I & II Samual
Medium
I & II Samual is represented by a book made of sheep or cow skin. In those days when paper for scrolls was not readily available, stories would often be written down on the durable hides of animal skin. This is also an homage to the main character of Samual, (King David) as he was a shepherd in his early years.
Images/Stories Depicted:
Sheep/Cow skin book
Shepards Crook
Warriors Spear
Hannah & Samuel
Saul – Israel’s 1st King
David & Goliath
Saul trying to kill David
David and Bathsheba
David the Psalmist with harp
I Samuel
Authors: Samuel, Nathan, Gad & unknown scribes
Genre: History
Audience: The Hebrew People
Written: ~900 BC
Chapters: 31
Words: 20,839
Period Covered: ~1150 -1000 BC
II Samuel
Authors: Nathan and Gad, with records from Samuel
Genre: History
Audience: The Hebrew People
Written: ~900 BC
Chapters: 24
Words: 17,170
Period Covered: ~1000 – 975 BC
Bible Project Links
Most Popular Verse
I Samual
First Samual tells the stories of Samuel, Saul and David, as recounted by Samuel and scribes. It is written in story form and includes great stories of anointings, battles, betrayal, pride and humility. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
1-7 – Samuels story starts with his mother Hannah, who has never been able to have children. God finally blesses her with a child and she sings a song praising the Lord and alluding to a Messianic King. She dedicates Samual to the Lord, and he serves the high priest in the tabernacle from a young age. The Philistines rise to power as the main enemy of the Israelites. They battle, and steal the Arc of the covenant, which causes God to send plagues on them.
8-31 – The people of Israel grumble and complain to Samual about wanting a King. Samual reluctantly goes to the lord and eventually selects Saul as the kind. Saul is initially humble serving God, and successful and blessed as a king. But eventually gets arrogant and prideful, causing his downfall. Samual searches for a new king and finds the shepherd boy David, anointing him with a blessing. David continues to shepherd sheep, and eventually has his classic showdown with Goliath. But unlike Saul, he remains humble, and continues to be blessed by the Lord, becoming a mighty warrior. David becomes best friend’s with Saul’s son Jonathan. Saul becomes jealous of David’s popularity and rise to prominence. He tries to kill David and chases him into the desert. David hides in a cave where he could have killed Saul when he entered the cave to relieve himself. But David said that he would not touch the Lord’s anointed and only cut a small corner of his robe to prove he could have killed him but didn’t. David has other opportunities to kill Saul, but humbly refuses. The book ends with Sauls eventual death in battle, falling on his own sword.
II Samual
The book of second Samuel picks up the story of David, now anointed as King of Israel. It covers many successes and victories of Davids reign, as well as his faults and failures, most notably his sin with Bathsheba. It concludes with a long section reflecting back on David’s life and rule, noting the importance of repentance from sin, and God’s accompanying blessing.
1-20 – Second Samuel starts with David mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. He goes to Jerusalem and is crowned King. He makes Jerusalem the capital of Israel and renames it Zion. He calls for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to Jerusalem and when it arrives, he dances in his underwear celebrating the goodness of God. He wants to build a Temple to house the Ark and replace the Tabernacle. But God tells David that he has too much blood on his hands and that his son will be the one to build the temple. In addition, God promises that he will establish a dynasty for David line and that through that line, the Messiah will one day come and rule. Eventually, David gets comfortable and complacent, and he sins by sleeping with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his officers Uriah. And when she gets pregnant, he has Uriah killed in battle. The prophet Nathan comes and rebukes him, calling out his sin. David repents and askes God for forgiveness. God forgives him, but there are still consequences for his actions. As some of those consequences, David’s children make many bad decisions. His son Amnon abuses his sister Tamar, and consequently his other son Absalom kills Amnon. Absalom, and attractive man, forms a rebellion and tries to oust David from power hoping to kill him. David is forced to flee yet again, but Absolom who was proud of his long hair, is eventually killed when his hair gets caught in a tree and he dies of hanging. David mourns the loss of his son, even though he tried to kill David. This is indicative of David’s heart and similar to when he mourned the death of Saul, who was also trying to kill him. Davids’s heart is good in the end, and he remains “a man after Gods own heart.”
12-24 – The book ends with a series of stories, told out of order. First there are stories of the failures of Saul and their consequences. Secondly there are stories of David and his mighty men defeating the Philistines time and time again against the odds, while David himself is portrayed as vulnerable and in need of his friends. The middle of this section is a series of David’s poetic memoirs about remembering God’s grace and His covenant promise. The book concludes in a “book-end” fashion, telling more stories of David and his mighty men, followed by stories of Davids failures, and how they effects Israel.
