The Fourth Sunday in Lent - 3 April 2011
The Fourth Sunday in Lent I Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 Saint John 9:1-41 BACKGROUND: Samuel The books attributed to this prophet, judge, military leader, and kingmaker in the Hebrew Scriptures were most likely not written by him. There is the evidence to too many hands, and with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there are significant variants. The book, however, is important in our understanding Israel as it moves from a loose federation of tribes into a monarchy following the patterns of its Canaanite neighbors. On the cusp of this change, Samuel becomes both the apologist and the critic of the monarchy. Two great sagas, that of Samuel himself, and that of David are both set forth in the book(s) (The book was divided into two sections with its translation into Greek under the patronage of the Ptolomies in Egypt). Other theological points in the