From Beginning to Forever: A Study of the Grand Narrative of ScriptureSample

Read 1 Samuel 8:4-9.

In the first few chapters of 1 Samuel, we read about the birth and ministry of Israel’s last judge, Samuel. After faithfully leading Israel for many, many years, Samuel appointed his sons to take his place. But his sons were sinful and disobedient (1 Sam. 8:3). So, the elders of Israel came to Samuel and demanded he appoint a king to rule them.

God, in His grace, gave the Israelites what they wanted and anointed Saul as king. But rather than bringing blessings to Israel, Saul proved to be a king who followed after his own way rather than the way of God.

After Saul’s kingship was taken from him, the story quickly pivots to focus on his replacement—David. While Saul cowered in fear, David boldly defended the name of God and the people of Israel (1 Sam. 17).

In the Davidic Covenant, God built on the covenants He made with both Abraham and Moses. He reaffirmed the promises He had already made and then promised that David’s kingdom, or rule, would last forever. Out of the land God had given Israel would come a leader from the line of David through whom blessing would flow to the entire world. The promised king would be someone far greater than David, ruling Israel perfectly for the glory of God. Eventually, we will see that great David’s greater Son will be the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 11:31)!1

After his father died and the kingdom was established in his hands (1 Kings 2:46), Solomon began his reign by offering a thousand burnt offerings on the altar at Gibeon.

After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took the throne. The ten northern and eastern tribes of Israel rose up against him and established their own kingdom under Jeroboam.2 The kingdom that experienced 120 years of unity under the leadership of Saul, David, and Solomon quickly declined because of division and idolatry.

God was patient with Israel and sent prophets to remind the people of the covenant they made with Him. For a long time, God worked through these men to draw Israel back into a place of obedience. After about two hundred years of disobedience and idolatry, God honored the covenant He made with Israel. But this time, what He gave them was not a blessing but judgment.

Read 2 Kings 17:6-7 and 2 Kings 24:10-17.

Both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms were taken into exile, respectively in 722 BC and 586 BC. Israel went from thriving under the leadership of Solomon to living as exiles in Babylon and Assyria.

In 538 BC, Israel returned from exile and successfully rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. Yet even with the restoration of their city’s infrastructure, they soon fell back into their sinful patterns. Israel needed the promised Messiah.

1. Vaughan Roberts, God’s Big Picture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 84.

2. Ibid., 86.