1 Samuel

 I really enjoy reading 1 Samuel. I think it has a little bit of everything in it. Over the last year or so I feel like I have written or talked about Saul and David many times, so when I read it this time my focus wasn't really on them. I know that is kind of hard to do, especially when you read the second half of the book. But, I found myself really focusing on Samuel this time around. I found myself trying to see things from his perspective. I also thought that the daily reading plan really helped me when I was reading, but I will get to that part later.  A lot of times when we are reading a story from either 1 or 2 Samuel, we really can't remember who Samuel was. So that is where I want to start. Let's take a look at 1 Samuel chapter 1. 

Chapter 1

Elkanah and His Family

There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

Is it just me or does every other story in the Old Testament start out with a woman who can't have children? I know that's an exaggeration, but I know that we have heard that before. What I love about those stories is they always seem to have a faithful woman who loves God. Hannah was very upset about not having any children and so she took her pain to God, this is what it says in 1 Samuel 1:9-18

Hannah’s Prayer for a Son

⁹ Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. ¹⁰ Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. ¹¹ And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” ¹² As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. ¹³ Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. ¹⁴ “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” ¹⁵ “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” ¹⁷ “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” ¹⁸ “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. 

When I read this, I try to imagine what Hannah looked like as she prayed. The priest Eli thought she was drunk, so it had to be at least a little out of the ordinary. The other thing I think about is how passionate she had to have been. To be honest it makes me feel like a failure at prayer. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard that I looked like I had been drinking. But I think I have had issues come up that I prayed about that needed a passionate prayer. It goes to back to all of the times I have mentioned faith the size of a mustard seed. If I had more faith, I would be able to pray passionately because I would know that God would hear me and answer my prayer. I know you might be thinking that God might say no to those prayers, but I keep thinking that if I could pray like that and have more faith, my wants would align with what God wants. I also wish I could see her face when it says that she is no longer sad. I think she had some pep in her step and a smile that people could see but couldn't figure out. So, let's see what happens next in 1 Samuel 1:19-20.

¹⁹ The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, ²⁰ and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.” 

Hannah then kept her promise in verses 24-27

24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. 27 I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.

Chapter two of 1 Samuel is mostly Hannah's prayer of praise to God and then in chapter 3, God speaks to Samuel. I want to focus on the end of chapter 3, starting in verse 19.

19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. 4:1 And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. 

So now it has been established that Samuel is a leader for the people of Israel. That brings us to chapter four, the Israelites are once again fighting against the Philistines. Something strange happens, the Israelite's lose. They come up with a master plan on how to go back and win again. They are going to bring out the Ark of the Covenant. When the crowd saw what was happening, they cheered, and the Philistines got scared. Everything was going according to plan. Let's look at how the Philistines reacted in 1 Samuel 4:6-9.

6 “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived, 7 they panicked. “The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! 8 Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. 9 Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”

Everyone knew what was going to happen, this was the beginning of the Israelites winning the war and the Philistines going away scared, never to return.

Except, that's not what happened.

Let's look at the next few verses.

10 So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed. 

I don't understand, how could this happen? They did everything they were supposed to do.

I'm going to jump over chapters 5 and 6, but I highly recommend reading them. It's an amazing story of how God made sure that the Philistines returned the Ark.  But I want to focus on why the Israelites lost the battle. To figure that out we need to jump to chapter 7.

1 Samuel 7:3-17

Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

³ Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord. ⁵ Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)

It all gets clear now. They wanted God to save them, but they were worshiping other gods the whole time. Samuel had to set them straight. They had to get rid of everything not pleasing to God, they had to fast, and they also had to confess their sins. What a lesson that is! We want God to fight our battles for us every day, but we want to worship other things, and go on sinning all we want. Then when it doesn't go our way, we ask God what happened. I wish this was a moment when I was talking to everyone but me, but sadly, I am guilty of this way too often. I stay up all day watching baseball, run out of time, I quickly read a few sentences in my bible and say a two-minute prayer and then I can't figure out why God seems distant lately. I try to convince him that I did everything I am supposed to do, but it doesn't work. 

So now that Samuel has gotten them straightened out, what happens? Let's continue in chapter 7.

⁷ When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. ⁸ “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. ⁹ So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. ¹¹ The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. ¹² Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. ¹⁴ The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days. ¹⁵ Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. ¹⁶ Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. ¹⁷ Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.

 Ok, so now we are ready to live happily ever after! Everyone has learned their lesson and we are good now. So, let's see what happens in chapter 8.

Chapter 8

Israel Requests a King

As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. ² Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. ³ But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. ⁴ Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. ⁵ “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” ⁶ Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. ⁷ “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. ⁸ Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. ⁹ Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

What? The person who led you his whole life is telling you that you shouldn't do something, but they still want to go do it. I feel like we can learn at least 3-4 lessons here. First of all, if your kids are still in your care, make sure that you discipline them. The role of the parent is never over. Two, make sure you have someone who can take care of the next generation. It's sad but I think we have all seen it way too many times. Someone in a family passes away and the family falls apart. Third, put as many Godly people in your life as possible, and when they give advice, listen! I know that there are always exceptions, but if all of the Godly people in your life are saying the same thing, I don't know that you should go against it. 

Now, maybe after he warns them about what a king will do they will change their minds. Let's see what happens as we continue in chapter 8.

Samuel Warns against a Kingdom

¹⁰ So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. ¹² Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. ¹³ The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. ¹⁴ He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. ¹⁷ He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.” ¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. ²⁰ “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” 

Can you imagine being told all of those things and still deciding to it? In verse 17 it specifically says, you will be his slaves. Their ancestors spent 400 years as slaves and ended up having to cry out to God for help. Now here you are being told by a very reliable source that you will be a slave again and they still do it. Let's see what God says in verses 21 and 22.

 ²¹ So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, ²² and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home. 

Every time I read this; I feel like a child who has disappointed his parents. I read it and I feel like God is lowering his head and walking away disappointed in me. At first, it seems as if God is caught off guard by all of this. I don't know why I feel that way, if you think about it, that doesn't even make any sense. Then I remember something that gives me hope. For those of you that are following in the daily reading plan, go back to March 17th. Let's see what Deuteronomy 17:14-20 says.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Guidelines for a King

¹⁴ “You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ ¹⁵ If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner. ¹⁶ “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ ¹⁷ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself. ¹⁸ “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. ²⁰ This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

Even if you only read verse 14, I feel safe! God had a plan all along. God knew what was going to happen, just because we can't remember what happened a few books ago doesn't mean he doesn't always have a plan. Over the last few years, we keep acting like everything that has come up is some crazy thing that no one could have planned for. I'm not just talking about covid, I'm talking about everything that has happened in our lives. We have all suffered loss or pain. Most of us have had some sort of financial setback. God had a plan. We need to make sure that we are always communicating with God and understanding that he always is prepared.