Samuel: Prophet and Kingmaker is the first volume in the Ritchie
Character Study Series. The intent of the Publishers is to
provide an overview of principal Bible characters in short
hardbacks. The volumes are not verse-by-verse commentaries but
overviews of well-known characters. This volume sets a high
standard for the series and offers a model to other authors
commissioned to write a volume for the series. In his opening
paragraph, the author describes Samuel the prophet as "perhaps the
most unsung of the Old Testament worthies," yet Paul identifies
Samuel as the end-point of the Judges' rule in Israel in his phrase
"until Samuel the prophet" (Acts 13:20). He adds that Jeremiah
quotes from Jehovah's statement to himself, in which Samuel is
placed alongside Moses. To a Jew, there would be no higher
honour than association with Moses. The volume comprises an
Introduction and twelve short chapters, the longest of which is 15
pages, so it is unlikely that any age group would find the volume
daunting. The Publishers comment on the rear cover of this
volume that the burden of the writer's ministry has been for
younger believers. Certainly, this volume would uphold that
view. The language is elegant but uncomplicated, and the
content of paragraphs measured. The author has identified in the 55
chapters of 1 and 2 Samuel twelve key themes: Samuel's parents; the
people in his nation to whom he spoke, the great and the
not-so-great; his prophetic ministry, the preparation for service
and the pathway to it. He also deals with Samuel as a
parent. Not surprisingly, Samuel's principles, his prayer-life
and his power are also set out clearly, so that no matter the
maturity of the reader, there is much to ponder.
The final chapter of Samuel: Prophet and Kingmaker comprises an
interesting compilation of eleven references to Samuel outside the
books that bear his name. Eight of those references are in the Old
Testament but three in the New. That, about 1100 years after
Samuel's death, both Peter and Paul pointed to Samuel in their
preaching and the Hebrew writer in his letter are evidence enough
to substantiate the view that, even at this distance, the worth of
Samuel commands the esteem to which few others could aspire.
*Tom Wilson, Believer's Magazine*
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