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The First Book Of Samuel (1-7) 

 Samuel was just one Book in Hebrew manuscripts. It may have received its name because Samuel is the main char­acter in all incidents that took place in the first part of the Book. He is the first to anoint kings for Israel and the first to offer that type of prophetic historical writing inspired by the Holy Spirit. Samuel means "Name of God" or "His name is BI (God)," and also means "God heard."

 In the Septuagint, the Book was just divided into two for practical reasons; to use 2 scrolls and was considered part of the "Kingdoms' Books" (I and II Sam., I and II Kings) being Books that contain a full history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. 

In the Hebrew edition done by Daniel Bomberg in the year 1517, the Book was divided into two. Presently, the division is that from the Septuagint and the name follows the Hebrew.

 AUTHORSHIP

According to Hebrew tradition the authors are the prophet Samuel, Gad and Nathan (I Chronicles 29:29-30).

 TOPIC

1. Instituting a kingdom among the people: It tells of 115 years of history from the birth of Judge Samuel to the death of Saul. God was the King over the people; He chose their leaders as judges or prophets but the people wanted to emulate the Gentiles and requested an earthly kingdom. Here, for the first time, we see the expression "Lord of Hosts" 1:3, to emphasize the fact that God is their true Leader. For the first time we see 'The anointed of God" as though the king is anointed by God; (symbolizing Our Lord Jesus Christ). The sequence of events in this Book is a preparation for David's becoming King and from whose line would come the incarnate King of Kings.

CONTENTS AND TRAITS OF THE BOOK

1.     Both Books of Samuel are the first historical exposition of the history of humanity.

 2.      Both Books bring to light the most important religious basis at that time:

-        School of Prophets.

-        Clerical works.

-        Messianism (Messiah or Christ).

-        Emphasis on the work of the Spirit of God in inspiring prophecies. (10:6).

-        New heart (10:9).

-        Constructive jealousy (11:6).

-        Talents (16:13,18).

-        Preserving humanity from evil spirits (16:14).

 3.      I Samuel is more like a publication on prayer (1:10-28; 7:5-10; 8:5-6; 9:15; 12:23; 28:6).

OUTLINE

1. Samuel, the Prophet and Judge. (1-7)

2. King Saul.          (8-15)

3. King David.        (16-31)

UNITY OF THE BOOK

Some critics tried to prove that there were two different sources from two different periods for this Book. One of them favors that kingship was registered before captivity and the other opposes it by saying that it was during or after captivity. Many scholars confirm the unity of Book as I mentioned in my "Com­mentary on 1 Samuel" in Arabic.

 COMMENTARY

The historical books portray Israel as God's people with a promise, and the Gentiles: Bdom, Moab and the Philistines, as God's enemies; that is because Israel accepted the Divine promises while the Gentiles blasphemed against God by worshiping idols. Presently, the new Israel is the Church of the New Testament in the world, a church that has inherited the promises spiritually, not literally. As for the enemies, they are the hosts of darkness: Satan, his army and his works: love of the world, adultery and iniquities, etc. Consequently, it would not be right to put all that comes in the Books literally into practice, because Christ has came to elevate us over worldly thinking.

 SAMUEL: THE PROPHET AND THE JUDGE (I Samuel 1 - 7)

 I life represents a transitional period through which the people went from the era of the Judges to the Royal regime.

Samuel was instrumental in this. He was not comfortable with their request for a king like the Gentiles, but he had to obey a Divine order and Saul was anointed King. Saul was known for his spiritual and psychological insecurity and stubbornness.

 BIRTH OF SAMUEL (1 Sam. 1)

1. Elkanah, a Levite, had two wives: Peninnah (-- Pearl) and Hannah (= Tenderness, grace) Elkanah preferred Hannah, who was barren, and he gave her double of whatever he gave Penin-nah, which, of course, made Peninnah very jealous. Peninnah, with her many children, represents the Church of the Old Testa­ment, which enjoyed the pearls of the law, the Prophets and the Promise; while Hannah, barren as she was, represents the Church of the new Testament, proceeding from the Gentiles, resentful because of the Jews' sarcasm towards her.

 2. Hannah's resentment did not keep her from taking part in the food offered to God. The partaking of believers in the midst of pain! After the meal, she got up and went to pray secretly before the Divine altar, in the house of the Lord, in Shiloh, and thus she became a symbol of quiet prayers that open up the heavens.

 3. Eli did not have the sense to differentiate between a believer with a broken spirit and a drunken person. But the God of hearts can differentiate between them.

 4. Together with her secret prayers, Hannah displayed meek­ness in her answer to Eli, the priest [15-16] and humility [18]; and her faith in God by going her way and her face was no longer sad [18].

5. The birth of Samuel was the fruit of Hannah's prayers and faith. She kept him for three years until she weaned him, and then she offered him to the Lord, saying to Eli, '⁹Therefore, I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord" [28]. She loaned him to the Lord, that is, he remains her son whom she cherished, but she could not go back on her promise to God. God granted him to her, and she gladly loaned him back to the Lord, of her own accord, for the rest of his life, not just for a few years.

 6. She offered sacrifices

-         3 bulls, of which one was slaughtered as a burnt sacrifice (Samuel's life burnt offering to show his love for God);

-         1 ephah of flour, i.e. 10 lbs (-- 10 commandments); and

-         "A skin of wine" (= Happiness results from sanctifying one's heart and life).

 SAMUEL'S UPBRINGING (1 Sam. 2)

1. Hannah's psalm is full of thanksgiving, not only for having Samuel as a son, but also because in him she saw the great gift of God, the Messiah, the salvation of His people. (Compare be­tween Samuel 1:1-10 and Luke 1:46-55): Hannah praises through symbolism and the Virgin Mary through Truth Himself.

 2. What a big difference between Samuel and the two sons of Eli! Eli was too lenient in their upbringing and they in turn took advantage of their position as priests. Instead of being good shepherds, they were like two wolves devouring the flock. They did not know the Lord, they corrupted the women, and they violated the holy of holies by eating parts of the offerings that did not belong to them. They had a right only to the breast and the right leg after burning the fat in sacrifice (Lev. 3:3-5)] and the rest should have been distributed among the family members who made the offering (Lev. 7:29-34). They took the rite and purity lightly, as well as rights of others, even those of the Lord. 

3. Samuel began his service to the Lord as a young boy swathed in linen [18]. He wore it like a coat tied around the waste with a band, which was what the Levites wore, and not the priests. His mother gave him a new garment every year, as a renewal of family ties which were filled with love. This good family relation was probably the shield that protected him from the evil ways of the sons of Eli.

 4. Eli admonished his sons with leniency, so God sent him a prophet to warn him, but his weak personality kept him from being sterner with his sons. God decided to discipline him; [shifting the priesthood from his descendants who died young; taking the ark away from them; and his descendants would seek death in vain.] The prophet concluded his speech by foretelling of the coming of the Messiah, the faithful Priest, Who will do what pleases God [35-36].

THE CALLING OF SAMUEL (1 Sam. 3)

1. In the midst of the deep darkness outdoors, "...and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of Lord..." [3], the Lord called Samuel to set him as a light among his people, to proclaim the will of God, and witness to the truth. He was called before dawn and before the lamp went out, at a time when darkness settled on Israel because the "word of the Lord was rare" (1 Sam. 3:1; Ps. 74:1,9; Amos 8:11).

 2. Samuel alone heard the voice, not Eli, because his heart was ready for it. Samuel was only 12 years old.

 3. Samuel lived with Eli, serving him, obeying him and asking his guidance. Obedience is the shortest yet the most difficult route. Through Eli, Samuel came to know God; yet God came to Samuel calling him by name [10]. God condescends and stands by us and we come to know Him through guidance.

 4. Samuel learnt that obedience is the essence of the prophecy... "Speak, for your servant hears" [10].

 5. Samuel was afraid of hurting Eli's feelings but he '~...told him everything and hid nothing from him..." and Eli readily accepted God's discipline to him.

 6. God laid the foundation for good works [Samuel's oneness with God [19]; his being accepted by the people; and God's appearance to him in Shiloh.

 THE ARK OF GOD CAPTURED (1 Sam. 4)

1. Israel went out to battle against the Philistines without sanctifying themselves or conferring with God, so they were defeated at Aphek. They brought the Ark of the Covenant back from Shitob and the two sons of Eli were with it. There was no repentance or remorse before they did that, so the ark of the covenant of God was taken from them and the two priests died together with 30,000 Israelites. When Eli heard that, he fell back from his chair, his neck was broken and died.

 2. When the daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, heard what had happened to the ark of the covenant, to Eli and her husband, she went into labor prematurely, and gave birth to a son and called him Ichabod (=where is the glory?). She considered that the glory was taken away from Israel when the ark was taken away. Actually, Israel had fallen and lost its glory and she was upset about the ark and the glory of her people more than with the death of her husband and father-in-law, because she felt that God had forsaken His people.

 THE FALLING OF DAGON (1 Sam. 5)

1. God allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant in order to discipline Israel. They were supposed to realize that because of their corruption, they had lost the presence of God in their midst. At the same time God showed His glory and power by causing Dagon to fall, [an idol whose head and hands were human and whose body was that of a fish], on the floor because they had placed the ark in his house, [as though Dagon was victorious over the God of Israel]. They did not realize that there should be no affiliation between God and idols. After insisting on keeping the ark, they came the following day and found their idol with its head and hands broken on the threshold, a sign that he had lost the power of thought and action and that he would be trodden upon.

 2. The pagans did not learn their lesson, so the Lord struck Ashdod and its territory with tumors, and plagued them with rats, so they lost their health and nourishment. The ark is a blessing to believers and an aroma of death to blasphemers (2 Cor. 2:15-16).

 3. The ark was moved from Ashdod to Gath; one of the greatest cities of Palestine, and the plague was even more severe. Everybody was sick, old and young, and the whole city was dis­turbed.

 4. The ark was then moved to Ekron, one of the five great cities of Palestine, and the plague was even ~ For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there... and the cry of the city went up to heaven [11-12].

 RETURN OF THE ARK (1 Sam. 6)

1. For seven months, the ark stayed in the hands of the Philistines. This was to show that what happened to the idol and the people were not by chance and also to give Israel a chance to repent.

 2. The Israelites might have wondered at the ease with which the ark was taken from them, but God used the priests and diviners to witness for Him. They decided to return the ark with a "trespass offering," in acknowledgement of their sin, and as a means of compensation for what happened to His people. All five cities participated so that it would be a communal confession. It was the tradition of the pagans to offer an image of the plagued part to the idols.

 3. The pagans realized two facts: God cannot be bribed with gold or silver, therefore they offered glory to God [5]; and also that it was useless to resist Him.

 4. The ark was returned on a new cart (the Church of the New Testament carrying God). The cart was pulled by two milch kine on which there had come no yoke. (Some Jews and some Gentiles accepted to live a fruitful life without deviation from the right path, so that they did not carry the sour burden of sin together with the sweet easy burden of Christ). Going into the field of Joshua (= Jesus), represented the enjoyment of the Church with her Lord Jesus. As the secret of her power. The stone, upon which the sacrifice was offered in the field of Joshua, remained as a witness to God's work with His people [18].

 5. The people did not receive the ark according to their traditions by sending for the priest and Levites to carry it... thus the men of Beth She mesh were struck and the ark was taken up to Kirjath Jearim (city of forests) via the towns of Judah and Benjamin, estimated to be nine miles west of Jerusalem.

 REPENTANCE IS THE MEANS TO VICTORY (1 Sam. 7)

 1. The people of Kirjath Jearim realized that the presence of

The ark in their midst represented a Divine presence, a blessing for those who loved Him. Therefore they went up to it with reverence and joy and brought it to the house of Abinadab (father of hospitality or nobility). There is no enjoyment of the Divine presence without the gift of giving.

2. After nearly twenty years of continuous work with the people, Samuel called on all the people to have a collective repentance saying: "If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoroth from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only..." [3]. During this time, Samuel had married and had Joel (Jehovah is God) and Abijah (God is my Father)...there was a need for a firm distinction between the two ways, either God or the foreign gods.

 3. Inner, heartfelt repentance showed in outward actions:

a. Putting away foreign gods;

b. their gathering together at Mizpah to worship with one

c. Samuel praying for them;

d. drawing water and pouring it out before the Lord (sym­bolizing pouring the heart to God);

e. collective fasting;

f. confessing their sins to God in Samuel's presence; and,

g. offering a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

 4. Because they offered a true repentance, their enemies rose against them, but the repentant people of God, defeated them. Their oppression became victory in the exact spot where they had suffered defeat before.