Deuteronomistic Themes In 1 Samuel

In 1 Kings 1-12 we start off by learning that David is becoming old and cold, for this reason his son Adonijah believes he is ready to take the throne. Nathan asks David if it’s truth about Adonijah becoming King and then David pronounces Solomon as King. Now that David had died and given some orders to Solomon, Adonijah wants Abishag as his wife, but Solomon refuses. Solomon now wants to construct a house in the name of the Lord and asks Hiram for help. Solomon gathers the congregation of Israel and then says some words in respect to the God of Israel and his love for them. Now that Solomon is dead, Rehoboam is next to become king, but Jeroboam and the assembly ask him not to be like his father.

He was described to be the most handsome man in Israel; he stood head and shoulders above the people. (1 Samuel 9:2) The story of Saul started when Saul was anointed by the Prophet Samuel while he was looking for his father’s asses. His relationship with Samuel also started from that moment. In 1Samuel 13: 11 we see that Samuel was not pleased when Saul offered the burnt offering; Then he was angry with Saul when Saul did not follow the instructions given (1Samuel 15:11).

Here with Saul, he has failed to do what God wanted and off he goes, “If Samuel cannot find me for a few days, maybe this will go away”, maybe this is what Saul thought as he went from place to place. We see what guilt did for Adam, Eva and Saul in this; it pushed them to hide from God and Samuel, guilt from their own disobedience.

The book of 2 Samuel tells the story of King David and his rise to power, as well as reign- the good and the bad. The focus here will be on 2 Samuel, chapters eleven through thirteen, which depict some of the darker times in David’s rule.

The Heart of the Old Testament written by Ronald Youngblood is an extraordinary book that makes logical sense to the Youngblood’s approach to the OT. Youngblood identifies the nine themes that form the pillar of the Old Testament. These themes show that the Old Testament is not any different from the New Testament and should not be consider entirely irrelevant when compared to the New Testament. The nine themes include monotheism, sovereignty, election, covenant,

Understanding one’s family history and where you come from is important to any person's sense of self, and is equally important for Saul’s character. When at God’s Lake as a child, a place special to the Indian Horse family, Saul learns more on the history of his family. “[He] could see a camp of a dozen wigwams at the foot of the great cliff. Women were scraping hides stretched out on poplar frames while the children ran around them.” The land is relevant to Saul’s understanding of himself because he only has these kinds of visions where he learns about the past on the land. Upon learning about the land and family history, he takes that with him everywhere he goes. After wandering aimlessly for a decade, Saul comes back to God’s lake where he has a supernatural vision of Shabogeesick where “he swept his arm to [. . .] the lake, the shore and the cliff behind us. [He says] ‘You’ve come to learn to carry this place within you. This place of beginnings and endings.’” In Saul’s vision of his great-grandfather, the significance of the land in his journey is vocalized. In order to know where are you going, you have to know where you have been. The land plays a vital role in helping Saul know where he is going by teaching him his family history and where he has been.

However, Saul is soon abandoned by God because of his disobediences. Yet, Saul’s disobedience is controversial. Patricia K. Tull, the author of “1 and 2 Samuel” in Theological Bible Commentary, argues, “Saul’s exact offense is unclear, and commentators struggle to reconstruct it, augmenting the impression that he was given a test with no correct choices.” In contrast, Marvin Sweeney, the professor of the Hebrew Bible in Claremont School of Theology, asserts, “Although the narrative can hardly be considered anti-monarchic, it takes care to raise concerns about the character of kingship and its costs to the nation at large and it demands that proper kingship in Israel must be exercised in accordance with the divine will.” In this view, Saul has not been accorded with God’s will. Then, is this God’s intentional choice? If it is true, why he does this? If God did not choose Saul as the king, it would be possible that he is not deserted from God. Bible

1 Samuel 15:29: It describe Jonathan Saul’s son went to David in the woods how God

When Saul and his servant came across Prophet Samuel’s path they caught each other’s attention. The

At the end of Genesis and into exodus, we see a God who is delivering a people out of slavery and promising this same people a literal land of their own. He promised to be their God. We find moving into exodus that Jacob and Joseph are dead. In Exodus, we see God taking the blessings of Egypt to Jacob and his seed making it bondage to prepare their heart to be His people. Deuteronomy teaches the people how they will live in the promised land. Moses was used of God to lead them out of Egypt and to prepare the new generation to be His people, but Moses could not enter the promised land (Deuteronomy 34:4, HCSB). As Deuteronomy ends God provides new leadership, but His words live on with the people. He continues to choose to work among them. They conquer the land He promised with His guidance and by their obedience to His commands. In conclusion, the storyline from

The character of Nathan in II Samuel is extremely complex. We can perceive this in his words and actions in response to David’s deeds, as well as in the general traditions of the Hebrew prophets and their relation to more generalized Near Eastern traditions.

Deuteronomy is a pivotal book in the Old Testament for several reasons. Thought it is the last book in the Pentateuch it seems to be transitional in nature. Deuteronomy opens with all of Israel on the plains of Moab waiting to enter the land that the Lord God had promised their forefathers to give to them (Num. 33:48; 36:13). This is a new generation, for the older generation, which the Lord led out of Egypt, has died in the wilderness. This new generation was not alive when the first covenant was made, thus it would make sense that they would have to renew the covenant. They will also enter the Promised Land, a place that their forefathers only hoped to enter, not even Moses would be able to enter. How will the Lord address this new generation before they enter the Promised Land?

In the book of 1 Samuel, we learn about the life of King Saul, who even though he started off very well, he didn’t finish very well. There is a cliche that sums up the life of King Saul, which says, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” However, Saul’s disobedient actions, unfortunately, derailed what possibly could have been a God honoring rule over Israel. In order to understand Saul, we need to take a look into his life and how he lived before he became king.

Saul had previously wiped out all of the mediums and wizards from the land because they were evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Because of his realized hypocrisy, he disguised himself and visited the medium his servants had sought out in Endor. He told the medium to call upon Samuel and so she immediately suspected that he is Saul. She knew that her work was extremely illegal by Saul's court, so she became afraid until he reassured her that he was permitting the act in that occasion. She then called upon Samuel. Samuel apparently took over the medium's body or appears in some other way to Saul. So Saul did what he came there for and asked for advise on his latest predicament. The irritated and disturbed Samuel explained that Yahweh is taking away his kingdom and giving it to David because of his disobedience of not carrying out the Lord's punishment against the Amalekites (according to Mc Carter the dead had some way of knowing God's plans and had access to them). So, Saul fell to the ground in anguish from the news and lack of energy caused by fasting. The medium quickly attended to him and forced him to eat. Saul and his servants then left. And there the chapter ends.

In The Bible there are multiple ideal societies which are presented, each denoted by the God's approval of that society and its leader. One of these societies is that portrayed in the story of Saul. In this story Samuel, a prophet of God, is given the task of revealing Saul, the ruler who is specified