The Book of Samuel Samuel- Saul

The Book of Samuel The two Books of Samuel were originally one book in Hebrew First Samuel deals with the transition from the period of the judges to that of the monarchy. Second Samuel opens up with David. Israel greatest King

A promised child Samuel origins Eli His mother, Hannah, was barren She prayed to God for a child. If God grants her request, the child will be a Nazarite Samuel is conceived Samuel means “asked of God” Since he was a boy, he was taken to Eli to live with him and become a servant of God Eli Is the priest in charge He raises Samuel to be God’s servant

The last Judge Since Samuel is young, God called him to be God’s judge for the Israelites 1 Samuel 3:1-21 narrates Samuel’s call by God While sleeping in the sanctuary God calls him “Samuel, Samuel” a total of 4 times until Eli instructs Samuel to say “Speak, for your servant is listening” God tells him that he will rule the people He became the last judge He is also known as anointer of Kings

The Ark 1 Samuel also narrates how God punished the Philistines after they took away the Ark from the Israelites With tumors

A king During this time, the Israelites (the 12 tribes) are not united and morally and spiritually things are going down. Because of the division, the Israelites were easily conquered by other tribes. The Israelites felt the need of having someone to unite them, a king. The other tribes had kings The Israelites believed that having a king would bring union to the tribes Samuel prayed to God for an answer God will give them a king Warning: a king will oppress them The Israelites did not care

Saul God guided Samuel to travel among the Israelites to find a king for them Saul was chosen to be the first king

Saul: the 1st King of Israel Textbook reading 121-123 The lowliest and the least An Unsuitable King Another choice for king