Day 98: INTRODUCTION To 1 Samuel

The Collapse of Judges and the Need for a King

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 1st Samuel. Now today we begin the book of 1st 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 1st 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 1st 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.

Samuel, Saul, and David

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.

Saul 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.

The Word of the Lord, True Kingship, and Obedience of the Heart

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 it 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.

Christ the True and Greater King

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.

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 Bible carefully devotionally and joyfully. May the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely and we will continue our journey in the book of Samuel later on today.