What is the book of 1 Samuel in the Bible about?

Answer 1

The book of 1 Samuel in The Bible chronicles the birth of Samuel and his dedication to the Lord. It also tells of how the Israelites asked for a king, and God told Samuel to anoint Saul as king.

Answer 2

Quite simply, obedience. God gave Saul a job to do and Saul chose to do only part of the job, and then blamed someone else instead of himself.

The specific task, the total destruction of the Amalekites, was important in that they had shown consistent and total opposition to Israel, even following the Israelites in the desert and attacking the sick and weak who would have been lagging behind the main group of people.

It is thus not a correct historical understanding to say that this was a viscious and unjustified act on God's part. These people had ample opportunity to repent or just to stop harassing Israel and this they refused to do. Their only intent, had they been allowed to continue, was genocide against Israel. The penalty which was executed upon the King of the Amalekites was in the context of his own actions.

1 Samuel 15:33 (King James Version)33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Saul, as God's appointed ruler, had failed to carry out God's righteous judgment. His keeping back of some of the animals in order to do a sacrifice also highlights an important spiritual principal.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (King James Version)22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

This essentially means that all kinds of religious observance may be offensive to God, if the person doing them does not have a desire to follow God in their daily lives. Saul did not have this. He was rebellious, which Samuel, speaking on God's behalf, likens to witchcraft, most certainly of great offense to God.

Revenge must be done even if it happened hundreds of years Ago. Why did God not protect His chosen people from Amalek hundreds of years ago is not mentioned.

1 SAmuel 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Answer 3

1 and 2 Samuel (originally one book) was written to record the transition in Israel's history of leadership from judges to kings. It covers the last judge (Samuel), the first king (Saul), and the reign of David.