Latest / Scripture Central / 1 Samuel 8-16 I The problem with Kings Over Prophets I Handmaidens, Harems & Heroines I Lynne Wilson

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1 Samuel 8-16 I The problem with Kings Over Prophets I Handmaidens, Harems & Heroines I Lynne Wilson · Scripture Central

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  If you ask for a monarchy, not only are they going to take your
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  sons for military service, but they will take your daughters.
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  All Israel knew that Samuel was confirmed to be a prophet of the
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  Lord. Saul acts unwisely and says all
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  just do the sacrifice. He's from Benjamin I mentioned,
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  not from Levi. He did not have authority to do
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  this in this case. And Samuel says this is wrong.
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  And the women of the area always are praising these war heroes.
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  And they come up with these songs about, you know, Saul
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  kills his thousands and David kills his 10s of thousands.
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  Saul, in order to get rid of David, thinks if I arrange a
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  marriage, that means he has to be a soldier for life.
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  And then the Philistines will kill him and I'll and I'll be
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  rid of him. The young Michael falls head
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  over heels for David. And in fact, Michael is the only
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  female in the entire Old Testament who is recorded as.
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  Hello. Welcome back to Scripture
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  Central. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, and I'm
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  so thrilled to be able to talk about the Old Testament women,
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  these handmaidens and harems and heroines as part of the
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  Scripture Central team who tries to build enduring faith in Jesus
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  Christ. And as these women find their
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  Messiah, we too are seeking our Savior and hoping to come unto
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  him and all that we do. And I'm convinced that these
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  Scriptures, these wonderful verses in First Samuel 8 through
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  16 have things for all of us to learn and how to be a better
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  disciple of Jesus Christ and how to be closer to our God.
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  The problem that arose at this time of the Judges is that the
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  righteous Eli had wicked children.
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  He does not correct them. And then Samuel comes up and
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  Samuel has wicked children. He does try to correct them, but
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  they're not doing good. And so the people say we want a
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  king. And the prophet Samuel begins to
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  prophecy. And he says if you ask for a
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  monarchy, not only are they going to take your sons for
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  military service, but they will take your daughters.
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  They're going to be for domestic royal service.
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  They're going to be fundamentally change your family
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  structure. You're going to have cooks and
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  perfumers and bakers and bread and, and all these other things
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  in the royal service of the palace.
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  And you are going to be your family life is going to be
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  different. You're, it's going to be
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  completely not up to you. The king can just come and take
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  somebody, and that's exactly what we see happen when King
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  Saul is put in place. If you had a strong young man,
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  he's gone. If you had a beautiful girl,
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  she's gone. And it's a tragic situation that
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  the beautiful cohesive unit that was so needed as an agricultural
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  environment to have your children and everyone, your wife
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  and your everyone is working for the same goal every day.
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  And that's destroyed when a king comes in and says, I'd like you
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  to come and do the Queen's hair or I'd like you to come and make
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  bread for all of mice, my staff. So unfortunately, that prophecy
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  came to pass. Now, I did not find any
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  reference in the entire Old Testament to Samuel's wife
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  except for the fact that she has two sons.
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  So I'd like to just talk a little bit on this wonderful
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  Samuel. Now remember, this is the
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  prophet who is the son of Hannah and Elkanah.
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  These two sons that they have, Joel and Amage, the Bible never
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  mentions their mother, but we assume that as a man of God and
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  as the high priest, he married a virgin.
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  That's one of the rules written out in Leviticus.
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  So she was probably very young. Marriages were often done as
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  soon as a girl could procreate, and even if it were a little bit
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  later, she's probably still in her teens before this marriage
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  takes place. We don't know anything about her
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  though, so I don't know if she travelled with Samuel, if she
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  missed him when he was gone, or if she even lived beyond the
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  birth of these two sons. We we have no information but
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  she would have been called in the Old Testament vocabulary a
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  prophetess. Isaiah's wife is referred to as
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  a prophetess and elsewhere in the Bible, specifically in the
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  Book of Revelation chapter 19, we're told that you if you have
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  the spirit of prophecy, you have a testimony that Jesus is the
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  Christ or in the Old Testament vocabulary that Jehovah is the
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  Messiah, will be the Messiah. I also just have to ask, what
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  would it be like to be married to someone like Samuel, this man
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  who was raised by God's words and and so sensitive to the
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  spirit that he hears the voice of the Lord?
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  In fact, I just love this statement.
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  It says in first Samuel 3 verse 19, Samuel grew and the Lord was
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  with him, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the
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  ground. And so all Israel, from Dan to
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  Beersheba, from the North Coast to the South Coast, all Israel
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  knew that Samuel was confirmed to be a prophet of the Lord.
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  That's who she got to marry. And this marriage was arranged
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  perhaps by El Canal. We don't know anything about it,
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  perhaps by Eli. But we do know that she was able
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  to conceive and bear two children after the time of, you
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  know, Eli misusing the Ark of the Covenant to taking it out of
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  the Tabernacle and taking it to the battlefield, which is not
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  what the Lord says. According to our biblical text,
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  the whole area of Shiloh was destroyed.
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  And when they get the Ark of the covenant back during the era of
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  Samuel I or a little bit thereafter, they re establish a
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  new home for the Tabernacle and that's in Knob.
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  Now, archaeological evidence has not found exactly the city or
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  the where area that is, but we know that it's down in the area
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  of Mount Scopus, very close to the Mount of Olives and Mount
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  Moriah. But Jerusalem has not yet been
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  taken. So Jerusalem is not part of the
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  Israel. In fact, there's very little
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  land that's part of Israel. That's the nice lands.
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  The part that is the Philistines are on the coast, lands where
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  you have more rain, where you have access to the
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  Mediterranean. And then the Israelites are
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  still hemmed up in the mountains and in the more barren lands,
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  and that's where they are conquering and able to make some
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  headway. But first Samuel 713 says the
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  hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of
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  Samuel. So when Samuel is acting as the
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  judge, Israel had peace with the Amorites.
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  It says in Chapter 7, verse 14. Now the significance of this
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  statement is not to let us know that not only were the
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  Philistine people on the coastal plains subdued by Israel, but
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  also that the strongest Canaanite tribes of the interior
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  we're all corralled into working together under Samuel.
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  The challenge here it with my understanding is if Samuel was
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  known from north to South, why then do we talk about him making
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  these pilgrimage between these three towns, Bethel, Rama and
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  Mizpah? And he's there a lot.
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  Perhaps this is where his family lived, I'm not exactly sure.
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  But we hear that he's there often and that's where the text
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  takes us, even though we don't know much about Samuel's wife.
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  If she were alive, she would have probably known the
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  Tabernacle in Shiloh or perhaps just down later in Knob.
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  But her husband was not only the high priest, but he became the
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  1st of this new line of prophets.
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  You know, she would have known that he is leading Israel back
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  to God. She would have known and been a
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  part of the plan to have this period of peace in defeating the
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  Philistines at Mizpah. And this change from judges to
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  kingship she may have been part of as well.
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  You know, Samuel was so reluctant to anoint Saul as the
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  first king. I assume she was part of these
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  discussions and was aware of this, but following Saul's
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  disobedience, which she would have probably also known, you
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  know, God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint David
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  shortly after Saul was anointed, actually.
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  And there is rivalry and contention ever since then.
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  But at the within her own family, though, her sons Joel
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  and Aberjah are dishonest. You know, I'm sure it was
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  heartbreaking for both of the parents because this prompted
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  Israel to demand a king. So prior to Samuel's death, he
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  gathers Israel and the Lord says they have not rejected you,
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  they've rejected me. And I'll tell you who I want as
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  my king. In chapter 8 of Samuel, we
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  learned that when his sons were old enough, he sent them clear
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  down to the southern town of Beersheba in order possibly to
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  keep them away from the greater population because he knew that
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  they were judging unrighteously. I don't, I don't know, but it
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  says in verse 3 of chapter 8 and five in the BSB translation.
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  His sons did not walk in his ways.
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  They turned aside toward dishonest gain.
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  They accepted bribes. They perverted justice.
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  So all the elders of Israel gathered unto Samuel at Rhema,
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  and that's where they have the appointment of the king.
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  I assume his wife would have been there.
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  It's actually interesting in verse, not in Chapter 9.
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  So they, the women who are, if they well are the local source
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  of information, you know, the women are there, they gather,
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  they communicate every day. And so when Saul and his
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  servants are seeking for Samuel, they see these women at their
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  daily tasks, drawing water from the well, and they ask the women
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  and they become the source of this great information.
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  Oh, Samuel's coming. He's going to offer a sacrifice
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  today. He's going to be here anyway.
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  It just illustrates how the women's daily routine place them
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  at the center of community knowledge.
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  You know, it makes them these natural informants of these
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  travelers seeking guidance. Saul is announced king and I've
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  got a map on my slides of his Kingdom.
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  We also to learn by chapter 14 a little bit about his family
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  life. I assume he had already been
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  married. He's very tall.
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  It says he's a foot. He's a shoulder taller than
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  everybody else. So at least a foot, if not a
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  little bit more than that, taller than any of the people in
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  the community. And so he wasn't a young 1415
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  year old at this time. You know, he's already a full
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  grown to his full height. So I assume he's already been
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  married. His wife is a hinom, and she,
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  it's a Hebrew name that literally means the brother of
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  pleasantness or my brother is pleasant.
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  But she marries Saul before he's king.
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  And she has seven children who live.
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  Jonathan, Abadab, Mahesha, Ishvi and Ishbashish are the sons, and
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  then the two daughters, Murab and Michael.
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  So also has a concubine we hear about later, and we'll talk
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  about that when we get to Second Samuel.
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  But we have no details at all about her role.
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  But she would have been the first queen.
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  You know, she would have been moving in and deciding where
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  they're going to live. There's no Jerusalem yet.
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  There's no palace there. But she would have had to make
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  these important roles as they change the Kingdom from a place
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  of judges to a unified location under one king.
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  She also has to face the challenge of being married to a
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  man who really battles internal conflicts of jealousy and
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  hatred. I think he he becomes mentally
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  ill over some of these things. I'm sure everyone knows the
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  story of David and Goliath. You know, Saul should have been
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  the one as the king who's A at least a foot taller than anybody
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  else who's out fighting Goliath. He doesn't do it.
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  And we know the story of our wonderful stripling, David
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  coming out. Stripling is the only time used
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  in the Bible is for David in the Book of Mormon.
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  Of course, it's for our 2000 stripling warriors under the
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  sons of Ammon. So even though Saul is jealous
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  and plagued with bouts of of discouragement and depression
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  and he says an evil spirit, we know that these people are from
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  the tribe of Benjamin. They're a very small tribe.
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  He initially was a very humble man.
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  I assume that he says I'm the least in my father's house, you
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  know, But King Saw set up this capital in that same land,
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  Benjamin, where he's from. So this is where his family is
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  living. And he built up a fortress and
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  palace in Gibeah. It's about 3 or 4 miles north of
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  where Jerusalem will be. And that's where we first learn
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  of Merab, this daughter and her siblings and her little sister,
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  Michael and Saul, in order to get rid of David, thinks if I
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  arrange a marriage, that means he has to be a soldier for life.
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  And then the Philistines will kill him and I'll and I'll be
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  rid of him. And so he arranges this
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  marriage. But with with this young
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  stripling, David, but David is, is, is humbled and he says, oh,
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  there's no way I could marry the King's daughter.
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  I don't I, I don't have any kind of a dowry.
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  I'm just a poor shepherd. Even though Saul had plotted
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  this, we near nothing other than this proposal agreement.
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  You know, we heard nothing more about it.
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  And so we assume it didn't happen.
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  And it says later on that Saul gave his oldest daughter to
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  someone else. And so David's reticence, who
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  you know, who am I that I can marry into the the King's house
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  was enough that that that that didn't work and that never came
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  to pass. But his second daughter, the
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  young Michael in Samuel 14 verse 49, falls head over heels for
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  David. And in fact, Michael is the only
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  female in the entire Old Testament who is recorded as
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  falling in love with her husband and asking for him to be her
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  husband. This is a very unique case.
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  And it's you can tell she's been raised as the younger daughter
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  of a king who might have some clout.
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  And her father, King Saul, arranges this marriage, and he's
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  still hoping to trap and plot David, you know, first with
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  Maribon, now with Michael. So when he asks about a
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  potential patrol, though I assume David now has been around
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  the family enough, I think he must also care a little more
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  about Michael or feeling maybe something about her because he
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  now says, what can I give you for a patrol, though, Price, You
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  know, what can I do as a dowry? And that's when Saul comes up
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  with this crazy plan. It can't be money.
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  You know, he couldn't fulfill that.
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  But he uses this ruse and because he already knows that
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  King David has been anointed the next king, but he comes up with
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  this crazy ruse. You know, you've got to give me
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  the you got to circumcise 100 Philistines.
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  Well, David double S that number, perhaps to show his his
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  love for Michael, perhaps to show his obedience to Saul.
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  But Saul is not placated and still tries to come in and kill
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  him. And Michael becomes the
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  instrument to allow David out her window and hides something
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  else in the bed. But Saul is so mad at David that
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  he separates his daughter from him.
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  When David runs out in hiding and and starts having battles in
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  across the southern part away from Saul, he takes Michael and
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  gives her to someone else and she is then married to a
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  different person and she enters polyandry.
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  She's married to two people at once, which is tragic.
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  But in a few weeks when Saul is finally gone and David is made
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  king, one of the first things he does, it says I want my wife
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  Michael back. However, by this time he is
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  entered into polygamy. He has other wives, He has other
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  children. It's not the same young
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  Twitterpated first love. In fact, poor Michael's husband
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  comes crying afterward. We'll read about that in a few
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  weeks. But as Michael is stepping in as
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  the one of the women in the harem now for King David, she
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  obviously does not have the same feelings because she is
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  embarrassed by the way he's acting and, and out of the
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  sincerity of David's heart as he's praising the Lord.
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  He's he's a musician, he's an artist.
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  He's out there dancing and she's embarrassed at at what he's
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  wearing. She's embarrassed by his
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  behavior and she's she expresses her distaste and he responds
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  back also with letting you know that their relationship was not
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  what it was initially. And the scripture say because of
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  that she was barren. I I don't know if that's
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  accurately a description of what happened, but that's what the
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  text says. The only other woman that I want
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  to talk about here in these verses is the mother of Ogg.
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  Now in first Samuel 15, Saul is still alive and Saul is going
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  out to kill the Amalekites. And you remember David is
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  killing more than and the, and the women of the area always are
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  praising these war heroes and they come up with these songs
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  about, you know, Saul kills his thousands and David kills his
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  10s of thousands. And so the community, the women
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  in the community who are the musicians and, and, and
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  celebrating Israel's military game are adding wounds to Saul's
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  heart that he is not the person that God has authorized to be in
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  the throne anymore and that he has lost the grace of God
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  because of some of his poor choices.
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  And one of those poor choices that Saul did is Samuel gave him
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  the commandment that you need to kill everything in this
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  community of the Amalekites. And as Saul went out to battle,
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  he decided to spare quote the best of the sheep and the cattle
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  and the fat calves, the lambs that are good.
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  And he also saved the king. Now both of those things were
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  going against what the Lord asked him to do.
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  And then the third mistake he made, which was tragic, is
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  Samuel said, I will be back here and I will offer sacrifice at
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  the end of this, at the end of this battle to celebrate the
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  Lord's victory. But as he is a little bit
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  delayed, there's no clocks and the people are getting
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  impatient. Saul acts unwisely and says all
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  just do the sacrifice. He's from Benjamin I mentioned,
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  not from Levi. He did not have authority to do
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  this in this case. And Samuel says this is wrong,
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  you acted incorrectly, you didn't wait, and I told you to
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  obey with exactness. And you left the king and all
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  these animals. Well, Saul says all these
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  animals were just for sacrifices and he says you're not getting
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  it. And then Samuel prophecies in
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  first Samuel chapter 15 verse 33.
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  And I'm not going to read it in the NLT translation as your
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  sword has killed the sons of many mothers.
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  Now your mother will be childless.
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  And this mother of Ogg, the king of Ogg, who was then killed with
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  Samuel's direction, is, is now going to be a widow and lose her
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  children. Which just brings up this point
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  that the women and children in warfare are left often as the
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  empty victims. Not that they were the first
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  ones killed, but that they are left with great sorrow and
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  mourning. And war is a difficult,
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  challenging thing, and yet God had commanded it in this case.
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  And God had said, I want the wicked gone so that I can raise
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  up a righteous posterity. And as I step back and look at
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  this from a, from a celestial view, if I take a global
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  perspective on this, I can say it's actually kinder for God to
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  completely obliterate a wicked society so that these people
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  have the opportunity in the next life to hear the gospel, to
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  learn about the teachings of the Savior, to learn about loving
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  God and loving your neighbor and, and the Savior of the world
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  who will come. Because where they were living
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  at that time, they were completely blinded by the
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  wickedness of these people. So when God commands it, I have
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  come at peace to saying no matter how hard this is, all
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  these things will give us experience and be for our good.
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  And perhaps it's these tragedies that put these people in the
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  right state of mind when they are on the other side of the
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  veil to receive the teachings of Christ with a more humble and
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  meek heart. I don't have all the answers.
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  I don't understand sometimes why God commanded entire nations to
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  be destroyed, but I do know that I trust God.
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  I trust God in the big picture, and I also trust Him in my life.
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  I trust His timing. I trust His small axe.
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  I trust that if I follow Him, I will be able to be His servant.
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  And I pray that each of us, as we dive into our scriptures this
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  week, can find lessons that you can apply to your life, that we
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  can all be better people this day by following our Savior in
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  the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.