VERSES: 1 Samuel 25:1
MEMORY VERSE: 1 Samuel 25:1 "And Samuel died and all the Israelites were gathered together..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review all 66 books of the Bible.
PRAYER: Let us be thankful for those who have paved the way before us, the ones who have born the heat of the day, those who have given much of their lives on behalf of others and us.
SPECIAL SONG: This Little Light Of Mine (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog)
VISUAL AID: Whiteboard or chalkboard drawing of the Activity below.
LESSON POINTS:
- The last judge of Israel died. His name was Samuel. We have studied in previous lessons that Samuel had great influence over Israel. They came to him with their problems and he prayed to the LORD on their behalf, and God talked to Samuel and gave him the answers to their questions.
- We first learned of Samuel's mother who prayed so fervently for a child of the LORD that Eli, the judge at that time, thought that Hannah, Samuel's mother was drunk. After an explanation, Eli told her that the LORD had granted her request for a child and that child was Samuel. (1 Samuel 1:17)
- We read about God talking to Samuel the very first time by calling his name in the middle of the night. Remember? He ran into Eli's room, saying, "Here am I!" Eli finally realized that God was talking to Samuel and found that God had talked about Eli and told of the end of Eli's life. (1 Samuel 3:5)
- We found out that the LORD was with Samuel as he grew up and everyone knew that Samuel was a prophet of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3:19)
- All of his life, Samuel spoke frankly with the children of God, reminding them of God's ways, praying for the people, and judging the people. (1 Samuel 7:5) Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (1 Samuel 7:15)
- Samuel lived in Ramah and had a house there. (1 Samuel 7:17)
- The Bible is a very good book that is inspired by God. It tells us the good things about a character in the Bible and it tells us of the bad things as well. We know how much good that Samuel did, always putting the LORD first, yet he failed miserably as a father. His sons were wicked men who took advantage of the children of Israel, so much so, that the people desired a king to rule over them. (1 Samuel 8:1-5)
- Although Samuel was displeased when the people asked for a king, he continued to tell them of what God wanted him to say. He told them of all the things a king would do to them, most of which was not good, but he still could not convince them. The people still wanted a king. (1 Samuel 8:19)
- Samuel was the one who anointed the first king, Saul, the son of Kish. (1 Samuel 10:1)
- Samuel walked before the children of Israel from his childhood until he was old and gray headed. (1 Samuel 12:2)
- Samuel was not afraid of the king. When even the king did something wrong or foolish, Samuel reprimanded him, asking King Saul, "What have you done?" (1 Samuel 13:11)
- Samuel gave King Saul strong words from the LORD when King Saul disobeyed God and spared Agag, the king of Amalek, and the best of the cattle when he should have destroyed everything. (1 Samuel 15:13, 14)
- Samuel was truly grieved when the kingdom of Israel was taken from King Saul. (1 Samuel 15:35)
- Samuel was there to anoint a young, ruddy, young man named David as the second king of Israel. (1 Samuel 16:13)
- When King Saul was serious about killing David, who did David run to? It was Samuel to whom he turned for refuge. (1 Samuel 19:18)
- When King Saul saw a multitude of Philistines and was worried and afraid, who did he want to talk to when the LORD would not talk to him? Samuel (1 Samuel 28:11)
- Now, we learn of Samuel's death. (1 Samuel 15:1) The Bible tells us that all of Israel were gathered together and were grieved that Samuel had died. They buried him in Ramah, but Samuel continues to influence us today as read about him in the Old Testament.
- Sometimes we think old people do not "know anything" or are "too old," but older Christian men and women have much to offer young people with their experiences in life and their advice should be treasured and heeded. We can save ourselves much heartache and sadness if we would only listen to ones who have been through the same experiences that we go through.
ACTIVITY:
Materials needed: 9" x 12" blue construction paper, 4 1/2" x 8" gray construction paper, scraps of bright colored paper, glue, scissors, markers, crayons.
- Hand out blue paper to students.
- Hand out gray paper to students.
- Cut two edges off of the gray paper.
- Glue gray paper onto the blue paper. This is a stone marker.
- Out of scraps, cut out flowers and grass.
- Glue flowers and grass to bottom of the stone marker.
- Write " Samuel died" and "1 Samuel 25:1" at the top of the blue paper.
- Write "Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life" and "1 Samuel 7:15" on the stone marker.