In order for God’s chosen people to be His house, His expression, the Trinity was needed. The children of Israel entered into the good land, but the good land was filled with enemies. The book of Judges reveals the Trinity because the Trinity was needed to defeat the enemies. However, God’s purpose for His people was not merely to defeat the enemies and take full possession of the land but for them to set up a kingdom. Because this purpose had not been fulfilled, the conclusion of Judges says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). The children of Israel did whatever was right in their own eyes because there was no king or kingdom. What was needed at that time was for a kingdom to be set up.
Samuel was one who brought in the kingdom. First and 2 Samuel are crucial for the bringing in of the kingdom. In order for God to fulfill His intention to have an expression, He needed to have a kingdom. The kingdom of God is a sphere in which God is expressed. When the Lord taught His disciples how to pray, He began, “Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:9-10). The New Testament opens with the Gospel of Matthew, which is the Gospel of the kingdom. In Matthew 3:2 John the Baptist declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Many Christians today preach the gospel of a heavenly mansion, but the New Testament preaches the gospel of the kingdom (cf. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14). The gospel leads us to repent because God’s kingdom requires our repentance.
God needs a kingdom so that He may have an expression. The children of Israel were brought out of Egypt and through the wilderness, where they built the tabernacle for God. Then they entered into the good land, and every tribe was allotted a portion of the land. In Judges the enemies were defeated to some extent so that the children of Israel could enjoy the good land. Nevertheless, there was no expression of God in Judges because there was no king. Everyone acted according to what was right in their own eyes. Therefore, at that time God needed a kingdom with a king.
In Judges God used Deborah. In 1 and 2 Samuel the first person God used to bring in His kingdom was another female, Samuel’s mother, Hannah. She bore Samuel, who brought in the king with the kingdom. There is no book in the Old Testament called David; instead, the record of David is included in 1 and 2 Samuel. David was trained, called, anointed, and enthroned in 1 and 2 Samuel. Without David, 1 and 2 Samuel would be empty. The reality of Samuel was David. Samuel was for David, but without Samuel, there would have been no David. David was brought in and initiated into his position and function through Samuel, who was the issue of the desperate prayer of a female seeker of God.
Because of the miserable situation in Judges, there was an urgent and desperate need for one like Samuel. The vow of the Nazarite allowed those like Samuel who were not descendants of Aaron to become priests. Samuel was a Levite (1 Chron. 6:33-38), but he was not born into the priesthood, because he was not of the house of Aaron, the family of priests ordained by God. According to Joshua 21, the Levites were not allotted a particular portion of land; instead, the descendants of Levi were given land among the other tribes. Samuel’s family lived in Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1). Samuel was a Levite by birth and an Ephraimite by residence, but he was a Nazarite by consecration. Even before he was born, his mother consecrated him as a Nazarite to Jehovah (v. 11; cf. Num. 6:1-5). After he was born and weaned, his mother brought him to the house of God and left him in the care of Eli the priest. From his childhood Samuel wore the priests’ ephod (1 Sam. 2:18). Although he was not born a priest, he came into the priesthood by the vow of the Nazarite. Because God foresaw that the ordained priests, Eli and his sons, would not be faithful to the priesthood, God used the “back door” of the Nazarite vow to bring a faithful one into the priesthood.
Samuel was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and a judge. This fourfold status qualified Samuel to be the one who could bring in the king and set up the kingdom. In order for such a one to be raised up and carry out his commission, there was a crucial need of the Divine Trinity. Only the Trinity could work this out. For this reason, in 1 and 2 Samuel there is a detailed, fine revelation of the Divine Trinity. What happened in Judges is somewhat rough, but in Samuel the application of the Divine Trinity is very fine.
First Samuel begins with a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah (1:1-2). Elkanah loved Hannah more. However, Hannah had no children, while Peninnah had sons and daughters. This was the sovereign hand of the Lord. According to the Mosaic law, Elkanah went with his family every year to the house of God, the tabernacle, which was in Shiloh at that time, to worship and make offerings to Jehovah (v. 3). Whenever Elkanah sacrificed, he would give a double portion to Hannah since he loved her (v. 5). Because Jehovah had shut up Hannah’s womb, she was forced to pray a desperate, consecrated, and consecrating prayer (vv. 10-12, 15). She prayed for a male child, whom she would not keep for herself but would give to the Lord for His need. Her prayer was for a son who would be a Nazarite from birth, one who would be absolute for the Lord. The Lord answered her prayer, and a son was born (v. 20). Hannah named her son Samuel, which means “asked for of God,” or “heard of God.” When we ask of God, He will hear our request. Samuel’s mother asked for him of the Lord, and the Lord heard and answered her request.
From his childhood Samuel was a Nazarite, serving as a priest in the house of God (v. 24; 2:11, 18). While Samuel was staying with Eli in the temple, God appeared in a vision to Samuel (3:4-14). Samuel was still a boy, just as the Lord Jesus was when He went to Jerusalem with His parents (Luke 2:42). Eventually, Samuel became a renowned prophet and the judge of Israel (1 Sam. 3:20; 7:6). However, for Samuel to be a priest, a prophet, and a judge was not God’s goal. God intended to set up a kingdom with a king. Therefore, God twice sent Samuel to anoint someone. First, he anointed Saul to be ruler over Israel (9:16; 10:1). Later, Samuel anointed David to be king (16:1, 13). David was brought in through Samuel. The crucial point in this history is that there was a need of the Divine Trinity.