In Samuel’s prophecy, Samuel and the Israelite’s separate viewpoints on appointing a king are similar to the contemporary debate between liberal and conservative beliefs. In this passage of the Old Testament, the people of Israel demanded to be appointed a king to have a superior rule over them and to fight their battles for them; this desire for a king is similar to liberal beliefs today. Liberalists emphasize the need for government to solve their problems and allow them human rights. Samuel, however, had faith that God was all that the people needed to protect them. His viewpoint would be more similar to modern conservative belief that personal responsibility overpowers government. Conservatives believe in a limited government that provides people with the freedom necessary to solve their problems independently ("Conservative vs. Liberal …show more content…
The LORD assured him that it was an insult to his power rather than Samuel and encouraged Samuel to give the people what they want. He first had Samuel warn the Israelites of the costs that came with appointing a king. Samuel delivered the LORDS message, “the governance of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot… He will take your male and female slaves, as well as your best oxen and donkeys, and use them to do his work. He will also tithe your flocks. As for you, you will become his slaves. On that day you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day (1 Samuel 8:10-22).” God had allowed the Israelites to decide between having faith in him and a king. By delivering this message, however, it served as a warning to them that if they chose the king, he would not be there when the king fails to live up to their
Even as Samuel wrestled with God, God told him & the nation what a king would demand, and take from them. However, they shouted out they still wanted a king and to be like other nations. They didn’t care they would accept and deal with the cost associated with their request. They wanted what they wanted and it didn’t matter. We are the same today we want what we want it and don’t consider the cost, but as is often said, the devil is in the details or the cost as we see here.
He shows he is weak and not ready to lead. (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul even hides when he is supposed to show himself to the Israelites as the chosen King (1 Samuel 11: 22). Although Saul knows that he cannot lead, he has no choice, he has to follow the Lord’s order. At last, God realizes that Saul was indeed not a leader-type person and chooses another person. God must have known that people are not forced to be leaders, but they themselves should be aware of the ability to be leaders.
Samuel changed as he went along his journey. He became a leader, he had hunted for food for his family but that didn’t make him as much of a leader as he would become. He ate at a family’s house for dinner one night, and Hessian came and killed the family except a girl named Annie who was younger than him. She went with Samuel since he was the only person she knew, for example later in the book she says “He is all I got” (123). Samuel was a leader
“My lord!” Bellowed the messenger of King David. “What is it, can’t you see i am working,” answered the King in agitation. “but my lord, it is a message from the gods!” replied Samuel with great fear in his eyes. The king
In 2 Samuel the narrative shifts to the reign of David as he rises above Saul’s son Ish-bosheth to become the king, first of Judah and then of all the tribes of Israel (5:1–4). The book records David’s wars of conquest including the capture of Jerusalem and the relocation of the ark of the covenant to the City of David (6:1–19). But the author also records David’s failures: his adultery with Bathsheba (11:1–26), Absalom’s rebellion (15:1–18:30), Sheba’s revolt (20:1–26), and the disastrous census (24:1–25). Like all the prophetic writers, the author presents a portrait of his historical figures from the perspective of their faithfulness to God’s covenant.
Conservatives want the power that if there were to ever come a time that society wants to overthrow our government, we have that option. They don’t want to have to rely on the government for everything. Especially when it comes to protection. Conservatives would much rather be self reliant when it comes to protecting themselves against
Bonnie and sherry both good post. Solomon shows us that even if you’re the wisest person in the world if you are not abiding in the Lord then the vines of the world are going to choke you out. God allowed Solomon to make this choice to disobey as he does with us. “So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.’” (1 Kings 11:11 NASB). God displayed mercy to Solomon for David’s sake “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.” (1 Kings 11:12 NASB). How faithful and patients God is with us is just amazing.
After Moses, Deborah provided leadership throughout the period of the Judges, until Samuel took the reins prior to the monarchial era. Premonarchic prophecy was one stage of preclassical prophecy, once Saul was anointed as king, Samuel took on the title of the king’s advisor. Because the intended audience of the preclassical prophet was the king, the messages usually were designed to mingle with the circumstances of the royal court, usually consisting of either warnings or encouragement for the
As Lewis Chafer notes, continuity in the Bible is best shown through the fulfillment of prophecy (164). Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. And the Second Coming of Christ is the expected fulfillment of the New Testament prophecies. In both cases, and throughout the Old and the New Testaments, "highways of prophecy" are directed towards Advents of Christ.
Because the judges were corrupt, and because everyone else had a king, Israel asked for one too. They were rushing God’s timing, by asking for a king “like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT). They wanted someone they could see to fight their battles for them. They, in a sense, rejected God as their king. This attitude indicates that the people were looking at the other nations and at those rulers’ outward characteristics. So, when the people demanded a king for the second time, God gave them what they demanded.
It was then that Samuel was placed in the care of Eli. Eli trained and equipped Samuel which encouraged him to respond to the callings of the Lord. This made Samuel a prophet of the Lord at a very young age. 1 Samuel 3:1 states, “The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” (New International Version) After Eli passed, Samuel grew in his authority and leadership. ”His judgeship was dominated by war with the Philistines, who captured the Ark of the Covenant.”("Samuel," 2015, p. 1) He became a great prophet and judge of Israel, leading him to restore the dynamics of law, order and religious customs. Samuel lived his life to authentically follow the Lord. His will to following Christ was shown when he anointed David. Samuel lived a full life being Israel’s first prophet and thirteenth judge, he passed at the age of ninety-eight years old. 1Samuel says, “Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah.” (King James Version) Samuel’s life story is a captivating example of what God can do with our
1 Samuel chapters 13- 15 tells a story of Saul and provides a window into the character in Saul’s comfort zone of a war. In this pericope Saul is painted as a king of the people rather then a king of God. This disassociation from the one who allowed him to become king forms the crux of the conflict and brings trials upon Saul where his true character is revealed. In the march from tragic hero to villain in the development of Saul chapters 13-15 show a clear transition point. My moving towards disobedience Saul makes a move father from God and is left with the consequences of such an action.
"This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots…. and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest… He will take the best of your fields and
The book of 1 Samuel, a part of the Old Testament, sparks the dawn of the United Kingdom of Israel by telling of its first king, Saul. Samuel is one of the first talked about pre-literary prophets in the bible perhaps because he anointed the first king of the United Kingdom. He is a prophet by definition because he possessed the ability to converse with the almighty Yahweh. Samuel and Saul are key players to the rise of the kingdom but Saul runs into trouble and disobeys God, which leads him to his own inevitable demise.
God told Samuel to locate the right person to be Israel’s first king. Well, he looked at a lot of people; God guiding him all the time. And finally he selected Saul. Saul was just a boy, but he was a tall, striking and modest young man.