Bible Survey: 1 Samuel

First Samuel is a book of transition. Samuel was the last of the judges and the first of the great prophets, and in his day Israel went from being led by judges to being ruled by kings. First and Second Samuel were once a single book, and Jewish tradition holds that Samuel wrote it.

The key verses come from Samuel's farewell: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you (1 Samuel 12:24). To consider them is to dwell on them. Think what it means to have been born where the gospel is welcome, and to hold the Word of God in our own language, in a King James Bible translated with such great care.

The book opens with a priest who had no discernment. Eli saw Hannah praying and took her for drunk, and it took him three times to realize God was calling the boy Samuel. His sons were worse: the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD (1 Samuel 2:12).

Then the people demanded a king, and God told Samuel, they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7). Everything changed after that. From Samuel on, the prophet stands out in Israel, saying plainly what is right and what is wrong. A preacher still has to preach against sin, and not only for what is good.

Saul looked every inch a king, taller than all the people, but he disobeyed God and then lied about it. David was the man after God's own heart. He had already taken responsibility for his father's sheep, standing up to a lion and a bear, and that faithfulness in a small place made him ready to face Goliath.

Next in the series: 2 Samuel.

Taught by Pastor Baxter, from Brother Barker's notes, in Sunday School at Naples Independent Baptist Church, June 14, 2020. Watch the lesson.