Day 98: INTRODUCTION To 1 Samuel

Welcome to five -minute Bible your daily guide for your daily reading today's April the 8th

And we'll be looking at the introduction to the book of first Samuel now today.

We begin the book of first Samuel and we're not Starting a new story. We're actually stepping directly into the aftermath and collapse of the book of Judges Judges ended with a haunting refrain

There was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes and that statement creates a kind of expectation if Only there was a king things would be different order would replace the chaos and righteousness would replace the corruption but first Samuel steps into that expectation, but Immediately begins to challenge it because what this book reveals is that the problem was never merely the absence of a king

It was the absence of a love for and obedience unto God and in that way the book of first Samuel shows how

God the true king Moves his people from the chaos of the book of Judges into the establishment of a human monarchy

But not in the way that people expect because this book unfolds in three major movements first the rise of Samuel in a time when the

Word of the Lord was rare and the priesthood was corrupt in the the era of the judges was Collapsing into moral chaos

God raises up a prophet through whom he is going to speak and put his word into his mouth again

Order begins not with a throne but with the restoration of the voice of God Second the rise and fall of Saul That's the second major movement in the book the people demand a king like all the other nations and they get a king who acts

Like all the other nations song looks the part He's tall and impressive and kingly but his heart is not aligned with God in fact it's far from it and his reign reveals that kingship built on human standards leads to instability and Disobedience and then the third movement of the book is the rise of David God rejects

Saul very early in his kinghood and he chooses David a shepherd boy a man after his own heart who will

Ascend and show that God's King is not defined by outward appearances But by covenant faithfulness and what becomes unmistakable is that this book is not ultimately about Israel getting a king

But about God revealing what kind of king that his people actually need So as you walk through the book of 1st

Samuel, you should be asking yourself the following question what kind of King can actually lead the people of God into faithfulness because this book shows us that not all kinds of Kingships bring life and choosing wrongly will often lead to death so as far as the major themes of the book go and Choosing wrongly often leads to death now

Let's look at some of the major themes in the book first the word of the Lord the book begins by telling us that the word

Was rare, which is an indictment upon the moral state of the nation But through Samuel God restores his voice among the people and then you begin to see prosperity

Enter the kingdom again, the word of the Lord is what is indicative of Israel's success not their military might

We've learned that over and over again from from the period of the conquest where cities would fall down Entirely by the power of God and to the judges where when people cry out and God rescues them obedience to him and his

Presence with them is what makes them significant. Now. We're seeing it again. It is not about their military power

It is about whether or not they will obey God and God's presence will be with them Now another major theme is the theme of false versus true kingship

Saul represents kingship that is according to human desire like visible impressive and ultimately disobedient

Kings David however represents kingship according to God's choice humble faithful and covenantal a third theme is

Obedience over appearance again and again God shows that he does not look at the outward appearance of a man

But the internal appearance of the heart fourth you have a theme of divine sovereignty

Even in Israel's sinful demand for a king. God is not thwarted by that He is directing history through his purposes that will ultimately lead to Christ and in that way

First Samuel presses us forward by refining kingship and exposing its failures Saul shows us the collapse of a man -centered rule

David gives us a glimpse of what true kingship is supposed to look like but even David is not the final answer

David is chosen anointed and empowered by God and yet his reign and will not be perfect nor will it be final his kingship points beyond itself to Jesus Christ the true and greater

King where Saul fails in Disobedience Christ will obey perfectly where David reflects

God's heart Imperfectly Christ will embody it in full. Jesus does not merely improve kingship.

He fulfills it he rules with perfect righteousness secures his people not just from external enemies, but from sin itself and Establishes a kingdom that will never collapse back into chaos and ruin the longing

Created in the book of Judges and sharpened in the book of first Samuel finds its ultimate answer in him

So as you read the book of first Samuel, don't just treat it as simple political Transitional period in Israel's history that this is not merely the rise of a monarchy

It is the exposure of the human heart and the revelation of God's standard for his leaders

Watch how God raises up and he tears down watch how he exposes what is hidden and watch how every part of this story

Presses us toward the need for a perfect King and today later on today

We will begin first Samuel 1 through 3 where God answers Hannah's prayer Raises up a boy named

Samuel and begins speaking again in a time of silence and with that Read your