Samuel: “the name of God”, root is “Hearer of God”
1 and 2 Samuel were actually one book in the Hebrew Bible. One will immediately follow the other. Samuel is the last Judge to be raised up and we now will segway into the time of the kings. 1 Samuel will cover a period of about 500 years bringing us to about 586 BC when we are done. (the Old Testament ends at around 400 BC) WOW!
This book will cover 3 men that we will recognize by name: Samuel, Saul, and David. The days of the Judges were dark until God raised up Samuel, a prophet, a priest, and a judge. Samuel was committed to doing what was right in God’s eyes. Unfortunately, the people will still want a king appointed to them. God left them with Theocracy, a government under God. As we read in Judges ”
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
The Israelites refused to recognize God as their leader and King. They want an earthly King. This is called a “Transition Book”. We will transition from Judges to Kings. Now we will see the transfer to a monarchy, and then eventually a divided monarchy.
We also need to remember that the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle we read so much about has been in the same place, Shiloh. Shiloh is where God stopped the Ark from moving forward (with the cloud and fire by night), so there it remains.
If you did not print the Timeline earlier and want it now (all handouts are on the sidebar) Click here. Look how far we are!!!!
Reading the Bible - 2021 