1 Samuel 1-10: Hannah, Samuel, Saul, and Some Rebellious Israelites

"Samuel answered Saul, 'I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?'" 1 Samuel 9:19-20

In case you haven't checked your calendar yet, today we celebrate Good Friday, which commemorates for us the crucifixion of our Savior. I encourage you to take some time today to consider this great event by reading through the crucifixion narratives that can be found in Matthew 27:26-66, Mark 15:15-47, Luke 23:24-56, and John 19:16-42. Also, here's my Good Friday blog post from last year.

Nevertheless, we turn this morning to our continued chronological walk through scripture as we begin our study of 1 Samuel. Through this book, we're going to see the beginning of the establishment of kingship. Although many people argue that the Lord didn't desire for Israel to have a king, what we find in 1 Samuel is quite the opposite. The fact that Israel wanted a king wasn't wrong. We find the need for a king throughout the book of Judges as well as the instructions for a king in Deuteronomy 17. Rather, it was the Israelite's perspective on kingship that caused the Lord to be angry with them. However, I'm getting ahead of myself...

In 1 Samuel 1, we find a lovely, God-fearing woman by the name of Hannah. Desperate for a child because of her barren womb, she pleads to the Lord to grant her a baby. The Lord answers her request, and Hannah dedicated her child to the Lord. The child's name was Samuel, and he would be the last judge of Israel.

Very quickly, Samuel is contrasted with the evil family of Eli, the high priest at that time. Amidst the evil of the day, Samuel was a righteous man. Thus, after Samuel grew up, he began to judge the people of Israel rightly, leading them to deliverance against the Philistines (7:10). However, after Samuel got old, the people of Israel demanded a king in order that they might be "like all the nations" (8:4, 8:20). Although the Lord was supposed to be the one to fight their battles (see the entire book of Joshua), the Israelites wanted a human king to fight their battles instead. Dismayed, Samuel goes to God, who tells him to answer the Israelite's request.

Next, we find God sovereignly appointing Saul as king. Although God was obviously in control over the choosing of Saul, he was the epitome of a "man's choice" for a king. He had the appearance of a warrior, the height of a giant, and the overall swag of a king. In modern terms, we would say that he "looked the part." However, his heart was far from courageous. When it came for the time for Samuel to be proclaimed king, we find him hiding among some baggage. Although he looked the part, he was no "fearless leader" that we might expect. Nevertheless, the people praised him.

In these short ten chapters, we find four characters: Hannah, Samuel, Saul, and some rebellious Israelites. The first two of our characters today are great examples to follow. In Hannah's story, we find a great example of going to the Lord with our requests. Although we often complain and grumble amidst our anxieties, Hannah shows us how the best way to deal with our sorrows is to take them directly to God, who is ultimately the only one who can take care of them. In Samuel's story, we find a great example of what it looks like to live by faith in a God who would lead and provide even though all of those around him were living in fear and rebellion. Like Eli and the Israelites, we often look to ourselves for strength and security, but Samuel shows us how we ought to rely on the Lord's strength and guidance rather than our own.

However, the latter two characters in these stories how not to live our lives. Although he looked great on the outside, he was a coward on the inside. When he received his great call from the Lord to be king, he did nothing but hide. In the lives of the Israelites, we see rebellion against God's pattern for kingship. Although the Israelites were supposed to be a people holy, set apart, and "other" than the nations around them (read Leviticus), this is exactly opposite to what they desired for a king. Furthermore, rather than having God fight their battles, the Israelites desired to have a human king fight their battles. Surely this was not God's plan for kingship, but God gave them what they asked for. From the Israelites, we can learn the importance of what it looks like to be set apart and holy, ultimately because that plan for us is better than being "just like everyone else." Just like the Israelites and the world around us, we often sacrifice eternal joy on the altar of instant gratification. However, God has called us to live differently and to wait for our reward as we trust in him to fight our battles for us.

However, we would fail in our study today if we didn't see Christ in all of these characters. Jesus was the ultimate Hannah, who would lay his greatest request before the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was the ultimate Samuel who would lead God's people to victory over their enemies. He was the ultimate Saul who fulfilled his kingly role perfectly. And lastly, he was the ultimate Israelite who kept all of the law perfectly, remaining set apart from the people in order to fulfill God's call for holiness. Amen! We have a Christ who has succeeded where we have not.