Day 20 - 1 Samuel 2:30 - 15:35

In today's section, we read about:

The call of Samuel
The end of the house of Eli as priests as foretold, and defeat for the Israelites
The Ark of the Covenant is captured and God wreaks judgment on the Philistines
Samuel intercedes for the Israelites and God defeat the Philistines
The people ask for a king, and God reluctantly grants the request
Saul chosen and anointed as king and leads them to victory over the Ammonites
Samuel takes his leave of the people
Saul disobeys God and is rejected by God

Some things that struck me today:

2:30b - In the film Chariots of Fire, the verse "I will honour those who honour me" was the given to Eric Liddell just before he won the 400m. The context here highlights the contrast between Eli and his sons on the one hand, and Samuel, still just a boy or a young man on the other.

3:1 - "in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon".

3:11-14 - this is quite shocking. Eli doesn't seem to be a bad person, he knows enough of God to point Samuel in the right direction, but this is not enough. He knows what is right, but is too weak and too indulgent of his sons to put a stop to their outrages. He turns a blind eye to sin, which is simply not acceptable as the leader of God's people.

3:19 - The people the whole length and breadth of the country recognise that God is with Samuel.

Even though God afflicts the Philistines after they have captured the Ark, he still graciously teaches them a lesson by putting their god Dagon in his place, but he even hears their prayers and shows them how to return it to its rightful place (5:12; 6:3-9).

6:19 - God may be on our side, but he is still holy and must be obeyed with reverence and fear.

7:2 - "it seemed the Lord had abandoned them"

7:3ff - It took them 20 years to become serious about coming back to God, but then they did get rid of their idols and worshipped only God. After they had done that, God answered their prayer (v9).

7:10-12 - God defeated the Philistines with no input at all from the Israelites, just by the power of a thunderstorm he sent and the panic that induced.

7:12 - another stone to serve as a reminder!

And yet, having seen God deliver this victory, the people say they want to be like the other nations and have a king. This is a repudiation of the covenant promise, where God makes them his special treasure, his special possession. Instead, they want to be just like everyone else. God reassures Samuel in 8:7 that it is God not Samuel they are going against.

8:10 -22 - Samuel warns them what the king will do to them, even taking for himself the things that are the prerogative of God - v14 "the best of the fields and vineyards"; v15 "the tenth of the grain"; v17 "a tenth of the flocks". But the people refuse to listen, just bleating that they want to be like the other nations.

In chapter 9, Saul in chosen. Interestingly, he comes from the tribe of Benjamin. In Jdg 20-21, the whole of Israel had united against Benjamin and nearly wiped them out. Yet, it is from this tribe that God chooses the first king for their people, almost as if to say 'if this is what you want, here take one from your weakest tribes'. Is this why does God choose someone from Benjamin not Judah (Gen 49:10)? Is this God saying, OK, you do it your way, but I actually have a much better plan (1 Sam 13:14)?

We see again the pattern - anointing by a Prophet (10:1), the Spirit coming in power (10:6), and going out to victory (11:11).

When I read 10:8, I wondered Saul actually did go to Gilgal, since it was not stated clearly in 10:9-16. Is this instruction and Saul's disobedience to it told in 13:7-12? Where does 11:14-15 fit in with this?

10:25 - cf Deut 17:18-20

Samuel's farewell address in ch12 is great. Once we've completed the 90 days, I must remember to compare the various farewell addresses - Moses, Joshua, Samuel and of course Jesus, and any others we come across. Here, like Moses and Joshua, Samuel pulls the people up for their sins and unfaithfulness to God. The thunder and rain were a nice added touch of drama.

12:23 - Samuel commits himself to continuing faithful to God. I also like the NLT translation of 21 "Don't go back to worshipping worthless idols that cannot rescue you - they are totally useless!"

13:7-12 - Saul was scared so he tried to take things into his own hands. He didn't trust God to get him out of the tight spot. This was the final straw and the authority as God's chosen king has now transferred irrevocably to another.

ch 14 - Jonathan is cut from different cloth from his father. He is brave and daring because he trusts in God, yet Saul is weak and indecisive (v18-19).

Saul had a vision of a fruit-machine God, thinking God is bound to help him if he does something extra. Hence, he makes his army take a foolish oath (14:24), which, as Jonathan helpfully points out in v29, costs the Israelites in terms of their victory. Then he gets impatient in v37, wanting an immediate answer.

14:52 is the fulfilment of the warning in 8:11

15:2 - the idea of God settling accounts is pretty frightening (Lk 16:2)

15:11 - God is grieved (cf Gen 6:6), and Samuel is so in tune with God's will that he mourns all night.

15:17 really struck me powerfully. In the NLT it says "although you may think so little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king..:" We may think we are insignificant (like Gideon 'mighty hero (Jdg 6:12), but God sees with a totally different perspective.

Does God turn away from Saul or does Saul turn away from God (15:26). It is clear it is Saul who has turned away. In his own mind, he has obeyed God by defeating the Amalekites, and although he has kept the sheep, goats and cattle, he convinces himself that they are going to be offered in sacrifice. But partial obedience is still disobedience (Lk 12:48). Most telling of all, is 15:12 which tells us that Saul went t the town to set up a monument to himself. This is stark contrast to all the other monuments that littered the countryside as testimony to what God had done. It is also redolent of Gen 11:4 and the motivation of the builders of the Tower of Babel.

1 Sam 15:22 " “What is more pleasing to the Lord: / your burnt offerings and sacrifices / or your obedience to his voice? / Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, / and submission is better than offering the fat of rams."