to be theological in the final analysis.33 Viewed from this perspective it seems clear that the intention of the book of Samuel is to show the why and how of the transition from a period in which “everyone did whatever he wanted” (Judg 21:25) to one in which God’s kingdom rule was entrusted to one man who was “after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam 13:14 NIV). This “kingdom theology” is not by any means limited to Samuel. The Lord had promised through Jacob that “the scepter will not depart from Judah” (Gen
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