1 & 2 Samuel – indycrowe

Don’t Lose Hope in Hardship

One of the many lessons I’ve learned from David’s time in the wilderness is not to let present hardship rob me of future hope.

10 Contrasts Between Saul and David

Israel’s first king, Saul, had the royal throne ripped away from him and given to David. He rejected God’s commands, and God rejected him as chief-in-command. But why does God respond so firmly to Saul and so graciously to David? If both Saul and David were sinners, why is Saul portrayed so negatively overall in and why is David portrayed so positively overall?

Who was the prophet Samuel?

Samuel was “…the kind of leader that Israel actually needed. Their need was not for a great military hero or genius. God had demonstrated unambiguously that he could deal with their enemies without such a champion. Their need was not for a brilliant political giant who could organize the nation efficiently. Israel’s need could not be met by management abilities. Israel’s great need was a leader who would bring them back to God. They needed a leader who would lead them in righteousness. They needed a Samuel. And God gave them Samuel!”^[1]

In many photos of Samuel online (such as the one above from Amazon’s series House of David), you might get him confused with Gandalf the Grey. Both appear old, wise, travel with a nice staff, and perform some pretty awesome deeds. But who was Samuel in the Bible, or what was his ministry to Israel?

8 Lessons on Prayer from Hannah

There’s something about Hannah that draws out in me both compassion for her and admiration of her. As she reels in sorrow and distress, we feel for her. As God answers her prayer with a son, we celebrate with her. And as we listen in on her prayers, we’re invited to learn from her.

The books of 1-2 Samuel offer several “hero stories.”^[1] The “heroes” in these stories are not perfect people, but they do model key virtues and aspects of what it means to know and follow God. Hannah shows us through her words and actions what a posture of humility looks like. She offers an example of what to do with hurt and pain as she takes it to God in prayer. She lives out a gritty faith, knowing the sovereign God who closed her womb (1 Sam. 1:5-6) can open it. And she also models how we can pray to God, both in our pain (1 Sam. 1:11) and with our praise (1 Sam. 2:1-10).

In 1 Samuel’s short account of Hannah, we can learn a lot about how to pray. Here are eight of those takeaways.