The Prophet Samuel

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Without further ado ... This is the Prophet Samuel trek for truth regarding Samuel the priest. Who was Samuel in the Bible?. The message within this educational expedition will truly enhance your BE-YOU-tiful Christian walk.

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It was prophecy that Samuel was to become a prophet of God. Samuel's mother promised that she would give him to the Lord for his whole life and never shave his head, if the Lord would bless her with a son. Samuel the priest was able to hear God talk to him. He was not only a prophet but also one of the judges of God's people.

When Samuel grew old, he had his son's become the next judges over Israel. But alas, they did not obey God's commandments and the people did not like them either. God's people became to demand that Samuel give them a king, like all the other nations had. Even though they knew God was their king. Big mistake.

Samuel did not like this. God told Samuel that the people did not want God to rule them any more and God would give them what the people wanted. Samuel was led to a man named Saul. Samuel anointed Saul king over Israel and God sent many messages to Saul through the prophet Samuel. Samuel also anointed David, who was God's chosen king of Israel. When God sent Samuel to find David, God told Samuel to judge a person by their heart, not by what they look like. The prophet Samuel did just that

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 1

The Prophet Samuel Story

Who was Samuel in the Bible Voyage

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.

We have 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 and Genesis 21:2), Rebekah (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31 and Genesis 30:22), Samson's mother (Judges 13:2-3) and now Hannah.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 2

The Prophet Samuel and Eli

Who was Samuel in the Bible to God

Ok, so we were briefly introduced to Eli, the high priest. Well, Eli had two sons, named Hophni and Phineas, who were wicked men and had no fear of God in them, and no respect for the honor of ministering to the Lord, either.

They abused the privilege of their position by breaking the laws of the offerings and sacrifices by stealing people's sacrifices by force, and they also defiled the women who came to worship at the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

Now, Eli was very old, and he knew about the evil ways of his sons, but though it grieved him at his heart, he did nothing more than scold them about it. Hophni and Phineas ignored Eli's concern and admonition, and continued in their disrespect and sin, but the Lord definitely took notice.

One day, a man of God (a Prophet) visited Eli and gave him a message from God, saying, Why do you honor your sons above me? Why do you belittle my sacrifices and offerings, to make yourselves rich with the best of the offerings of my people Israel? I did say that your family and the family of your father (the Levites) would serve me for ever, but now, I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be thought well of.

Time for a little Daily Bread Crumb! As you may know, in families of royalty, the throne is usually passed down to the firstborn son of the king. Well, likewise, the high priesthood of Israel was the same way. The eldest son of the high priest inherited the office, whether it be by reason of death, or health issues or whatever the cause be that the serving high priest left the office.

Aaron of course was the first high priest of the Israelites when they were freed from Egypt. He had four sons, but the two eldest died at the hand of the Lord:

The next in line to inherit the high priesthood was Eleazar and the fourth son of Aaron was Ithamar. Now we know from the books of Joshua and Judges that Eleazar did indeed succeed Aaron, and then Eleazar's son Phineas, but after that, we have Eli, who was not of Eleazar's bloodline (you can see for yourself in 1 Chronicles 6:3-15). So somehow, the bloodline switched from Eleazar to Ithamar.

But how do we know Eli is of the bloodline of Ithamar, seeing that Ithamar's family tree is not listed in Chronicles or elsewhere in the Bible? Well, by a process of elimination, because:

1. He wasn't from Eleazar's bloodline,
2. He was a high priest, and
3. One had to be of one of the two sons of Aaron in order to execute the priests office.

To go one step further with this, let's take a look ahead in the book of 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles shall we?

First of all, it appears that during the reign of king David, the priesthood was shared by the descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar:

But when Solomon became king, he gave the high priesthood to the family of Eleazar exclusively:

Now, resuming our study, the Lord (through the man of God mentioned earlier), tells Eli that because of the sins of his sons, and Eli's negligence to stop them, a day will come when the strength of Eli's family will be reduced and all of his posterity would die at a young age. And this will be a sign to you.

Your two sons will both die in the same day. And I will raise me up a righteous priest that will serve faithfully forever, and your descendants will beg to be assigned to a priest's office.

Meanwhile, Samuel, just a child, ministered to the Lord in Shiloh and Hannah (his mother) made him a coat each year and brought it to him when they came up for the yearly sacrifice. And the Lord blessed Elkanah and Hannah with five more children because she gave Samuel to the Lord.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 3

The Prophet Samuel Origins

Who was Samuel in the Bible to Become

Apparently, even after this warning, Eli failed to defend the integrity of the priesthood, and as you'll see, God's messenger wasn't just full of empty words.

Don't forget now, in the meantime, Samuel is just a child, and Eli is teaching him to serve the Lord (righteously) as a priest. At that particular time, it was rare that anyone received the Word of the Lord. There was no open vision (a vision that takes place when one is conscious, like falling into a trance, but with the eyes open).

But one night, the Lord called to Samuel, and having never heard the Word of the Lord before, Samuel thought it was Eli calling him, so he went to Eli and said, Here I am. Eli told Samuel to go on back to lie down because he hadn't called him. This happened three times, and then Eli realized it was the Lord calling Samuel, so he instructed him to go lie back down, but if he (Samuel) heard the voice again, to answer: Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

So the Lord did call again, saying, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered as he was told by Eli, and the Lord talked to him about Eli. He told Samuel that He would do something in Israel, and anyone who heard of it.

Their ears would tingle. Perhaps this is like what we refer to today as, a chill up the spine. At any rate, God was going to do something that would grab attention. He said that He would do all the things that He had spoken (through the man of God) concerning the family of Eli because of the sins of his sons, and that he (Eli) didn't stop them. So God promised that the sins of Eli's family would not be forgiven with sacrifice nor offering, forever.

The next morning, Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, but Eli called Samuel to him and asked what the Lord revealed to him, adding, May God do the same to you and more if you hide anything from me that He told you. So Samuel told Eli all of it, and Eli responded, He is the Lord: let Him do what He thinks is good.

Now, if Eli had been truly repentant and had taken action with his sons to stop their evil ways when the man of God warned Eli of the things that would happen because of their transgressions, perhaps things may have turned out differently, but as you can see, Eli seems to have sort of a "whatever will be, will be" attitude, and the ministry of the priesthood.

Especially the high priest and heirs, deserves the utmost reverence, of which the Lord saw that Eli and his sons didn't care to exercise, so we'll see what happens to them as a consequence to their ways a little later on in the next chapter.

Meanwhile, Samuel grew closer and closer to the Lord, and all of Israel recognized that he was chosen to be a Prophet of the Lord. You may remember that at the beginning of our study of 1 Samuel, we said that Samuel was the last judge.

Some believe that Samuel was the first "recognized" Prophet. Well, we certainly don't want to split hairs about who was considered the first Prophet, but there are a few scriptures that are interesting about this topic. First of all, Peter said:

And Paul said:

But the Lord Himself referred to Abraham as a Prophet, too:

And the Lord also said that He sent prophets since the day that Israel came out of slavery in Egypt:

Of course there was Enoch, Noah, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Balaam and Deborah who are noted as being Prophets as well, so we're not going to say that Peter was wrong, or Paul was wrong, or anything of that nature. Let's just say that during the time period when the judges ruled, there weren't any Prophets around until Samuel.

Don't forget, people will always want to challenge Christianity by asking you tricky questions that have absolutely nothing to do with your faith. Obviously, in a perfect world, they would realize that it doesn't matter who was the first prophet, and that living a life that represents Jesus is all that really matters, so never let trivia, debate, or provocation shake you.

Just always ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in sharing Truth with others, and be at peace within yourself that you do your best to share the Word of the Lord and the Gospel as purely as you possibly can.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 4

The Prophet Samuel Prophecy

Who was Samuel in the Bible - Wars

Now at that time, there were still battles between the heathen people who were never dispossessed of their land in Canaan, and Israel who inherited the land from God. Just as He had warned ... They would always be thorns in their sides.

In the days when Samuel had begun to prophecy, the Philistines again made war against Israel and at first, Israel was being defeated, losing about 4,000 men. So they decided it was a good idea to take the Ark of the Covenant out to the battlefield, in hopes that it would save them.

Now, who do you think went with the Ark? You guessed it ... Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's sons. When the Ark came into the camp, all of Israel shouted so loudly that the Earth rang, like it did in Jericho.

When the Philistines heard it, they knew that the Ark of the Lord was in the camp, and they were afraid, recalling all the great wonders that the Lord had worked on behalf of Israel since He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

But the Philistines then encouraged one another to be courageous and fight like men so that they wouldn't end up as slaves to the Hebrews, as the Hebrews were to the Philistines aforetime. They then defeated Israel sorely and stole the Ark of God, killing Hophni and Phinehas.

One man from the tribe of Benjamin escaped the disaster and ran to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head, as was customary when a person was in mourning or devastation.

Now Eli, being ninety-eight years old, and blind, sat waiting for the Ark of God to return, and the man of Benjamin told Eli that there was a great slaughter of Israel, including Hophni and Phinehas, and that the Ark of God was stolen.

If you read your text in your Bible, you'll notice that it wasn't when Eli heard of the demise of his sons, that he was greatly affected, but when he heard the news of the Ark of God being stolen, he fell backward in grief off his seat and died, being an old and fat man.

Eli judged Israel for forty years. (Though this story is not in the book of Judges, Eli was still considered a judge, even though he was also a high priest of Israel.)

When Phinehas' wife heard that her husband and her father-in-law were both dead, and that the Ark had been taken, she went into labor and gave birth to a son, naming him Ichabod (which means "no glory"), saying, The glory is departed from Israel, for the Ark of God is taken. She died after giving birth.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 5 - 6

The Prophet Samuel Evolves

Who was Samuel in the Bible Woes

Now, there were five cities of the Philistines: Asdod, Askelon, Gath, Gaza, and Ekron. (If you look on an ancient map of Israel, you'll see that they are all in the same general vicinity.) The Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod and put it in the house of their god.

The next morning, they found their god fallen down on it's face in front of the Ark (as in worship), so they stood it back up, and the following morning, they found it fallen down on it's face again, only this time, it's head and both palms of it's hands were cut off and only a stump of it remained.

In addition to this, the Lord destroyed many people of Ashdod and the surrounding area. Many died, and there were also mice that plagued the Philistine countries, similar to when the Lord sent the frogs, lice, flies, etc., into Egypt. Those Philistines that survived the plague were struck with emerods (tumors of the secret parts, or in other words; hemorrhoids). Yes, you read that correctly.

So the men of Ashdod, realizing that the hand of the Lord was against them, had a little meeting with the leaders of all the Philistines to decide what to do with the Ark of God, and they decided to carry it to Gath.

Well, the people of Gath experienced the same fate as those of Ashdod, so they sent the Ark on to Ekron. As you might imagine, the Ekronites felt like the Ark was (if you'll excuse the expression) a hot potato, since their fellow Philistines in Ashdod and Gath were devastated while the Ark was among them, so the people of Ekron pleaded with the leaders of the Philistines to return the Ark to the Israelites.

You'll find an interesting thing in this story concerning the Philistines. We know of course, that they were a heathen people, and we know that they had their own god, but the destruction that was occurring among them while the Ark was in their possession, was so deadly that:

Why do people pray to God in Heaven if they are unbelievers? Just something interesting to think about. Incidentally, the answer is; because He is so undeniable, and the fear of the Lord is the only hope of humankind ... He is their maker.

Even people who claim not to believe, still have the instinct ... The understanding that He is real, though they may deny it consciously, but again ... Instinctively, the human creature knows that God exists, because we are created by Him. Take a look at what is written in the book Isaiah:

In modern English ... Anguish will come to those who try and hide their plans from the Lord, and secretly they think that nobody knows their intents. Their backward thinking is viewed as potter's clay (of which form the potter can change, any time He pleases), after all, can any object say concerning Him that made it, He didn't make me? or can a thing that is formed say concerning Him that formed it, He didn't know what He was doing?

Another thing to remember, is that many people are believers in God, just not worshipers of Him ... Like the Philistines. Very sad, but true.

Now, back to our story.

For seven months, the Ark was in the country of the Philistines, and there was uncertainty among them as to what they should do with the Ark, because some believed that their misfortune was of the hand of the Lord, and others credited it all to happenstance, so they called together their priests and diviners (those who they thought had special intuition or supernatural power of understanding), to ask what to do, and how they should go about returning the Ark to the Israelites.

Their advice was to send the Ark back to the people of Israel. They advised not to send it back empty, but with a trespass offering. Again, why would the Philistines send an offering to God if they didn't believe in Him?

What was this offering that their "prudent" men and priests advised the Philistines to send? Five golden emerods (honestly), and five golden mice (representing an offering for each of the five Philistine lords and their people).

They also suggested that just as the plagues of the Egyptians departed when God's people were freed, perhaps the plagues of the Philistines would vanish likewise, once they returned the Ark.

So the Philistines followed the advice of their counselors and made a new cart on which to return the Ark. They made their golden emerods and mice and laid them in a chest upon the cart with the Ark, and sent the Ark of God on it's way, being driven of two milk cows, separating their calves from them as not to encourage them in any way.

Their conclusion was that if the cows led the Ark up to Bethshemesh, then all the evil that befell them was of God's hand, but if not, they would surmise that all that had happened was purely by chance. (Why Bethshemesh? Because it would be the obvious route to take when departing the countries of the Philistines, if one's destination was an Israelite city.)

Well, guess what. Those cows went straight on to Bethshemesh, just a lowing as they went, and didn't stray to the right or to the left. The Philistines followed, of course, to the border of the town to see if they would change course, but they did not.

For the people of Bethshemesh (which was a town of Judah, by the way), this was a sight to see ... Their beloved Ark of God, returning to them as they were harvesting wheat in the valley! The milk cows brought the Ark to the field of Joshua, where it stood still, and there was a great stone there.

The people split the wood of the cart and offered the milk cows as a burnt offering to the Lord, and the people of Bethshemesh offered sacrifice. When the five lords of the Philistines saw all of this, they returned to Ekron that same day.

But that's not the end of this story. The people of Bethshemesh looked into the Ark of the Lord and He killed 50,070 people because of this. Only the Levite priests were allowed to view the things of the Ark:

The men of Bethshemesh felt unworthy of the Ark remaining with them, so they sent word to the people of Kirjathjearim that the Philistines had returned the Ark of the Lord, and to come and bring it to their city.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 7

The Prophet Samuel and the Ark

Who was Samuel in the Bible - Judge

The Ark remained in Kirjathjearim for twenty years, under the care-taking of Eleazar, the son of Abinadab (not to be confused with Eleazar the son of Aaron). During that twenty years, the children of Israel sought the Lord's favor, as they were still threatened by the Philistines. During this twenty years, Samuel judged Israel, guiding the people in the way of the Lord.

Samuel the priest then spoke to all of Israel and told them that if they would devote themselves to the Lord with all their hearts and serve Him only, that the Lord would save them from the Philistines, and the children of Israel heeded Samuel's advice. Then Samuel gathered all of Israel to Mizpeh and they fasted and prayed there in repentance for their disloyalty.

Now, the Philistines heard that all of Israel was gathered in one place at Mizpeh, so the leaders of the Philistines thought this was a good opportunity to attack them.

When Israel discovered the Philistines' plan, it frightened them, so they asked Samuel to pray to God on their behalf, to save them from the Philistines.

Samuel took a baby lamb and sacrificed it to the Lord with prayer, and the Lord heard. While Samuel was still offering the sacrifice, the Philistines neared, but the Lord sent out thundering so great that it overcame the Philistines and they were defeated by Israel.

So Samuel set up a memorial stone at the boundary of their victory and called it Eben-ezer (the stone of help), and said, Up to here has the Lord helped us. The Philistines didn't come into the borders of Israel anymore.

The hand of the Lord protected Israel from the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Even the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were given back and there was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life, and he traveled each year to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places, but his home where he lived and judged was in Ramah, and he built an altar there to the Lord.

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The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 8

The Prophet Samuel Ages

Who was Samuel in the Bible - Disputes

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.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 9

The Prophet Samuel Judgment

Who was Samuel in the Bible - Warning

You may remember from the beginning of the book of Judges, 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:

So, this man, who would be king of Israel, would essentially be chosen by God. But, God gives everyone freedom of choice, and as with every human being that ever lived, the decisions a person makes, whether chosen by God or not, are not always the choices God wants.

Let's find out how this man learned that he would be king of Israel.

There was a man of the tribe of Benjamin named Kish, who was a "mighty man of power." You can decide for yourself whether this means physically strong, influential and respected, or rich. But at any rate, Kish had a son named Saul, who was a fine young man and very tall, taller than any of the people.

One day the mules of Kish wandered off, so he sent Saul along with a servant to go and find them. They searched far and wide for the animals but couldn't find them, and finally Saul said to the servant, Let's go back home, or my father will stop worrying about the mules, and instead worry about us. But the servant convinced Saul to go on to a certain city because he had heard of a man of God (Prophet) named Samuel, and thought perhaps he could guide them to the mules.

Saul was concerned because they had nothing to offer Samuel. They had eaten all their bread, so how could they pay Samuel for his help? But the servant had a fourth of a shekel of silver, so they decided to present that as their gift, and they went on to the city. On their way, there were some young maidens going out to draw water from a well, and they asked where they could find Samuel. The maidens told them that there was a sacrifice and feast planned, and directed them where to go.

Samuel, of course, knowing in advance because God had told him, was expecting Saul, and when he came into sight, the Lord said to Samuel, This is the man I told you about! He shall reign over my people.

Saul came near to Samuel and asked where the house of the seer (Prophet) was. Samuel answered, I am the seer, go up to the high place (a temple or altar, usually built on an elevation, that the ancient Jewish people used for worship), you will eat with me today and tomorrow I will tell you all you want to know, and you may go.

As for the mules that went missing three days ago, don't worry about them, they're found ... And the king that Israel desires, will be you.

Well, Saul thought that Samuel was joking with him, and he replied, I'm from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the smallest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why do you make fun of me?

Remember why Benjamin was at that time the smallest of the tribes of Israel? It wasn't many generations before that the entire tribe was destroyed, except for 600 men. You can review that story in The Book of Judges, Chapter 19-21.

Samuel took Saul and his servant and set them in the most honored place among the guests that were invited. Samuel told the cook to bring a special portion to Saul. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. The next day, Samuel told Saul to ask the servant to go on ahead of them, but for Saul to stay a while so that he could show him the Word of God.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 10

The Prophet Samuel and Saul

Who was Samuel in the Bible - Anointing

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.

The next morning, Saul prepares to return home. Now, remember, Saul thinks that Samuel was just speaking in jest about being king, so Samuel tells him to send his servant on ahead so he can tell him the Word of the Lord.

Then Samuel took a vial of oil, poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and told him that the Lord had anointed him to be captain over His people. As a sign, Samuel said, When you leave here you'll meet two men by Rachel's tomb, and they'll tell you that the mules you went to search for are found and that your father now worries what happened to you instead of the mules.

Then when you leave there, you will meet three men, one carrying three kid goats, another carrying three loaves of bread and one carrying a bottle of wine. They'll greet you and give you two of the loaves of bread.

Samuel continued, After that, you'll come to the hill of God where you'll meet a group of Prophets, and they will prophecy, and the Spirit of the Lord will overcome you, and you will be a changed man. When these signs come true, know that the Lord is with you. Then go to Gilgal and I will be there in seven days to make offerings and sacrifice and I'll tell you what to do then.

When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all the signs that Samuel spoke, came to pass that day.

So Samuel gathered all the people together and spoke the Word of the Lord to them. I saved you from Egypt and from the hand of all that oppressed you, and today, you reject your God who saved you out of all your troubles, and you have said to Him, No, but give us a king. Now then, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes.

If you will recall the method by which they determined that Achan stole the accursed thing from Ai, bringing all of Israel, first by tribes, then by families, then by households, then man by man (this was probably done by casting lots or perhaps by Urim and Thummim) until it was revealed that Achan had committed the transgression.

This was also how it was shown to the people that Saul was the anointed one to be king of Israel. First the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, then the family of Matri, then Saul, but Saul was nowhere to be found. So they asked the Lord where he was and were told that Saul had hidden himself among the "stuff." (One might assume the stuff was baggage, since people had come from all over Israel to sort of inaugurate Saul anointed king.)

Remember earlier in our story, the Bible said Saul was (to use the exact words) "a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he," so one might assume that he was humble, and that was why he had hidden himself when all this "to do" was going on about the new king.

Anyway, they went and found him and brought him before all the people. Don't forget now, Saul was taller than anyone else, and Samuel said, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

Then Samuel wrote down in a book, what would happen in the kingdom, and sent all the people home. Saul went to his home in Gibeah, along with a band of men whose hearts God had touched, but there were wicked people who doubted in Saul and despised him, but Saul humbly remained quiet about the matter.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 11

The Prophet Samuel and King Saul

Who was Samuel in the Bible Concerns

The first thing that Saul had to deal with was war with the Ammonites. Let's do a little refreshing before we continue ahead with our study ... Who are the Ammonites? They were the children of Ammon, who was the son of Lot. If you would like to review the story of their origin, you will find it in Genesis, Chapter 19.

Do you remember any significant events involving the children of Ammon? How about when Moses was leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land?

Where is Ammon? It is the land that lies on the east side of the Jordan River. We also know this about this particular region:

In addition, Israel was commanded not to meddle with the Ammonites, way back in Moses' day:

And the Ammonites were forbidden to enter the congregation of the Lord because they weren't hospitable to God's people when they were on their way to the Promised Land from Egypt.

Now that we've got a refreshed memory about the children of Ammon ... On with the story. The Ammonites, who were led by a king named Nahash, planned an attack against Jabesh-Gilead. And what do you remember about Jebesh-Gilead? Well, remember when the tribe of Benjamin had no wives ... Back when the children of Israel destroyed all but 600 men of the tribe because of the woman who was killed by the men of Gibeah (and her husband cut her into 12 pieces and sent one to each tribe of Israel).

You may remember that while Israel was repenting about the ordeal, they made an oath that whoever didn't come to Mizpeh to participate in making peace offerings would be put to death, and none from Jabesh-Gilead attended, so they were all destroyed except for 400 chaste women whom they gave to the Benjamites to marry.

So, now that we're familiar with who's who, let's continue, shall we? The men of Jabesh-Gilead said to the king of Ammon, Make a deal with us, and we'll serve you. Nahash answered, I'll make a deal with you if I may pluck out all your right eyes.

Why? Well, aside from just being plain cruel, it was a strategy. A soldier carried his shield in his left hand so that he could fight with his right hand. (Of which most were predominantly right handed.) And with only the left eye functioning, it was interfered with by the shield, therefore rendering the soldier practically helpless.

The elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days to prepare and then if there is no one to help us, we'll come out to fight with you.

They sent messengers to Gibeah (where Saul lived) and explained their dilemma, and all the people cried bitterly. When Saul heard the report of all this, the Spirit of God came upon him and he was filled with anger. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, sending them throughout all Israel with the message that whoever didn't come and follow Saul and Samuel, the same would be done to their oxen.

As you can imagine, the fear of the Lord inspired them all to come out without hesitation. Under Saul's command, they defeated Nahash and the Ammonites victoriously. The people then suggested that those who questioned Saul's ability to lead the children of Israel, be put to death, but Saul refused and gave the Lord glory for saving Israel that day.

So Samuel called all the people together, and a second time pronounced Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, with sacrifices, offerings and rejoicing.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 12

The Prophet Samuel - Renewal

Who was Samuel in the Bible Signs

Here's something to think about. When we think of the kings of the Bible, we tend to think of their position as a holy thing, which, in a perfect world, it would be. What am I getting at? Israel was God's chosen people. They were different. Other nations had kings to govern them, and that's what Israel was seeking in a king ... Government. Not a holy king to guide them in God's Law. But don't forget what Moses said:

They were a nation "so great" that God chose them for His own special people. But even though they already had God's Law, which was divinely superior to any other government that could possibly be implemented, it wasn't enough for them. They weren't satisfied.

Let's talk about the "kings" and "government" topics a little more. In today's era one would be hard pressed to say that people's incentive to elect any given candidate is because of their likelihood to carry out God's will, but rather because of the candidates probability of enforcing policies that would increase the voters income level and comfort of living, and decrease the voters effort in achieving it.

Now, for the past four to five hundred years since the Exodus, the children of Israel had been living under the "government" of God the King. They knew full well that whenever they (the children of Israel and their forefathers) turned away from the Lord, things went awry ... Just like He promised. They also knew full well that whenever they sought the Lord and turned to Him, things went incredibly well. To have stuck with God as King would have been the "holy" thing to do.

Another thing to be mindful of is that its easy for one to wonder in retrospect, why the children of Israel didn't see what they were doing. Well, not only was it told by God that they would be stiff-necked and backsliding, etc., etc., but we tend to lose sight that these stories happened over generations of time. One would think that people would learn from the mistakes of their ancestors, but as silly as it sounds, people want to make their own mistakes, claiming that one can only learn from their own errors.

Yes, I know how prideful that sounds, but most people, if they heard a story about something that happened to their great grand-dad, would think many things before learning any kind of lesson from it. For instance: Times have changed; people have changed; the circumstances are different; etc., etc.

It's almost like people think that their own mistakes are like part of their own unique personality ... As if mistakes make up who they are. Some sick psychologist (I believe) or some other genius, even came up with the idea that mistakes "build character." Man, I never read anything in the Bible like that! Who do you think is more respectable in God's eyes, who do you think He views as having more "character" ...

A person that strives not to make mistakes or a person who believes mistakes are some kind of prerogative? At any rate, the children of Israel were no different than people today in that sense, and they had thousands of years less hindsight than we do today.

Another argument you may have with yourself is, "Wait a minute ... They had judges didn't they? How much different could it be to have a king? Well, you might answer this way: In times of trouble, God decided when and who to send to judge (lead, protect and guide) His people. That sure seems quite different than a king.

Well ... You remember all the things Samuel prophesied about the future kings back in Chapter 8. Quite different from any judges, wouldn't you agree? That's not to say that there weren't any good kings. A king was as good as his faith in God. If he had strong faith, the Lord blessed him.

It's no wonder that Samuel (being a judge and all) was offended and upset at Israel's insistence on having a king. Remember, Samuel's entire life was devoted to serving God, and now he's old and overwhelmed with disappointment. At the same time, he loves God's people. You would imagine this was a difficult time for him, and he probably felt like his heart was being torn in two.

Samuel addresses Israel at this celebration they're having, and testifies to them of his integrity, which the people affirm. He reminds them of the Lord's saving Grace since the Exodus despite the fact that they had forsaken God numerous times, and how it was the Lord that appointed all their deliverers up until king Nahash of Ammon threatened them, and they demanded a king.

The prophet Samuel told Israel, Fear the Lord and things will go well with you and your king, but rebel against the Lord and His hand will be against you. As a sign I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you'll understand that your wickedness is great in asking for a king.

And the Lord did indeed send thunder and rain that day, and the people revered the Lord and Samuel. Samuel assured the children of Israel that he would continue to pray for them and teach them the good and right way.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 13

The Prophet Samuel - Battles

Who was Samuel in the Bible Danger

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.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 14

The Prophet Samuel

Who was Samuel in the Bible

Israel is not only sorely outnumbered by the army of the Philistines, but they (except for Saul and Jonathan son of Saul) 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 Daily Bread Crumb ... 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! Come on 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.

Here comes an interesting twist to the story. Saul, anxious to further avenge himself on his enemies, solemnly commanded the people that if anyone stopped fighting and tasted any food until the evening, they would be cursed. The Hebrews, though they were weary, feared the curse so they obeyed ... But Jonathan didn't hear Saul proclaim the curse, and as they entered a forest, he ate a piece of an honeycomb and he gained virtue.

When the people realized that Jonathan ate, they told him about the curse that Saul announced, and Jonathan said that Saul hadn't done well with this curse, because if they had eaten some food, they would have had more strength for an even greater slaughter of the Philistines.

The Hebrews continued to strike down the Philistines until the evening and they were very faint. Late in the evening when the fear of the curse had ended, the people took a great spoil of the Philistines camp, killing sheep and oxen and calves and eating them with the blood, which was against the commandment of God.

When Saul heard of it, he ordered that a great stone be rolled into the middle of them so they could kill their sacrifices on it and pour out the blood so that it was acceptable to God. This was the first altar Saul built as king.

After this, Saul wanted to go back to pursuing the Philistines during the night and attack until the morning until there wasn't a single one left. The people agreed, so Saul asked the priest to ask God if he would deliver them into the hand of Israel, but God didn't answer.

Saul knew that God didn't refuse to answer without good reason, and that there was sin that was concealed, which was why God kept silent, so he gathered all the people to find out who had sinned.

Saul then swore that even if it proved to be Jonathan his son who had sinned, he would surely die ... But when nobody confessed anything, he decided to reveal the sinner by casting lots. When the lot fell on Jonathan, Saul asked what he had done. Jonathan said, I only tasted a little honey, and now I must die. Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.

Whew! Ya gotta know this was a terribly emotional situation! Saul swore to the Lord that even though it was his son, he would have to die, and was ready to stand by his word for God. Jonathan, just as honorable, offered himself willingly.

But the people interjected ... "Should Jonathan, the one who initiated this great salvation in Israel, die? God forbid! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground ... He worked with God today!"

So the people rescued Jonathan, and Saul returned home. He also fought against the neighboring nations on every side. There was bitter war against the Philistines all the days of Saul's reign, and whenever Saul saw a strong or valiant man, he took him as part of his posse.

More adventures about the life of Samuel at the link below:

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