Archive for the ‘Saul’ tag
November 25, 2012: David and Jonathan
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 18:1–5; 20:1–42.
Key Point
- Just as God’s love filled Jonathan and David and helped them love each other, so Christ fills our hearts with God’s love, enabling us to love our neighbor.
- Law: Hatred and envy shatter relationships among friends and in families.
- Gospel: Because God first loved me and gave me His Son, I am able to love and care for others, especially my friends and family.
This week’s podcast comes from our archives.
Discussion Points
- What is love? What is its opposite?
- How is the way our culture portrays love different from the way the Bible portrays love?
- Read 1 Samuel 18:1–5. What did David and Jonathan have in common that prepared them to be great friends?
- Read 1 Samuel 20:1–11. How does David demonstrate his devotion to his king and to the Lord?
- Read 1 Samuel 20:12–23. How do Jonathan’s words reflect the command of our Lord in Matthew 22:39?
- Read 1 Samuel 20:18–23. As David and Jonathan make their plans, how do they both demonstrate sacrificial love?
- Read 1 Samuel 20:24–34. How does Saul illustrate the opposite of sacrificial love?
- Read 1 Samuel 20:35–42. How do these verses emphasize God’s love?
- What was the source of David and Jonathan’s sacrificial love (see 1 John 4:7–12)? Can we love with that same love? Does this mean we can love perfectly?
- David and Jonathan are portrayed as flawless examples of selfless love in this passage. When does David’s selflessness break down later? Why should that not surprise us?
- When our love breaks down like David’s did, where can we turn for comfort?
November 18, 2012: David and Goliath
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 17.
Key Point
- As David struck down the giant Goliath, so David’s greater Son—Jesus—struck down the Goliaths of sin, Satan, and death through His own death on the cross.
- Law: Left to fight sin, death, and the devil myself, I would perish.
- Gospel: Jesus fights triumphantly for me against my adversaries of sin, death, and the devil because they are too great for me. His victory is my victory.
Discussion Points
- Remember a time when you first put on a pair of glasses or turned on a light and your perspective suddenly changed. What were you feeling when you could not see clearly? How did it feel when you suddenly saw the world correctly?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:1–11. What effect did Goliath wish to have on the Israelites? How did he accomplish his goal?
- David comes onto the scene in 1 Samuel 17:12–16. Read these verses and 16:18–19. What kind of young man is David?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:17–27. How does David’s view of the situation differ from that of his brothers and the rest of Israel’s army?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:28–37. How does David get Saul’s attention? How does David’s picture of the situation differ from that of Israel’s king?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:38–39. How does David’s rejection of Saul’s armor represent the difference in the way that they consider the kingship of Israel?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:40–47. Again, David sees the situation differently than others do. How does David’s perspective differ from Goliath’s? Why? How do David’s words testify to this all-important difference?
- Read 1 Samuel 17:48–54. What was the significance of the fact that “There was no sword in the hand of David” (v. 50)?
- How does David’s victory over Goliath illustrate God’s power to work in ways that we do not expect? What is the greatest example of God working through a means that we never would have predicted?
- David had a different view of the battle than did Saul, his brothers, and Goliath because he recognized God’s presence on the battlefield. How does God’s presence in Christ change our view of our greatest enemies, sin and death?
November 11, 2012: Saul Becomes King
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 8–10; 11:12–15.
Key Point
- Though God lets us have our own way at times, His is the way of forgiving and saving, which He did for His people of old and does for us today.
- Law: I desire all the wrong things, I crave that which will ultimately kill me, and I suffer the consequences of sin.
- Gospel: God the Father forgives my faults and sustains my hopes, for in Christ, I am His child, beloved beyond words.
Discussion Points
- When have you felt rejected? How did you respond? How did that affect your relationship with the person who refused you?
- Read 1 Samuel 8:1–10. Why does Israel want a king? Why is Samuel opposed to this?
- Read 1 Samuel 8:19–9:16. What kind of man is Saul? What office will Samuel anoint him to fill?
- Read 1 Samuel 9:27–10:9. How does God assure Saul that Samuel’s words to him are true? What does God do to prepare Saul for becoming king?
- Read 1 Samuel 10:17–27. How does Samuel demonstrate to the people that Saul is God’s choice for king, not just Samuel’s? How does Saul react to his calling?
- Read 1 Samuel 11:1–15. How does Saul earn the respect of his subjects? Whom does he credit with the victory?
- In 1 Samuel 10:19, the prophet plainly announced that in their desire for a king, Israel had rejected God. How did God react to this rejection? How does this illustrate 2 Timothy 2:11–13? How does this truth comfort us?
- How does Saul’s reaction to the people in 1 Samuel 11:12–13 echo the Lord’s love for His people? Where is this love most apparent?
September 6, 2009: David Becomes King
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 16:1–13; 2 Samuel 5:1–10.
Key Points
- Just as David reigned over Israel, so the God-man, Jesus, our David, reigns over the kingdom of grace, of which we are citizens.
- Law: My sinful foolishness blinds me to the wise ways of my heavenly Father.
- Gospel: God truly sees and knows what I need; He does what is good, right, and salutary for me through His Son.
Context
For the Israelites, the grass was always greener on the other side of the political fence. Not content with having God alone as their King, they wanted a man to wear the crown, like their peer nations had. (See 1 Samuel 8:19–20.) So God gave them Saul. But God also forewarned them: green grass is deceptive, as the Israelites soon discovered for themselves. Saul’s reign began well but then went downhill. Angered by Saul’s acts of insubordination, the Lord through Samuel told Saul that because he had rejected God’s Word, God had rejected him from being king over Israel (1 Samuel 15:26). The Lord would give the kingship to a neighbor of Saul’s, someone better than he (1 Samuel 15:28). As the ensuing story tells us, David was that neighbor.
June 28, 2009: The Friendship of David and Jonathan
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 18:1–4; 19:1–7; 20:1–42; 2 Samuel 1:17–27.
Key Points
- Rather than being jealous that God had chosen David to be king and ancestor of the Messiah, Jonathan accepted God’s plan and befriended David.
- Law: When we see others being honored, we often become jealous.
- Gospel: In our Baptism into Christ Jesus, God has chosen and honored each of us beyond any human accolades.
Context
The Lord chose David to replace disobedient King Saul (1 Samuel 13:1–14; 15:23; 16:12). After David was anointed king, “The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him” (1 Samuel 16:14). David was called to play the lyre for Saul, which relieved his spiritual torment. Saul became even more dependent on David after he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and was set over Israel’s army (1 Samuel 18:5). Almost immediately, Saul became extremely jealous of David’s successes, began to view David as a threat to his throne, and attempted to kill David (1 Samuel 18:5–27). Saul realized that the Lord was with David and became even more afraid of him; thus, “Saul was David’s enemy continually” (1 Samuel 18:29).
1 Samuel 18–31 recounts the drama of Saul’s efforts to secure his throne by killing David. Though David was anointed king by the Lord in 1025 BC, he did not become king of Judah (the southern kingdom) until 1010 (2 Samuel 2), after Saul and his son Jonathan died (1 Samuel 31). David became king of Israel (the northern kingdom) in 1003 (2 Samuel 5).
November 30, 2008: David and Jonathan
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 18:1–30; 20:1–42.
Key Points
- Just as God filled Jonathan’s heart with love for David and David’s with love for Jonathan, so Christ fills our heart with God’s love, enabling us to love our neighbor.
- Law: Hatred and envy shatter ties, even the closest of family ties. They turn a mother against her daughter, a father against her son, as they did Saul against Jonathan. This, in turn, spawns murderous thoughts, if not murder itself.
- Gospel: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Jonathan’s love for David and David’s for Jonathan was the love of God within their hearts spilling over into each other’s lives. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19), giving us His Son: love enfleshed.
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November 23, 2008: David and Goliath
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 17:1—58.
Key Points
- As David slew the giant Goliath, so David’s greater Son—Jesus—slew the jeering Goliaths of sin, Satan, and death with the weapon of His own death.
- Law: The enemies that face Christians are hardly pipsqueak rivals easily trounced. The devil is a roaring lion, not a hissing kitten. Danger and death await the believer who belittles these foes. Beware.
- Gospel: We do not fight our adversaries alone. In fact, there is one who fights for us: Jesus Christ. With His word of truth, He fells them as easily as David downed Goliath with a sling. His victory is our victory. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). More than conquerors are we, for we are kings and queens with the King of Kings Himself.
November 16, 2008: Saul Becomes King
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 8:1—10:27; 11:12–15.
Key Points
- Though God lets us have our own way at times, His is the way of forgiving and saving, which He did for His people of old and for us today.
- Law: “Be careful what you wish for,” we’re often told. This is very good advice for sinners, since we wish—indeed, we crave—the very things that lead to our undoing. We “Israels” clamor for our own “Sauls,” no matter how much God warns us that we are like thirsty travelers begging for salty water.
- Gospel: The Lord knows what we need, both in terms of discipline and in terms of grace. As a loving Father, He upholds us, even when we bear the painful consequences of our own choices. He forgives us our faults and sustains our hopes. For in Christ, we are His children, beloved beyond words.
