1 Sam 15:1-35 – The Lord Rejects Saul

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1Sam 15:1-3 In Exodus chapter 17, we read how the Amalekites were the first people to attack Israel after their exodus from Egypt. Even then, God promised Moses that he will punish the Amalekites for this (Exodus 17:14-16). The reason for God’s tremendous wrath and punishment on the Amalekites was that they unnecessarily attacked Israel at its weakest, and also …

1 Sam 13:8-23 – Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

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1Sam 13:8-9 The Philistines had the most soldiers and the best equipment. The only thing Saul had in his favour was God and the element of surprise. Perhaps Saul thought that the only way to have any microscopic chance of defeating the Philistines was to surprise them before they had time to gather for battle. That strategy probably wasn’t wrong …

1 Sam 12:1-25 – Samuel’s Farewell Address

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1Sam 12:1-2 In the previous chapter, the new king Saul won an important victory over the Ammonites, a victory that won Saul the confidence of the people. This means that from now on the people will consider King Saul to be the leader of Israel, and not the prophet Samuel as before. To make this transition as smooth as possible, …

1 Sam 10:1-16 – Saul Anointed King

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1Sam 10:1 Saul was chosen by God to be king over Israel and leader of God’s people. Even you and I can receive a mission from God. In general, all Christians are commissioned to tell people about Jesus and spread the kingdom of God, but God can also call each of us to specific individual tasks. How do I know …

1 Sam 8:1-22 – Israel Demands a King

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1Sam 8:1-3 Until this time, Israel had not had a king, but had been ruled by judges from time to time. Throughout Samuel’s adult life, he has served as Israel’s leader, but now he has grown old and tried to pass on the leadership to his sons. The difference between a judge and a king was that a judge was …

1 Sam 7:1-17 – Samuel Judges Israel

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1Sam 7:1 The ark of the Lord was a gilded chest that contained, among other things, the stone tablets with the commandments (Exodus 25:10-22). Many other peoples around Israel carried various symbols of their gods with them when they went into battle, and unfortunately Israel imitated this when they believed that they would be victorious as long as they carried …