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Logos Ministries Incorporated
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THERE WAS NO FREQUENT VISION - A This is an inductive study of I Samuel, chapters 1 - 15. The author leads the reader through an inductive study of the text. INTRODUCTION In Old Testament times, the Hebrew Bible did not contain two books called I and II Samuel. It was one single narrative. This changed when the Hebrew text was translated into Greek during the second century B.C. It is interesting that these two books are called I and II Samuel. If you look at the chapter summaries that follow, you will note that Samuel is only a major figure in the book in about one-third of the chapters. He is not a major figure in II Samuel at all. We will deal with this issue at length following the study of chapter 31. We must be very careful ascribing dates to the events in I Samuel. We believe that Samuel died at an advanced age in about 1,000 B.C. We cannot be much more specific than this. The fact that these two books bear the name "Samuel" causes many people to believe that Samuel wrote these books. Samuel’s death is reported in I Samuel chapter 25. He could not have been present for the events in I Samuel 26 – 31. Samuel died before any of the events in II Samuel took place. The honest answer is that we do not know for sure who wrote these two books. I Samuel may contain some reports that Samuel wrote, but we cannot speak with assurance about the authorship of these books.
As you study the chapter titles, you will discover that there are several important characters that surface in the story of this book. Out of all of these, three men surface as the most important people in the book – Samuel, Saul and David. In one way or another, every part of this book focuses careful attention on one or more of these three men. The book does not select one of these as more dominant in the text than the other two. It is clear that both David and Saul seem to be more involved in the text than Samuel was. As you study, you will observe that this author makes repeated use of comparisons and contrasts between the characters in the text. The message that the author seeks to convey is often hidden neatly within these comparisons and contrasts. Watch carefully for them. As you begin to study this book, you must keep in mind the position of these times in the overall history of the nation. This is a watershed period in the life of Israel. God had brought them out of Egypt and into the land of promise. This was a time of great blessing, but it does not mean that it was also a time when the relationship between the LORD and His people was at its greatest rapport. Indeed, Israel was more disobedient during this time than they had been for some time. During the time of the Judges, Israel had a system of government that was essentially a theocracy. Israel was not happy with that arrangement and it was not working well. As this book begins, Israel found an excuse to insist on having the king they desperately wanted. God had been more than patient with them, but it was time for Israel to be punished for their rebellion. The punishment they received was that they got what they wanted. This is the point at which the book of I Samuel begins.
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