Samuel: [ /sam-yoo-uhl/ ] noun --- can be interpreted either as “name of God” or “God has heard.”
The author is anonymous for both texts. We know that Samuel wrote a book (1 Samuel 10:25), and it is very possible that he wrote part of 1 Samuel. Contributors to 1 and 2 Samuel could be the prophets/historians Nathan and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29). The events of 1 Samuel span approximately 100 years, from c. 1100 B.C. to c. 1000 B.C. The events of 2 Samuel cover another 40 years. The date of writing, then, would be sometime after 960 B.C.
OVERVIEW:
Originally, the books of 1 and 2 Samuel were one book. The translators of the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) separated them, and we have retained that separation ever since.
First Samuel records the history of Israel in the land of Canaan as they move from the rule of judges to being a unified nation under kings. Samuel emerges as the last judge, and he anoints the first two kings, Saul and David. The book of 1 Samuel can be neatly divided into two sections: the life of Samuel (chapters 1-12) and the life of Saul (chapters 13-31). The book starts with the miraculous birth of Samuel in answer to his mother’s earnest prayer. As a child, Samuel lived and served in the temple. God singled him out as a prophet (3:19-21), and the child’s first prophecy was one of judgment on the corrupt priests – quite a start for his ministry! The people of Israel, wanting to be like other nations, desire a king. Samuel is displeased by their demands, but the Lord tells him that it is not Samuel’s leadership they are rejecting, but His own. After warning the people of what having a king would mean, Samuel anoints a Benjamite named Saul, who is crowned (10:17-25). Near the end of the book, Samuel has died, and Saul is a lost man. On the eve of a battle with Philistia, Saul seeks for answers, but by rejecting God, he seeks counsel from a medium instead. During the seance, Samuel’s spirit rises from the dead to give one last prophecy: Saul would die in battle the next day. The prophecy is fulfilled; Saul’s three sons, including Jonathan, fall in battle, and Saul commits suicide.
2 Samuel is the record of King David’s reign. This book places the Davidic Covenant in its historical context. The book of 2 Samuel can be divided into two main sections—David’s triumphs (chapters 1-10) and David’s troubles (chapters 11-20). The last part of the book (chapters 21-24) is a non-chronological appendix which contains further details of David’s reign. The book begins with David receiving news of the death of Saul and his sons. He proclaims a time of mourning. Soon afterward, David is crowned king over Judah, while Ish-bosheth, one of Saul’s surviving sons, is crowned king over Israel (chapter 2). A civil war follows, but Ish-bosheth is murdered, and the Israelites ask David to reign over them as well (chapters 4-5). The book continues through David’s reign, including victories and his moral failure with Bathsheba (Ch 11). Though David repents and God forgives, there are consequences as the Lord said that trouble would be within his household (Ch 12-16). A general feeling of unrest plagues the remainder of David’s reign. The men of Israel threaten to split from Judah, and David must suppress another uprising (chapter 20). The book’s final chapters include information of a three-year famine (chapter 21), a song of David (chapter 22), a record of David’s bravest warriors (chapter 23), and David’s sinful census and the ensuing plague (chapter 24).
SO WHAT?
The main ideas in these texts are: Providence: God repeatedly made everyday events work for His purposes; Kingship: As the Divine King, God designated a human king, David, to rule over His people; and Davidic covenant: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16) God establishing a new covenant in which God promised an eternal throne to the house of David. God’s unconditional promise to David would be fulfilled ultimately in David’s descendant Jesus Christ, who comes from the genealogical line of David.
The books of Samuel show a problem we all face—a problem of the heart. Obedience to God’s will is necessary for success, and if we in pride rebel against Him, we set ourselves up for loss. Anyone can fall. Saul with all he had fell hard. Even a man like David, who truly desired to follow God and who was richly blessed by God, was susceptible to temptation. David is known as a “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) because, though he sinned greatly and made mistakes, he acknowledged those failures and repented before God. Repent is to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus Christ. Our Father knows we are not perfect. So, His Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our sins so that we can become righteous in God’s sight through faith. Friends, God is still sovereign in the twenty-first century. He will accomplish His purposes with or without our cooperation. But as was true in the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David, our response to God’s call affects our outcome. Will we obey Him, like Samuel and David, or will we, like Saul, try to live on our own terms? “To obey is better than sacrifice,” Samuel told Saul (1 Samuel 15:22). That truth still speaks to us today.
Next month, we will look at the two texts of 1 and 2 Kings. These are accounts of the nation of Israel being rules over by good and poor kings, bringing about blessings and destruction. Yet amidst this, we see a God who is faithful, never leaving or forsaking those who have faith in Him.
