Term 1 – Week 2
Big Idea – God was faithful to Israel and provided them with King Saul to rescue his people from the enemies.
1 Samuel 11
Outcomes
- The children will know that God made Saul king, but ultimately, he is the people’s king, chosen by the people for the people.
- The children will understand that Saul looked impressive. He looked like he would be a great king, the one to rule and protect God’s people.
- The children will appreciate that God was faithful and rescued the Israelites from the Ammonites through Saul.
Implications
- Belief (Head / Heart) – God is always faithful to his promises. He provided the Israelites with a king to rescue his people from their enemies, and he provides us with a king to rescue us from sin.
- Behaviour (Hands) – All the people made Saul king in the presence of the Lord, sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord and celebrated Saul and his victory (1 Samuel 11:15). Have we made Jesus our king, offered our life in sacrifice to this king and celebrated daily King Jesus & his victory?
Introduction
King Saul, the first king of Israel was physically impressive. He was very good looking and was more than a head taller than anyone else in all of Israel (1 Sam 9:2), he looked like he would be a good king. However, eventually he would prove otherwise. Even in the beginning he seemed unsure of his new role, for when the time came for him to be presented to the people, he was found hiding behind the supplies (1 Sam 10:22). Yet despite Saul’s uncertainty, Samuel announced, ‘There is no one like him among all the people’ (1 Sam 10:24b), and the people ran to Saul and shouted, ‘Long live the King’! (1 Sam 10:24c). Saul was the people’s king, chosen by the people for the people (1 Sam 10:24a).
But God was faithful to his people even though they were wrong to ask for a king to be like all the other nations, and he remained faithful to them by appointing and enabling Saul to be the king in order to rescue them from their enemies (1 Sam 9:16). We are told that the Spirit of God came upon Saul in power (1 Sam 11:6) and he led the people to victory over the Ammonites. God knew his people needed to be rescued and he enabled Saul to do so. He was true to his promises to look after his people. However, the kings of Israel would always prove disappointing, and Saul was no exception. He looked like he would be a great king, but he would prove to be a real disappointment. Saul, and the kings who followed him, showed God’s people that a greater king was needed. This greater king, who rescues people from sin, is the Lord Jesus. He is the greatest display of God’s faithfulness to his people.
Memory Verse
1 Samuel 8:19
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.”
Songs
God’s People in God’s Place (Awesome Cutlery) – YouTube
Leaders PDF
This has been put together using purchased external material and therefore this resource may only be used by Dundonald Church. For more information please contact kids@dundonald.org
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