In the last post, we saw that Samuel, as the living bearer of the divine presence, had built an altar in the land of Zuph- his family home. This is crucially important when we understand the theology of the book. Samuel is about the renewal of the sanctuary and the bringing forth of children for God who will administer that sanctuary and so bring the divine presence into the world. Samuel is born again as God’s son, and the sanctuary moves with him. The sanctuary is God’s family home, but since Samuel embodies that family as God’s anointed son, the central sanctuary becomes Samuel’s family home. And just as Samuel was both conceived and born again in relation to God as His Father in 1 Samuel 1-3, so is Saul born anew as Samuel’s spiritual seed in 1 Samuel 9. Saul is invited by Samuel to share in the sacrificial food offered by Samuel and is instructed to spend the night on the roof (1 Samuel 9:25). Samuel was born again in the heavens (as the temple is heaven on earth) upon waking from sleep- Saul is placed on the roof and is summoned by Samuel in the morning. Saul is told that he will journey from the land of Zuph to Zelzah at Rachel’s tomb, then to the oak of Tabor near Bethel, where he will come to the hill of God (this is the meaning of “Gibeath-Elohim” in the text- I think it likely refers to the high place at Bethel) where the Spirit of God will rush upon him.
But why is there a high place at Bethel? I have argued that there is a legitimate high place in Zuph because this is Samuel’s family home- and since Samuel is the person with whom the divine presence goes, it is legitimate to worship God there. But why Bethel? 1 Samuel 7:16 answers this question for us- Samuel was judge over Israel, he would go on circuit through the land of Israel to hold court. This is an important point, as we should recall that the sanctuary is not just God’s family home in a generic sense. God is the Divine King, so it is the family home of the Great King- this is His court. If Samuel is now the analogue to the ark of the covenant- where God sets the footstool of His throne- then Samuel’s court doubles as a cultic site. The text identifies the three centers of Samuel’s route throughout the land- he would go “year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah” (1 Samuel 7:16).
Mizpah is where Samuel had gathered Israel to fight the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7. Importantly, Samuel began by building there an altar to God and offering ascension offerings- so we know that this is a cultic site associated with Samuel. Likewise, Samuel tells Saul that after he is reborn as a new man, he is to “go down before me to Gilgal” where Samuel is “coming down to you to offer ascension offerings and sacrifice peace offerings” (1 Samuel 10:8). Thus, at two of the three of the centers of Samuel’s judgeship, we are explicitly told that cult sites were erected for Samuel’s use. This naturally explains why there is also one at Bethel. Samuel liturgized at his home in Zuph, in Ramah. Samuel also erected liturgical centers at Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, where he passed through annually. And Samuel does this because he has become the thread through which the destiny of Israel’s sanctuary runs.
At Bethel (meaning “house of God”, God gave Saul “another heart” (1 Samuel 10:9) on His Hill- again, rebirth is linked with higher elevation, nearer to God’s heavenly presence. There, the Spirit of the LORD rushes on Saul and turns him into “another man” (1 Samuel 10:6). As Samuel was born again as the son of a new family- son of God and heir to Eli’s commission- at the tabernacle- so also was Saul born again as heir of God and Samuel at this cultic site. This is why, upon his coming to Gibeah, the people ask of Saul “what has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And who is their father?” (1 Samuel 10:11-12). Saul has been reborn in a new lineage. Later in the story, he will be disinherited, and David will take his place as Samuel’s son and spiritual heir. This is why at the heart of the covenant with David’s seed is God’s word that “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.” And it is the task of this son to build a “house for my Name” (1 Samuel 7:13-14). And it is why David’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem is as part of a procession with the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6) and why the Book of Samuel as a whole comes to its end with David’s building an altar on the very plot of land where Solomon will build the Temple of God (2 Samuel 24:18-25).