Memory verse: 1 Samuel 10:19a
- You will need a whiteboard & pen OR blackboard & chalk OR sheet of paper & marker
- Get your members to sit in teams or small groups with a leader as you will need to do an activity together. Leaders will need pen and paper to write on.
Who leads our country? Who is it that decides what our country does, what laws we have and what we are allowed to do? (Parliament, Prime minister, King/queen, President)
For Israel it was God who was their leader – and he had prophets or judges that he spoke to and they relayed the messages to the people.
Samuel was what the Bible calls a judge over Israel. He was also called a prophet. I guess Samuel was a bit like our Prime Minister, but under God‟s leadership. He would tell the people what God was saying to them. If they did evil things Samuel told them God was angry. He helped people worship God, and he traveled all around the country helping settle arguments like our judges do in court. So Samuel really was the most important, the most famous and the most respected man in the whole of the country.
Up to now we have talked about Samuel as a baby and a young boy. Now in this story, Samuel is an old man. The leaders of Israel were becoming worried about who would rule them if anything happened to Samuel. So they came to him and said, “Samuel, you are old. We want you to choose a king to lead us. Just like the other countries around us, we want a king we can see. Not like God who we can‟t see.”
Well Samuel thought this was very wrong so he prayed to God. And God spoke back to Samuel and said, “Listen to the people. They are not rejecting you Samuel – they are rejecting me. They don‟t want me (God) as their king. They want a man they can see. So I will choose a king for them that they will like, but I want you to warn them as well, what this king will do.”
this king will take some of your sons to be servants
he will tax you all so he can have a great army and a lovely palace to live in
he will make some of you train as soldiers
he will take your daughters to be household servants
he will take any of your possessions he fancies
But the people didn‟t want to know. They had decided they wanted a king and they wouldn‟t listen to any warnings from God.
So God said to Samuel, “Give them a king.”
Now, in your small groups, I want you to decide on 3 of the most important things you would look for if you were helping to choose someone to be a king. You have 2 minutes. (honesty, gentleness, looks, brains, money, speaking ability, Godliness, fame……… ????)
After I minute, ask for 1 thing from each group and list it on your board. Add any other suggestions that have been missed and add them too.
Comment: You have some great ideas here and these are very important character traits for anyone who is a king. But guess what the people of Israel were looking for…? Someone who looked impressive! (you may like to have „looked impressive‟ pre-written in large lettering to blu-tack to the board)
There was a man named Saul. The Bible tells us he was VERY handsome. He was young and physically strong and a whole head taller than anyone else in the whole of Israel. He may have been nearly 7 feet tall. (you may like to measure that against the wall and show how high 7ft is) One day Saul was out looking for some of his father‟s donkeys that had wandered away. He and his servant walked for 3 days through small towns and villages but they couldn‟t find the donkeys. They had decided to go back home in case his dad had started worrying that HE was lost!
“Hang on a minute,” said the servant, “There‟s a holy man in this town. Everything he says is true. Let‟s ask him where we can find our donkeys.”
So, off they set to try and find the holy man – who was, of course, Samuel. Some girls they met along the road said, “the holy man is just ahead of you. If you hurry you will catch him.” So off they hurried.
Now on the previous day, God had said to Samuel “Tomorrow about this time, I will send to you a young man. Anoint him as king over Israel. He will rescue Israel from her enemies.”
So when Samuel caught sight of Saul – this huge, tall and very handsome looking dude – God spoke to Samuel again and said, „This is the man I told you about.”
Saul came up to Samuel and asked, “Tell me please, where does the prophet of God live?” “I am the prophet” said Samuel. “Come with me to the feast I am attending. Tomorrow I will answer all of your questions. As for the donkeys – they have been found. Meanwhile, I tell you that you are the man all of Israel has been looking for to lead them.”
Well what a shock that was to Saul. And scary. But he followed Samuel to the place where about 30 people were seated ready for a meal. Saul was given the place of honour at the head of the table. Then, after the meal, Samuel took Saul off home to sleep. The next morning Samuel took Saul to the edge of town and there he poured oil over Saul‟s head and said to him, “God anoints you as ruler over his people Israel.” Then he sent Saul home.
Later, Samuel gathered all the leaders of the tribes of Israel together and brought Saul forward and presented him to them as their new king.
One special lesson we can learn from this story is that God wants to be our king.
But God allows us to make our own choices and often we want to do what is not pleasing to Him. If we don‟t want to let God lead us he may even let us have what we persist in having - even if it may not be good for us. But we have to accept the consequences. The best way is when we follow God.
Next time we will learn what happened a long time later when Samuel and Saul met again.
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