1 & 2 Samuel

• Samuel


  Israel's next judge
• Hannah


  • Previously barren woman
  • Gave Samuel to Eli to be raised as a Nazirite
• The priesthood in Israel is in a general state of decline, and Eli's sons are disobeying God's laws
• God's messages to Samuel


  1. God declares he will choose a new priest for Israel from outside Eli's family

  2. God begins delivering messages to Samuel as a young man
• Samuel becomes a recognized prophet throughout Israel, delivering God's messages to the people
• Ark of the Covenant captured


  1. Philistines kill Eli's corrupt sons

  2. Capture the Ark of the Covenant

  3. Ark causes Philistine captors to become terribly diseased

  4. Ark returned to Israel
• Upon learning of the attack and robbery, Eli falls over and dies
• As the nation rejoices, Samuel persuades Israel to set aside its worship of local pagan gods, and God helps Israel keep away Philistine oppression for many years
• The Israelites demand that Samuel appoint a king for them so that Israel will be like other nations
• Samuel is displeased, but God grants him permission to elect a king
• God notes that by asking for a king, the people have not rejected Samuel; they have rejected God
• Monarchy


  Brings certain drawbacks such as taxation, the conscription of armed forces, and the potential for tyranny
• God chooses a king

  1. God tells Samuel who should be king

  2. Saul appears before Samuel, inquiring about some lost donkeys

  3. Samuel anoints Saul as king

  4. God provides a series of mystical signs to assure Saul that he should be king
• Saul


  • Benjemite
  • A head taller than the average man
  • Pleases the Israelites as king
  • Leads them in rescuing an Israelite outpost from invasion
• Stepping down as Israel's leader, Samuel encourages the people that, so long as they are obedient to God's laws, God will not punish them for requesting a king
• Despite many military victories, Saul soon disobeys God
• Saul's disobedience


  1. Tries to rush into battle by performing a ritual war sacrifice without the help of a priest

  2. Spares the Amalekite ruler and the best portion of their flocks, hoping to present them as sacrifices to God
• Samuel is angry with Saul, claiming that obedience to God's instructions is more important than religious sacrifice
• Samuel informs Saul that God will choose another man to be king of Israel
• Saul pleads with Samuel, begging for forgiveness
• Saul grabs for Samuel's cloak, but the cloth tears—a symbol, says Samuel, of Saul's broken kingdom
• God anoints David as next king


  1. God leads Samuel to Bethlehem to choose a new king from Jesse's family

  2. Samuel anoints David, a shepherd boy and musician, as king

  3. God gives divine power to David
• God withdraws his power from Saul


  Saul is cursed with psychological distress in the form of an "evil spirit"
• David's rise to courtly status


  1. David begins playing harp for Saul during the king's emotional unrest

  2. David offers to fight Goliath

  3. David kills Goliath with a single stone shot from his sling
• The Israelites attack the retreating Philistines, and Israel returns home to the sound of women singing praises of David's victory
• Saul is insanely jealous of David


  • Saul attempts to kill David with a spear
  • Saul sends David on a suicide mission to kill a hundred Philistine men
• David succeeds in the mission, and Saul grudgingly rewards David with his daughter Michal's hand in marriage
• David flees from Saul


  1. Saul orders his household to kill David

  2. David is helped by Michal and Jonathan to flee
• David as a runaway


  1. David builds an army of unhappy and impoverished Israelites

  2. David is joined by a priest who is also fleeing from Saul

  3. David spares Saul's life twice

  4. David takes refuge with the Philistines
• Saul's fall as king


  1. Saul consults a witch, bidding the spirit medium to conjure up the dead spirit of Samuel

  2. Samuel's ghost warns Saul that he and his sons will die fighting the Philistines

  3. Saul leads Israel into a losing battle with the Philistines, and Saul's sons, including Jonathan, are killed

  4. Saul falls on his own sword and dies
• David versus Ish-Bosheth


  1. David goes to Hebron, where his followers and the southern tribe of Judah anoint him as king

  2. Abner convinces the other tribes to recognize David's claim to the throne

  3. Joab seeks revenge for his brother's earlier death at Abner's hands, and he stabs Abner in secret

  4. David's public censure of Joab and mourning for Abner wins Israel's respect

  5. The united tribes declare David King of Israel
• David conquers Jerusalem


  1. David leads the Israelites in conquering the city of Jerusalem

  2. David builds his palace there and calls it "The City of David" or "Zion"

  3. David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in an elaborate procession
• God is pleased that David has made a permanent home for the Ark and reveals a message to David's prophet, Nathan
• God vows to grant Israel rest from foreign opposition and promises that the kingdom of David will last forever
• With Joab's services, David subdues the nations of the surrounding area, expanding Israel's borders while developing diplomatic relations with the neighboring kingdoms
• David's sin with Bathsheba


  1. David summons Bathsheba and has sex with her

  2. David sends Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, to die on the battlefield

  3. Nathan confronts the king about his wrongdoing

  4. Despite David's repentance, Bathsheba's son dies during childbirth
• Absalom's plot against King David


  1. Absalom plots a conspiracy, forming an army and winning the hearts of the Israelite people

  2. Absalom's followers pronounce him king in Hebron

  3. David flees from Jerusalem with his men

  4. Absalom's forces are defeated, and Joab drives three spears into Absalom's hanging body

  5. David weeps over Absalom's death
• David rebuilds his throne with continued acts of local diplomacy and with military victories over the Philistines
• David composes a song praising God as a loving and kind deliverer, and the narrator briefly recounts the feats of David's most famous fighting men
• Solomon


  King David's son who becomes king