Why I Am Excited About 1 Samuel

This Sunday we begin a new series in 1 Samuel entitled - A Search for a King.  Full disclosure…I have been studying and sitting in 1 Samuel for the past year.  So selfishly I wanted to unpack this passage together as a church.  It is so rich with revelation about who God is and how he patiently labours alongside us in the midst of our sin.  The book is immensely practical and deeply convincing.  But in the end it leads us continually to the cross and the gracious redemptive work of our loving God who pursues us even when we run from him.

Here is why I am excited about the next fourteen weeks and what I think it has to offer us as a church:

There may be no other story more well known in all of the Bible than the story of David & Goliath.  It’s a story familiar to any child who grew up in church but subsequently to many who have not.  It’s a story that has captured the mind of the masses and found its way into popular parlance (see Malcolm Gladwell’s book as an example).  The events of 1 Samuel 17 are but a microcosm of the life and impact of one of the most well known biblical figures - King David.

But why?  Why has this one historical figure amongst thousands captivated so many readers - Christians and non-Christians alike.  For one there is a significant amount of space given in the biblical text to the life and story of David.  Eugene Peterson writes, “The David story is the most extensively narrated single story in [the Bible’s] large story.  We know more about David than any other person in Holy Scripture.”¹

However, it’s not merely space that provides the intrigue and interest.  It’s the “earthy” spirituality that is uncovered in the David story.  Again Peterson insightfully points out, “The David Story, like most other Bible stories, presents us not with a polished ideal to which we aspire but with a rough-edged actuality in which we see humanity being formed–the God presence in the earth/human.”²  Despite his fame, power, and prominence David becomes one of the most relatable human beings across the pages of Scripture.  His humanness mixed with his desire for godliness stirs something innate in our own soul.

Most importantly, though, David casts a shadow and points us forward in God’s redemptive plan to the “greater David” - the Son of David - the true King.  We see in and through the life of David and the events of 1 Samuel that the desire for a king is embedded in the heart of every human being.  But the king that our hearts most desperately need and the one that truly want is not found in a man but in the Son of Man.  Jesus is the true King that the Isrealites were searching for.  Jesus is the true King that the world is searching for.  And what 1 Samuel reminds us is that Jesus came to do that which no earthly king could - truly save us.

Throughout this series we will encounter the raw and gritty reality of sin as it is unleashed in our world.  We will come face to face with issues and problems that plagued humanity centuries ago but that sound all too familiar and all too real to our day.  But we will also encounter the God of immense grace and lavish mercy who, through these sinful realities continues to pursue us.  A God who - despite our propensity to do the very opposite of His desire for us - continues to pour out his love and forgiveness in our lives.

The bottom line is that something or someone will rule the human heart…that is how God designed us.  Israel’s search for a king is innate in all of us.  The question is not will we be ruled but who is ruling?  And 1 Samuel helps us to see that if it is not God that we will constantly find ourselves lost, scattered, afraid, and alone.  Furthermore, it shows us clear shadows of the true King who our hearts were meant to be and designed to be ruled by…King Jesus.

See you Sunday,
Pastor Jeremy

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¹ Leap Over a Wall.
² Ibid.