STUDIES IN SAMUEL - preparation for teaching
Our plan:
- Aim to read ahead in Samuel, over the summer break.
- Check in to the ‘Ink’ blog each week for notes, quotes and responses. Respond in the comments section – put up any questions, links to other passages etc. [The idea is to start exploring the passages that we will eventually teach from.]
- February, we will begin to meet fortnightly to do two things:
i.
Share personal
Bible readings, questions and prep we are doing.
ii.
Discuss
the passages in Samuel for teaching to the church.
So how do we go about getting the ‘message’ intended for us in the
books of Samuel?
Who are we meant to identify with when we read these Bible
histories?
- Look in the text for people with faith. They
won’t be perfect and we will need the Spirit’s help to detect where they go
wrong—but to the degree a person is paying attention to God’s word and trusting
him or herself to God to do what he says—that is someone to identify with and
compare our own lives of faith to.
How should we understand and learn from Israel—and from
God’s treatment of those people?
- Think of Israel as the Church—in the broadest
sense, i.e. including those who profess to follow God and associate with the
Church—even though there are question marks over whether their faith is
genuine. Israel is the Old Testament ‘Church’. Since Jesus came, the Church has
been expanded way beyond Israel, to include people from all nations, tribes and
languages.
Where do we see Christ in the Old Testament?
- He is the Lord who is managing Israel’s history
and we learn about his character in the way he deals with Israel and the
nations.
-
He is at work in people of faith inspiring them
to act heroically and faithfully—so we can recognise his character to some degree
in the lives of godly people (e.g Samuel).
-
The New Testament guides us as to the extent to
which we can map Old Testament revelation onto Christ—so we are not flying
blind and using guesswork to recognise Jesus in the Old Testament histories,
symbols, events and people.
- You will see Christ everywhere!
Start reading from 1 Samuel 8--where we learn about the demand by Israel for a 'hero-leadership'to replace the 'Word-focused leadership' Samuel had brought (and which his sons were not able to sustain, because they fell in love with stuff and status).
