Samuel 16 Research Paper

Even as Samuel wrestled with God, God told him & the nation what a king would demand, and take from them. However, they shouted out they still wanted a king and to be like other nations. They didn’t care they would accept and deal with the cost associated with their request. They wanted what they wanted and it didn’t matter. We are the same today we want what we want it and don’t consider the cost, but as is often said, the devil is in the details or the cost as we see here.

The ultimate goal here is to challenge the writer find a definitive reason for the downfall of King David who is said to be a man after God’s own heart.

Why should Samuel be described as a king maker and a king breaker? God had dedicated Samuel from a very young age that he would be the one to replace Eli as the king of Israel (Tullock, 2006). The fact that God saw him to be a king automatically made him the king maker, but at the same time, Samuel felt that Saul was befitting to be a king, against the instructions of God which led to his consequent punishment by God. 12.

In 1 Samuel 9:2 It states: “Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.” Saul by all accounts was a charismatic and liked man, and the people of Israel seemed to be smitten by him. Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, being anointed by Samuel (1 Samuel 10:1) and his kingship was established after the Israelites victory at Jabesh-Gilead. Saul though was a disobedient man, as Hindson and Yates wrote “The people seemed to focus on Saul’s outward appearance rather than heart.” Saul started to make foolish, disobedient, and strange decisions.

In 2 Samuel 11-12, King David provokes the retributive actions of God. He commits adultery, impregnates a woman that is not his wife, and then has her husband killed. Yet, through all of David’s bad decisions, God still has trust in him and forgives David of his sins. Therefore, I will argue that 2 Samuel 11-12 supports the kingship of King David by showing that although David is only human and can make bad decisions, God still trusts him to be the King of Israel.

Part 1: Question #1 – Is there something new that I’ve learned in my study of this part of 1 Samuel?

The Lord commanded the prophet, Samuel, to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons as Saul’s successor. When he arrived to Jesse’s house, he learned that Jesse had eight sons. Samuel asked Jesse to bring forth his sons so that he could consecrate them to the Lord. Jesse brought the oldest ones proudly, hoping that one of them was the one Samuel was seeking for. However, all of them were not chosen by the Lord, for the Lord did not look at the appearance of them, but gazed on the heart. As Samuel rejected all the sons that Jesse had brought forth, he asked Jesse if he had any additional sons. Jesse then summons up his youngest son, David, who was out tending to the sheep. When David stood before Samuel, the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint David as Israel’s succeeding king.

In the second book of Samuel chapters 11 and 12, David commits a crime of murder as a solution to his faulty sexual actions. After committing this crime and marring the wife of whom he murdered, God sends Nathan, a prophet, to confront him about his disgraceful sins. To allow David to fully understand the extent of the crime in which he commits, Nathan presents a scenario to him. The scenario sheds light the life of a poor man, who has nothing but a sheep in which he nurtures as if it were his child, on the other hand, there is a wealthy man, who has thousands of sheep and everything that one could dream of. There is a traveler that is in need of a place to dine. He travels to the wealthier home and is immediately turned down, he then travels

The Lord called Samuel to be the first of Israel’s great prophets at time when much of Israel was in a state of disunity. As the people called for a king to control the land, Samuel would serve as the last of the Judges and a link between God and His people. Samuel’s mother, Hannah, was originally declared barren, but was granted a son after praying to God begging for a child. Hannah promised God that if she was given a child that the baby would serve the Lord in his life. Thus, Hannah gave Samuel to a priest named Eli (Bible).

Arnold and Beyer (2015) put it best when they described the type of prophet and leader Samuel was to the people of Israel, "This man of God served the people faithfully and honestly, seeking only God's best for them" (p.171). Samuel was dedicated to serve His Lord and was a positive spiritual influence in helping Israel during the time of great sin and immorality that had plagued them for so long. Even prior to Samuel's conception, he was destined to be a true follower and was dedicated to the Lord's service:

The person whom Samuel anointed as first king of

However, even though anointed by God to be a ruler, Saul struggles to be both righteous and just. Saul was anointed by God to be a ruler among Gods people; however, Saul has not carried out God’s command after he was anointed from God to be a king over his people. When Samuel, the judge of Israel, became old and his sons did not follow in God’s way, the Israelites demanded a king to govern them, like other nation (1 Samuel 8.5). Since Israelites have rejected God from being king over them, God has anointed the king named Saul (1 Samuel 8.17). However, Saul has continuously has not carried out God’s command.

1 Samuel chapters 13- 15 tells a story of Saul and provides a window into the character in Saul’s comfort zone of a war. In this pericope Saul is painted as a king of the people rather then a king of God. This disassociation from the one who allowed him to become king forms the crux of the conflict and brings trials upon Saul where his true character is revealed. In the march from tragic hero to villain in the development of Saul chapters 13-15 show a clear transition point. My moving towards disobedience Saul makes a move father from God and is left with the consequences of such an action.

The exclamation mark shows that Samuel is very confident that Eliab is the chosen one just based on his looks. While the reader does not know what Eliab or the other sons look like, it can be inferred that he had the physical characteristics of an expected leader or king, maybe being big and strong. In 16:7, the Lord tells Samuel that he is wrong and warns him not to judge people. When doing this, he talks about himself in the third person. “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” By speaking about himself in the third person, God shows his superiority over Samuel, and ultimately all humans. He also makes it clear that he not only does things differently, but better than people too. The word ‘looks’ seems to suggest that God can actually see the hearts of his people and therefore know who is good. Humans can see a person’s appearance, but God can see a person’s character. He shows his power over Samuel by scolding him about judging people and then explaining how he is better than him for not judging by appearance. He establishes himself as the ultimate judge of character. This whole portion of text is meant to show God’s power and righteousness over

When the prophet comes to his father’s house, he is looking over the brothers of David to see if they would be a fitting replacement of Saul. However, God has to remind Samuel not to make the same mistake that was made before by the people. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). After assessing all David’s brothers, Samuel asks if there is another son. Jesse, David’s father, seems to say, “Yes there is, but you don’t want him because he tending the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). It turns out that that was God’s choice.