First and Second Samuel tell the story of the last judge (Samuel) and the first two Kings of Israel (Saul and David).\u00a0The story is organized into five narrative sections followed by a sixth section containing various other materials.<\/p>\n
First, there is the story of Samuel<\/b>, a leader who functions as priest, prophet (3:20), seer (9:11, 18\u201419, Note the comment at 9:9), warrior, and judge (7:6, 15). Even as a child he hears the voice of God (3:1\u201418). His story provides the necessary transition between the period of the judges and the monarchy.<\/p>\nThe Rise of Monarchy (1 Samuel 8:1\u201415:34)<\/h3>\n
The second section tells the story of how and why Israel developed a monarchy (1 Samuel 8:1\u201415:34). The central figure in this section is Saul, Israel\u2019s first king. Samuel is still around until the end of chapter 12, however, and Saul is finally undone by his failure to heed God\u2019s word given through the prophet.<\/p>\n
The third section tells of David\u2019s rise to power (1 Samuel 15:35\u20142 Samuel 5:10). The story is one of conflict between David, to whom God has promised the throne of Saul, and the old King who becomes increasingly jealous of David.<\/p>\n
While this fourth section recounts several events during the reign of David (2 Samuel 5:11\u201412:31), these stories focus on an oracle of the prophet Nathan in chapter 7 (2 Samuel 7:16). Nathan tells David that his descendants will rule in an unending dynasty in Jerusalem and that his son (Solomon) will build a temple for the Lord there.<\/p>\n
The fifth section tells the story of the revolt of David\u2019s son Absalom (2 Samuel 13:1\u201420:22). David is forced to flee Jerusalem and witnesses the death of two of his sons (Amnon [2 Samuel 13:23\u201439] and Absolom [2 Samuel 18]).<\/p>\n
Second Samuel ends with a collection of materials including poetry attributed to David, lists of his officers and warriors, and several short narratives connected only loosely with other parts of Samuel and Kings (2 Samuel 20:23\u201424:25).<\/p>\n
These books present the Lord<\/span> as bringing down the mighty and proud while lifting up the lowly. They also continue the themes of blessing for faithfulness and curse for unfaithfulness expressed in Joshua and Judges. These themes are introduced early with the story of Hannah (First Samuel 1\u20142). Reminiscent of the stories of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel in the book of Genesis, Hannah has no children and prays for deliverance. When she is granted a child, she sings a song of praise that expresses the book\u2019s central themes.<\/p>\n There is no Holy One like the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, In the story that follows the arrogant sons of Eli, the priest at Shiloh, are replaced by Samuel, Hannah\u2019s son. The powerful king, Saul is later replaced by the lowly shepherd boy, David. David himself later grows proud, violates basic ethical principles expressed in the Mosaic covenant, and is humbled at the end of Second Samuel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Contents First and Second Samuel tell the story of the last judge (Samuel) and the first two Kings of Israel (Saul and David).\u00a0The story is organized into five narrative sections followed by a sixth section containing various other materials. The Story of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1\u20147:17) First, there is the story of Samuel, a leader … Continue reading Overview of the Books of Samuel<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":573,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-606","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9FE3j-9M","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":607,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/606\/revisions\/607"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibleatchurch.com\/biblehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nno one besides you;
\nthere is no Rock like our God.
\nTalk no more so very proudly,
\nlet not arrogance come from your mouth;
\nfor the\u00a0Lord<\/span> is a God of knowledge,
\nand by him actions are weighed.
\nThe bows of the mighty are broken,
\nbut the feeble put on strength.
\nThose who were full are now working for bread,
\nbut those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
\nThe barren woman has borne seven,
\nbut she who has many children is forlorn. The
\nLord<\/span> kills and brings to life;
\nhe brings low, he also exalts.
\nHe raises up the poor from the dust;
\nhe lifts the needy from the ash heap,
\nto make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
\nFor the pillars of the earth are the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u2019s,
\nand on them he has set the world.
\nHe will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
\nbut the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
\nfor not by might does one prevail.
\nLord<\/span>! His adversaries shall be shattered;
\nagainst his adversary he will thunder in heaven. The
\nLord<\/span> will judge the ends of the earth;
\nhe will give strength to his king
\nand exalt the power of his anointed
\n(First Samuel 2:2\u201410).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n