SAMUEL BIBLE VERSES

CHAPTER 1

In the First Book of Samuel, you will learn how kings became the leaders in Israel. Most of this book focuses on three main people: Samuel, the judge and Prophet; Saul, the first king of Israel, and David, the Lord's personal favorite king, who was anointed, but had not yet taken the throne, because Saul was still alive. There are of course, other stories to discover as well.

It's important to note that the books of First and Second Chronicles have many of the same stories as the books of Samuel and Kings plus some additional details that were omitted from Samuel and Kings, so Daily Bread has already done the leg work for you and matched up the stories from Chronicles with the stories from Samuel and Kings and combined the information for you, just like we combined our studies of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Daily Bread Gospels. We have indicated these "parallel" chapters at the beginning of each study, so without any further ado, let's get started, shall we?

There was a man named Elkanah, and he had two wives; Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not, and every year Elkanah went to the house of the Lord in Shiloh to worship and sacrifice.

Each year at this celebration, Peninnah would taunt Hannah, to make her cry because she was barren. It would make Hannah so sad that she wouldn't eat, so Elkanah said to her, Why are you so unhappy? Why do you cry and not eat? Am I not better to you than ten sons? And Elkanah gave portions (for feasting) to Peninnah and her children, but he gave more to Hannah because he loved Hannah, but the Lord kept her childless.

So after they had eaten and drank in Shiloh, Hanna went to pray at the Temple, and she made a vow to the Lord, that if He would allow her to have a baby boy, she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life and never cut his hair. As Hannah prayed, she was very sad and cried, and as she spoke in her heart, her lips moved, but her voice was silent.

There in the Temple, sitting by a pillar, was Eli, the high priest. Noticing that Hannah moved her lips as she prayed, Eli assumed that she was drunk. When he mentioned this observation to her, she told him that she had nothing to drink, but that she had a sorrowful spirit. Eli said, Go in peace, and my god answer your prayer.

And God did indeed answer Hannah's prayer, and she had a son who was named Samuel. When he was weaned, they brought him to the Temple in Shiloh at the time of the yearly worship and sacrifice, and Hannah said to Eli, I am the woman who prayed to the Lord for this child, and He has answered my prayer. I vowed that I would grant him to the Lord as long as he lives. And Hannah left Samuel under the care of Eli the priest, who raised him in ministering to the Lord in the Temple.

This story may remind you a little of how Samson was conceived, because his mother was barren before that. Matter of fact, we've seen many times when the Lord has blessed women with children who were once barren. There was Sarah (Genesis 11:30, Genesis 21:2), Rebekah (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31, Genesis 30:22), Samson's mother (Judges 13:2-3), and now Hannah.

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL

CHAPTER 2

In previous stories to the story of king Saul in the Bible, the story of Samuel the Prophet and judge in Israel is told. We find that Samuel was a man of integrity and well favored by the Lord.

As Samuel grew old, and because of his age, one can imagine it wasn't so easy to travel around Israel judging matters among the people. I don't want you to forget that being a judge over Israel, was just exactly what the title implies. Not only did the judge rule the people, but settled matters whenever there were disputes, not much different from a court of law in modern times, with a judge presiding. People would bring their "case" to the judge, and the judge would decide, based upon the Law of the Lord and divine inspiration, what was the best solution for the dispute.

So ... When Samuel became elderly, he made his sons, Joel and Abiah, judges over Israel in Beersheba. But his sons didn't follow the righteous ways of Samuel. They had a fondness for money and accepted bribes, so their judgment wasn't fair among the people.

The elders understandably didn't like this one bit, so they paid Samuel a visit in Ramah and said to him, Look, you're getting old, and your sons aren't like you. So make us a king to judge us, like all the other nations have.

Now ... This thing irritated Samuel, so he prayed to the Lord about it, and the Lord told Samuel, The people aren't rejecting you, they've rejected ME, they don't want ME to rule them. Just like they've done since they day I brought them up out of Egypt, until this very day ... Just as they have forsaken me, and served other gods, they do the same also to you.

Does this remind you of what Jesus said, too?

Let me take you back to the book of Deuteronomy for just a second, and let's remember together, that the Lord in fact, (through Moses) predicted that this would happen.

So the Lord told Samuel to oblige the people of Israel and listen to their request, but still, to warn them of the seriousness of their decision and to tell them how the king will reign over them.

And Samuel did ... Speaking the Word of the Lord to the people of Israel that asked for a king, Samuel said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons and make them work for him, to drive his chariots and be his horsemen, and some will run in front of his chariots and they will make his weaponry and he will make them captains of his army. He will make them plant his crops and harvest them. And your daughters will be his bakers and cooks and candy makers. He will take your fields and vineyards and olive yards, even the best of them, and one tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give them to his servants and his officers. He will take your servants, and make them work for him. He will take one tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants.

Samuel continued, And you will cry out when this happens, because of your king which you will choose, and the Lord will not hear you in that day. But the people refused to listen to Samuel ... They insisted to have a king and be like all the other nations, to judge them and go and fight their battles. Samuel listened to all the things that the people had to say, and repeated them to the Lord, and the Lord said, Listen to them and make them a king. Samuel then sent the men of Israel back to their homes.

If you've ever read the books of Samuel, and the books of Kings, you know that there were a few righteous kings that didn't treat the children of Israel in the manner that Samuel described, and a precious few that were very honorable, so we know from this, that God, through Samuel, was giving His people a warning of how kings in general would operate; Okay, so you want a king? This is what you're in for.

It looks like we're in for some interesting chapters ahead, doesn't it?!

At this point in our story, we're about to meet the man that becomes the first king of Israel.

Don't forget now, that Samuel is quite upset and offended by the whole business of Israel choosing a king to replace judges in Israel. You may remember from the beginning of the book of Judges, we learned that as long as a judge was alive and overseeing the welfare of Israel as God guided, things went fine for them, but when a judge died, then the people would always go astray.

As you know, throughout history, God has shown mercy and forgiveness to people, because man is but flesh and blood and Original Sin is inherited by everyone. And even though the children of Israel, His chosen people, made a choice to ask for a king over them instead of following God's plans, our Lord still, knowing their character and yet loving them deeply, stepped in to assist them. God told Samuel:

Let's review what happened last in our story about the first king of Israel, shall we?

Saul and his father's servant, being unsuccessful in finding his father's lost mules, decide to go see Samuel the Prophet for help in finding them. The Lord tells Samuel the day before Saul arrives that the man who would be king will come to him tomorrow, so Samuel prepares a feast. When Saul arrives, Samuel tells Saul not to worry because the mules had been found, and then gives him the news about his very near future kingship. Saul thinks that Samuel is making fun of him. Samuel sets Saul at the place of honor at the feast and Saul stays with Samuel that evening.

In our study so far of 1 Samuel, we recently learned about Saul's first victory over Ammon, and then Samuel's address to Israel. Let's pick up from there.

First, we must remember that way back when, things weren't like they are today. In today's time, the leader of a nation is the commander in chief all right, but they don't go out to battle with the rest of the military. Also, don't forget that these soldiers of Israel have had no military training whatsoever ... And those that are strong enough in faith to fight, are relying on the power of God to be victorious.

Let's recall what's happened recently in our story. Saul's military history began with a battle against the Ammonites. The army that was united for Israel consisted of 330,000 soldiers. They were victorious and a great celebration was had.

So ... What do you suppose the army of Israel did between battles? Since the conquest of Canaan was over, do you think they had military bases where they had boot camps and target practice and military strategy lessons? Well, perhaps precious few of the soldiers were that enthusiastic to protect and defend their new inheritance, but probably, except for a few bodyguards of the king, it's likely that most went home to their families.

Now, let me remind you of something that the Lord warned Israel about way back even before they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land.

... And there it was HUNDREDS of years later, and Israel was still troubled by all those that weren't driven out during the occupation of their inheritance. In fact, it's NOW THOUSANDS of years later, and Israel is YET troubled by them.

Now, back to our story ... Let's look at a few different things that are directly affecting what happens for Saul. As you may remember from the Book of Judges, as long as the children of Israel followed the commandments of the Lord, things went smoothly in their conquest of Canaan, but whenever they went backsliding, the disaster that they imposed on their enemies was turned back upon them. In this story, it wasn't the children of Israel that erred, it was Saul himself.

Let me give you the setting ... Saul has now reigned for two years over Israel, with one victory over Ammon. Apparently there was some peace time after that, and the only military that Saul kept at hand were three thousand soldiers. Two thousand of these were with Saul in Michmash. Saul's son Jonathan was with the other thousand in Gibeah, who successfully attacked a military post of the Philistines in Geba. The proximities of these places is something like this, with Gibeah and Gilgal being approximately 15 miles apart.

So Saul spread news of this victory to all of Israel, then combined all three thousand troops together in Gilgal and declared war on the Philistines.

The Philistines then assembled a huge army of 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and more soldiers than one could count. Just counting the chariots and horsemen alone, it was twelve times the manpower that Saul had. Seeing this, many of the soldiers of Israel were frightened and hid themselves in caves and forests and such, and others went to the land of Gad and Gilead, east of the Jordan for refuge. The remaining soldiers stayed with Saul, but even those trembled in fear.

Now, Samuel had told Saul to wait for him, seven days, and he would come to Gilgal and make offerings to the Lord before they went to battle. But when Samuel was late in arriving, Saul grew impatient and made the offerings himself. Just as Saul had finished making the burnt offering, Samuel arrived.

What have you done? Samuel asked Saul, and Saul explained that a number of his troops had abandoned and the Philistines were gathered together. With Samuel's absence, he was afraid that they would attack before offerings were made to the Lord, so he took it upon himself to do it.

Well, this was a mistake. How so? you may ask. Think back to the situation with Abraham and Sarah, and when Sarah was impatient waiting for the child that the Lord promised, and they took it upon themselves to have a surrogate ... You remember that whole thing? But we're not just talking about impatience here, as you might imagine, an offering as important as this was probably supposed to be performed by a Levite priest, which Saul was not. I don't recall reading anything about Samuel telling Saul, "In case I get stuck in traffic, go on ahead and start the fire without me." God's timing isn't always our timing. How many times in our own lives do we find it necessary to go on ahead with our own plans because we're too impatient to wait on the Lord's plan? At any rate, Saul was told by God's Prophet to wait for Samuel, and no matter what the circumstance, he should have waited.

So Samuel said to Saul, You did a foolish thing and didn't obey the commandment of the Lord. Your kingdom would have been established forever in Israel, but now, your kingdom won't continue. You see, the Lord wants a man after His own heart to be captain over His people.

How do you think Samuel was feeling about all of this? Remember, Samuel was annoyed that the children of Israel chose to have a king in the first place, so one might wonder what his perspective was. Well, one thing is certain, Samuel was a Prophet of God, and he loved the people he served for the Lord. Even though Samuel may not have been tickled pink about the prospect of having a human king over Israel, he also knew that Saul didn't choose to be king either ... The people wanted a king, and he was God's anointed, so one might assume that Samuel, in the interest of the welfare of Israel, wished Saul prosperity, so quite naturally, Samuel was disappointed at Saul, and he left Gilgal and went home to Gibeah. Saul and Jonathan followed with the mere 600 soldiers that were left.

OUCH!

"Your kingdom won't continue."

What does that mean? Well, had Saul proved himself to be trustworthy to follow God's Word, the throne would have passed on to his son Jonathan, and then Jonathan's son after him, and so on, continuing in Saul's bloodline forever ... BUT ... Since Saul displayed dishonor in carrying out the Lord's commandment, he lost the privilege.

Now, the Philistines also had a camp in Michmash, and while Saul and Jonathan and their small amount of soldiers remained in Gibeah because they knew they couldn't defend the land, the Philistines raided the area in three companies, in three different directions around Michmash. Obviously controlling the area, they then prohibited the Hebrews from making any swords or spears ... And any farming tools that they needed to have sharpened, had to be taken to the Philistines to do it. So, when there was warfare, the Hebrews were weaponless, however, Saul and Jonathan were both found possessing weapons ... Isn't that curious?

One might come to a few different conclusions about that, but consider this ...

Perhaps the Lord wanted to make the ultimate point, that weapons would not win any battles for the children of Israel ... Only the power of God would.

Anxious to find out what happens next? Stay tuned!

As you may recall, things aren't looking too bright for Saul and the army of Israel. Israel is not only sorely outnumbered by the army of the Philistines, but they (except for Saul and Jonathan, his son) have no swords or spears to fight against their opponents with, so basically, they're sitting idle, while the Philistines are gaining control of more and more of Israel.

Well, don't be too downhearted because the Lord is about to give 'em a break.

But first, a little tidbit ... You see, the ammunition of those days was quite bulky, as one might imagine ... Arrows, spears, swords ... It must have been quite a burden to carry any amount of those things. Not to mention, the armor itself that a soldier wore was quite heavy. So, while en route from the camp to the battle site, a soldier had an armor bearer, who carried the armor and weaponry so the soldier wouldn't be too tuckered out to fight once he reached the battle.

It seems that one day, Jonathan had an idea. While Saul sat idle in the outskirts of Gibeah with the six hundred (bless their hearts) soldiers that remained steadfast for Israel, Jonathan secretly summoned his armor bearer to sneak over with him to the Philistines camp to sort of stir things up a bit. He also professed his faith to his armor bearer that there's no limit to what God can do, and that He could save Israel with many soldiers ... Or with just a few.

Jonathan's armor bearer agreed to go along with anything Jonathan thought best. Now, the Philistine's camp was up on a cliff and Jonathan said, We'll reveal ourselves outright to them, and if they tell us to come on up to them, we'll take it as a sign from the Lord that we'll prevail over them, but if they tell us to wait and that they'll come down to us, then we'll stay put, and not go up.

So, up they go, climbing this cliff, which in itself must have been a feat, and the Philistines spotted them. Don't forget now, even though the Philistines have been gaining control of the area, they're probably still a mite scorned because of the last time Jonathan attacked their camp in Geba, and Saul made sure the whole land knew about it, so the Philistines beefed up their army, and ever since, the Hebrews have been apprehensive to confront them.

"LOOK! The Hebrews are coming out of their hiding places! C'mon up ... We've got something to show you!" ... They mocked.

Well, Jonathan accepted this invitation as a victory, and immediately continued to ascend the cliff with his armor bearer following. The hand of the Lord was definitely with them, because the Philistines fell before them, effortlessly. The earth even quaked, and Saul's watchman from Gibeah could see the Philistines fleeing their camp and even killing one another in panic.

When Saul heard that the Philistine camp was in an uproar, he asked who it was that caused all the commotion, so they did a count and discovered that Jonathan and his armor bearer were missing. Saul then called for Ahiah the priest to bring the ark of God. (To refresh your memory a bit, in the days of Joshua, the children of Israel would bring the Ark of God to a battle site in hopes that it would save them.) While Saul talked to Ahiah, the confusion among the Philistines camp grew even louder so Saul took his men and when they came into view of what was happening they saw the Philistines killing ... Each other! News of this spread quickly throughout the land, and all the Hebrews that had previously abandoned Saul and Jonathan rejoined with them in battle.

More adventures that happened during Saul's reign, next!

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL

Let's go back a smidgeon, shall we? Remember all the way back in the book of Exodus when the Amalekites attacked Israel as they were on their way to the Promised Land?

Now, remember, the Lord told Samuel ... The people aren't rejecting you, they're rejecting ME. They don't want ME to rule over them, so I will choose a king for them. Well, now it looks as though this king isn't after the Lord's own heart, so Samuel ... Possibly still feeling a bit responsible for the whole ordeal ... Lamented for Saul.

When Samuel saw Jesse's eldest son, he presumed that surely this was the Lord's chosen, because of his appearance.

Now as we said, the Lord was with David, and had left Saul. Make no mistake ... Saul knew the power of the Lord, having experienced first hand some pretty amazing stuff, so knowing that the power of the Lord now rested with David, and that he was experiencing evil spirits sent from God, it made Saul afraid of David. So, what do you think Saul did next? He promoted David from being his harp player in his house and his armor bearer, to being the captain over a thousand soldiers of the army of Israel. A promotion? Perhaps ... But also a lot more dangerous of a job for David than playing the harp, and for Saul a lot more security than having a giant killer that you're afraid of, carrying your weapons. All in all, David's demise was what Saul was scheming, which was far more likely with him on the battlefield.

Remember? Saul said a similar thing when Samuel told him he was gonna be king!

Well, it turns out that Saul's eldest daughter was given to someone else to marry, but Saul's daughter Michal loved David. This pleased Saul, hoping that she would be a trap for David ... How so you ask?

In those days, a dowry was required of a prospective groom. What is a dowry? In polite terms, it is a gift from the groom to the parents of the bride ... In frank terms, it's a price for a wife. Now, Saul told his servants to secretly tell David that the king wanted him to be his son-in-law, and David replied, Is it no big deal to you to be a king's son-in-law, since I'm a poor man? Well, the servants relayed this back to Saul, who then told the servants to tell David that he didn't want any dowry, but to kill one hundred uncircumcised Philistines to be avenged of the king's enemies. Saul thought surely that David would be killed in an attempt to do something so dangerous.

Well, David went above and beyond the required dowry substitute and killed two hundred Philistines, so Saul gave him Michal to be his wife. Saul recognized that the Lord was with David and that Michal loved him, and this made Saul all the more afraid of David and all the more his enemy. As for David, he conducted himself more wisely than all of Saul's servants, and everyone knew it.

Wow! What a story! Can't wait to find out what Saul has in store for David next, can you?

We have quite an interesting story unfolding haven't we? Just a short review of what happened last in our story ... After David returned from yet another victory over the Philistines, the evil spirit from the Lord was once again upon Saul and while David played the harp to comfort him, Saul again tried to spear David to the wall. David escaped and went home to Michal, who warned David that Saul would have David killed by morning if he didn't escape now, so David went to see Samuel in Ramah. Saul sent messengers after David three times, but when they arrived in Ramah, the spirit of God caused them all to prophesy, so Saul finally went to Ramah himself, and Saul prophesied as well.

Well, that was all great and groovy, but jealousy is a spirit that can really spoil a good streak, ya know?!

In light of this, you may not be surprised that David decided to ... Get outta Dodge so to speak ... Leave town. He went to a place called Nob, also known as the city of the priests, which was only about three and a half miles south, southeast of Gibeah, about a mile east of Jerusalem. There he went to Ahimelech the priest.

Let's continue with our story about Saul and David. In hopes to find refuge from king Saul, who wanted David dead, he fled to Gath, but it was occupied by Philistines, so he left there and went to a cave in Adullam, which was about 13 miles east, northeast of Gath.

When his family and others who were disgruntled with Saul for one reason or another, learned where David was (about 400 people in all), they joined him and became his loyals.

David's men, however aren't as brave as David, and they confess, "We're afraid here in Judah, won't we be even more afraid fighting against the Philistines?" So David calls on God again for confirmation, and the Lord assures him that He will give them the power to defeat the Philistines, and they were indeed victorious, even acquiring their cattle.

In the meanwhile, Saul got wind of where David was, and because Keilah was a fenced in city, Saul believed that the Lord had delivered David into his hand, cornering him in.

Now, of course David knew that Saul planned to do him harm, so he told Abiathar the priest to bring him the ephod which he brought with him when he sought refuge with David in Keilah. Time for a little trivia! What is an ephod exactly? Well, it was a linen apron worn by the Hebrew high priest which was used for divination ... That is, gaining insight from God. (Don't get this kind of divination mixed up with divination done by sorcerers and witches and palm readers and fortune tellers and necromancers, etc.)

So David asked the Lord if the people of Keilah would turn him and his men over to Saul, and the Lord said they would. At that, David and his company left Keilah and hid in the wilderness of Ziph, which was about a dozen miles southeast of Keilah. David had about six hundred soldiers now, that's two hundred more than he had when he was hiding in the cave at Adullam. Saul searched for David every day, but the Lord protected him.

While David was in a forest in Ziph, Jonathan, Saul's son and David's best friend, found him and encouraged him that God would be with him and not to be afraid.

Now, David's men believed that this was the Lord's way of saying, Look, I brought your enemy right to you to do as you see fit. For certain, David's men wanted to punish Saul for hunting David and encouraged him to kill Saul right then.

Now, to continue our story.