1 Samuel begins with a rather lengthy account of Samuel's heritage and tells how he became a prophet of God. We then learn how the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Israelites for a time before it was returned in the seemingly endless skirmishing between the Hebrews and the Philistines.
When Samuel was already an old man the Jews requested a king to judge over them and God acceded to their request, even though Samuel had his doubts about the wisdom of a monarchy. God reveals that his choice for king is Saul and Samuel duly anoints the big man.
Saul becomes king and all seems well. The Philistines are routed and Saul governs well, but swears an oath that his men will not eat on a day of battle. His son Jonathan innocently violates the prohibition and defends himself, saying the food made him stronger for the battle. Later, Saul violates God's command that the Israelites kill all the people of Amelek. Saul lets some of them go while he plunders their town and lands. For this, God rejects Saul, not for his lenience so much as for his disobedience.
Samuel then is dispatched to Bethlehem, to the family of Jesse, where God directs him to Jesse's youngest son, David. Saul retreats into melancholy and the Philistines rise again, folowing their huge champion, Goliath.
What happens next is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. You all probably know it, so I'll skip ahead to David's growing friendship with Saul's son, the same Jonathan already mentioned. Saul himself enters into a difficult relationship with David, twice trying to kill him, while David refrains from killing the old king though he twice has golden opportunities to do so.
Saul is mercurial, one day telling David he is the rightful heir and giving his daughter Michel to David and the next plotting to kill him. David for his part enlists Jonathan as a kind of spy in Saul's own house and artfully dodges all Saul's attempts to do away with him.
The story skips around in time somewhat. Samuel dies in Chapter 25, but is still around later to offer advice, whether it is requested or not. David spares the life of a miser named Nabal when his wife Abigail begs David not to kill him and brings cakes and other food offerings to David and his men. Nabal conveniently dies from heart failure shortly afterward and Abigail quickly becomes another wife to David.
Saul. distraught, and lacking God's counsel, goes so far as to consult a witch, after which Samuel appears to berate him again. Amelek and Saul's failure to be sufficiently bloodthirsty comes up in the conversation. Saul despairs but the Amaleks reappear and David, aided by an escaped slave, attacks and routs them, killing indiscriminately. Then the Philistines come back once again and in the battle that ensues Saul and his sons are all killed. The way is now finally open for David to take the throne of Israel.
Well, that's the story in brief. Reading it I was astonished by how the Israelites interpreted (I'd say garbled) God's will. The hard God who insists on merciless warfare is certainly at odds with the loving God I've always heard about.
Saul fascinates me, poor paranoid man. By any modern lights he hadn't done so badly, allowing some Amalekites to flee the battlefield, and for that God withdraws his favor and gives it to a kid, David. He likes David, complicating the situation, but resents him at the same time, to the point where he tries to kill the younger man. His relationship with Jonathan also is freighted with psychological meaning. We assume he loved his son as more modern fathers love their offspring. He must have been driven to distraction by what he could only have believed was his son's disloyalty.
Well, that's my reading of the story. I'd welcome any comments.
First Samuel is a powerful and important Old Testament book. I happen to love the early part of the book, particularly God's calling of Samuel when he was just a little boy and Samuel's first job as a little prophet being telling Eli that God had essentially "had it" with him and his sons.
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