Content Essary Samuel
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Content Essay: 1 Samuel Assignment
Jermaine Erving Pearson
OBST 515: Old Testament Orientation 1
September 21, 2023
1
Samuel is a single book within the Hebrew Bible. Hamilton says, “We can be fairly certain that originally, First and Second Samuel formed one book. The division into two books may have been done early in the Christian era, but was anticipated by the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, in the pre-Christian centuries.”
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The one book divided
in two in our present-day Bible tells Samuel's continuous historical story and goes forward to the
reign of three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon. The book of Samuel shows how God is at work in the lives of his people. As we see throughout all other historical books in the Old Testament scriptures, The Book of Samuel shows how God rewards faithfulness when you listen to Him. It also shows how God punishes when one is disobedient to the statutes He has outlined. Does God want Israel to have a king? After a critical analysis of the negative
statements (1 Sam 8:1-22; 10:17-19; 12:1-25) and positive statements (1 Sam 9:1-10:16;
11:1-15)
In 1 Samuel 8:1-22, we see Samuel becoming old. He has always been depicted as one of
the godliest men in the Bible, yet we see him sin by appointing his son as judge over Israel. The Bible does not show a pattern of judges appointed by men or passed down from father to son. Sadly, Samuel's sons do not walk in his godly ways. This leads to the elders of Israel gathering together and rejecting Samuel's sons. After this rejection, you see the idea of Israel wanting a king. Hamilton says, “Even earlier, in the canonical ordering of Israel’s sacred text and traditions, the issue of kingship appears first as a part of the promises that God made about kings coming forth from Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 17:6, ‘kings shall come from you’; 16, “kings of peoples shall come from her”) and from Jacob (Gen. 35:11, ‘kings shall spring from you’), and second in the laws and precepts of Deuteronomy 12–26.”
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1
Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 211.
2
Ibid., 229.
2
Israel already had a King. God delivered them out of Egypt (1 Samuel 10:18). Notice the key phrase the elders of Israel use. They want a king like all the other nations. Didn’t God say he
didn’t want them to be like the other nations (Joshua 23:7)? God even went as far as to tell Israel not to even intermarry with other countries (Deuteronomy 7:3). Samuel prays to God (1 Samuel 8:6-8), and God said to heed the voice of the people. This is not because the people's request was
right or good but because God wanted to teach Israel a lesson through this. This leads us to the teaching moments of God when we see God tell Samuel who to anoint as King (1 Samuel 9:15-17). A Benjamite by the name of Saul is chosen by God to be Israel’s first king. We must understand that even though Israel rejected the Lord as their King (1 Samuel 8:7), God was still in control. From a positive standpoint, we see the Spirit of the Lord come upon Saul (1 Samuel 11:6-8), but it's not for Saul’s benefit; it's for Saul to be used by God to do His will for His people. This Spirit-filled war leads to the defeat of Nahas the Ammonite. God uses this human office of a king to point Israel to not just making sacrifices and going through rituals but to point His people towards obedience (1 Samuel 15:22). It was not God's will
for Israel to have an earthly king like other nations. However, God permitted it so His will would
be accomplished in the lives of His people. How do Genesis 17:6, 16; 35:11, and Deuteronomy 17:14-20 relate to the negative
and positive statements concerning kingship in 1 Samuel 8-12?
You will notice in Genesis 17:6 & 16 and Deuteronomy 17:14-20 that God gives a prophecy that would take place 400 years into the future regarding Israel's desire to demand a king. It is indeed a debatable issue whether this is a positive prophecy or a negative prophecy.
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After all, this scripture shows us that you cannot catch God off guard and that He knows the beginning from the end. Sailhamer says, “The mention of kings among the descendants of Abraham not only anticipates the subsequent history of Abraham’s descendants as recorded in the historical books (e.g., Samuel and Kings), but more importantly, it also provides a link between the general promise of blessing through the seed of Abraham and the author’s subsequent focus on that blessing in terms of the royal house of Judah (Ge 49:8–12; Nu 24:7–
9).”
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I believe this is a negative statement because Psalm 47:8 states that God is the King of all
the earth and reigns over the nations. So there would be no delight in God sharing Kingship with anyone. However, since He knew His people would have stubborn hearts and turn from His commands, He made a provision for them always to have access to Him and come back into right standing with Him. The Lord says since you will desire a King, allow Me, God Almighty, to choose the King for you. God then outlines that the King must be an Israelite and not from a foreign nation. 1 Samuel 8:6-9 shows the fulfillment of this prophecy where Israel does demand a king. God’s will is done by choosing Saul as the first king and then David as the next King chosen by God, all in the timing of God. So, in a sense, this is positive.
Does the author of 1 Samuel depict kingship in a positive or negative manner? How
does this relate to the message of 1 Samuel and its relationship to the rest of the Old
Testament?
3
John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Genesis
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Zondervan Academic, 2008), 327.
4
It could be said that 1 Samuel 9-11 presents kingship positively; however, we do see 1 Samuel also presenting kingship negatively in chapters 8 and 12. Perhaps we should view 1 Samuel through a balanced lens regarding human kingship. Look at Leviticus 20:7-8; all Israel needed to do was consecrate themselves, be holy, follow the decrees God outlined, and be a blessed nation. Arnold says, “It is true that Yahweh was not opposed to an Israelite monarchy. Rather, he opposed the kind of monarchy Israel now demands! She wants a king like the nations around her, a kingship that will bring her power and political influence.”
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When we look at the other nations surrounding Israel, we see a pattern of the other countries controlling their god and telling their god what to do. Israel even tried to do this same stunt. When they made the golden calf (Exodus 32:8), they declared that the molten calf brought them out of Egypt instead of the one true living God. Long says regarding Israel, “They want to gain some measure of control over Yahweh so they can be assured of his aid when needed. Yahweh had come to Samuel’s aid when he prayed in 1 Samuel 7, but Samuel is aging, and his sons are singularly unpromising. And so the elders seek a ‘king like the kings of the nations,’ and this entails the reduction of Yahweh to a god like the gods of the nations’. But this is precisely what Yahweh is not – passive and co-dependent! ‘And this is exactly what Yahweh means when he says, They have rejected me”
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You will notice that the rest of the Old Testament is a conflict between Israel and other nations and a cycle of sin, repentance, restoral, and then sin. This continues throughout each book of the Old Testament, with God attempting to draw His people back to Him lovingly. 4
Bill Arnold, 1 and 2 Samuel
(Grand Rapids, MI: Harper Collins Christian Publishing, 2003), 151.
5
V. Philips Long, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary
(Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020), 105.
5
Bibliography
Arnold, Bill T. 1 and 2 Samuel : the NIV Application Commentary from Biblical Text-- to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2003.
Hamilton, Victor P. Handbook on the Historical Books
. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001. Long, V. Philips, David G. Firth, and Tremper Longman. 1 and 2 Samuel : an Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2020.
Sailhamer, John H. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Genesis. Edited by Tremper Longman and David E. Garland. Revised edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
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