1 & 2 Samuel chronicle the beginning of Israel’s struggle to have a ruler. The book of Judges recorded the nation’s life without a king, but the disastrous results of having the wrong king, Saul, unfold in the book of 1 Samuel. And it is not until 2 Samuel that God establishes David as the true king over the nations. These historic texts are filled with real life accounts of the people and places in a transitioning, and often turbulent, time of Jewish history. The student will become familiar with these people and places, especially the eventful life of David, the man after God’s heart. 6 CREDITS