We are in the middle of a worldwide health pandemic where stay at home orders are the norm. You would think staying at home would mean I could read more and write more, but no. I am able to work from home so no reading, binge watching Netflix or cleaning closets for me. My days are generally spent working on my computer, answering the occasional phone call and attending skype meetings. I take a long lunch hour walk, just to get some fresh air. I long for someone other than my husband to see and talk to in person.
But I digress...
I thought I would be reading a book about Samuel. I mean, that is the name of the book. And since I had no idea who he was, this seemed reasonable to me. The beginning of the book does talk about Samuel. His mother, Hannah, prayed to God that He would give her a son. If He did, she would dedicate that son to God. Samuel was born and Hannah left him with the priest Eli.
Normally, Eli's sons would become the next priests, but they were wicked so God decided Samuel would lead the Israelites. And he did for many, many years. But, the Israelites wanted to be like the other nations around them. They wanted a king to follow, not a priest. Samuel consulted with God and is told what life would be like under a king's rule. It will not be good. Samuel relays this to the people and they don't care. They want a king. So, with God's blessing, Saul becomes king and reigns for forty-two war filled years.
The rest of 1 Samuel reads like an action movie script.
Saul doesn't obey God and he fall out of God's favor. God then decides that a young man named David should be the new king. Saul is blissfully unaware of God's new plan and hires David to work for him, playing the lyre when Saul needs soothing, which is often. This is where the story of David and Goliath is told. This is the story of the close friendship of Saul's son Jonathan and David. This is the story of Saul trying to kill David, over and over again. This is the story of David asking Saul, why, why does he want to kill him? This is the story of how David spares Saul from death twice. And in the middle of all this, Samuel dies, a side note in the complicated story of Saul and David.
The book ends with Saul's death.
1 Samuel is filled with conniving villains, taunting enemies, complicated plots to kill the competition, daring escapes, ferocious battles, unexpected heroes and an evil king. There are stories of marriage, survival and forgiveness. The stuff of action movies.
What is left for 2 Samuel? Guess I'll find out...
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