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1 & 2 Samuel, Our King vs God's King

The nation of Israel has settled into their new home, the Promised Land. After years of slavery and wandering, the people finally have a home. Unfortunately the nation did not follow God's instructions. The Canaanite religion, though weakened, remained. Soon the Israelites were seduced by the lax morals and easy requirements of following Ba'al and the other false gods.

So the cycle of sin began. The nation would fall to sin, God would withdraw protection, Israel would be conquered, the people would cry out for help, God would send a judge, the people would be saved, repeat. Whenever there was a leader who pointed the nation to God, the Israelites did well. As the book of Judges and Ruth pointed to; Israel needed a king.

Background

The books of 1 & 2 Samuel are really one book. In the Jewish Bible it is actually just one book. The reason we have it as two separate books is due to the nature of scrolls. One scroll couldn't fit the whole book so they put it on two. 

Once again we do not know who wrote the books of Samuel. The text itself does not indicate an author. Tradition has held that Samuel wrote the books (hence the name), but this is problematic as Samuel dies before it is all over. One theory is that Samuel started it and Nathan, or another of his disciples, finished it. Either way we really don't know. 

Themes

The central theme of the book of Samuel is that of kingship. Here we must clear up a misconception that many people have about Israel having a king. 

In 1 Samuel 8 we see the people of Israel confront Samuel about having a king. Samuel is getting old at this point and soon won't be able to be Israel's judge. His sons, who he had trained to be his successors, were corrupt and dishonest. The people bring up a legitimate concern about who should lead the nation. 

The people then demand a king for Israel, like the other nations have. Here is where the misconception arises. God allows them to have a king because they have rejected him. We tend to think that God didn't want Israel to have a human king at all. This simply isn't the case.

In Deuteronomy 17, which was Moses reiterating the Law several centuries before this point, commands are given on how a king should act. The book of Judges makes the point plainly that the problem Israel had was that there was no king! What God is displeased with is not Israel's request, but Israel's motive.

Israel doesn't want a king to help them follow God. Israel doesn't want a king that will help them be holy, set apart from the world. Israel wants a king so they can be like everybody else. That is the explicit reason given in 1 Samuel 8:5. 

What we see here is a difference in what God and Israel thinks a king should be. God wants Israel to have a king that leads them to holiness. God wants Israel to have a king that recognizes God as the true authority. God wants Israel's king to serve as an example of what following God looks like. Israel simply wants a king that looks good and will impress the nations. 

In the books of Samuel this is the big theme; the different opinions on what a king should be. The first king, Saul, matches what Israel is looking for. Saul is tall, handsome, and looks dashing. He is everything the Israelites asked for. In fact the name Saul is play on the Hebrew word meaning "to ask for." Saul's name literally means "you asked for it!" 

What we see is that while Saul is impressive in the world's eyes, he isn't so impressive in God's eyes. So God picks a king to succeed Saul. This king isn't chosen based on the criteria of the world but on the criteria of God. That king is David.

David is a man after God's own heart. He seeks the things of God and strives to follow his divine will. David isn't perfect by any means. He still falls to sin like any other man, but his attitude towards repentance is what sets him apart from Saul. Just as Moses is the seen as the ultimate example of a prophet, David is seen as the ultimate example of a king.

Theological Point

As we see the difference between our king and God's king it is remarkable to see how much David points forward to Jesus. The number one reason why the idea that God didn't want Israel to have a king doesn't work is that Jesus was always intended to be the king. Israel's expectations for the king didn't match up with God's, something we see in the New Testament with Jesus. 

A practical theological point from the book of Samuel has to do with leadership. Too often in our churches we look for leaders that are impressive based on the world's standards. We want our elders and deacons to be successful businessmen or professionals in their field. We want our ministers to be more like managers and our elders to be more like a board of directors. By the world's standard this is great, but we aren't called to the world's standard. 

Conclusion

This was a longer entry, but I pray that you garnered something useful from it. The kings of Israel didn't help the nation as much as they could have. In fact many times they were the cause of sin and selfishness. Yet we see in David and several other kings a glimpse of the ultimate king, Jesus. 

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