Brent Smith: The Arrival of Samuel — 1 Samuel 1-2:11

The book of 1 Samuel is quite a transitional book. Remember, the Lord’s desire for Israel is that He would be their God, and they would follow Him in obedience. They were to be a theocracy. But coming out of our study in Judges, we see that they were not doing so well with this. Instead of being a theocracy, they were living in anarchy! The last words of the book are: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). So God is going to bring them out of this place of anarchy and into a monarchy. It’s still not His complete will for them, but it’s what He will provide to get them off of the dead end road they’re on and onto a path that will eventually steer them in the right direction (for a time).