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1 Samuel: Verse by Verse

First Samuel: from judges to monarchy. The book follows Israel's demand for a king, Saul's failure, and the rise of David. These lessons walk through it one passage at a time.

Lessons, in order

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  1 Samuel 1: When God Hears the Broken

  June 7, 2026

  First Samuel marks the move from the era of the judges to the monarchy, and it opens with one hurting woman. Hannah is barren and is provoked year after year at Shiloh by her husband Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah.

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  1 Samuel 2: Consecration or Corruption: Samuel vs. Eli’s Sons

  June 14, 2026

  Chapter 2 sets two songs and two households side by side. Hannah’s prayer praises a holy God who weighs actions and reverses fortunes: the mighty are broken, the hungry are filled, the barren bear children, and the poor are lifted up.

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  1 Samuel 3: Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is Listening

  June 21, 2026

  In a time when the word of the Lord was rare, God calls to Samuel in the night. Samuel, who did not yet know the Lord, thinks it is Eli and runs to him three times.

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  1 Samuel 4–5: When God Is Near, but Not Known

  June 28, 2026

  Israel loses a battle to the Philistines at Ebenezer and decides the ark of the covenant will fix it. They carry it from Shiloh into the camp as a kind of lucky charm.

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  1 Samuel 6 & 7

  July 5, 2026

  The ark has brought disaster to every Philistine city that held it, so the Philistines send it back to Israel with offerings.

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  1 Samuel 8: Who Will Be Our King?

  July 12, 2026

  Samuel is old, and his sons Joel and Abijah take bribes. The elders of Israel demand a king “like all the nations.” Samuel is displeased, but God tells him the people have rejected God himself as their king.

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  1 Samuel 9–10: The King They Asked For

  July 19, 2026

  Saul, a tall, handsome son of a wealthy Benjamite named Kish, is sent to find lost donkeys. After days of searching, his servant suggests asking the “man of God” in the next town.

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  1 Samuel 11–12: Deliverance, Leadership, and Renewed Commitment

  July 26, 2026

  Nahash the Ammonite besieges Jabesh-gilead and offers a treaty on one condition: every man’s right eye is to be gouged out, to shame all Israel.

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  1 Samuel 13:1–14:23: Faith versus Fear

  August 2, 2026

  Israel faces the Philistines with fear and almost no weapons. Jonathan strikes a Philistine garrison, and Saul summons the nation to Gilgal.

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  1 Samuel 14 (part 2): Saul’s Rash Oath

  August 9, 2026

  Right after God’s victory at Michmash, Saul binds his exhausted army with an oath: cursed is anyone who eats before evening, “before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” The troops grow faint.

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  1 Samuel 15: Partial Obedience Is Disobedience

  August 16, 2026

  This is the turning point of Saul’s reign. Samuel tells Saul that God commands him to strike Amalek and devote everything to destruction.

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  1 Samuel 16: Coming Attraction

  August 23, 2026

  God sends Samuel to anoint a king from among Jesse’s sons, and the Lord looks at the heart.

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  1 Samuel 17: Facing Giants

  August 30, 2026

  David and Goliath. The question is not who is stronger, but who trusts God.

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  1 Samuel 18: Stepping Into the Court

  September 6, 2026

  After David’s victory over Goliath, Jonathan’s soul is knit to David’s and he makes a covenant with him. He gives David his robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt, a symbolic transfer of his claim to the throne.

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  1 Samuel 19: Do What’s Right, Not What’s Easy

  September 13, 2026

  In chapter 19 Saul’s private jealousy becomes public policy. He orders Jonathan and his servants to kill David.

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  1 Samuel 20: Faithful When It Costs: The Power of Godly Friendships

  September 20, 2026

  David and Jonathan’s friendship, and what faithfulness looks like when it costs you.

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  1 Samuel 21–22: Fear, Faith, and Leadership

  September 27, 2026

  David flees Saul, makes poor choices out of fear, and finds refuge in a cave while Saul spirals.

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  1 Samuel 23: Trust God in Crisis and the Wilderness

  October 4, 2026

  Betrayed by the town he rescued, David learns that God’s protection does not always mean immediate rescue.

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  1 Samuel 24 & 26: The Higher Judge

  October 11, 2026

  David has two chances to end the man who is hunting him. Why he refuses, and what it means to leave justice to God.

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  1 Samuel 25: When Wounded Pride Takes Over

  October 18, 2026

  After sparing Saul twice, David nearly takes revenge on a foolish man. How Abigail stops him, and why God sometimes protects us from ourselves.