certain emergencies rendered Yahweh’s word unnecessary. When the chips were down kingship could function on its own.
~ Dale Ralph Davis
II. The Faith of the Son (14:1-15)
Jonathan is ironically one of the only faithful sons throughout 1 & 2 Samuel (vs. the sons of Eli, Samuel, & David), and is set in sharp contrast to his father. He is different because of:
The godly company he keeps (14:1-3)
The bold risk he takes (14:4-5)
The dependent faith he exercises (14:6)
How refreshing to hear Jonathan’s ‘perhaps…’ Many in our own day think otherwise. They think that to say “perhaps” cuts the nerve of faith, that if faith is faith it must always be certain, dogmatic, and absolutely positive. Faith, however, must not be confused with arrogance. Jonathan’s ‘perhaps’ is part of his faith. He both confesses the power of Yahweh and retains the freedom of Yahweh. Faith does not dictate to God, as if the Lord of hosts is its errand boy. Faith recognizes its degree of ignorance and knows it has not read a transcript of the divine decrees for most situations. All this, however, does not cancel but enhances its excitement. Who knows what this omnipotent God may be delighted to do against these uncircumcised Philistines.
~ Dale Ralph Davis
2 Chronicles 20:12: O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
Mark 14:36: And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
III. The Victory of the Lord (14:16-23)
Despite Jonathan’s faithful actions, the situation in Israel still seems bleak; the Philistines have them surrounded, God’s people have no weapons, and Saul, their king, is unaware of the actions of Jonathan. He tries to consult the Lord by calling for the “ark” (or “ephod”) with the help of the rejected priesthood.
Despite these circumstances and spiritual dullness from their leader, “the Lord saved Israel that day” (14:23), sending earthquakes, turning the Philistines against themselves in fear, confusion, and panic. The Lord’s salvation of Israel on this day is paradigmatic for his greater salvation in Christ, the one who saves us single-handedly from our hopeless situation, and invites us to a life of dependent, patient trust.
Remembering the Great Things God Has Done
1 Samuel 12:19-25
REmembering the Great Things God HAs Done
1 Samuel 12:19-25
Main Idea: God is gracious to his people, so we remember the great things He has done and respond with faithful service.
I. Remembering God’s Grace in Repentance (12:19-21)
1 Samuel 12:19-21: And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.
II. Remembering God’s Grace in His Covenant (12:22-23)
1 Samuel 12:22-23: For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
III. Remembering God’s Grace in Service (12:24-25)
1 Samuel 12:24-25: Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.
A Forgetful People and a Faithful God
1 Samuel 11-12
a Forgetful people and a faithful god
1 Samuel 11-12
Main Idea: We rightly fear the Lord by remembering his saving work on our behalf.
I. A Familiar Story (11:1-15)
Nahash (lit. ‘snake’ or ‘serpent’), the King of the Ammonites, besieged Jabesh-gilead threatening to gouge the Israelites right eyes out and to reign over them. Meanwhile, though Saul has been anointed as King, he is out in the fields with the oxen, failing to step into his God-ordained role.
There are obvious allusions in this story to the era of the Judges:
Jabesh-Gilead & Gibeah feature prominently at the end of judges (Jdg. 19-21)
The Spirit “rushed upon Saul” (11:6), as He did to empower other judges (Jdg. 3:10, 6:34, 14:6)
Saul cuts up an oxen to muster Israel for battle (11:7), just as the Levite did to his concubine (Jdg. 19:29)
Saul musters up the army at Bezek (11:8a), the place of the first victory in Judges (Jdg. 1:4-5)
Saul’s army size (11:8b) and military strategy is similar to Gideon (Jdg. 7:16)
God raises him as a judge to rescue his people—just as God has previously delivered Israel. But this will change with the confirmation of Saul as king. This marks the moment when he ceases to be a judge, raised up by God as an expression of God’s rule… Saul will show himself to be a new-style king. Instead of mediating God’s rule, he will replace God’s rule. Instead of liberating God’s people, he will oppress God’s people. Instead of being exalted by God, Saul will exalt himself, only to be brought low by God.
~ Tim Chester, 1 Samuel For You
After this deliverance from the Lord (cf. Zech. 4:6), Samuel calls the people to Gilgal to “renew the kingdom” in the same place Joshua renewed the covenant (Josh. 5). Saul is to be a king “before the Lord” (11:15), but he lacks the character and spiritual awareness to properly reign in this way.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
II. Forgetting the Lord (12:1-13)
Samuel’s “farewell” address marks a shift in Israel; he will now step-aside from being the de-facto leader of the people and give way to Saul. After establishing his innocence before them (12:1-5), he indicts the Israelites for continually “forgetting” (12:9) the Lord and “forsaking” proper worship of him for idols (12:10).
Samuel’s address to the people completes a major and radical transition in Israel’s life, from leadership by men and women whose primary orientation was to God, to a leadership by kings, leaders whose primary orientation was to the people: God raised up judges; the people demanded a king. The prophetic judges were God-appointed; the political kings were people-acclaimed... Samuel announces the era of the “second best.” For a long time now, leadership has come from God’s saving initiative; now it takes shape from the people’s fears and wishes.
~ Eugene Peterson, First and Second Samuel
As the people of Israel forgot God’s redemptive acts and kingly rule over them, they began to fear what is right in front of them (Nahash) rather than the Lord.
III. Fearing the Lord (12:14-19)
In a miracle of judgment, the Lord sends thunder and rain to disrupt the driest season in Israel (“wheat harvest”). This produces a “fear” in the people, acknowledging they have sinned greatly against the Lord in their request for a king.
There are two different kinds of ‘fear’ in this passage:
The sinful fear of the people (12:18-19), afraid of God’s righteous judgment upon them as they stand condemned
The proper fear Samuel urges, flowing from the gracious redemptive acts of God toward them, received by repentance (12:14)
1 Timothy 1:15: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”
~ Martin Luther, “Letter to Jerome Weller”
Romans 8:31-34: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Give Us a King
1 Samuel 9-10
Give us A king
1 Samuel 9-10
Main Idea: The Lord prepares His people to receive the King they really need by allowing them to have the king they think they want.
I. The Kind of King They Wanted
It is clear from everything leading up to these donkey’s going missing that a “king like the nations around them” was the perceived solution to a set of national problems Israel was facing.
When they looked at their “problem,” they saw that the system was broken beyond repair. It needed to be replaced with a better solution, namely, a king like all the nations around them.
The solutions we demand from God and others match the characteristics of the problems we are most recently experiencing.
Set in the context of this story, the kind of “king” we want solves the problem we think we have. But the problem we think we have may not be our biggest problem or even our root problem.
Without ever intending to get there, we find ourselves stalled and stuck in a pattern of reactive “problem-solving” that only creates more and more problems for us.
II. How They Got the King They Got
On the surface, the story of how King Saul came to be king is strange and confusing. It is definitely not your typical “founding father of the nation” kind of story. It is actually more like a comedy than a drama.
1 Samuel 10:1-2: Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
There is no question that the Lord is behind all the strange and confusing events that play out in this story. This is the universal and absolute story of the Bible.
Nothing happens of which the Lord is not completely aware and over which He does not exercise complete and sovereign power.
No one involved in what happens under the Lord’s rule is coerced to do anything against their own wishes or inclinations.
Anyone who fails to consider life in all of its complexity outside the lens of the Lord’s sovereignty will run into futility and failure time and time again.
What is the Lord trying to do when he allows problems into our lives that cause more brokenness than the brokenness we are already experiencing?
The Lord did what He did in relation to Saul and the kingdom because Israel was His people, His heritage. His people had rejected Him from being king over them, but in the most beautiful yet subtle of ways the Lord is saying through this brokenness he allows, “Though you have rejected Me, I will not ever break my promise to you. You just can’t see that yet.”
III. The King We Really Need
The kind of King the Israelites failed to see they needed was actually the kind of king the nations thought they had. Both were missing the King they really needed because of two different kinds of blindness.
The kings we think we want, they lie and they take life from us.
The King we really need, He died to give us Life and Truth.
The Lord allows us the kings we think we want to prepare us to see the King we really need.
God the King
1 Samuel 8
God the king
1 Samuel 8
Main Idea: True Kingship belongs only to God’s Son, who reigns in grace and truth.
I. The Tension of the King
The Israelites demand a king for a few reasons:
Samuel’s sons, who would presumably judge Israel after he dies, are wicked men who “turned aside after gain,” taking “bribes” and “perverting justice” (8:1-3)
They want a king to “judge us… that we also may be like all the nations” (8:5, 20a)
They want a king who can “go out before us and fight our battles” (8:20b)
There is tension in this request from the Israelites. Their desire for a king is not necessarily bad; God promises a future King to come through Abraham (Gen. 17:6, 16) and Judah (Gen. 49:10), and he gives detailed instructions and guidelines for how a king in Israel ought to reign (Deut. 17:14-20).
However, their motivations for a king, and the type of king they ask for reveal they are:
Rejecting their identity as a people chosen, set apart, and distinct from the other nations
Rejecting God as their true King (8:7)
When people transfer their expectations for righteousness and salvation from God to government, they are sure to be disappointed. There are many things that human government is good for, but there are some things that it cannot do. And one of those things is to function as a God substitute. The issue that day at Ramah, when the elders confronted Samuel, was one not of political science, but of spiritual faith.
~ Eugene Peterson
II. The Threat of the King
Surprisingly, the Lord instructs Samuel to ‘obey their voice,’ giving them up to their desires (cf. Rom 1:24, 26, 28). He warns the Isrealites that even though they want a king to “judge” them, the kings who rule over them will actually be a ‘judgment’ upon them.
The “ways” of the kings who will reign over them will be overwhelmingly marked by one reality: they will “take” (6x) from the people until they have nothing left. These kings will take:
Sons to be used as soldiers and in military preparation (8:11-12)
Daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers in their service (8:13)
Land and the best of their fields for himself and his servants (8:14)
1/10 of their grain, vineyards, and flocks as a tithe and tax (8:15, 17a)
Servants for their own needs (8:16)
At the end of all this “taking,” the people will end up as slaves, essentially back in Egypt. But this time as they ‘cry out,’ God will not answer, and he will allow them to go into exile. This is a haunting projection of the rest of the OT in a single verse.
III. The True King
Even after this horrible threat of what is to come, the people still demand an earthly king from Samuel (8:19-20), sealing their rejection of the Lord. However, in God’s mercy, he will use their sinful and twisted desires to ultimately bring about a redemptive good through his anointed one to come (cf. 2:10).
Jesus comes to fulfill the “tension of the king” that runs throughout the Scriptures:
His Kingdom is not like the nations: “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36)
Though he is the true King (cf. Isa. 9:6-7), he is not the king that the people want: “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15)
He comes not to take and take, but to “give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45)
The Crucified One is the true king, the kingliest king of all; because it is He who is stretched on the cross. He turns an obscene instrument of torture into a throne of glory and reigns from the tree.
~ F.F. Bruce
Jesus is glorified and coronated as the King of all kings on the cross, where he bears the sins of God’s people in their place; rather than enslaving his citizens like earthly kings, he sets free all those who trust in his finished work by faith, and graciously invites them into a Kingdom that has no end (Luke 1:32).
Colossians 1:13-14: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
From Ichabod to Ebenezer
1 Samuel 4-7
From Ichabod to ebenezer
1 Samuel 4-7
Main Idea: God will not allow his glory to be manipulated and graciously accomplishes victory for his unworthy people.
I. The Superstition of Israel (4:1-22)
When Israel is defeated at the battle of Ebenezer, they ask the right question (“Why has the Lord defeated us today?”), but neglect to pray to God. Instead, they treat the ark of the covenant like the other nations treated their pagan gods by using it as a means to their own ends, removing it from its proper place to co-opt it for their own purposes.
The “ark” was to be a remembrance of God’s glory, holiness, and presence. It was topped by cherubim with a lid made of solid gold (called the ‘mercy seat’) where the once a year atoning sacrifice was offered (Lev. 16). Inside, it held 3 reminders of his redemptive acts in history toward his people (Heb. 9:4):
Tablets of Stone (God’s Word)
A Jar of Manna (God’s Provision)
Aaron’s Rod that Budded (God’s Salvation)
Here was a pressure tactic, a way of [trying to] twist God’s arm. That is not faith but superstition. It is rabbit-foot theology. When we, whether Israelites or Christians, operate this way, our concern is not to seek God but to control him, not to submit to God but to use him. So we prefer religious magic to spiritual holiness; we are interested in success, not repentance... The text forces two important implications upon us: Yahweh will suffer shame rather than allow you to carry on a false relationship with him; and Yahweh will allow you to be disappointed with him if it will awaken you to the sort of God he really is.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
Upon hearing of the capture of the ark, Eli falls over backward and dies, an “inglorious” ending to his reign as judge and high priest in Israel. Phineas’ wife also dies in childbirth, naming her child ‘Ichabod’ (lit. ‘the glory has departed’).
II. The Submission of the Philistine (5:1-6:9)
The Philistines assume they have defeated Yahweh by capturing the ark; they place the ark in the temple of their chief god, Dagon. But the Lord defends His own glory by:
Forcing Dagon to bow down to the ark, requiring him to be “put back in his place” (5:3)
Knocking Dagon prostrate again the next morning, cutting off his head (cf. 1 Sam. 17:51) and his hands (representing ‘power’) (5:4)
Isaiah 42:8 : I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
While Dagon had no hands, the “hand of the Lord” was “heavy” on the Philistines in judgment, as they are struck by a plague as the ark moves through the land. Underneath this Exodus-like judgment (cf. 4:8, 6:6), the Philistines send the ark back to Israel with a guilt offering of gold (cf. Ex. 12:35-26).
III. The Success of the Lord (6:10-7:14)
1 Samuel 4-7 is arranged in a “chiastic” structure:
A: The Israelites are defeated by the Philistines at Ebenezer (4:1-11)
B: The ark is exiled in Philistia (4:12-22)
C: God plagues the Philistines (5:1-12)
D: The Ark Returns (6:1-18)
C1: God plagues the Israelites (6:19-21)
B1: The ark is exiled in Kiriath-jearim (7:1-2)
A1: The Israelites defeat the Philistines in the battle of Ebenezer (7:3-17)
Israel’s disobedience should have led to their defeat and exile per the Mosaic Law. However, the Lord:
Goes into exile on their behalf
Travels through the promised land, defeating the enemy
Uses a seeming defeat to bring about a victory
Returns to his unfaithful people who abandoned the ark
Accomplishes victory and salvation for his unworthy people
God takes his glory so seriously that he himself takes the weight of glory on himself. Jesus comes as our representative and our substitute. The weight of God’s glory pressed down on Jesus and crushed the life out of him. He died in my place. In these chapters, the defeat of God proves to be the means of victory. The ark of God is taken to the temple of Dagon as a trophy of victory and tribute to Dagon’s superiority. But in the morning, Dagon lies fallen before God. The defeat of God leads to his victory over the Philistines. It is the same at the cross. The dead body of Jesus was Satan’s trophy of victory. But through Christ’s death the power of Satan was broken. Satan’s triumph became his ultimate defeat. Jesus walked victorious from the tomb and we walk out with him.
~ Tim Chester, 1 Samuel for You
Where there was ‘no glory’ (‘Ichabod’), now Samuel helps the Israelites to raise an ‘Ebenezer’ (‘a rock/stone of help’) (7:12). God has brought about a great reversal for Israel, and his glory and grace should lead to genuine whole-hearted repentance and worship (7:6ff).
Falling and Rising
1 Samuel 2:12-4:1a
FAlling and Rising
1 Samuel 2:12-4:1a
Main Idea: Though earthly leaders rise and fall, God’s Word remains a steady anchor pointing us to Christ.
I. The Fall of Priests (2:12-36)
The sons of Eli were “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” despite serving as priests in the tabernacle. They sinned greatly by:
Taking more meat offered for sacrifice by worshippers than was allowed (2:13-14; cf. Lev. 7:31-32, Deut. 18:3)
Robbing God of His portion and stealing the choice pieces by force (2:15-16; cf. Lev. 3)
Committing sexual immorality with women serving in the tabernacle (2:22; cf. Num. 25)
Though Eli did not abuse the priestly office in the way that his sons did, he sinned by enjoying the fruit of his sons' corruptions. He had become “very heavy” from feasting on sacrificial food. ‘Heavy,’ interestingly, is from the same Hebrew word as ‘glory’ or ‘honor.’ Eli is glorifying himself by fattening himself with the Lord’s food, instead of glorifying God by offering food to Him.
Peter Leithart, A Son to Me
The Lord holds Eli accountable for his son’s actions. His tolerance of their sin showed he despised and disregarded the things of the Lord, though he knew of His kindness and grace (2:27-28; cf. Heb. 10:26-28, 31). Consequently, the Lord will cut off and reject his household (cf. 1 Ki. 2:26-27), and those who “fattened” themselves will become “hungry beggars” (2:36).
II. The Rise of a Prophet (3:1-18)
The author strategically drops in reminders of Samuel’s growth, faithfulness, and ministering to the Lord, set in contrast to the downfall of the house of Eli (2:11, 18-21, 26, 3:1; cf. Lk. 2:52). The word of the Lord was “rare” in those days, indicating two spiritual realities:
The judgment of God (cf. Amos 8:11-12)
Hard and unreceptive hearts (3:2, cf. Mark 4:1-9)
That is how the word of God still becomes rare; people have no ears to hear (Mark 4:9). In fact, even the ability to hear must be a divine gift (Mark 4:10–12). We may have the Scriptures but suffer from deafness, and so the word is rare. Starvation may not come from absence of food but from lack of appetite. But God’s word—written, preached, welcomed—is the token of God’s grace to God’s people.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
Despite this reality, God is doing a new work through Samuel: his light has not yet gone out and the ark is still in the tabernacle (3:3). The Lord breaks his silence and speaks directly to Samuel, patiently calling to the boy in the same way he called others in his redemptive work in the past (cf. Gen 22:11, 46:2, Ex. 3:4).
This calling from the Lord begins Samuel’s training as a prophet, as he must be able to:
Discern between the words of man and the words of God (3:8-9)
Deliver to the Word of God to the people of God, regardless if it is a word of judgment or a word of comfort (3:11-14, 18)
III. The Steady Word of God (3:19-4:1a)
Through the rise of Samuel, the Word of the Lord will go from being “rare in those days” to the word of Samuel coming to “all Israel” (4:1a). Despite the rising and falling of earthly leaders, and the variable spiritual state of his people, God is committed to his glory and his word.
Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
In the crises of your life, you need God’s word. God’s word refreshes the soul, makes us wise, restores joy to our hearts and gives light to our eyes (Psalm 19:7–8). We need to be reading the Bible, engaging with the preaching of our church, speaking the word to one another and reminding our own hearts of God’s word… And in the crisis of our culture, we need God’s word. Our hope will not come through legislation to defend Christianity. It will not come through gimmicky methods or trendy services. We will never compete with Hollywood for entertainment. Our hope is in the power of God’s word.
~ Tim Chester, 1 Samuel for You
Ultimately the Word of God is pointing us to the true & better:
Priest, whose priesthood never ends and who saves to the uttermost (2:35; cf. Heb. 7:15-16, 24-25)
Prophet, the even greater word-bringer, who incarnates as the Word made flesh (Deut. 18:15-19, Jn. 1:14, Heb. 1:1-2)
Our Weakness & God’s Strength
1 Samuel 1-2:11
OUr weakness And god’s strength
1 Samuel 1-2:11
Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Main Idea: God uses our pain and weakness to draw us into dependency upon his sovereign strength and redemptive power.
I. Hannah’s Pain (1:1-8)
1 Samuel begins in obscurity: “a certain man” named Elkanah, living in a rural hill country, with an ordinary lineage tracing back to the small town of Ephrathah (cf. Mic. 5:2), who had two wives. Throughout 1 & 2 Samuel, God will use the unexpected, weak, and seemingly insignificant in order to bring renewal and restoration to his chosen people.
Hannah’s infertility was painful personally, as her family's future security was at risk; it was painful nationally as she was excluded from one of the great promises to God’s people (cf. Gen. 3:15, 22:17-18). Her suffering was marked by an internal ‘irritation’ (‘a thunderstorm’) as she is provoked by Peninnah (2:6) and pitied by her husband (2:8).
It is frequently that new chapters in Yahweh’s history with his people begin… with nothing. God’s tendency is to make our total inability his starting point. Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to his work. Indeed, our utter incapacity is often the prop he delights to use for his next act... When his people are without strength, without resources, without hope, without human gimmicks—then he loves to stretch forth his hand from heaven. Once we see where God often begins, we will understand how we may be encouraged.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
1 Corinthians 1:27-29: But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
II. Hannah’s Prayer (1:9-18)
Hannah takes her pain and turns in a prayer of lament to the Lord. Despite her distress, weeping (1:10), affliction (1:11; Ex 3:7), troubled spirit (1:15), anxiety and vexation (1:16), she urges the Lord to “remember” and “not forget” her and the covenant promises to his people.
Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. You might think lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t Instead, lament is a path to praise as we are led through our brokenness and disappointment. The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where this song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise. It is the path from heartbreak to hope… Lament is how we learn to live between the poles of a hard life and God’s goodness. It is an opportunity to remind our hearts about God’s faithfulness in the past, especially when the immediate events of life are overwhelmingly negative. While we’re still in pain, lament reminds our hearts of what we believe to be true.
~ Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament
By urging the Lord to ‘remember,’ Hannah is situating her barrenness in the long line of God’s redemptive activity through miraculous birth:
Sarah (Gen. 11:30, 17:16
Rebekah (Gen. 25:21-26)
Rachel (Gen. 29-30)
Samson’s Mother (Judg. 13)
Elizabeth (Luke 1:7)
Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Romans 4:17: …as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Hannah’s faith is set in contrast to Eli’s ignorance; he assumes she is drunk (cf. Acts 2:13-15) rather than earnestly praying. He is in a position of spiritual power, but Hannah’s posture shows true spiritual power, and her faith turns the fortunes of Israel around.
III. Hannah’s Prayer (1:9-18)
Hannah offers Samuel ‘back’ to the Lord as a permanent ‘Nazirite’ to serve the Lord in the tabernacle; she sees her story through the lens of the grand, redemptive work that God has promised, rather than merely personal fulfillment.
Hannah’s song is full of ‘great reversals’ that are steeped in Scripture, sets up the rest of 1 & 2 Samuel, and point us to the ‘anointed King’ (2:10) that is to come (cf. Luke 1:46-56)
Those who weep will rejoice in the strength of the Lord (2:1-2)
The ‘high’ and ‘proud’ will be brought low, while the lowly will be exalted (2:3, 7-8)
The ‘mighty’ and ‘strong’ will be broken, while the feeble strengthened (2:4, 9-10a)
The ‘full’ will be hungry, while the hungry will be fed (2:5a)
Life will come from barrenness and resurrection from death (2:5b-6)