1 & 2 Samuel (NIV Application Commentary | NIVAC)

by Bill T. Arnold

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2003

ISBN: 9780310490456

(14)

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Overview

Why do the books of Samuel pack such broad appeal? Taken together as a single narrative, they certainly offer something for everyone: kings and prophets, great battles and greater heroes, action and romance, loyalty and betrayal, the mundane and the miraculous. In Samuel, we meet Saul, David, Goliath, Jonathan, Bathsheba, the witch of Endor, and other unforgettable characters. And we encounter ourselves. For while the culture and conditions of Israel under its first kings is vastly different from our own, the basic issues of humans in relation to God, the Great King, have not changed. Sin, repentance, forgiveness, adversity, prayer, faith, and the promises of God—these continue to play out in our lives today.

Exploring the links between the Bible and our own times, Bill T. Arnold shares perspectives on 1 and 2 Samuel that reveal ageless truths for our 21st-century lives.

Preface by the author
In-depth introductions
Bibliographical references and indexes

Top Highlights

“Partial obedience is really only disobedience made to look acceptable.” (Page 220)

“(1) The demand for a king is sinful in its motives.” (Page 153)

“God has the superior vantage point of seeing the heart. Since we are not God, we cannot know who will answer his call and who will be effective in his service. This means both that we should be cautious about judging other people and their potential effectiveness in the kingdom of God, and also that we should not question our own abilities and gifts for service. We may feel that we do not have much to offer God—but that would be a superficial evaluation, based on our own limited perspective. If God calls, he also empowers.” (Page 232)

“God seems to find particular delight in using the ultimate in weakness and vulnerability—a newborn baby—as the means of accomplishing his great purposes. In human weakness, God’s strength can be seen with greater clarity.” (Page 60)

“One eminent scholar of the books of Samuel observes that two factors make David’s heroism possible: his zeal for the reputation of Israel’s God (‘the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel,’ v. 46) and his utter trust in God’s ability to save him against all odds (vv. 37, 45–47).⁴⁰ David’s energetic zeal and childlike faith as portrayed here are exemplary for all believers. We should all feel so deeply and act so boldly as David does.” (Page 264)

Bill T. Arnold (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is a director of Hebrew studies and a professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of Encountering the Book of Genesis, and coauthor of Encountering the Old Testament and A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax.