1 and 2 Samuel
1 and 2 Samuel
1 and 2 Samuel
1 & 2 SAMUEL
I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. (Hosea 13:11)
The Books of 1 and 2 Samuel give us the origin of the kingdom. The two Books of Samuel were
classified as one in the Jewish canon. They are the first two of four Books of Kings in the Latin Vulgate.
WRITER: The name of Samuel is identified with these two historical books, not because he was the
writer primarily, but because his story occurs first and is so prominent. He anointed as king both Saul
and David. Samuel is considered the author up to 1 Samuel 25 (his death). Nathan and Gad completed
the writing (1 Chronicles 29:29 ASV).
FEATURES:
1. The rise of the kingdom.
2. The story of Hannah.
3. The story of little Samuel.
4. The story of David and Goliath.
5. The friendship of David and Jonathan.
6. King Saul’s visit to witch of Endor.
7. God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7.
8. David’s great sin — Bathsheba.
9. David’s rebellious son — Absalom.
THEME:
Prayer — 1 Samuel opens with prayer; 2 Samuel closes with prayer.
Kingdom — The change of the government from a theocracy to a kingdom; God’s covenant with
David.
Prophet — The rise of the office of prophet, who became the messenger of God in place of the priest.
KEY VERSE: 1 Samuel 10:25
COMMENT:
There is a striking contrast between the characters in the Book of Judges and those in the two Books of
Samuel. The men in Judges seem to be ordinary and average, while here the characters are
outstanding and above the average. There are 6 who stand out in 1 Samuel. They are Hannah, Eli,
Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David. First Samuel is a transitional book from the era of the judges to the
kingdom. The kingdom foreshadows the coming millennial kingdom in some respects. There are certain
profound global lessons for us in the setting up of the kingdom. The world needs:
1. A king with power who exercises his power righteously;
2. A king who will be in full dependence upon God and who can be trusted with power; and
3. A king who is in full obedience to God.
CHAPTERS AND VERSES WORTH REMEMBERING:
1 Samuel 15:22 — Samuel’s word about obedience
1 Samuel 25:29 — Abigail’s word about David’s relationship to God
2 Samuel 3:33 — Abner’s epitaph
2 Samuel 7 — God’s covenant with David (note the 7 “I wills”)
2 Samuel 18:33 — David’s grief over Absalom
2 Samuel 22 — Song of David (Psalm 18)
2 Samuel 24:24 — David’s rebuke against a cheap religion
1 SAMUEL
COMMENT:
I. SAMUEL: God’s prophet, priest, and judge, Chapters 1 — 8
Chapter 1 — This First Book of Samuel opens with a cry of a godly woman. While the people cry for a
king, Hannah cries for a child. God builds the throne on a woman’s cry. When woman takes her exalted
place, God builds her a throne. Eli, the high priest, thinks Hannah is drunk as she prays before the
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tabernacle in Shiloh. When he discovers her true anxiety is for a child, he blesses her. Samuel is born
to Hannah and she brings him to Eli in fulfillment of her vow.
Chapter 2 — Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving is prophetic, as she mentions the Messiah for the first
time (v. 10). Eli’s sons are evil and not fit for the priests’ office. An unnamed prophet
warns Eli that his line will be cut off as high priest and that God will raise up a faithful priest (v. 35).
Notice verse 26 — spoken only of Samuel and Jesus.
Chapter 3 — The story of the call of Samuel as a prophet-priest is ordinarily reserved for children. It is
not only for the junior, but for the senior. Bring it out of the nursery and into the adult department, for it
is not only a beautiful story but marks one of the great transitional periods in Scripture — the change
from theocracy to monarchy, from priest to king. God spoke to a king through prophets. Samuel was
not a wee child. Josephus says he was 12 years old (2:18 gives the wrong impression). Solomon was a
grown man when he prayed, “I am but a little child” (1 Kings 3:7). Jeremiah was called to prophetic
office when he wrote, “I am a child” (Jeremiah 1:6). There was a total of 4 calls to Samuel: first and
second were the call of God to salvation (v. 7); the last two calls were to service (v. 10).
Chapter 4 — Israel, without consulting Samuel, goes out to battle against the Philistines — which leads
to defeat. Then they bring the ark of the covenant into battle, thinking its presence will bring victory.
This reveals the superstitious paganism of the people who thought there was some merit in an object.
The merit was in the presence and person of God.
Verse 5 reveals gross idolatry.
Verses 6 through 8 show that the Philistines were both superstitious and ignorant.
Verse 10 tells Israel’s defeat again. The ark is captured.
Verse 18 — The capture of the ark causes Eli to collapse and fall backward, breaking his neck (he was
a fat man).
Chapter 5 — The captured ark is placed in the house of Dagon, idol of the Philistines. The idol falls
over and breaks. In fear, they send the ark to Gath where it is then transferred to Ekron.
Chapter 6 — Philistines return the ark to Israel, carried on a cart, to the field of Joshua at
Bethshemesh. The ark is transferred to Kirjath-jearim.
Chapter 7 — After 20 years Israel prepares to receive the ark. Israel turns from Baalim and Ashtaroth
to serve the Lord (v. 4). After Israel’s victory over the Philistines, Samuel sets up a stone at Ebenezer,
which means “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
Verses 15 through 17 give Samuel’s extensive ministry as prophet, priest, and judge.
Chapter 8 — Hosea 13:11 can be written over the remainder of 1 Samuel:
I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
Samuel made the mistake of making his own sons judges to succeed him. They were wholly unworthy
and incompetent (v. 3). Samuel was a failure as a father.
Israel demanded a king and rejected God and Samuel. Israel was influenced by surrounding nations.
office (vs. 8-10). Samuel rebukes and rejects Saul (vs. 13, 14). The disarmament of Israel is revealed
(vs. 19, 22).
Chapter 14 — Again Jonathan gains a victory but Saul takes credit for it (vs. 14, 15). “Saul took credit
for victory…modesty gone now” (Young). Saul’s jealousy is revealed (vs. 37-45). He actually would
destroy his son if he stood in the way.
Chapter 15 — Saul’s glaring rebellion is revealed in his disobedience regarding Agag. He wants to
cover up his sin before the people (v. 30). Saul is rejected now as king with no hope of recovery (v. 35).
Samuel loved Saul for he mourned for him. Was he Samuel’s choice? A great spiritual principle is
enunciated by Samuel (vs. 22, 23). God has given Saul an opportunity to make good after his first
failure, but he failed the second time. This is God’s method all the way through Scripture (cf. Jacob,
Jonah, Peter, Mark, etc.). God did not need to wait for the result — He already knew. However, the
individual needed to know, and we need to know (Psalm 51:4; Romans 3:19; Revelation 15:3). We
shall be tested, and we need the help of the Holy Spirit (James 1:12). Why the extreme surgery in
slaying the Amalekites and Agag? Move ahead about 500 years. Haman was an Agagite (Esther 3:1).
God was protecting multitudes of the future, as He did at the Flood.
Chapter 28 — Saul’s interview with the witch of Endor poses and provokes many questions. The
primary one relates to Samuel. Did she bring Samuel back from the dead? If so, this is the only
instance in Scripture. Scripture positively condemns such practices of necromancy (Deuteronomy
18:9-14). The New Testament account of Lazarus and a rich man indicates there can be no return
(Luke 16:19-31). Paul was silenced about his experience of being caught up to the third heaven (2
Corinthians 12:2-4). Scripture warns of these practices and predicts a future outbreak (Matthew 24:24;
2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; Revelation 16:13, 14). Saul was abandoned of God (vs. 6, 15).
Because heaven was silent, Saul turned to hell. We maintain that Samuel did not appear. There are 2
possible explanations:
(1) It was a fraud, the witch was a ventriloquist (this is the position of G. Campbell Morgan);
(2) an overweening desire to communicate with dead loved ones makes people victims of deceit. We
believe a false spirit appeared — not Samuel. Even the witch was deceived and frightened (vs. 12- 15).
The false spirit communicated nothing that was not previously revealed.
Chapter 29 — The Philistines do not trust David to fight against Israel.
Chapter 30 — David fights against the Amalekites because of destruction of Ziklag. Note David’s
refuge (v. 6).
Chapter 31 — Saul, mortally wounded in battle, tries to commit suicide. See 2 Samuel, chapter 1, for
the answer to the question: “Who killed King Saul?” Saul failed in ruling God’s property. The end is self-
destruction. God and His authority are rejected. Saul spared the Amalekites; Saul was killed by
Amalekites.
OUTLINE:
I. SAMUEL: God’s prophet, priest, and judge, Chapters 1 — 8
A. Birth of Samuel, Chapters 1, 2
1. Hannah’s prayer and answer, 1
2. Hannah’s prophetic prayer; boy Samuel in temple, 2
B. Call of Samuel, Chapter 3
C. Last judge and first prophet (prophetic office), Chapters 4 — 8
1. Ark captured by Philistines; Word of God to Samuel fulfilled; Eli dies and his sons slain, 4
2. God judged Philistines because of the ark; ark returned to Bethshemesh, 5, 6
3. Samuel leads in revival (put away idols and turn to Jehovah); victory at Ebenezer, 7
4. Israel rejects God and demands a king; Samuel warns nation but promises a king, 8
2 SAMUEL
COMMENT:
The Book of 2 Samuel continues the message of 1 Samuel. It is given over entirely to the reign of
David. The life and times of David are important because he is the ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:1). It
shows that government of this world in the hands of man is a failure. Many new characters appear in
this book with whom the student of the Bible should familiarize himself.
I. TRIUMPHS of David, Chapters 1 — 10 David mourns the death of Saul and Jonathan.
Chapter 1 — The question of who killed King Saul may not be answered in this chapter, but it adds
another suspect. A young Amalekite, escaping out of the camp of Israel, reports to David the death of
Saul (v. 8). He claims credit for slaying Saul (vs. 9, 10). David executes the young man for the crime
(vs. 14-16). David’s grief over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan is touching, poetic and dramatic. It is a
striking lamentation (vs. 17-27).
Chapter 2 — David made king over Judah. Abner, captain of Saul, made Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, king
over the remaining 11 tribes. Civil war ensues. David defeats Abner and the army.
Chapter 3 — A long civil war weakens the nation, but David gradually gains in strength. David makes
Hebron his home at this time. Abner, after falling out with Ish-bosheth, deserts to David. Joab, David’s
captain, suspects him and, seeking revenge for his brother Asahel’s death, murders Abner. Abner had
brought Michal to David previously as a condition of making peace with David. Note the epitaph of
David to Abner (v. 33). Abner had left the city of refuge where he was safe.
Chapter 4 — Ish-bosheth is murdered, as he lay on his bed, by his own leaders. David executes the
murderers.
Chapter 5 — After much bloodletting, David finally is made king over all Israel and moves his capital to
Jerusalem. Note the approach of the 11 tribes to David (v. 2). David takes Jerusalem from the
Jebusites. Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished men and materials to build David a palace in Jerusalem.
Chapter 6 — David does a right thing in a wrong way. He tries to bring up the ark on a cart, although
God had given implicit directions for moving it. The Kohathites of the tribe of Levi were to carry the ark
on their shoulders (Numbers 3 — 7). Uzzah was smitten dead because he should have known better
than to touch it. “Hands off” was made abundantly clear in God’s instructions concerning it. David then
brings up the ark in a right way (v. 13). Michal rebukes David for his enthusiasm and devotion to God
in bringing up the ark.
Chapter 7 — God’s covenant with David makes this one of the great chapters of the Bible. The
message of the Bible from this point on rests upon the promise God here makes to David. David
desires deeply to build the temple to house the ark of God, and Nathan the prophet concurs with him in
the plan. God appears to Nathan to correct him, for God will not let David build the temple because he
is a bloody man. God gives him credit for his desire and promises in turn to build David a house. God
promises a king and a kingdom to come in the line of David (vs. 12, 13, 16). Verse 14 not only refers to
Solomon, but to Christ — “Christ was made sin for us.” Bishop Horsley translates this, “When guilt is
laid upon him, I will chasten him with the rod of men.” God confirms this with an oath (Psalm 89:34-37).
David understands that a king is coming in his line who will be more than a man. Bishop Horsley
translates verse 19, “O Lord God, Thou hast spoken of Thy servant’s house for a great while to come,
and hast regarded me in the arrangement about the Man that is to be from above, O God Jehovah.”
(See also 2 Samuel 7:25 and 23:5.)
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The Old Testament prophets based the kingdom on this promise (Jeremiah 23:5).
The New Testament opens at this point (Matthew 1:1).
This was the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary (Luke 1:32, 33).
Peter began here on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25-31; 34-36).
Paul began here in Romans (Romans 1:3).
The New Testament closes here (Revelation 22:16).
(59 references to David in the New Testament)
Chapter 8 — David consolidates his kingdom, he gains victories over the old enemies of Israel (v. 12)
and enlarges his kingdom (v. 15).
Chapter 9 — David befriends Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, whose feet were lame. David brings
him into his palace and gives him a place at his table (vs. 7, 10, 13). This reveals the kindness of David.
Chapter 10 — David defeats both the Ammonites and Syrians to avenge the insult to his messengers
sent to Hanun, king of Ammon.
OUTLINE:
I. TRIUMPHS of David, Chapters 1 — 10
A. David mourns the death of Saul and Jonathan, Chapter 1
B. David made king over Judah, Chapter 2
C. Civil war — Abner joins with David but murdered by Joab, Chapter 3
D. Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, killed, Chapter 4
E. David made king over all Israel; moves his capital to Jerusalem, Chapter 5
F. David’s wrong and right attempts to bring the ark to Jerusalem, Chapter 6
G. God’s covenant to build the house of David, Chapter 7
H. David consolidates his kingdom, Chapter 8
I. David befriends Mephibosheth, Chapter 9
J. David wars against Ammon and Syria, Chapter 10
II. TROUBLES of David, Chapters 11 — 24
A. David’s two great sins, Chapter 11
B. Nathan faces David with his sins; David repents, Chapter 12
C. David’s daughter Tamar raped by Amnon, David’s son; Amnon murdered by Absalom, David’s son,
Chapter 13
D. David permits Absalom to return with half-hearted forgiveness, Chapter 14
E. Absalom rebels against David, Chapter 15
F. Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant, deceives David; Shimei curses David, Chapter 16
G. Absalom’s advisers (Ahithophel and Hushai) disagree on attack against David, Chapter 17
H. Absalom slain and David mourns, Chapter 18
I. David restored to throne, Chapter 19
J. Sheba revolts against David, Chapter 20
K. Three years of famine; Gibeonites take vengeance on house of Saul; war with Philistines, Chapter
21
L. David’s song of deliverance (Psalm 18), Chapter 22
M. David’s last words; David’s mighty men, Chapter 23
N. David’s sin in taking census; chooses punishment and buys threshing floor of Araunah, Chapter 24