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There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish…  Using the same formula as at the beginning of 1 Samuel, the author lets you know a new chapter has begun.  This man of Benjamin has a son, Saul, with whom you will become well acquainted. 

Yesterday’s events hang in the background of the chapters that follow.  Remember that Israel’s rejection of the LORD’s kingship, their demand to have a king “like the nations,” was answered.  Marry this information with Saul’s intersection with Samuel, and the story takes off on its own. 

Pay attention to the signs that Samuel promises, and to how Saul responds to them.  Keep an eye on Samuel’s emotions as he speaks to Israel – like Moses in Deuteronomy, there is a tinge of bitterness with which you can wrestle. 

Also, and this is critical in the Bible: listen for descriptions of the LORD’s actions and perspective.  How the Spirit “rushes” upon Saul; how He refers repeatedly to Israel as “My people” –  a reminder that they belonged neither to their judge nor to their king.  The LORD also maintains power over men’s hearts, giving Saul a “new” one, and launching hope that this will turn out alright after all.

Throughout these chapters, however, the author drops hints about Saul’s fitness for the kingship.  In chapter 9, there is an extensive explanation of Saul’s ineptitude as a shepherd; the only compliments regard his good looks and height.  We know at the outset that he is from Benjamin, but we don’t learn until the end of chapter 10 that his hometown is Gibeah: that Gibeah, of that awful story at the end of Judges. 

Our verse for this week is Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

1 Samuel chapters 9 through 12.  Now let’s read it!

“Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?” ask the men of Beth-shemesh as the Ark of the Covenant arrives there in chapter 6.  Having been returned to Israel, along with guilt offerings prescribed by the Philistine priests, initial joy turns to lament as the people of Israel struggle to give their full fealty to the LORD. 

This is no reflection on Samuel, though, who is shown by the author and revered by the people as a faithful prophet and judge.  He calls Israel to repentance, and under his leadership they finally put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.  He leads Israel in battle, not with the sword, but with sacrifice and crying out to the LORD for deliverance.  And he judged Israel all the days of his life, completing a circuit throughout the regions of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. 

However, turning to chapter 8 reveals a storm on the horizon, one which will prove a pivotal moment in Israelite history.  Initially, hearing that Samuel’s sons didn’t follow in his righteous ways might seem like a pedestrian restatement of Eli’s story, but the outcome here is far different.  Israel is tired of living under the judges.  They want to live under a king who will judge them like all the nations.   

Now the details and context of this request are important.  Review, if you can, that the LORD had outlined the responsibilities of the king in Deuteronomy 17.  A king had been the LORD’s idea: one who shall write a copy of the law…and read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God.  Furthermore, this king was not to acquire many horses for himself… or acquire many wives for himself… nor acquire for himself excessive silver or gold.

Keep this in mind when you listen to the LORD’s warning in 1 Samuel 8.  And carefully consider the Israelites’ motivations as they respond: “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”  

Our verse for this week is Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

1 Samuel 6 through 8.  Now let’s read it!

And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

With this kind of setup, you know what’s going to happen next, right?  You may have noticed the absence of the word of the LORD throughout Judges and Ruth.  In fact, it’s been hundreds of years since the LORD had spoken without an angel or intermediary.  And that occasion, in Judges 10, was hardly encouraging for the renegade Israelites.  It’s safe to picture a direct line between Joshua and Samuel, with seldom-broken interludes of silence in between.

However, in chapter 3, the LORD does speak, calling out in the night to Samuel, who’s now a young man in the service of the tabernacle.  The LORD calls Samuel three times without Samuel recognizing what’s going on; on the fourth, it says the LORD came and stood, calling Samuel… This time Samuel knew to listen, and hears terrifying news about Eli and his family, at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle…  Listen as Samuel recounts the news for Eli, and also how, at the end of chapter 3, Samuel is being lifted up before Israel just as Joshua and Moses had been. 

Some time passes before Israel again heads out to fight the Philistines in chapter 4.  Not only is Israel defeated, and not only are the prophecies of the previous chapter fulfilled, but the Ark of the Covenant is captured – the first time this Ark had ever been out of Israelite hands.  Sadness descends as “the glory of the LORD has departed from Israel.” 

However, in this foreign land the Ark becomes a central character.  It is first placed in the temple of a central Philistine god, Dagon.  The first night it is left there, Dagon bows to the Ark; on the second night, Dagon is executed.  The citizens of the city of Ashdod fare no better, as the plagues they had heard about from Egypt now afflict them.  They farm the Ark out to Gath, who then exile it to Ekron, with each station receiving greater distress than the previous one.   The Philistines come to the conclusion that keeping the Ark might not be worth it.

In these three episodes a number of Biblical trends resurface.  To hear that the LORD “came and stood” in the Tabernacle to call Samuel is reminiscent of the personal encounters Abraham, Jacob, and Moses had with Him.  The LORD again fights fiercely for his honor, both with Eli and with the Philistines.  And the foreigner’s respect – or terror – toward the LORD calls even greater attention to the apostasy of the Israelites.  

Our verse for this week is Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

1 Samuel 3 through 5.  Now let’s read it!