Content Essary Samuel

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OBST 515

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Feb 20, 2024

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Content Essay: 1 Samuel Assignment Jermaine Erving Pearson OBST 515: Old Testament Orientation 1 September 21, 2023
1 Samuel is a single book within the Hebrew Bible. Hamilton says, “We can be fairly certain that originally, First and Second Samuel formed one book. The division into two books may have been done early in the Christian era, but was anticipated by the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, in the pre-Christian centuries.” 1 The one book divided in two in our present-day Bible tells Samuel's continuous historical story and goes forward to the reign of three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon. The book of Samuel shows how God is at work in the lives of his people. As we see throughout all other historical books in the Old Testament scriptures, The Book of Samuel shows how God rewards faithfulness when you listen to Him. It also shows how God punishes when one is disobedient to the statutes He has outlined. Does God want Israel to have a king? After a critical analysis of the negative statements (1 Sam 8:1-22; 10:17-19; 12:1-25) and positive statements (1 Sam 9:1-10:16; 11:1-15) In 1 Samuel 8:1-22, we see Samuel becoming old. He has always been depicted as one of the godliest men in the Bible, yet we see him sin by appointing his son as judge over Israel. The Bible does not show a pattern of judges appointed by men or passed down from father to son. Sadly, Samuel's sons do not walk in his godly ways. This leads to the elders of Israel gathering together and rejecting Samuel's sons. After this rejection, you see the idea of Israel wanting a king. Hamilton says, “Even earlier, in the canonical ordering of Israel’s sacred text and traditions, the issue of kingship appears first as a part of the promises that God made about kings coming forth from Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 17:6, ‘kings shall come from you’; 16, “kings of peoples shall come from her”) and from Jacob (Gen. 35:11, ‘kings shall spring from you’), and second in the laws and precepts of Deuteronomy 12–26.” 2 1 Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 211. 2 Ibid., 229.
2 Israel already had a King. God delivered them out of Egypt (1 Samuel 10:18). Notice the key phrase the elders of Israel use. They want a king like all the other nations. Didn’t God say he didn’t want them to be like the other nations (Joshua 23:7)? God even went as far as to tell Israel not to even intermarry with other countries (Deuteronomy 7:3). Samuel prays to God (1 Samuel 8:6-8), and God said to heed the voice of the people. This is not because the people's request was right or good but because God wanted to teach Israel a lesson through this. This leads us to the teaching moments of God when we see God tell Samuel who to anoint as King (1 Samuel 9:15-17). A Benjamite by the name of Saul is chosen by God to be Israel’s first king. We must understand that even though Israel rejected the Lord as their King (1 Samuel 8:7), God was still in control. From a positive standpoint, we see the Spirit of the Lord come upon Saul (1 Samuel 11:6-8), but it's not for Saul’s benefit; it's for Saul to be used by God to do His will for His people. This Spirit-filled war leads to the defeat of Nahas the Ammonite. God uses this human office of a king to point Israel to not just making sacrifices and going through rituals but to point His people towards obedience (1 Samuel 15:22). It was not God's will for Israel to have an earthly king like other nations. However, God permitted it so His will would be accomplished in the lives of His people. How do Genesis 17:6, 16; 35:11, and Deuteronomy 17:14-20 relate to the negative and positive statements concerning kingship in 1 Samuel 8-12? You will notice in Genesis 17:6 & 16 and Deuteronomy 17:14-20 that God gives a prophecy that would take place 400 years into the future regarding Israel's desire to demand a king. It is indeed a debatable issue whether this is a positive prophecy or a negative prophecy.
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