Day 8

This book isn’t really about Samuel that much. Here we find the story of the first king of Israel, Saul, followed by the preferred first king, David. This book gets a lot of attention in queer circles and I can completely see why now. Jonathan and David were very close. The text says it: They loved one another. I could read into this, but here’s the text in 1 Samuel 18:1-4: “…the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul…Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.”

So, y’know, they were tight knit. One translation even talks about their souls being “knit together.” As much as I want to declare they were gay (Newsflash: gay, lesbian, homosexual, etc were not established concepts during this time. Sexuality was much more fluid.) it’s quite possible they had a pretty epic bromance. Either way, here’s a story that could upend a “Judeo-Christian” defense of masculinity.

Ultimately, I read this book, Jonathan and David and everything in between, and thought about covenant. This book was all about promises, respect, and giving people chances when they acted with good intentions. We see this with King Saul, who was clearly mad, and the several times David spared him. Saul was a king that brought about prosperity…but his fits of madness made him act out of covenant. David tried. He really did.

God takes a bit of a backseat in this book. Jehovah is present, but more of a prop than anything. This is a deeply human story and it highlights our biggest flaws. War is inherent to primates. We break promises. We fear our love for other people. We beat the odds.

One Word for First Samuel: Covenant

Parts of the Story That Stayed With Me

1. 1 Sam 3, Visions Rare. This is fascinating here. “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” This is a sharp turn from a God that never stopped chatting up the Israelites. What shifted this, I wonder? We never really hear.
2. 1 Sam 4, Ark Captured. This is an Indiana Jones fanboys dream chapter. The Philistines captured the ark but couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Why? The ark kept causing boils and tumors to appear on the people. God is still pretty quiet here, but the side effects are obvious. Use God with caution.
3. 1 Sam 14, Jonathan and the Honey. I’ve never been one to fawn over piety, so I love what Jonathan does here. Saul makes a commitment, in an effort to gain God’s favor, to not eat anything until he is victorious. He imposes this on his troops, too. So, they’re all starving. Jonathan comes upon some honey and ate it in defiance. Why? A foolish piety never got anyone anywhere.
4. 1 Sam 17, David and Goliath. Great story, read it if you don’t know it. It’s far more gruesome than we put in the children’s cartoons.

This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.