VERSES: 1 Samuel 24:1-22
MEMORY VERSE: 1 Samuel 24:17 "...You are more righteous than I..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review all 66 books of the Bible.
PRAYER: Let us always treat everyone just the way we would want to be treated just as David treated King Saul.
SPECIAL SONG: Be Patient And Kind (see April - Lesson - Joseph Meets His Brothers Who Hated Him on this blog)
VISUAL AID: Whiteboard or chalkboard drawing. Draw a cave of rocks and inside each of the large rocks write sentences as you tell the story. (See the Activity below and picture above.)
LESSON POINTS:
- When King Saul came back from following the Philistines, someone told him that David was in the Wilderness of Engedi. When he heard the news, Saul took 3,000 chosen men of Israel and went to search for David and his men in the Rocks of the Wild Goats. It just so happened that Saul needed to rest and he went into a nearby cave. He did not know that David and some of his men were were scattered along the inside walls farther back in that very same cave!
- David's men told him to take advantage of this situation and do what he wanted to do with King Saul. David got up and cut off the edge of King Saul's robe, but the king did not know it. Afterwards, David felt bad about what he had done and said to his men that he should not have cut off the edge of the robe of the LORD's anointed. David's words made an impact on his men, so they did nothing to the king.
- After King Saul was a little ways away from the cave, David called out after him, "My lord, the king!" When Saul turned around to look at who was calling him, David bowed himself very close to the ground to show honor and respect to the king. David told the king that when he heard someone say that David was trying to hurt the king to think back on this day and remember that David had the opportunity to kill the king, but chose not to because he was the LORD's anointed. David would and did not hurt the king. David told King Saul to take a look at the edge of Saul's robe in David's hand. David said he could have killed Saul, but only cut off the edge of his robe instead. He told the king that the LORD would judge between him and Saul.
- When David was finished speaking, King Saul called out, "Is that you, my son David? You are more righteous than I am. I know for sure that you will be the king of Israel. Please give me your promise that when you are the king, you will not destroy my name from my father's house." David promised the king that he would not. Then Saul went home, but David stayed where he was in the rocks.
"Older Student" Tips:
- It was unusual in Old Testament times that the future king would not destroy every remembrance of the past king. That was what King Saul asked David to promise. He wanted him not to kill his family when David took control of the kingdom. David kept his promise as we will see in a future lesson.
ACTIVITY: Rocks of the Wild Goats
Materials needed: 9" x 12" brown construction paper, 4" x 6" black construction paper, 3" x 3" white paper, piece of fabric, marker, crayons, scissors, glue.
- Hand out brown paper.
- Cut top edge of brown paper to resemble huge boulders. This is the outside of the cave.
- Draw good-sized rocks on brown paper. See picture above.
- Pass out black paper.
- Round the tops of two corners. The is the mouth of the cave.
- Glue mouth of cave on rocks.
- Hand out white paper.
- Draw David holding one arm up.
- Cut out David.
- Glue David to the mouth of the cave.
- Glue small piece of fabric in David's held-up hand.
- Write one sentence in each rock.
- "David Spares King Saul's Life"
- 1 Samuel 24:1-22
- David was inside the same cave.
- David would never hurt the LORD's anointed.
- David cut off the edge of Saul's robe.
- David could have killed Saul, but chose not to.
- Rocks of the Wild Goats
- David had 600 men. Saul had 3,000.
- The edge of the robe was proof that David spared Saul.