The BOOK of SAMUEL 1&2 - 10.03.09

1 & 2 SAMUEL: Israel's Greatest King
From Judges to Monarchy

God’s purpose for Israel was to have His people be different from all other nations. However, they wanted to be like their neighbors. The last of the judges was also a prophet and he warned them of the dangers of their desires. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 makes clear God’s command regarding a king over Israel when he settled in the Promised Land. As we discover in 1 Samuel they chose a king of their own making rather than God’s choice. Israel could reject God from being their King, but they could not dethrone Him. Saul was a king after the people’s own heart, but David was the king after God’s own heart.

TITLE: originally was called “Books of the Kingdoms, and the two books of Samuel were one in the Hebrew text. The translators of the Greek Old Testament, Septuagint, divided the book and gave the titles First and Second Kingdoms with our two books of Kings as Third and Fourth Kingdoms. Since 1516 First and Second Samuel and First and Second Kings have been used as their titles. 1 Samuel describes the transition to monarchy, while 2 Samuel focuses on the establishment of the Davidic covenant with God. The original readers of Samuel had one complete volume. Second Samuel is the continuation of the first volume in our English Bible.

AUTHOR: of both books is unknown although Jewish tradition suggests Samuel in chapters in which his history is recorded, with Nathan and Gad completing the book (1 Sam. 10:25; 1 Chron. 29:29). It is possible an unnamed prophet compiled the books of Samuel from the writings of Samuel, Gad, Nathan and other sources. It is likely these two books bear his name because of Samuel’s dominate role in transition from the judges to a monarchy. The same person who wrote 1 Samuel also wrote 2 Samuel as well.

TIME: covers about 120 years from 1090 to 970 B.C. The focus is on the last of the judges to the establishment of the kingdom. First Chronicles runs parallel in time. First Samuel opens with the birth of Samuel and 2 Samuel closes with the last days of David. The time covers three important characters in the transition to a monarchy: Saul (1050-1010 B.C.), David (1010-970 B.C.), Solomon (970-931 B.C.) and the division of the kingdom about 931 B.C. Second Samuel begins with David at the peak of his career and focuses on the events in David’s forty year reign as the king who united Judah and Israel.
Clyde Francisco describes the culture in Samuel as filled with “religious short comings. . . enemies were tortured, polygamy was common in the upper class.” The centralized government “exerted a strong unifying influence on religious thought and practices. The poor had a right to justice, adultery was recognized as a great crime, and more emphasis was placed on the rights of the individuals” (p. 56).
Israel’s biggest enemy was the Philistines whom David subdued. They lived along the Mediterranean coast and their strength lay in their possession of iron weapons. We get the name “Palestine” from these inhabitants of the land who migrated from Greece and Crete. The Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant which symbolized God’s presence with His people. The Israelites foolishly thought the ark would protect them if they took it with them into battle. The false gods Israel contended with ere Canaanite gods.

PURPOSE: is to record the establishment of the kingdom and the Davidic covenant by God. The people chose Saul, a Benjaminite, but God chose the dynasty of David from the tribe of Judah. It documents the transition from a group of tribes into a monarchy. God’s idea was for Israel to be a theocracy in which King David is the type of a Greater David, the Messiah.
First Samuel begins where the judges left off, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud. 21:25). Samuel gives us the transition from the last judge to the people’s choice of a king and later God’s choice (8:5; 15:23). Second Samuel gives us the highlights of the reign of king David and the relationship of Israel to her sovereign God. It stresses the spiritual relationship of “a man after God’s own heart” with its ensuing blessings and resulting failures and punishment when God is not his desire. 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12 are the critical turning point in the life of David and his reign.

THEME: of the books is the covenant with David. God is faithful to His promises and will help His people to accomplish His eternal purposes. God is sovereign in the affairs of His nation. Everything moves toward and is centered on the Davidic covenant. Human sin and bad judgment jeopardized the Davidic covenant, but God overrules it to accomplish His purposes.
The theme is developed around three characters Samuel, Saul and David. Samuel is the last of the judges of Israel (7:6, 15-17). Saul was the first king and the people’s choice; David is God’s choice. His reign as king is described in Second Samuel. How ironic that His people wanted a king, but not the King!
The author gives us an interpretation of Israel’s history from the prophetic point of view. He interprets the relation of these three key men in the establishment of the kingdom. It is shown that Samuel prepared the foundations of the kingdom; Saul tried to establish it but failed; and David succeeded in establishing it. The God of Israel continues to be the true king of Israel. The earthly king is Gods representative on earth and responsible to Him. The success or failure of the earthly king depended upon his relationship with God.
J. W. Watts said, “The theme of 1 and 2 Samuel is the establishment of the kingdom and the theme of 1 and 2 Kings is the taking away of the kingdom.”
The principle of obedience to God beings blessings and disobedience brings judgment is illustrated in the life of David in 2 Samuel. However, God will pursue His eternal purpose and overrule man’s disobedience. Even though David commits adultery and murder for Bathsheba, she is the wife who gives birth to Solomon the successor to the kingdom. The intrigue and murder in David’s family is overruled so that God’s chosen reigns on the throne after David’s death.