What a person says and how a person speaks are deeply revealing about how a person feels, what a person intends, and who a person is.
Find a brief section of dialogue in 1 or 2 Samuel and dissect how those particular words develop a character (i.e. how does the language function in terms of narrative value and purpose) and what those particular words reveal about the character (i.e. what do we know/understand/perceive about the character as a result of the dialogue that we didn't know before).
Your dialogue selection can be as small as a single statement or can include back and forth between characters. Choose your piece of dialogue thoughtfully and carefully. Not every segment of dialogue reveals characterization. You must look intently at the context to determine whether a specific piece of dialogue is worthy of analysis - and then you must proceed to actually analyze it in whatever manner seems most pertinent (by considering the words themselves, the implied tone, the contextual setting, the relationship between speakers, et al.).
Be sure to include references. Be sure to write something interesting, fresh, substantive, thoughtful, and engaging. Be sure to think and consider before writing. Be sure to submit this post on time.
Posts are due by WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18 at MIDNIGHT.
IN 1-Samuel Chapter 24 where David spared the life of Saul after David had cut the hem of Saul's robe in the cave. The dialogue between the two after Saul realized that David wasn't going to execute him even though he had the clear opportunity to do so, the intriguing part to me is the response Saul gave to David after he yelled out to Saul while bowing is head and saying "My King", as Saul's response to David He said in verse 16 " You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil....and through to verse 19, Saul said "who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power" going on to verse 20, Saul said "And now I realize that you are surely going to be King and that the Kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule, and now swear to me by Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants and David promised". It is almost as though Saul realizes consciously or had a moment of consciousness that he cant change his destiny, but he is subconsciously compelled by God to be persistent at chasing after David till his death, maybe if in that moment he had showed some sincere remorse as he had done earlier when he learnt about Gods anger with him for disobeying him, he might have been redeemed or favored by God, but still into chapter 26 of 1- Samuel, Saul didn't stop chasing after David. Saul's character in that moment sounded regretful of his mistake. But also, it seems that God had changed in the way he treats his chosen ones, he seemed more strict and his word is final, this could be due to the fact that compared to all other people he had called or chosen to lead as judge of deliver messages, there was no anointing, which indicates to me that, anointing carried a special connotation compared to just been called as we have seen with Abraham, Moses and the rest of them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can almost certainly say that probably because of what he had requested of David, that's why God didn't give him to David to execute, so God honored David because he is anointed by holding David's end of the bargain, but instead by his own sword, but unfortunately Jonathan died along with him, which I thought was unfair.
I would like to look in 1 Samuel 3:4-10, where the Lord speaks to Samuel. Starting in verse 4, "Suddenly the Lord called out, Samuel!" There are a few things I see here that need to be discussed. I looked at the Hebrew word for "called out," to get a better idea of how the Lord is speaking when he says Samuel's name. The Hebrew word is qara', which describes this bold summoning and accosting of someone. There is power, passion and an invitation as the Lord says, "Samuel!" Not only does this word qara' show a deep calling and meaningful invitation, but there is an exclamation mark after his name. There is urgency, excitement, and energy in God's voice.
ReplyDeleteWhat is so fascinating is that Samuel goes to Eli, even when we see how passionate and powerful the Lord's calling was to Samuel. How could Samuel mistaken the Lord for Eli? It could be that Samuel heard this exclamation of his name so literally that he was convinced it came from a human being (verse 5). That is why in verse 6, the Lord has urgency and commitment to Samuel, calling him again, "Samuel!" The same Hebrew word qara' is used for the second calling of Samuel as well! Samuel mistakes the Lord's calling for Eli calling him once more. Verse 8 and 9 are what truly fascinate me about the Lord's character and methods to reach his people. The Lord takes the man who Samuel thought was speaking to him (Eli) to point him to the Lord, which is amazing. Imagine yourself some day seeing the future from a place where all you can do is watch. And one of your closest friends you notice needs help. Would you not call out to them?! If this were me, I would call out to my friend, more than that, I would be insulted if my friend didn't recognize my voice as I called him/her. I think God could've been hurt by Samuel not recognizing him, but the Lord didn't stop there. In fact, the Lord used Eli to get Samuel's attention. He will do anything to get Samuel to hear him - Verse 9 "So he (Eli) said to Samuel, 'Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'". And finally, when the Lord calls Samuel a third time, note, he says his name twice: "Samuel! Samuel!" (verse 10). The Lord is committed to his people!
Out of the books we have read so far in this class, 1 Samuel has the most character development through narrative that I've seen. In the very beginning of the book, the structure of the narrative that Elkanah had in response to Hannah's sorrow of not bearing a child can be understood in a completely different light, based on the way that it is read and the context in which it is given. The response he had to her weeping and mourning. in 1 Samuel 1:8 "Why are you crying, Hannah? Why aren't you eating?
ReplyDeleteWhy be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me - isn't that better than having ten sons?" The way that I interpreted Elkanah's reaction seemed to be borderline pompous and unfeeling, but after discussing this portion of the text further while in class, it became apparent that this dialogue can be interpreted a number of ways. In the written context, we lose the pointers that would give us as listeners insight into what the characters were thinking as so much of the understanding of the narrative is left up to our own imaginations. The tone, the volume, the meter, the pace, or the delivery of the speakers voice - all these things could influence the meaning and context that we derive, so in this situation the comments by Elkanah seem snide and conceited. He seems to say, "am I NOT enough?" In this context, Elkanah is asking Hannah rather snobbishly, why aren't you content when you have such a catch like me? In seeming unfeeling manner, Hannah's sorrow is played over.
If you read it through the context of Elkanah comforting Hannah by affirming that her inability to provide sons to carry on the family name did not matter, as long as they were together. In the society that found fertility and male lineage to be so important, the fact that Hannah was unable to provide sons for her husband would have been an even more difficult burden for her to handle. By Elkanah questioning his adequacy, it would make it seem that he was saying that their love would suffice, even if Hannah didn't believe it.
A piece of dialog in 1 Samuel that jumped out at me was chapter 20 verse 2. During this verse, Johnathan is replying to David after being asked why his father, Saul, is trying to kill David. Johnathan says, "Thats not true! You're not going to die. He always tells me everything he's going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn't hide something like this from me, it just isn't so!" This dialog makes me think that Johnathan is close with his father and does not want to believe that he could be capable of something so wicked. Johnathan seems to think that his father would never hurt David. Depending on the tone that this dialog is read, one could make different conclusions about Johnathan's character.
ReplyDeleteThis can be read in many different tones. The first time I read it, I read it as though Johnathan was sad when saying this. I imagined that deep down he realized that he did not know his father as well as he thought he did, and he was saddened by this. The second time I read it, I imagined him using an angry tone with David. Some people react to bad news with anger, and maybe that is how Johnathan reacted. He could even be saying it in a comforting tone to make David feel safe, as he is Davids friend and may not want him to worry.
“Don’t be afraid. You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you- they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”
In this passage, the intentions and the heart of the Lord, Our God is made clear through the character of Samuel. The words used are connotatively positive in nature, allowing for a sense of forgiveness and good heart.
Yet not only are they nice words, they also carry relevant and substantive lessons as well: The Israelites have struggled with worshipping false idols (such as with the Ark debacle). It should be noted that modern people often also struggle with valuing material items over spirituality. Therefore, the verse commanding “Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you- they are totally useless” is one of the blunter and surprisingly timely Samuel One quotes.
Samuel’s benevolence, patience, and understanding towards the people of Israel when he says, “you have certainly down wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart,” acts as window into the heart of God and the depth of His Grace. Since Samuel is a prophet, this all makes sense since his job was to convey the word of God.
Finally, as discussed in class, it is important to note that this piece of dialogue has been identified as a specific genre in and of itself. It is a farewell address following a similar pattern and structure as other farewell’s seen in the Bible. Jesus has his own Farewell speech later that is equally as lovely.
The farewell speech of the prophet Samuel succinctly wraps up the formal relationship between Samuel and the Israelites.
I chose to analyze the conversations within the episode of Amnon’s rape of Tamar and how the dialogue before, during, and after developed their characters and intentions, as well as the entire story as a societal allegory. This whole scenario I feel is one which could very much be reflected today concerning enduring patriarchal approaches to rape and female rights, as 2 Genesis 13 introduces issues of rape erasure, male passive justice, and victim blaming. It also highlights the critical importance of rhetoric with consent and parental roles. What stood out most to me was verse 13-15, after Amnon rapes her, his tone and intentions completely flip from carnal infatuation to angered guilt with, “Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. ‘Get her out of here!’ he snarled at her." This clearly showed to me a phenomenon of victim blaming we still witness today. He coerces Tamar to do his bidding with a façade of niceness, takes advantage of her, then immediately disregards her and reprimands her for being the source of his shame and guilt. Along with this interaction, the passivity his father, King David, presents after when dealing with this issue crucially develops Amnon’s character and mindset. King David’s lack of concern introduces rape victim erasure and passive male justice in a patriarchal society in the bible, perpetuated today.
ReplyDeleteIt all begins with Amnon turning to Jonadab for advice. Here, Jonadab acts as the wise advisor or influential father figure to impressionable and then sexually clueless Amnon, asking, “why does the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?” (13-4). It is clear that Amnon is not satisfied with his father’s lack of presence (due to his own similar problems dealing with Bathsheba), and will continue to perpetuate this objectifying of women as desirable treats, a dynamic seen today with absent fathers. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Tamar’s dialogue as she defends herself right before Amnon’s horrid action in verses 12 and 13 also provides a development on the Bible as social commentary with showing God’s character through female agency as verbal refusal of consent. As powerful in status as she is, she is still subjected to male dominance, which reflects today in showing how important female consent is in a patriarchal society. It also shows how dependent men are to women as caretakes, yet are quick to sexualize them and disregard them right after ("throw this woman out!"), as she acts motherly towards Amnon, which only fuels him more, showing Amnon’s Elektra complex.
Overall, this episode develops both Tamar and Amnon’s characters through King David’s own flawed character, addressing rape culture issues in the bible that are still demonstrated today.
By comparing Eli's conversation with his sons and his conversation with Hannah and Samuel, I will argue that Eli is a character with double-standard who casts judgment and control upon others as a vent for his discontentment and lack of control over his own sons. The version I am using is the NLT.
ReplyDeleteIn 1 Samuel 2:23-25, Eli says that he has been hearing about the wicked things the sons are doing and the reports he hear are not good. But how wicked is wicked? How bad is not good? Eli does not describe. He also does not describe how serious the consequences are if someone sins against the Lord. The rhetorical question (1 Samuel 2:25) he tossed to his sons is weak and meaningless, since they have no respect for the Lord (1 Samuel 2:12). The only sort of demanding sentence he says to his sons is "You must stop, my sons!"(1 Samuel 2:24). Through my research I find out that "my sons" usually implies a protective sense, and a sentence with a subject, a verb and a object is far less demanding than a imperative sentence which we will see in his encounter with Hannah.
In contrast, he demands Hannah when he first meets her in an imperative sentence (1 Samuel 1:14) with a serious and demanding tone, marked by the exclamation point at the end. He also threatens Samuel that God may strike and kill Samuel if he hides anything from Eli (1 Samuel 3:17). Eli clearly understands God's power and capability because he utilizes this knowledge in a manipulating way, but from what we read, he does not reinforce this on his own sons. Therefore from what we read, I can conclude that Eli has different standards to others and to his sons, possibly due to his protective nature to his sons.
PS: I suspect that this protective nature might come from the lost of their mother since Eli's wife is never mentioned in the passage. But it is never told so it's only a hypothesis that can't be proven.
In 1 Samuel 3:17-19 we learn a lot about Samuel. At this point he is still very young and he is just learning that he is a prophet of the Lord. When he first hears God talk to him he doesn't realize it was God. However, through the help of Eli he is able to figure it out. We learned from this little passage that Samuel is an honest person and was willing to tell something to Eli that would be hard to tell and for Eli it would be a difficult thing to hear. Samuel is filling out an important role in which he will have to judge people and tell them things they will not want to hear. The passage gives us the opportunity to see the foundation he has that led to Samuel being so good at his role he plays later on.
ReplyDeleteIn 1 Samuel 3:9 it says that “Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.” Eli goes on to say that Samuel should “go lie down... and say Speak Lord; for thy servant heareth.” By just reading this verse, one may believe that Eli genuinely wants his son to follow the Lord’s commands and be a “servant”; however, what we later learn seems to contradict that perception. In 1 Samuel 3:15, it states that “Samuel feared to show Eli the vision” because he knew that it was not something positive about his father. However, despite Samuel’s fear, Eli provoked him to share the vision with him anyway, saying “What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing (or word) from me of all the things that He said unto thee.” In essence, this shows Eli’s character because he is making his son share a personal message that HE received from the Lord, not Eli. If Samuel wanted to share the message with Eli, he would not have been “fearful” about it, and would have done so willingly. Moreso, it almost seems as if Eli is guilting Samuel into sharing the message with him, even the exact words that the Lord unto him. Overall, Eli’s true colors are starting to show during these verses, and continue to show throughout the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteIn 2 Samuel 23:1-7, David addresses the people of Israel with his final words. This section reveals several aspects of David's character. First we see that he recognizes his authority. "David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel" (23:1). This shows that David is responsible in the sense that he understands the call that has been placed on his life, and through context we see he was willing to follow through. Additionally, David is cognizant of where he has received his power from. He was, "anointed by God." He goes on to say that, "the Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue" (23:2) David is humble because he honors the one who gave him power. David also shows himself to be confident. He says, "is it not my family God has chosen?" (23:5) The tone that I read this in my head suggests that he is confident, not in himself, but in the fact that God will fulfill his covenant with him. Finally, he shows his wisdom. "He will ensure my safety and success. But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away...they will be totally consumed by fire" (23:5-6). He shows his wisdom given by God in regards to the value of following God's calling and commandments.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 20 of I Samuel, the reader can infer how deeply the relationship between Jonathan and David is. Specifically, it shows that even their religion allows for the strength in their devotion to each other (ESV I Samuel 20.12-17). Especially when Jonathan remarks, " But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety (ESV I Samuel 20.13). By invoking the Lord over the potential events to come, it shows that Jonathan expects consequences should he do wrong by both David and the Lord. It also shows that Jonathan sees David as kin which would also dictate how this type of betrayal was dealt with among their people. He also knows that in doing so he sets himself up to also be a target for his father to kill as a result, yet remains steadfast in promising David to warn him. This can be confirmed by Jonathan's statement, "If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth" (ESV I Samuel 20.14-16). The repeated use of the word love provides even more evidence to the weight of Jonathan's devotion since it has been rare that the use of the word love relates between two male individuals in the Old Testament we've read as a class up to this point. Jonathan also makes it known that this is a family matter by referring to "my house" which could relate back to how the future actions of his father should be isolated from how God will treat the family going forward. Showing that his family should not be enemies with David or David's going forward if he has input into it. Lastly, and perhaps most crucially the text states " And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David...And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul" (ESV I Samuel 20.16-17). By using the word "soul" it shows how akin to one another these two individuals are. It could be implied that Jonathan's decision to make the covenant is validated because they are matched on a spiritual level. Again, the repeated use of the word love shows that this covenant is being made with that specific intention in mind. Thus, allowing readers to pick up on and discuss these potential contextual moments as ways to further or discredit the importance of their relationship as I Samuel progresses.
ReplyDeleteThe characterization of Saul takes a bit of turn in 1 Samuel 20. In response to Jonathan telling him that David went to Bethlehem, Saul exclaims, "'You stupid son of a whore (or perverse and rebellious woman)! Do you think I don't know that you want him to be the king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you'll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!'" (1 Samuel 20:30-31). We can tell a lot of Saul's character from this short outburst.
ReplyDeleteMost obviously, we see that Saul's obsession with David has now developed to the point where it interferes with his most important relationships (you can argue that the father-son relationship is the most important in the Bible). Up until this point in the narrative, we had only seen Saul lash out at David. But this scene indicates how the David saga will now consume Saul and his death takes priority.
Secondly, we see a dichotomy in the way Saul views the establishment of the kingship. The sentence "As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you'll never be king" (1 Sam. 20:31) reveals why the kingship was taken away from Saul. The fact that Saul says this signals that he is fully aware that the LORD is with David and will establish David as king. In conjunction with 1 Samuel 18:28, "When Saul realized that the LORD was with David..., Saul became even more afraid of him", we know for certain that Saul is aware that the LORD is on David's side. But even though we can tell that Saul knows that the LORD will establish David as king deep down, his words demonstrate that he doesn't remember how he was established king. His desire to kill David and ensure Jonathan's ascent to the throne is a denial that the LORD is the one who anoints the king. Saul is essentially grasping for the right to anoint the next king.
This little episode illustrates how Saul completely turned away from the LORD. Just like Adam and Eve, Saul wanted to be like God and strove to be in control, yet we can tell that his own intuition pointed to its futility.
Samuel in 1 Samuel was told by God to find a king for Israel, for the people were doubting God, and wanted someone else to rule over them. In verse 8:1-9, we see this, as how though the elders of Israel once believed in God only because they needed him to fight off Egypt as shown in 7:8 "Don't stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!" Once they have won, they abandoned God and turned to other gods. God says, "Do everything they say to you," the Lord replied, "for they are rejecting me, not you. They don't want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them." Though this is not a particular characterization of a single person, but a characterization of the elders/people of Israel. They once pleaded with Samuel to save them from the Philistines, but once they got what they wanted, they turned away from God, thus showing that they weren't really turning to God in time of crisis, to save themselves from sin, but to save them from physical fear (which was the war with the Philistines). They didn't trust God completely, they only did what they were told because they wanted God to save them from the hands of death by Egypt. Thus, when they did win, and God sees that they haven't truly turned to the Lord, the Lord is giving them a lesson to show for their betrayal, which is what we see when God says to Samuel to find them a king. This kind of is how we as people today only turn to God in times of crisis, and once we have overcome that crisis, we suddenly don't need him anymore. The characterization, as shown here, is going from false faith to greediness, in which God delivers their lesson because then Saul, whom is later their king, then treats the people poorly, and uses his greediness, which is basically pretty much thrown back in the faces of those who were once greedy of God. It's sort of full circle, to show how if you betray God with sin, he will use that same sin to put those same people in their place.
ReplyDeleteThe passage I am using for my post comes from 2 Samuel (12:5-6). It goes as follows, 5David was furious. “As surely as the lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! 6He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity”. To put this into context, this is just after David had slept with and impregnated Bathsheba and sent Uriah into battle to be killed. The Lord was very unhappy with David’s actions so he sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke David for his actions. Nathan tells a story about two men, one poor and one rich. The rich man had many lambs and livestock while the poor man only had one little lamb. The poor man cuddled and took very good care of his lamb and valued its life greatly. But one day the rich man has a guest come over and the guest is hungry, but instead of using one of his own lambs, the rich man steals the lamb from the poor man. After hearing this, David replies with the quote I have above. I think these two verses can tell us a lot about David and who he is. As we know, David is a man of god and god anointed him as King. He was loved by the people, and was a very righteous man. But David was overcome with lust. Lust can be very powerful and bring down even the purest of hearts. David was so overcome with Lust that it caused all his morals to turn off. We’re talking about a man of god, who is in the line of Jesus, who one day sleeps with another man’s wife and then orders the man to be killed. Those are some intense and powerful actions. I think that after David had done this, he didn’t even begin to comprehend the severity of his actions. Lust had smothered his guilt. And that is why I think he didn’t realize that Nathan’s story was about him. He wasn’t playing dumb or being prideful. He was simply guilt free because the lust he had felt for Uriah’s wife had clouded his judgement and morality. Let’s say you have an innocent person and a guilty person. And the guilty person has just killed someone. I think it is more than likely that the innocent person would want the punishment for the guilty person to be quite severe as opposed to the guilty person who would most likely try and rationalize the crime and plead that the punishment should be light. People will cast judgement quickly on the outside looking in, but will have a greater empathy when they can relate to the situation. And that is why I think that David said the punishment for the rich man should be swift and severe. He does not realize what he has done and still has his innocence in his mind.
ReplyDelete1 Samuel 14:24-30 is an utterance from King Saul and his son’s commentary helps to shed light on what kind of person his father is. Saul says “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies” (1 Samuel 14: 24). His son replies to the king’s actions and says how troublesome he is being. “Think of how many more Philistines we could have killed!” (1 Samuel 14:30) (referring to the strength the men could have gained by eating.) This gives us a sense of Saul’s big headedness. This is strong character development here as we start to see Saul making more and more undesirable decisions, making him sound here more cocky than anything else. The reader can see the development of Saul’s character in this small decision, and even in the decision he makes to uphold the seemingly pointless declaration on food when his son eats. He is willing to kill his son over something so arbitrary. We gain a sense of ignorance through Saul’s actions. Actions do speak louder than word sometimes, but here we see Saul sticking to his guns and keeping his word to put to death anyone who ate before the enemy was defeated. We know now that Saul is willing to sacrifice others for the sake of his own name, even his own flesh and blood. He does lose credibility when he does not follow through with his own plan regarding the food. The overarching term that I would label this whole interaction as would be selfishness. Saul is not worried about the strength of his men and their hunger pangs. He only cares about his own self and his own personal battle. Also this is so extremely dramatic. For a small example: if someone told me I couldn’t have food that was right in front of me and I was exhausted and starving, I would be making sure there was a good reason why not before I ate shamelessly. It sounds sort of like a pity party to me. Saul wanted to celebrate the defeat of the enemies and his son had already started without him. Also, why is everything always punishable by death? This seems really extreme for eating a small amount of honey. This all tells us that Saul is greedy for power, thirsting to keep up his namesake as king, and, honestly, insecure. If the soldiers in battle didn't wait for Saul, maybe he would have felt like he had been left out and that the king was not necessary anymore. This is drastic, but Saul is nothing if not too big for his britches.
ReplyDeleteIn Samuel 1 Chapter 3 verses 4-6 when the Lord God calls upon Samuel close to 3 times and it takes until the 4th time that God has called upon Samuel instead of Eli "Here i am; you called me, my son Eli said, I did not call go back and lie down" I think that this shows that Samuel's character is starting to become more religious and he is starting to understand what the Lord God has called him to do in his life.
ReplyDeleteThis is the entire Verse Then the Lord called Samuel
DeleteSamuel Answered "Here I am" and he ran to Eli and said "Here I am ;you called me" But Eli said "I did not call; go back and lie down" So he went and lay down. This happens one more time then Samuel begins to understand that the Lord has called upon him so Eli tells Samuel this once Eli figure out that Samuel is being called upon "So eli told Samuel, go lie down, and if he calls you say 'speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" I think that this just develops Samulel's character
In 2 Samuel 12, David's child becomes sick and David fasts in order to seek God on behalf of the child (vs 16). A couple verses later we find out that the child passes away and the servants tell David. The dialogue that characterizes David at this point is in verse 22-23. After he finds out his child died he goes to eat and his servants ask him why he is no longer fasting. David responds with "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But no he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
ReplyDeleteThis verse unveils how David is feeling after his childs death. He reacts with questions that have obvious answers, implying attitude to the servants. Later when he describes how there is no longer a reason to fast, it can be understood that he is angry at God for not sparing his child. When David asks "why should I fast? Can I bring him back again," we can feel the sting of that question, probably similar to the sting he felt when his servants told him his child passes away. This short dialogue by David reveals to us his soft side, even though often portrayed to us as a mighty leader.
The growing anger and jealousy of Saul is a really interesting point in the Book of Samuel to talk about. In 1Samuel20:30-32, Saul says to his son Jonathan, "You stupid son of a whore! Do you think I don't know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?" This is the second time we see Saul take a foolish anger out on his son Jonathan and even a threat to kill him.
ReplyDeleteBefore this in 1 Samuel 14:43-45, Saul asks Jonathan what he has done and he responds that he had a bit of honey. Saul says "You must die! May god strike me and even kill me if you don't die from this"
These two passages develop the character of Saul as one who disregards his family as something trivial and unimportant unlike some of the past characters who weeped over lost sons.
We also see this in the very beginning when Saul gets to Samuel and says "My family is the least important of all the families of that tribe!" (1Samuel 9:21)
Saul is repeatedly dismissive of his family bonds but even more so as his jealousy for David grows and his family members don't necessarily hold the same anger.
In 1 Samuel, we see the progression of Samuel as he becomes a leader worthy of honor and trust. From dialogue in chapter 7, we see the apex of this progression. Samuel tells the people of Israel, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines" (1 Samuel 7:3, ESV). From this dialogue, we see the progression of Samuel's leadership role; he addressed and gave a command to the entire nation of Israel for the first time (that we read about anyway). He stepped up and tried to bring order to his nation that was struggling with their identity.
ReplyDeleteThe response to Samuel's command is just as helpful as we look at Samuel's character development. The Israelites heard Samuel's words and immediately put away their idols and followed God (1 Samuel 7:4). Their actions show us that not only is Samuel emerging as a leader, he is considered trustworthy and honorable by his people. The people of Israel listened to what he said and immediately followed his command with no hesitation. Samuel's strong words in 1 Samuel 7:3 were the climax of his early life. This command transitioned him to be the leader of Israel.
I think we can also learn about Samuel's inner state from this dialogue. His command was a bold one; he was telling many people to desert their way of life to follow his God. From this, we see that Samuel had complete trust and confidence in God. If Samuel didn't believe whole-heartedly in God, he would not have had the courage to give such a bold command to an entire nation. The dialogue in 1 Samuel 7:3 is essential to the story as it shows readers Samuel's progression as a leader and as a follower of God.
Oh mighty King David shared his experience of turning from a boy into a man in 1 Samuel 17: 32-37 while convincing Saul that he would surely slay Goliath. David tells Saul not to worry about the Philistine and that he would fight him in v32. Saul is quick to reject David’s request and quotes that he is just a young boy and would stand no chance against this man of war. However, in v34 it says that David persisted and continued into his story of slaying lions and bears and rescuing his sheep. Of course, only with the power of the living God. Proclaiming boldly that what he has done to these animals he will do to Goliath.
ReplyDeleteWe learned a lot about the future king of Israel in these few short verses. We learned about his unwavering persistence and skills in persuasion that had not been seen before. We learned of unwatched courage and confidence that only comes from complete faith in something, in this case his God that saved him from the jaws of lions and claws of bears. Things that are all must have traits for someone who will lead armies and an entire nation.
In the book of 1 Samuel, after the LORD rejects Saul, David is introduced as the next king that God has brought up for himself. David, Jesse the Bethlehemite’s youngest son, is described as being young, dark and handsome with beautiful eyes. This is all we readers know about David, other than that he tends to the sheep every day, until Chapter 17 – the story of David and Goliath. At the start of the chapter, David is sent to the battlefield (where the Israelites and the Philistines are gathered) to greet his older brothers. When he gets there, the mighty Philistine Goliath comes up out of the ranks and begins shouting, while the army of Israel flees in fear. Instead of following the example of the Israelites and also fleeing, as we would expect a young boy to do in this situation, David becomes what I think is a combination of angry and curious. He asks the men around him “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (NLT 17:26).
ReplyDeleteDavid’s initial reaction to Goliath is one like “Who does this guy think he is, defying OUR God? I’ll show him who’s the boss.”
It is from this reaction, these two questions, that we learn so much about David as a character in the story. We learn that he is brave, independent, and that he honors the LORD so much that it disgusts him to see someone disrespect Him. David is ready, without any forethought, to put Goliath in his place. He seems almost excited to find out what the reward could be for defeating him. David also isn’t impressed or fazed by Goliath’s enormous size, great weapons or loud shouts. But rather, he thinks so highly of the LORD that he seems to say “Psh, this guy’s got nothing on my God.” We immediately see in this moment why David was chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. It seems to set the tone for how the rest of David’s kingship will play out (mostly).