The Bible Guide - Old Testament (Updated edition)

Andrew Knowles

• Publisher: Lion Scholar
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781912552399
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Hailed as a "classic reference book" by The Right Reverend James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool, The Old Testament Guide provides readers with a complete all-in-one journey through the books of the Old Testament.

Easy to read and navigate, this volume explores, explains, and brings to life the history, stories, cultures, and messages of each book. The accessibility of Andrew Knowles' writing demystifies and contextualises many aspects of the Scriptures, and deepens our understanding of their principles, doctrine, and messages for us today.

Interspersed with boxed features that highlight key events, places, people and biblical passages, The Old Testament Guide is an ideal introduction for new scholars and interested readers alike who have little or no grounding in the subject.

1 and 2 SAMUEL

The first book of Samuel continues the story of Israel from the time of the judges to the end of the reign of King Saul. At the beginning the Israelites are a loose association of tribes. By the end they are a united nation with their own king.

Samuel is the last judge. He tries to persuade the Israelites not to have a king, but they insist. The first king, Saul, is a disappointment. He disobeys God. He is also jealous of a popular young hero – David. Samuel anoints David as Saul’s successor; but for many years David has to flee from Saul for fear of his life. The first book of Samuel ends with Saul’s death.

The second book of Samuel continues the story of God’s people, Israel. Its main theme is the reign of King David, who is Israel’s greatest king.

When David comes to power, he brings unity and peace to a divided nation and a troubled land. He defeats Israel’s enemies and establishes Jerusalem as his political and religious centre. He receives God’s promise that his descendants will rule for ever.

But David is far from perfect. In mid-life he commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers – and then tries to hide his crime by arranging the man’s death. This episode proves to be a turning point in David’s fortunes. He loses the respect of his own sons, and they cause both him and the nation great grief.

OUTLINE

Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17)

Saul (1 Samuel 8:1–15:35)

David (1 Samuel 16:1–31:13)

David becomes king (2 Samuel 1:1–10:19)

David’s weaknesses and failures (2 Samuel 11:1–18:33)

The final period of David’s reign (2 Samuel 19:1–24:25)

Introduction

In the Hebrew Bible, the two books of Samuel were a single book. When the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) was compiled, the books of Samuel and Kings were called the ‘books of the kingdoms’. In the famous English ‘Authorized (King James) Version’ they are numbered as four books of Kings. They tell a continuous history from the time of Samuel (the last of the judges), through the reigns of three great kings (Saul, David and Solomon), to the division of Israel and Judah and their eventual fall.

The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings tell the ongoing story of Israel, from the triumphant conquest of Canaan to the bitter exile in Babylon. The writers and editors show how God is at work in the lives of his people. God rewards faithfulness with success – and punishes disobedience with failure.

Samuel

Samuel is the last and greatest of the judges. He is a key figure at a time when Israel’s priesthood is corrupt, its enemies are strong and the people are demanding to have a king. Samuel warns Israel of the dangers of having a human king, but follows God’s guidance in choosing and anointing two great kings – Saul and David.

Three kings

Saul, David and Solomon are Israel’s first three kings. They are each said to reign for forty years – the Bible’s clue to a ‘complete’ period of time. If Saul dies around 1010 BC, we have some possible dates for their reigns:

Saul	1045 to 1010 BC
David	1010 to 970 BC
Solomon	970 to 930 BC

Saul

Saul is Israel’s first king. He seems to be the right choice. He is tall, with a striking appearance and a desire to lead well. However, there are occasions when he does the wrong thing – showing that he has no sure sense of God’s will. God rejects him as king, and his leadership begins to fail. Saul is a picture of our human impulse to run our lives without God.

David

David is Israel’s second and most famous king.

As a boy, he slays a giant Philistine, Goliath. Goliath symbolizes the threat and awesome power of Israel’s pagan enemies. But David simply puts his trust in God – and his skill with a shepherd’s sling.

As ‘king-in-waiting’, David gives protection and leadership to poor and disaffected people. He refuses to seize the throne by force, and twice spares King Saul’s life.

When he eventually becomes king, David defeats all Israel’s enemies and protects her borders. His reign is the only time in Israel’s history when she fully occupies all the land which God promised to Abraham.

Solomon

See 1 Kings.

Who wrote the books of Samuel and Kings?

We don’t know who wrote these books. Certainly it wasn’t Samuel. Although he is a leading character, he dies before the end of the first volume (1 Samuel 25:1)! Most of the material was written by the end of the reign of Solomon, around 900 BC. A tell-tale verse (1 Samuel 27:6) hints that the final editing took place many years later, during or after the exile of Judah in Babylon.

Mixed doubles

Sometimes the author (or editor) tells the same story twice – or even gives two different accounts of the same story. For example, it’s hard to tell whether Samuel was the foremost leader of his day or just a local circuit judge. And when exactly did David first meet Saul? Was the young man well known to the king as a musician and armour bearer – or was he a likely lad who suddenly volunteered to fight Goliath? The author gives us the stories and leaves the choice to us.

DISCOVERING 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

Samuel

The birth and call of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–3:21)

Samuel is the son of Hannah. Hannah has been childless for many years – feeling abandoned by God and a failure to her husband. At last God gives her a longed-for son. She sings a song of praise – that God can turn despair to hope and failure to triumph. He lifts the lowly and humbles the proud. This song will be echoed, centuries later, by Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46–55). Out of gratitude, Hannah gives her son Samuel, while he is still a small boy, to serve God at the shrine in Shiloh.

The priest at Shiloh is Eli. He is old and his sons, also priests, are decadent. They feed themselves from the choicest portions of the sacrifices, and sleep around with the women on their staff. Eli is warned by a prophet that God will judge this scandalous situation.

One night, God speaks to Samuel. The voice is so clear that at first Samuel thinks Eli is calling him. God tells Samuel that he is about to judge Eli and his sons – the sons for their wicked behaviour and Eli for not controlling them.

The ark is captured – and returned (1 Samuel 4:1–7:1)

Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, take the ark of the covenant into battle against the Philistines. The ark is captured and they are killed. When Eli receives the terrible news, he topples off his chair and dies. The shock also causes Phinehas’ wife to go into labour. As she dies giving birth, she calls her baby ‘Ichabod’, – which means ‘No Glory’. The presence of God has departed from Eli and his family.

A mixed blessing

Sometimes God gives us what we want – but it’s not always for the best. The monarchy is a mixed blessing for Israel – a flawed human institution which God can sometimes bless.

Although human kingship is not God’s choice, he guides Samuel to anoint Saul – a man with an impressive physique but a weak character. In time, God will bless the monarchy by raising up David – a wise, strong and caring king. David’s reign will look forward to the perfect rule of Christ. The security and justice of David’s kingdom will foreshadow the kingdom of God.

The Philistines take the ark of the covenant to the temple of Dagon, their pagan idol. Next morning they find the giant statue flat on its face. After that the presence of the ark brings disease and panic to the Philistines – and they resolve to return it to Israel.

Samuel conquers the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:2–17)

The ark of the Lord is returned to Israel. The Philistines have found that its holy presence brings death and destruction; but the Israelites aren’t worthy of it either. For twenty years it remains in a kind of quarantine at the house of Abinadab at Kiriath Jearim, the ‘city of woods’ between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. The Israelites mourn the loss of the presence of God, and begin to turn to him again.

Eventually, Samuel sends out a message to all Israel. He says that if they are ready to return to the Lord and will reject all foreign gods (especially Astarte, the Baal-goddess of fertility and war) then God will rescue them from the domination of the Philistines.

Samuel calls the tribes of Israel to assemble at Mizpah – west of the River Jordan in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. There they pour out water in the presence of God, as a sign that he alone can wash away their sins. They fast, confess their guilt and receive God’s judgment through Samuel. He is the last and greatest of the judges, ministering to the people as their military leader, prophet and priest.

‘Mizpah’ means ‘watchtower’. It is a small settlement only a few miles north of Jerusalem, whose height above the valleys makes it a good rallying point.

The Philistines hear that the Israelites are massing at Mizpah and assume that they are about to be attacked. They decide to advance their own army, and the Israelites plead with Samuel to secure God’s help. This is a very different attitude from the Israel of the past, which assumed that the presence of the ark would give automatic victory.

The Philistines

It is hard for us to accept that God commands the complete destruction of the Amalekites and their possessions. Is this really the fate he demands for the vile and perverted peoples of Canaan? Certainly he would want Israel to be uncompromising with the beliefs and practices of paganism. Even keeping some plunder from a battle can sow the seeds of greed in God’s holy people. Ethnic cleansing may have been the Israelites’ best guess at what God wanted them to do. Jesus will show God as merciful towards traditional enemies. On one occasion he forbids James and John to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village (Luke 9:54–55).

Rough justice?

Israel’s chief enemy at this time is Philistia. The Philistines are a seafaring people who have settled in the coastal region between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Their technology is more advanced than Israel’s, and they make their weapons and armour from iron. Meanwhile, Israel is still in the Bronze Age, and her weapons are less effective.

Samuel offers a sacrifice and prays for God’s help in the crisis. As the smoke rises from the burnt offering, the Lord sends a great thunderstorm upon the Philistines, which throws them into confusion and forces them to flee. The Israelites pursue them, having the advantage of chasing them downhill. To mark such a great deliverance, Samuel sets up a memorial stone. He calls it Ebenezer, which means ‘stone of help’. It was a place called Ebenezer which had been the site of Israel’s last defeat (4:1), but now God has granted repentance and success.

The Philistines cause no further trouble to Israel during Samuel’s lifetime. He makes an annual circuit, spending time at Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah to hear cases and make judgments. By so doing, he restores and sustains the relationship of the people with their God. Each of the places is a sanctuary where God is worshipped; and Samuel builds a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Author’s Preface
• What is the Bible?
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 and 2 Samuel
• 1 and 2 Kings
• 1 and 2 Chronicles
• Ezra and Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• The Deuterocanonical Books
• Index