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1 Samuel KJV: King James Version
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 16, 2025
First Samuel used to be the book I reread constantly as a kid, in my eagerness to avoid “boring” Bible books yet still be reading the Bible. I wonder how many other Christian kids relate. ;) Consequentially, as a grown up, I tended to view 1 Samuel a little cavalierly—with an “oh I know possibly everything there is to know about it” fashion. There’s nothing more deceptive than that idea when dealing with the Bible. Reading it this year, I was amazed and so encouraged by what I learned through the life of David—and a Bible Study on Saul’s life taught me a lot too. I would love to make a post someday on my blog about what I learned, but here’s a few highlights…
- Samuel had a great testimony before the people, yet somehow his sons didn’t know God and were known as wicked men. This helped lead the people into asking for a King. Yet Samuel did serve God faithfully and was a man of prayer, constantly crying out to God and speaking with Him.
- God had big plans for Saul but he hid in the baggage instead… and didn’t tell anyone about what God was calling him to do. He didn’t wait for God but did the sacrifice himself because he was afraid. He was very controlled by his emotions, slow to act and quick to talk. He didn’t repent and let God’s plan happen, but fought against it instead, and feared the people (and David) over God. He was lost potential—he did some good things, but not as much as he could have, and that’s not what he is remembered for.
- David seems rather brushed aside by his father/siblings, yet he really was a young man of MANY talents. I wonder if he felt sometimes that “man, I’m really not being useful cooped up here in these fields with those stupid sheep,” instead of doing (more) “worthwhile” things like his older brothers. Yet God was using this time to form him into the man he needed to be. It was in the fields that David was prepared for his destiny. It was here that his character was made and his relationship with God cemented. The years of seeming uselessness and retirement were years of careful preparation for a great purpose.
I once horrified a group of friends by saying David wasn’t my favourite Bible character. I retract that statement now. Every time I read his whole story I respect him a little bit more. The life he lived was hard and unjust. He was a good man living a good life, why did he have to suffer this way?
Because God had to refine him and make him better. And his time was not yet come.
That’s just very encouraging to me. <33
- Samuel had a great testimony before the people, yet somehow his sons didn’t know God and were known as wicked men. This helped lead the people into asking for a King. Yet Samuel did serve God faithfully and was a man of prayer, constantly crying out to God and speaking with Him.
- God had big plans for Saul but he hid in the baggage instead… and didn’t tell anyone about what God was calling him to do. He didn’t wait for God but did the sacrifice himself because he was afraid. He was very controlled by his emotions, slow to act and quick to talk. He didn’t repent and let God’s plan happen, but fought against it instead, and feared the people (and David) over God. He was lost potential—he did some good things, but not as much as he could have, and that’s not what he is remembered for.
- David seems rather brushed aside by his father/siblings, yet he really was a young man of MANY talents. I wonder if he felt sometimes that “man, I’m really not being useful cooped up here in these fields with those stupid sheep,” instead of doing (more) “worthwhile” things like his older brothers. Yet God was using this time to form him into the man he needed to be. It was in the fields that David was prepared for his destiny. It was here that his character was made and his relationship with God cemented. The years of seeming uselessness and retirement were years of careful preparation for a great purpose.
I once horrified a group of friends by saying David wasn’t my favourite Bible character. I retract that statement now. Every time I read his whole story I respect him a little bit more. The life he lived was hard and unjust. He was a good man living a good life, why did he have to suffer this way?
Because God had to refine him and make him better. And his time was not yet come.
That’s just very encouraging to me. <33
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May 27, 2021A few verses...
“Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.”
1 Samuel 12:24 KJV
“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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23 KJV
“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:45, 47 KJV
“Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.”
1 Samuel 12:24 KJV
“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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23 KJV
“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:45, 47 KJV
June 8, 2022
Saul and David
Israel wanted a king. God gave to them Saul. Saul failed to do the commandment of God and God took the kingdom from him. The gave it to a little shepherd boy boy the name David.
Israel wanted a king. God gave to them Saul. Saul failed to do the commandment of God and God took the kingdom from him. The gave it to a little shepherd boy boy the name David.
August 22, 2022
1 Samuel is full of adventures, trails, and warring growth among men. David is a figure of the Bible many of us look up to and who many of us can envision ourselves as in one way or another. Wonderful book...
February 25, 2025
1 Samuel tells the story of Israel during the period of 3 great men. It picks up with the birth of Samuel in answer to prayer. Samuel was the last of the judges and the first to "rule" the entire nation of Israel since the time of Joshua. He was also a seer [later called a prophet]. Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel and David as the second king. The book ends shortly after the death of Saul.
April 1, 2025
Rags to riches
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews