Today we cover 1 Samuel 8-18. Listen below and follow along with the notes. God bless, KM
Chapter 9 – The King and “I Am”: 1 and 2 Samuel
Part 2 – Saul and David
Saul (~1081-1010BC), Israel’s First
King
Ask and Ye Shall Receive (1 Samuel 8)
** Israel demanded a
king due, in part, to Samuel’s appointment of his sons to be judges over
Israel, and in part to the corruption of Samuel’s sons vis a vis the way they abused their tabernacle
responsibilities/privileges.
1 Samuel 8:4, 5 – “Then all the elders of
Israel gathered together and came to Samuel
at Ramah, and said to him, ‘You are
old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to
govern us, like other nations.’”
** Samuel wasn’t happy about Israel’s demands, but God
directed Samuel to listen to the people (see 1 Samuel 8:7-8), so Samuel acquiesced.
Saul’s Coronation (1 Samuel 9-12)
** There are two accounts of how Saul was chosen to be king:
Account 1: 1 Samuel
9-10 – The Lost Donkey
·
God instructed Samuel to appoint the person
looking for his father’s donkey as King over Israel (see 1 Samuel 9:15ff). The next
day, Saul finds Samuel…and the rest is history.
Read 1 Samuel 9:27-10:9 for Saul’s Appointment by the
Lord through Samuel
Account 2: 1 Samuel
10:17-24, – The “Lot” Draw (v. 20)
·
Samuel announces that God would provide a king
for Israel since Israel had rejected God.
·
The tribe from which the king would come was
selected by the drawing of lots. The representative from the tribe of Benjamin
won!
·
Then the families of the tribe of Benjamin drew
lots to see which of the families was chosen…and the Matrites won.
·
Then the sons of the Matrite families drew lots
to see who would be king, and Saul won by proxy. (v. 21)
·
Saul begins the long tradition of tall people
having an advantage over short people (v. 23)…and the superficiality of people in how
they chose leaders…i.e.: by appearances (v. 24).
** Things start well for Saul as he defeats the Ammonites
and their king, Nahash.
Saul’s Censure (1 Samuel 13-15)
** Saul became King of Israel in ~1051BC and ruled until
1011-1010BC.
(The unclear variance is due to
the inexact “science” of interpreting the Old Testament dates…solar calendar
vs. lunar calendar issues.)
·
According to Paul (Acts 13:21), we know that
Saul ruled for 40 years.
·
We’re not exactly sure how old Saul was when he
became ruler. 1 Samuel 13:1 is unclear. Some believe he was 30, others say he
was 40.
** After a short period of time, Saul loses God’s favor.
Ultimately, this is his demise.
Censure story #1 -
Saul does not Wait on the Lord (1 Samuel 13:1-15)
·
Saul was king for two years when Israel attacked
the Philistines.
The Philistines were, once again, threatening the Israelites in retaliation of Israel’s attack at Geba led by Jonathan, Saul’s son.
·
Israel, led by Saul, waited for Samuel at
Gilgal, as Samuel had instructed. When Samuel did not show, some of Israel lost
faith and began to desert the army.
·
So Saul, taking things into his own hands,
overstepped his Kingly role and offered sacrifices to the Lord, something on
the priest/judge – Samuel – was suppose to do.
·
Now read 1 Samuel 13:10-14
o
Saul justifies his impatience and lack of faith
o
Samuel declares the consequences…key in on verse
14
Note: Yet…even though
Saul was a lame duck king, note God’s faithfulness…
“When Saul had taken the kingship over
Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side –against Moab, against
the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the
Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them.
He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued Israel out
of the hands of those who plundered them.”
(1 Samuel 14:47-48)
Censure story #2 - (1 Samuel 15:1-35)
·
Because the Amalekites attacked Israel in the
wilderness when Moses was their leader (Exodus 17), God wanted Israel to avenge
that attack. So God commands Israel to kill the Amalekites…men, women, children
and all of the livestock.
·
Saul, in his humanness, decides to spare the
Amalekite king, Agag, and their choice livestock.
·
When Samuel (having been prepped by God – vs. 10, 11)
approaches Saul after the battle, Saul spins the news for his own good saying
he had carried out the command of the Lord,
when he had actually disobeyed God’s command/directive.
·
When Samuel points out his lie by referencing
the “bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle” (v. 14), Saul tries to spin things
again with another lie, blaming “the people” for keeping the livestock in order
to sacrifice them to the Lord (v. 15).
·
Samuel has nothing to do with the lies. He
reminds Saul of his duty as the appointed King of Israel, and asks Saul, “Has the LORD as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the
LORD? Surely, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is no less a sin
than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.” (vs. 22-23)
·
Samuel concludes with the bad news – “Because you
have rejected the word of the LORD, he
has also rejected you from being king.”
(v. 23b)
Application: We can learn from Saul’s mistakes…
1. God’s plan, being
perfect, is worth waiting for. Wait on the Lord
and in due time, he gives the victory.
2. Never try to lie
to God…he knows the truth!
3. God is looking
for people after his own heart…people who, even in their imperfections, will
seek to please the Lord through obedience.
Epitaph: 1 Samuel 15:35 – “The LORD was sorry that he had made Saul
king over Israel.”
“Sorry” = Hebrew: nacham
= regret, repent
** There are two primary words for
“repentance” in the Hebrew: nacham and shuv.
·
nacham
is used to describe the sorrow one has over a wrong decision and the decision
to do things another way
·
shuv
has to do with the sorrow over sin AND the decision to turn back to God’s ways
** Here, God is not “repenting” from sin…he was expressing
his sorrow over his choice of kings, with the resolution to choose another man
for the job.
Transition:
Meanwhile, in another scene, God is working on the next phase of the plan…the
Calling of David as Israel’s next King.
Charting David’s Rise to Power
** David…
·
lived in ~1040-970BC
·
Youngest son of Jesse of Judah in Bethlehem
·
King of Judah - ~1010-1002; Becomes King of
Israel after Saul’s (and Jonathan’s) death at Gilboa - ~1002-970BC
·
Best Friend was Jonathan, Saul’s son
(interestingly)
** God informs Samuel that He is done with Saul due to the
King’s disobedience, and that Saul’s successor will be one of Jesse’s sons who
can be found in Bethlehem of Judah.
Choosing a New King – 1 Samuel 16:1-13
·
God says to Samuel that it’s time to move on
from Saul, though Saul is still king over Israel.
·
God sends Samuel to Bethlehem where Jesse, a
shepherd, lives in order to choose one of Jesse’s sons as the new king.
·
True to form, Samuel and the rest who are
present, do a superficial review of Jesse’s sons, thinking the new king would
likely be the oldest, strongest, most visibly capable…but God had another plan.
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13
The Transition Begins: From Saul to David – 1 Samuel
16:14-23
·
Because of his disobedience, God not only
removed his hand of blessing from Saul, but He allowed Saul to be tortured by
an evil spirit
·
Since “music soothes the savage beast”, the
servants suggested that Saul have the harpists play when he was being
oppressed.
·
One servant knew of David’s prowess on the harp,
so Saul had David summonsed (v. 19) via word to Jesse.
·
David came…and Saul immediately had an affection
for David, making David his armor-bearer.
A Word about Armor Bearers…
o
Warriors of distinction, and certainly kings,
had a servant or servants who carried their battle armaments, particularly
their swords and large shield, into battle.
o
The armor-bearer was more than a servant, he was
a trusted right-hand-man, sometimes a confidant.
o
Armor-bearers also prepared and tasted the
warrior’s food and drink.
o
He was the “bodyguard” for the warrior,
protecting him from potential “Brutuses”/betrayers/assassins
o
He was the primary caregiver if the warrior
suffered wounds in battle.
o
In essence, the armor-bearer had the highest
position of confidence and honor of those in direct service to the
king/warrior.
Slaying Goliath – 1 Samuel 17
** You know the story…
·
The Philistines challenge Israel, once again.
This time, it’s a one-on-one challenge: Our Best vs. Your Best.
·
The Philistines send their champion, Goliath.
Goliath is “six cubits (the length between a man’s elbow and fingertip – about
18 inches, on average) and a span (the length between the thumb and the tip of
the middle finger when expanded – about 9 inches, on average)” – making Golaith
approximately 9’9” tall…a HUGE man in any generation.
·
For 40 Days, Goliath challenged Saul and Israel
to send out someone “man enough” to face him. Saul and Israel did nothing…they
were completely intimidated by Goliath.
·
David went back and forth between Saul and
Bethlehem in order to care for his father’s sheep. When he heard about the
impending battle, he returned to Saul’s side as a dutiful armor-bearer would.
·
Arriving at the Valley of Elah (the
battlefront), David goes to the front lines at the time Goliath comes forth to
issue the challenge again.
·
This time, though, David asks what reward will
be given to the one who confronts/defeats Goliath.
·
David’s older brother, Eliab, overhears the
conversation, confronts David about his presence being concerned about his
father’s herds.
·
Then Saul hears of David’s presence and sent for
David.
·
David then tells Saul…
1 Samuel 17:36-37 – “‘Your servant has
killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like
one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’ David said, ‘The LORD, who saved me from the
paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of
this Philistine.’”
·
Saul was willing to sacrifice his
armor-bearer…so he let him go…giving David his armor
·
But David was too slight to carry the armor, and
took his shepherding weapons – his staff and 5 smooth stones for his sling – to
face this “uncircumcised” Philistine.
·
With his shield-bearer in front of him, Goliath
saw this Israeli Pretty-Boy and mocked not only David and Saul, but the Lord himself.
·
But David said, “You come to me with sword and spear and
javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you
down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine
army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the
earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that
all this assembly may know that the Lord
does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our
hand.” (vs. 45-47)
·
You know the rest of the story…David kills
Goliath with a strategically placed stone in the forehead and then the
beheading of Goliath …the Philistines are defeated.
·
David becomes an instant legend.
·
Also, at that moment, Jonathan and David become
best friends…with Jonathan symbolically placing himself under David when
Jonathan gave David his armor and sword. (18:4)
·
Saul made David a general/commander in the
army…and the people approved of this appointment. (18:5)
·
And the Lord
enabled David to have victory wherever he went (18:5)
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