The Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter by Chapter

We want to take you through the book of 1 Samuel chapter by chapter. If you have not read our studies on Judges and Ruth we suggest you start there. Because 1 Samuel picks up where they leave off. Judges ended with “there was no king in Israel” (Judges 21:25). Ruth ended with the name of David (Ruth 4:22). 1 Samuel tells us how Israel got its first king. And how God chose David to take his place. We will tell you what each chapter is about and how it fits into the message of the book. And how it points us to the one God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

1 Samuel is built around three men. Samuel the last judge and a prophet. Saul the first king. And David the man after God’s own heart. Samuel was the kind of leader Israel needed. Saul was the kind of leader Israel asked for. And David was the kind of leader God chose. The book shows us the difference.

There are three things we want you to take away from this study. 1 Samuel is about the kingship of God. When Israel asked for a king God said “they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (8:7). 1 Samuel is about obedience. “To obey is better than sacrifice” (15:22). Saul lost his kingdom because he did not obey. And 1 Samuel points to Jesus Christ. The word anointed is mashiach in Hebrew. Messiah. Christ. David the anointed king from Bethlehem points us to the Son of David. We will explain these points as we go through the book. But we want you to keep them in mind as we begin.

1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were one book in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Old Testament split it in two. It called them 1 and 2 Kingdoms. And 1 and 2 Kings were 3 and 4 Kingdoms.¹ The book is named after Samuel. But Samuel dies in chapter 25. So he could not have written all of it. The Jews believed Samuel wrote the first part and Nathan and Gad finished it.² 1 Chronicles 29:29 tells us that the acts of David were written “in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.”

The book follows the three men. Samuel (1–7). Samuel and Saul (8–15). And Saul and David (16–31). We will break it down a little further than that. Samuel’s birth and call (1–3). The ark taken and returned (4–7). Israel asks for a king (8–12). Saul rejected (13–15). David anointed and Goliath (16–17). David and Saul (18–20). David the fugitive (21–26). And Saul’s end (27–31). We will follow this outline as we go through each chapter.

Just like in our other studies we will be using the KJV for our scripture quotations. When we use Hebrew words we will transliterate them and give a brief explanation. We will also let you know where you can find the work of the scholars we reference. If they disagree with what we believe we will tell you what they think and why we disagree.

1 Samuel 1: Hannah’s Prayer

A man named Elkanah had two wives. Peninnah had children. “But Hannah had no children” (v.2). Every year they went up to Shiloh where the tabernacle was. And every year Peninnah provoked Hannah until she cried and would not eat (vv.6–7). One year Hannah went to the house of the LORD and prayed. She vowed that if God gave her a son she would give him back to the LORD all the days of his life. “And there shall no razor come upon his head” (v.11). Just like a Nazarite.

She prayed in her heart. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Eli the priest thought she was drunk (v.13). She told him “I have poured out my soul before the LORD” (v.15). Eli blessed her. “And her countenance was no more sad” (v.18). She believed before she saw it. God remembered her and she had a son. “And called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD” (v.20). When he was weaned she brought him to Eli. “Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD” (v.28).

1 Samuel 2: Hannah’s Song and Eli’s Sons

Hannah sang a song. Notice what she says about God. “There is none beside thee.” This is what Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:35. There is only one God. “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up” (v.6). This is Deuteronomy 32:39. “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust” (v.8). God turns things upside down. The barren woman has children. The proud are brought low.

Then look at how the song ends. “He shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed” (v.10). Israel did not have a king yet. But Hannah sang about the king. The word anointed is mashiach. This is the first time in the Bible it is used for a king.³ Mary sang a song a lot like this one when she found out she would carry Jesus (Luke 1:46–55). “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree” (Luke 1:52). Hannah’s song looked forward to the Anointed One.

Then the chapter turns to Eli’s sons. “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD” (v.12). They were priests. But they did not know God. They took the best of the sacrifices for themselves before the fat was burned (vv.15–16). They lay with the women at the door of the tabernacle (v.22). Eli talked to them but did nothing. In the middle of all this “the child Samuel grew before the LORD” (v.21). And “the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men” (v.26). Luke says the same thing about Jesus (Luke 2:52).

A man of God came to Eli. “Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” (v.30). Eli’s house would lose the priesthood. Both his sons would die on the same day (v.34). “And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart” (v.35).

1 Samuel 3: Speak, LORD

“And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (v.1). God was not speaking much. Because no one was listening. One night the LORD called Samuel. Samuel ran to Eli. “Here am I.” Eli said he did not call him. This happened three times. “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him” (v.7). Eli finally understood. He told Samuel to say “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (v.9). The LORD came and called again. “Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth” (v.10).

The first message God gave Samuel was hard. Judgment on Eli’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli. But he told him everything. Eli said “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good” (v.18). Then Samuel grew “and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground” (v.19). All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew he was a prophet (v.20).

Notice how the chapter ends. “The LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD” (v.21). The LORD revealed himself by his word. God makes himself known through his word.⁴ John tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word is not a second person beside God. It is God revealing himself. In Shiloh he did it to Samuel. In Jesus Christ he did it in the flesh.

1 Samuel 4: Ichabod

Israel went to war against the Philistines and lost 4000 men (v.2). The elders said “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies” (v.3). Notice the word it. They thought the ark would save them. They treated it like a good luck charm. They did not ask God. Hophni and Phinehas brought the ark. Israel shouted so loud the earth rang (v.5). The Philistines were afraid. But they fought anyway. And Israel lost 30,000 men. The ark was taken. And Hophni and Phinehas were killed (vv.10–11). Just like the man of God said.

A man ran to Shiloh with the news. Eli was 98 years old and blind. When he heard the ark was taken he fell backward off his seat and broke his neck (v.18). Phinehas’s wife went into labor when she heard. She named the baby Ichabod. “Saying, The glory is departed from Israel” (v.21). Ichabod means no glory. Israel lost the glory because they treated the presence of God like an object they could use.

1 Samuel 5: Dagon Falls

The Philistines put the ark in the house of their god Dagon at Ashdod. The next morning Dagon was on his face before the ark. They set him back up. The next morning he fell again. And this time his head and both his hands were cut off and lying on the threshold (v.4). Israel lost the battle. But the LORD did not lose. Then God struck the people of Ashdod with emerods (v.6). They sent the ark to Gath. The same thing happened. Then they sent it to Ekron. And the people of Ekron cried “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people” (v.10).

1 Samuel 6: The Ark Comes Home

After 7 months the Philistines wanted the ark gone (v.1). Their priests told them to send it back with a trespass offering. They put it on a new cart pulled by two milk cows that had calves at home. If the cows went straight to Israel they would know it was God. The cows went straight to Bethshemesh lowing as they went (v.12). They did not turn to the right or the left. Cows do not leave their calves. God was making a point.

The people of Bethshemesh rejoiced. But some of them looked into the ark. And God struck them (v.19).⁵ We will not go into the number here. But the lesson was the same as Uzzah later on (2 Samuel 6:7). The holiness of God is not something to play with. “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?” they said (v.20). They sent the ark to Kirjathjearim.

1 Samuel 7: Ebenezer

The ark stayed at Kirjathjearim 20 years. “And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (v.2). Then Samuel told them “If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only” (v.3). They did. Samuel gathered them at Mizpeh. They poured out water and fasted and confessed. “We have sinned against the LORD” (v.6).

The Philistines heard Israel was gathered and attacked. This time Israel did not bring the ark. They asked Samuel to pray. “Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us” (v.8). Samuel offered a lamb. “And the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them” (v.10). Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer. “Saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us” (v.12). Ebenezer means stone of help. Same place where they lost in chapter 4. The difference was not the ark. It was their hearts. Samuel judged Israel all his life and went every year on a circuit (vv.15–16).

1 Samuel 8: Like All the Nations

When Samuel was old he made his sons judges. “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment” (v.3). Just like Eli’s sons. The elders came to Samuel. “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (v.5). Samuel was upset. He prayed. And God answered.

Moses said Israel would one day have a king (Deuteronomy 17:14–15). So asking for a king was not the whole problem. The problem was why they asked.⁶ They wanted to be “like all the nations.” God called Israel to be different. They already had a King. It was the LORD. Gideon told them “the LORD shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23). Now they rejected him.

God told Samuel to warn them. A king would take. Over and over Samuel says it. “He will take your sons … he will take your daughters … he will take your fields … he will take the tenth” (vv.11–17). “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day” (v.18). But they would not listen. “Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations” (vv.19–20). God gave them what they wanted.

1 Samuel 9: Saul Looking for Donkeys

Saul was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Remember that Benjamin was almost wiped out at the end of Judges. Saul was “a choice young man, and a goodly … from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people” (v.2). He looked like a king. His father’s donkeys were lost and Saul went to find them. After 3 days his servant said there was a man of God in the city. They should ask him (v.6). Saul did not even know who Samuel was.

The day before God told Samuel he would send a man from Benjamin. “Thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel” (v.16). When Samuel saw Saul the LORD said “Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people” (v.17). Samuel gave Saul the best seat and the best portion at the feast. And he told him the donkeys were found (v.20).

1 Samuel 10: Another Heart

Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. “Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?” (v.1). Then he gave Saul three signs. The third was that he would meet a company of prophets. “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man” (v.6). It happened just like Samuel said. “God gave him another heart” (v.9). People asked “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (v.11).

Samuel called the people to Mizpeh. He reminded them again that “ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities” (v.19). Then they cast lots. The lot fell on Benjamin. Then the family of Matri. Then Saul. But they could not find him. “Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff” (v.22). They brought him out. He was taller than everyone. “And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king” (v.24). Saul went home to Gibeah (v.26). The same Gibeah of Judges 19.

1 Samuel 11: Jabeshgilead

Nahash the Ammonite came against Jabeshgilead. He said he would make peace if he could put out all their right eyes (v.2). They sent messengers. When Saul heard “the Spirit of God came upon Saul” (v.6). He cut up a yoke of oxen and sent the pieces through all Israel. Whoever did not come after Saul and Samuel would have the same done to his oxen (v.7). Remember the Levite in Judges 19 who sent pieces through Israel. Now it was for something good. 330,000 men came (v.8). Saul rescued Jabeshgilead. This was the city that was destroyed at the end of Judges. Now Saul saved it. Saul said “To day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel” (v.13). They made Saul king at Gilgal (v.15).

1 Samuel 12: Samuel’s Farewell

Samuel stood before the people and asked them to testify against him. Whose ox had he taken. Whose donkey. Who had he cheated (v.3). No one could say anything. Then Samuel went through their history from Moses to the judges. Every time they sinned God sold them to an enemy. Every time they cried God sent a deliverer. And now they asked for a king “when the LORD your God was your king” (v.12).

It was wheat harvest. It almost never rained at wheat harvest. Samuel called on the LORD and the LORD sent thunder and rain (vv.17–18). The people were afraid. They asked Samuel to pray for them. And Samuel said “God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you” (v.23). Then he told them “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people” (v.22). They had a king now. But the same rule applied. “If ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king” (v.25).

1 Samuel 13: Saul Offers the Sacrifice

The first verse of this chapter is hard in the Hebrew. It seems some numbers were lost when it was copied.⁷ We will not go into that here. Jonathan the son of Saul attacked a Philistine garrison. The Philistines gathered a huge army. The people of Israel hid in caves and thickets and pits (v.6). Saul waited at Gilgal 7 days for Samuel like he was told (10:8). But Samuel did not come. The people started leaving. So Saul offered the burnt offering himself (v.9).

As soon as he finished Samuel came. “What hast thou done?” (v.11). Saul made excuses. The people were leaving. Samuel was late. The Philistines were coming. “I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering” (v.12). Samuel said “Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God” (v.13). Saul was not a priest. And he did not wait for God. “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart” (v.14). Paul quotes this when he talks about David (Acts 13:22). The chapter ends by telling us that there was no smith in Israel. Only Saul and Jonathan had a sword (vv.19–22).

1 Samuel 14: Jonathan’s Faith and Saul’s Oath

Jonathan and his armourbearer went up against the Philistine garrison by themselves. Jonathan said “there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few” (v.6). They climbed up and killed about 20 men. Then God sent an earthquake and the Philistines turned on each other (vv.14–15, 20). Jonathan had faith. Saul had an army. And God used the man with faith.

Saul made a rash oath. No one could eat until evening until he was avenged on his enemies (v.24). The people were faint. Jonathan did not hear the oath and ate some honey. When the battle was over the people were so hungry they killed animals and ate them with the blood (v.32). That broke the law of Leviticus 17. Saul’s oath caused them to sin. Then Saul wanted to kill Jonathan for eating the honey. But the people would not let him. “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid” (v.45).

1 Samuel 15: To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

God told Saul to destroy Amalek. Because of what they did to Israel when they came out of Egypt (v.2). We saw this in Exodus 17 and Deuteronomy 25:17–19. But Saul spared Agag the king. And he kept the best of the sheep and oxen (v.9). Then God said to Samuel “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king” (v.11). Samuel cried to the LORD all night. Saul went to Carmel and set up a monument to himself (v.12).

When Samuel came Saul said “I have performed the commandment of the LORD” (v.13). Samuel answered “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” (v.14). Saul blamed the people. He said they kept them to sacrifice to the LORD. Then Samuel said this.

Saul grabbed Samuel’s robe and it tore. Samuel said the LORD had torn the kingdom from him and given it to a neighbour that was better than him (v.28). Then Samuel said “the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent” (v.29). Critics will say this contradicts verse 11 where God said it repented him. And verse 35. But notice what verse 29 is saying. God does not change his mind like a man does. He does not go back on his word. In verse 11 the Bible is telling us how God responded when Saul changed. God’s character never changes. But when man turns from God God’s dealings with him change.⁸ Jeremiah 18:7–10 explains this. Saul changed. God did not.

Also notice that God “is not a man” (v.29). Moses said the same thing in Numbers 23:19. God is not a man. But God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He did not stop being God. He took on flesh. And the one who cannot lie came to us as Jesus Christ. “Full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Samuel killed Agag himself (v.33). And Samuel never saw Saul again until the day he died (v.35).

1 Samuel 16: The LORD Looketh on the Heart

God told Samuel to stop mourning for Saul. Fill your horn with oil and go to Jesse in Bethlehem. “For I have provided me a king among his sons” (v.1). Notice that. Israel chose Saul. God chose this king. Samuel saw Eliab the oldest and thought he must be the one. He was tall like Saul.

Seven sons passed by. God did not choose any of them. Samuel asked if these were all his children. Jesse said there was one more. The youngest. Keeping the sheep (v.11). They did not even call him to the feast. They brought David in. “Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance” (v.12). And the LORD said “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” Samuel anointed him in front of his brothers. “And the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” (v.13).

The next verse says “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him” (v.14). Notice it says from the LORD. The Bible does not teach that there are two equal powers fighting. God is over everything. Even evil spirits can only do what he allows.⁹ Saul’s servants looked for someone to play the harp to calm him down. And they found David. The anointed king was now serving in the house of the king who was rejected. “And Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (v.23).

1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath

The Philistines gathered at Shochoh. Their champion was Goliath of Gath. Remember Joshua 11:22. The Anakims were left in Gath. Now one of them came back. Goliath was “six cubits and a span” tall (v.4). Over 9 feet. He had armor and a spear with a head that weighed 600 shekels of iron (v.7). He challenged Israel to send a man to fight him. Saul was the tallest man in Israel. He should have gone. But “they were dismayed, and greatly afraid” (v.11). Goliath came out morning and evening for 40 days (v.16).

David was bringing food to his brothers. He heard Goliath. And he said “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26). His brother Eliab was angry with him. But David went to Saul. He told Saul that he killed a lion and a bear when they took his father’s sheep. “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (v.37). Saul put his armor on David. But David could not walk in it. He took it off. He took his staff and his sling and chose 5 smooth stones out of the brook (v.40).

Notice what David came with. Not a sword. A name. “The name of the LORD of hosts.” He told Goliath he would kill him “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel … for the battle is the LORD’s” (vv.46–47). Not gods. A God. One God. David ran toward Goliath. He slung one stone and it sank into his forehead. Goliath fell on his face (v.49). Just like Dagon fell on his face before the ark. David cut off his head with Goliath’s own sword (v.51). The Philistines ran.

David fought in the name of the LORD. Paul tells us “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). The name David trusted in is the name revealed in Jesus Christ. At the end of the chapter Saul asks whose son David is (vv.55–58). Some say this does not fit with chapter 16 where David played for Saul.¹⁰ But Saul was asking about his father. Saul had promised to make the family of the man who killed Goliath free in Israel (v.25). He wanted to know who that family was.

1 Samuel 18: Saul Hath Slain His Thousands

“The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (v.1). Jonathan made a covenant with David. He took off his robe and gave it to David with his sword and his bow and his girdle (v.4). Jonathan was the heir to the throne. And he gave David the things that showed it. He knew God chose David.

When they came home the women sang “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (v.7). Saul was very angry. “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward” (v.9). The next day Saul threw a javelin at David while he played. Twice (v.11). Saul was afraid of David “because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul” (v.12). Saul promised his daughter Michal to David if he brought 100 foreskins of the Philistines. He hoped David would be killed. David brought 200 (v.27). Michal loved David. And Saul was even more afraid.

1 Samuel 19: Saul Among the Prophets

Saul told Jonathan and his servants to kill David. Jonathan talked his father out of it for a while (vv.4–6). Then Saul threw his javelin again. David ran home. Michal let him down through a window and put an image in his bed to fool the messengers (vv.12–13). David ran to Samuel at Naioth in Ramah. Saul sent messengers to take him. But when they saw the prophets prophesying the Spirit of God came on them and they prophesied too. This happened three times. Then Saul went himself. And the Spirit of God came on him and he prophesied and lay down all day and night (vv.23–24). They said again “Is Saul also among the prophets?” Saul could not touch David while God was protecting him.

1 Samuel 20: Jonathan’s Arrows

David asked Jonathan what he had done. “There is but a step between me and death” (v.3). Jonathan did not believe his father would kill David. They made a plan. David would hide during the feast of the new moon. If Saul was angry about David being gone Jonathan would know. Jonathan made David promise to show kindness to his house forever (vv.14–15). Kindness. Chesed. The word we saw all through Ruth.

At the feast Saul got angry. He called Jonathan the son of a rebellious woman. “For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom” (v.31). Then he threw his javelin at Jonathan (v.33). The next morning Jonathan shot arrows past the boy as a sign to David. Then David came out and they kissed and wept. “Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD” (v.42).

1 Samuel 21: The Shewbread

David went to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. He was hungry. The only bread there was the shewbread. Only the priests were supposed to eat it. But Ahimelech gave it to David (v.6). Jesus used this to answer the Pharisees about the sabbath. “Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred” (Matthew 12:3). Mercy was more important than ritual. Ahimelech also gave David the sword of Goliath (v.9). But Doeg the Edomite was there and saw it all (v.7). Then David went to Achish the king of Gath. Goliath’s hometown. He was afraid and pretended to be crazy. He scratched on the doors and let spit run down his beard (v.13). Psalm 34 was written about this time.

1 Samuel 22: The Cave of Adullam

David hid in the cave of Adullam. His family came to him. “And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them” (v.2). About 400 men. Saul had the army. David had the outcasts. Jesus said “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). David took his father and mother to the king of Moab to keep them safe (vv.3–4). Remember that his great grandmother Ruth was from Moab.

Doeg told Saul that Ahimelech helped David. Saul called all the priests of Nob. He told his men to kill them. They would not. So Doeg did. 85 priests were killed (v.18). And the whole city of Nob. This was the judgment God spoke against the house of Eli in chapter 2. Only one son of Ahimelech escaped. Abiathar. He ran to David. David said “Abide thou with me, fear not” (v.23).

1 Samuel 23: Strengthened in God

The Philistines attacked Keilah. David asked the LORD if he should go (v.2). He went and saved the city. But Saul heard and came to trap him there. David asked the LORD again. The men of Keilah would hand him over (v.12). So he left. Notice how often David asked God. Saul did not. David did. Then Jonathan came to David in the wilderness of Ziph. “And strengthened his hand in God” (v.16). He said “Fear not … thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee” (v.17). This is the last time they saw each other. Saul almost caught David on the other side of a mountain. But a messenger came and said the Philistines had invaded. Saul had to leave (vv.26–28).

1 Samuel 24: The LORD’s Anointed

Saul took 3000 men to find David at Engedi. Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. It was the cave David and his men were hiding in. David’s men said this was his chance. David crept up and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe (v.4). The word skirt is kanaph. The same word we saw in Ruth. Then “David’s heart smote him” (v.5). He told his men “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed” (v.6).

David came out and called after Saul. He showed him the piece of his robe. He could have killed him. “The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee” (v.12). Saul wept. “Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil” (v.17). He asked David to swear not to wipe out his family. David swore. But Saul went home and David stayed in the stronghold.

1 Samuel 25: Nabal and Abigail

“And Samuel died” (v.1). All Israel mourned for him. Then David sent men to Nabal. A rich man whose shepherds David’s men had protected. Nabal said “Who is David?” and sent them away with nothing (v.10). David was angry. He took 400 men to kill every male in Nabal’s house. But Nabal’s wife Abigail heard. She loaded donkeys with food and went to meet David. She fell at his feet. She said her husband was just like his name. Nabal means fool (v.25).

Then she reminded David who he was. “The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God” (v.29). If he took revenge now it would stain him when he became king (v.31). David listened. “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me” (v.32). He let God handle it. 10 days later the LORD struck Nabal and he died (v.38). David married Abigail. Vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19).

1 Samuel 26: The Spear and the Cruse

The Ziphites told Saul where David was again. Saul came with 3000 men. At night David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp. Everyone was asleep. “Because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them” (v.12). Abishai wanted to kill Saul with one stroke. David said no. “Who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (v.9). “The LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish” (v.10). They took Saul’s spear and his water jug. David called from the other side of the hill. Saul said “I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly” (v.21). This was the last time Saul and David ever saw each other.

1 Samuel 27: David Among the Philistines

“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul” (v.1). Notice that David did not ask God this time. He just decided. He went to Achish king of Gath with his 600 men. Achish gave him Ziklag (v.6). David lived there 16 months (v.7). He raided the enemies of Israel and told Achish he was raiding Judah. David was not at his best here. Fear made him do what faith would not have done.

1 Samuel 28: The Witch of Endor

The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. Saul saw their army and was afraid. “And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (v.6). Samuel was dead. Saul had put the witches out of the land (v.3). But now he went looking for one. He found a woman at Endor with a familiar spirit. He disguised himself and asked her to bring up Samuel.

When she saw Samuel she cried out (v.12). Some believe this was really Samuel and that God allowed it. Others believe it was a demon pretending to be Samuel.¹¹ We will not go into all the arguments here. But notice that the message was the same thing Samuel said while he was alive. “The LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy” (v.16). The LORD had torn the kingdom from him and given it to David. “To morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me” (v.19). Saul fell to the ground. 1 Chronicles 10:13 tells us Saul died “for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it.” The man who would not obey God’s word went looking for a word from the dead.

1 Samuel 29: Sent Back

David and his men marched with the Philistines toward the battle. He was about to fight against Israel. But the lords of the Philistines did not trust him. “Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?” (v.5). Achish sent David back. David put himself in a place he should never have been. And God got him out of it.

1 Samuel 30: David Encouraged Himself

When David got back to Ziklag it was burned. The Amalekites had taken all the women and children. David and his men wept until they had no more power to weep (v.4). Then his own men talked of stoning him. “But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (v.6). And this time he asked the LORD. “Shall I pursue after this troop?” And God said “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (v.8).

200 of his men were too tired to cross the brook Besor. David went on with 400. They found the Amalekites and David “recovered all” (v.19). Nothing was missing. When they came back some of the men did not want to share with the 200 who stayed behind. David said “as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike” (v.24). Everything they won was a gift from God. So everyone shared.

1 Samuel 31: The Death of Saul

At the same time Israel fought the Philistines on mount Gilboa. Israel ran. The Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Melchishua the sons of Saul (v.2). Saul was wounded by archers. He asked his armourbearer to kill him. He would not. So Saul fell on his own sword (v.4). The Philistines cut off his head and hung his body on the wall of Bethshan (v.10).

Then the men of Jabeshgilead heard. They walked all night and took the bodies of Saul and his sons off the wall. They burned them and buried the bones under a tree and fasted 7 days (vv.11–13). Saul saved Jabeshgilead in chapter 11. Now they gave him an honorable burial. The first king of Israel started well. But he ended on a battlefield with his sons dead. Because “thou hast rejected the word of the LORD” (15:23).

We have gone through 1 Samuel chapter by chapter. Here is what we can conclude. First 1 Samuel is about the kingship of God. Israel asked for a king “like all the nations” (8:5). God said they rejected him. And he gave them what they asked for. Saul looked like a king. He was taller than everyone. But he was not God’s choice. “The LORD seeth not as man seeth” (16:7). God chose a shepherd boy from Bethlehem who was not even invited to the feast.

Second 1 Samuel is about obedience. Eli’s sons were priests but they did not know the LORD (2:12). Israel brought the ark but did not bring their hearts (4:3). Saul offered the sacrifice but did not wait for God (13:13). He fought Amalek but did not obey all the way (15:22). And when he would not hear God’s word he went to a witch (28:7). Over and over the book shows us that God wants obedience more than religion. “To obey is better than sacrifice” (15:22).

Third 1 Samuel is monotheistic. Hannah sang “there is none beside thee” (2:2). The LORD “revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD” (3:21). Dagon fell on his face before the one true God (5:3–4). God is “not a man, that he should repent” (15:29). And David went against Goliath “in the name of the LORD of hosts” so “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (17:45–46). One God.

And 1 Samuel points to Jesus Christ. Hannah sang about the LORD’s anointed before there was a king (2:10). The anointed king came from Bethlehem. He was rejected by the ruling king. He gathered the distressed and the debtors and the discontented (22:2). And he would not take the kingdom by force. He waited for God to give it to him. Jesus is the Son of David. The Anointed One. The Christ. And the God who said “they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (8:7) came in the flesh as the King. Saul is dead. David is ready to take the throne. That is where 2 Samuel begins.