March 31
1 Samuel 15–17
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 15:1–17:58
Series: Read the Bible in a Year
This is a passage (particularly 1 Samuel 15:3) that troubles people. How could God call on his people to wipe out another people — man, woman, and child? Remember that God had previously told Israel to drive out the Canaanites. This is an anomaly in Scripture. God has called on Israel to use warfare to defeat sin, not to simply defeat an enemy. The Canaanites have practiced abhorrent crimes against humanity, including the sacrifice of children, even infants, to their idols (2 Kings 23:10). The Amalekites were not only raiders of Israel’s rear ranks; they turned their own backs on God and his commandments. They were not the enemies of Israel alone; they were enemies of God, descendants of Esau who made a practice of evil. The Amalekites were descended from Esau, making it clear why God declares, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13) — not the person much as the people.
Saul amasses an army to fight the Amalekites. He defeats the Amalekites but spares their king, Agag, and others, as well as the best of the flocks, when God commanded them all to be destroyed. God is displeased with Saul’s disobedience and is sorry he made him king. Agag’s death is left to Samuel, which is as good as announcing to all Israel that God cannot trust their king to do what he commands.
It is time for a new king in Israel, so the Lord sends Samuel to a certain Jesse in Bethlehem. The prophet has learned little about choosing a king and begins to look for the handsomest and tallest among Jesse’s sons. God instructs him to not look on the outward appearance. God wants a king who has a heart for the Lord, not just a strong or capable man. God will fight the battles of the king if only he obeys God with his whole heart. Going through Jesse’s sons one by one, each is rejected by the Lord. They send for the youngest, a shepherd like Moses had been, whom God declares will lead the people. Samuel anoints David as king and the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him “from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). Note how the Spirit stays with David instead of coming upon him when needed, as he had done with Saul. Now the Spirit withdraws from Saul altogether and we find him and his army cowering before a Philistine giant named Goliath. Saul and his troops will not engage the giant but David, a lad, knows the Lord will deliver him and use him to rescue Israel. He knew that the battle was not Saul’s or David’s but the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:47). David prevails over the giant and a new chapter in Israel’s history begins.
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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