This week we will continue the study of the entire Book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.
(1) The final chapter of the reign under Eli as the judge opened with the tragic news from the battle. What words does verse 12 use to depict this tragic ending?
(2) What might be the things that were weighing heavy in the heart of Eli as he sat in his chair wondering what might have happened in the battlefield? What might be going through his mind as he waited?
(3) Put yourself into the shoes of the town people, what might their cry represent?
(4) If Eli really “feared for the ark of God”, what should he have done in the first place? What should he have done as the judge of Israel for 40 years?
(5) What does the Bible tie the death of Eli to? Why? If you were to write his epitaph, what would you write on his tombstone?
(6) What did the wife of Phinehas name her son? Why? What might this reveal about her character?
(7) It appears that this battle was fought during a time that the Lord had resumed speaking to Israel through Samuel (3:21). Why then would God allow such an utter defeat to the point that His ark was taken away, signifying the departure of God’s glory (see both 4:22 and 7:2)?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel for forty years.” (1 Sam. 4:18)
The last words about the life of Eli (in 1 Sam. 4:18) are one of the saddest commentaries on a person’s life in the Bible. Based on these words, if one were to write his epitaph, it could well be: “A life of Regrets!”
The Bible ties Eli’s death directly to the news of the capture of the Ark of God. As a priest, it was his duty to serve before the Lord, whose presence was symbolized by the ark within the Holy of Holies. Perhaps, we should say His presence was more than symbolized, but revealed through the Ark because He would reveal His will through the priest who came with Urim and Thummim. As it was, because of Eli’s sin, “the word of the Lord was rare, there were not many visions” in those days (1 Sam. 3:1). His sin reached a climax as he allowed the elders to take the Ark from the Tabernacle, not only condoning the superstition of the people, but definitely allowing entrance into the Holy of Holies which was only accessible on the Day of Atonement with the blood of sacrifice by the High Priest (Leviticus 16). Therefore, tying his death to the ark is definitely a direct indictment of his failure as the High Priest.
A less direct but equally serious indictment is the mention of the fact that he fell backward on his chair because he was heavy. That echoes the charges brought against him by the man of God, “Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts (which belonged solely to God)”? (1 Sam. 2:29). In other words, he served God for his own sake, and worse, basically for his stomach (Phil. 3:19).
However, the last words carry the most significant indictment for a leader: “He had led Israel forty years.” Forty years is a long time. As the Book of Judges ends with this sad commentary, “In those days, Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit” (Jdg. 21:25), Eli’s failure as both the high priest and the judge was more than obvious.
As he sat on the chair, wondering what was happening in the battlefield, this old man knew his end was coming. His heart must be weighing heavily about the sins of his own sons and the inevitable judgment they would face. “What have I done as a father?” His heart would be weighing heavily too about the Ark. “Why didn’t I stop them from taking the Ark? What if it was captured? What if it was even destroyed?” His heart was full of regrets!
As it turned out, all his fears were realized! Ah! They are mistakes in life that one cannot afford to make!
(1) What was the initial perception of the God of Israel by the Philistines according to 4:7-8?
(2) With their great
victory over Israel and the capture of the ark of the Lord, what would these
Philistines think of the following?
a. The God of Israel
b. Their own god, Dagon
(3) Why did they not destroy the ark outright? What does putting the ark alongside the statue of Dagon show, as far as their attitude toward the ark was concerned?
(4) What does the
falling of Dagon before the ark represent?
a. To us?
b. To the Philistines?
(5) What happened the following morning? What was the unmistakable message?
(6) Why was the breaking of the statue of Dagon not enough? Why did God have to kill the Philistines and afflict them with tumors (see 5:11-12)?
(7) What did the Philistines try to do? Did it work? Why?
(8) Since they seemed to have the intention of including the ark into their worship, what should they have done upon recognizing that the God of Israel is not just a much more powerful god, but the only God?
(9) Why did they not embrace Him as their God?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face, on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.” (1 Sam. 5:4)
The action by the Philistines speaks volume about the desire for people to worship and appease all deities. With the overwhelming victory over Israel, it is not inconceivable that they attributed such a success to their own principal deity, Dagon. But it is interesting to note that they did not destroy the ark, nor put it aside in some warehouse, but they put it inside the temple of Dagon. It was an act of respect and a desire to include the God of the ark as one of the deities they would worship.
To their surprise, this God of Israel demonstrated not only that He is greater than Dagon, but also that He would not co-exist with any other gods. The Philistines learned first-hand the meaning of the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod. 20:3).
Unfortunately, as the gospel spreads across the world, we have seen over and over again that the church does not demand the same singular worship of our Lord from so-called converts. Many have included the worship of their deities and idols into the worship of Jesus Christ, some have also incorporated their desire to worship images into Christianity. The result has been not only a loss of the true worship of Jesus Christ, but also the weakening of the power of the gospel. If we care to look at all the nations that embrace a syncretized form of worship of the Lord, we will see that they have continued to be enslaved by corruption, poverty and totalitarian rulers. It is absolutely futile to seek to reform such societies, unless they first get rid of all their idols and images and worship only Jesus Christ “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24).
(1) Why did the Philistines tarry for seven months before they were willing to send the ark of God back to Israel?
(2) Given their fear of gods and their superstition, they seemed to have inquired of priests and diviners beyond their own. It was obvious that these priests and diviners did not know the Lord nor the Law of Moses, however was the suggestion of a guilt offering a right concept? Why or why not?
(3) What in fact was the guilt offering they had in mind? Will this offering really appease God?
(4) Does God really desire golden tumors and rats? What’s wrong with such an idea?
(5) Where did these priests and diviners get this idea?
(6) How significant was their reference to the “Exodus” event which was an event of over 400 years ago?
(7) What was the reasoning behind the use of a new cart to carry the ark of God?
(8) What was the significance of the use of two milking cows with their young penned away? (See Note below)
(9) How was God glorified through this incident?
(10) The people of Beth Shemesh responded very differently from the people of Gath and Ekron. What was the reason? Why were they so jubilant? Would you feel the same?
(11) Why did the celebration soon turn into mourning? Why did they want to send the ark away? What did they learn from this incident?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Note:
It is believed that it would be the natural tendency of the two milking cows to return to find their young in the stall, and for them to go straight to Beth Shemesh would be most unnatural. That was signified by their lowing as they moved away from the direction of the stall.
“Who can stand in the presence of God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” (1 Sam. 6:20)
Reading a passage like the return of the ark of God from the Philistines several thousands of years away from the event and its setting could cause one to wonder why God chose to act in such a fearsome fashion, both against the Philistines and against His own people in Beth Shemesh. Part of our puzzle has to do with how we overlook the holiness of God which is so prevalent in our society.
We have to bear in mind always that culture does change over time and from place to place, but God is not obliged to change to suit our culture, or any culture. In fact, He does not change, because He is God.
As we reflected yesterday, the Philistines experienced first-hand that there is no other God but the Lord and He does not and cannot co-exist with any other gods, because there is simply no other god besides Him! It was a pity that the Philistines, like the people in the region of the Gerasenes, chose to ask the One True God to leave their territory (Mk. 5:17).
As much as the pagan priests and diviners did not know the Law of Moses, they did understand that the Philistines had angered God and needed to present a guilt-offering, except that they treated the Lord as any pagan deity and offered gifts of gold which obviously could not atone for their sins. But it was enough for the Lord to be glorified and He presumably stopped the plague that He inflicted upon them. However, it does not mean their sins were atoned for.
The people of Beth Shemesh, on the other hand, rejoiced to see the ark’s return. It was, I believe, not only because they understood that the glory of God had returned to Israel, but also that they were so privileged to be among the first to welcome the ark back to Israel. What puzzles us though is why God would smite seventy men among them to death! The celebration quickly turned into mourning. Was Israel no different from the Philistines then?
Of course, Israel was, in fact, different from any other people. They were the People of God. But God does not change! His holiness does not change! I am sure, upon the return of the ark, the Levites among them would have told them how to treat the ark solemnly. I would not be surprised that the Levites would have quickly covered the ark, and so for some of the people to “look into” it was a blatant act of contempt! Death, as a result, was unavoidable, and so was their mourning. However, there was a big difference. It was a one-time event and there was no continuous plague that afflicted them as it did the Philistines.
As the people of Beth Shemesh said, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?”, they had come to understand that as much as they were the Chosen People, they were still sinners who had to approach God by following the prescribed decrees of the Law of Moses. Thus, their sending away of the ark was also quite unlike the Philistines’ way, in that they recognized that ark of God should be returned to its proper place in Shiloh — the designated place for worship, and Kiriath Jearim “was the nearest large town on the road from Beth Shemesh to Shiloh” (K&D, 408).
(1) What was the effect of having the ark remain in Kiriath Jearim, without returning it to the tabernacle?
(2) What lesson did they learn from the mistake in Beth Shemesh and what did they now do to prevent it from happening again?
(3) While the Israelites had a general sense of turning back to the Lord, what did Samuel do to help them express their repentance with concrete actions?
(4) What might be the reason that in the initial expression of repentance, no animal sacrifice was made?
(5) What eventually caused Samuel to offer up an animal sacrifice?
(6) Do you think that the Philistines chose the best timing for their attack? Why or why not?
(7) What important lesson can we learn about the key to victory?
(8) While prayer and victory go hand in hand, so do victory and peace. How can you apply these principles in your life when it comes to gaining victory over sins?
(9) “Ebenezer” translated more literally is “Stone of help” (K&D, 412). With such a victory, Samuel could call this stone of memorial by many other names. Why did he call it to signify that “Thus far has the Lord helped us”? (7:12)
(10) What leadership style did Samuel adopt according to 7:15-17?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtorehs, and served the Lord only.” (1 Sam. 7:4)
Indeed, it would only be natural that the ark of the Lord be returned to Shiloh and be placed inside the tabernacle as soon as it was sent backed by the Philistines. Instead, we are told that it stayed in Kiriath Jearim for some twenty years, without any explanation.
However, the result of it staying in Kiriath Jearim was reported; the Bible says “all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:2). In other words, if the ark was returned right away to Shiloh, the people would have taken it for granted and they would have simply continued with their life and lifestyle, which was “everyone did what they saw fit” (Jdges 21:25).
Now, as they appeared not to be able to go to Shiloh every year to worship and present their offerings in the absence of the ark, they recognized that they still lived under the wrath of God. This aroused in them a general desire to return to the Lord, or a sense of remorse or regret. Unfortunately, a sense of remorse or regret is not repentance at all. Samuel knew it very well, and thus seizing their willingness to have a change of heart, he helped them to express their repentance in solid terms in Mizpah.
We learn a great lesson from their expression of repentance which included the following:
- Getting rid of all their foreign gods and in particular the idols of Baal and the Ashtoreth poles. When we read about their mourning and their desire to seek after the Lord, we would have automatically assumed that they would have gotten rid of these idols completely. As it turned out, all through these 20 years of so-called change of heart, there was absolutely no desire or action to cut off their ties with idols. This is also true of us: Our repentance is necessarily manifested in renouncing whatever things or people who have occupied God’s supreme place in our hearts.
- They poured water out before the Lord: This denotes an “inward dissolution through pain, misery and distress” of penitence before the Lord (K&D, 411, citing Ps. 22:14, Lam. 2:19). Such an inward dissolution was accompanied by fasting. David followed his inward dissolution in Psalm 51 with these words, “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (51:17).
- Public confession that “we have sinned against the Lord” (7:6) — keeping confession private is hardly a biblical model.
You might have noticed that in the initial call to repentance, Samuel did not make any animal sacrifice. It is very likely that he understood that the Law decrees that they could only offer sacrifices in the prescribed place which was Shiloh (Lev. 17:9). However, God is not a legalist after all. In the absence of the ark, Shiloh was not the prescribed place, and due to the urgent need to face their enemies, Samuel knew that forgiveness could not be complete without the shedding of blood. As a result, as the people did their part to put repentance into action, Samuel was obliged to offer a suckling lamb as a sacrifice to seal the pardon from God.
This highlights the fact that forgiveness is ultimately grace. We can repent all we can; if not for the blood of Christ, we can never be forgiven and be reconciled to God. Therefore, since Christ has died as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, “now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Let’s repent with getting rid of all our idols, pouring our hearts out in brokenness and contrition, and confess our sins publicly (at least to someone we know, and especially to those whom we have offended).
It appears that Samuel had appointed his two sons as judges in addition to him by the very fact that the sons were stationed in Beersheba, the extreme south of the nation, while Samuel still resided in Ramah in the north.
(1) Unlike Eli, Samuel pleased the Lord and acted righteously. Why then would his sons be so unlike him? Can you think of some possible reasons?
(2) Remember how God called Samuel when he was a boy, and the words He said to him? Go back and read 3:11-14. Shouldn’t Samuel take these words to heart? Do you think Samuel was at fault? Did he know about his sons’ wickedness? What should he have done?
(3) In v. 4 we read that the elders used Samuel’s old age and his sons’ misdeeds to ask for a king:
a. In what ways was their request valid?
b. Was their goal the maintenance of a theocratic nation under God?
c. If it was, what should their request be?
d. As it was, what was their true desire?
e. What is meant by “such as all the other nations have”? What would it entail?
(4) From God’s answer to Samuel, consider the following:
a. Did God blame Samuel at all? Why not? He did blame Eli for his sons’ misdeeds!
b. What is meant by “so they are doing to you”?
c. The Lord had already foretold that they would have their own kings in Deuteronomy 17:14-20; so were they not simply asking for what the Lord had foretold through His servant Moses? Why was their request a rejection of God as their king?
(5) God told Samuel to warn the people of their follies of having a king over them:
a. Do you get a feeling that they did not really mind the downsides? What might be their reasons?
b. What might be the thing(s) that would cause them to overlook all these downsides (which they could have observed among the surrounding nations)?
c. What was the sternest warning from vv. 11-18?
(6) They could have asked Samuel to appoint another judge in his place, and yet they asked for a king “like all the other nations”. What might be the differences between being ruled by a judge like Samuel and ruled by a king like other nations had? Think in terms of the following:
a. The maintenance of peace and prosperity
b. The emphasis on and priority in honoring God and His law
c. The expansion of territory beyond the Promised Land
d. Governmental structure
e. Military structure
(7) What if Samuel refused to hear their request?
(8) Why did the Lord “give in” to their demand? Could He not show His displeasure like He did during their time in the wilderness? Why didn’t He?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Then we will be like all the other nations with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (1 Sam. 8:20)
Not too long ago, the people mourned over the departure of the ark of the Lord from them (7:2) and committed to repent and serve the Lord only under the leadership of Samuel (7:3). Well, perhaps it was quite some time ago already. Since then they enjoyed great peace and prosperity under Samuel (7:13-17). Indeed, comfort and ease have a way of lulling us into spiritual insensitivity and robbing us of our sense of mission. The people had obviously taken peace and prosperity for granted and forgotten about who they were: “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”, a people who belonged to the Lord.
Now, they had the luxury of wanting to be like the nations around them:
- They wanted to be as aggressive as the other nations and they were not satisfied with only occupying the Promised Land.
- They cared less about God being feared by the nations, but rather that they be feared as a nation.
- They wanted more than a defense force assembled only when they were attacked, but a well-trained and equipped army.
- They wanted a structured government that offered hierarchical status and power.
- They wanted grandiose palaces and victory parades.
- They wanted a fair chance to be kings themselves one day.
All these would not have been possible, if they continued to be ruled by judges like Samuel and governed by theocracy. They were even willing to forsake their freedom in order to be like other nations. This is why God said that their request for a king was a rejection of Him as their king.
We should not be too quick to condemn the Israelites, because we are very similar to them in many ways. Comfort and ease plus a lack of persecution could lull us also into spiritual insensitivity and loss of a sense of mission. Without a sense of mission, we will tend to focus on ourselves: Being dissatisfied with our God-assigned lot; usurping glory that should be God’s; being hung up on the size of our church; wasting time on administrative structure and bylaws; being overly concerned with the appearance and perception of the church and hungering for power and recognition. In fact, we might be worse than the Israelites. At least they were honest enough to admit they wanted to be like the world!
(1) The story of Saul began with a description of him and his family:
a. What kind of a family did Saul come from?
b. What kind of a person was he?
c. Why would the Bible choose to describe him in such terms? Do you hear an echo of the request by the people in chapter 8?
(2) The missing of the donkeys was not an accident, but an incident used by God to achieve His purpose. How then can you look at incidents in your life that might be looked upon as a nuisance or misfortune?
(3) After covering a rather wide geographical area, they reached the region of Samuel, and Saul decided to call it quits. What kind of virtue was demonstrated by Saul in v. 5?
(4) What happened next was in essence a divine appointment leading to the calling and anointing of Saul as king over Israel. It is obvious that Saul had no clue about what was going to happen. Can one really be “prepared” to face such an important and divine calling? What kind of preparation might be needed in order to assume such an important and sacred calling? Do you think Saul was prepared for it? Why or why not?
(5) While Saul might not be prepared, Samuel was. How did God prepare Samuel to anoint Saul?
(6) Samuel revealed to Saul God’s choice of him to be the king in a very brief statement and before they went up to worship. What was Saul’s immediate reaction?
(7) Assuming that his response was genuine (since he had no prior knowledge to think through how he should respond), what does it tell us about Saul? In what way was he prepared to assume such a calling?
(8) What else might he be lacking at this stage?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“But I am a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Sam. 9:21)
I
believe that Saul was genuine in his immediate response to the calling by God
communicated through Samuel. In a way,
he was totally unprepared for this sacred calling. We learn nothing about his spiritual
condition prior to this calling. The
only thing we know about are his external qualities:
- He came from a family of standing and likely of means (9:1).
- He was an impressive young man without equal which probably pointed to him being very tall (9:2).
This description appears to be a rather sarcastic affirmation of the kind of king the people wanted: One just like the kings of the nations around them.
However, his concern about the worry of his father (9:5) gives us a glimpse into the inner quality of Saul in that he was kind-hearted and he loved his father. In other words, he was a people person — a rather unusual and precious trait for a future king.
Although he might not know the Lord yet and was certainly unprepared mentally and spiritually to be the first king of Israel, his immediate response to the revelation of God’s calling revealed his humility: “But I am a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Sam. 9:21).
Since he never knew he would be chosen his response was not a prepared speech, but an instant response. Yes, his father might be a man of standing and his household might be well off, it was still nothing compared to being chosen to be the future king of Israel. Benjamin, indeed was the smallest tribe of Israel and was almost wiped out into total extinction (Jdg. 20:46-48).
As much as the request for a king was wrong and God’s heart was grieved by their rebellion against Him, He was gracious and was giving them a king who was kind-hearted and humble. It was indeed a good beginning for Saul and for the nation. However, as we shall find out later, a good beginning does not necessarily guarantee a good ending — his humility soon gave way to presumption and arrogance once he assumed power! This is the reason why we should never put our hope in any man or woman, especially a politician!
(1) What might be the significance of reserving the (right) leg for Saul and giving it to him before the invited guests (probably important leaders)? (See Lev. 7:32ff)
(2) Although the Bible does not tell us what Samuel talked to Saul about on the roof of his house (9:25), given the short calling revealed earlier by Samuel, what would Saul want to know from Samuel? What might Samuel wish to talk to Saul about?
(3) Why did Samuel choose to anoint Saul first in a private setting? What might it do to Saul, in terms of preparing his heart before he could be overwhelmed and influenced by public opinion or pressure?
(4) What might be the meaning of each of these foretold events or signs?
a. The confirmation of the finding of the donkeys, putting Saul’s mind at ease. (We do not know where Zelzah was, but the tomb of Rachel was near Bethlehem.)
b. The giving of the loaves of bread (probably meant for sacrifice at Bethel) to Saul from three strangers. (Again, the location of Tabor is not known, except it is clear from the passage that it would be between Bethlehem and Gibeah.)
c. The meeting of a group of prophets (likely a school for training prophets might have been instituted by Samuel) and hearing their prophesying, cumulating to his own filling by the Spirit and joining them in prophesying.
(5) How significant were these three signs to Saul concerning his calling?
(6) What is meant by Saul being “changed into a different person” by the filling of the Spirit?
(7) What is meant by Saul doing “what his hands finds to” after then? Why?
(8) The last word by Samuel was not a sign but a command. What is the importance of commanding Saul that he “must wait seven days” until he came? What kind of a test was it?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” (1 Sam. 10:6)
The people basically forsook God and wanted a king in His place who would lead them to go out before them and fight for them (8:20). In other words, they did not want to rely on God to fight for them, but to put their trust in horses, chariots and princes (Ps. 20:7, 146:3). How foolish they were!
Yet, our God is such gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps. 103:8); He still wanted to lead them through a king after His own heart. Therefore, as unprepared as Saul was for the task, He was determined to mold him as He did all the servants of His. God still does, because He is the Almighty God who can accomplish His will in spite of His servants, but He desires to mold them into not only useful servants but ones who understand His heart.
This was why he chose to anoint Saul, first in a private setting, so that he would not be overwhelmed by public pressure and would have time to process this sudden calling.
As Saul really did not know Him or at least not well personally, God asked Samuel to give him three signs on his journey home. The signs were primarily meant to assure him that the calling was genuine and that God was in complete control of his situation:
- The affirmation of the finding of the donkeys would have put his worry for his father at ease, so that he could focus on processing this sudden calling.
- The giving of the loaves by the men on their way to worship at Bethel further affirmed him as God’s choice. However, God’s message was also clear that to be a king in Israel was totally different from being a king in the nations — it was a sacred trust at par with the status of a priest. The King was to serve the people on God’s behalf. Both the leg given to him by Samuel earlier and the loaves given by the three men served to emphasize this important point.
- However, the last sign was totally different from the first two in that in order to be a king after God’s own heart, Saul had to be a totally different person. In most instances in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, the coming of the Spirit upon a person is usually a result of repentance (Acts 10:47). It appears that the Spirit operated a bit differently in the Old Testament in that He would come upon a person to empower him to accomplish the task of God. The judges are typical examples (Jdg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 15:14 and 16:25).
However, in the case of Saul, it was made clear that the coming of the Spirit upon him was not just a one-time empowering, but meant to bring about a change inside him. That is always God’s desire for His servants! This is God’s desire for you and me today as well! But the Holy Spirit operates in us in a very different way from evil spirits. Evil spirits seek to take away our will and control us, but the Holy Spirit will only gently nudge us into loving submission, as the Song of Songs puts it so beautifully, “Daughter of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (Cant. 2:7)