If you haven’t had a chance to read the scripture for this week's study, remember you can look up scripture on-line at www.biblegateway.com.

We have learned in other studies of 1 Samuel that Saul was anointed by God through Samuel to be the first king of Israel. We also learned that instead of following God’ word, exactly as God said it, Saul decided to do things his own way. He seemed to think that God could not really mean for him to kill everyone and everything and followed his own ideas about what should be done. Because of Saul’s disobedience, “God rejected him as king over Israel”. God’s decision about Saul’s kingship was final. God did not remove Saul from his position immediately but made the preparation for the next king of Israel.

God sent Samuel to the City of Bethlehem and told him that he would find among the sons of Jesse God’s choice to replace Saul. Samuel was afraid that if Saul heard of this, Saul would surely kill him. God comforted Samuel telling him to say he was going to “make a sacrifice unto the Lord.” That is what Samuel did.

Upon arriving in Bethlehem Samuel came upon the town’s elders. They were afraid. Samuel reassured them that he had only come to make a sacrifice unto the Lord and told them to sanctify themselves and come along. According to the Merriam-Webster On-Line dictionary, sanctify means “to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use, to free from sin.” In some cases in the Bible, sanctify is used to mean clean up oneself and ones clothing.

Samuel then encounters Jesse and his sons, consecrates them and invites them to the sacrifice. The act of consecrating is that of setting aside for a particular purpose. When Samuel meets the oldest of Jesse’s sons, he thinks he has found God’s chosen. But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." With this, Samuel proceeds to have each of Jesse’s sons come to him. Samuel heard the Lord in each case clearly say no. Samuel told Jesse that none of these sons had been chosen and asked if there were another son. Jesse told him of his youngest son, David, that was tending the sheep. When David came near, God told Samuel that this was the one to be anointed. With this anointing, the Spirit of the Lord came into David’s life and never left.

“Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.” In looking deeper into this, some say that the Lord would not have sent an evil spirit. I believe that Saul’s vexation was caused by the fact that the Spirit of the Lord had left him and created room for that spirit. In Matthew 12:44 we see that when a “house” is left empty, even though it is clean, an evil spirit and company will go there to live. When the Spirit of the Lord is not present then other spirits will move in. This caused Saul to be noticeably ill. Saul’s attendants commented that he seemed ill. Saul believed that if someone who played the harp were to come to play for him that he would feel much better. One of Saul’s servants told him of David who was known for his musicianship. Saul had David sent to him. Saul liked David and David entered service for Saul. When David played his harp, Saul’s spirit was soothed.

In Proverbs 3:5 we are instructed to “trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” It is obvious that Saul trusted in himself more than God and that caused his downfall. God only asks that we obey Him and trust Him to be the all-knowing God that He is. In the world in which we live today we are bombarded with “self help” books, lectures, articles and the like. The world tells us that we “can do it!” by ourselves. We just need to buy their books and they’ll tell us how. The Bible also tells us that we can do it. In Philippians 4:13 we are taught “I can do everything through Him (Christ) who gives me strength.” It is very important that we study the Bible to learn the things God would have us do and that we do them just the way He says. Many of our lives today are in shambles because we followed the world’s instructions to help ourselves and went against God’s teachings. If you have been trusting in yourself over God, now is a great time to change your path. Trusting in God’s instructions brings a great deal of peace to our lives.

Return to top of page

I Samuel 16:1-4
"New Beginnings"
written by Mary Hamrick

I Samuel 16:1-4 In the opening of I Samuel 16, Samuel was about to begin a new chapter in his life as Priest. God had used Samuel in the past to lead Israel and to act as judge over the people, God used Samuel to anoint the first king over Israel (Saul) and to provide spiritual guidance and instruction to King Saul, but also to provide rebuke and correction to Saul.

As the chapter opens, we find Samuel in the stages of mourning for his broken relationship with Saul – and then we hear the Lord’s direct command to Samuel that the time of mourning is at a close and the time to move forward has come.

The Lord spoke directly to Samuel, as he had since the days of Samuel’s youth. Take note that Samuel didn’t always have to seek God first because Samuel’s heart was open to God’s voice, so Samuel could hear God’s voice even in the midst of heartache and sorrow. Samuel had a close intimate relationship with God and he could hear his God when He spoke. Samuel maintained that close relationship with God throughout his life.

The Lord said to Samuel, “Your mourning for Saul is over; get up, prepare for a trip to Bethlehem and be on your way for I have chosen a new king to rule over Israel.”

Samuel’s devotion was to God; but Samuel also had a strong love and connection to Saul. He had been guide, friend and mentor to Saul for many years and he knew the heart, mind, strengths and insecurities of Saul. Previously, Samuel had rebuked Saul by telling him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today”, so Saul was aware that God would find another King to rule over His people. After the Lord told Samuel, “get moving”, Samuel asked a question that came from his depth of knowledge of Saul, “Lord, when Saul hears that I am traveling to Bethlehem, he will be suspicious and he will come after me and kill me.” The Lord answered, “Take a sacrifice with you (implied: then Saul will know you are going to Bethlehem to worship); invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what to do.”

The Lord provided guidance to Samuel, though the map wasn’t complete. From God’s instructions, Samuel knew where to go (Bethlehem), what to pack for the trip (a heifer and a horn of oil), what to do when he arrived (sacrifice to the Lord; anoint the new king as God instructed). The struggle for Samuel was more of an internal struggle against the fear of the unknown.

God will guide our footsteps and the Bible says that He will light our path. But he will only illuminate the path a step or two at a time. We will not be able to see all of the elements, circumstances or situations that are within the path; we have to walk that path, step by step, with faith that God will clear the way before we get to the next step. God asks us to obey Him through faith. If we start out with little faith, yet we are obedient, then our faith will grow as we walk and move forward, trusting God to illuminate our path, step by step.

Is it wrong to question God’s direction or counsel? It depends on the motive behind the questioning. Sometimes God will provide answers, sometimes He will prompt you us to move forward without the answers. In Samuel’s case, the Lord gave him another piece of the puzzle; he was to go to Bethlehem and offer a sacrifice to the Lord.

Samuel questioned God and God answered – Samuel was seeking wisdom in how to handle the gossip and rumors of the people. James 1:5 says, “If you lack wisdom, ask God and it will be given.” Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom.” Remember, Samuel was priest and traveled a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel (I Samuel 7:16); Bethlehem was out of his circuit, so a trip there would be questioned.

This was the second time that God had called Samuel to anoint a king over Israel. The first time, Samuel questioned God because he felt the people were rejecting him as their leader by wanting a king. Samuel had ruled over the people for his lifetime and now they were asking for a king. The Lord comforted Samuel with these words, “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” God answered Samuel’s concern by providing an explanation of the heart of the people. This second time, God comforted Samuel by providing insight into His character by building Samuel’s faith. Basically, God said to Samuel, “I will show you what to do ... you are to do as I indicate.” God is above all, in charge of all, and when we obey Him, He will lead us in the right way, step by step.

During this season of your life, why not take a chance in being like Samuel. Get up, get ready, and go as the Lord leads – step by step. He may not give you all of the answers up front, but He can be trusted to lead you in the right way. Say yes to allow God to build your faith and trust in Him. Not all aspects of our journey will be laid out before us; we have to move forward in faith.

Return to top of page

"I Samuel 17
"Are There Giants In Your Land?"
written by Becki Freeman

There are so many examples throughout the Bible of how God dealt with His children in history. These passages not only give us insight in the ways we should live our lives to be pleasing to God, but also a pattern of the way God deals with us today. We are told in 1 Samuel 15:29 that “He who is the Glory of Israel (God) does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind." On that basis, we can trust that God continues to deal with present day man in many of the same ways. David used this notion in 1 Samuel 17: 37 when he told Saul that “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.” David had no doubt that the God over his bout with the lion and bear was still God and would deliver him from Goliath.

The first section of this chapter merely sets the stage for the historical event that is to take place. The scene is described, and the characters are introduced. The timing of this event seems to be about two years after David’s anointing per wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath: “There is no reason to believe Saul had to have known that Jesse was David's father two years later in Chapter 17.” We meet Goliath and are told of his enormous size. At www.aboutbibleprophecy.com “Goliath's height was listed as six cubits and a span. If a cubit is about 18 inches as some think, Goliath would have been over nine feet tall.”  The part about him being uncircumcised indicates that he was a gentile (not a Jew).  The Jews had a covenant with God that the men be circumcised as recorded in Genesis 17:9-14 – “Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." There is a fair amount of controversy concerning the origin of this ritual. Many seem to think it dates back to the early Egyptians but is not thought to have been wide-spread.
David was saying that Goliath was not a “child of God” and also implies that David did not consider Goliath to be civilized. From David’s point of view and those around him that was a huge insult. It was very likely that Goliath did not understand David’s meaning. The idea of having one “champion” from one side of a battle fight a champion from the other side was not unusual in those times. The Philistines surely thought their champion would win over any other because of his size.

As mentioned earlier, David was not afraid of Goliath because he knew that God would protect him and allow him to slay this giant that God might be glorified. After David told Saul of his prior accomplishments and how God had delivered him, Saul agreed to allow David, even though he was probably only a teenager, to face Goliath. David showed great boldness because of his faith that God would fight the battle thru him. It is further interesting to note David’s wisdom concerning the armor Saul had given him for this fight. David put on this armor but felt awkward in it and chose not to wear it. So he went out to meet Goliath with merely a sling shot and five smooth stones. Oh yes, and the assurance that God would deliver him and that Goliath would be his trophy. So it was on that day that David hurled one smooth stone at Goliath. It hit him in his forehead and knocked him dead. David had no sword of his own so he reached down and pulled Goliath’s sword out and took his head as proof that Goliath was slain.

This event in David’s life is great instruction for what we are to do when we perceive a giant in our land. We all have giants of one kind or another in our lives. When we do, we should take a step back and remind ourselves of the things God has already done in our lives. Then we need to remind ourselves that God does not change. Goliath was bigger than most men of his day and was amused that the army Israel would send just a boy to battle him. What the Philistines failed to consider was that David was a child of the one true God and that God would protect and enable David. In so doing God would get the credit (glory). (This story also supports the idea that “God does not call the equipped but equips the called.”) Sometimes when we choose to be like David and confront the giants in our lives, things work out the way we want them to, other times they do not. In the times when things do not work out (the way we think they should) we must remind ourselves that God is still working through us for His glory. As individuals, we are only responsible for obeying God. The outcome is totally in His hands. With the boy David as our role model, we may take a bold stand against those “Goliaths” in our lives.

Return to top of page