Samuel’s mother, Hannah, before his birth makes a vow: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt . . . give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. . . .1:11 Accordingly after she has weaned the child Hannah places him in the care of Eli, the High Priest at Shiloh.
Eli’s two sons, priests of the temple at Shiloh, are evil men. They greedily seize the congregation’s offerings to the Lord; they corrupt the women who serve the tabernacle; they desecrate the tabernacle and lead the people into sin.
But the child Samuel ministers before the Lord, girded with a linen ephod.2:18
One night Samuel hears the voice of the Lord calling him. He answers, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.3:9 The Lord says, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.3:11
Eli and his sons are to be terribly punished: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.3:13
Thus the Lord reveals himself to Samuel: and all Israel knows that he is established to be a prophet of the Lord.
Punishment falls upon the Israelites: They are defeated with great slaughter in a battle against the Philistines. The Ark of the Covenant is captured by the enemy; and the tidings kill their High Priest, Eli:
He fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake. . . .4:18
Eli’s daughter-in-law, dying in childbirth, says, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.4:22
But the Ark brings plagues and disasters to its captors, and they return it. Israel repents its sins. The tribes gather at Mizpeh to fast and pray. Then, in the midst of this, the Philistines fall upon them.
Samuel cries to the Lord to save Israel; and the Lord hears him:
The Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines . . . and they were smitten before Israel.7:10
And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.7:15
ISRAEL DEMANDS A KING
When Samuel is growing old, the elders come to him and petition him to give them a king: to judge us like all the nations.8:5 It displeases the Lord; but He names Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, to reign over Israel.
And all the people shouted and said, God save the king.10:24
Saul reigns for two years: A choice young man, and a goodly.9:2 Under his leadership and that of his brave son, Jonathan, the Israelites win victories over many of their enemies.
The Lord commands Saul to go and smite the wicked Amalekites, Israel’s enemy of old. Saul is utterly to destroy them and all their goods. But Saul rashly disobeys: He takes Agag, king of the Amalekites, alive; and he permits his people to carry off the best of the cattle and the sheep.
The Lord says to Samuel, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king. . . .15:11
Reproached by Samuel for his disobedience, Saul says, The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord. . . .15:15
Samuel replies, To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.15:22–23
Samuel sends for king Agag:
And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women.
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.15:32–33
Then the Lord says to Samuel, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.16:1
Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, is pleasing to Samuel: but the Lord says, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.16:7 Jesse’s youngest son, David, then comes in from tending the sheep:
Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.16:12
The army of king Saul and that of the Philistines face each other across a valley in Judah. There comes out a huge Philistine, wearing mail and a brass helmet. This giant, Goliath, challenges the Israelites to send out a man against him: If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants. . . .17:9
The boy David goes to king Saul and says, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.17:32
Taking his staff in his hand, he chooses five smooth stones out of the brook.
The giant, in a rage, shouts at David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?17:43 David takes one of the stones and slings it at him. It sinks into Goliath’s forehead, and kills him.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. . . . And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.17:50–51
Saul returns home in triumph, to hear the women of Israel singing, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.18:7 He tells his son Jonathan that David must be killed. The young man goes at once to warn David: because he loved him as his own soul.18:3
David flees into the wilderness, with some four hundred of his followers. They are pursued by Saul, with an army of three thousand.
Hiding among the rocks of the wilderness, David comes twice upon Saul when the king is alone and helpless; but twice David spares him: the king is the Lord’s anointed; he must not be harmed.
Samuel dies, and all Israel mourns the great prophet.
David meanwhile wanders through the wilderness. He takes two wives: One is Ahinoam, of Jezreel; the other is Abigail, a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance.25:3
When David first sees Abigail she is the wife of a rich man named Nabal whom David has in the past befriended, but who refuses him food when David sends asking for it. Abigail however secretly takes food to David and his men; and with tact and wisdom she placates his wrath against her husband. Nabal dies; and Abigail follows David into the wilderness and becomes his wife.
THE WITCH OF ENDOR
To escape from Saul, David goes to live in Gath, the land of the Philistines. He allows Achish, the king of Gath, to look upon him as an enemy of the Israelites. Achish gives him the city of Ziklag for his home.
A great army of the Philistines is gathering against Israel. In fear, Saul goes to see a woman at Endor who is said to have a familiar spirit. He tells her to bring up Samuel. The woman cries out, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.28:14 Saul falls on his face before the dread figure of Samuel, who says, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?28:15
Saul answers, God is departed from me, and answereth me no more. . . .28:15
Samuel says, Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord . . . the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. . . .28:18–19
Next day, the Philistines march against Israel. David and his men have no choice but to march with the army of king Achish. But the king suspects them. He orders them back to Ziklag.
They find Ziklag burned down, the women and much spoil carried off by the Amalekites. David pursues the raiders and overtakes and destroys them. He restores to Ziklag all the stolen goods and the women—among whom are his own two wives.
The Israelites are hopelessly defeated by the Philistines at mount Gilboa. Jonathan is killed. Saul is wounded: he falls upon his sword rather than be taken by the Philistines.
The nearby cities of the Israelites are abandoned; and the Philistines come in and occupy them.