Old Testament Scriptural Summaries and Commentary
1 Samuel, Chapters 9-17
Gospel Doctrine Class, Sunday School Lesson 22 - 
"The Lord Looketh on the Heart"

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

1 Samuel Chapters 9 – 10 The anointing of King Saul, the first king of Israel

The scriptures describe Saul as “a choice young man,… and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he” (v. 9:2).  By every indication, he was honest, reliable, selfless and caring—an all around promising candidate for king.  He was tall ("higher than any of the people") and comely or handsome of face.  He was of the tribe of Benjamin; his father was reputed to be “a mighty man of power” (v. 9:1-3).  While on an errand looking for his father’s donkeys in the country [near Bethlehem], he and his servant come close to a place where he knew Samuel the prophet [also called seer, v. 9:9] was often found as he traveled about the country.  Because they had not found the donkeys Saul said to his servant, "there is in this city a man of God,…peradventure he can shew [show] us our way that we should go."

They ask maidens drawing water from the well if Samuel is in the city and they said, “As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him…” (v. 9:13).  As Samuel was walking toward the altar of the “high place” to officiate at a sacrifice blessing, he saw Saul and his servant coming through the city gate.  The previous day, the Lord had spoken to Samuel and said: “To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people of Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines” (v. 9:16).  The Spirit of the Lord told Samuel, “Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! This same shall reign over my people” (v. 9:17) and he recognized Saul as that man.  Saul asked Samuel where the seer’s house was and the old man replied that he was the seer and he invited Saul to accompany him; and he told him his father’s lost asses had been found. Out of the blue, Samuel said to Saul, “And on whom is all the desire of Israel [for a king]? Is it not on thee and on all thy father’s house?" 

(vv. 9:18-20). 

Saul was stunned and asks Samuel why he is speaking to him in that way. Saul answered Samuel asking, "Am I not Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?" (v. 9:21).  And Samuel takes Saul with him to the “high place” and they eat and talk together the rest of the day.  When they returned to the city, the next morning about dawn, Samuel walked to the city gate with Saul and his servant.  He told Saul to send the servant on ahead and said to Saul, “…stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God” (v. 9:27). 

Chapter 10 – Then Samuel took a vial of oil and anointed the head of Saul [to be the first king of Israel] (v. 10:1).  Samuel told Saul that when he departed that day, he will meet two men who would tell him the asses had been found; as he traveled he will then meet three men "going up to God to Beth-el" and they will give him two loaves of bread; finally, as he approaches "the hill of God" he will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place "and they shall prophesy."  Samuel continues, "and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."  And when Saul turned to leave “…God gave him another heart” and all those signs came to pass that day (vv. 10:2-9).

Now as Saul and his servant near the hill, a company of prophets meet him as prophesied by Samuel.  The Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesies among them.  And the people who knew him exclaim, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" And when he finished prophesying, he went to the high place (vv. 10: 10-13).

So Samuel calls all the children of Israel together to Mizpeh [in Benjamin].  He reminds them that they have rejected God and demanded a king.  He called the tribes to present themselves before the Lord (v. 10:19-20).  When the tribe of Benjamin came forward, Saul was not with them but the Lord told them he had hid himself.  And the Benjamites found him and brought him to Samuel who presented him to the people as the one "whom the Lord had chosen" [to be king].  And all the people shouted, and said, "God save the king” (v. 10:17-24).  And Samuel sent the people away and he went home to Gilbeah. "The children of Belial despised him" but Saul ignored them. "The term Belial means “worthless” or “wicked” (see Bible Dictionary, “Belial,” 620).

1 Samuel Chapters 11 – 12  Saul defeats the Ammonites

Nahash, king of the Ammonites, and his army attack the tribes of Israel who live east of the Jordan River.  The Israelites agree to make a covenant of peace in exchange for their service.  And the cruel king agrees on the condition that every man let them blind their right eye.  They ask for a seven day truce and send word to Saul pleading for him to come and rescue them.  Saul takes two oxen, cuts them into parts and sends them to all of Israel with this message: “Whoso ever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen” (v. 11:7).  And thirty thousand men come from Judah and three hundred thousand come from all the other tribes and they unite together in one body.  The next day they take the Ammonite army by surprise, and slay them “into the heat of the day” and those who remain are scattered (v. 11:11).  The people want those who opposed Saul "put them to death," but Saul said, "There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel" (v. 11:13).  “And all the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly” (v. 11:15). 

1 Samuel  Chapter 12  Samuel speaks to the people 

At the victory celebration in Gilgal, Samuel, being an old man, comes before all Israel and says to them, “Behold here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you” (vv. 12:1-3).  Samuel had served this people practically from his birth and they have rejected him in favor of a king.  The people said to him, “Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand” (v. 12:4).  Then he tells them if they serve and obey the Lord they will keep his commandments, but if they don’t the hand of the Lord will be against them (vv. 12:14-15).  Then Samuel shows them the power of the Lord by calling down “thunder and rain” in the harvest season when it never rains (v. 12:17) because they ask for a king.  “And the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel” (v. 12:18).   And they knew that they had sinned.  Samuel tells them if they “do wickedly” both they and their king “shall be consumed.”  He is really telling them it doesn’t matter whether or not they have a king; what matters is that they live righteously and serve God (vv. 24-25).

1 Samuel Chapters 13-15  Saul wrongly offers sacrifices/ War with the Philistines/ The downfall of Saul  

The Ammonite nomads had been beaten.  However, in the southern coastal areas, the Philistines have become a strong military force.  Now Saul has been king for two years.  He divides his army of three thousand men into one group of two thousand under his command at Michmash, and one thousand under his son, Jonathon’s command at Gilbeah.  Jonathan is successful and takes over his garrison in Geba but the Philistines take it as the signal for a full-scale war and start to gather all their chariots and horseman at Michmash.  When the Israelites saw the strength of the Philistines, they become afraid and hide themselves in caves and rocks, high places and pits (v. 13:6).   

Now Saul makes the first of three bad mistakes 

Saul waited for seven days in Gilgal for Samuel to come and make a peace offering to the Lord. But when Samuel didn’t come when he was supposed to, Saul made the burnt offering himself (v. 13:9).  When Saul assumed the unrighteous role of the Priest, the Lord rejected Saul; and Samuel said to him, “Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee; for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee” (v. 13:14).  

The Lord delivered into the hand of Saul's son, Jonathan, a garrison of the Philistines.  And, the scriptures say there was great "trembling" in the field, and among the people of the Philistines so much so that "the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another" (v. 14:15-16).  "So the LORD saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven" (v. 14:23).

Saul’s second mistake occurs when all the men of Israel are distressed for Saul had "adjured" [commanded] the people saying, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food” (v. 14:24).  But Jonathan, Saul’s son, who didn’t know of the command, while he was in the woods saw a hive of wild honey.  Being tired and hungry, he dipped his rod into the honey and ate as he went along.  Some of the men saw him eat and told him about his father’s command.  And Jonathan was angry with his father as he believed they could have killed more Philistines had they been nourished during the day.  After a victory over the Philistines due to Jonathan’s cunning and strategy, that night the people take the cattle of the Philistines and eat the meat without draining the blood (which is against the Lord’s law) because they are so hungry.  When Saul found out that Jonathan had unwittingly tasted the honey, he determined to fulfill his oath by slaying Jonathan.  But the men of Israel said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel?  God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day.  So the people rescued Jonathan that he died not.” (v. 14:45). The scripture states, “And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul” (v. 14:52). 

1 Samuel 15  Saul disobeys the Lord’s command to destroy the Amalekites

Saul’s final mistake is the result of disobedience.  Samuel said unto Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD."  And Samuel  tells Saul to go smite the Amalekites and to destroy everything they have.  And Saul gathers two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah to do battle (vv. 15:1-4).  Yet, when he finds Agag, the king of the Amalekites, he keeps him alive (v. 15:8).  He also does not destroy the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, and the lambs 

(vv. 1-9).

That night the word of the Lord came to Samuel that Saul had not obeyed his commandments.  When Samuel confronts Saul in the morning, Saul answers," "Blessed be thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD."  When Samuel hears the bleating of the sheep, Saul told him that he had been obedient but the people had saved them for a great sacrifice.  And Samuel said, "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (v. 15:22).  Then Samuel deals the final blow: “For rebellion is as the sin of iniquity and idolatry.  Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (v. 15:23).  Samuel already knows that the Lord is about to give “the kingdom of Israel” to another who is Saul’s neighbor [David] (vv. 15:28-29). 

 And Samuel asks for Agag, the Amalekite king, to be brought to him.  And he kills the evil king with a sword before the Lord in Gilgal (vv. 15:32-33).  The scripture states, “Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented [regretted] that he had made Saul king over Israel” (v. 15:35).

1 Samuel Chapter 16  David is anointed king/Saul is possessed with an evil spirit

Chapter 16  David anointed in secret

The Lord tells Samuel to "fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons" (v. 16:1).  He tells Samuel to do it in the guise of going there to sacrifice to the Lord because if Saul knew, he would kill Samuel.  As he saw the seven sons of Jesse, he thought that surely Eliab was the one, but none were chosen by the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;…for the LORD seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (v. 16:7).  So Jesse's eighth and youngest child, David, a shepherd boy, is called in from tending his father's sheep.  Then Samuel takes the oil and anoints him to be king, "and the spirit of the LORD came upon him, [David] from that day forward" (v. 16:13).

The Lord has completely left Saul and he becomes possessed with an evil spirit.  As the years pass, Saul's servants tell him about a "player on an harp" they know about who might help make him well (v. 16:16).  "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him" (v. 16:18).  David is summoned to the king's house where he plays the harp to soothe King Saul; "so Saul was refreshed and was well; and the evil spirit departed from him" (v. 16:23).  And David finds "favour" in the king's house and becomes the armor bearer to the king (v. 16.21).

Chapter 17  David slays Goliath

The Philistines have again come out of the plains into Judah to war with King Saul and the Israelites.  Each army was on opposite mountains with the valley of Elah in the middle.  The Philistines challenge the Israelites to a "duel of the champions" that would avoid total bloodshed and the expense of war.  Both sides agree in advance to be bound by the result of the combat between two individuals who represent their side.  The Philistines had already chosen a "giant" man named Goliath who was over nine feet tall and a fierce warrior (v. 17:4).  The question was who would represent the Israelites.  And Goliath said, "Why are ye come to set your battle in array?  Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul?  Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.  If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.  I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together!" (vv. 17:8-10).

Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine" (v. 17:32).  Saul protested that David was but a youth and Goliath a man of war.  But David knew the Lord would protect him as he had when his father's sheep were attacked by a lion and a bear.  David told Saul that he killed both of them; "and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God" (v. 17:36).  And Saul said, "Go, and the LORD be with thee" (v. 17:37).

So David took only his shepherd's sling that he had spent long hours practicing and perfecting his aim while tending his father's sheep, and went up against the giant.  And he said, "This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee;…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,…for the battle is the LORD's and he will give you into our hands" (v. 17: 46-47).  And David with his sling, and stone to the forehead, killed and cut off the head of Goliath with his own sword.  And the men of Israel and Judah chased the Philistines all the way back to the gates of their cities and there was a great slaughter.  And the Israelites returned to the abandoned tents of the Philistines and gathered up all their spoils. (v. 17:53).