David Is Anointed King By Samuel 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Transcription

1 Lesson 078 David Is Anointed King By Samuel 1 Samuel 16:1-13

2 MEMORY VERSE 1 S AMUEL 16:7 For the LORD does not see as m an sees; for m an looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Yarn (enough for several strips) and a bag (not see-through). As many small prizes as the number of children in your class. Red construction paper, brads (paper fasteners), markers and scissors. Construction paper, crayons, dry pasta in a variety of shapes and glue. ATTENTION GRABBER! The Chance Game People come up with many ways of choosing what or who is the best for something. But God does things very differently than we do. He goes beyond guessing and is personal in the lives of those He chooses to do great things for Him. In today s lesson we are going to learn that God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance. For this activity you will need yarn and a bag. Cut the yarn into several different sizes. Cut enough pieces so that there is one for each child. Make sure that there is only one of the longest pieces of yarn. Place all of the pieces into a bag and have each child pick one string. The one with the longest string wins. Give them a small prize.

3 Explain to the children that this person was selected by chance. No one looked at whether he deserved to be the winner, it simply happened. God does not choose this way. He will always look at our hearts to determine if we are a person He can use. Next, pass out small prizes to the rest of the class for participating. LESSON TIME! How many of us have looked at someone else and formed an opinion about them (good or bad) without really knowing them? Maybe you ve seen someone and thought, They look like a doctor or a musician. But you never really met them or got to know them--you only saw them. Our lesson today is a good example of the way God sees and judges a person. God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance. 1 S AM U EL 16:1 N o w t h e L O R D s ai d t o S am u e l, " H o w l o n g w i l l y o u m o u r n f o r S au l, s e e i n g I h av e r e j e c t e d h i m f r o m r e i gn i n g o v e r I s r ae l? F i l l y o u r h o r n w i t h o i l, an d go ; I am s e n d i n g y o u t o J e s s e t h e B e t h l e h e m i t e. F o r I h av e p r o v i d e d M y s e l f a k i n g am o n g h i s s o n s Samuel was mourning (being sad) over the Lord s rejection of Saul as king over Israel. The Lord spoke to Samuel and said to him, How long will you mourn for Saul? God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to the House of Israel, for he has provided a king among the sons of Jesse. God had rejected Saul as king because he refused to repent; he would not confess his sin and turn back to God, though Samuel, as God s messenger, had warned him. Samuel was grieved at seeing Saul fail. Saul was a leader chosen by God; yet he had hardened his heart against the Lord. God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance.

4 In the midst of Samuel s mourning over Saul, the Lord gave Samuel an assignment. In essence, God was saying, Samuel, I ve rejected Saul but I m not through yet. The Lord wanted to keep Samuel busy serving Him and focused on what He was going to do next. 1 S AM U EL 16:2, 3 An d S am u e l s ai d, " H o w c an I go? I f S au l h e ar s i t, h e w i l l k i l l m e. " An d t h e L O R D s ai d, " T ak e a h e i f e r w i t h y o u, an d s ay, ' I h av e c o m e t o s ac r i f i c e t o t h e L O R D. ' " T h e n i n v i t e J e s s e t o t h e s ac r i f i c e, an d I w i l l s h o w y o u w h at y o u s h al l d o ; y o u s h al l an o i n t f o r M e t h e o n e I n am e t o y o u. " Samuel asks, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. Notice that Samuel does not respond right away in obedience to go. He was concerned with the danger or risk involved if Saul were to find out; but, the Lord promised to lead Samuel through the difficult situation--he would show him what to do. God never asks us to do something that He will not enable us for and lead us through. Sometimes it may seem like what He is asking us to do is really difficult (as it did for Samuel), but God promises Samuel and us that He will be with us and show us what to do. We can rest in the Bible promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). 1 S AM U EL 16:4, 5 S o S am u e l d i d w h at t h e L O R D s ai d, an d w e n t t o B e t h l e h e m. An d t h e e l d e r s o f t h e t o w n t r e m bl e d at h i s c o m i n g, an d s ai d, " D o y o u c o m e p e ac e abl y?" An d h e s ai d, " Pe ac e abl y ; I h av e c o m e t o s ac r i f i c e t o t h e L O R D. S an c t i f y y o u r s e l v e s, an d c o m e w i t h m e t o t h e s ac r i f i c e. " T h e n h e c o n s e c r at e d J e s s e an d h i s s o n s, an d i n v i t e d t h e m t o t h e s ac r i f i c e.

5 Samuel did what the Lord said. He went to Bethlehem. The elders trembled at the coming of this well-known prophet. The Lord gave Samuel a legitimate reason for going so that he would not attract attention. He told Samuel to go and make a sacrifice and invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and the Lord would show Samuel whom to anoint. 1 S AM U EL 16:6, 7 S o i t w as, w h e n t h e y c am e, t h at h e l o o k e d at El i ab an d s ai d, " S u r e l y t h e L o r d ' s an o i n t e d i s be f o r e H i m. " B u t t h e L O R D s ai d t o S am u e l, " D o n o t l o o k at h i s ap p e ar an c e o r at t h e h e i gh t o f h i s s t at u r e, be c au s e I h av e r e f u s e d h i m. F o r t h e L o r d d o e s n o t s e e as m an s e e s ; f o r m an l o o k s at t h e o u t w ar d ap p e ar an c e, bu t t h e L O R D l o o k s at t h e h e ar t. " When Samuel looked at Eliab (David s older brother), he thought to himself, Surely this must be the Lord s anointed one. Samuel s judgment was based on outward appearance--he must have thought he was kingly looking. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him. God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance. Inside The Heart You will need red construction paper for this craft. Allow each child to do the following. Fold two pieces of red construction paper in half. Cut out 2 large hearts. Take one heart, fold and cut in half. On the whole heart, write the memory verse. Take the heart that is cut in half and set the two halves on top of the whole heart. Punch a hole at the bottom, and use a brad (paper fastener) to hold the pieces in place. Have the children write their name on

6 the outside pieces. Explain that God can see inside of our hearts. Talk about some things that they would like the Lord to see inside of their heart. What kinds of things do they think was in David s heart? Remind the children that God looks at our hearts. No matter how we or someone else acts on the outside, the most important thing is what is in our hearts. 1 S AM U EL 16:8-11 S o J e s s e c al l e d Abi n ad ab, an d m ad e h i m p as s be f o r e S am u e l. An d h e s ai d, " N e i t h e r h as t h e L O R D c h o s e n t h i s o n e. " T h e n J e s s e m ad e S h am m ah p as s by. An d h e s ai d, " N e i t h e r h as t h e L O R D c h o s e n t h i s o n e. " T h u s J e s s e m ad e s e v e n o f h i s s o n s p as s be f o r e S am u e l. An d S am u e l s ai d t o J e s s e, " T h e L O R D h as n o t c h o s e n t h e s e. " An d S am u e l s ai d t o J e s s e, " Ar e al l t h e y o u n g m e n h e r e?" T h e n h e s ai d, " T h e r e r e m ai n s y e t t h e y o u n ge s t, an d t h e r e h e i s, k e e p i n g t h e s h e e p. " An d S am u e l s ai d t o J e s s e, " S e n d an d br i n g h i m. F o r w e w i l l n o t s i t d o w n t i l l h e c o m e s h e r e. " After Eliab was rejected, Jesse called each of his sons to pass before Samuel and each time one passed by Samuel said, neither has the Lord chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel but none of them was the one that God had chosen. Then Samuel asked Jesse Are these all of your sons? Jesse answered Samuel by telling him that there still remained his youngest son who was out keeping his sheep. Samuel asked Jesse to send for him and he even said, We will not sit down until he comes.

7 You would think that after all of Jesse s sons had passed by Samuel and he had not anointed any of them, Jesse would speak up and say, Oh, well it must be David ; but, he does not. In fact, it is Samuel who breaks the silence and asks Jesse if there is another son. Perhaps, Jesse never thought his son David could be a king. Perhaps, he thought he was too young or not talented enough. It is interesting to study the people that God chooses. He rarely chooses the powerful, the beautiful, or the naturally talented ones. He often chooses the weak and the outcast to do amazing things for Him. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 we read, For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. God can even use young boys and girls who have a heart to serve Him and are willing to obey Him. God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance. 1 S AM U EL 16:12,13 S o h e s e n t an d br o u gh t h i m i n. N o w h e w as r u d d y, w i t h br i gh t e y e s, an d go o d -l o o k i n g. An d t h e L O R D s ai d, " Ar i s e, an o i n t h i m ; f o r t h i s i s t h e o n e!" T h e n S am u e l t o o k t h e h o r n o f o i l an d an o i n t e d h i m i n t h e m i d s t o f h i s br o t h e r s ; an d t h e S p i r i t o f t h e L O R D c am e u p o n D av i d f r o m t h at d ay f o r w ar d. S o S am u e l ar o s e an d w e n t t o R am ah. When David was brought before Samuel, the Lord told Samuel "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day on.

8 David is often referred to as a man after God s own heart. God did not choose David to be a king because he looked like a king or even acted kingly. David was a lowly sheepherder. God chose David because of his heart--a heart that longed for God and desired to serve Him. God looks at our hearts, not our outward appearance.

9 Let us see others as God sees them. We should not make up our minds about other people based on whether they look good on the outside or not. What God esteems as important should be what we esteem as important. God looks at the heart, not the outward appearance. May we examine our own hearts and be found to be as David, boys and girls, men and women, who are after God s own heart longing to know God more intimately and to serve Him. Pasta People For this craft you will need construction paper, crayons, dry pasta in a variety of shapes and glue. Give each child a piece of construction paper. Allow the children to draw a person on their paper. Then glue different shapes of pasta on his figure to make clothes, hair, arms, legs, feet and so on. After each child has made their Pasta Person talk about the following. Who made people? Who were the people in our story? What happened? Tell some ways in which people look different. Sometimes we decide what a person is like by looking at the outside. What does God look at? How are you like other people in your family? How are you different? PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of commitment to search their own hearts to make sure that they are right before the Lord and to have eyes to see others as God does, looking at the heart and not at the outward appearance. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the Gospel, give them opportunity.