Lesson 7
I Samuel 12:1-13:15
November 11, 2015
Valerie Mau
Problems Already?
Heart Issues or Trust and Obey
I.
Samuel’s Speech- I Samuel 12
a. Samuel’s Faithfulness-(v. 1-5)
a. He has not taken ox, donkeys, bribes, not cheated, not oppressed; did not
try to benefit himself by taking advantage of them (contrast Eli’s
sons/king?)
b. If so, I will make it right
c. Compare to Moses Numbers 16:15
d. Compare to Paul Acts 20:33-34
b. God’s Past Faithfulness and Israel’s Past Unfaithfulness (v. 6-11)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Moses and Aaron
Judges
Deliverance over and over again
The indictment: “They forgot the Lord their God”
“When you saw Nahash…”
c. Israel’s Current Condition (v. 12-25)
a. Asking for a king/rejecting God-Samuel’s concern: Can Israel keep her
covenant relationship with God and have a king?
b. Obedience vs disobedience
Obediencehope based on God’s commitment not their merit
DisobedienceGod’s hand against you!
c. What is required?
FearServeObeyFollowConsider (remember)-WHOLEHEARTED!
d. The sign: thunder-Yahweh will continue to speak through the prophets
(Sinai)]
Please don’t begin to spout any nonsense about how wrong it is to
motivate by fear. Why then did Paul write Colossians 3:6 after 3:5? What
matters is whether there is a true basis for fear. If there is reason to
tremble, we out to tremble. If God grants us a sight of our own sin and of
his displeasure, we can be sure he does not do so merely to see us
tremble, but to see us tremble and be restored. (Davis)
e. Samuel’s continued role: intercession and instruction. He acts as priest and
prophet (end of the judges period and into the monarchy period)
*Compared to Moses in Deut 28- blessings and curses (end of the
Exodus period)
*Compared to Joshua in Joshua 23-24 choose you this day…(end of
the conquest period)
“Both [Joshua and Samuel] link the current generation of Israelites to the
Mosaic covenant…Samuel’s farewell address serves as a “second chance”
for Israel. They have sinned but God has incorporated their failure into his
own plans…each time Israel fails it seems Yahweh reestablishes the
covenant and recommits himself to never abandon them.” (Arnold)
II.
Saul’s Impatience and Presumption- I Samuel 13:1-15
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Timing is very unclear (something is missing)-When? How old?
Jonathan appears
On the offense? Who’s taking the lead?
Outnumbered, scattering
“When I saw the men…and YOU didn’t come…and the
Philistines…”(2Cor. 5:7)
f. Saul makes the offering. This is a test! Will Saul rely on God via Samuel or
rely on himself?
g. Samuel rebukes Saul- You fool! What did he do?
“He fails to accept the structure of authority established for him by Yahweh
and his prophet Samuel at the time of his appointment. Indeed, in many
respects this is the anatomy of sin. First comes the tyranny of the urgent, the
encroaching pressure from surrounding circumstances. This is followed by
the insecurity and self-doubt arising from a lack of total reliance on God.
Finally, there follows the rebellion itself—the pitiful human attempt to take
matters into our own hands which is tantamount to usurping, or at least
presuming upon, the authority of God. This is the picture of sin
demonstrated in the Garden of Eden as the paradigm of human failure,
and as we all know too well, at least in our most honest moments, it is a
pattern repeated many times in our own lives. ( Arnold)
h. The consequences- no enduring dynasty
i. Samuel departs, Saul is on his own.
j. A man after God’s own heart- what does that look like? A man who has
God’s interests at heart.
God is looking AT THE HEART!
David Jesus
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Psalm 40:7-8 “I delight _____________________________
John 4:34 “My food is______________________________
John 5:19 “I can do only____________________________
John 5:30 “I seek not to please_______________________
John 6:38 “I have come to do________________________
John 8:28-29 “I am telling you________________________
Matt 26:39 “Yet, not as I will but______________________
How can we be women after God’s own heart? How can we demonstrate our love for Him?
o Love the things He loves: People, sinners, His body, His Word, the oppressed,
o Hate the things He hates: sin, hypocrisy, pride, greed.
o Obedience to what He has shown us.
Application:
1. How can I/do I demonstrate my love for God? Do I think about or ask God what His will is for
me?
2. How can I be a woman after God’s own heart? What might this look like in my life?
3. Am I faithful to the things I know God has given me to do?
4. Do I have the tendency to take things into my own hands rather than waiting for God to lead me?
How can I work on changing this?
5. Pray and meditate on Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me O God and know my heart; test me and
know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.”
References:
Arnold, Bill T. The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Samuel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Baldwin, Joyce G. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: I and 2 Samuel. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 1988.
Brueggemann, Walter. First and Second Samuel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990.
Davis, Dale Ralph. I Samuel: Looking on the Heart. Fearn, Ross-Shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus
Publications, 2000.
Longman, Tremper III and Gartland, David E, general editors, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1
Samuel-2 Kings. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Petersen, Eugene. The Message. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.