Week 1: Samuel
In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen.
Introduction
The Book of 1 Samuel is one of the important historical books of the Old Testament. It tells the story of Samuel, the great priest, prophet and judge; the rise and fall of King Saul, the first King over Israel, the anointing of David as King after the fall of King Saul, and the continuous conflict between King Saul and David.
God willing, during this Great Fast, we will study the book of 1 Samuel on a day by day basis. It is 31 chapters, but our fast is a little bit longer than that. So interspersed within the chapters of 1 Samuel, we will benefit from reading some of the Psalms of King David that he composed during the various difficulties that he faced.
On a weekly basis, we will read six days a week, and have one day for catching up, if I missed any chapters. I have the catch-up day on Sunday so that if you don't need it or don't fall behind, you can read the liturgical readings of that Sunday and listen to the liturgy sermon. On each day, I will try my best to share with you a voice recording and text for that chapter - maybe an interpretation, contemplation, or something else. I also want to encourage you all to share in the group - a verse you liked, an interpretation, ANY questions you might have. We are here to benefit from each other, and to learn and grow together.
In this recording, I will give a summary of the Old Testament up until this point, and an introduction to the first Book of Samuel, so that we can have some context to what we are reading. Then, I will send another recording later today with the recording for 1 Samuel Chapter 1. God bless you.
Old Testament Historical Context
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
The Holy Scripture opens with the Creation of the World in the book of Genesis. From the very first chapter, we see the creation of mankind in the Image of God, according to His Likeness. You and I are made in the Image of God. But soon after, we have the fall of man. And man continues to sin and separate himself from God, even to the point that God wipes mankind from the face of the earth, except for one righteous man and his family - Noah. And from Noah, the Lord makes a new creation. From Noah's descendants will come the great man of faith - Abraham, the man after God's own heart - King David, and the Messiah Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ; the Incarnate Word of God. God in the flesh.
The Holy Scripture lays out a single thread, from the Creation of the World and the Fall of Man, to the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of the Son of God. And as we read the Scripture, while it presents historical facts and narratives, we can see that thread. We can see the Love of God for all mankind, we can see the Promise of God and its fulfillment, we can see the Wisdom of God and those whom He gave it to. We can see the Spirit of God coming upon flawed characters, and working in them and through them. We can see the Acceptance of God of the repentant man no matter his sin. God has revealed Himself to us through His Holy Scripture. He speaks to us through His words, but we must read and study and understand and meditate on them, in order to hear His voice.
In the book of Genesis, we read about the patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob has twelve sons who become the fathers of the twelve tribes. Jacob and his family go to Egypt during a famine in the land, while his son Joseph had become vizier or second-in-command to Pharaoh.
In Exodus, we read that the Israelites were prosperous and multiplying in Egypt. And when a new Pharaoh came, who did not know Joseph, he saw them as a threat and enslaved them. They were in Egypt about 400 years when the Lord sent Moses to deliver them from Egypt. And this is the meaning of the word Exodus. In Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the Israelites receive the Law from God, build the Tabernacle, and are wandering through the desert for about 40 years until they reach the Promised Land. Then, in the book of Joshua, Joshua (the disciple of Moses) leads them to take conquest of the land and to distribute it among the twelve tribes.
In the book of Judges, the key verse that is repeated several times is that "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." The Israelites would fall into idolatry or sexual immorality and be taken by another tribe like the Midianites or the Philistines or the Ammonites. Then God would raise up for them a Judge - typically, someone who could lead their military to victory. And they would come out and give thanks to God and promise not to fall again... and then promptly fall again. And the cycle would repeat. This lasted about 400 years and gave us Judges like Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Jephthah and culminated with the last judge - Samuel the priest and the prophet.
And this is where our story will begin in the book of 1 Samuel. We will read about the origins of Samuel and the prayer of his mother for a child, and his upbringing in the Tabernacle.
Who wrote 1 Samuel? The traditional view is that the Prophet Samuel wrote the first part of the book. He dies about halfway through the book, so clearly he didn't write the rest of it (or even 2 Samuel). But we attribute the rest of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel to be written by the prophets Nathan and Gad. They were the two main prophets at the time of King David. We call these two books 1 and 2 Samuel according to the Hebrew tradition, but according to the Greek tradition, they are called 1 and 2 Kingdoms... Thatso if you are using an Orthodox Study Bible, they will be called 1 and 2 Kingdoms. This is because they show the beginnings of the Kingdom of Israel.
1 Samuel showsstarts with the kingshipbirth of Samuel and ends with the death of King Saul,Saul. 2 Samuel showsstarts with the reignenthronement of King David,David and ends with the death of King David. After that, the books of 1 and 2 Kings showsshow us King Solomon and his sons and the split of the Kingdom all the waykingdom until the endtime of 2exile. Kings.So in our study during this fast, we will focus on three main characters - Samuel, Saul, and David.
If you're not familiar with these characters and stories, that's OKAY! We will learn together and grow together. Please ask questions - privately or in the group. Whatever you feel comfortable with.
May the Lord fill us with His wisdom and His patience, and may this Great Fast and this Bible Study be a source of edification for us, for our salvation.
If you made it to the end of the recording, go ahead and put a thumbs up emoji.
God bless youyou.
Glory be to our God, forever. Amen.