This week we will continue the study of the entire Book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.
(1) Do you think that Saul knew he had not completely obeyed the instructions of the Lord?
(2) Do you think he met the prophet with a guilty conscience or not?
(3) What do think of his greeting to Samuel in v. 13 and his setting up of a monument in his own honor in Carmel?
(4) What were the excuses given by Saul for his own disobedience?
(5) In the words of the Lord so conveyed to Saul, consider the following:
a. Why did the Lord mention his humble beginning?
b. Who made him great?
c. Were the Amalekites Israel’s only enemies?
d. How did the Lord describe his disobedience?
(6) Since Samuel had already told him that the words came from the Lord, what did Saul’s defense in vv. 20-21 amount to?
(7) Samuel’s famous rebuke deserves our careful reflection. Read and reread it before attempting to answer the following:
a. Do you think the people intended to offer all their plunders to the Lord?
b. Even if they did, would their offerings be a pleasing aroma to the Lord?
c. Why is rebellion like the sin of divination?
d. Why is arrogance like the evil of idolatry?
e. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”: How does this admonition speak to your current situation?
(8) Was it the first time the Lord declared His rejection of Saul as king? (See 13:14)
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) From the immediate response of Saul to Samuel’s rebuke (presumably it was true), what can you tell was (and still is) one the most important assets a king or a leader of a nation relied on?
(2) Try to put yourself in Saul’s shoes: You know you have sinned, and sinned gravely; you know the Lord has rejected you as king. What then should you do? Do you worry about how you would continue to be the king without God’s blessings and presence?
(3) How did Saul respond in v. 25? Why? (Note: they really could not make the sacrifices by themselves at Gilgal!)
(4) What was the message of the tearing of the robe of Samuel to Saul?
(5) What was the real reason for begging Samuel to go with him according to v. 30?
(6) Why then would Samuel grant his wish? Can you see the personal relationship Samuel had developed with Saul? (See v. 11)
(7) Saul had said that he had sinned as least twice in the conversation. Do you think he really acknowledged his sin? Why or why not?
(8) What were the messages sent by Samuel with his execution of Agag?
(9) Read v. 35 together again with v. 11: Why would the Biblical author choose to repeat the Lord’s grief and Samuel’s mourning? How does such a repetition speak to you?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Samuel continued to mourn for Saul, although he chose not to see him and was confronted by the Lord, as a result.
a. When is it right to mourn?
b. When is wrong to mourn?
(2) Why did Samuel worry about Saul knowing about his move to anoint another person as king? What does this say about who Saul had become?
(3) Why did the elders of Bethlehem tremble upon seeing their prophet Samuel? How might it speak of the relationship between Saul and Samuel?
(4) Why would Samuel think Eliab was God’s choice? How similar was Eliab to Saul? (10:23)
(5) As much as the Bible makes it clear that, “The Lord does not look at things man looks at”, in what ways do we still choose based on outward appearance when it comes to the selection of Christian leaders?
(6) In not choosing Eliab, the Lord said, “for I have rejected him”. What does this imply about the person of Eliab?
(7) It was obviously a great honor to be invited to sit with Samuel at the sacrifice. Why did Jesse only take with him seven of his sons and not the youngest one, David? (The flock could have been taken care of by another shepherd, as in 17:20.) How does it speak to how Jesse looked upon this son?
(8) What great lessons can we learn in these areas?
a. Not writing anyone off
b. Being subtly ignored as unimportant
(9) David, like Saul, was obviously totally unprepared for this sudden anointing by God to be the king of Israel. Having learned from the mistakes of Saul, what do you think David should avoid in order to be the king after God’s own heart? (13:14)
(10) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
(1) Judging from the fact that the Spirit of God appears to come and go from a person in the Old Testament, what functions or roles did the Spirit serve in the Old Testament (for example in the case of Saul or many of the judges), and what functions or roles does the Spirit play today? (See Rom. 8:9, 14-16; Eph. 1:13-14)
(2) Even evil spirits had to obey God’s command in their rebellious state. What does it say about the sovereignty and power of God?
(3) While Saul’s attendant might see music as a kind of charm, we do know music does have a therapeutic effect: While David was not valued by his father, how was he seen in the eyes of the public? (v. 18) And how was his “unimportant skill” turned into one that could be greatly used for God?
(4) While we may not have a definite answer, it is still worth reflecting on the following:
a. How did others see that the Lord was with David?
b. How then can others see that the Lord is with you?
(5) Having been anointed by the Spirit as the next king, how might David look upon such a seemingly unimportant, lowly position in the court?
(6) Relief would come to Saul when David played the harp:
a. Do you think it was the therapeutic effect of music?
b. Do you think that if the music was played by any other person (without the presence of the Spirit of God) that he could drive the evil spirit away?
c. What might it suggest about the function and proper use of music in worship?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
When David was anointed and later fetched by Saul to play the harp for him, we may assume that he was in late teens. It is likely that the threat of war had preoccupied Saul. God had given the first open door for David to be known among Saul’s men, and so he was sent back and forth to tend the sheep of his father.
(1) This kind of pre-battle taunting was not uncommon in the olden days, but what was uncommon was the formidable size of this Philistine champion — 9 feet tall, wearing armor of 125 lbs. and carrying a spear with an iron point of 15 lbs.:
a. What kind of a picture does the biblical author seek to depict?
b. What kind of a situation did the Israelites face?
c. What was their latest record in battle?
d. How did the Israelites react to this situation? (v. 11)
e. What is the spiritual implication here?
(2) While joining the army of Saul to fight against the Philistines, do you think the three older brothers of David now thought differently about David at all? Why or why not?
(3) How did the three brothers greet David?
a. With brotherly love
b. With welcome because he brought supplies from home
c. Remembering his anointing (which they saw with their eyes) by Samuel
(4) How did Eliab’s treatment of David serve to affirm God’s rejection of him? (16:7)
(5) Why did David keep asking concerning the same question?
a. Did he really covet the reward by the king?
b. Did he really think he could kill Goliath?
(6) What did his repeated asking lead to? (v. 31)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Given the differences in size and age, how would you react to David’s encouragement in v. 32?
(2) If you were Saul, how would you answer David?
(3) In his answer to Saul, can you discern the main emphasis of David’s reply? (vv. 34-37)
(4) What risk was Saul taking in allowing David to be the champion of Israel to fight with Goliath? What if David was killed? Why would Saul allow David to do so?
(5) What kind of a scene was being set up in vv. 38-40?
(6) Did the Philistines think David had a chance?
(7) Put yourself in the shoes of the Israelite soldiers, including David’s brothers. Did they think David had a chance?
(8) From the words of David in vv. 45-47, define what the meaning of the words, “the battle is the Lord’s”. What does it entail?
(9) The killing of Goliath by David was indeed a miracle. Do you get a sense that David was the least surprised? Why was that the case? Sit back and reconsider the entire story up to this point: What were the key factors of David’s success?
(10) How did David and his action define faith?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) At this point, can you recall Jonathan’s journey in the kingship of his father? In particular, how would he now view the kingship of his father?
(2) I would not be surprised that Saul had been keeping an eye on Samuel to see whom he might or might have anointed as the next king in his place. That might explain why he kept asking the name of David’s father after the slaying of Goliath (17:55-58). He might have gotten wind of the anointing by Samuel of one of Jesse’s sons:
a. How did the Bible describe this amazing love Jonathan had for David?
b. How did Jonathan develop such a deep love for David? What explanation could there be?
c. Should Jonathan not be wary of David? He himself was next in line to succeed Saul as king.
d. How then can one describe the heart of this man?
(3) How different was Saul from Jonathan?
(4) Upon hearing the song of the women, would you not be just as jealous as Saul was? Why or why not?
(5) Now, Saul did not have to guess who had been anointed in his stead. Why? (v. 12)
(6) Even so, how should he then treat David?
(7) How did he treat David? Why?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?