It was a time of distrust and disillusionment in the land of Israel. People did not trust those who governed them. Those in positions of leadership were thought to be inept or corrupt, and often both. There was a lack of vision about the future of the people. Because those in leadership seemed helpless, hopeless and corrupt, God looked outside the tents of power to find new leadership with vision.

Now I should stop and say that if this is beginning to sound like a commentary on American political life in the 90s, it is not; though when I read the book of Samuel I sometimes think I'm reading the morning paper. This is simply the sad tale of any nation, family, organization or church which has lost its vision, which has lost its basic understanding of who it is and what it is about in the wor…