I Samuel 13-20: King Saul’s Fall and David’s Rise
INTRODUCTION.
A. In our second study of I Samuel, we saw Israel demand a king so that they could be like the other nations. God answered their demand, giving them King Saul.
B. In the beginning, we saw Saul as a somewhat humble and meek man. However, as the story of King Saul will unfold, we will see Saul giving in to arrogance and pride.
C. With this lesson, . . .
1. We will see Saul’s successes in battle and failures in obedience.
2. We will also see the introduction of David into the life of Saul and the ultimate threat that David would pose to King.
D. Let us begin our study in I Samuel 13.
I. KING SAUL’S EARLY SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. (13:1 - 15:35)
A. Chapter 13
1. Saul, after reigning two years, took three thousand men and attacked a garrison of the Philistines. (13:1-4)
2. When the Philistines gathered their forces and encamped in Michmash, King Saul became scared and hastily offered a sacrifice to the Lord. As soon as the sacrifice was completed, Samuel arrived and rebuked Saul for what he had done. As a result of his deed, Saul’s kingdom would be taken from him. (13:5-15)
3. Jonathan and his men prepared for battle against the Philistines. Since there were no blacksmith throughout the land of Israel, none of the Israelites, except for King Saul and his son Jonathan, had swords with which to fight. (13:16-23)
B. Chapter 14
1. One day, Jonathan and his armor bearer went to the garrison of the Philistines. This they did without King Saul’s knowledge. The Lord gave Jonathan and his armor bearer victory over twenty Philistine soldiers. (14:1-14)
2. When Saul saw the trouble in the Philistine’s camp, he called roll to see who was not present. When Saul and all the people with him went to battle, they found the Philistines turning their swords against their own men. On that day the Lord saved Israel and the battle moved to Beth Aven. (14:15-23)
3. King Saul had foolishly placed a curse upon Israel saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” Because of this curse, the men of Israel were distressed. Jonathan, not having heard his father’s curse ate some honey from a honeycomb. (14:24-30)
4. After Israel had driven the Philistines back from Michmash, the people were very faint. They rushed upon the spoils and began eating without properly slaughtering the animals. When Saul learned of this, he commanded all the slaughtered animals to be brought to him and slaughtered according to the Law. Saul built an alter to the Lord. (14:31-35)
5. When Saul learned that Jonathan was guilty of going against his curse, Saul ordered Jonathan to be killed. However, the people saved Jonathan saying that they would not have had victory had it not been for Jonathan. (14:36-46)
6. King Saul established his sovereignty over Israel. He also fought his enemies on every side. The greatest enemy was the Philistines. Saul fought against them all the days of his life. (14:47-52)
C. Chapter 15
1. The Lord ordered Saul to go and punish King Agag and the Amalekites for what they had done to Israel. Saul was to utterly destroy all of the Amalekites, including every man, woman, child, and livestock. King Saul did not obey the Lord. He spared king Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good. (15:1-9)
2. When Samuel learned of Saul’s disobedience, he cried. Samuel went to Saul and rebuked him for his transgression. Samuel told Saul that the Lord had rejected him as king. (15:10-23)
3. Saul asked Samuel to return with him so that he might worship the Lord. Samuel returned with Saul. Samuel called for King Agag to be brought to him. Samuel killed Agag. Afterward, Samuel returned to Ramah. Samuel saw king Saul no more. (15:24-35)
II. GOD ANOINTS DAVID AS KING AND PROTECTS DAVID. (16:1 - 20:42)
A. Chapter 16
1. The Lord told Samuel to stop mourning for Saul. The Lord told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite for the He had chosen a king from among Jesse’s sons. Samuel left and traveled to Bethlehem. (16:1-5)
2. Samuel looked at each of the sons of Jesse. All the sons brought before him were rejected by God. Samuel asked if there was another and Jesse confirmed that there was another son. He was in the field keeping sheep. Samuel called for the son to be brought in. Upon seeing David, the Lord instructed Samuel to arise and anoint him. Samuel took the horn and anointed David. The Spirit of the Lord was with David from that day forward. (16:6-13)
3. The Spirit of the Lord departed from king Saul and was replaced by a distressing spirit which troubled the king. Saul commanded someone to be found who could skillfully play the harp. Saul learned of David and sent for him. David stood before Saul and soothed him with his harp playing. Saul appointed David as his armorbearer. (16:14-23)
B. Chapter 17
1. The Philistines had gathered their armies together at Sochoh. Saul and the men of Israel were encamped in the Valley of Elah. The two forces were separated by a valley. (17:1-3)
2. The champion of the Philistines, Goliath, challenged the men of Israel, saying, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” Saul and his army were greatly afraid. (17:4-11)
3. During this time period, David had returned home to feed his father’s sheep. Afterward, Jesse sent David back to Saul with supplies for his brothers. When David arrived to the camp, he heard the challenges of Goliath. David asked what would be done for the man who killed Goliath. (17:12-30)
4. When King Saul had heard what David had said, he called for David. David told Saul that he was willing to fight Goliath. David told Saul that the Lord would deliver this Philistine into his hands. Saul sent David into battle against Goliath. (17:31-39)
5. David approached Goliath with a sling and five smooth stones. David declared to Goliath that he would strike Goliath and take his head. This David did with the Lord’s deliverance. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled and the men of Israel pursued. (17:40-58)
C. Chapter 18
1. Jonathan, the son of Saul and David developed a very close relationship. As a result, King Saul took David that day and would not allow him to return to his father Jesse. (18:1-4)
2. Wherever King Saul sent, David would go. Saul set David over the men of war. David was accepted in the sight of all the people. After returning home from one particular battle with the Philistines, the people elevate David over Saul. The woman sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” This saying angered Saul and Saul began to watch David. (18:5-9)
3. On the next day, the distressing spirit from God troubled Saul. David played the harp to calm Saul. Saul threw a spear at David, but David escaped Saul’s presence twice. King Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David. (18:10-16)
4. Saul offered David the hand of his daughter, Merab, if David would fight against the Philistines. (Saul hoped the Philistines would kill David.) Merab was given to someone else, so Saul then promised Michal to David. David went out against the Philistines and the Lord gave him victory. Saul gave David Michal. (18:17-30)
D. Chapter 19
1. Saul told Jonathan and all his servants that they should kill David. Jonathan talked to his father, speaking well of David and all that David had done. Saul swore that David would not be killed. Jonathan told David and David returned to King Saul’s presence as he had done in times past. (19:1-7)
2. However, after another war, David again came back victorious. The distressing spirit troubled Saul again, and again Saul tried to kill David with a spear. (19:8-10)
3. In another attempt to kill David, King Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him. Michal told David and David escaped through a window. (19:11-17)
4. David fled and escaped to Ramah and told Samuel all that Saul had done to him. When Saul learned that David was in Ramah, he sent messengers to take David. The Spirit of the Lord came upon the messengers of Saul and they began to prophecy. Saul sent messengers two more times and they all began to prophecy. King Saul went to Ramah and began to prophecy. (19:18-24)
E. Chapter 20
1. David fled from Ramah and went to Jonathan. David told Jonathan about King Saul’s attempts to kill him. David suggested a plan to determine whether or not Saul was truly trying to kill David. (20:1-23)
2. David hid in the field. When the New Moon feast had come, King Saul sat down to eat. He noticed David’s seat was empty, but said nothing. The second night of the feast, Saul enquired about David’s absence. According to plan, Jonathan said that David requested permission to be absent. Saul became angry at Jonathan and threw a spear at him. Jonathan left the feast and grieved for David. (20:24-34)
3. The next morning, Jonathan went to the field and sent a signal telling David that his life was in danger. After many tears, Jonathan told David to go in peace and they departed. (20:35-42)
III. LESSONS LEARNED:
A. God demands our full trust and obedience.
1. When Saul and his people were waiting in Gilgal, Saul and his men were frightened because Samuel was delayed in arriving. They need to Samuel there to offer the sacrifice so that they would go into battle. Saul grew impatient and too scared. As a result, Saul disobeyed God by offering a sacrifice. (I Samuel 13:5-15)
2. On another occasion, King Saul and his people brought back a king and livestock, all off which were supposed to have been killed. This was another example of Saul’s disobedience. (I Samuel 15:1-23)
3. We must learn from the lesson that God demands our full trust and obedience.
a. Proverbs 3:5-6 - trust in the Lord will all your heart.
b. Consider the trust of the apostle Paul. (II Corinthians 1:9-10)
B. Trust goes along way in our making difficult decisions in times of difficulty.
1. Jonathan trusted in the Lord to give him victory over the Philistine garrison. (I Samuel 14:1-14)
2. David trusted in the Lord to give him victory over Goliath. (I Samuel 17:40-54)
3. Trust will help us to overcome and stay strong during the challenges of our lives.
a. Trust in the Lord to provide a way of escape from temptations. (I Corinthians 10:13)
b. Trust in the Lord to bless you with a crown of life of having endured temptations. (James 1:12)
c. Even during the challenges of life, know that you will be made stronger through patience and endurance. (James 1:2-6)
C. The Lord looks at our hearts.
1. The Lord rejected the brothers of David because He looked at their hearts and not their physical appearance. God looked into the heart of David and chose David to be the next king of Israel. (I Samuel 16:6-7)
2. Even today, God still looks within our hearts, knowing our every thought and intent. Let us do as the brethren in Rome and obey from our hearts the doctrine of Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:17)
D. Let us hold to love and throw out jealousy.
1. Jonathan and David loved each other. (I Samuel 19:1-4; 20:35-41)
2. On the other hand, King Saul’s jealousy led him to despise David. (I Samuel 19:10-16)
3. As Christians, we are to choose love over jealousy when it comes to our relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ.
a. I Corinthians 13:4-7 - true love does not allow room for envy or jealousy.
b. Romans 12:9-21 - consider some instructions regarding brotherly love.
CONCLUSION.
A. As we close this lesson, let us ask ourselves the following questions:
1. Do you trust in the Lord and are you giving Him your full obedience? Remember, with true trust and obedience, you can weather the challenges of life and overcome temptations.
2. How is your heart (mind), that part of you which God sees? When the Lord looks into your mind, what does He find? Does He find a heart like David’s heart or a heart like King Saul’s heart?
3. Do you love your brethren as David loved Jonathan? The bond which binds us should be even greater than David and Jonathan’s bond. Our bond is our kinship and fellowship with Jesus Christ.
B. Learn from the lessons of King Saul, and set your life right with God today.
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I Samuel 13 - 20: King Saul’s Fall and David’s Rise -- August 4, 2002 -- File # 672
by John M. Duvall – Lawton, OK