Bible Memory Verse:
“…To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22
Samuel was the ruler or judge over Israel. He was a good man and did whatever God asked him. When a judge was ruler over Israel, God was really ruling Israel through the judge. When Samuel became old, his sons were wicked men and the people asked for a king. God was not pleased about this because the real reason the people wanted a king was so that they could be like the nations around them. Instead of wanting God to rule them, they wanted a king.
Although God was not happy about what they decided, He did for them what they asked. God told Samuel to anoint a man named Saul as king. To anoint someone is to pour oil over them to show that they have been appointed for a special job. Saul was given a special blessing to be king.
When Saul first became king, he was a humble man and a brave warrior. He led the Israelites in battle against the Philistines and won many victories.Later, however, he became disobedient to God.
One time God asked King Saul to fight the Amalekites and totally destroy these evil people.
Instead Saul kept the king of the Amalekites alive and saved all the best animals. When Samuel came and saw how Saul had disobeyed, Saul said he had saved the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord.
Sacrifice means to give or offer to a god. In Old Testament times, before Jesus was born, people were to kill an animal to pay for the sins they had committed. When Jesus died on the cross, that sacrifice paid for sins once and for all.
Samuel said to Saul. “Does God delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance is like the sin of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again though Samuel mourned for him. God was grieved that He had made Saul king. He said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
Samuel anointed David the son of Jesse to be king. He was still a boy with many lessons to learn before he became king. He did not become king for several years.
The prophet Samuel died and all Israel mourned for him.
Saul became more and more disobedient to the Lord. Finally the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel.
The Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. When Saul saw the Philistine army he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him. Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”
King Saul had told all mediums and spiritists to leave Israel. A medium or a spiritist is someone that talks to the dead, which is really talking to demons. They are people that are controlled by Satan. It was against God’s law that they be allowed in Israel.
“There is one in Endor,” King Saul’s attendants said.
So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to see the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”
But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why do you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
Saul swore to her by the Lord: “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not but punished for this.”
Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring up Samuel,” he said.
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.”
The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
“What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel and he bowed down with his face to the ground.
Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors-to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. The Lord will hand over Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”
Immediately Saul fell to the ground because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.
When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so that you may eat and have the strength to go on your way."
He refused and said, “I will not eat.”
But the men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
The woman had a fattened calf at the house which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. Then she set it before Saul and his men and they ate. That same night they got up and left.
The Philistines fought against Israel. The Israelites fled before them. The Philistines chased Saul and his sons and they killed his sons. The fighting grew fierce around Saul and the enemy wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run, or these…fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But the armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his armor-bearer and three of his sons and all his men died together that same day.
Saul, the first king of Israel, had started out as a humble man and a brave warrior. He became a disobedient and fearful man. He even ended up killing himself.
God has said: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
God promised He would never leave is or forsake us. But we have the choice. We can depend on God’s great love or we can turn away from it like Saul did.
QUESTIONS:
1. What was the name of the first king of Israel?
2. Who anointed Saul to be king?
3. What kind of a man was Saul when he first became king?
4. What was one thing Saul did to disobey God?
5. How did Saul die?
SAUL
Bible Memory Verse:
“…To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22
Words to choose from: OFFER, GOD, LIE, KING, ANOINT, DEMONS, OBEY, DISOBEY, WITCH, SAUL
1. __ __ __ __ was the name of the first king of Israel.
2. To __ __ __ __ __ __someone is to pour oil over them to show that they have been appointed for a special job.
3. Samuel anointed Saul to be __ __ __ __.
4. Saul did not __ __ __ __ God so God choose someone else to be king.
5. To sacrifice means to give or __ __ __ __ __ to a god.
6. Saul asked a __ __ __ __ __ (which is a medium or spiritist) about the future.
7. When a witch (medium or spiritist) contacts the dead, they are really contacting __ __ __ __ __ __.
8. Demons hate people and they often__ __ __.
9. To contact demons is to __ __ __ __ __ __ __ God.
10. We should ask __ __ __ if we want to know something and He will let us know if it is His will to do so.