They're two separate books in our modern Bibles but that division is due simply to scroll length

《撒母耳記》之所以分成上下兩卷書 是因為它的記載很長

It was originally written as one coherent story

這兩卷書原是一氣呵成的故事

We're just going to cover the book of first Samuel in this video

今天的影片，我們要來看《撒母耳記上》

So after Israel was rescued from slavery in Egypt they made a covenant with God at Mount Sinai

首先，在以色列民從埃及地中被拯救出來後， 他們在西乃山與上帝立約

and eventually came into the promised land

然後，終於進入了應許之地

and there, Israel was supposed to be faithful to God and obey the covenant commands

在那裏，以色列人應該忠於上帝，並且遵行神的誡命

Before the book of Samuel judges showed how Israel failed at that task big time

在撒母耳記之前，《士師記》凸顯出以色列人 如何在遵行神律法的事上失敗了

It was a period of moral chaos and it showed israel's need for wise faithful leaders

那是一段充滿敗壞、混亂的時期... 也顯示出以色列「需要」一位智慧忠心的領袖

The book of Samuel provides an answer to that need

而《撒母耳記》正為這個需求提供了解答

The book of Samuel's story focuses on three main characters

《撒母耳記》的記載，有三個主要的角色

The prophet Samuel where the book gets its name and then King Saul and after that King David

以這卷書命名的先知「撒母耳」、「掃羅王」 以及後來的「大衛王」

In all three of them transition Israel from a group of tribes ruled by judges

在此三者的更迭中，我們看到 以色列從一個士師所統治的部族

into a unified kingdom ruled by King David in Jerusalem

進入到一個由「大衛王」在耶路撒冷 所統治的聯合王國

and the book of Samuel has a fascinating design

《撒母耳記》的架構，有著精心的設計

that weaves the story of these three characters together in four main parts

由這三個角色所寫下的歷史，分成了四個主要部分

Samuel he's the key leader and prophet in the first section of the book

在第一部分，「撒母耳」是主要的領袖與先知

but then he also plays a key role in the next section which is Saul's story and its told in two movements

而第二部分「掃羅王」中，撒母耳也扮演關鍵性的角色 在此又分成兩個段落來陳述...

Saul rises to power and then his failures. In the second part is about his downfall in his tragic death

首先是「掃羅」的興起、掌權、犯錯 再來是關於他的衰敗，與最後悲慘的死亡

In the drama of Saul's demise is matched by David's exciting rise to power

伴隨著「掃羅」走向敗壞的 是「大衛」那令人振奮的崛起

and then David's story is told in two movements

在第三部分，「大衛王」的記載 也可以被分成兩個部分來敘述

First he rides the wave of his success followed by his own tragic failure

他先是乘上他成功的浪潮 後又墜入他自己悲劇性的失敗

and the slow self destruction of his family and then his kingdom

從他的家庭，到他的王國 隨之先後漸漸瓦解

The book concludes with an epilogue that reflects back over the whole story

整卷書以一個尾段來作結論 並回顧這整個故事

So let's dive in and see how this all unfolds

現在，讓我們來看看這一切是怎樣展開的

Part 1 picks up from the chaos of the book of Judges

第一部分是從《士師記》的混亂中脫引而出

and we're introduced to a touching story about a woman named Hannah

在這裡記載了一個感人的故事 是關於一位名叫「哈拿」的婦人

and she's grieved because she has never been able to have children

她很難過，因為她無法生育

and by God's grace she finally has a son named Samuel

但出於上帝的憐憫，她終於有了一個兒子 並取名叫「撒母耳」

And in joy she sings this amazing poem in chapter two

於是在《撒母耳記上》二章中 她歡喜地唱出這令人驚嘆的詩章

And the poem is all about how God opposes the proud and exalts the humble

這首詩單單講述上帝如何抵擋驕傲的人 並高舉謙卑的人

about how despite tragedies and human evil God is working out his purposes in history

講到即使世上有苦難並充滿人性的邪惡 上帝仍然在歷史中成就祂的旨意

and also it's about how God will one day raised up an anointed king for his people

也講到有一天，上帝將為祂的百姓興起一位受膏的君王

and Hannah's poem has been placed here at the beginning of the book to introduce these key themes

因此，哈拿的詩被放在這卷書的一開始 以引介出這些重要的主題

that were gonna see throughout the whole story like the next one

它們將貫串整個故事，就像是接下來的這段

Samuel grows up and becomes a great prophet and leader for the people of Israel

撒母耳長大後成為偉大的先知 以及以色列人民的領袖

at the same time that the Philistines rise to power as Israel's arch nemesis

後來非利士人崛起，成為以色列最大的死對頭

And in this crucial battle the Israelites get arrogant

在這場關鍵性的戰役前，以色列人充滿著傲慢

and instead of praying and asking God for help they trot out the Ark of the Covenant

既不禱告也不尋求上帝的幫助，他們只打算亮出約櫃

as this kind of magic trophy that will automatically grant them victory in battle

認為這個聖物，將如先前一樣 能神奇地使他們在戰爭中得勝

and so because of their arrogant presumption

也因為他們傲慢的揣想

God allows Israel to lose the battle and the Ark is stolen

上帝就讓以色列人戰敗，也讓約櫃被奪

so the Philistines they take the Ark and they place it in the temple of their God Dagon

被奪後，非利士人就把約櫃放在他們的神祇 大袞的廟裡

and then the God of Israel defeats the Philistines and their God Dagon

結果，以色列人的神親自擊打了非利士人 與他們的大袞神

without an army by sending plagues on the people

使非利士人染上瘟疫，不費一兵一卒

and then the Philistines don't want the ark anymore obviously and they send it back to Israel

非利士人就投降，並且懼怕這約櫃 並把它送回以色列

And the point of this little story seems to be this

這個小故事的重點似乎在告訴我們

God is not Israel's trophy and he opposes pride among the Philistines

上帝不是以色列圖利的工具 祂雖然擊打非利士人，

but also among his own people and so Israel needs to remain humble and obedient

卻也不姑息祂自己百姓的驕傲 因此他們若想經歷上帝的眷顧

if they want to experience God's covenant blessing

以色列人需要常保謙卑與順服

which opens up into the next large section

接著就通往下一大段「掃羅王」

The Israelite come to Samuel and they say hey we want to King like all the other nations have

以色列人來見「撒母耳」 他們說：喂！我們要立王，就像所有其他的國家一樣

Go find one for us and so Samuel he's kind of ticked off and he goes to consult with God

請上帝為我們立一個王來，治理我們 撒母耳聽了很不高興，於是他向上帝禱告

and God says yes their motives are all wrong

上帝就說：是啊..他們的動機完全是錯的。( 撒上8 : 7~9 )

but if the king is what they want give them one

如果他們不要我做他們的王 那就給他們立一個人做他們的王吧( 撒上8 : 7~9 )

and so we're introduced as a figure of Saul

於是在《撒母耳記上》九章，我們看到「掃羅」這個人

now Saul is a tragic figure because he begins full of promises, tall, he's good looking

掃羅是一個悲劇，因為他滿有神的恩典 他身材高大、強壯，而且相貌堂堂

He is a perfect candidate for a king but he has deep character flaws

論外型，他是個絕佳的君王候選人 但是他卻有嚴重的性格缺陷

he's dishonest, he lacks integrity and he seems incapable of acknowledging his own mistakes

他不但不誠實，也缺乏正直 更糟的是，他不能覺察他自己的錯誤

and so these flaws become his downfail

就是這些隱性的缺點，導致他日後的失敗

he wins some battles at the beginning but his flaws went so deep

起初他確實打贏了幾場戰役 但同時，得勢卻也加深了他的軟弱

he eventually disqualified himself by blatantly disobeying God's commands

使他最後被除名的就是他自己的驕傲 因為他公然不遵從上帝的旨意

and so the aging Samuel confronts Saul and Israel

於是年邁的「撒母耳」抵擋掃羅和以色列

he had warned the people that they would only benefit from a king whose humble and faithful to God

他警告百姓說：只有謙卑且忠於上帝的君王 才能使他們蒙福

otherwise the kings of Israel will bring ruin

反之則會帶來毀滅

so he informs Saul that God is going to raise up a new king to replace him

於是他通知掃羅說：上帝將會興起一個新王來取代他

and so Saul's downfall begins

就這樣，掃羅的開始走向覆亡

as God at the same time is working behind the scenes to raise up that new king

同時，上帝運籌帷幄，興起一位新王

It's an insignificant shepherd boy named David

就是名叫「大衛」的小牧羊童

he's the least likely candidate to be king

論條件，他是最不可能當上君王的

but the famous story of David and Goliath shows

但是大衛與哥利亞一戰的故事告訴我們

that God's choice of David is not based on his family status

上帝揀選大衛並不是基於他的身世

but simply on his radical and humble trust in the God of Israel

而僅是因他本性中的謙卑，與信靠以色列神的心

and so this story embodies all of the themes of Hannah's poem

因此《撒母耳記》的記載， 體現出哈拿的詩所歌頌的所有主題

proud Saul and Goliath are brought low while humble David is exalted

神使驕傲的掃羅與哥利亞被降卑 而謙卑的大衛被祂高舉

From here we watched Saul slowly descend into madness while David rises to power

因此，我們看到掃羅每況愈下以至於瘋了 同時大衛興起得勢

so David starts working for Saul as a general

大衛從服事掃羅開始，後來成了一個將領

and he's winning all of the battles and he's also winning all of the frame

而且他屢戰屢勝，聞名遐邇

and so Saul gets jealous and he starts chasing David around, hunting him, trying to kill him

為此掃羅妒心大發，開始抵擋大衛 追捕他，甚至想要殺他

David's done nothing wrong and so David simply runs and waits in the wilderness

大衛並沒有做錯什麼，於是他逃跑 然後在曠野中等待

and here we see David's true character he has multiple opportunities to kill Saul

在這段日子我們看到大衛的真性情 他有兩次機會可以殺死掃羅

but he doesn't, he simply trust that despite Saul's evil, God will raise up a king for his people

但他卻沒這樣做，他單單相信 無論掃羅有多壞，上帝依舊會為祂的百姓興起一位君王

What's interesting too is that many of the poems of David

有意思的是，你會在《詩篇》中發現

that you find in the Book of Psalms are linked to this very period of his life

大衛許多的禱告 正是在講述他生命中的這段時期

and they all expressed the same attitude of trust

這些禱告全都表達了對神信靠的心

and so this section of the book ends with Saul coming to a grisly death after losing a battle with the Philistines

在《撒母耳記上》的最後 掃羅在與非利士人的一場戰役中失敗慘死

First Samuel tells some of the most intricate well told stories you find anywhere in the Bible

《撒母耳記上》講了一些整本聖經中 你所能找到的最錯綜複雜的故事

and the characters Saul and David they're portrayed very realistically

非常真實陳述了掃羅與大衛的性格

and the authors putting them forward as character studies so that you can find yourself in them

並且，作者將他們的特質凸顯出來 成為借鏡，讓我們從中看到我們自己

so Saul's story, we see a warning

因此，從「掃羅」的記載 我們看到一個十分重要的警告

it's crucial that we reflect on our own character flaws

那就是在每個人身上，我們都有可能是掃羅

and how they harm us and other people

提醒我們，這種心態會傷害我們，也傷害別人

and with God's help we need to humble ourselves and deal with our dark side

有上帝幫助，我們更需要謙卑自己 也要留意那藏在我們內心深處隱藏的意念

so that Saul's story doesn't become ours

如此，我們才不致步上掃羅的後路

David on the other hand is presented as an example of patience and trust in God's timing in our lives

另一方面，大衛代表某種典範 在人生中等候、信靠上帝的安排

and so he's running in the wilderness being chased by Saul

他在曠野中逃離掃羅的追捕

David had every reason to think that God had abandoned him

在苦難之中，大衛可以很容易地認為上帝 已經拋棄、不眷顧他了

but that's not what he thinks and so David's story encourages us to trust

但是他並不這樣想 所以大衛的故事激勵我們要全然信靠神

that despite human evil God is working out his purposes

無論人性有多邪惡、敗壞 上帝總能成就祂的旨意

to oppose the proud and to exalt the humble

抵擋驕傲的人，高舉謙卑的人

and that's what first Samuel is all about

這就是《撒母耳記上》所記載的，謝謝。