Samuel

1. What do you see in this book that tells you about the original reader?
   
   
   We see that Samuel was most likely written to the people after David's time because we see the birth of Solomon (chapter 12).
   
   
2. What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?
   
   
   Because the texts opens with Samuel's detailed story and him appointing both Saul and David as king, most assume that Samuel was the author and someone took over after his death (chapter 25). This would also make sense because we see some stories that seem misplaced, out of order chronologically which would attest to there being more than one writer. “Saul gets rejected as king in ch.15 (as he had in ch.13), Samuel arrives in Bethlehem to anoint David in the first half of ch.16, David gets called to Saul's side to play soothing music to calm him, a David unknown to Saul shows up to fight Goliath in ch.17, and then Saul rewards David at the end of the chapter. Then early in ch.18, Saul keeps David in his court, which he'd already done at the end of ch.16.” (http://parablemania.ektopos.com/archives/2005/05/chronology_in_i.html they explain it better than I can :)
   
   
3. What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the “main idea?”
   
   
   The main theme of this book is showing the Isrealites that there is no king other than the one true King. Yet they ask for a king to rule over them. Samuel had been raised up as a leader/prophet (I, 3:19-20) and was guiding the Israelties but was growing old. He appointed his sons as their judges, but the people weren't content with that. They wanted a king to judge them “like all the other nations have” (I, 8:5). Samuel sought the Lord's counsel and He told him to do everything they commanded him to do; they weren't rejecting him, (I, 8:12) they were rejecting God. Samuel told them how a king would rule them, exactly what would happen, but they still chose earthly counsel over heavenly counsel (I, 8:9). God gave them what they asked for and Samuel told them that God would continue to honor their decision to have a king as long as they didn't turn to idol worship. And that's where the story goes down hill (moving into 1 and 2 Kings).
   King Saul is the first king raised up in response to their plea and David was raised up after him because of his disobedience and failure to maintain the word of the Lord. (I, 13: 7-12, 15:7, 15:12, Throughout Samuel we see a contrast of David and Saul. We see all of the mistakes Saul makes, but instead of crying out to the Lord for mercy he is overcome with jealousy, takes matters into his own hands and becomes one of the most vial leaders of all times. He tries to kill David when he finds out that David has been called to the throne in place of him.
   Where as David always seeks the Lord, even in his life riddled with sin he cries out in repentance and seeks wisdom from God on how to handle situations. He trusts the Lords character and nature and relies solely on Him to provide all that He's promised. Even when he knows he's appointed to be King and has the opportunity to kill Saul and immediately take the thrown he knows the Lord provides in His timing and he waits. Even Saul thanks him! (I, 24:17-21). He even committs adultery with a woman and then murders her husband to hide his sin (II Sam 11). But God still loves him!
   Because of his persistence in chasing God he was called a man after God's own heart. His heart was seeking after the ways of God, we see him crying out for mercy, seeking guidance from the Lord ( I, 23:2,4 II, 2:1, 5:19, 21:1) and walking in simple obedience. He clung tight to the character of the Lord. God protected him and allowed him to be redeemed.
   Through the lives of these two men we see how to lead and how not to lead. In II Samuel 23:3 & 4 David states, “... the one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of the morning at sunrise, like a morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun on new grass after rain.”

God is still very serious about not worshipping other gods and setting himself apart as reverent. In 1 Samuel 5 we see the story about the god Dagon. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant and put it inside a temple next to an idol of the god Dagon. The citizens went in the following morning and the idol was face down in front of the Ark so they picked him up and put him back in his place. The next morning the same thing happened. And in Beth-shemesh 70 men looked into the Ark of the Covenant and the Lord struck all of them dead (I, 6:19).

One sentence- God rewards those who are after His heart.

4. What is the primary reason this book was written?
   
   
   I believe the primary reason this book was written was to show what a good king looks like and how things go well and in your favor when you obey His decrees and commands.
   
   
5. What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

Like in all the other books of the old testament we see that God is a jealous God, fierce and wrathful-Dagon (I, 5), looking in the Ark (I, 6:19). But He looks at the heart, He doesn't judge from the outside. Even though sin is prevalent and He knows people will fail He still chooses them for the purity and reverance of their hearts (I 13:14, 16:7). for those who live in reverance to Him and seek to honor Him in all they do He is extremely faithful. He constantly gets David out of situations he would regret (I 24:4-7, 25:29-31), He saves him from his enemies- ( II 4:9, II 23:5), but also hands him over to them (23:9-12). He strengthens (I 17:37, II 5:10, II 22:40) and He never changes His mind (I 15:28, 28:17).
In 2 Samuel 22 we see the character of God depicted in a very descriptive way through David's song.


5. What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?

I believe that in a way, God giving the people David was a huge act of redemption. In 2 Samuel chapter 7 we see the covenant God makes with David. He knows how David is actively pursuing His heart and He knows that this is the best leader the people could have, even if He knows they won't fully see the goodness He has given them. This is a huge act of mercy, grace and redemption.

And in 2 Samuel 14:14 we see a profound statement by a woman from Tekoa. She says, “... All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be fathere up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him.” Whoa! What a perfect statement. In our sin we separate our selves from Him, but out of His grace and mercy so freely given He always pulls us back to Him. When we make a mistake or do something against Him He jumps on the opportunity to teach us, to show us, IN LOVE, what we did wrong and use it for the greater good!

7. Personal Application:

Failure shows us our need for God.

The biggest personal application for me in Samuel is simply the reliance David had on the Lord. In the last year and a half I've continually found myself in places of not knowing what to do, completely overwhelmed by the situations I'm in. But when I've laid aside all the concerns, my own opinions and desires and sought the Lord's perspective I always overcome with great triumph and have so much more peace. The way David pursued the heart of the Lord is amazing and I hope and pray that I would be a woman after God's own heart! Oh to be known as someone who only seeks the will of the Lord. Who faces trials, opposition, tragedy and ovecomings humbled at the feet of the Lord. What life we find there! God, make me into a woman who knows You so intimately, who knows Your character and only moves out of the revelation and knowledge of who You are!

8. Point of Passion- Family:
   Though David was an amazing king and leader, searching after the heart of the Lord we see how he pretty much abadoned his role as father. King David has several children mentioned in Samuel- Absalom, Solomon, Tabar, Amnon and Adonijah. We see him lacking in the ability to disciple and instill strong values in his children.
   It starts with David committing adultery with Bathsheba. The result of this was her getting pregnant and then the baby dying. We see that his daughter Tamar is raped by his own son (Tamara's half-brother), Amnon. Then we see Absalom command the death of Amnon because of the rape. As a result, David lost Absalom, who had to flee from Israel and find sanctuary in Geshur, the land ruled by his grandfather, Talmai.

What?! Mahem is going on within His whole family!

What do we see here? We see the need to focus on the family first and foremost. Your family is your legacy, they have been entrusted to us. We pour all wisdom and knowledge into them. Fortunately, we see in Proverbs that Solomon did in fact receive a lot of wisdom from his father, but what happened to the others? I'm not quite sure. But we definitely see the need for an active father. Without it, havoc wrecks the home and the children fall to sin and immorality.

I think the most beneficial piece we can gather is from the story of Absalom.

Under the law, Amnon should have taken Tamar to be his wife, and she begged him to but Absalom told Tamar to keep the matter within the family, with intentions of handling the situation on his own. The law would have let him off, but Absalom took matters into his own hands and gave him punishment where punishment was not fully deserved. Absalom eventually gets David in on the murder of Amnon without David even being aware of it. David is deeply grieved by the actions of Absalom.

How do we avoid these scenarios? Passing down values, instilling truths and being active in the family life. Don't focus so much on the job you're involved in, but focus on your family. They are the next generation. What one generation ignores, the next generation embraces.