1-2 Samuel

1 Samuel

The book starts off with stories about Samuel. This is important because it proves that Samuel is speaking for God (he is a prophet). Therefore, when he anoints Saul king, we know that is what God wants. When he rejects Saul and anoints David instead, we know that that is what God wants.

This book has a lot of interesting stories, but the main point is that Saul is not a good king and God has chosen David instead. Saul sins and so God rejects him. David proves that he will be a good king by doing things like killing Goliath, not killing Saul, and saving the Israelites in Keilah.

Jonathan is a hero of the story because he serves David (and helps him to survive) even though he knew that David was going to be the next king instead of him.

2 Samuel

The most important part of this book is chapter 7 because here God promises David that his descendants (son, grandson, etc.) will always be the king. This is important because this did not happen with Saul; God rejected him and Jonathan never became king. It is even more important because of the promise that one of David’s sons would rule forever. This is talking about the Messiah.

The first half of the book is mostly positive stories about David. After his sin with Bathsheba (ch. 11), the rest of the book is mostly the negative results in his life. There are several lessons in this. One is that even though God forgives the repentant sinner, there may be lifelong (and devastating) consequences. Another is that even though David sinned, God did not take his promises away.

The book ends with a story that prepares you for 1 Kings: the choosing of the place where the temple would be. Thus in 1-2 Samuel, God chooses an everlasting dynasty (David), his everlasting capital (Jerusalem), and the place of his own house (the temple).