Through the Bible - 1 Samuel

These things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)

A study of three lives — a prophet, a king of the flesh, and a king after God's own heart — and what they teach us about following hard after the Lord.

Written for Our Instruction

The book of 1 Samuel is a great book in the Bible. I think every week I tell you that the book we're in is my favorite — and I find a new favorite each week. It's an awesome thing to look at a snapshot of each book and to see what's behind it, why God gave us His Word.

In 1 Corinthians 10:11, a verse we've referenced every single week, Paul writes that everything the children of Israel went through was written down for our instruction. These aren't just bedtime stories to read and say, "Oh, that's interesting." God gave them to admonish us, to teach us, to guide us in the way we should go.

Hopefully we can learn from the victories and the mistakes of others. We are so often doomed to repeat history because we don't learn from others — we want to figure it out on our own. People may caution us, "I tried that once and it ended in disaster," and in our minds we say, "I'm stronger than you. I can handle this." Would to God we would learn both from the mistakes and the victories of others.

Drifting in the Current

We've seen great victories — Israel brought out of Egypt in Exodus, Israel crossing into the promised land in Joshua. But we've also seen defeats. In Judges, the people continued in sin; God would sell them into the hands of their enemies, they would cry out, and He would raise up a judge to deliver them. But as soon as that judge died, they returned to their sin.

Isn't that how we often work? We find ourselves under the blessing of God, living in the promised land, and yet we drift and backslide. If you're not moving forward, you're backsliding. As David wrote in Psalm 63:8, if we're not following hard after the Lord, we go backward. It's like climbing a muddy hill in the rain — if you aren't continually climbing, you're drifting back.

Many of us live near the ocean. You've been there when a current pulls you along — you start in front of Lifeguard Tower 6, and an hour later you're at Tower 11. This world has a current, and it is pulling us. If we aren't following the Lord, we'll drift toward the course of the world.

Two Kings, One Book

This book shows us very clearly the life of faith and the life of the flesh, because it surrounds two central characters — and neither of them is Samuel, for whom the book is named. The first is the man of the flesh, King Saul. The second is the man of faith, King David.

David loved the Lord and wrote hundreds of psalms. We still sing them tonight — "Thy loving kindness is better than life," "Bless the Lord, O my soul." He penned these things three thousand years ago, a thousand years before Christ. He was a man after God's own heart. But there's another man, one we unfortunately often identify with — Saul, the man of the flesh, the king the people sought for.

Hannah and the Birth of Samuel

The book begins beautifully with Elkanah, an Ephraimite from the northern part of Israel. It's significant that he came down to Shiloh, to the house of the Lord in the south. As soon as Israel came into the land, the northern tribes began to drift away because the journey was long. We saw it in Judges 17 with Micah, who built his own tabernacle rather than travel to worship. Boy, have I heard that — "I'd rather not drive five minutes to church; I'll just read my Bible at home." But Scripture says do not neglect the gathering of the body of Christ. Elkanah did not neglect it; even at cost to his time and money, he went because God commanded it.

Elkanah had two wives. Hannah was well loved but barren, which was a shame in that culture. Her rival had many children, and there was rivalry between them. Hannah cried out to the Lord and made a vow: if God would give her a son, she would lend him back to the Lord for the service of the tabernacle.

Eli the priest saw her praying — her lips moving but no sound coming out — and accused her of being drunk. She answered that she was not drunk but sorrowful of spirit, grieved to her soul. (Interesting that those are nearly the same words Peter spoke at Pentecost: "These men are not drunk, as you suppose.") Eli blessed her, and she went home, conceived, and bore a son named Samuel. After he was weaned, she brought him to the tabernacle and gave him to the Lord.

A Child Ministering Amid the Drama

Samuel was very young — perhaps seven or younger — when his mother brought him there. He was completely given to the service of God. No work could be greater. That's why we're blessed to have a strong children's ministry: to bring children to the Lord at a young age so He can use them their whole lives.

Throughout the first three chapters, we read that "the child ministered unto the Lord." Meanwhile, there was tremendous drama in Israel. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were not serving honorably — stealing from the offerings, taking prostitutes, doing horrible things that should never be associated with the worship of God. The Philistines were coming against Israel, and Israel was falling in defeat. Yet in the midst of all of it, the child kept growing and ministering, oblivious to everything else.

That's one of the greatest things about children — they can focus so completely that the chaos around them doesn't register. In one sense it's dangerous, but in this sense it's how God wants us to serve: focused on Him, forgetting the rest of the world. This world is orchestrated by the enemy to distract us, to lay hold of our flesh, and to draw us away from the worship of God.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens

This book has three sections. The first, chapters 1–8, deals with Samuel. While still young, God began to speak to him. Every time I read this, it makes me cry out, "Oh, that I could hear the voice of the Lord like Samuel did."

As Samuel lay down one night (chapter 3), he heard a voice say, "Samuel." He ran to Eli — "Here I am; you called me." "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." It happened again, and a third time, until Eli perceived that the Lord was speaking. He told Samuel, "Say, 'Speak, Lord, your servant listens.'" When God called again, Samuel answered, and God gave him a word of prophecy — a powerful work that Israel would not believe.

Samuel was the last judge and the first prophet. The prophetic ministry of God begins with him. The primary work of a prophet is to speak forth God's Word. Prophets speak two kinds of prophecy: the predictive, which excites us, and — even greater — the revelation of God's character, nature, and heart. We'll see this through the rest of the Old Testament: how God can be grieved, how He can rejoice in His people, and how He will sometimes deliver them to their enemies, not to hurt them but to bring change.

In chapter 3:8, "Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child." Oh, that we would perceive that God is calling every one of the children to Himself. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The Ark Taken and the Glory Departed

In chapter 4, the Philistines came against Israel, and Israel lost four thousand men the first day. The elders asked, "Why did we get smitten?" Then someone had an idea:

Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us. (1 Samuel 4:3)

Circle the word "it" both times. They saw God merely as their good-luck charm, their rabbit's foot — just an "it" to come and save them. The ark was the visible representation of God's presence, the box in the Holy of Holies with the mercy seat where the Shekinah glory dwelt between the cherubim. They thought, "When the ark comes, we'll win."

When it arrived, they shouted so loudly the earth shook — like a packed stadium erupting. Over a hundred thousand people raised a battle cry. Did they win? No. They lost thirty thousand men the second day, far worse than the first. The ark was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed.

A messenger ran to Eli, now very old, and told him the army was defeated, his sons were dead, and the ark was taken. When Eli heard the ark was gone, he fell backward, broke his neck, and died. Phinehas's pregnant wife, hearing the news, went into labor from the stress and died in childbirth. Before she died they told her she'd borne a son, but she named him Ichabod — "the glory is departed" — for she recognized that the glory of Israel had departed.

A Nation in Barrenness

This is the historical setting — a lousy, sad one. Israel was in great distress and great sin, in the same era of the judges when there was no king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. It was a life dominated by the flesh, by appetite, and therefore by barrenness. The book opens with a barren woman; there was no strength, no joy, and God's judgment was upon them. The very capture of the ark was that judgment, exactly as God had prophesied to Samuel — that Eli's house would be destroyed because Eli failed to restrain his sons. He had not raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

Are we not living in a similar time? Barrenness and weakness because people have departed from the truth. And yet, in the midst of it, God still raises up a man — young Samuel — through whom He works miracles.

Dagon Falls

In chapter 5 the Philistines brought the ark into the temple of their god Dagon. The next morning Dagon had fallen over before the ark. They propped him back up — and if you have to prop up your god, you've got a problem. The next morning Dagon had fallen again, his head and hands broken off. Instead of recognizing a more powerful God, they just said, "Get this thing out of here," and propped Dagon up again. That's how the world works — it won't recognize the truth right before its eyes; it keeps propping up its false gods.

The ark brought the Philistines terrible affliction — tumors — wherever it went. They played hot potato with it from Ashdod to the next city to the next, each town struck the same way, until their leaders said, "We must send it back to Israel."

"Make Us a King"

By chapter 8 Samuel is fully grown, old, and a judge over Israel. He made his sons judges, but Scripture says, "his sons walked not in his ways," turning aside after dishonest gain, taking bribes and perverting judgment. So the elders gathered at Ramah and said, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Make us a king to judge us like all the other nations."

Note the cause: even this great man of God did not raise his sons rightly. The effect of their corruption was that the people said, in essence, "We don't want God ruling over us any longer." Samuel was grieved and cried out, and the Lord answered:

They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:7)

That's the flesh rearing its head again. We all struggle with the same thing — wanting to be just like the world, because it's easier to blend in. If you stand for the gospel, people look at you like a nut. I've had young people in our youth group say it's just easier not to say anything about God, to blend in. The church has suffered for it, looking just like the rest of the world.

The People's Choice

God had foreseen this and given the law of the king in Deuteronomy. In chapter 9 we meet that king — Saul, son of Kish, a mighty man of the tribe of Benjamin. Scripture says Saul was "a choice young man, and a goodly" — good-looking — and from his shoulders up he was taller than anyone in the land. He was the people's choice, the king they would have chosen for themselves, the man you'd want on the red carpet with you.

That's exactly what the flesh does — it looks entirely on the outside and cares nothing for the inner condition. It was the same with the Pharisees, whitewashed tombs, beautiful outside but full of dead men's bones.

When God wanted to get Saul's attention, He became, in a sense, a donkey salesman — He caused Saul's donkeys to run away. Searching for them, Saul and his servant came near a city where a seer lived. They went up, met Samuel, who had been told by God the day before, "About this time tomorrow a man from Benjamin will come; he's the one." Samuel anointed Saul with oil, a picture of the Holy Spirit, and gave him three signs to confirm the word.

Hiding Among the Stuff

Yet Saul did not seem to want to be king. Imagine a nation in chaos, everything falling apart, and they ask you to lead them out — who would sign up? Saul protested, "I'm the least among my father's house; our tribe is the least." At first it appears he had the right mindset, but it proved to be false humility, for it didn't match the rest of his life. When the time came to present the king, Saul was found hiding among the baggage. Some said outright, "We don't want this man to rule over us."

But God anointed Saul for a purpose — to show Israel that this was not really what they wanted. How often have we prayed earnestly for something, gotten it, and then discovered we didn't want it after all? Sometimes God, after we've insisted, relents and gives us what we demand, and only then do we realize it's a burden. God could not give Israel the king after His own heart until they first had the king after their own heart.

"He Will Take"

Samuel had warned them exactly what their king would do:

This will be the manner of the king... He will take your sons... He will take your daughters... and your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them... and ye shall be his servants. (1 Samuel 8:11–17)

Notice how many times it says "he will take." A huge price to pay for very little in return. That's always the way with the flesh. Consider how the flesh chases the pleasures of this world. Hebrews 11 says Moses chose rather to suffer with God's people than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Yes, sin is pleasurable — let's be honest — but only for a short time, and the price is enormous. It takes and takes and takes, and gives so little. Yet still our flesh says, "Ooh, I've got to have it." And so God gave them the king they demanded.

Saul's Impatient Sacrifice

When Saul finally led Israel to battle, God gave him clear instructions through Samuel: go down to Gilgal, consecrate yourself and the people, and wait seven days for Samuel to come and offer sacrifice. Saul waited — the sixth day, no Samuel; halfway through the seventh day, still no Samuel. So Saul said, "Bring me a bullock; I'll sacrifice it myself."

Now the king was stepping into the role of the priest, which God had forbidden. There was to be a separation between prophet, priest, and king, because only One can fulfill all three roles — Jesus Christ. Right as Saul finished, Samuel arrived: "What have you done?" Saul made excuses. Samuel told him, "Your kingdom will not be established."

After that, the people's hearts left Saul. When he gathered an army against the Philistines, only six hundred men stayed with him. Israel was so distressed they ran and hid in the hills, having no strength because their king was not a worshiper of God.

Jonathan's Faith

In the midst of that distress, God worked through Saul's son Jonathan. Tired of waiting, Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Let's go out against the Philistine garrison. If they say 'come up to us,' the Lord has delivered them into our hands." They showed themselves, the Philistines called them up, and just two men with one sword struck down twenty within half an acre. Israel saw the commotion, took courage that the battle belonged to the Lord, and God brought victory.

Saul and the Amalekites

It seemed God might still establish Saul, so He gave him one more chance. In chapter 15, Samuel commanded Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. God had told Israel through Moses to wipe them out because of what they did in the wilderness. Amalek had been sneaky, attacking the stragglers — the weak and weary in the back of the camp — just as the flesh does, feeding on those who are faint. So they were to be completely annihilated, leaving nothing, because the flesh cannot be allowed to hang around.

Saul went, but kept the best of the spoil and spared Agag, the king. When Samuel arrived, Saul ran to meet him with one of the most comical verses in the passage: "I have performed the commandment of the LORD." Samuel replied, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen?" Saul said the people kept the best "to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God." Three times in chapter 15 he says "the LORD thy God" — never "my God." There was no recognition that God was his God. And he blamed the people, proving he was no real king with any authority over them.

Saul didn't even finish the job. In 2 Samuel 1, an Amalekite claims to have taken Saul's own life. In Esther, the antagonist Haman is called "the Agagite," a descendant of King Agag. And Herod, who slaughtered the children of Bethlehem and decreed the death of Christ, traces back to Amalek. The application for us: if we do not utterly destroy the flesh, the flesh will destroy us — just as it destroyed Saul.

To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

Then Samuel spoke those beautiful words:

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. 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. (1 Samuel 15:22–23)

Saul, deluded by his own sin, kept insisting he had obeyed. He begged Samuel to turn back and worship with him. As Samuel walked away, Saul grabbed his garment and tore it. Samuel turned and said, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from thee this day."

David — A Man After God's Own Heart

In chapter 16 we meet the third character. The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him? Fill your horn with oil; I have provided me a king among the sons of Jesse." Notice — God provided a king for Himself, after His own heart, not merely for the people.

When Samuel came to Jesse's house, Eliab passed by and Samuel thought, "Surely this is the Lord's anointed." But God said:

Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature... for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Seven sons passed by, and none was chosen. "Are all your children here?" "There remains yet the youngest" — in the Hebrew, almost "the least" — keeping the sheep. They sent for him. He was ruddy and not especially impressive to look upon, perhaps only fourteen or fifteen, an awkward age. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." It reminds me of Isaiah 53 of David's greater Son: "there is no beauty that we should desire him." Samuel anointed him, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day.

But verse 14 adds, "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." Even with the anointing removed, Saul clung to the throne for twenty-five more years.

The Making of a Man of God

After being anointed and brought into the king's household, David was exiled and on the run for nearly twenty years as Saul pursued him. Twice David had opportunity to take Saul's life — in the cave, where he only cut a piece of Saul's garment and then was condemned in his own heart for laying a hand on the Lord's anointed — yet by grace he refused to seize the throne that was rightfully his.

Alan Redpath, in his book The Making of a Man of God, says that before God can greatly use a man, He must greatly bruise him. This was David's time of crushing and breaking, his preparation. One of the greatest illustrations of his heart comes in 2 Samuel 1, when news of Saul's death arrived. David did not celebrate; he wept and proclaimed a fast in Israel because Saul and Jonathan had fallen.

Yes, David had failures — we'll see them next week in 2 Samuel — and he was no perfect man. But how many of you are perfect tonight? If David had never sinned in the record, who of us would believe we could ever do great things for God? We'd think we had to make ourselves perfect first. David was a man of faith not because his works made him righteous, but because God saw a heart that desired Him. In the Psalms he is sometimes angry — "break their teeth in their mouths" — and in the same passage he turns to worship and confession of his own sin.

David and Goliath

The one David story we'll look at is Goliath. Saul was still on the throne, David perhaps fifteen or sixteen, sent by his father to carry provisions to his brothers at the front. Every day for forty days, Goliath — a giant nine to twelve feet tall — came down into the valley, beating his chest, mocking the armies of the living God.

In that culture they often fought by champions, or "federal headship." Goliath was the Philistine champion: "Choose a man; if he kills me, we'll be your servants, but if I kill him, you'll be ours." It's like saying we'll let two leaders duke it out and the whole battle is decided. No Israelite would face him.

David was outraged that this man would mock the Lord's army, and said he would fight. Brought to Saul, he was dressed in Saul's armor — but Saul was a head taller than everyone, so David said, "I can't use these." He took his sling, went to the creek bed, and chose five smooth stones. (Interesting — 2 Samuel tells us Goliath had four brothers, so perhaps David thought, "I'll take five, just for good measure.")

Goliath sneered, "Have you sent a dog out to me?" David answered that the Lord would deliver him into his hand, wound the sling, and let the stone fly. It struck Goliath between the eyes and felled him; David took Goliath's own sword and cut off his head. Scripture even tells us he carried that head around like a trophy for a time — just like a teenager would. So began David's great battle ministry.

God Seeks the Devoted Heart

David's victories made the women of Israel sing, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands," which Saul resented and which brought David trouble. But the lesson stands: the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are wholly His. David's heart was given to the Lord, so God said, "Though he's a small, young man, I will use him greatly, for he is a man after my own heart." God is seeking those very people still.

So this book holds the man of the flesh, Saul — focused on his own desires, his strength, his riches, his pleasure — and the man of faith, David — small, ruddy, the least in his own father's estimation, yet raised to be the great king of Israel. You can still visit his tomb in Jerusalem, no great monument or cathedral, just a simple casket in a room — a fitting testimony to a simple life.

But the greatest thing about David was not his victories. It was a descendant he would never meet on earth — the Son of David, the Messiah, Jesus Christ the righteous, who will sit upon the throne for eternity. Amen.

Closing Prayer

God, I thank You for the story of this book, even though it is filled with tragic things — especially the life and death of Saul. But Lord, it also shows us what You desire to do in our lives, and what You can do in a life that is devoted to You. If we will willingly offer ourselves, You can utterly destroy the Amalek in us, the flesh that every one of us carries daily. If we will offer ourselves as living sacrifices, then — having given us a new heart and called us to be men and women after Your heart — we are children of the King, and we can have lives of victory, as we see in David, even when it means at the onset a life of great difficulty and trial. In Jesus' name, amen.