This is a recording of my message on Samuel for our Old Testament Survey series to the ABF Junior High Group.
Below is my outline for those who would like to follow along.
INTRO:
Who is the greatest leader you guys can think of? Fictional or real.
How would you describe them? Confident, sure, competent?
Those are the things that human’s look for in a leader but in the Scroll of Samuel we see a different test set forth
1 Samuel 16:6-7
This is a famous story that I am sure you have heard but it is all the more striking when seen in the context of the book as a whole. We see confidence and think it is the mark of a good leader but God sees a heart exalted against him, and we see meekness and think it is the mark of a follower but God sees a heart willing to follow him and lead others in doing the same.
SPOKE: Proud and Humble (BibleProject)
What is the central focus of Samuel?
Watch: Book of 2 Samuel Summary: A Complete Animated Overview
1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah’s Song
Hannah is this sweet humble woman, who is childless. And as sad as that is even today for parents and especially a woman it was even more so then. A wife’s identity was so connected to being a mother. But she offers this prayer that is from her reflection on the Torah and she has seen a pattern of God bringing down the proud - babylon, Jacob, egypt, Balak. And raising up the humble - Abraham, Israel, Moses, etc. And so she prays this and it sets up the whole scroll.
HUB:
The proud will be opposed/brought low and the humble will be given grace/raised. And Samuel is going to specifically look at this as it relates to leaders but the reality is everyone is a leader.
When I think about this little kid trying to climb some rock or obstacle and they try and try and keep slipping and sliding and their dad offers to help and they say no I got this. But their little sibling comes along and asks the dad for help and he picks up the other kid and carries them over the obstacle. That is the picture: the proud think they can do it and they will fall the humble recognize their limitations and can be raised up.
That is absolutely the reality from Scripture from Adam and Eve onward people have been proud thinking they could do it without God and it has not gone well but those who have humbled themselves like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, have been raised up by God.
SPOKE: Proud → Opposed
Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:
So first let’s look at king Saul. Saul is the first king. We’ve been expecting a king since the end of Genesis when we were told about the Scepter in Judah. So we get one. Could this be the guy that will crush the serpent? Let’s read and find out.
1 Samuel 15:1-21 Saul’s Failure & Response (Page Number:
Does this remind you guys of anything? It reminds me of Moses and of Achan. Very clear instructions and clear disobedience.
God says go bring my justice on all the people and animals. And Saul spares the king, and the animals that looked good to him!
Have you guys ever been following really frustratingly slow step by step instructions. Ikea furniture, legos, or something and you think yeah no I can do that quicker, better, simpler. I don’t know what they were thinking. I think I’ve done this once when something called for nails and I thought no screws will work better and I did it and ruined the whole thing.
That’s what Saul does here. Yeah good idea God but like this is perfectly good burger meat, I’m gonna keep it. And that is prideful rebellion against God and as the leader of God’s people and this is not his first mistake it’s actually his third rebellion in 3 chapters.
And all without any repentance. He has the audacity to see samuel and say “I have performed the commandment of the Lord”
I know better than God. And that leads to him being rejected and then eventually downfall and death.
When we position ourselves against the all wise, all good God, it might look succesfulf or a minute but it will never end well.
QUESTIONS?
Let’s look at a different approach.
SPOKE: Humble → Grace
Explanation/Exhortation/Exaltation:
See when I was growing up I felt like I was shown Saul is the bad guy and David is the good guy. Maybe that was the kids version
But the reality is that the scripture paints a much more nuanced picture of its heroes and villains for that matter.
2 Samuel 12:7-15 David’s Failure & Response
So David repeats the errors of those before him, he sees and takes! Genesis 3!!!
He exalts his needs and places himself in the palace of God as he takes a wife, defines good and evil, and takes life all of which are roles for God alone.
So the humble David from the beginning of the book takes a back seat to this new prideful david. But what I want us to see is the difference between his response and Saul’s response. Saul was corrected and doubled down. David is corrected and Immediately shows his humility. He owns up to it and repents. His heart is soft and he sees the truth that he had momentarily forgotten.
Repentance requires humility.
This repentance leads to David finishing his time and blessing. He is restored by his humble repentance instead of being abandoned.
A perfect example of this is just last week I was driving to a hike and I was trying to navigate there on my own. I got most of the way there and then I realized I was not where I was supposed to be. When that happened I had two options. I could keep trying myself and act confident and say no I’ll get there. Thankfully I did not do this and instead I pulled out google maps and humbled myself, turned around which is exactly what repentance literally means and then I got where I was going.
The scripture does not say Saul bad David good. It shows messy flawed humans following and failing to follow a perfect God everytime they make themselves their own god. Now the way David handles his failure with repentance and remorse is a further testament to his humility. David fails well. He puts himself back in submission but clearly David isn’t the promised serpent killer either.
You guys are gonna have the chance to follow a lot of people in your life and you will have the chance to lead a lot of people. And my hope and prayer is that even when everyone else is following the tall, charismatic, confident Saul’s you will follow and be the humble, repentant, honest David’s in the world.
We are all going to make mistakes. We can either harden our heart or humble ourselves and repent.
The only way humility comes is not from thinking of ourselves less or saying be more humble be more humble but from looking at something greater. By really seeing how great God is and how much greater than us he is, we see reality for what it is and humbles us.
I don’t know if any of you here tonight or in the last few weeks talking about the things humans have done have felt convicted or realized you were doing something in your own eyes but if you have would talk to a leader about that repent and confess?
Conclusion/Exaltation:
Gospel of Grace
Saul and David are both imperfect, they both fail, but how do they respond? For Saul God is an afterthought. For David, God is central and when he messes up, he repents.
Hate to break to it to you guys but we are just as broken as Saul and David the only question is, how will we respond - pride or humility??
Deliverer of Gen 3:15 - a king could be that deliverer
We’re gonna need a better king. A king that does not fail like all of us.
Human effort cannot save us, no human can ever rid us of sin, only God can do that.
The power of repentance the only way for those things to be taken away is to repent.
Good works do not save us, but willingness to repentance.
But more importantly it points us to our savior.
David and goliath: One champion set forward for each group. If one champion win’s that champion’s victory is gifted to the people and if they lose the champion’s death is shared.
In the same way the whole Israelite army received David’s victory without doing a thing.
That’s what the gospel says as well. We get Christ’s victory without any effort ourselves.
Jesus is the true king
And like David he suffers in the wilderness for the sins of others.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 2 Samuel 7:12-17
This eternal son of David. The perfect ruler. The delivering king is Jesus. Jesus is the one.
That is how Samuel points us to Jesus.
QUESTIONS?
Let’s pray!
Small group Questions:
High and Low of the Week?
What stuck out from the message & video? (Respond to, Affirm, and Develop Observations)
When you messed up recently, did you respond like Saul or David? Specific example (Leaders going first might help).
What points to Jesus in Samuel?
Prayer Requests?
Share this post