The Heart of God: Judges through 1 Samuel (3)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on 1 Samuel 15, 16, 18, 28, and 31.
Saul led the people of Israel out of the starting-gate toward monarchy, but he was not the man to bring them to the first full expression of His Kingdom. From Saul we learn about the faithfulness of God, even amid the faithlessness of His people. And that’s the story of God’s covenant.

For reflection
1.  Saul was not a man of God’s Word. He was a king who believed in God, but not one who trusted Him. How can you see that in these chapters?

2.  God had to let Saul become king in order to remind the people of His Word to them about kings. Instead of being a man committed to God’s Word, Saul became a man committed to Saul. Nevertheless, he had proved the value of Israel’s having a king – just not him. How can we see in God’s choice of David that God continues to be faithful to His people even when they are not keeping faith with Him?

3.  Meditate on 1 Samuel 16.7. What is God looking for in His leaders and His people? What does this mean?

4.  How can you see, at the end of Saul’s life, that taking God’s Word lightly and seeking great things for yourself can only lead to bad endings?

5.  So, at the end of 1 Samuel, we seem to be back to Judges 21 – except for one thing. What’s that? God has been faithfully at work in the background preparing for the deliverance of His people. Even as Israel’s political hopes die on the battlefield, her spiritual hopes are being revived in the person of David. How does this counsel God’s people today as we seek from Him mercy and grace to help in our time of need?

Summary
Saul’s demise marks the end of the first phase of this new stage of Israel’s covenant relationship with God. It was inevitable that this should end as it did; but it was also inevitable that God’s covenant and promises should not fail. What do we learn from 1 Samuel about the kinds of leaders God uses in bringing His people more fully into His covenant and promises?

Closing Prayer
O LORD God of hosts,
How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Psalm 80.4-7

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understand the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.