Whoever started writing stories with the "and they lived happily ever after" ending might have read the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. Why? They were desperate for a happy ending after reading this book!
Eli's story ends with the death of his sons, capture of the Ark of the Covenant, and his death by broken neck.
Samuel ends well as a faithful prophet, but his grown sons don't follow in his footsteps of faithfulness to God. After he dies, he has to come back and give one last prophetic word of doom!
Abigail's story may be the closest to a fairy tale, but let's not forget, while she becomes David's wife, he is a polygamist!
Saul and his sons die in battle and have their corpses mutilated before being retrieved and given a proper funeral by heroic men.
David's on the run for years and 1 Samuel ends with his army retrieving all the wives and children and property the Amalekites had captured while David's band was off trying to fight -- against their own people!
The Bible tells the whole story, not just the beautiful and fun parts. Protagonists and antagonists alike are complex and complicated.
As we wrap up our study of 1 Samuel, we'll look at
- how you handle 1/2 in, 1/2 out people
- reasons God may be gracious when people are making bad choices
- faithfulness does not equal perfection
- the cost of not dealing with fear and insecurity
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