Is Anyone Actually in Charge? | 1 Samuel

When Everything Feels Out Of Control

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered if anyone is fearing this? Plans fall apart, people let you down, the ones in charge make a mess of things. About 3,000 years ago, a whole nation felt that way. Their leaders kept failing. So they asked God for a king. What happens next is the story of 1 Samuel. And through every failure in it, God was the one steering. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable bite-sized chunks. Today we're in the book of 1 Samuel. You'll find it in the Old Testament right after Ruth. 1 Samuel is where Israel gets his first king. And the whole book follows three men: Samuel, King Saul, and King David. To see why this story was such a big deal, we need to back up a little. Before 1 Samuel, Israel had no king. Leaders called judges would rise up when there was a crisis. They'd lead for a while, then things would fall apart again. If you listen to our episode on Judges, you'll remember how messy it got. The last line of the book of Judges says it plainly, quote, in those days Israel had no king. Everyone did as they saw fit. So here's where things stand. Neighboring armies, especially a people called the Philistines, keep attacking. The priests, the men in charge of worship, are corrupt. People are worshiping other gods. And the people are tired. They want someone to fix it. The people who first heard this story were asking a question we still ask. When everything feels out of control, who is really in charge?

Hannah Prays And Samuel Listens

The book opens with a woman named Hannah. She wants a child more than anything. Year after year, nothing. So she goes to the place where Israel worshipped and she prays. She promises God that if he gives her a son, she would dedicate that son to serving him for his whole life. Hannah is praying silently. Her lips are moving, but no sound comes out. Eli the priest sees her and thinks she's drunk. But she wasn't. She was praying and God answered her. She had a son and named him Samuel. And she says, I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. Hannah keeps her promise. She brings Samuel to live with Eli the priest and grows up serving God. Now, Eli's own sons are priests too, and they're a mess. The Bible calls them scoundrels. They take what they want and treat God's worship like it's theirs. So picture it, grown men who should have known better, and a little boy who's paying attention. One night Samuel hears someone call his name. He runs to Eli and Eli says, I didn't call you. Go back to bed. It happens again and again. Finally, Eli realizes it's God who's calling out to Samuel. So he tells Samuel what to say next time. Samuel says it next time he hears his name called. Speak, for your servant is listening. That line sets the tone for Samuel's whole life. He grows up to be a prophet, someone who speaks God's messages to the people. He's also the last of the judges. And he listens. Keep that word in mind, it comes back.

Israel Demands A King Like Others

Years pass, Samuel gets old, he appoints his sons as leaders, judges, but they don't follow his example. They take bribes and twist justice. The people have seen failed leadership before, and they don't want any more of it. The people come to him with a request. Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. Samuel's upset. He takes it personally, but God tells him, It's not you they've rejected, but they've rejected me as their king. So here's what's happening. The people want what everyone around them has, someone they can see, someone to fight their battles, and God lets them have it.

Saul Stops Waiting And Falls

The first king is Saul, and on paper, he's perfect. The Bible said he was the most handsome young man in Israel and a head taller than everyone else. If you were casting a king, you'd cast Saul. Samuel anoints him, that means he pours oil on Saul's head. It was a sign that God had chosen this person for the job. And Saul starts well. He leads the army and he wins. Then comes a moment in chapter 13. The Philistines are gathering for battle. Saul's soldiers are scared and they start to slip away. Samuel tells Saul to wait seven days. Samuel will come and offer a sacrifice to God before the fight. Saul waits seven days, no Samuel. More soldiers leave. So Saul does it himself. And just as he finishes, Samuel walks up. Saul explains that his soldiers were leaving. Samuel hadn't arrived, and he feared a Philistine attack. So he offered the sacrifice himself. Let's slow that down. You can understand Saul here, right? He's under pressure, people are leaving, and he wants to do something. But Saul stopped waiting on God and started managing things himself. And that becomes his pattern. Again and again, he listens to the crowd or to his own fear more than he listens to God. Remember what Samuel said to God? Saul does the opposite. Later in chapter 15, God tells Saul to keep nothing from a battle. Saul and his men keep the best animals anyway. Then he tries to explain it away by saying the animals were for sacrifices. Samuel tells him to obey is better than sacrifice. And that gets right to Saul's problem. He wants to offer something to God while refusing to do what God says. God rejects Saul as king. Saul remains on the throne for now, but God sends Samuel to find the next king. He

God Chooses David Then Goliath Falls

goes to a small town called Bethlehem to a man named Jesse who has eight sons. The oldest walks in, tall, strong. Samuel thinks this must be him. And God says no. This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. God tells Samuel, People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Seven sons walk past. God says no to everyone. Samuel asks, Is this all of them? And Jesse says, Well, there's the youngest. He's out with the sheep. They hadn't even invited him. That was David. Samuel anoints David, but David doesn't become king that day. Saul is still on the throne. And David goes back to the sheep. Then comes a story you may already know. The Philistines send out a giant warrior named Goliath. He stands in front of Israel's army every day and dares anyone to fight him. Nobody will, not even Saul. David shows up to bring his brothers some food. He hears Goliath and he says, I'll go. He has no armor, just a sling and a few stones, and he tells Goliath, You come against me with a sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty. One stone, Goliath falls. But here's what's easy to miss. David trusted God when everyone else, including the king, was frozen with fear.

David Refuses The Shortcut To Power

After that, David becomes a hero, and Saul gets jealous, then afraid, then dangerous. For years Saul hunts David like an enemy. In the middle of all this, David has one loyal friend. It's Saul's own son, Jonathan. Jonathan knows David will be king instead of him, and he loves David anyway. At one point, David has a chance to kill Saul. Saul walks into a cave where David is hiding. David could end it right there, and he won't. He says Saul is still the king God anointed. David chose to wait on God's timing. Do you see it? Earlier Saul let fear push him into disobedience. Here David faces pressure too, but he refuses to take the throne by killing Saul. The book ends sadly. Saul and Jonathan die in a battle with the Philistines. And David is left to step into what God promised him a long time ago, back when he was tending sheep in the field. That's where 2 Samuel picks up, and we'll get there in the next episode.

How To Read Bible Stories Wisely

Now, here's something that'll help you read every story in the Bible, not just this one. The Bible tells the truth about people: the good guys and the not so good guys. Saul is chosen by God and he fails. Eli is a priest and he can't lead his own sons. David has failures too. And in 2 Samuel, we'll see how serious these failures become. When the Bible tells you what someone did, it isn't always telling you to do that same thing. And there are two words for this. Descriptive means the Bible is describing what happened. Prescriptive means the Bible is telling you what to do. Think of a prescription from your doctor. Most of the stories in 1 Samuel are descriptive. They show you what people did, the good and the bad. So when you read the story and think, wait, that doesn't seem right. Pause there. Ask, does God approve of this action? Does he confront it? What happens because of it? A story can teach us through someone's faithfulness, someone's failure, and God's response to both. So the question to ask is simple. What is God doing here? And so what is God doing in 1 Samuel?

Jesus The Better King From David

God remains Israel's king even when its human leaders fail. He speaks through Samuel. He holds Saul accountable and he chooses David. The failures are real, so are the consequences. And through it all, God continues carrying out his purposes. And David's story doesn't end with David. Hundreds of years later, another baby is born in Bethlehem from David's family line. The very first verse of the New Testament calls him Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David. Messiah means the promised king God would send. Saul showed what happens when a king stops listening to God. Jesus is the king who always listens, who never stops trusting his father, and he is the king we can trust. The same God still looks past what everyone else sees. The overlooked kid in the field, the woman praying so hard people think she's drunk. God sees them, he sees you too. So here's something to think about this week. Where in your life does it feel like no one is steering? What would it look like to trust that God is steering and listen for what he's saying even while you wait? Next time we'll pick up David's story in 2 Samuel. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.