Books of the Bible

The Book of 1 Samuel

Old Testament · History · Genre: History · Author: Not named in the text; author unknown · Chapters: 31

First Samuel tells how Israel moved from the age of judges to the age of kings, through the prophet Samuel, the tragic king Saul, and the rise of the shepherd David. It is a book about leadership, the human heart, and what God truly looks for in a king, teaching that the Lord looks not on the outward appearance but on the heart.

Start reading: 1 Samuel chapter 1

A key verse

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)

The setting and background of 1 Samuel

First and Second Samuel were originally a single book in the Hebrew Bible, later divided in two, and they belong to Israel's historical books. First Samuel is named for the prophet who anoints Israel's first two kings, though he is not its author, which is unknown. It covers the pivotal transition from the age of the judges to the age of the monarchy, spanning the lives of Samuel, Saul, and the young David.

The book is organized around these three intertwined lives. It moves from the birth and calling of Samuel, through Israel's demand for a king and the reign and rejection of Saul, to the anointing and rise of David and his long flight from a jealous king. Its dramatic centerpieces, the demand for a king, the choosing of David, and the defeat of Goliath, all press the question of what makes a true leader over God's people.

First Samuel was written to show how the monarchy began and to hold up God's standard for kingship, teaching that the Lord looks on the heart rather than the outward appearance. It sets the stage for the covenant God will make with David and for the whole hope of a coming Messiah. In the sweep of Scripture, David the shepherd-king of Bethlehem points forward to his greater Son, the true King born in that same town.

The story and structure of 1 Samuel

First Samuel opens with the barren Hannah pouring out her grief to God and vowing that if he gives her a son she will give him back. God answers, and Samuel is born and dedicated to the Lord, growing up in the tabernacle while the corrupt sons of the priest Eli disgrace their office. Samuel becomes the last of the judges and a faithful prophet who leads Israel back to God.

When Samuel grows old, the people demand a king so that they can be like the other nations. God tells Samuel that in this they are rejecting him as their king, yet he grants their request, warning them through Samuel of all that a king will take from them. The stage is set for the monarchy, born of the people's failure to trust God as their true ruler.

Saul, tall and impressive, is anointed as the first king and begins with promise. But he repeatedly disobeys, offering a sacrifice he had no right to offer and sparing what God commanded him to destroy, valuing the people's approval above obedience. Samuel tells him plainly that to obey is better than sacrifice, and that God has rejected him and sought a man after his own heart.

God sends Samuel to anoint a new king from among the sons of Jesse in Bethlehem. Passing over the older, stronger brothers, God chooses the youngest, the shepherd boy David, teaching the book's central lesson that the Lord looks on the heart. David soon steps onto the national stage by facing the giant Goliath, trusting not in armor but in the name of the Lord.

The rest of the book follows David's rise and Saul's decline. David's success stirs Saul's jealousy into a murderous obsession, and David spends years as a fugitive, sustained by his friendship with Saul's son Jonathan and by his refusal to seize the throne by force. Twice he spares Saul's life when he could have killed him, trusting God's timing rather than his own hand.

The great themes of 1 Samuel

Key passages in 1 Samuel

1 Samuel in the sweep of Scripture

First Samuel is a hinge in Israel's history, turning from the scattered leadership of the judges to the united monarchy. Its account of David's anointing and rise sets up the covenant God will make with David's house, a promise that shapes the hope of the prophets and the expectation of a coming Messiah. The book's insistence that God looks on the heart runs through the whole Bible, and David becomes the measure of kingship, the shepherd-king whose greater son the people will one day await.

Where Christ is in 1 Samuel

David, the shepherd chosen not for his appearance but for his heart, foreshadows Jesus, the true Shepherd-King born of David's line in Bethlehem. As David faced the giant no one else would face and won deliverance for his people, so Christ confronts the enemies of death and sin on our behalf. And as David waited in patient trust for the throne rather than seizing it, so Jesus walks the path of humble obedience to the kingdom the Father gives him.

How to read 1 Samuel well

Read First Samuel watching the contrast between Saul and David, and let it search your own motives, for God still weighs the heart above every outward strength. Learn from Saul that religious activity is no substitute for obedience, and from David that faith can face giants and that God's promises are worth waiting for. Let the shepherd-king of Bethlehem lift your eyes to the greater Shepherd-King who was born there long after.

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