This is part of a series of articles, describing each of the 66 books of the Bible and how it relates to the one overall story of God’s relationship with man. The story is examined in terms of the five recurring themes below. The series cover page can be reached here.
| God’s Sovereign Plan | God’s Majesty, Holiness & Justice | God’s Love & Pursuit of Relationship | Man’s Rebellion & Sin | God’s Solution: A Redeeming Sacrifice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This book tells of the prophet Samuel and his dealings with the first of Israel’s kings. It includes all five of the major themes presented in this article series. Both 1st and 2nd Samuel (originally written as one book but divided by later translators) are about the prophet Samuel but were not written by him. Scholars accept them as a compilation of the work of multiple historians.
As for date written, the books refer at times to the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, so they must have been written after that division occurred (which happened under David’s grandson Rehoboam in about 930 B.C.) They do not show awareness, however, of the fall of Israel to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. so the compilation must have been complete before that point.
They tell the history of Israel’s transition from being governed by a series of judges 1 to being ruled by kings. Samuel was instrumental in identifying and guiding the first two of those kings, Saul and David. The historical date range covered by both books is from Samuel’s birth in about 1100 B.C. until near the end of David’s reign in about 970 B.C. First Samuel covers the reign of Saul, the anointing of David, and Saul’s efforts to eliminate David. Second Samuel starts with David becoming king, and covers until near the end of his reign.
The literary style of the book is literal, historical narrative. The tone is matter-of-fact, even when describing obvious miracles. People and places are named in real-world context, with nothing “once upon a time” or “in a galaxy far, far away”.
Note: Even with “Samuel” split into “1st Samuel” and “2nd Samuel”, these two books have too much good content to cover in a single article. Use these links to see everything.
- 1st Samuel: Saul
- 1st Samuel: Saul to David (this article)
- 2nd Samuel: David’s Kingdom, The Early Years
- 2nd Samuel: David’s Kingdom, Continued
David Anointed to Replace Saul
Chapter 16 tells the beginning of David’s journey. God sent Samuel to the town of Bethlehem, to the family of a man named Jesse, to find Israel’s next king. Seven of Jesse’s sons were led before Samuel, starting with the oldest, Eliab. Samuel was impressed by him, but God was not. God told Samuel:
Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
After eliminating all seven of the older sons, Samuel asked about the youngest. David was brought in from his job tending the sheep, anointed as the chosen king, and “…the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward.“
David did not just hop over to the palace and kick Saul off the throne, though. Far from it!
At the same time that God’s Spirit came upon David, “…the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.” 2 Saul’s servants recommended that he find a skilled musician to play soothing music whenever the troubled spirit came upon him. Saul took the advice, and the musician turned out to be David “…and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.“
Goliath
Chapter 17 is the telling of this famous story. David’s older brothers were with Saul’s army, facing off against the Philistine army on the opposing hillside. The valley in between was the no-man’s-land where Goliath challenged the Israelites, taunting them and their God, every day for over a month. Goliath was offering a standard practice of battle between two representative champions. This was used to avoid the drawn-out war and bloodshed of the entire armies clashing. The problem was that Israel did not have a champion willing to face off against a giant.
According the the text Goliath’s height was “six [18-inch] cubits and a [9-inch] span” or between 9-1/2 and 10 feet. The armor he wore weighed “5000 shekels of bronze”, somewhere over 100 pounds. Just the head of his spear weighed 600 shekels, 13-14 pounds. No wonder the Israelites found him formidable!
While on an errand from his father to check in with the brothers, David heard that taunt and accepted the challenge. His brothers mocked him, and Saul tried to dissuade him. But David insisted that the Lord would be with him, as He had been in other life-threatening challenges when defending his flock against wild animals. Saul then tried to at least outfit him in proper armor, but David chose to go with the weapon he knew: a sling.
Before we laugh at “just a sling”, we need to realize that slings are surprisingly powerful weapons. Here is a description of their use by many armies, and here is a video demonstrating their power, range, and accuracy.
This battle was not just between a giant and a young man with a shepherd’s weapon. It was between the God of Israel vs the non-god of the Philistines. As David said to Goliath:
You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
…
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel
…
the battle is the LORD’s and He will give you into our hands.
The stone from David’s sling knocked Goliath onto his face on the ground. But it didn’t necessarily kill him immediately. David used Goliath’s own sword to do that, cutting off the enemy’s head. With their champion dead, the Philistine army turned and ran, with the Israelite army hot on their heels and completely defeating them.
The last couple of verses are a bit curious. Saul does not appear to know David well, even though they already met in chapter 16 above. He asked “Whose son are you, young man?” and David answered that he was the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. Maybe the earlier encounters had left David as just an anonymous functionary, and now Saul wanted to know more. There is also a probability that there is a time lapse going on, and that chapter 16’s description of David’s service to Saul overlaps and goes beyond the Goliath event.
Saul is Jealous of David
Chapter 18 tells of the results of the fight with Goliath. It kickstarted David’s career as a military leader. It also led him to a lifelong friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. But, it led to a negative effect on his relationship with Saul: jealousy. For some reason, Saul was not pleased when the people began singing:
Saul has slain his thousands,
1 Samuel 18:6-9
And David his ten thousands.
Saul’s increasing resentment and jealousy is shown throughout the rest of the book, indeed, the rest of his life. At first, Saul tried to hide or temper his anger, with only mixed success. He still had David in to play on his harp whenever he was restless…but then the mood would strike him and he would hurl a spear at David during the concert! (1 Samuel 18:10-11 and 19:8-10)
In other examples, Saul offered David one of his daughters to be his wife. First, he offered the older daughter, Merab. David turned him down, saying that he was too lowly to be the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul offered another daughter, Michal, who actually loved David, and he agreed. However, Saul’s motive was suspect. He wanted David to be a good target: The king’s relative leading in battle, a prize for the Philistines to kill. The only “dowry” he asked of David was the foreskins from two hundred Philistines, a seemingly suicidal task. But, oops, David accomplished the task. Now Saul had to face the facts that not only did his children Jonathan and Michal love David, but God was with him also. That was a bitter pill for Saul, one that he never could swallow.
The Running Years
The next several chapters describe a repeated pattern of David winning battles, Saul trying to kill David, and David escaping. Many of the Psalms written by David refer to these years, asking God for rescue from his enemies and giving thanks for that rescue. See Psalms 18, 52, 54, 57 and 59.
In chapter 19,
- Jonathan (Saul’s son) talked Saul out of a rampage against David.
- David won a battle against the Philistines.
- Saul threw a spear at David as he played his music for him.
- Saul sent assassins to David’s house.
- David’s wife (and Saul’s daughter) Michal helped him escape to Samuel in the town of Naioth in the region of Ramah.
- Saul sent the assassins to Naioth, three times.
- All three times, the assassins ended up supernaturally prophesying along with the other prophets in the town.
- Saul himself went to Naioth, and also ended up prophesying!
- Note: This echoes the beginning of Saul’s kingship, when prophesying with the prophets of Gibeah was one of the signs confirming his appointment by God (1 Samuel 10:5, 10-11).
In chapter 20, David went to Jonathan to ask what he had done was so wrong that Saul wanted to kill him. Jonathan didn’t believe his father could really be that bad. They made plans that David would hide while Jonathan checked things out. When he learned the truth of the matter, Jonathan would signal David: If Jonathan asked his servant to retrieve the nearby arrows he had fired, David was safe; if he told the servant that the arrows were farther away, David was to run. Jonathan learned, to his sorrow, that David’s complaint was valid. Saul was furious that Jonathan defended David, and Jonathan was furious that his father was so dishonorable. Jonathan sent David on his way with vows of everlasting friendship:
Jonathan said to David, “Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’” Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.
1 Samuel 20:42
Chapters 21 and 22 tell of David going into hiding. He first went to the high priest, Ahimelech, for help. Ahimelech gave him a sword, the same sword that David had taken from Goliath. He also gave him food, very special food. The only bread available was the “Bread of the Presence”, a temple offering that was meant only for the priests to eat (1 Samuel 21:6, Exodus 25:30, Numbers 4:7). Jesus later referred to this incident when discussing what was lawful or not on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28).
David then tried to hide among the Philistines, with Achish, the king of Gath. Who would look for him in Goliath’s home town? (1 Samuel 17:4) But Achish knew who David was, so David now needed to escape from him. He did so by acting insane, with the result that Achish wanted nothing to do with that crazy man.
David ended up in a cave, called the “cave of Adullam”, and followers started gathering to him there. When Saul found out, he asked who among his men had been helping David. A man named Doeg, who had overheard David with Ahimelech, tattled. The result was that Saul killed Ahimelech, and 85 other priests. Ahimelech’s son Abiathar escaped and fled to David. Abiathar would later become the first priest of David’s kingdom.
In chapter 23, David defeated the Philistines and rescued the people of Keilah. For that good deed, Saul headed there to kill him. David escaped with 600 men and hid out in the wilderness. “And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.” (1 Samuel 23:14) At one point, the townspeople had given David away to Saul. As Saul was coming to get him, he circled the mountain in one direction just as David was escaping in the other. Just in time, Saul received word of a Philistine attack and broke off the chase.
Chapter 24 picks the chase back up after Saul had dealt with the Philistine attack. At one point, Saul came into the very cave where David and his men were hiding at the back. But, instead of killing Saul, David just crept up close enough to touch him and cut off a bit of his garment hem. David felt guilty for doing even that much, though, because Saul was still king. He even came out to Saul, showed him the piece of cloth, and said “May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.” Saul, at least temporarily, realized that David was not his enemy: “Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.” (1 Samuel 24:17-22)
Samuel’s Death; David Marries Abigail
Chapter 25 begins with the death of Samuel. The entire nation mourned the loss of this godly leader who oversaw the start of Israel’s monarchy.
The rest of the chapter is a break from the Saul-chasing-David storyline. Apparently David and his men had spent some time in the area of Carmel. A side effect is that they helped protect the shepherds and flocks that were pastured there. When the owner of the flocks, named Nabol, came to town during shearing season, David sent word asking Nabol to provide any supplies he could spare for them.
Nabol, living up to his name which means “fool”, did not simply turn down the request. He mocked and insulted David, despite his own men agreeing that the warriors had been helpful to them. David was so angry that he armed his men and headed to Nabol intending retribution.
Nabol’s wife Abigail was wiser and more honorable than he was. She heard that David was on his way, and went to meet him with an apology and a gift of more than enough supplies to honor his original request. David accepted the apology and thanked her for preventing him from reacting so harshly.
God took care of the vengeance: Nabol had a heart attack or stroke that night and died ten days later. David sent for Abigail to become his wife, and she agreed. At this time, David already had two other wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Michal, daughter of Saul. Well, make that one and a half: After David went on the run, Saul gave Michal as wife to another man.
On The Run Again
Chapter 26 goes back to the regularly scheduled pattern. Saul learned where David was hiding and set out with 3000 men to capture him. David found out. He snuck into Saul’s camp at night while everyone was asleep. Again, rather than kill Saul, David respected his office and spared him. But he took the spear and water jug from right beside him as proof of what he could have done. Then he went back a distance, called out and rebuked Saul’s general, Abner, for not guarding his king more carefully. Just like he did back in chapter 24, Saul repented briefly of his persecution of David.
In chapter 27, David didn’t trust Saul’s change of heart to last very long, so he ran again. He went back to Achish of the Philistines. This time (as opposed to chapter 21), it was safe for him to stay there and Achish was willing to allow it. David was now strong enough, with enough warriors following him, to be of use to Achish. He stayed there for well over a year, fighting off Achish’s enemies.
In chapters 28 and 29, the enemy against whom Achish wanted David’s help was Israel….quite the conflict of interest! David was actually willing, but the other Philistines didn’t trust him. Would loyalty to his country win out over his enmity with its current king? So David left Achish and did not participate in the battle.
About that battle… Saul had no true prophet to turn to for advice when he was frightened of the advancing Philistine army. God was not answering him at all. He turned to someone forbidden by God: A spiritist or medium from the town of Endor (even though all such people had previously been banished from Israel). The spirit who answered her contact was Samuel! Samuel’s response was basically “Why are you bothering me? I already told you God has rejected you! But OK, here’s your prophecy: You’re going to lose the battle, and by tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me.” Oops!
Chapter 30 takes a side trip to follow David in a different battle. Amalekite raiders had trashed the town of Ziklag, including taking both of David’s wives captive. David and his 600 men took off in pursuit. They captured a young servant who had been left behind, and who was willing to lead David to the raiders. Two hundred of David’s men were too exhausted to continue; they stayed behind while the other 400 went to fight. They found the Amalekites celebrating their victory, and promptly turned it into defeat, slaughtering all of the raiders and recovering all of the captives and all the stolen property.
When dividing the spoils of the battle, the 400 fighters did not want to share with the 200 who stayed behind. But David insisted: Everything they had came from God, and those who guarded the baggage while others fought were entitled to a share. He did send some of the spoils to the assorted leaders of Judah in all the towns where he had stayed while running from Saul.
Chapter 31 is back to Saul’s battle with the Philistines. As predicted, Saul was killed, as were his three sons, including David’s friend Jonathan. The Philistines displayed and desecrated their bodies. The people of the town of Jabesh-gilead wanted their king and his sons buried with respect:
…all the valiant men rose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
1 Samuel 31:12-13
The book of 1st Samuel ends at this point. The story picks up immediately, though, in the book of 2nd Samuel. (Remember…originally it was a single book.)
One Story
| Major Theme | Examples in this Scripture |
|---|---|
| God’s Sovereign Plan | No matter how hard Saul tried to kill David, he couldn’t succeed. David was God’s choice, and nothing could stop that. |
| God’s Majesty, Holiness & Justice | Even though David refused — twice — to take his own revenge on Saul, he still was vindicated. Saul still received the justice he deserved for his pride and vindictiveness. |
| God’s Love & Pursuit of Relationship | David’s relationship with God is evident throughout his adventures. From his reliance on God during the battle with Goliath to his determination to respect Saul as God’s chosen king, David continued to be follow God’s leading in the choices he made. |
| Man’s Rebellion & Sin | Saul is a perfect poster child for sin and rebellion. |
| God’s Solution: A Redeeming Sacrifice | David’s entire life pre-figures Christ. He was a shepherd, both of animals and of the people of Israel. He was pursued and persecuted even though he was innocent. He was promised that the Messiah would come from his line and sit on his throne. Jesus was hailed as the “Son of David” (Matthew 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, Mark 10:46-48). |
Continue to 2nd Samuel.
Footnotes and Scripture References
- At least, nominally governed. A frequent theme in Judges is “every man did what was right in his own eyes.“
- I looked into this rather disturbing statement in the article “Evil Spirit from the Lord?“.
