1 and 2 Samuel a fly over, and a look at calling. What is God’s will for you?
1 Samuel 3:8-10.
The following gives an understanding of the two books of Samuel, this is not my work but is well worth listening to, it comes from Biblies.net. I will tell you when I am speaking my own words soon.
The author or authors of 1 and 2 Samuel are not known. These books recount the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David. Saul’s reign began between 1050–1030 BC and ended in 1010. David then reigned until 971. The books were probably written soon after the end of his reign.
Theme of Samuel; The central theme of the books of Samuel is how the Lord (1) established a dynasty (“house”) in Israel for David rather than Saul and (2) how he chose Jerusalem as the place where David’s successor would establish the temple (“house”) for the worship of the divine King [our God] Yahweh.
Purpose:
The purpose of 1 Samuel is to highlight two major events: the establishment of the monarchy in Israel (ch. 8–12); and the rise of David to be king after Saul (ch. 16–31). After ruling for a while, Saul was rejected by the Lord in favo[u]r of David (ch. 15–16), though Saul stayed on the throne until his death at Mount Gilboa (ch. 31). Later, in 2 Samuel 7, God promises David and his house an eternal dynasty. The book of 1 Samuel establishes the principle that obedience to the Word of God is the necessary condition for a king to be acceptable to the God of Israel.
First and Second Samuel deal with a transitional period in the history of ancient Israel. There is a transition of leadership first from the priest Eli to the judge Samuel, then from the judge Samuel to the king Saul, and then from Saul to David.
1 [first] Samuel Key Themes
1. God’s Kingship
God is King of the universe and always has been. No human king [or any other type of monarch] can assume [their role] except as a deputy of the divine King.
2. God’s Providential Guidance
God providentially and individually guided the lives of chosen people such as Hannah, Samuel, and David. Even the life of Saul was in God’s providential care (see 1 Samuel 9:16). God’s timing is always perfect (see 1 Samuel 9 and the end of 1 Samuel 23), for he is the Lord of history.
3. God’s Sovereign Will and Power
God chooses or rejects people according to his absolute sovereign will and purpose. He may change his way of dealing with individuals according to his plan and purpose, but his decision is always just and right. At the same time, he is merciful and gracious.
Therefore, obedience to God’s Word is of prime importance. Only God’s grace allows sinful human beings to be in relationship with the [H]oly God. Only the God-given way of approaching him through sacrifice can prepare humans to come closer to God. Believers can only wait on God, who will do his will according to his own purpose. What is impossible for humans is possible for God. This should encourage believers to put their faith in the one who is sovereign over the entire creation. (What Is the Background of 1 Samuel? - Bibles.net)
2 [Second] Samuel Key Themes
The themes of 1 Samuel are related to the themes of 2 Samuel: the [S]overeign God, who has guided David’s life, chooses David as the ruler of God’s people. God pledges to David an eternal covenant. David thus becomes the prototype of the future Messiah, Jesus Christ.
1. Davidic Covenant (See 2 Samuel 7)
2. Messianic Promise
Second Samuel 7 is a turning point in the history of salvation. God chose David to be the beginning of an enduring dynasty, from which the ultimate Ruler, Jesus, would come. God used David to fulfil his eternal plan of salvation, not because he was perfect from a human viewpoint, but because the Lord was “with him” and showed grace to him.
A Redemptive History:
But God’s promise of an eternal kingdom means that David’s family will ultimately bring a worldwide blessing for all peoples, most notably in the last and greatest Son of David, Jesus Christ.
The Israelites asked for a king. That was what they got. But their kings were plagued with the same fundamental problem that afflicted the people—sin. What the people needed most desperately was not a king to reign over them as a fellow sinner and to lead them to victory over other nations. What they needed was a king to lead them in victory over sin itself, and to bring that victory to other nations. (What Is the Background of 2 Samuel? - Bibles.net)
Well, that was concise and deep all at the same time: back to my wording now. The book of Samuel is a history of redemption as much as it is a history of the time. The continued story of Abraham’s family’s journey towards salvation for all in history who will accept Him, Jesus Christ. There are three callings that I would like to focus on that are part of 1st Samuel. I am taking this route as today is Candidates Sunday. Now it may be Candidates Sunday, but that doesn’t mean the rest of you who believe that you aren’t somehow destined for full time ministry as Salvation Army Officers can turn off. While I can’t guarantee it there may be something in this message for you, stay with me, I’m hopeful that there will be.
The book starts with the story of a Man named Elkanah who had two wives one named Peninnah who he had children with and another called Hannah who had no children. Eli the priest saw Hannah praying and thinking she was drunk, asked what it was she was praying for, her reply was along the lines of “I am praying to the Lord out of my great anguish and grief.” She was praying for a child. Eli then sent her off with a blessing and she went home to her husband and later gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel. She then had in total three sons and two daughters. Now Samuel must be important as he has a couple of books in the bible named after him.
Samuel’s importance becomes evident in this divine drama when Hannah takes him to the Priest Eli and he then grew up in the presence of The Lord. Chapter three of 1st Samuel starts with the words “In those days the word of The Lord was rare, there were not many visions.” But the chapter goes onto to describe how this boy Samuel was in the temple of God and the Lord calls him. Thinking it was Eli; he runs to him and is told that Eli had not called him. After this happened three times Eli realised it was God who was calling to Samuel. So, Eli instructs the boy to say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
Now the first word that God gives Samuel is a humdinger, not one that would be easy to deliver. If we look at 1 Samuel 3 verses 11-14, we read this:
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” (NIV)
Now Samuel was understandably afraid of what to say to Eli. But he told him. The end result is recorded later in chapter 25, Eli’s sons are killed in battle, the Ark of the Covenant is taken by the Philistines and when Eli who was then, ninety-eight heard this two snippets of news fell backwards, broke his neck and died. There’s a powerful lesson here for parents, If your kids are acting the goat in the sight of God, tell them, it’s your role.
The second calling that of Saul, the handsome, tall Israelite without equal in Israel from the tribe of Benjamine who went out looking for his Dad’s lost donkeys and returned home king. He heads out with his servant who when you read the story seems to be the one of them with the intelligence of the pair. They seek out Samuel to see if he can give them a heads up on where the donkeys might be. As they approach Samuel, well let’s see what happens in 1 Samuel 9:15-17:
Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me. 17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” Samuel does God’s will in chapter 10 we read that, Samuel anoints Saul as King and in verse 5 and 6 we read these words:
“After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” Saul became king at the age of thirty and reigned for forty-two years.
So far two callings, one directly through God at the temple and the other while looking for donkeys along the road at the hands of the Judge, prophet, elder statesman, priest and warrior Samuel, the man of God.
If we fast forward a bit to chapter 15, we see that God rejects Saul as king. Why? Well that’s a good question thanks for bringing it up. He was instructed by Samuel on behalf of God to punish the Amalekites for the harm they did to Israel as they came up from Egypt. He was instructed to annihilate all of them and all they owned. He was afraid of his own men and allowed the best of their livestock to be taken as a prize of victory. He is then out of favour with God as he had been disobedient. Interestingly Samuel grieves over Saul until he dies at the age of ninety-eight. As an aside this is something to think about those who minister, who shepherd, the people of God have them in their thoughts and prayers as they serve them and one of the costs of ministry is sometimes grieving for those who walk away from the local community of the church or God.
The third person called. Young David. Chapter 16, starts with these words from God to Samuel: “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” (Samuel 16:1). So, Samuel goes out concerned that Saul might find out and kill him. God gives him the heads up on what to do and to pay attention and that, “You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” So, from here Samuel sees see’s a couple of the sons of Jesse, firstly Eliab and he thinks ‘this is the Lord’s anointed standing here’ but God says and I’m paraphrasing here; ‘he might look the part, but I have rejected him. I’m not looking at the things man looks at, he might look like a king, but I am looking at his heart.’ Seven of Jesse’s sons were seen by Samuel and all rejected. This left Samual asking is there another, David was the youngest and out tending the sheep. And when he was brought in the Lord told Samuel to “rise and anoint him for he is the one. Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16: 12b-13). Samuel had done God’s will in anointing David.
So these three great men, Samuel, Saul and David. These men were all called by God, for God’s glory. Saul lost his direction and this should be a warning for us to adhere to the leading, the true leading of God, not to act out of fear of man, buckling and bending to mans will before God’s direction and will as many do. It invalidated King Saul’s position and will do the same for whatever it is God has called us to. It may be that you are challenged to behave in a way that is opposed to the will of God in your workplace, at university, school or at home wherever you may be. The only way to remain in the will of God is to remain in the will of God (repeat). We see in 1 Samuel 31 the death of Saul. Samuel’s death is recorded in chapter twenty-five, “and all of Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. This towards the end of 1st Samuel. Yet there is another book that carries his name. However, Samuel does not appear in the book. Why? It’s an interesting as second Samuel really chronicles the life and times of King David, his response to God as king. The central figure in the lives of both Saul and David was God through his priest Samuel, Samuel was the king maker.
So, if you respond to the call God has on your life will you be a king maker? Possibly, but most likely not, you may however be an influencer. This man was a king maker, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Incidentally For the Coronation of King Charles III, the oil has been made using olives from groves on the Mount of Olives, consecrated in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It should be remembered that the saints of the Church often are more likely to be persecuted in response to their calling, however they were doing God’s will for them. Many saints in history never saw or see great things occur as they respond to their call, The thing is that in responding to their calls they did and do the will of God and influence those among them and history for His kingdom and names sake. Salvation does not come at the hands of the unresponsive.
We know the story of King Saul, of his fear that led to his disobedience, we know the story of King David and his struggles with sin. But you, whatever stage you are at in life are called by God to something, it might be initially responding to him setting aside your fear of what others might think or want of you and committing to Him alone, or it might be that directive you don’t want to hear let alone respond to. I leave you with the question even if you have answered God’s call on your life, ‘how will I respond to the direction God wants to take me, what is God’s will for me?’ Again; the only way to remain in the will of God is to remain in the will of God.
