Unit 8: Samuel and King Saul OT8.5 King Saul’s Last Days ......2 OT8.6 King Saul’s Last Days...

1

OT8.6 King Saul’s Last Days ©Beverly Wilson 2018

Unit 8: Samuel and King Saul OT8.5 King Saul’s Last Days Lesson

Scripture: I Samuel 28; 31

Lesson Goal: King Saul had ruled over Israel for many years. Samuel the prophet had told him that because of his continued disobedience that God had taken the throne from him. In this lesson we will learn how Saul resorts to doing evil in his last days.

Introduction: The story of the Samuel and King Saul is found in 1 Samuel which is the ninth book in the Old Testament. 1 Samuel is in the second group of books in the Old Testament called the historical books. These books begin with Joshua and go through Esther. Let's say these books--Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.

Attention Getter: “Bad Movies” Are there some music or movies that your parents have told you not to watch? Why do you think they have told you to not listen or see those shows? Not everything that is on television or in the movies is good for us to know. When parents tell you not to watch these things, they are protecting you from evil. The devil is real and he will try to get at all of us through any means he can. One of the ways he uses to trick us is through video games and board games. God has given to all believers the armor of God and he wants us to win the battle against evil and sin. He loves us and wants us to use the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us from doing wrong. God has told us to protect ourselves from evil by living close to Him and avoiding things that come from evil sources. That is why He has warned us against being involved in witchcraft. When you have a sleep over at someone’s house, remember to obey your parents and stay away from doing wrong. This lesson is about a man named King Saul who did not obey God. He tried to find out the future by going to a medium who practiced witchcraft. God wants us to only trust Him. He promises to give us a future of hope and joy.

Opening Prayer: “Dear Father in heaven, thank you for this lesson from the life of King Saul. It shows us how important it is to have a heart that is truly devoted to you. Help us to not be like King Saul but to live consistently for you. We love you and want to serve You with our whole heart. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to be our Savior and for His death on the cross for us. Thank you for giving to us the gift of eternal life. Help us to bring you honor and praise all our life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/N_ng-3Pmb6Y Samuel was the last of the Israel’s judges. Samuel had been a faithful obedient servant of God who had faithfully proclaimed God’s message to Israel for many years. Yet the people of Israel had come to him saying that they no longer wanted to be ruled by judges. They wanted a king like all the other nations around them. This request displeased God greatly because it was really a rejection of Him as their King and Ruler. Because of the persistence of their request, God finally gave them a king. God told Samuel to anoint Saul the son of Kish as the first King of Israel. Samuel anointed him as king by pouring oil over his head. God had warned the people through Samuel that having a king would not be

https://youtu.be/N_ng-3Pmb6Y

2


good. The king would take their sons and daughters and make them serve him; he would tax their land; and they would regret they ever wanted a king. Samuel had warned King Saul and the people. “Do not forget the Lord your God. Do not serve idols or the false gods of your enemies. “Remember to obey God because if you fail to do so, God will judge you. So Saul became the King of Israel when he was 30 years old and he reigned over Israel for forty two years. He gathered an army of 3,000 warriors to defend the Israelites against the Philistine raiders. Any strong or brave man he saw was added to his fighters. Fighting alongside with him were his three sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. Many battles were fought during King Saul’s reign against the Philistines and the Amalekites and other enemies who lived near Israel. One time early in his reign Samuel had told King Saul to wait until he came so they could offer a sacrifice to the Lord before they entered a battle against the Philistines. Because his men were afraid and deserting the army and hiding in caves, King Saul decided to disobey God and offered the sacrifice himself. God had clearly forbidden anyone except the priests to be in charge of these worship services. Because of his sin, God had told Samuel that the throne would be taken from King Saul. Sadly King Saul did not show sorrow or repentance for his lack of trust and disobedience to God. He became even more and more disobedient. Later King Saul foolishly swore an oath and became so jealous of his son Jonathan that he almost allowed his son to be killed rather than admit his own personal sin. King Saul became full of pride. He seemed to want to do everything his own way instead of God’s way. One day God had given message to Samuel that King Saul was to destroy all the Amalekites because they had attacked and killed the Israelites as Moses led them through the wilderness. God specifically told King Saul to kill all of them and to destroy all their livestock. God gave King Saul victory in the battle against the Amalekites but instead of completely obeying God, King Saul spared Agag the king of the Amalekites and kept the best of their cattle and sheep as plunder. When Samuel confronted King Saul, he gave a lot of excuses for his actions. He said that his men had taken the sheep and goats and that he was too afraid of his own men to kill the king. He lied saying that they had kept the animals as a sacrifice to God. Samuel was quite upset at King Saul for his disobedience. He told him that God would punish him for disobeying His command by removing him from the throne. King Saul got so angry at Samuel that he tore his garment as Samuel was leaving! Samuel returned to his home and never spoke to King Saul again. God told Samuel to anoint David a young shepherd boy to be the next king of Israel. For the next few years David was in King Saul’s household and then in his army. He fought faithfully against the Philistines and other enemies of Israel. But King Saul soon turned against David because he became so jealous of his successes in battle. David had to go in hiding and spent several years leading a band of rogue warriors. David’s band of men and their families were forced to live in an outpost of the Philistines called Ziklag. During the last days of King Saul’s reign, Samuel the prophet died in his old age and he was buried in his hometown of Ramah. All of Israel mourned his death. Samuel was a man who had truly loved God and had a genuine desire to see God’s will to be done. He was faithful and obedient to God in every way. Shortly after Samuel’s death, the Philistines began to assemble their army in a place near Shunem. They were planning a major attack against Israel. King Saul and his men were setting up their camp at Mt. Gilboa.

3


King Saul and his army had gathered to defend their country of Israel. But when King Saul saw the Philistine army, he was very afraid. Terror filled his heart. Saul tried to find out what the Lord wanted him to do but the Lord would not answer him. King Saul consulted the priests and prophets and asked them to use the Urim but no response came. So King Saul foolishly decided to do something that God had strictly forbidden. He said to his servant, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I may go and inquire of her.” A medium is a person who claims to be able to speak to the spirits of the dead. Now King Saul had already outlawed all the mediums from the land of Israel. King Saul knew that it was wrong to consult sorcery so that is why he had removed witchcraft from the land, but King Saul had not removed that sin from his heart. He still wanted to do wrong. Finally his servant said that he knew that there was a woman living in Endor who was a medium. Endor was a town north of Mt. Gilboa. King Saul put on a disguise and went to see her. Putting on a disguise shows that King Saul was purposefully disobeying God’s command. King Saul knew what was right and had publicly condemned the sin but that does not take the place of doing what is right! When Saul and his servants got to the woman’s house, King Saul said to her, “Speak to the spirits and call up the one I tell you.” But the woman who was a witch was suspicious, and she feared that this was a trap. She said, “Surely you know that the King has forbidden anyone to do that,” she said. Saul promised her she would be safe. Then he asked her to call back from the dead the spirit of the prophet Samuel. The medium or witch could only use the power of Satan and demons to deceive people into thinking they were talking to the dead. But when the woman suddenly saw an old man in a robe standing before her, she shrieked in fear. She knew that this was not just some ordinary Satanic spirit. God had brought Samuel back to give King Saul a message. When King Saul heard Samuel’s voice, he said, “I am in great trouble, Samuel. God has turned away from me. Tell me what I must do.” Samuel replied, “As you have disobeyed the Lord, He is giving your kingdom to David. He is doing what He predicted through me. The Philistines will defeat you and tomorrow you and your sons will die. The Lord will hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.” Saul was terrified. Just as Samuel said, the Philistines did defeat the Israelites the next day. Many Israelites were killed and the rest fled. The enemy captured King Saul’s three sons, including Jonathan and killed them. The fighting grew worse around King Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded King Saul critically. Because he was so badly wounded and he did not want to be captured, King Saul asked his armor bearer to kill him. But the armor bearer refused because he knew that murder was wrong. So King Saul killed himself by falling on his own sword. What a sad day! King Saul faced death the same way he faced life. He took matters into his own hands without thinking of God or asking for His guidance. Saul had disobeyed God throughout his life and now he was disobeying God in his death by taking his own life! The next day the Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his sons. They cut off Saul’s head and then nailed his body and the bodies of his sons to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. The Philistines put Saul’s armor in their pagan goddess’ temple. They were giving their idol the credit for their victory! When the Israelites who lived in Jabesh heard about this, some of their bravest men went to Beth-shan and took down the bodies of King Saul and his sons. They burned the bodies and then buried the bones

4


of King Saul and his sons near a great tree in Jabesh. They then fasted for seven days. The whole nation of Israel mourned the death of King Saul. David especially mourned for Saul and his friend Jonathan. King Saul’s death was a reminder to the people of Israel that just having a king so they would be like all the other nations would not solve their problems. Saul was a man who looked good on the outside. He was tall, handsome, strong, rich and powerful but all of this was not enough for us to follow him as an example. He was tall physically but he was really small in God’s eyes. He was handsome but his sin made him ugly. He was strong but his lack of faith made him weak. He was rich but he was spiritually bankrupt. Saul looked good on the outside but he was decaying on the inside. He did not have a heart for God. A right relationship with God and a strong character are much more valuable than a good looking exterior. Saul tried to please God with a false sense of being religious but inside he really had a sinful heart. What kind of heart do you have? Are you willing to love and serve Him with your whole life? God loves us so much that He has sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior. He desires to bless us with the greatest gift of all—eternal life with Him. Remember have a heart that loves and serves God! Review Questions: “Colored Beads” Preparation: Small bag with colored beads—red, green, yellow, blue, orange, pink, white, black, purple. Make sure there is an equal number of each color or bead in the bag. Procedure: On the white board, write the names of each of the colors of beads. Beside each color name write three numbers from 1-24. (Number 25 can be put in each bag for students to name the Books of History.) Students are to take turns drawing a colored bead from the bag. They can then select one of the numbers from the list beside the color that they choose. Whatever number they select is the review question from below that the leader will ask. You can record the number of correct answers by individual or divide into two teams and record the team score.

1. Who was the last judge of Israel and Israel’s greatest judge? (Samuel was the last and greatest

judge of Israel.) 2. When Samuel was old and had appointed his sons as rulers, what did the people of Israel want?

(The people of Israel wanted God to give them a king like all the other nations around them.) 3. What warning did God give to Samuel to tell the Israelites about giving them a king? (Samuel told

them that God was their king and they would regret asking for a king. A king would take their sons and daughters, tax them, and take their land. They would regret asking for a king.)

4. What did Samuel tell King Saul to do before he went against the Philistines in the battle? (Samuel told King Saul to wait until he had come to offer a sacrifice to God to ask for his protection.)

5. Instead of waiting for Samuel, what did King Saul do when his men started hiding in the caves and deserting his army? (King Saul did not wait and he went against God’s law by offering a sacrifice himself.)

6. What did Samuel tell King Saul as a result of his offering the sacrifice instead of waiting for God’s priest to do it? (Samuel told King Saul that he had disobeyed God and God would choose someone else to be king in his place.)

7. What message did God give to Samuel for King Saul? (God gave Samuel the message that he was to kill and destroy all the Amalekites and all their livestock.)

8. Why were all the Amalekites and their livestock to be destroyed? (God was sending judgment upon these people because they had warred against Moses and the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land.)

5


9. What did Saul do with all the Amalekites and their livestock? (He won the battle and killed all the people except King Agag whom he spared. He killed all the weak animals but left the strong animals alive.)

10. What judgment would come on King Saul for not obeying God in the command to kill all the Amalekites and their cattle? (God would take the kingdom from King Saul.)

11. Who did God tell Samuel to anoint as the second king of Israel? (God told him to anoint David the shepherd boy.)

12. What did King Saul do to David after he won several battles against the Philistines? (He became jealous and tried to kill David. David had to go into hiding.)

13. When God no longer answered King Saul what did he decided to do that was against God’s law? (He decided to consult a medium to bring back Samuel from the dead.)

14. What did the witch of Endor first tell King Saul? (She said that witchcraft had been outlawed in the land and she would be punished if she acted as a medium.)

15. Why did King Saul try to disguise himself when he went to the medium? (He knew it was wrong and he did not want anyone to know that it was him.)

16. What happened that surprised the medium? (God actually brought Samuel back to warn King Saul and give him a message.)

17. What message did the spirit of Samuel give to King Saul? (He said that King Saul and his sons would die in the battle against the Philistines and that the judgment that God had promised was now coming.)

18. What happened to King Saul’s sons in the battle the next day? (They were killed and their bodies were hung on a wall of the city of Beth-shan.)

19. What happened to King Saul in the battle against the Philistines? (He was mortally wounded with an arrow.)

20. What did King Saul ask his armor bearer to do? (He asked him to kill him but he refused because it was committing murder.)

21. What did King Saul do when the armor bearer refused to kill him? (He fell on his own sword and killed himself.)

22. What problem did King Saul have in his life and in his death? (He rebelled against God and refused to obey Him.)

23. What did the brave Israelite soldiers do from Jabesh? (They took down the bodies of King Saul and his sons from the Philistine town, burned the bodies, and buried the bones by the tree of Jabesh.)

24. How did Israel feel about the death of King Saul? (They mourned greatly and remembered what Samuel had warned them about having a king.)

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Write the Law” Our memory verse is Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” Have students look up memory verse in scripture and read it aloud together. Repeat several times.

Say: “During the last years of Moses’ life here on earth, God gave to him the words for the Books of Law to write down for the people. Today we are going to write our memory verse word by word like God gave the law for Moses to write.”

Procedure Have children sit around the table. Print a copy of a the scroll template below (one for each team). Someone writes the first word or phrase of the memory verse with the reference on a sheet of paper and passes it to the next person who writes the next word or phrase, and so forth until the verse is completed. By timing the children to see if they can “beat” their previous time, you can liven up the activity. If you have a large group, divide the class into teams and put each team at a table. The teams can compete against each other to see which one gets the best time.

6


Group Learning Activity: “Can You Climb It?” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need a step ladder approximately 5-6 ft. tall. Procedure: Have an adult stand nearby and encourage students to try climbing the ladder. When they reach the top, affirm their effort, and encourage them to look around at the room before coming down the ladder. Say: “Was it harder to climb up or down? (Generally coming down is more difficult.) Why do some people find it harder to come down? (They realize just high up they are and begin to have fear.) When you are climbing up, you tend to look up, and you now that the next rung is close; when you are climbing down, you look down all the way and get scared. Trusting God is like looking up. We can trust God in every situation.” Say: “In this lesson we learned that King Saul never learned to look up to God and trust Him. He was always doing things his own way. The result was that he was constantly afraid, fearful, anxious, jealous of others, etc. God does not want us to live our life that way. He sent his Son Jesus to give us eternal life. He came to give us life and life more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Group Learning Activity: Object Lesson: “Reaping and Sowing” (Grades K-5) Purpose: To provide an object lesson about reaping and sowing and compare this to the consequences that King Saul faced when he disobeyed God. Preparation: Bring to class some sunflower seeds and un-popped popcorn. Say: “What will happen if I plant these sunflower seeds?” (They grow into sunflower plants.) “Can they grow into any other kind of plant?” (No.) “Why not?” (Because a seed will only produce a plant after its kind). “Can a sunflower seed become a pine tree?” (No.) Do the same thing showing the popcorn seeds. Explain that when a seed is planted, it will always grow into the plant or tree according to it’s kind. Say: In Galatians 6:7-8, we read, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” If we sow to our flesh, practice wrong doing, we will reap the sad consequences of our sins. If we sow to the Spirit, we will reap God’s blessings upon our lives, a fulfilling life lived in harmony with God and man.” Say: “In this lesson we learned about the tragic death of King Saul. Saul harvested what he planted in life, and it was not good. We will reap what we sow.” Give students some popped corn to eat. Procedure: Make the following craft to illustrate the sowing and reaping. Using two sheets of green construction paper (to represent growth), cut out two large hearts. Using a hole-puncher, punch holes around the sides and bottom of the heart (not on top). Put the two hearts together and using yarn, lace through the holes that were punched into the heart. You should now have a heart pocket. On other sheets of construction paper, cut out several shapes of large seeds. You can do this before class. Write different good things to sow onto the paper seeds (or allow the children to write them). You can write things such as: read your Bible, pray, obey parents, fellowship with other Christians, serve others, etc.

7


Group Learning Activity: Bible Study: “Avoiding Evil” (Grades 4-5) Purpose: To understand that God wants us to have avoid evil. Preparation: Students will need Bibles, pens or pencils, and spiritual journal. Procedure: Help students locate the following verses of scripture. Read verses aloud. Discuss the examples of disobedience and what God says about it. Highlight the Biblical principles being taught.

Proverbs 16:17 “The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.” God wants us to stay away from things that are wrong.

Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” When Jesus sent out his disciples he wanted them to understand that evil doing and sin was wrong. He wanted them to live lives that were markedly different. He wanted them to be wise to the deception of sin but innocent in their lifestyle. This would make the disciples effective in their ministry of sharing the message of the gospel with everyone.

Romans 16:19 “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”

2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

I Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” The purpose of Christ’s death on the cross was to remove the unrighteousness in our heart. We are to be different people when we accept Jesus as our Savior. We are no longer to remain in sin.

Say: ”The key to victory in our struggles with sin lies not in ourselves, but in God and His faithfulness to us: “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18; see also Psalm 46:1).. A true Christian will war with Satan and his daily efforts to undermine us. The devil is the ruler of this world, and we are living “behind enemy lines” (Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; John 12:31). With our focus on Christ, however, we will be able to cultivate a mindset that proclaims we’d rather die than do anything to hurt God. When we give ourselves to Christ totally (Matthew 16:24), Satan will flee from us. When we draw near to God, He, in turn, will draw near to us (James 4:7-8). Our key to victory in our struggle with sin lies in the very promise of God Himself: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). As true believers in Christ, even when we “face trials far beyond our ability to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:8), we can echo the reassuring words of Paul, who declares, “God has delivered us and will continue to deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10). Finally, the psalmist gives us these words of encouragement: “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act” (Psalm 37:3-5). There’s no getting around it: we all struggle with sin (Romans 3:23). Even the great apostle Paul lamented over his ongoing struggle with sin in his life: Conclusion: Discuss activities that the students are facing in temptation. Encourage them to share what evil they have been asked to participate in. Share strategies for avoiding sin. Allow students to record what they have learned in their spiritual journals.

8


Group Learning Activity: “Books of the Bible—Batting 1,000” (Grades K-5) Purpose: To help students learn the division of the Books of the Bible so they can better find scripture and read it. Preparation: Copies of the chart of the Books of the Bible one for each child and inflated balloons. Procedure: Say: “Do you think that God is pleased when we show that we love Him and take time to read His words to us in the Bible? (Yes, He commands us to read His Word.) Today we are going to spend time now learning more about the Bible.” Distribute copies of Bible Library Chart. Give kids a few minutes to look over the division of History and read the names of the books that are in that division. Review briefly the content of each book:

Joshua—History of Joshua and Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land written by Joshua

Judges—History of the Judges who ruled Israel and the cycle of sin and repentance of Israel written by Samuel

Ruth—The story of three people (Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz) who were faithful to God in time of great sin

I Samuel—History of Samuel the last judge of Israel, decline of King Saul, and choice of King David written by Samuel and Nathan

2 Samuel—History of King David’s reign written by Samuel and Nathan

1 Kings—History of the kings of Israel beginning with Solomon and then the Divided kingdom possibly written by Jeremiah

2 Kings—History of the Divided Kingdom of Israel and Judah ending in Exile to Babylon possibly written by Jeremiah

1 Chronicles—History of the family of King David written by Ezra

2 Chronicles—History of the righteous kings of Judah written by Ezra

Ezra—History of the first two returns of Jewish people to Israel following captivity and rebuilding of temple written by Ezra

Nehemiah—History of the third group of exiles and rebuilding of city of Jerusalem’s walls written by Nehemiah

Esther—Story of Esther the Queen of Persia and saving of Jewish people written by Ezra, Nehemiah, or Mordecai

Have kids stand and form a circle. Bat the balloon to one student as you say the first book of Old Testament History. The student to whom the balloon is directed should bat the balloon to another student while saying the second book of Old Testament History. Continue until all the history books have been said. Continue to play until students can say the books of Old Testament History without hesitation. Optional: Have student use their chart of the books of the Bible to complete the worksheet below.

Group Learning Activity: Role Play: “Disaster” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need 1 script per child; pencils and pens; metal objects for sound effects; bandages, large area for acting Characters: Mother, child, friends (as many as possible) Procedure: Have the children act out the story on the role play script. The role play shows how the “disaster” is a result of disobedient actions. You can have the children add their own ideas. Say: “What follows disobedience? (Disobedience always leads to consequences which are usually bad.) How would God have wanted them to respond? (God says, “Children, be obedient to your parents and your life shall be long on the earth.”) Listening to the advice of parents is always beneficial!

9


Craft Learning Activity: “Styrofoam Cup Puppets” (Grades K-3) Purpose: The children will make a Styrofoam cup puppet for Saul and Samuel to help the retell the events in the story. Preparation: Each child will need a Styrofoam cup or small yogurt tub for each puppet. You will need to print copies of the strips and happy face for each puppet. Children will need scissors, glue, and crayons to complete the project. Provide scraps of fabric for clothes and gold paper to make crown. Procedure: Instruct children to color the strips and face for each puppet. Have children cut out the head and arm strips for each puppet on the solid lines. Glue the strips and face to a Styrofoam cup. Wrap fabric/paper around the cup for clothes. Provide diagram for students to get ideas about making the crown and other features. Say: ““God told King Saul what he wanted him to do, but King Saul didn’t listen to God and do what he said. King Saul did some things that God said to do. He probably thought that he had done enough. But he didn’t do everything that God told him to do. “God doesn’t want us to obey him some of the time, or to do some of the things he says God wants us to obey him all of the time. God wants us to obey him in everything. But we sin, and we don’t do everything that God wants us to do. That’s why it’s wonderful that Jesus died so that we could be forgiven for all the things we do that God doesn’t want us to do. When we know that we’ve done wrong things or haven’t done things that we should have, we need to say ‘sorry’ to God and ask him to forgive us. And God does forgive us because of Jesus.”

Craft Learning Activity: “King Saul’s Crown” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need the following: 1 piece of 9×12 construction paper per crown; scissors; pencil; markers; foam stickers; glitter glue; adhesive rhinestones scissors; glues; scotch tape; and things to decorate your crown with such as sequins, rhinestones, plastic gems, glitter glue, puffy paint, tinsel paper, etc. Procedure: Print crown template below on cardstock or construction paper. You will need one copy per child. Have children color crown and jewels. Cut crown and strips out on solid lines. Glue glitter, rhinestones or plastic gems to the crown. Staple the crown together and adjust strips to fit the child’s head.

Craft Learning Activity: “King Saul’s Shield” Preparation: Print the shield template below on cardstock one copy for each child. Students will need crayons, scissors, a strip of cardstock for the handle, and glue. Procedure: Pass out copies of the shield. Have students color the emblems on the shield and cut out along the solid outside lines. Attach a strip of cardstock to the back with glue to form a handle. Optional: You can make a larger shield out of a cardboard box. Draw a shield into the largest side panel of the cardboard box. (Make sure the lines of your cardboard run across the shield not up and down to give more stability.) The handles are made from long rectangular strips of cardboard folded and glued down. (Adults may use a glue gun to make it more secure.) For additional stability you can paper machie the shield.)

10


Craft Learning Activity: “A Tree at Jabesh” (Grades K-4) Preparation: You will need 9" x 12" blue construction paper, 4" x 12" light green paper, 4" x 6" green construction paper, scraps of brown, white, yellow, orange, scissors, glue, marker or crayon. Procedure: Hand out blue paper to students. This is the foundation. Hand out light green paper. Glue light green paper to the bottom edge of the blue paper. These are the hills. Cut a large brown triangle. This is the tree trunk. Glue trunk in the middle of the picture. Hand out dark green paper. Tear large oval out of dark green paper. These are the leaves of the trees. Glue dark green paper onto the top of the trunk. Cut four squares out of white scrap paper. Round the tops of two corner on each square. These are four headstones. Glue headstones under tree. Write "All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul...and his sons...and buried them under a tree at Jabesh..." and "1 Samuel 31:12, 13" at the top of the paper. Write "A Tree At Jabesh" in the middle of the tree trunk. Write "Jonathan," "King Saul," "Abinadab," and "Melchishua" on each headstone. Decorate with flowers.

Life Application Challenge: Love and Obey Say: “How can we obey God? The answer to this question is found in John 14: 21 “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Obedience to God Is not a difficult or mechanical request from God. The secret of obeying is that when we become a Christian we have the Holy Spirit in our life and He gives us love for God! When we love God, then it is easy to obey Him! Let’s pray and ask God to help us love and obey Him! Teacher’s Note: Scripture clearly prohibits the practice of witchcraft or sorcery.

Leviticus 20:27. “A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death.”

1 Timothy 4:1 “Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”

Ephesians 5:11 “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.”

Galatians 5:19-21 “The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.”

Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

In Moses' day, God commanded that all psychics be put to death. Today He insists that sorcery is a work of the flesh, for which people will be destroyed. He warns that when you dabble with psychics you leave the faith, and He tells us that all sorcerers will die the second death in the lake of fire. Satan's first lie to mankind was "Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:4. He wants people to believe that the spirits of the dead are alive so his angels can pose as saints, prophets, and righteous leaders who have died and so that he can pose as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Thus, he can deceive people by the millions. Utilizing these evil spirits is called "spiritism." It is based on a two-part belief: (1) the dead are alive, and (2) they can contact you, or you can contact them. This is one of Satan's most damaging teachings. Yet almost the whole world believes it today.

https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/Gen%203.4https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/2%20Cor%2011.13-15

11


King Saul’s Last Days

Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you

today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”

12



13



14


Role Play Script for “Disaster”

Mother to Child: “Don’t ride your bike today because Dad hasn’t had time to fix the brakes.

Child: Okay, mother.

Friend #1: Hey, (child’s name)! Do you want to come for a ride?

Child: No, I can’t.

Friend #2: Aw, come on, we’re going to McDonalds!

Friend #3: Yeah! We will be back soon. Your mom won’t know.

Child: No, Mom said I can’t ride my bike today.

Friends: Aw, You’re a big baby. It won’t hurt. It is just down the road. Don’t be a baby!

Child: Oh! All right, but not for long.

(All depart. Big noise off stage, crushing banging, etc. Child is helped onstage by friends and arm is bandaged.)

Mother to child: What happened to you?

Child: (crying) I’m sorry, Mom. I should have obeyed you, then I wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Mother: That’s right. I hope you remember this next time you are tempted to disobey.

Child: (Rubbing sore arm and groaning) I will, Mom, I will.

15


16


17


18


19


20


21


22


Unit 8: Samuel and King Saul OT8.5 King Saul’s Last Days ......2 OT8.6 King Saul’s Last Days...

Documents

Transcript of Unit 8: Samuel and King Saul OT8.5 King Saul’s Last Days ......2 OT8.6 King Saul’s Last Days...