Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel
Monday - 1 Samuel 1-4
First Samuel begins with a prayer of thanksgiving. Hannah’s prayer is a model that was used throughout the Bible. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, used parts of Hannah’s prayer. Hannah’s prayer talks about the grace of God, how God is a bedrock of love. She talks about justice and hope and how those who may seem mighty are nothing when compared to the mighty acts of salvation that God does for the world. Her prayer is prophetic as well. She prays that God will send a king that will lift up God’s people. She talks about how God uses the unimportant people to do extraordinary things. In contrast to Hannah’s piety, we see in the next chapters Eli’s sons impiety and the consequences that sin will bring.
Tuesday - Please read 1 Samuel 5-6
I have a few pet peeves in life. One of them is seeing people who obviously have no Christian belief whatsoever wear big gold necklaces or earrings with an overly large, gaudy cross on it. They wear the symbols of God, but they do not have God in their heart. Sometimes you see households that never attend church, but have a big family Bible on the coffee table that has never been picked up and read. People use the symbols of God as good luck charms. In a way, people are treating God like an idol. The same way the Israelites did with the ark and the same way the Philistines did with dagon. They learned pretty quickly that God is not a good luck charm. That the hand of God is active and alive in this world.
Wednesday - 1 Samuel 7-15
The people of Israel were beaten. Their hero Samson had been killed. The ark had been taken away. Battles had been lost. In the midst of these troubles, God raised up a new Judge in Samuel. Samuel’s message was for the people to repent of their sins and be made whole once again. And surprise! They repented. They started to do what God wanted. To love God and their neighbors. But when Samuel grew old, his sons did not carry on the same kind of holy leadership. The people did not want to slide back into despair so they pleaded with Samuel to anoint a king over then. A person who would rule them, be their leader and intercede on their behalf when they turned away from God. They did not know what they asked for. 1 Samuel 8:11-19 are the most important verses here.
Thursday - 1 Samuel 16-20
In the Bible, there are 66 chapters devoted to King David. King David is mentioned 59 times in the New Testament. His name occurs over 1,100 times. When people needed a miracle of mercy, they referred to Jesus as a “Son of David.” David played a pivotal role in the life of Israel as a nation and in the theological promises that God made to the people. A king that would rule all of the nations was a promise that God made to David. David had a lot of problems in life. But through him, God gave the promise of a Messiah that would save the world. The story of David is the greatest example of how God takes ordinary, unimportant people and use them to change the entire world.
Friday - 1 Samuel 21-31
Before David was accepted as king, he had to go through a period of rejection. Before he could reign as king, he went through a time of suffering. During the rejection and the suffering, David remained true to the love of God. Because of his continued faith, God blessed David so that he could be a blessing to others. As Christians, we too go through times of suffering and rejection. But as we maintain in the faith and stay true to our love for God, we will be a witness of grace to those around us and a blessing to them. This time in David’s life was the testing grounds of his faith. He wrote about these times often in the Psalms. Read Psalms 18; 34; 52; 54; 56; 57; 63; 124; 138; and 142.
