Samuel – The Prophet Who Anointed Kings
The story of Samuel in the Bible reveals a powerful portrait of Christ. Before he was born, his mother dedicated him to the Lord. Before he was weaned, she brought him to the tabernacle. Before he was grown, God called his name in the night. Samuel would become Israel’s last judge and first major prophet after Moses, the kingmaker who anointed both Saul and David. His unique role bridging Israel’s tribal period with its monarchy made him one of Scripture’s most pivotal figures. In Samuel’s birth, calling, and ministry we discover shadows of the One who would be both prophet and king—not anointing others to rule but reigning Himself forever.
Given to God Before Birth
Hannah was barren. Year after year she watched her husband’s other wife bear children while her own womb remained closed. At the tabernacle in Shiloh, her silent prayer was so intense that Eli the priest assumed she was drunk. ‘I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit,’ she explained. ‘I have poured out my soul before the LORD’ (1 Samuel 1:15). Her request was specific: a son. Her vow was extraordinary: she would give him back to God for lifelong service.
God answered. Samuel was born, and his name testified to his origin: ‘Because I have asked him of the LORD’ (1 Samuel 1:20). When he was weaned, Hannah fulfilled her vow with remarkable faith, bringing her only son to the tabernacle and leaving him there to serve under Eli. ‘For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD’ (1 Samuel 1:27-28).
Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving became prophetic, anticipating themes that would echo through her son’s ministry and beyond: ‘The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up’ (1 Samuel 2:6-7). Her words would be echoed centuries later by another humble woman whose son would fulfill what Samuel foreshadowed—Mary’s Magnificat rings with Hannah’s notes.
Called in the Night
Samuel grew up in the tabernacle during a dark period. Eli’s sons were corrupt, profaning the priesthood with greed and immorality. ‘And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision’ (1 Samuel 3:1). Into this silence, God spoke. The boy sleeping near the ark heard his name called. Three times he ran to Eli, thinking the old priest had summoned him. Finally Eli understood: ‘The LORD called the child’ (1 Samuel 3:8).
Samuel’s response became a model for all who hear God’s call: ‘Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth’ (1 Samuel 3:9). The message he received was devastating—judgment on Eli’s house for the sins God could not ignore. Samuel feared to tell the old priest, but Eli insisted. The boy spoke faithfully what he had heard. His prophetic ministry had begun with hard truth delivered to one he loved.
‘And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD’ (1 Samuel 3:19-20). After generations of silence, God was speaking again—through a child given by a barren woman, raised in the tabernacle, faithful from his youth.
Studying Samuel in the Bible helps us see how God wove the gospel into every chapter of Israel’s history.
Judge, Prophet, Kingmaker
Samuel’s role was unique in Israel’s history. He served as judge, leading Israel in battle and administering justice. He served as prophet, speaking God’s word with authority recognized by all. He served as priest, though not of Aaron‘s line, offering sacrifices and interceding for the people. These three offices—prophet, priest, and king—would later be divided, but Samuel embodied elements of each.
When Israel demanded a king ‘like all the nations,’ Samuel was grieved but God instructed him to comply. ‘They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them’ (1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel warned of what monarchy would cost, but the people insisted. So Samuel anointed Saul—tall, impressive, humanly ideal—as Israel’s first king.
Saul failed. His disobedience cost him the kingdom, and Samuel delivered the terrible verdict: ‘Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king’ (1 Samuel 15:23). Samuel mourned for Saul, but God sent him on a new mission: ‘Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons’ (1 Samuel 16:1).
At Bethlehem, Samuel reviewed Jesse’s sons, each rejected despite impressive appearance. ‘The LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7). The youngest son, tending sheep, was summoned. ‘And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward’ (1 Samuel 16:12-13). Samuel had anointed the man after God’s own heart.
Pointing to Christ
Samuel’s ministry anticipates Christ in multiple dimensions. Like Samuel, Jesus was announced before birth and dedicated to God from the womb. Like Samuel, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Like Samuel, Jesus spoke faithfully the words the Father gave Him, regardless of how people responded.
The three offices Samuel partially embodied find complete expression in Christ alone. Jesus is the Prophet greater than Samuel—’This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world’ (John 6:14). Jesus is the Priest greater than any Levite—’Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec’ (Hebrews 7:17). Jesus is the King greater than David—’He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David’ (Luke 1:32).
Samuel anointed kings; Christ is the Anointed One—Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek—who needs no human to pour oil on His head. The Spirit descended on Him at baptism in full measure, not borrowed from another but inherently His own. Those Samuel anointed failed or died; the One anointed by the Spirit reigns forever.
Hannah’s son was given back to God at the tabernacle. Mary’s son was the tabernacle—God dwelling in human flesh. Samuel served in the place where God’s presence dwelt between the cherubim. Jesus was the presence of God, Immanuel, God with us. What Samuel approached, Christ embodied. What Samuel pointed to, Christ became.
The Faithful Word
Samuel’s reliability as a prophet was legendary: God ‘did let none of his words fall to the ground.’ Everything Samuel spoke came to pass. His words carried divine authority because they originated in divine revelation. Israel could trust Samuel because God confirmed him.
Christ’s words carry infinitely greater authority. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away’ (Matthew 24:35). Not merely a prophet speaking God’s words, Jesus is the Word made flesh. His teaching was not received from another but expressed His own eternal nature. ‘For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes’ (Matthew 7:29).
Samuel interceded for Israel throughout his life. Even after the people rejected his sons and demanded a king, he declared: ‘God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you’ (1 Samuel 12:23). Faithful intercession marked his entire ministry. Christ’s intercession exceeds Samuel’s infinitely. ‘He ever liveth to make intercession’ (Hebrews 7:25)—not occasionally praying but perpetually advocating for His people before the Father’s throne.
The God who answered Hannah’s prayer still answers prayer today. The God who called young Samuel still calls men and women to hear His voice. The God who anointed David through Samuel still anoints His people with the Spirit. But now we come not through prophets and priests who die but through the Prophet, Priest, and King who lives forever. Samuel pointed; Christ fulfills. Samuel prepared the way; Christ is the way. Hear His voice. Trust His word. Bow before the One whom all the prophets anticipated—Jesus Christ, Prophet, Priest, and King forever.