Book Review: Samuel

10 ^AM February 12, 2003

One advantage to travelling on the train is that I have lots of good reading time. I've been reading a few different things, including 1 & 2 Samuel.

Quick Summary

1 & 2 Samuel were originally one book. The book is set 1200BC-ish - Samuel is a priest and the last of the judges that God appointed to look after his people, the Israelites. The books of Samuel document the life and times of Israel's first two kings, Saul and David.

Like Genesis and Judges, the book of Samuel is non-stop action. It is so fast that I had to put some effort into maintaining a mental timeline as the book spans about a hundred years of history. The author tends to deal with one plot at a time, although there are several themes that the author returns to time and time again: Gods' holiness, his judgement, his patience and the way he keeps promises.

Noteworthy Bits

There are plenty of good commentaries available on the books of Samuel, so I'll spare you further detail. However, there are lots of memorable things. Here is my list from 1Samuel.

God chose Saul. But when Saul rejected God, God rejected Saul. Did God make a wrong choice?
David and Goliath is a great story. When the entire Hebrew army is halted out of fear of a single man (the giant king Goliath), a shepherd boy delivering lunch to his brothers saves the day.
Even though Saul goes stark raving mad and tries to kill David, David does not defend himself, except to run away. David is driven by a deep respect for God - God had chosen Saul as king and David will not disrespect God by disrespecting the king.
There are two good stories about David counting coup on Saul while Saul is hunting down David with an army.
Samuel makes an after-death reappearance via seance.

2Samuel is about David's tumultuous reign. David alternately excels and stumbles. The stories of David's taking of Bathsheba and Amnon's rape of his sister Tamar are particularly poignant.

All in all, Samuel is definitely worth a read. Lots to learn about how God dealt with his people in Old Testament times, and lots to ponder about what it means to us in New Testament times.

By alang | # | Comments (4)

(Posted to Christian Life)

Comments

At 06:38, 09 Aug 2003 Kelly wrote:

I am wondering if anyone might have some insights on the following questions:

What made Saul unsuitable in the role of king even though he had been chosen by God? What is the point the author of Samuel wants to make regarding the monarchy?

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At 09:56, 02 Mar 2004 David Roze wrote:

Just thought I'd respond to the 'Saul as God's choice' question (even though this is a few days old).
Saul really wasn't God's choice - he was the peoples choice. God strongly advised the people that a human king was not the best thing for them - God was their king. Yet, in spite of God's argument (thru Samuel), the people persisted. God relented and gave them what they wanted (like he does today). In Saul, the Israelites basically got what they asked for.

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At 09:58, 05 Dec 2004 samuel wrote:

I have done a bit of research and it appears to me that the isrealite nation had been under a tribal form of government after they had escaped slavery in egypt, which is to my mind a superior form of government for the following reasons: (1) in a tribal government the people have more of a voice when it comes to planning; leaders have to get together to discuss issues that will effect them all and consensus and/or majority rule are instituted before any action is enabled.(2) in a kingdom you have only one head of government, whatever that person says becomes law there is no room for any sort of democracy and the peoples voice in the matters that concern their welfare is greatly diminished. (3) the jews at that time had the very presence of their lord in their camp (a piller of cloud during the day and a piller of fire during the night) the very fact that they had even asked for a king was kind of an insult to the leadership that was set in place years before between them and God. (4) that system worked because the people were responsible to each other respectively: the tribes to the people and the people to the tribal leaders, the tribal leaders to the priests, and the priests to God and the people, all the while God watched over them all.(5)Futher analysis of the books of kings provides insight into the mentality of court life and all of the scandels and drama that ensues.....
   Hmmm that is all that I have to write right now but but I'll try to get back to you later with a more complete synopsis.

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At 06:21, 19 Nov 2005 kracher wrote:

worksheet 3 with professor bollig:)- no plagiarism!!!

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