TUESDAY NIGHT MEN'S BIBLE STUDY
We are a group of men looking to the Word of God for direction in how to live to His glory.
To understand that glorifying Him surpasses satisfying self.
We examine Scripture, line-by-line, in a conversational setting using Zoom technology.
Calvary Church in Charlotte, NC is our home church and we embrace its Articles of Faith.
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CURRENT STUDY
1SAMUEL
ZOOM ONLY
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 - MAY 2027
1Samuel is a witness to how God uses flawed humanity to accomplish His purpose. We will explore that sovereignty as we visit the familiar stories of Hannah, Samuel, Saul, & David.
This line-by-line study will explore a back-story that ultimately points to the coming Messiah. These ancient words reveal divine history while showing us God at work for humanity.
If you would like to join us, please share your interest by completing our registration form below.
COMING UP...
1SAMUEL / CHAPTER 6 & 7
The Philistines (after seven months) realize that they have offended the God of the Israelites. He is NOT a God that they can control. They devise a plan to return the ark and offer “guilt offerings” as a way to end the plague that God has inflicted on them.
Finally in chapter 7, we return to the story of Samuel. He steps up as a spiritual leader calling on the people to repent and to return to God.
For Tuesday’s class, please read both Chapters 6 and 7 following the journey of the ark and the reaction to it by both the Philistines and the Israelites. Looking forward to a lively discussion.
Jon
(THE SCROLLABLE TRANSLATIONS IN NIV AND ESV ARE PROVIDED BELOW)
1 Samuel 6 (NIV)
1 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months,
2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
5 Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land.
6 Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
7 “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way,
9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”
10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves.
11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.
12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight.
14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.
16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.
17 These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron.
18 And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them.
20 And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”
21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”
1 Samuel 7 (NIV)
1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.
2 The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord.
3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.”
6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.
8 They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.
11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.
14 The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life.
16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places.
17 But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord.
1 Samuel 6 (ESV)
1 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.”
3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.”
4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.
6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed?
7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.
8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way
9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.
11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.
12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.
14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17 These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron,
18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.
20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?”
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”
1 Samuel 7 (ESV)
1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord.
2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.
17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.
GotQuestions also has a very good article on the topic:
"Who Were the Philistines?"
THE BIBLE PROJECT OVERVIEW OF ISAMUEL
TOOLS FOR 1SAMUEL STUDY
THE 4 MAIN SECTIONS OF 1SAMUEL
I. The Birth and Early Life of Samuel (1:1–7:17)
The first covers Samuel’s birth and early life, including Hannah’s barrenness and prayer, Samuel’s dedication, and his calling as a prophet with judgment against Eli’s house.
- Hannah’s barrenness, prayer, and the birth of Samuel (1:1–28)
- Hannah’s song of thanksgiving (2:1–11)
- Eli’s family and their wickedness (2:12–36)
- Samuel’s calling as a prophet and judgment against Eli’s house (3:1–21)
- The capture and return of the ark of the covenant (4:1–7:1)
- Israel’s victory over the Philistines under Samuel’s leadership (7:2–17)
II. The Institution of the Monarchy (8:1–12:25)
The second section addresses the institution of monarchy, showing Israel’s desire for a king, Samuel’s anointing of Saul, and the covenant renewal at Gilgal.
- Israel’s demand for a king (8:1–22)
- Samuel meets Saul and anoints him king (9:1–10:8)
- Saul’s confirmation as king through victory over the Ammonites (10:9–11:13)
- Samuel’s renewal of the covenant at Gilgal (11:14–12:25
III. The Failure of Saul’s Kingship (13:1–15:35)
The third section traces Saul’s failure as king through his disobedience at Gilgal, his rejection by God, and his conflicts with the Philistines.
- Saul’s unauthorized sacrifice at Gilgal and the prophecy of his doom (13:1–23)
- Israel’s victory over the Philistines (14:1–52)
- Saul’s disobedience regarding the Amalekites and his rejection by God (15:1–35)
IV. The Rise of David (16:1–31:13)
The final section documents David’s rise, from his private anointing through his slaying of Goliath, his conflicts with Saul, and ultimately Saul’s death on Mount Gilboa.
- David’s private anointing as king by Samuel (16:1–23)
- David’s defeat of Goliath (17:1–58)
- Saul’s jealousy and attempts to kill David; Jonathan’s loyalty (18:1–20:42)
- David’s flight and evasion of Saul (21:1–26:25)
- Saul’s consultation with the medium of Endor (28:1–25)
- David’s victory over the Amalekites and Saul’s death at Gilboa (29:1–31:13)
1Samuel Chart: NIV Bible Speaks Today
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END TIMES
We live in this age to bring glory to Christ. We live in this age anticipating the promise of Christ's return. 1 Corinthians 16:22 uses a word that perfectly declares that expectation: "Maranatha" (Our Lord, come!). Our awareness of End Times yet to come is important. It impacts how we live.
Since we often refer to the events shown in the "God's Plan of the Ages" chart, we have included download links for the chart and reference works.
INSPIRATION
Music in worship is ageless. This area will feature your favorite hymns and contemporary music. If you have a God honoring video with a biblical worldview you would like to share here, please CLICK HERE to send it.
This song unfolds as a narrative conversation along a trail.
Rather than focusing on complex scholarly theology, the song emphasizes how the deep truths of the Christian faith—from creation and the fall to the incarnation, cross, resurrection, and the promise of a renewed creation—are reflected with profound clarity through the simple, trusting faith of a child.
Shared by Stacey Johnson
