Walking Through and Stepping Up: Introduction

Welcome! Today we begin a new series primarily focusing on the life of David from his anointing until his ascension as king. In many respects, this series is a continuation of an earlier series we did on the first half of the book of I Samuel entitled Prophet and King, where the prophet in that series was Samuel, and the king was Saul. If the Lord wills, we will have a third series (who doesn’t love a trilogy?) that looks at the events of David’s reign as king. In typical fashion for me, I am already looking forward to the third series.

The primary sources for all three series are the books of I and II Samuel. I want to start today by giving a little background on the books themselves. I and II Samuel were originally a single book and went by the name of Samuel. By 130 BC, this book was translated into Greek by Jewish translators as a part of the Septuagint, a translation of the entire Old Testament. When they did so, probably due to physical limitations of scroll lengths, they chose to split the book into two halves. In the Septuagint, the books are called the First and Second Books of Kingdoms. By 400 AD, this book was translated into Latin as part of the Vulgate under the leadership and, mostly, direct authorship of Jerome. In the Vulgate, the books remained split, and the names given were First and Second Kings. Modern translations, as you know, call it First and Second Samuel, more in keeping with the original name (and so as not to confuse it with I and II Kings).   

We don’t know a lot about who the original author or authors were of Samuel. But the books themselves and subsequent books of the Old Testament show that various books were written about the kings and the prophets. Specifically, 2 Sam. 1:18 mentions something called the Book of Jashar that includes writings of David, 1 Chron. 27:24 mentions the Book of the Annals of King David, and 1 Chron. 29:29-30 lists three more books:

As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands. – I Chron. 29:29-30

So it is reasonable to think that someone compiled the book of Samuel from these sources, and perhaps others, at some point probably not long after the death of David. Based on the varying writing styles of the book, it is reasonable to think that the author of Samuel used these sources with minimal editing. In any case, as believers we can trust in the guidance of God to make Samuel an utterly reliable book valuable for study; as I have often quoted in various series from II Timothy,

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – II Tim. 3:16-17

What I have not quoted so often are the verses immediately preceding these verses. Paul is telling the young Timothy,

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. – II Tim. 3:14-15  

The Holy Scriptures Paul is referring to here is the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not yet been fully written, and had certainly not yet been compiled. And this is the reason we sometimes do Old Testament series: they can make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. That is, even though they take place before the events of Jesus take place, they teach us much about the nature of God and about what God expects from us (especially faith).

Hebrews 11 also indirectly commands us to study the Old Testament. It points out person after person who acted out on the basis of their faith in God and who were commended by God for doing so. Hebrews 12 draws a conclusion to the large list of heroes of faith with the following:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebr. 12:1-3 

Today I want to recap the first fifteen chapters of I Samuel so that we can hit the ground running in future weeks. I will also touch on some themes going forward. I’m sorry; there will be some “spoilers”! But hopefully you have read these books before. J

I Samuel starts with the story of a woman named Hannah. She is one of two wives of a man named Elkanah; the name of the other wife is Peninnah. Peninnah has children but Hannah does not, a fact that Peninnah loves to gloat about and taunt Hannah with. Once when the family went to Shiloh for the annual sacrifice, Hannah vowed to the Lord that if He gave her a son, she would give him “to the Lord,” meaning he would be someone who served the priests in Shiloh rather than living at home with her. The Lord answered her prayer, and she had a son, whom she named Samuel, which sounds like the Hebrew for “heard by God.” When the boy was weaned, she brought him back to Shiloh, and gave him to the priest Eli to serve the Lord his whole life. Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving that she gave before leaving Samuel is recorded in I Sam. 2, and it actually forecasts the major themes of both I and II Samuel. Here is the first part of her prayer:

My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in Your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God. – I Sam. 2:1-2

This is a major theme of I Samuel: There is no one else, another “god”, like the Lord. You see this theme, for example, in I Samuel chapters 4 through 7. The Israelites were fighting the Israelites and losing. Misunderstanding the meaning of the ark, and thinking of it as perhaps something that could be used to manipulate God, the Israelites had the ark moved from Shiloh to the battlefront. The people in the camp gave a great shout when the ark arrived, and Philistine spies learned what had happened. Although the Philistines were at first afraid (because they knew the stories of what had happened to the Egyptians at the time of Moses) they steadied themselves, went out to battle and won, even capturing the ark. The Israelites were horrified and completely demoralized.

The Philistines took the ark back to one of their own cities and put it in their temple which was dedicated to their “god” Dagon, represented as a statue: half man, half fish. They put the ark right next to Dagon. But the next morning they found Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord as if to confirm, “There is no God like the Lord.” They put their statue back up, but the next morning it was on the ground again, this time with his head and hands broken off (leaving the statue just looking like a headless fish). In addition, a plague broke out on the people of that city, giving the people tumors. The Philistines moved the ark to another city, and then another, in each case with the plague even worse than it was before. Ultimately the plague also involved rats that were “destroying the country.” The people cried out to their leaders to have the ark sent back to Israel.  They put the ark on a cart led by cows and also included a “guilt offering” of five gold tumors and five gold rats. This action was their interpretation of how the Egyptians sent the Israelites out with gifts to put an end to the plagues they experienced. They sent the cows moving, and the cows stayed on the road right back into Israelite territory. The Israelites of course rejoiced when the ark came back to them. This caused the Israelites also to repent and end their own worship of false gods, forsaking their Baal statues and Ashtoreth poles. And so both the people of Israel and the Philistines learned that there is no one like the Lord.

Hannah’s prayer continues with the following:

Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows, and by Him deeds are weighed. – I Sam. 2:3

This is a second major theme: God judges arrogant words and actions; sin has consequences. An example of this is I Samuel 2 through 4. The priest Eli was guilty of knowing about the wicked deeds of his sons but not doing anything about it (and the sons themselves were of course also guilty of those very deeds).  One thing the sons were doing was extorting the people coming with meat to sacrifice, demanding a large portion for themselves. Another thing they were doing was having their way with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Eli did talk to them about it, telling them it was sin, but they did not respond to his rebuke, and Eli did nothing further. A prophet came to Eli and told him that God was judging him and his family: that his descendants would not reach old age, that he would lose his sight and his strength, and that his two sons would die on the same day. Eli began losing his sight and strength, and one night the Lord called Samuel, still a boy, and repeated the essence of the former prophecy against Eli and his family to Samuel. Eli knew the Lord had spoken to Samuel, because at first Samuel was confused about what was happening and thought Eli was calling him. Eli asked Samuel to tell him what the Lord had shown him, and although afraid, Samuel did so. Eli seemed to be resigned to this fate, saying “He is the Lord; let Him do what is right in His eyes.”

The prophecy came true years later when Eli’s two sons both died in the battle against the Philistines in which the ark was taken. Eli was now very feeble and completely blind. As the town started crying out with the news, Eli asked someone to tell him what was going on. The person told him everything, and at mentioning the ark, Eli fell backward and died. In a bit of a play on words, it says that Eli’s neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. The word for “heavy” also means to be great, and is used to describe the greatness of God. So Eli died in his “greatness.”

Hannah’s prayer continues:

The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. – I Sam. 2:4-5

This is a third major theme of I Samuel: the reversal of what is expected.

One expects Hannah to remain childless because barrenness was seen as a sign of God’s judgment; yet Hannah goes on to have a child in response to her faith-filled prayer to God. One expects Samuel to remain a minor player, a mere servant to the priests, Eli and his family, who are the “power brokers” of the day; yet Samuel is the one who becomes the prophet of God and Eli and his sons die on the same day, Eli shamefully. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, is seen by them and perhaps even by the Israelites as the powerful victor over the God of Israel, yet God powerfully not only defeats Dagon, breaking his statue apart and making it look like a silly fish, but also powerfully arranges for the return of the Ark to Israel without any Israelite help, or even knowledge, at all!

Reversals continue in I Sam. 7. Led by Samuel, the Israelites are repenting together for their past sins, and the Philistines suddenly attack with what appears to be a superior force. One expects the Philistines to defeat the Israelites again as they did in the battle in which they took the Ark, but instead God sends loud thunder that throws them into a panic. The Israelites then attacked and strongly defeated them, recapturing much land.

In I Sam. 8-10, many years later, the Israelites came to Samuel and demanded that they be given a king to lead them such as the other nations had. (The people, we later learn in Chapter 12, especially wanted a king because they were fearful of the Ammonites who were led by their own king and were beginning to move against Israel.) The Lord explained to Samuel that it was really the Lord that the people were rejecting when they demanded a king. Samuel, led by the Lord, warned them of all the bad things such a king would do, but they insisted on having a king, someone who would lead them to fight against their enemies. Apparently they forgot how the Lord had led them in the past. Samuel, further led by the Lord, anoints a particular man for this purpose, Saul son of Kish, a man who at least looked the part, tall and handsome. As we meet Saul in the narrative, he is going looking for donkeys and finds, well, a kingdom. Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but the Israelites went looking for king and found, well, a donkey! Saul is anointed by Samuel privately and later Samuel comes to Saul’s town to announce the selection of a new king by lot. This is a very strange way to select a king, but it gives the Lord the opportunity to make His selection. Lots are drawn and eventually Saul is selected, the same man who Samuel had previously anointed privately. Saul, however, does not participate in this process; instead, he hides among the supplies. The reversal theme is demonstrated by how such a fearful man could become king. In all the “other nations,” the king assumed power through bravery (or through dynasty). Saul, given his fearfulness, was the most unlikely person to be named king, even though he looked the part.

In I Sam. 11, Saul faces his first real test as king. The Ammonites have besieged an Israelite city. Saul, consumed with anger, cuts his oxen into pieces and sends them throughout Israel, saying that this is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not stand up and fight with him. A huge army is quickly amassed, and they attacked and quickly overwhelmed the Ammonites, retaking the city. It seems like the people have exactly what they wanted a king for, and the people renewed the kingship of Saul.

But in I Sam. 12, Samuel gives a speech to the people reminding them of the devastating consequences in the past of rebelling against the Lord, and he tells them that if they do the same, king or no king, they will experience calamity. He explains that the people sinned by demanding a king in response to their lack of faith in God Himself to protect them, and he confirms the truth of this statement (which the people probably do not accept) by calling on the Lord to send thunder and rain, which the Lord promptly does. The people repent, and Samuel says he will continue to teach them and help them to do what is right in the Lord’s eyes, but there is no mention of “undoing” the kingship; this decision, and its consequences, are now irreversible.

In I Sam. 13, we read that the time came that there was another battle against the Philistines. This time, however, in contrast to the first battle Saul led, the Israelites are both outmanned and apparently facing a force with superior technology (thousands of chariots and charioteers). Saul and his soldiers hide in caves and rocks, quaking in fear. Samuel was supposed to meet them at an appointed time, but when he didn’t show up at the beginning of that time window, Saul takes matters into his own hands and begins to take on the role of a priest, performing the burnt and fellowship offerings despite himself not being a priest. Just as he finishes, Samuel arrives, and demands to know what is going on. Saul blames the scattering men, Samuel’s slightly late arrival, and the situation with the Philistines; in short, he blames everything but himself. Samuel rebukes him and tells him that the Lord says the consequence is that someone else will be given the kingdom, someone whose heart is really the Lord’s. This is a repeat of the second theme, that God judges arrogant words and actions, that He punishes sin. As with Eli’s judgment, the pronouncement of judgment comes well before the carrying out of that judgment.

In I Sam. 14, still besieged by the Philistines, Saul’s son Jonathan takes his armor bearer with him to spy on the Philistines. Jonathan does this without Saul’s consent or knowledge. I have long loved Jonathan’s rationale for doing this, expressed in how he asks his armor bearer to come with him:

“Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” – I Sam. 14:6

This sentiment reaffirms both the first and third themes, the unique and incomparable greatness of the Lord and the hope of a reversal of what is expected. What Jonathan hopes for is ridiculous; what can two people do against a huge army? With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. When they get closer, Jonathan suggests they use a kind of fleece; when the enemy sees them, what one would expect is that they say “Seize them!” and head towards them to do so. If this is what happens, they will flee. But if they tell Jonathan and his armor bearer to go up to them, which is really nothing more than an arrogant taunt, then they will take that as a sign that God will deliver them to the two of them, even though in human terms the odds of success were far worse than C3P0’s “three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one” from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

But God was with them, and they overwhelmed the outpost, killing about twenty men.  Then God made the ground shake, and, combined with the confusion over this rout at the outpost, the whole army panicked. Saul was about to take things into his own hands again, using a relative of the defeated family of Eli to seek the Lord, but it became abundantly obvious that the Philistines were panicking and fleeing, so Saul sent his men into battle and they easily overcame them.

Saul continued to demonstrate his rashness and foolishness by binding his people to an oath in which his soldiers were not allowed to eat until he had complete victory. The oath promised that God would curse anyone that violated this requirement. Jonathan, who had been separated from his father when this foolish oath was given, did not know about it, so when the army entered a forest in which there was honey on the ground, Jonathan ate some. The soldiers explained the oath, and Jonathan replied by saying “My father has made trouble for the country,” in effect agreeing that his father had made a foolish decision. The army was exceedingly weak and tired from their battle and long pursuit of the Philistines. Making them skip eating easily available food made no sense at all.

I would argue that this rashness and harshness is similar to how Saul cut up his oxen in his initial call to the people to fight and told them the same would be done to their oxen if they did not come – the result of that battle went well, but Saul from the beginning led by instilling fear in his subjects. As we will see when we look at David in the coming weeks, David’s approach was quite different!

When the Israelites caught up to the Philistines, they were so weak from hunger that they butchered their animals and ate them with the blood in it, in violation of the Laws of Moses. Saul did not respond until someone pointed this out, and then he had them slaughter them on a stone which he then built an offering on. Saul was ready to go and keep pursuing the Philistines that night, but his priest said they should inquire of the Lord. Saul asked but received no response from the Lord. He assumed that this was because of some kind of sin in the camp. He cast lots, using the same method by which they discerned that Saul was to be the first king of Israel, and it was found that his own son Jonathan was the “culprit.” Saul asked Jonathan what he had done, and Jonathan said he had tasted some honey. Saul, in shocking fashion, did not follow up to see why Jonathan had done it – recall Jonathan didn’t even know about Saul’s foolish curse – and instead demanded that Jonathan should die! Note that the only reason they even had a victory was because of Jonathan’s bold faith coupled with heroic action earlier. Jonathan’s men responded strongly against Saul’s demand, saying that he had done what he had done that day with God’s help, and Saul relented. Then Saul stopped pursing the Philistines altogether, and they returned home. Yet again, in Saul we see someone bold and brash and foolish.

As described in I Sam. 15, at a later time, Samuel came to Saul and told him the Lord wanted him to attack the Amalekites, totally destroying them and their possessions including their livestock. Saul gathered his army and went after them, but he kept the king alive and also spared all the best livestock as plunder.  The Lord told Samuel that he was sorry that He had made Saul king, because he had not carried out His instructions.

Samuel went after Saul, and was told that he had had a statue of himself made in one town and had gone on to another. When Samuel caught up with him, Saul told Samuel he had carried out the Lord’s instructions. But Saul asked him, “What is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”  Saul brazenly explained that they had kept the best livestock but destroyed all the rest. Samuel demanded that Saul explain why he had disobeyed the Lord. Saul responded by again insisting he had followed the Lord. The livestock were for sacrifices, he now said. He said he completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back their king, pretending that this was somehow the same as destroying all of them. But Samuel replied, with terrible finality,

Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.” – I Sam. 15:22-23

Rebellion and arrogance: rebellion in not doing as the Lord commanded, and arrogance in redefining terms so as to pretend that he had. Saul at last admitted he had sinned and begged Samuel to forgive him and come with him, but Samuel refused, and as he turned to leave, Saul grabbed his robe, tearing it. Saul pronounced,

“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a human being, that He should change His mind.” – I Sam. 15:28-29

Saul continued to beg that Samuel would go back with him, and he did, but the main reason was to finish the Lord’s command and put to death the king of the Amalekites. Samuel never again came to see Saul, and mourned for him.

This sad story reminds me of more of Hannah’s song:

The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. or the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them He has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. – I Sam. 2:6-10a

We will see the ultimate silencing and breaking of Saul as we go through this series. And we will see the raising up the poor and the guarding the feet of faithful servants in David’s life.

But what about today? Does God still work in these ways? The answer is yes. It is still true that there is no one like the Lord. People today still try to put Jesus next to the “Dagons” in their lives. But whether the consequences play out in this life or in the judgment to come, God is the only true Lord. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. And all of our false gods, whether gods of success, fame, lust, or anything else, will be destroyed as Dagon was destroyed.

And it is still true that God punishes arrogance both in word and deed. Those who play games with God will reap the consequences. God will not allow us to redefine sin away so that we can do what we want to do. Our culture may do this now, but the consequences will be no less final that what happened to Saul.

And it is still true that God is a God of reversals. In the New Testament, Mary also was the beneficiary of a miraculous birth. Hers was not an answer to prayer, but a fulfillment of an angelic pronouncement. But she also gave praise to God in a song, much like Hannah, and she said some of the same kinds of things:

He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. – Luke 1:51-53

If we are those who hunger for the Lord, we do not need to fear the great reversal; we do not need to fear rejection by God, because those who put their trust in Jesus know that when God looks at them, He will see Christ’s righteousness instead of our sinfulness, because Christ has paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. When we see ourselves properly, when we see ourselves as God sees us, we will see ourselves as those who have humbly acknowledged the true state of our soul apart from Him and we will be those whom, in Christ, God lifts up. There are no promises about our country or our possessions or anything else, though – we may one day see a reversal in our fortunes, and even our entire country may experience this. I for one will not be surprised if such a day comes and comes soon. But this is just stuff. If God wants to completely destroy it as He wanted to remove the Amalekites, we should not fear it and we certainly should not resist it. Our treasure is not in this world; our treasure is our King of kings who is far higher above David than David was above Saul.

I wonder what Hannah was thinking about as she prophetically spoke the final words of her song:

The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to His King and exalt the horn of His Anointed.” – I Sam. 2:10b

I have capitalized “king” and “anointed” because this verse finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. As we will see, David is a foreshadowing of Christ, and although flawed, David was a mighty and good king. But Jesus is our King, and the victory He has won for us is not against nations, but against Death itself. Our King has many titles, but my favorite is Love. Let us recommit to serve our King without duplicity and without hesitation.