I Samuel isn’t a story about Samuel. It isn’t even about the other two main characters, Saul nor David. But, it is a story about the king.
Why Study I Samuel:
Key insight into who Christ is.
Foundation for understanding the gospel.
Better understand the church.
Understand what God is doing in the world.
Deepen your worldview.
If you don’t get what’s going on in I Samuel, you will never really understand what’s going on in the gospels. But, to understand I Samuel, you must step back a minute, and look at what happened right before that in the book of Judges.
Background
It’s a wild, crazy world. It’s not a G-rated story. It’s a story where
men cut off the thumbs and toes of their rivals (Judges 1:7)
a man assassinates a king so fat the dagger just won’t come out of his belly (Judges 3:27).
a woman kills a king by driving a tent peg into his temple (Judges 4:21).
Basically what happened is that God told the people to take the land, but they were unfaithful in various stages. So, there were various people that fought against them and oppressed them.
Here is an infographic of the general situation:
The book of Judges has some of my favorite stories. Great movie material here.
The Original 300
This is a time when God showed up and showed out! He took a man lacking in faith and called him to lead God’s armies. And, when this man, Gideon, this mighty man of valor, showed up with army of 22,000, God said NO! He made him get the number down to a ridiculously small band of 300. Yes, this is the original 300. And, they took thousands. Why? Because God was in it.
My Favorite Childhood Story
Then, we come to my favorite Bible story as a child. It’s a story of a man so strong he could literally carry the city gates off on his shoulders! But, it’s a man so weak for pretty women, that he let one talk him out of his strength. It’s a story of a super-hero who falls, but in the end regains his faith, and kills more in his death than in his life.
Gustave Doré [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Messy
To put it bluntly, the situation in Israel was a mess. They wanted to have the full conquest promised, but they didn’t seem to be faithful long enough to really follow through on what God promised to give them. Yes, Joshua led them into the promised land. Yes, God was true to his promises. But, there were wars.
Sometimes the map of Israel during the Judges is presented like this:
Courtesy of oneinjesus.info
While this map gives us some insight into the general locations of the judges, the actual territory of each tribe was in a state of flux depending on the current fights with the surrounding people (you know, all the “stines” and “ites”).
The actual territory may have looked more like this map.
Courtesy of oneinjesus.info
No King
God delivered mightily through Samson, Gideon, and Deborah, but the people forsook him. It hurts to tell you, but they turned their back on God. Can you imagine that? God delivered them, then they forgot. And, the phrase that is used to describe their situation is that “there was no king in the land.”
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25.
You see, they didn’t have a human king, but that wasn’t really the problem. They had rejected their true King. They had rejected God.
King
But God is not surprised. He has a plan. I Samuel tells us about that plan. And, it starts with a dejected woman and her prayerful cry at what we might would call the annual BBQ. Very Southern. Very real. God answers her prayer, and sets in motion a plan that is being fulfilled even now.
Join me as we see the seeds of the kingdom. and the true king in Israel. You see, there’s this story in I Samuel about a bad judge, then a good judge, and then a bad king, then a good king. But, the good good king is just a shadow of the real King.
He’s the King of kings.
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think about theocracy? Is it a crazy, outdated form of radicalism? Should we be interested in helping establish a theocracy?
2. Why do we “sanitize” the Old Testament stories? I mean, why do we somehow not see the gore, the grit, and the very “real” side of these stories?
3. What does it mean that the there was “no king in Israel”? How does that apply to modern day USA?
4. Why does God do things like insist on an army of 300 (versus 22,000, a much more seemingly fitting number)?
5. What kind of a king do you think God is going to bring about in I Samuel, and how does that tie into the story of the 300?
6. What was the difference between a Judge and a King?
7. Read these passages: Exodus 15:18, Numbers 23:21, Deuteronomy 33:5. Was God king of Israel?
8. When God was king of Israel, how did that contrast to surrounding nations?
9. Do we put our faith in our nation? In our leader? What if our nation was God’s kingdom, and our King was the King of Kings?
10. How does this tie in to our national discussion of the presidential election?
11. What do we see about the character of God in Judges and I Samuel?
12. What about the place of women at this time?
13. Why does God keep using such flawed people?
14. God is depicted in certain ways in Judges and I Samuel. What does this tell us about Jesus?
15. What does Jesus tell us about the God of Judges and I Samuel?
You can’t do what Jesus did until you see what Jesus saw.
One of my favorite stories about Jesus is how he gave sight to the blind. This post is the story of how Jesus used coffee to open my eyes. It might do the same for you.
Let me paint a picture for you.
You’re in the Fresh Market (fancy grocery store). It is a visual and olfactory cornucopia. That is to say…it’s real nice, Verne. People are in there that look like maybe they drove all the way out from the yacht club. Some drove in from lesser country clubs, and you can sort of tell which ones those are. Then, there’s the college students, the ones who are making daddy proud, as they wear “North Face,” tennis skirts, and drive their very own Mercedes. Then, there’s the people like me who really are shopping above their socio-economic status, but really like premium pork.
Justin’s Iphone
Anyhow, so there I am at the coffee stand…you know, the one where you can get coffee samples. I was examining the Kona Blend and all the other varieties, and I saw a young woman reach in and refill the one closest to me, the Almond Amaretto. I thought, “Great, that one is super fresh. Better get it.” Then, I realized something. There was a person behind the counter. Then, it hit me.
I had seen the coffee, but not the coffee brewer. I had missed the person right in front of me. She was invisible to me.
So, I spoke to her. I asked her if she drank coffee…she didn’t, but, that one question lit her up like flipping a switch. She was a thoughtful person and an excellent coffee brewer, and I am glad that I got to speak to her. Then, I realized something…Am I the only person who has spoken to her all day? I think she knew what I had just started to realize: People didn’t really see her.
How many people are invisible to us? Brain science tells us that we focus on the things that are important to us. The things that our brains have said we need to see to survive.
Is it possible that you have missed some really important things, maybe the most important things?
Now, what in the world does this have to do with the gospels?
Answer: It has everything to do with them.
Jesus talks about us being judged by the way we treat the least among us. He says that when you do good things or bad things to the least, you’re really doing it to Jesus. Somehow he’s there. His presence is there.
Have you ever known someone who only wanted to focus their energy and enthusiasm the “important people”? Maybe it was an employee who is super nice to his superiors, but treats his peers and those he manages in a completely different way. You can think of a student who treats the cool kids with respect, but won’t have anything to do with those on the fringes. You see it in churches, you see it in rich, and you see it in poor. I sometimes see it in me, too. After all, it took me months to see the person behind the coffee stand.
This brings me to a key point about the gospels. There are these people in Jesus’ time that didn’t recognize him. They try to trap Jesus. They try to trick him into making a stupid mistake. He, of course, outwits them in ways they couldn’t imagine, but the thing that I keep on thinking about is how these people could be so ignorant, so blind, so foolish that they couldn’t even see Jesus right in front of them.
Oh wait…but I couldn’t see him at the coffee stand.
But something happened. I saw the touch of his hand, and I opened my eyes. I was jarred into the reality of his presence by the simple extending of a hand (yes, to refill the Almond Amaretto…but you get the point). I didn’t realize it then, but I believe I looked up, and I didn’t just see the coffee brewer lady. I saw Jesus. I saw him in a unique, beautiful, valuable, human being.
So, I wrote a post about how you can read the gospels. We talked about how the best way to read the story of Jesus is to enter the story by doing what Jesus did.
Here’s the thing. You can’t do what Jesus did until you see what Jesus saw. So, I ask you, Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plain view.
There’s a hugely popular new TV series on Amazon called The Man in the High Castle. It’s this very disturbing drama with an alternate view of history, as if the Allies had lost WWII and Japan and Germany took over the U.S. It’s really a scary thought. Imagine if the Eastern US states were under the rule of a Hitler, and the Western states were under a Japanese Emperor. Now, history tells us that the Emperor was said to be the “son of God.” It’s not surprising that in the series, Bibles were few and far between. Jews worshiped in secret, and Christians were silent.
It really isn’t that different of a situation than what we see in 1st Century Palestine. The Jews lived in their Promised Land, but they were a conquered people. The first Roman Emperor reigned during the time of Jesus’ birth.
So, now it’s important that we take a lesson in numismatics (coin collecting). Do you know was inscribed on Roman coins?
The front of the coin has Octavian (Agustus Caesar) with the inscription, “DIVIF,” which stands for “Divini Filiu” meaning “Son of the Divine.” The back as the words, “DIVOS IVLIVS” or “Divine Julius,” i.e., saying the Julius Caesar was divine.
So, the Roman Empire proclaimed loudly that there was a son of God, and it’s Caesar! It was a dark world in which God’s people had been conquered and were subjugated and were longing for a Savior, someone who would redeem them and save them from Roman rule.
Well, the earliest gospel is the gospel of Mark. It seems that it was written to a Roman audience, maybe even the city of Rome. And, to these Romans, to these subjects of Caesar, Mark opens with words that might not mean a lot to a 21st Century American, but would mean everything to a 1st Century Roman:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, ” Mark 1:1.
Mark’s good news is this: There’s a new king in town.
This has huge implications for the way we read the rest of the book of Mark. This post on RadicallyChristian talks about how this affects how we read the whole New Testament.
What does this mean to you that Jesus is the son of God? What does it mean to say that Jesus is King?
At my home church, Central Church of Christ, we are starting 2016 with a reading plan that will take us through the New Testament in a year. We’ll talk about these things together, read them together, and live them together.
When you think of the gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Christian New Testament), what do you think? What are they all about? How do you read them?
I believe there is one way to read them that is absolutely the best! Read on to find out more.
The 5 Ways to Read the Gospels
1. The Greatest Story Ever Told
I’m writing this on New Year’s Day of 2016. We are in the second golden age of the Star Wars movies. The new film, The Force Awakens, has debuted with greater sales than any other film in history. Now, what’s the Star Wars series all about? Spoiler Alert (if you haven’t seen the old movies). The overarching theme of Star Wars mythology is that there is this battle between good and evil. There is this chosen one who save the people who are in danger, but will do so at great personal cost and sacrifice. Sound familiar? Sound a little like the gospel? I can name countless other movies and stories and even classic literature that sound like they sorta ripped off the Jesus story line.
“Jesus Christ” means “Jesus, the Chosen One.” As the Chosen One, Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died to save us, and rose again from the grave. Now, that’s a story…the greatest story ever told, better than Star Wars.
2. Powerful Apologetic
No doubt one of the reasons for the initial writing of the gospels was prove that Jesus was the Messiah and that people should follow him. This defense of the gospel, or apologetic, is something that still carries weight today. Lee Strobel was an agnostic and investigative journalist who set out to dispove the gospels. The more he dug into the gospels, the more he realized that there were historical facts that could be verified. The one that caught his attention the most was the resurrection. Christianity rises or falls on the truth of the resurrection. Lee Stroble investigated the resurrection claims like a tough journalist, trying to find holes in the story. He didn’t. He became a believer. That’s what has happened to many people when they looked deeply and critically into the gospels.
3. The Life that Split History In Two
A.D. and B.C. Or, ACE and BCE. No matter what you call it, we count time from the birth of Christ. His life split history in two. Now, wouldn’t it make sense to know about that person, I mean at least from a historical perspective?
How could a person be educated and not know about the life that split history in two?
What kind of a teacher must he have been to have this kind of influence?
The story of his life has been the all time best seller.
Wouldn’t it make sense to get to know about this man?
4. The Facts of the Faith
Any person can learn about Jesus simply for the historical facts, but a Christ follower will want to get to know all about the Teacher, the Master, the Lord.
What did he teach? What was he like? How did he interact with people? How did he die? Who were his friends and followers? These are facts you’ll want to know, and you can find them in the gospels.
5. The Story to be Lived
I believe the best way to read the gospel doesn’t really have to do with reading…it has to do with living. You see, knowing about Christ isn’t enough.
The Pharisees knew the Scripture, but they didn’t know the Savior.
It’s possible to know a passage by heart without taking it to heart.
It isn’t how many Scriptures you’ve committed to memory; it’s how many you’ve committed to life.
And, when you get to know Jesus, you want to walk with him, you want to enter his Story.
John Mark Hicks puts this really well, so take a look at this:
We follow Jesus into the water. We follow him into the wilderness. We follow him into ministry–to the tables of the marginalized, to the sick and diseased, to the broken and hurting. We follow him to the cross and die with him daily. And, one day, we will follow him into glory where our mortal bodies will be transformed into the likeness of his resurrected body.
The story of Jesus is our story. The Gospels are our narratives. They are not historical artifacts or pieces of mere evidentiary history. They are the story of our lives as disciples of Jesus.
So, I want to invite you to go with me, not only to read the story: Let’s be the story.
![Gustave Doré [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i2.wp.com/www.justinbrasfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/064.The_Death_of_Samson.jpg?resize=474%2C597)
