The book of Judges ends with the statement, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) The savage and deplorable events of Judges set up Israel’s need for a king, and Ruth is a short story in the time of the Judges that looks forward to the kingship.
1 Samuel records how Israel instituted their first king: Saul. This was a period of relative silence from God (1 Sam. 3:1). He was waiting to punctuate this period of history with visions and miracles, so he was allowing a long period of inactivity during the time of the judges. Similarly, for hundreds of years before Christ, there was no prophetic activity in Israel. Once Christ came, miraculous activity was obviously frequent.
1 Samuel records Samuel’s birth and ministry, as well as how he instituted the prophets in Israel. Samuel plays a major role, anointing both Saul and David as kings. Later, when David falls into sin, Nathan—the prophet—exposes him and David finds repentance (2 Sam. 11). This shows the integration (and yet separation) of “church and state” in Israel. The kings and prophets held two separate offices.
David is a major player in the Bible. He is a type of Christ, and he represents the ideal king in Israel until Christ arrives.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
