The Nativity story of Samuel, and the downfall of Eli:
1. In her unhappiness Hannah pours out her soul to God and her prayer is heard; with the support of her husband Elkanah, she raises the precious child God has given her, until the time came to give Samuel back to God
2. Hannah praises God again for her answered prayers, and as she
had promised before he was conceived, the boy Samuel is given to serve in the temple at Shiloh
3. Eli, the temple leader at Shiloh, realises that God is calling Samuel, finally accepting that he has failed to pass on his own priestly ministry to his sons
4. In battle, Israel loses the chest of God's covenant to the Philistines and Eli's sons are killed; the news of it kills Eli and his daughter-in-law on the spot; they die in despair, believing that God has abandoned Israel
5. The captured covenant chest causes problems for the Philistines; toppling temple statues, causing plagues and panic whenever it is taken
6. In desperation, the Philistines send the chest back to Israel, with a gift, and it is joyfully received
Samuel anoints Israel's first king:
7. Twenty years pass, and Samuel's judgements are respected; under his guidance the people turn away from pagan worship, recommit to the Lord and manage to claim back some ground from the Philistines
8. Now an old man, Samuel seeks God's guidance about the people's stubborn desire for a king to lead them - despite all of the warnings that a king would inevitably enslave them!
9. While seeking his father's lost donkeys, Saul runs into Samuel, who recognises him as one who could be a king over Israel and invites him to a banquet
10. Anointed by Samuel, Saul's transformation from simple man to king of Israel is accompanied by many signs, but not everyone is convinced
11. Saul rouses the nation against an enemy, crushing and scattering them; he shows mercy on those who doubted his leadership and is proclaimed king
12. After establishing his own right to pronounce judgement, Samuel reminds the people of Israel about how they continually fail to follow God, culminating in their desire for a king to lead them
13. In a complicated series of battles with the larger and better equipped Philistine army, Saul shows himself to be a poor king when he fails to follow God's commands, given to him via Samuel
14. Israel continued at war with it's neighbours throughout Saul's forty two year reign; although a good military commander, Saul struggled to interpret God's will, as did his son Jonathan, an equally keen soldier
15. During one successful battle Saul keeps plunder despite instructions that God did not want this, and Samuel tells him that he has lost God's favour and will be replaced with a more obedient king
Samuel anoints Israel's second king:
16. God guides Samuel to Bethlehem to quietly anoint young David as king; meanwhile Saul senses that all is not well and feels tormented, only music can soothe him, and in a strange twist, he employs David as a musician
17. The Philistine and Israelite armies are having a standoff because the gigantic Philistine warrior Goliath is unchallenged - until shepherd boy David arrives and despatches him with sling and stone
18. Saul watches in impotent rage as David's fame and popularity grow; the king seeks to cause trouble for him, but David has God's favour and all of Saul's plans only make things better for the young man
19. His increasing obsession with destroying David leaves Saul isolated, as everyone else - including Saul's own children - take David's side and protect him
20. Jonathan tests his father and discovers to his shock that the king intends to kill his beloved friend David; while remaining outwardly loyal to the king, Jonathan pledges himself to David and helps him to hide from Saul
21. On the run, David tries to keep a low profile; he is fed and armed by a priest and has to feign insanity to hide from well wishers attention that might attract Saul's notice
22. Saul seeks to intimidate and undermine those among his people who love David, and executes the family of the priest who helped him
23. By a combination of prayer, keeping on the move, sticking to wilderness places and listening to advice, David manages to keep one step ahead of Saul
24. David has an opportunity to ambush Saul, but his feelings revolt; and so he approaches the king, and proves to Saul that he means him no harm, then he swears to serve Saul as God's anointed king
25. Nabal, a man who had benefited previously from the protection of David and his men, refuses to return the favour, but is saved from David's wrath by his own wife, Abigail
26. Again, Saul pursues David, and again David spares him when he could have ambushed him in his own bed
27. David decides to steer clear of Saul for a while; he settles in a Philistine region, serving one of their kings by leading vicious raids, and leaving no one alive to tell the tale of what he's up to
28. Fearful because he is about to battle the Philistines, Saul consults a medium to speak with the ghost of Samuel, and discovers that his own death is imminent
29. David is excused from fighting with the Philistine armies against Saul because the majority of the Philistine leaders don't trust him, so he is sent home with his men
30. Returning to their homes to discover them burnt to the ground and their families taken by raiders; David and his men seek guidance first from God and then an abandoned Egyptian slave, and go off to rescue their families and destroy the raiders
31. The Philistine army triumphs and displays the beheaded bodies of Saul and his sons, until some of the Israelites manage to retrieve them and then bury them with full honours
(The story continues in Samuel 2)
1. A disheveled man, claiming that he has ended Saul's life as he lay dying on the battlefield arrives in David's camp; he is executed for his part in Israel's shame, and David's mourns Saul and Jonathan in a song
2. The nation is divided and embattled; David is recognised as Judah's king while Ishbothesh, one of Saul's sons, is king of Israel but David's army is the stronger
3. Some seek to continue the war between the houses of Saul and David, but David himself wants peace; he is reunited with Michal (one of his wives and a daughter of Saul), and mourns the death of one of Saul's people murdered by one of his own
4. Men claiming loyalty to David kill Ishbothesh in his sleep bringing his head to David in anticipation of praise and reward, but David, appalled by their actions, has them executed
David becomes king of all Israel:
5. After seven years as king of Judah, David is asked by local leaders to rule over the whole nation and after establishing himself at Jerusalem, is able to subdue the threat of the Philistines
6. With exuberant celebration, following an anxious journey, David brings the covenant chest into Jerusalem; his undignified dancing disturbs Michal, but David cares only about honouring God
7. Now living in a luxurious palace, David is distressed that the covenant chest is still kept in a tent; the prophet Nathan assures him that his son will build a temple, and his whole family will be blessed because of David's love for God
8. David establishes himself as king; he defeats and subdues his enemies, dedicating the spoils of war to God, and gives positions of authority to his own growing family
9. Out of respect for Saul and love for his son, David has Jonathan's crippled son, Mephiboseth made a member of his own household
10. When one of his allies dies, David offers condolences and opportunity for the relationship to continue as before with the new leader, but Hanun incites a battle - and loses it
The struggles of the house of David:
11. David loses God's favour through two acts of infidelity; in taking Bathsheba to his bed and in arranging her husband's death in battle
12. Nathan the prophet confronts David about his sin against God; David is repentant but realises that he cannot undo the consequences of his action, all he can do is care for Bathsheba and the son she bears him
13. A large but broken family; because David does not act when his eldest son (Amnon) rapes his own half sister (Tamar), another brother (Absalom) plots vengeance, finally killing Amnon two years later during a family meal, after which he flees to another region
14. David's nephew, Joab, intervenes with the king, to help Absalom return from exile, but this isn't enough for Absalom who wants to be fully reinstated to the kings court and forces the issue to get his way
15. Absalom organises a coup against King David, who flees, but he doesn't go far and hides spies and allies among the temple priests
16. David finds both support and condemnation among the people as he passes through the land, while back in Jerusalem, Absalom claims the throne by publicly raping those of his father's wives who were left behind to tend the palace
17. David's spies and followers in Jerusalem undermine the good military advice given at court; and so, instead of sending out an ambush to defeat his father, Abdalom sets out with his troops in search of David
18. David fully intends to meet Absalom on the battlefield; his commanders insist that he remain behind and promise to hold back from attacking Abdalom, but they break their promise and kill him
19. Despite winning the battle against Absalom, David is struggling to hold the nation together; his supporters are angry that he mourns his son so publicly and that he pardons many of those who had supported Absalom
20. When another opponent, leads a rebellion against him, David and his commander Joab act decisively and they find support amongst those who seek peace
21. David composes a song of praise, which celebrates God's saving power and faithfulness, and gives thanks for all that he was able to achieve in God's name
22. David remembers how God was with him in all his triumphs, and celebrates the others warriors who trusted him, and helped him to be victorious for God
23. David begins a reckoning of his kingly power, but when a plague decimates his people, he sees that it is because he has put his own worth above God, and so he repents by buying some prime land on which to dedicate an altar to God
Such great beginning; I was in tears by the end of chapter 1 (in Samuel 1), reading Hannah's lovely story. But after the first twelve chapters, Samuel and his kin barely get a mention. The focus moves entirely to Saul and David's acrimonious relationship, and Samuel's death in chapter 25 gets only the briefest of mentions. Although we don't hear much about him, it is clear that Samuel's influence was significant, and that he was well trusted. Time and again Samuel shows great willingness to respond to God, but this characteristic is what seems to be absent in Saul, Israel's first king.
To begin with I felt great pity for Saul; he didn't seem to want to be king, and suffered a great deal from it. As David's ascendency begins though, we see the contrast between the two. David always consults God first, thinks of how things will affect God's glory before his own, whereas Saul is always more focused on his own honour, thinking of God second.
There is a fairness in David's behaviour; he repays his debts and tries to make bargains rather than war. But when fighting is the only answer, he is decisive and thorough. His main weaknesses are lust and unrealistic expectations and ambitions for his family. Based on Samuel 1&2 David seems like an honourable man; simple in his desires and his responses. But he was also a ruthless military leader; we see him execute captured soldiers, and disable war horses to weaken his enemies. He enslaves people, moves his own family members into positions of power, and he marries women from other strong tribes to make alliances. Basically, he follows the pattern of every other military tribal leader - except in his worship and attention to God - here he does stand out
There's a very humorous moment in the long story of David evading Saul (chapter 23) where the two men are circling a hill; it's like a chase scene from an old silent movie - you can almost picture Saul jumping up and down in frustrated rage as David escapes his clutches once again!
Although women seem to be a weak point for David, he doesn't abandon them when they are no longer of use or interest to him.
He chooses to continue protecting his concubines, who were raped by his son Absalom, although they do have to effectively remain prisoners in the palace in Jerusalem. In chapter 25, he is persuaded by Abigail not to kill her husband, who has deeply offended David. He is able to see beyond Abigail's words and actions and discern God's hand protecting him from a vengeful action that would have been sinful. His discernment is confirmed by what happens next and when her husband dies, David expresses his gratefulness by marrying Abigail, effectively becoming her protector.
The final chapter of book 2 is interesting; it seems to be trying to change David from a soldier to a builder, but there's a lot of conflict. David's attempt to reckon his power by a census of his fighting forces triggers a plague, and he finds himself instead buying land for an altar to God. As David had always maintained the covenant tent, this seems more than a little out of character. And that's the thing about history books (and not just in the bible), they always have another agenda.
Finally, I felt that there were lots of excruciating translation idioms used throughout the Samuel books in the CEB translation, especially for the moment where Saul went for a toilet break in a cave - according to the CEB the cave had a 'restroom'... Handy, but unlikely - especially as David was able to sneak up behind him and cut off a piece of Saul's cloak - I really don't think there was a lockable cubicle!