1 Samuel

This study through 1 Samuel traces the spiritual lessons found in the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David. Samuel was born through Hannah’s earnest prayer and grew into a prophet because he maintained the attitude, “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” Yet even Samuel’s life warns us of the danger of ceasing to listen to God when personal attachments interfere with spiritual discernment. Saul began with remarkable qualities—humility, faithfulness, courage, restraint, and the Spirit of God upon him—but impatience, disobedience, fear of people, concern for appearances, jealousy, and failure to become a true worshiper led to his decline. David presents the contrast: overlooked by men but chosen by God because God saw his heart. His private victories over the lion and bear prepared him for his public victory over Goliath, while years of difficulty taught him to depend upon and seek guidance from God. Together, these lives remind us that God is not primarily looking for outward ability, position, or intelligence, but for people who continually listen to Him, obey Him, worship Him, remain faithful in secret, and possess a heart wholly devoted to Him.compromise, self-reliance, and doing “what is right in one’s own eyes.”