Saul Becomes King 1 Samuel 8-10

Saul Becomes King 1 Samuel 8-10 When Samuel grew old, he had his sons take his place. They became judges, but they were not like Samuel. They weren't fair, and people had to give them money to take their side. At last the people told Samuel, "We want a king. Your sons are bad men." The Lord told Samuel to give the people a king but to warn them about what that would mean. Samuel told the people, "A king will take your sons and daughters from you to serve him. He will take your best land for his own." "We still want a king," the people said. "I will send a man to you tomorrow," God told Samuel. The next day a man named Saul was looking for his lost donkeys. He went to Samuel to see if he could help. When Saul arrived, God told Samuel that this man would be the new king. Samuel gave a big party for Saul. Of course Saul didn't know why Samuel was doing this. When Saul got ready to leave the next day, Samuel went with him to the edge of the city and anointed him, pouring olive oil on Saul's head. "You will be the new king of Israel," Samuel said "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you. Wait seven days for me at Gilgal. I will give you more orders there. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he began to prophesy, giving messages from God. Later Samuel called for a big meeting at Mizpah. "You asked for a king," he said. "All right, present yourselves by tribe." So the leaders of the tribes came before Samuel. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen. That meant the new king would come from that tribe. The families of the tribe came. One family was chosen. The new king would come from that family. Then Saul was chosen from that family. At first they couldn't find him. He was hiding among the baggage. Perhaps he did not want to become king. "Here is your new king," Samuel told the people. "Long live the king," the people shouted.

DISCUSSION: How did Samuel tell Saul that he would become the first king of Israel? Where was Saul hiding when he was chosen to become the king? Sometimes God has a special job for you. Will you do it? Or will you hide somewhere, trying to stay away from the job God wants you to do? If God wants you to do something special, here are some things you can do to get ready: 1. Be sure you know God and have accepted His Son, Jesus, as your Savior. 2. Learn what God wants by reading your Bible each day. 3. Pray each day. 4. Always obey God. FLASK OIL POURED SAUL HEAD ANOINTED BENJAMIN DONKEYS GILGAL PROPHETS SPIRIT SAMUEL MIZPAH HIDDEN KISH BAGGAGE KING GIBEAH copyright 1998 Sharon Whittaker http://sewhttkr.home.comcast.net Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.

SAUL'S FOOLISH MISTAKE 1 Samuel 13:1-15 One day after Saul became king, he gathered a small army of 3,000 men. He took 2,000 with him to the hill country. He left 1,000 with his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin. There were other soldiers, but Saul sent them home. Jonathan attacked some Philistines at Geba and won the battle. The Philistines back home heard the news quickly. Saul called for more soldiers because he knew the Philistines would fight back. The Philistines gathered 3,000 chariots and 6,000 horse riders. They also gathered many thousands of foot soldiers. When the Israelites saw this huge army, many hid in caves or among the rocks. Some stayed with Saul, but they were terrified. Samuel the prophet had told Saul to wait seven days for him to come. Samuel was going to give an offering to God. But Saul began to worry. His soldiers were leaving, and the Philistines were ready to fight. So he took action and gave the offering himself. He was just finishing when Samuel appeared. King Saul began to give excuses. "You have disobeyed God!" Samuel said. "God wanted to make you and the people who will be in your family someday kings forever. But now he has already chosen another king who will obey Him." Samuel left. But when the king counted his soldiers, there were only 600 left. What would Saul do next? DISCUSSION: How large was Saul's army at first? What forced Saul to call for more soldiers? How large was the Philistine army? How brave were the Israelites? What did Saul do that disobeyed God? What was his punishment? Saul decided to solve his problem his way, not God's way. Obey God always, especially when things get tough. Disobeying God only makes things worse. Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.

jonathan's brave fight 1 samuel 14:1-23 One day, after many of Saul's soldiers had left him, Jonathan and his bodyguard went toward the Philistine camp. It was up on a rocky cliff. "Perhaps the Lord will help us win a battle, even though there are just two of us," Jonathan said to his bodyguard. "If the Philistines tell us to stay where we are, we will stay. But if they tell us to come and fight, we will do it. That will be God's way of letting us know He will help us win." When the Philistines saw Jonathan and his bodyguard, they shouted, "Come up and fight." Then Jonathan knew that God would help him and his friend win. As soon as the two of them climbed the rocky cliff and reached the Philistines, they began to fight. They killed about 20 Philistines. Suddenly the whole Philistine army began to panic. At that very time a great earthquake came, and this made them even more afraid. Saul's lookouts suddenly saw the whole Philistine army begin to fade away. Saul wondered who was fighting them. "Quick, find out who isn't here," he ordered. The Israelites soon learned that Jonathan and his bodyguard were missing. Saul started talking to the priest about what God wanted them to do, but then he decided to get going. Saul and his 600 men rushed to battle. Even the men who had left Saul's army came back and joined the fight. The Lord saved Israel that day. But the battle kept on going. DISCUSSION: How could Jonathan hope to fight the Philistine army with only two people? Who would help them? What test did Jonathan use to see if God would help them? What did God do to make the Philistines even more afraid? With only 600 men, could the Israelites have won the battle without God's help? We can be brave when we know that God is with us! Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.

SAUL'S FOOLISH PROMISE 1 Samuel 14:24-46 Israel was winning the battle against the Philistines. For some strange reason, Saul made a foolish promise to God. "Whoever eats anything today will be cursed," Saul said. So no one ate food. Even when they found honeycomb in the forest, the soldiers refused to eat the honey. With no food, the men grew tired and weak. Jonathan had not heard his father's curse. So he ate the honey that he found. Then someone told him about Saul's curse. "That's a foolish promise," Jonathan said. "It's hurting all of us. Think how much more everyone could do if the army weren't so weak and tired. I feel good now that I've eaten some honey." The Israelites kept fighting all day even though they were hungry. By evening, when the promise ended, the men were starving. They killed the animals they captured and ate the meat raw. Then someone told Saul what was happening. His soldiers were eating bloody meat, and that was against God's law. So Saul made them drain the blood from the meat before they ate any more. "Let's go after the Philistines all night," Saul suggested. His soldiers agreed. But the priest wanted them to ask God first. When Saul asked God what they should do, God would not answer. "Something is wrong," Saul said. "There is sin here. Even if it's my own son, Jonathan, the sinner must die." Saul and Jonathan stood on one side. The rest of the soldiers stood on the other side. When Saul asked God to show who had done something that was wrong, Saul learned that it was Jonathan. "I ate some honey," Jonathan told his father. "Must I die for that?" "Yes, you must," Saul said. "No, Jonathan must not die," the soldiers said. "He saved Israel today. We will not let him die for eating honey." So the people saved Jonathan. Saul knew then that he was not to go on fighting the Philistines. God would not be with him. So he ordered his army to come home. Then the Philistines went back to their homes.

DISCUSSION: What foolish promise did Saul make to God? How did that promise hurt the army? How did it almost kill Jonathan? Who saved Jonathan? Be careful of the promises you make. Promises must be kept, not broken. It is better to not make a promise than to make one and break it. Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.

the b-i-b-l-e... god's book! TV programs are exciting. There is a lot of action. The pictures move fast. But moving fast with lots of action isn't always best. Here is something that is better than the best TV program. Try it! Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Psalm 37:7 DISCUSSION: Don't try to make talking with God into a TV production. He enjoys our quietness and patience. Sometimes on TV it seems that people are trying to talk faster than anyone else, yell louder than anyone else, do more things than anyone else... When you talk with God, you can just come quietly. Don't make a big deal of it. Then wait patiently for Him to work. Do rich people always have a lot of money? Or can we be rich without much money? Poor people can be the richest people on earth. Here's how! It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and possess much. Psalm 37:16 DISCUSSION: It is better to be a poor person who loves and obeys God than a rich person who doesn't care about God. Are you ever jealous of rich and famous people? Would you want to be a famous star, even if you had to give up God to do it? Some rich and famous people are godly people. Some are not. Some poor people are godly and some are not. You are the richest of all if you have God in your life!

Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.

SAMUEL ANOINTS DAVID 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel had helped Saul become king. But Saul was not obeying the Lord. Samuel mourned about this as if someone had died. "Stop mourning," God said to Samuel. "I have chosen one of Jesse's sons to be the next king. Go and anoint him with oil." "But Saul will kill me," said Samuel. "Go to Bethlehem to give an offering," God said. "Tell Jesse and his sons to come too." When Samuel saw Jesse's sons, he thought, Eliab must be the one God has chosen. Eliab was tall and handsome. But God told Samuel, "Don't decide what people are like because of the way they look. The thoughts and feelings inside a person's heart are what's important to me." One by one Samuel looked at each son. One by one God said no. "Do you have other sons?" Samuel asked Jesse. "The youngest is in the fields, watching my sheep." "Send for him," Samuel said. When the boy named David came, God said, "This is the one." David's brothers watched Samuel pour olive oil on David's head. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, and God gave him great power. DISCUSSION: Where did Samuel go to anoint the next king? Why did Samuel think Eliab might be God's choice? What did God tell him? Which brother did God choose? What happened to David when Samuel anointed him? When God gives you a job to do, He will also give you the power to do it. It doesn't matter how old or how young you are!

DAVID PLAYS FOR SAUL 1 SAMUEL 16:14-23 The Lord was no longer with King Saul because the king was no longer pleasing the Lord. When God left Saul, a bad spirit came upon him to torment him, making him feel sad and afraid. "We must find a good harp player," Saul's helpers told him. "He will play sweet music for you when you are troubled." The king agreed. One of Saul's helpers knew that David was a good harp player. David was also a nice-looking, strong young man, and the Lord was with him. Saul sent messengers to Jesse, David's father. In Saul's message he asked Jesse to send his son, David. So Jesse did. He also sent a gift of food and wine. When Saul saw David, he liked him very much. David actually became one of King Saul's bodyguards. Then Saul sent another message to Jesse. "I like David very much and want him on my staff. May I have your permission?" So Jesse let David stay at the palace. Whenever Saul was troubled, David played the harp for him. This helped Saul feel better. The troubling spirit would go away for awhile. DISCUSSION: Who became Saul's harp player? Why did David play the harp for Saul? How did his music help? What other work did David do for Saul? What do you think Saul would have thought if he knew that David was going to become king someday? Someday David was going to take Saul's place. But before that he had to serve King Saul. He had to learn to serve and follow before he could lead. We have to learn also to become good followers before we become good leaders. Today you may be learning things that will help you become a good leader. You are going to school, helping your parents, and learning to get along with others. If you do your best with these things now, God will help you do your best with bigger things later.