By Mary Fairchild
1581 Bunting Clover Leaf Map; Israel in the center.
The following is based on the phonetic writing of the expository teaching tapes of Pastor Jim Mooberry.
REVIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT LEADING TO 1 SAMUEL
1. CREATION(Genesis 1:1-2:7): 4,000 BC; Written by Moses about 1500 BC. Genesis is the accurate “historical record of life, man, marriage, sin, government, languages, culture, nations, and the Israelites, God’s chosen people.” God brings all things into existence and creates man in “His own image” (no evolving from lower forms of life) with and eternal soul.
2. FALL OF MAN(Genesis 3): Adam and Eve choose to believe Satan’s lie and lose their perfect fellowship with God. Their disobedience affects all of creation.
3. FLOOD(Genesis 6-9): Mankind became so wicked that God sent a universal flood to destroy all
but one man and his family—Noah.
4. TOWER OF BABEL(Genesis 11:1-9): When man had one universal language he attempted to “make a name for himself.” God chose to confuse them languages to help curb his bent toward his own godhood. This cause men to group according to their language and spread out over the
earth as God intended.
5. CALL OF ABRAHAM (Genesis 11-12:5): 2,000 BC God spoke to Abram, a descendant of Noah’s son Shem, who was living in Ur of the Chaldees and instructed him to move west to Canaan. God said he would father a great nation (Jews). His son Isaac was born to his wife Sarai (Gen. 21:1-3), but Saria, in unbelief, in her old age had allowed Abram to have a son(Ishmael) with their handmaiden. Ishmael was the father of the Arabs (Gen. 16L11, 12).
6. DOWN TO EGYPT (Genesis 46, 47): Isaac’s son Jacob had 12 sons in Canaan but a terrible famine caused the family to move to Egypt(Gen. 47:4).
7. EXODUS (Exodus 7-12): Written by Moses, it records when the Jewish people left Egypt with Moses (430 years after the call of Abram) in 1491 BC The Passover in chapter 12, is a picture of the redemption that we have in Jesus Christ. In chapters 19 and 20 God gave the law to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai.
8. NUMBERS: This book continues the narrative account of Israel recorded in Exodus. It begins at Mt. Sinai and ends at the border of Canaan. (Num. 13, 14): 40 years of circling in the wilderness do to unbelief.
9. DEUTERONOMY: The events of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers are reviewed in order to teach great spiritual truths. God knew we would need the same encouragement He had given to the Israelites and repetition is needed to learn from the examples given in the Old Testament (1 Cor. 10:11). The first five books are called the “Pentateuch.”
10. JOSHUA: (Josh. 11): Only Joshua and Caleb made it to Canaan. Joshua is the principal character who followed Moses’ leadership and led the conquest of the promised land of Canaan.
11. JUDGES IN ISRAEL (Judges): After the death of Joshua people were led by judges. About 200 years of history after Joshua’s death. People were ruled by a series of 12 judges and Samuel was the last judge. Israel’s sad state is described at the end, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes”(Judges 21:25).
12. RUTH: During the time of the judges Ruth was the second Gentile woman who had the honor of being in the ancestral line of Jesus Christ.
13. 1 SAMUEL: This is a dark period in Israel’s history. SAUL IS THE FIRST EARTHLY KING OF ISRAEL (1 Samuel 9:27, 10:1): Around 1095 BC Events are recorded for about 115 years from Samuel’s birth through King Saul’s troublesome reign. Most likely Samuel wrote this book through chapter 24, and no doubt Nathan finished it (1 Chron. 29:29, 1 Sam. 10:25).
1 SAMUEL 1-3: GOD USES YOUR PARENT’S AUTHORITY TO PROTECT YOU FORM SIN.
When you are disobedient God will judge you. Obedience is a prerequisite for knowing God better—as Samuel obeyed God, God continued to speak to him. Samuel’s father, Elkanah faithfully took his family to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice. Faithful parents can instill godly patterns in their families. But Elkanah also had two wives—although he was a religious man he had no conscious about that. Gideon, the judge and the spiritual leader, in his later life had many wives; thus Gideon set a very poor example. And Samson, another judge, behaved immorally—with such poor examples for leaders, then no wonder there was not a sharp conscience among the people of that day.
GOD NEVER CONDONED POLYGAMY and the jealousy and strife is evident between the two wives and we can see why God had good reason to command only one marriage partner (Sam. 1:4-8; Titus 1:6).
HANAH, Samuel’s mother, LEARNED TO TAKE HER BURDEN TO THE LORD AND LEAVE IT THERE. Her prayer answered. She asked God for a son that she would give back to God if He would answer her prayer. WE CAN PRAY ABOUT ANYTHING (Phil. 4:6). Her prayer was not selfish and it was in God’s will (Sam. 1:9-11). As Hannah learned about the character of God she reared her son with character to do what is right (Sam. 2:1-11).
When Samuel was weaned she brought him to Eli the high priest at Shiloh where he grew up to be one of Israel’s spiritual leaders, a judge. Samuel gained favor with God and others because he was submissive and serving in spirit. Hannah must have broken little Samuel’s will (not his spirit, but his will) before she brought him to Shiloh. IT IS SAID THAT A CHILD’S WILL SHOLD BE BROKEN BEFORE HE EVER REMEMBERS IT. Samuel was taught obedience to those over him.
God holds children accountable for their disobedience, but He also holds the parents accountable when they do not teach their children to obey. Since proper training was never given to Eli’s sons they were never saved. They mocked God’s sacrifice and God said they were sons of Belial—the devil (Sam. 2:16-26).
EVEN IN A “CHRISTIAN ENVIRONMENT,” ELI’S SONS WERE BENT TOWARD EVIL. Sadly, ELI GAVE INTO HIS SONS WISHES AND IGNORED GOD’S COMMANDS—HE HONORED HIS SONS. God judged Eli and has his sons Haphni and Phinehas died in one day. Eli had been honored as the high priest because he was a descendent of Ithamar, Aaron’s younger son.
Samuel was not saved up to this point. SAMUEL’S INSTANT RESPONSE TO GOD’S CALL IS A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF OBEDIENCE. Samuel’s openness and truthfulness even in something that could bring him disfavor with Eli shows his “character.” He does right because it is right to do right even if he suffers or is punished—there are times when it “may not appear to pay” to be honest, but we ought to be honest. Be thankful if your parents require “instant obedience” because they are training you to obey God. Samuel was able to make himself obey. Eli would share in the responsibility of his son’s vile sins because he would not rebuke them and the “entire nation” would also be defeated. But for Samuel, God heard his prayers (3:19) and continued to reveal himself to him (3:21).
1 SAMUEL 4-7: GOD IS HOLY—HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS DEMANDS THAT HE JUDGE DISOBEDIENCE.
His mercy demands that He provide a way for sinful man to be forgiven and restored to fellowship with Him—the blood sacrifice. We cannot approach God in “any way” except through the blood of Jesus Christ—God’s Lamb. When sinful man looks upon God (symbolized by the Ark) he is consumed if he is not cleanses by the blood. When we accept God’s perfect and only sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ, He covers us with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). God judged all of Israel for their sin, and He judged Eli’s sons for their unrestrained greed and immorality. Although the powerful Philistines threatened Israel’s existence, God continued to move through consecrated (set
apart) Samuel.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT REPRESENTED “GOD’S PRESENCE” and it was Israel’s most sacred and important part of worship. But when they brought it into the battle with the Philistines it was soon discovered that it was not a mere “good luck charm.” In fact, it had an opposite effect as the Philistines fought even harder out of fear of God’s wrath. The messenger brought the message of judgment to Eli in three parts: 1) Israel was defeated, 2) his sons were dead, and 3) the Philistines had taken the Ark. Eli fell from his seat breaking his neck and instantly dying upon the news. He had judged Israel for 40 years, but because he did not correct his sons, he died in misery. The wife of Eli’s son Phinehas instantly gave birth to a son as the heard of her husband’s death. She named the son ICHABOD which means THE GLORY IS NOT. Without God’s presence there is no glory.
When the Philistine city of Ashdod put the Ark alongside their national god “Dagon” its presence shattered it. Dagon had a trunk like a man and, possibly, the tail of a fish. They tried to place it next to the Ark one more time but it, once again, broke into pieces. The people in the surrounding area soon died or were plagued with emerods (tumors) as God convinced the Philistines that their victory wasn’t due to their god Dagon, or to the presence of the Ark. The Ark was moved to Gath, and then to Ekron where the people there were smitten and died or suffered emerods(tumors) too.
THE PHILISTINES’ PROBLEM WAS THE PRESENCE OF A HOLY GOD WHO PUNISHES SIN so they decided to give it back to Israel. Their pagan priests counseled to send the Ark back with nursing cows hitched to the cart. IF THE COWS LEFT THEIR NURSING CALVES AND HEADED FOR ISRAEL, THEN THE PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THIS CALAMITY WAS NOT MERE CHANCE OR CIRCUMSTANCE. Irreverent (lack of regard) Israelites gazed at the Ark in which God had warned, “They shall not go in to see it when the holy things are uncovered, lest they die”(Num. 4:20). 50,070 DIED before the Ark was finally placed in Abinadab’s house where it remained for 20 years. Samuel plead with Israel to destroy their pagan idols, and they did. When the Philistines attacked again ISRAEL WAS GIVEN VICTORY BECAUSE THEY WERE RIGHT WITH GOD.
The Ark was a witness and testimony to the Philistines. For sinful, fallen man to look upon the holy righteousness of God without being covered by the blood was to be immediately consumed. For the Israelites to look into the Ark without protection of the blood sacrifice was to invite judgment—a holy, righteous God CAN ONLY BE APPROACHED BY THE WAY OF A BLOOD SACRIFICE. Today Christians approach the true, righteous God of the universe by the blood of God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ.
WORKS CITED
- Revelation and Church History
- Church Age
- Old Testament Study
- KING JAMES BIBLE
- MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY
- A Beka Book High School Bible Series “United Kingdom: Kings of Israel A;” 1995 Pensacola Christian College.