The sheer amount of layers in the biblical narrative astounds me. Stories echo each other, drawing an invisible thread from one passage to another that connects them all. The Bible is not a collection of independent books about the same nation and the same God thrown together, but a carefully designed series of stories that can only be understood in the context of all the other stories.
Case in point: have you ever noticed the similarities between Eli (the priest) and Saul (the king) in the book of 1 Samuel?
1. Both men were given positions of privilege by God.
2. Both tolerated blatant disobedience towards God's commandments by the people that they were responsible to lead (for Eli, it was the brazen disobedience of his sons; for Saul, the brazen disobedience of his army when fighting the Amalekites).
3. Tragically, both of them had the right to serve God stripped from them AND their family line because of their unwillingness to lead the people under their authority.
4. Both received a promise from God that another, more worthy servant would take their place (Eli was told that God would raise up for himself a "faithful priest" - 3:34, and Saul was told that God had sought out a man after his own heart to rule over God's people - 13:14, 15:28).
5. Both died tragic, violent deaths. Eli heard about the capture of the ark of God in the war with the Philistines, fell over and broke his neck (not a good way to go). Saul lost his life in battle, too, pierced through by his own sword as God's enemies swirled around him. It did not end well for either one of them.
The bridge between these two failed leaders is Samuel. He "learns the ropes" from Eli and watches the failures of his sons. He faithfully leads Israel for his whole life, but ironically begins to resemble Eli - his sons do not walk in the ways of the Lord (just like Eli), and that leads to Israel asking for a king. God is hurt by their request, and the guy that God gives them is Saul, who demonstrates pretty quickly by his actions that he isn't cut out to be the king that God intended to bless His people with. (I believe that God intended all along to give the job in just a few years to a young man after His own heart, David. If only the people could have waited a bit longer - God would have given them their king, and they could have avoided the whole Saul fiasco. There's a lesson in there somewhere, I think!)
I'm not 100% sure what the point is of these similarities, or the significance of Samuel being deeply involved in both of their lives (Eli and Saul, that is), but I don't think it's just thrown together. These echoes are intentional, and there IS a point. Now I just need to figure it out. Or rather, I just need to keep reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment