Books of Samuel
Key Learnings from Sunday School
April 2026 - Present
Sunday School (Samuel)
The Books of Samuel tell how God led Israel from the judges to the monarchy, showing His sovereignty, mercy, and guidance through human sin and failure. God raises Samuel as a faithful prophet, grants Hannah’s prayer, and anoints David as king, emphasizing that God chooses the humble and obedient over worldly strength. Saul’s troubled reign warns against trusting in human power, while David’s faith and reliance on God point forward to Christ, the true righteous King. Throughout, God’s Law reveals our sin, and His grace through His promises offers salvation and hope.
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⁃ Men Cannot Thwart God
• Saul's attempt to eliminate David actually drives prophet, and priest to the emerging King.
⁃ The Tamarisk Tree
• Same kind of tree; strikingly different scenes: Abraham makes peace; Saul plots murder.
⁃ Saul Reverses God's Command
• Saul spares what God commanded destroyed and destroys what God did not command him to destroy.
⁃ Doeg: Truth can be used wickedly
• Doeg's accusation is largely based on things Ahimelech actually did.
• The evil lies in the context: innocent assistance is presented as rebellion
• Psalms 52 gives God's verdict on the man who appears successful at the end of the episode.
⁃ Judgment and Preservation
• The destruction of Eli's priestly house continues the judgment announced in 1Samuel 2 ; Yet Abiathar survives.
⁃ Samuel is Theological History
• The Book of Samuel reports real people and events, but the writers’ purpose is more than constructing a chronological timeline.
• Events are selected, arranged, and sometimes summarized to explain why Saul's kingdom is failing and why David's is emerging.
• That helps when the narrative's timetable or sequence doesn't answer every historical question we might ask.
⁃ David the Fugitive
• David lies, runs, and pretends to be insane.
⁃ Ahimelech & Doeg — One helps David; the other watches.
⁃ Bread of the Presence (Tabernacle @ Nob)
• Human need is not contrary to the purpose of God’s ceremonial law.
• Jesus later uses this event in Matthew 12:3–4.
⁃ Goliath’s Sword
• David carries it into Goliath’s hometown.
• Past deliverance does not eliminate the need for present faith.
⁃ Fear & Faith
• David was “much afraid.”
• Psalm 56: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
• Psalm 34: “The LORD… delivered me from all my fears.”
⁃ A noticeable threefold rhythm
• Covenants: Protection, Posterity, Permanence
• Confirmations: Jonathan and David’s relationship, Saul’s intentions, David’s place in court
• Arrows: an elaborate plan
• David: bowing down before Jonathan
⁃ The problematically of Saul’s religiosity
• Observance of New Moon while plotting David’s Death; David’s excuse to be with his parents?
• Ceremonial uncleanness noted while ignoring murderous intentions; Abner, Saul’s cousin and army commander, is not unclean from battle
• Who leaves spears in Saul’s reach?
• After chapter 19, how is it an expectation that David would be present?
⁃ The overly elaborate plan with the arrows only for a direct communication in the end
⁃ Ramah
• Saul comes to Ramah to destroy God's anointed, David.
• Matthew later connects Ramah with Herod's attempt to destroy God's Anointed, Jesus (Matt. 2:18).
• Neither ruler can thwart God's purposes.
⁃ That Household Idol/Image
• Why not simply call it a statue/image?
• Normally means a household idol, making its presence troubling.
• Ironically, a powerless idol becomes a decoy in David's deliverance.
⁃ Samuel
• Last recorded meeting between Samuel and David (19:18).
• Their conversation is not recorded—David simply tells Samuel what Saul has done.
• Samuel increasingly recedes into the background of the book bearing his name.
⁃ Saul's Nakedness
• Saul comes as a king to seize David and ends stripped and powerless before God.
• No one can stand against God's purposes—not even the king.
⁃ Prophesying
• Chapter 10: the Spirit empowers Saul.
• Chapter 19: the Spirit overpowers Saul.
• “Is Saul also among the prophets?” — the same question marks both his rise (10:11) and his humiliation (19:24).
• The repeated proverb suggests Saul prophesying remained something remarkable and unexpected.
⁃ Groups of three
• Chapter 10: Signs are given so Saul will trust what God is doing through him.
• Chapter 19: Signs Saul refuses to accept what God is doing through David.
⁃ Jonathan & Michal
• Both of Saul's children intervene on behalf of David
• Saul's own household frustrates his attempts to destroy God's anointed.
• God preserves David through the very family of the king he will replace.
⁃ Saul’s cannot rejoice in what God is doing
• More concerned with preserving what God has already taken from him
⁃ Jonathan Recognizes David
• Did Jonathan know David was anointed - His Covenant with David
• He recognizes God’s favor upon David
• Jonathan willingly yields to David
• Jonathan contrasts sharply with Saul
⁃ Evil Spirit (1Samuel 18:10)
• Demonic spirit
• Tormented conscience
• Judicial hardening
• Psychological affliction
• A combination of above
⁃ Was Saul doomed to fail from the start?
• Yes, we know how Saul’s story ends
• Saul’s failure was not inevitable (Not the purpose of the book)
• The book is a theological history
⁃ Music Therapy
• Relief is not restoration
• Reliance on human remedies
⁃ The Bridal Price for Michal
• A Perversion of the Covenant Sign (Genesis 17:10-14)
• The Laben comparison (Genesis 29)
• Manipulation of the marriage arrangement
• Daughter substitution
⁃ Goliath; had every advantage
• Bronze = Elite warrior status; Civilization with international trade advantage; weapons
• Size = 9’ or 6.5’ either way he is a big guy; But so was Saul (1Samuel 10:23)
⁃ David; had every disadvantage
⁃ Saul - is always timid when it comes to the Philistines
• We wanted a king to fight our battles (1Samuel 8:19-20) and yet Saul refuses to fight
⁃ Unresolved questions
• David’s brothers dismiss David even after they witness Samuel anointing him
• Saul is an aware of who David is; what about the musical therapy sessions
⁃ Every detail of the narrative points to God's choice, not outward appearance or human power.
⁃ The details in Scripture matter.
• Samuel and Jesse judged by outward appearance.
• The horn and the flask are not interchangeable; Horn God made, Flask man made.
• Omission of David’s concentration; keeps the focus on God’s choice rather than on human preparation
• Samuel’s only interaction recorded in scripture with David
• David entering into Saul’s service
• Jesse’s gift to Saul reflects what Saul got at his anointing even that donkey
⁃ That tormenting Sprit
• A psychological description of Saul's condition
• An actual evil spirit permitted by God
• God’s anointed one bring peace.
⁃ Biblical narratives are written with purpose, not merely chronology.
• The narrator arranges events to teach theology as well as history.
• Saul used religion to control the people
⁃ Who loved whom? (1Samuel 16:21).
• Saul loved David - traditional understanding accepted without comment
• David loved Saul - fits well with the larger narrative and grammatically
• Hebrew text leaves who the pronouns referencing ambiguous.
⁃ Regret does not mean, “I made a mistake”; Instead it is an expression of grief over Saul’s rebellion; the broken relationship
⁃ Saul is accountable for his own actions; Saul is not a victim of God’s plan
• In 1Samuel 13, Saul does not wait for Samuel.
• In 1Samuel 14, Saul burdens the people with his rash oath.
• In 1Samuel 15, Saul spares Agag and the best livestock, then blames the people and attempts to justify himself.
⁃ No one is innocent before God
• God is always just
• we underestimate the serious of sin
• Mercy is never owed
⁃ 1Samuel 15 connection to the Book of Esther
• Haman is called "the Agagite”
• Mordecai is a Benjaminite
• The conflict begun with Amalek ultimately reaches its climax in the Book of Esther.
⁃ “Bring the ark” vs “Bring the ephod”
• ESV translators - (1Samuel 14:18-19)The Hebrew is difficult but intelligible.
• LXX may preserve the original, but the evidence is not decisive enough to abandon the Masoretic Text.
⁃ Jonathan versus Saul
• Jonathan entrusts the outcome to God
• Saul tries to control the outcome himself
⁃ Saul uses religious language and practices as a means of control rather than an expression of trust.
• ephod, Urim and Thummim, “withdraw your hand,” God's silence in v. 37
⁃ Human authority is legitimate but limited
• no ruler's word stands above God's will
• Saul's crown cannot make an unjust sentence righteous.
⁃ God works through human action, but salvation belongs to the Lord.
• Jonathan acts, Israel fights
• Saul interferes
⁃ Hebrews vs. Israel — not exactly interchangeable terms
• Hebrews — Often used to describe the people as an ethnic group, particularly from an outsider's perspective.
• Israel — Emphasizes God's covenant people, especially when their covenant identity and God's saving work come into view.
⁃ The textual difficulty in 1Samuel 13:1
• Demonstration of the diligence that the copyists had even with difficult parts
• God's Word remains trustworthy
• Likely a significant jump in time
⁃ Saul is motivated by fear, not by faith
• That offering - not a procedural error but one of faith
• Sin often sounds reasonable/justifiable
• Saul forfeit’s his dynasty, not his kingdom nor God’s favor.
⁃ Jonathan possesses the very qualities Israel hoped to find in a king.
⁃ Do not put your faith in the king above God
• The king is accountable to God and must lead according to God’s ways
• We are to support and follow the king while still remaining faithful to God
• Even the best of us can have wayward children
⁃ Review of Israel’s history in Judges
• Highlights God’s faithfulness
• Highlights our unfaithfulness
• Put your trust in God alone
⁃ Fear the LORD: reverent awe and respect for God’s holiness and power
⁃ Serve God: wholeheartedly, ongoing loyalty, and faithfulness
• Faith before mindless obedience. Hosea 6:6
⁃ Spirit of God rushed upon Saul
• Empowering him for his vocation as King
• Not a moment of salvation/justification
⁃ Dread of the Lord - Now trusting in God instead of own efforts
⁃ Nahash (“Serpent”) and his cruelty
• Probably not a coincidence in the name
• God raises up His anointed one to defeat him (pointing to Christ)
⁃ Jabesh, the city once massacred by Israel (Judges 21) is now dramatically saved by a king from Benjamin.
⁃ Butchery & Leadership
• Levite brought chaos and civil war (Judges 19)
• Saul brought about unity and victory
⁃ Saul shows mercy
• Zealous people may want to be on God’s side can actually be opposing Him. Acts 5:38-39
⁃ Kingdom renewed at Gilgal despite ongoing Philistine threat.
⁃ ESV translators default to the Hebrew but will use the Septuagint on a case by case bases as they did in 1Samuel 10:1
⁃ God works through human weakness and Saul’s flaws appear early
• Insecurity and passivity
⁃ God Confirms His Call
• Rachel’s tomb; tribe of Benjamin, the “ravenous wolf” (Genesis 49:27).
• Bethel; Location of Jacob’s Ladder Dream - God’s faithfulness.
• Gibeath- Philistine garrison -“wink, wink”
⁃ Prophesying; singing praises of God via excitement and joy.
⁃ Kingship
• Deuteronomy 17 anticipated a king who would rule under God’s Law.
• Here the people demanded a king “like all the nations” out of fear and unbelief., rejecting God as their true King.
⁃ Outward appearance - Saul looked the part, checking all the worldly boxes
• Yet God still choose him
• God guides imperfect people
⁃ That donkey search…
• God guiding events to advance His plan
• God using circumstance to His purpose
⁃ Saul’s Character
• limited perseverance
• lack of initiative/leadership
• pragmatism/worldliness
• Lack of preparedness
• limited spiritual insight
⁃ Open question; Was Saul destined to fail or could his kingship succeeded?
⁃ Two Kingdoms
• Realm: Law | Gospel
• Purpose : Order & Civil Peace | Salvation
• Power: Coercion | faith
• Moorings: Civil righteousness | Christ’s righteousness
⁃ Kingdom confusion; the left is prone to corrupt the right
⁃ People pressure Samuel for a king instead of inquiring of God
• Seeking a solution without God
⁃ Kingship
• Deuteronomy 17:14-20 God-centered, limited monarch
• 1Samuel 8 man-centered, oppressive monarchy
• The institution is either a burden or blessing depending on the heart behind it
⁃ Eleazar’s care of the Ark: Faithful stewardship
⁃ That water ritual
• symbolic expression of self-denial, contrition, dependance on God
• No comparable comparisons can be made
⁃ Ebenezer stone
• Remembrance of God’s help and His faithfulness
• Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing; remembrance of God’s sustaining grace
• Scrooge’s name: need for remembrance and change, turning from selfishness to redemption (echoing the stone’s meaning in 1Samuel 7)
⁃ Samuel’s circuit
• Bethel - Location of Jacob’s Ladder Dream
• Gilgal - Location of the first passover in land after the Exodus
• Mizpah - Renewed commitment to God
• Ramah - Hope and spiritual recovery under Samuel
- Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
• Wild Youth (wrong crowd, reckless living)
• Hymn written (at age 23) for a Pentecost Sunday Sermon
• Drifted away from his faith
• Later encounter with a women who convicts him with his own hymn; He repents and returns
⁃ Do not to teat what is holy with irreverence and casual familiarity
⁃ Dagon (Philistine’s chief deity, often linked to fertility, grain, or a fish-man figure)
- Ark = God’s presence among His people
• Day 1 Dagon’s statue found in submission
• Day 2 head and hands broken off on the threshold = no wisdom, no power
• Whether human-made idols or spiritual powers behind them we are to worship God alone.
⁃ Emanuel = God with us
⁃ Plaque of Rats and Tumors
• Judgment on the futility of false gods and superstition
• May have been the bubonic plaque or whatever. Regardless, it came from God
⁃ Return of the Ark
• God does not need human strength or trained instruments.
• God works through humble, ordinary, or even resistant means (like untrained cows) to accomplish His purposes.
• The Ark will never return to Shiloh
⁃ Everyone in this chapter treats the Ark as a relic, as an object of worship
⁃ Word of God no longer rare and yet no inquires of it
⁃ Philistine perspective; outsiders who put little faith into the relic
⁃ Benjaminite, perhaps a redemption from the events in Judges 19-21
⁃ Eli described as old and heavy
• Heavy mirrors the spiritual burden he had
• Thrown from his seat as judge
⁃ Ichabod “No Glory” or “The glory has departed”
⁃ Spiritual dark times
• Rarity of God’s Word; widespread apostasy and spiritual famine in Israel.
• Physical blindness mirrors his (and Israel’s) spiritual blindness.
• Confusion & toleration of sin; failure of the high priest
⁃ Hearing God: Requires openness, mentorship, persistence, and faithfulness
• God initiates by speaking from the Ark of the Covenant.
• A theophanic moment follows (“the Lord came and stood”).
• God’s persistence in calling Samuel reveals His grace and pursuit of relationship.
⁃ Judgment
• “Tingling ears” is an idiom for shocking, horrifying news.
• Eli faces temporal punishment for his cowardice and failure to confront sin in his vocation
• Eli’s resigned acceptance
Cravenness; contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly: a craven abdication of his moral duty
⁃ Hannah’s Song themes
• Praise and holiness of God
• Reverse of fortunes
• Deliverance, mercy and faithfulness
• God’s rule and victory
⁃ The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55); bridges Hannah’s song with the new era of salvation in Christ
⁃ Apostasy & Sacrilege: Abuse of power, religious corruption or both
• Cravenness of Eli himself
• Faithless of Eli's sons
• Contempt of the people’s offerings
• Bedding the temple women
⁃ Faithfulness
• Unknown prophet (1Samuel 2:27)
• A faithful priest (1Samuel 2:35) - ultimately Christ
• Samuel
⁃ Another account of a barren favorite wife
⁃ Grace Alone, Faith Alone
• Peace offering highlights fellowship with God in the midst of suffering
• God works through weakness (Theology of the Cross)
• God’s Word of promise brings peace
⁃ People:
• Elkanah - Devout husband, loves Hannah
• Peninnah - Hannah’s rival
• Hannah - Barren, Elkanah’s favorite wife
• Eli - Priest at the tabernacle in Shiloh
• Hophni - son of Eli
• Phinehas - son of Eli
• Samuel - son of Hannah and Elkanah