Bible Study

Picture # 1: the Philistine and Israelite armies massed on opposing hills, and a huge champion from the Philistines comes out to taunt the Israelites to single, hand-to-hand combat. It is believed that the Philistines originated in Crete, and this challenge is formed by tradition of the champions Paris and Hector in Homer's Iliad. However, in this picture, the nobility of the Iliad has faded. Those combatants fought for themselves, and the combat of the champions offered peace to the assembled armies. Not so, here, for Goliath challenge to Israel's putative champion is:

1 Samuel 17:9 "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."

Picture # 2: The youngest son and shepherd of a family whose elder brothers are in service in the Israelite army is sent from his home to bring supplies. He hears Goliath’s challenge. He also hears Israelite troops saying:

1 Samuel 17:25 “The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel."

After checking with two others about the reward (and fending off the disparaging comments of his oldest brother), David is brought before Saul where he offers to fight the Philistine. Saul expressed extreme doubt that David is a fit challenger, but

1 Samuel 17:37 David said, "The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you!"

Picture # 3. Taking the combat between Alexandrus (Paris) and Menelaus in Book III of the Iliad (trans., Samuel Butler) as our guide, here is how the battle between champions is supposed to be conducted:

"Alexandrus... put on his goodly armour. First he greaved his legs with greaves of good make and fitted with ankle-clasps of silver; after this he donned the cuirass of his brother Lycaon, and fitted it to his own body; he hung his silver-studded sword of bronze about his shoulders, and then his mighty shield. On his comely head he set his helmet, well-wrought, with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above it, and he grasped a redoubtable spear that suited his hands. In like fashion Menelaus also put on his armour.

"When they had thus armed, each amid his own people, they strode fierce of aspect into the open space, and both Trojans and Achaeans were struck with awe as they beheld them. They stood near one another on the measured ground, brandishing their spears, and each furious against the other. Alexandrus aimed first, and struck the round shield of the son of Atreus, but the spear did not pierce it, for the shield turned its point. Menelaus next took aim...."

In this story, as in the later combat between Hector and Ajax, gods or men intervene before anyone is killed. It is a picture of glory and nobility in war. Hector and Ajax even exchange presents as a token of friendship at the close of their fight.

Picture # 4: Following the proposed pattern, King Saul tries to fit David with armor:

1 Samuel 17:38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them.

The parallel breaks down in farce. It is God laughing.

David approaches Goliath armed only with his staff, sling, and the famous five smooth stones. Goliath is insulted:

1 Samuel 17:43 ..."Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

But this is David's reply, and it is the point of the story:

1 Samuel 17:45 "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand... so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give you into our hand."

David's single stone kills Goliath.

David is to become the model of Israel's righteous king because he understands the difference between salvation through might, as the world knows it, and the salvation that comes from God.

The story of the selection of the youngest of the sons of Jesse to be king in place of Saul charms, but the story has dark undertones and is far from simple. At the center of this chapter, lies God's assurance that he isn't fooled by outward appearance.

1 Samuel 16:7 "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature...; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

What God sees when he looks at David, we don't know, but people attribute wonderful qualities to him: ruddy complexion, beautiful eyes, handsome (v. 12 ) spirit of the Lord mightily on him, (v. 13), skilled musician, valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, "of good presence," "the Lord is with him" (v. 18)

This wholesomeness emerges out of a background of fear and conflict. The chapter opens with Samuel telling God he is afraid to follow God's instruction that he go to Bethlehem for fear that King Saul will hear of it and kill him. When he arrives in Bethlehem, the village elders to tremble in fear and ask Samuel if he comes “peaceably.” The picture is that of a police state.

When Samuel privately (secretly?) selects David from among his brothers and anoints him as the new king, the "spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David." This is immediately followed by a parallel verse:

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Saul didn't know objectively what was happening in Bethlehem, but in his spirit, there was a change and it was bad. The TNK translation is even stronger, and says, "an evil spirit from the LORD began to terrify him." The terror that he has inflicted on the land now resides in his heart.

With great irony, it is this very terror in the heart of Saul that draws him to David, its unknown and unwitting cause. Saul's servants suggest that music might ease the pain of the evil spirit, and David is brought to court to play the lyre.

1 Samuel 16:21 And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight."

This is an amazing picture: At the heart of an oppressed kingdom, Saul sits, tormented, fearful, befuddled. Yet he is, in the end, a good man, and his heart goes out in love and gratitude to David. Still, we know, that the very evil spirit tormenting Saul, which drew the two together will eventuate in Saul's murderous attacks on David. (18:10; 19:9)

Is there a lesson here? Perhaps it is same lesson that Jesus taught:

Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

Chapter 14 is proceeded by the events at Gilgal which result in Samuel warning Saul that his kingdom will be stripped from him (13:13-14), and followed by the war against the Amalekites which result in Samuel saying, "Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king." (15:23)

This surrounding material presents the divine rejection for Saul's rule, grounds that may appear picayune. In Chapter 13, we saw Samuel condemn Saul for failing to wait the prescribed time for Samuel to arrive with instructions, but, from Saul's point of view, he had waited the seven days and Samuel was the one who was late. In Chapter 15, God will reject Samuel as king for failing to carry out a command to slaughter everyone and everything in his campaign against the Amalekites. But, we hear from Samuel that he intended to carry out the slaughter only reserving the king and best animals so that they could be slaughtered later at a sacrifice before God. As Saul and Samuel argue over what happened, though, Saul finally confessed:

1 Samuel 15:24 "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

As at Gilgal, Saul is swayed by political considerations. He observes what the people are doing follows the course of policy rather than the course of obedience to God. Samuel evokes that confession when he clarifies that the real issue is not whether or not the animals and king were sacrificed. Rather the issue is obedience to the living word of God:

1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."

In Chapter 14 we see, in the contrast between Saul and Jonathan, Saul's inability to live out the fluid life of the Spirit. At Gibeah, Saul's troups now number 600 (14:2), down from the 3,000 that he and Jonathan had assembled at Gilgal (13:2). On the model of Gideon, this is a more likely number for God to be able (and willing) to work with. The key verse is:

1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will act for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few."

Jonathan attacks the thousands in the Philistine's camp accompanied only by his one servant. As the attack unfolds, the narrator reveals God's hand:

1 Samuel 14:15 There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.

Saul had not foreseen God’s willingness to act. But, as the battle continued, Saul wants to join in, but still doesn’t know if it is “okay.” He asks the priests for God’s word, but stops them from inquiring of God (14:19) when he observes that the battle is going well. He orders his troops to join, and the previous deserters return so that, by the end, "the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men." (14:23)

It is then that that Saul takes his rash oath requiring his troops not to eat until victory is won on pain of death. The oath again reveals Saul’s incapacity to trust God; he appears to hope that this oath will bribe God to act. But God is already acting, and the oath is unnecessary and rash. Not realizing that Saul had made this oath, Jonathan tastes some honey, and is later condemned for that violation. Despite Saul's intention to carry out the death sentence, the story concludes when the people "ransom" Jonathan from death. (See discussion Judges 11, where this vow is compared with that of Jephthah .) There could hardly be a clearer distinction drawn between characters of father and son, nor between wise and foolish leadership.

Saul's incapacity to be king is rooted in his inability to hear God's word and act on it. He substitutes human calculation for divine leading. Jonathan could see the moment to attack with few against many; Saul could not. Saul didn't have the inward knowledge of what to do, and wanted the priests to tell him, but couldn't wait for them. He joined in battle, but in his lack of confidence, he tried to bribe God's good will by his foolish oath.

Saul always seems befuddled. He is not a bad man, but a man who, in the end, fails to live out of the "other heart" that he was given by God (10:9). Thus, Samuel, though angry with Saul for his failures, ultimately grieves for him:

1 Samuel 15:35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

It is a tragic story, and a fitting introduction to the history of the kings which ultimately was a history of their failure to hear and obey the word of God.

Chapter 13 explains why, despite Saul's good qualities, God will ultimately strip Saul of the monarchy despite his humility and military prowess. The story is carefully constructed, and we need to recapitulate:

In Chapter 12 Samuel warned Saul and the people about the necessity of kingship to be subject to the voice of the LORD, the qol YHWH:

1 Samuel 12:15 "if you will not heed the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king"

Hidden in this warning was a reminder to Saul about his first encounter with Samuel in Chapter 10. Samuel had given Saul certain signs, amongst which where that the Spirit would rush upon him when he met a band of prophets. Samuel had told him to "do whatever you see fit to do," but reminded him of the limitation on this freedom -- that he was still accountable to the community and to God:

1 Samuel 10:8 And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."

After the victory over Nahash the king of Amon, recounted in Chapter 11, and the warning in Chapter 12, Saul's son Jonathan defeats a garrison of the Philistines at Geba while Saul calls the Israelites to him at Gilgal. The Philistines hear of this and react:

1 Samuel 13:5 The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude...

Later in this Chapter we hear that the Philistines not only have chariots, but that they have mastered the use of iron and have kept that technology from the Israelites as well.

As so often happens in the history of God's warfare, the military situation looks extremely bleak. In its fear and distress, Saul’s army hides "in caves, and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns." (1 Samuel 13:6). As Saul waits for Samuel to come, the situation deteriorates, "and the people began to slip away from Saul." (13:9) Fearing a complete collapse of his army, Saul feels compelled to take some action to rally his troops. He stages a burnt offering:

1 Samuel 13:8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering.

This is the sin for which Saul looses his monarchy.

I am curious: did Samuel wait the full seven days, and make the offering on the eighth? or did Samuel's nerve failed him on the seventh day of waiting? It is possible to understand that Samuel arrived late on the seventh day after Saul had precipitously offered sacrifice. But, the text is ambiguous, and Saul justifies himself by saying:

1 Samuel 13:11 "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed...."

To me, this is poses a difficult question, "What if God is late in fulfilling his promises?" Some commentators evade this, saying that Samuel's sin was in making a priestly offering which was not his role as king. However, the text does not make that complaint: Saul’s sin lay in not trusting God sufficiently to wait for the promised arrival of the prophet who would make the offering and bring further instructions. If the demand was to wait seven days, was Saul required to wait the eighth day? the ninth? What if God does not hold up his side of the bargain?

At any rate, as soon as Saul had finished the offering, Samuel arrives, chides him, and departs, with these fateful words:

1 Samuel 13:13 Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, 14 but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart; and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." 15 And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal.

In these stories, I often find my sympathies with the king who is condemned for looking at the military or political situation as a realist and carries out actions or policies that would be judged proper and reasonable in a secular frame of reference. The people had asked for a king like those of “other nations,” but the Kingdom of God repudiates the normal policy options of kings. Never mind that his army was slipping away, in Gilgal Saul’s divine responsibility was to wait. The key to divine warfare is, “stand and see,” (see Exodus 14:13) for the Kingdom of God finds its security in God alone. And sometimes, it seems we have to wait even longer than we had thought we were required to.

// posted by FUM Global Ministries @ 3/16/2004 12:18:18 PM

The story of Saul's defeat of Nahash the Ammonite, which extends from 1 Samuel 10:27 through Chapter 11, serves as a bridge between the act of Samuel in anointing Saul king and Samuel’s concluding speech in Chapter 12. Samuel concluded the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king with this:

1 Samuel 10:25 Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD.

This is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 17:

Deuteronomy 17:14 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me," 15 you may indeed set over you a king whom the LORD your God will choose.... 18 When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the levitical priests. 19 It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 neither exalting himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that he and his descendants may reign long over his kingdom in Israel.

In Chapter 12, in his farewell speech, where Samuel reminds the people that they have rejected God as their king by choosing to have a human king. Nevertheless, Samuel says, it is possible for this to work out:

1 Samuel 12:14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well; 15 but if you will not heed the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.

There are two elements in the story of Nahash. The first concerns the cruelty of Nahash, who gouges out the right eyes of all the Israelites who come under his subjugation. In this, he stands as the archetypical evil king and oppressor. Over against this, we have Samuel. His character is shown by the second element of the story, which concerns his response to dissent among his own people. At the time of his appointment as king:

1 Samuel 10:27 But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

In Chapter 11, Saul raises a huge army and defeats Nahash. At this, Saul's followers remember those worthless fellows:

1 Samuel 11:12 The people said to Samuel, "Who is it that said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Give them to us so that we may put them to death." 13 But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has brought deliverance to Israel."

In his response to the people on both occasions, we have an example of the rightful king envisioned by the Law -- a king who is not an oppressor like Nahash, but is himself subject to the true King. He is not afraid of dissent, nor does he rule by cruelty or oppression. Samuel does not simply substitute himself for Nahash, and in this sense, too, we see that the victory is truly God’s.