Introduction The focus of last week's chapter was on Saul's foolishness. Remember the foolish oath and curse he put his men under, preventing them from eating anything on the day they needed all their strength to attack the Philistines? And remember too how he was determined to kill his son because of another oath he … Continue reading 1 Samuel 15 →

Introduction So, in chapter 13, which we studied last time, we read how Saul's son, Jonathan, did what Saul was meant to do, and failed to do, which was to attack the Philistines. And do you remember? Saul was also meant to wait for Samuel to come to Gilgal to offer sacrifices to the Lord … Continue reading 1 Samuel 14 →

Introduction In order to understand today's passage, we need to remember what happened in chapter 10 after Samuel anointed Saul to be king over the Lord's people. Do you remember? Samuel told Saul to expect three signs. Firstly, Saul will meet two men who will tell him that his father's lost donkeys have been found. … Continue reading 1 Samuel 13 →

Introduction Chapter 11 ended with Samuel summoning the people to Gilgal to reaffirm, or to renew, the kingship. And chapter 12 tells us what Samuel said to the people at Gilgal. So, the title the NIV gives to this chapter -- which is 'Samuel's Farewell Speech' isn't accurate, because this is not so much a … Continue reading 1 Samuel 12 →

Introduction By asking for a king like the other nations had, the Israelites rejected the Lord as their king, even though he had been a good king, who had rescued them from their slavery in Egypt and who had brought through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. But even though they were rejecting the … Continue reading 1 Samuel 10(17)–11(15) →

Introduction In chapter 8 of 1 Samuel -- which we studied together three weeks ago -- the elders of Israel came to Samuel and asked him to appoint a king to lead them 'such as all the other nations have'. Though the Lord was their king, and though the Lord had been a good king … Continue reading 1 Samuel 09(01)–10(16) →

Introduction It's been a while since we studied the book of 1 Samuel together. So, let me remind you of what we've seen already in chapters 1 to 7. In chapter 1 we were introduced to Hannah, who was barren. She had no children; and her husband's other wife used to provoke her and make … Continue reading 1 Samuel 08 →

Introduction When we were studying 1 Samuel 4 and 1 Samuel 5 and 1 Samuel 6 over the past three weeks, you might have wondered to yourself: What has happened to Samuel? Chapters 1 to 3 were all about Samuel, weren't they? In chapter 1, we read how Hannah prayed for a son; and the … Continue reading 1 Samuel 07(02–17) →

Introduction Chapter 6 of 1 Samuel is the conclusion to the story which began in chapter 4. In chapter 4, the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines on two occasions. And on both occasions, the Israelites were defeated and suffered heavy losses. But most importantly, on the second occasion, Eli's two worthless sons … Continue reading 1 Samuel 06(01)–07(01) →

Introduction Last week we saw two failed attempts by the Israelites to defeat the Philistines. On the first attempt, four thousand of their men, or four units of men, were killed. On the second attempt, thirty thousand of their men, or 30 units of men, were killed. And as well as losing all those soldiers, … Continue reading 1 Samuel 05 →