Week 17, April 20–26: John 19–21; 1 Samuel 1–17

• Sun      Apr 20 John 19–21
• Mon     Apr 21 1 Sam. 1–2
• Tue      Apr 22 1 Sam. 3–5
• Wed     Apr 23 1 Sam. 6–8
• Thu      Apr 24 1 Sam. 9–11
• Fri        Apr 25 1 Sam. 12–14
• Sat       Apr 26 1 Sam. 15–17

As in the first three Gospels, the narrative arc of John’s Gospel has been moving towards the cross. Then, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, John’s account ends with the important reminder that we are just getting one small slice of all that could be said. If everything about Jesus was included, John says, “The world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) Like the statement in John 20:30–31, this highlights the idea that the narratives of the Bible are selective. The authors of Scripture, guided along by God’s Spirit, wrote down just the things that were important for us to know; and they arranged them in such a way that communicates the message they wanted us to know just as they, and God, wanted it to be communicated. John was keenly aware that he was being selective in his writing, and he helps us as readers by explicitly mentioning this principle of selectivity.

When we read along through Scripture, it is important to keep this in mind. This principle helps us resist the temptation to focus our attention on things we may be interested in but are not the concern of the author. We are often curious about something that’s just not there in the passage we’re reading. John was the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. He walked with him and talked with him throughout his ministry. We can trust that he was in an excellent position to decide what parts of Jesus’ life we should be able to read about, especially since he was writing inspired Scripture, carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

My prayer is that one result of reading through the Bible regularly is that we would be increasingly aware of our tendency to be drawn away from the text of Scripture, and that we’d be attentive to the things that are the main concern of the human author and the divine Author. As we seek to cultivate a healthy habit of sticking to Scripture, let’s diligently remember to look at the Bible itself to find not only the answers to our questions but also to find which questions we should be asking.

When we finish John’s Gospel, we return to the OT and start reading there in 1 Samuel. You might notice that we jumped from Judges to 1 Samuel, skipping Ruth, which is right after Judges in our English Bibles. This is the first time we are seeing a variation between the English Bible order and the Hebrew Bible order, which we are more or less following in this year’s read thru. Ruth comes much later in the Hebrew Canon, following after Proverbs in the third section, the Writings. (The Torah and the Prophets are the first two sections of the three-part Canon of the Hebrew Bible) What we can say at this point is that the story moves quite seamlessly from the end of Judges to the beginning of 1 Samuel.

The story of the OT continues, and the situation in Israel is basically the same at the beginning of 1 Samuel as it was at the end of Judges. There is still no king in Israel and it appears everyone is still doing what is right in their own eyes. Things are not going well. There are priests at Shiloh, but they are corrupt, and they dishonor God and violate his instructions in their role as priests. The first part of the book focuses on the young boy Samuel, who will become a prophet and leader among God’s people. The Lord raises him up to fill the void of faithful leadership left by Eli and his sons. Samuel will also be the one responsible for anointing God’s chosen king.

The two books of 1 and 2 Samuel in our Bibles are probably best read as one. They tell one continuous narrative, and they were likely separated at some point in history simply because they would have been too long together to fit on one scroll. Considering the unity of 1–2 Samuel, the poems in 1 Samuel 2 and 2 Samuel 22–23 function as a sort of frame around the whole book of 1–2 Samuel. After you read through Hannah’s song in 1 Sam 2:1–10, take a few minutes also to flip ahead and read David’s songs in 2 Sam 22:1–23:7. As is often the case with the Bible’s poetic literature, these poems frame the narrative in between. They do so by giving the theological perspective that helps understand what is truly going on in the stories about David and the period of monarchy in Israel’s early history as a nation.