King Saul moves to the front, Samuel to the background. Saul wins a great victory against the Philistines, but displays some of the character flaws that will lead to his ultimate downfall. His son Jonathon shows incredible bravery and faith.

Israel finally gets a king, a tall and reluctant son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Will this be the king they have wanted? Can he be a source of salvation for the people of Israel?

What happens next with the story of the Bible? Well, a summer break and change of frequency are in the future, along with updates to past episodes. That, along with a shameless plug for Mike Brakken's book, learn what's coming with the podcast!

1 Samuel 7:2-8 Samuel takes on the role of judge at Mizpah as all Israel repents. His time as a judge is briefly covered and, as his sons aren't up to the task of ruling, Israel asks for a king. The era of the judges in the promised land ends.

1 Samuel 3-7:1 The young man Samuel hears a voice in the night and hears a horrifying prophecy. Eli dies is ignominy, the ark is captured by the Philistines and then returned to Israel.

1 Samuel 1-2 The penultimate judge of Israel isn't doing a good job at keeping his own house in order and a childless wife of a Levite man is desperate for a son. One house is blessed, another cursed, and one of the men on whom the history of God's people hinge is born.

Ruth 1-4 A side story in the era of the judges. A young woman from Moab accompanies her bereft mother-in-law home to Bethlehem, catches the eye of a wealthy landowner, and enters the story of a coming King.

Judges 15:7-16:31 The Bible's strongest man rises to power, slaughters his enemies, performs feats of astounding strength, and falls prey to a nagging woman.

Judges 13:1-15:6 The most petulant of the judges, but he has great hair. Samson is born with the prophecy of an angel and tries to get a Philistine wife. The most famous riddle in the Bible and Samson starts a notorious career picking on Philistines. To be fair, they started it.

Judges 10-12 A few obscure judges lead Israel, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Jephthah makes a foolish vow to get a chance at a victory over the Ammonites that he will regret and we find out where the term "Shibboleth" as a mark of belonging comes from.