I & II Samuel

If you want to read great books on leadership, read 1st and 2nd Samuel. Early tradition suggests that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in scripture so I will do my best to examine the combined 55 chapters and share key leadership lessons.  No author is named for these books but scholars largely credit the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Based on 1 Sa. 27:6, the writing may not have been completed until about 930 B.C.[1]

Samuel is a prominent figure and chapter one accounts for his birth through his barren mother, Hannah.  “The Lord remembered her” (1 Sa.1:19) this upright woman who longed to have a child.  In remembering her He was also remembering Israel!  As God blessed her with Samuel, she in turn dedicated him for a lifetime of service.  Samuel would become one of Israel’s great prophets.  He was a man of prayer, of strong moral character and of great love for God and his countrymen.  His main failing, which his teacher, Eli modeled, was an inability to raise godly sons. Consequently, as he aged, Israel insisted on him appointing a king. This resulted in the anointing of a young, handsome man named Saul.   Saul shows us what happens when a promising leader goes bad because of insecurity and pride.  His failures so anger God that Samuel is directed to anoint another person to be king. 
            
Meditation
1 Samuel 16:6,7--When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”
 
Our passage above is key in revealing what is important to God—a good heart.  Samuel anointed the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, David.  From this young man would come an eternal dynasty, the birth of the world’s Savior, and superb leadership qualities:
·  Courage—confronted by the giant Goliath, David relied on God to fell his foe with a simple slingshot.  He bravely battled every enemy and always prevailed. 
·  Loyalty—David set the Lord always before him (Psalm 16:8), faithfully served his countrymen, and showed with Saul’s son, Jonathan, what true friendship looks like.
·  Trust—King Saul tried repeatedly to kill David.  Given two opportunities to take Saul’s life, David refused.  He refused to destroy the Lord’s anointed, instead trusting that God would place him on the throne when He desired.  His faith in God never wavered.  
·  Kindness—David showed favor to Saul’s descendants, sought reconciliation with enemies, and forgave his own traitorous son—almost to his undoing.
·   Godliness—David was the premier writer of psalms, songwriter and worshiper of God.  He sought Him in prayer before making major decisions, appointed singers, prepared for a temple to be built and was complimented by God as a man after His own heart (1 Sa.13:14).
            
David fell hard in sin but repented.  He is one of the epic figures in all of Scripture.  
 
Inspiration 
The central task of leadership is influencing God’s people towards God’s purposes.—Robert Clinton in The Making of a Leader
 
©2020 Daniel York ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)

[1] HCSB Study Bible, (Nashville:  Holman Bible Publishers, 2010).