Ⅱ
We need to see the Divine Trinity as it is revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel:
A
God's purpose for His chosen people was not merely to defeat the enemies and take full possession of the good land but for them to set up a kingdom in the land:
１
In order for God to fulfill His intention to have an expression, He needs to have a kingdom, a sphere in which He is expressed—1 Sam. 10:25; Matt. 6:10; Luke 1:33.
２
The children of Israel were brought out of Egypt and through the wilderness, where they built the tabernacle for God; then they entered into the good land, and every tribe was allotted a portion of the land so that God might have a kingdom on earth—Josh. 13:1—22:34.
３
First and 2 Samuel are crucial for the bringing in of the kingdom—1 Sam. 8:4-22; 10:25; 13:14; 15:28; 16:1-3, 13.
B
Because of the miserable situation in the book of Judges, there was an urgent and desperate need for one like Samuel—1 Sam. 2:35; 3:21:
１
Samuel was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and a judge; this fourfold status qualified Samuel to be the one who could bring in the king and set up the kingdom.
２
For Samuel to be a priest, a prophet, and a judge was not God's goal; God's intention was to set up a kingdom with a king—8:7; 13:14.
C
First and 2 Samuel reveal that the bringing in of the king and the setting up of the kingdom depended on the involvement of the Divine Trinity with His people:
１
In order for such a one as Samuel to be raised up and carry out his commission, there was a need of the Divine Trinity—1 Sam. 1:10-11, 20; 10:1, 6; 16:1-3.
２
For this reason, in 1 and 2 Samuel there is a detailed, fine revelation of the Divine Trinity; the crucial point in the history recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel is that there was the need of the Divine Trinity—2 Sam. 22:1-3; 23:1-3; 24:25.
Morning Nourishment
1 Sam. 8:5-7 And they said to him,… Appoint now for us a king to judge us like all the nations…. Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they have said to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but they have rejected Me from being King over them.Although Samuel was God’s representative, God did not have any intention to make him a kingdom. Rather, according to the Bible, God determined to raise up a man named David, through whom He intended to build up a kingdom. When God chose Abraham, it was not His intention to gain a single person or even a group of people who would seek after Him. God’s intention has been to have a kingdom. The consummation of the revelation in the Bible is a kingdom. Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” In the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem, there will be the eternal kingdom of God.
Even though Samuel eventually attained the highest position, God still had not reached His goal. As a man who was according to God’s heart, Samuel knew that within God’s heart there was a desire for a kingdom. God wanted the kingdom to be brought in not through Samuel but through David. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 43-44)
Today’s Reading
When someone attains a high position, there is always a question as to whether he will allow someone else to come in to match him or to be above him. If you had been Samuel, would you have given any ground for someone to match you or be above you? Samuel was pure and single. He was a Nazarite according to his mother’s vow and was altogether not self-seeking. He never sought to gain anything for himself. He had no heart for anything besides God and God’s elect. God loved Israel, and His heart was duplicated in Samuel.Because God’s heart was duplicated in Samuel, Samuel did not care for his own interest or gain. At the end, Samuel gained nothing but a tomb to be buried in. Due to the situation at the time, Samuel appointed his sons to be judges, but, contrary to Saul, he had no intention to build up a kingdom for them. His sons did not follow in his ways but went after unjust gain, took bribes, and perverted justice (1 Sam. 8:1-3). When the people asked Samuel to appoint a king, he was not offended by anything related to his sons; on the contrary, he was offended by their desire to replace God (vv. 4-7). Because he had no intention to build up a kingdom for his descendants, Samuel’s concern was not for his children but for God’s people. In such a situation it was easy for God to bring in the kingdom.
God used Samuel to anoint first Saul and then David. As we will see when we consider the history concerning Saul, Saul only had a monarchy. The kingdom of God came first under David, when God’s throne was established in Jerusalem. In Matthew 21:43 the Lord Jesus told the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God would be taken from them. This indicates that the kingdom of God began in the Old Testament. It did not begin with Abraham or with Moses but with David. Therefore, what we see with David is not any kind of monarchy but the kingdom of God.
While Samuel was under Eli’s custody, God taught him in a very fine way, built him up, and established him as His proper priest. As such a priest, Samuel became a judge to judge Israel, a prophet to prophesy for God, and the one to bring forth the kingship. By this kingship the kingdom of God was established on earth. This is a picture of what our situation should be today. We need to be, first, a Samuel, and then, a David, enjoying Christ to such a degree that what we have enjoyed of Christ will become a kingdom, which is the church.
According to Matthew 16:18-19, the church and the kingdom are identical. The kingdom today is the church, and within the church there is the intrinsic essence—the Body of Christ. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 44-45, 47, 19)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msgs. 2-3, 6-7, 9