SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets DAVID CHOSEN TO BE KING Elementary Lesson Year One, Quarter Four, Lesson Two AIM: to use the story of the choosing of David to teach my class that God sees our hearts OBJECTS TO HAVE: A picture of a microscope A picture of a telescope A picture of a heart A horn, or a picture of a horn Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: Can anybody tell me what this is? That s right, it s a microscope. What does a microscope allow you to do? It helps you to see things that you can t see with your eyes alone. If you took a drop of water from a stream and placed it under a microscope, you would see things that you didn t even know were there. A person looking through a microscope can see things that other people cannot see. Does anybody know what this is? It s a telescope. At night, you can look through a telescope and see things in the sky that you cannot see with your eyes alone. There are many stars and moons and planets out there that you cannot see without a telescope. A person looking through a telescope can see things that other people cannot see. Of course, God can see everything. And when God looks at you and me, He sees things that everyone else cannot see. When you look at me, you see my face, my hair, my arms, my legs, my hands, and my feet. But you cannot see my heart, can you? But when God looks at me, He can see my heart. God knows things about you and me that nobody else knows, because He can see our hearts. Help me finish the statement, God see our hearts. Ready? God sees our. Very good. We re going to need to know that for our Bible story today. LESSON: After Saul disobeyed God, God knew that He would have to find a man to take Saul s place when Saul died. God told His man Samuel, Samuel, I want you to go down to the town of Bethlehem, and anoint a new king for Israel. Samuel said, Lord, if Saul finds out I did that, he s going to be very angry. He ll try to stop me, and he ll probably kill me. So God said, Samuel, offer a sacrifice while you are there, and tell everybody that is why you have come. So Samuel traveled to the town of Bethlehem. He took with him a horn full of oil, with which to anoint the new king. When he arrived, the people of the city were very scared. Why would a great man of God like Samuel come to Bethlehem? Had they done something wrong? Was he there to call down judgment from God? But Samuel told them that he had come to offer a sacrifice to God. God had told Samuel that there was a man in Bethlehem named Jesse. Jesse had many sons, and God had chosen one of Jesse s sons to be anointed as the next King of Israel. So Samuel called for Jesse, and Jesse brought seven of his sons to the sacrifice. The time for the great sacrifice service arrived, and as Jesse and his sons entered, Samuel looked immediately at Jesse s oldest son, a big strong boy named Eliab. Samuel said, Lord, that must be him. Just look at him! He s big and strong and handsome and confident! That must the next king of Israel. But God said, Samuel, don t look at how handsome he is, or how strong he is. Your are looking at his outward appearance but I am looking at his heart. That s what we said just a minute ago, remember? God sees our. Samuel knew that Eliab was not the one. Next came Jesse s second son, Abinadab. Samuel said, No, not him. Then came the next son, Shammah. Samuel said, Not him either. Jesse brought seven sons before Samuel, and every time Samuel knew that he had not yet found God s chosen one. After the seventh one, Jesse said, I m sorry preacher I don t know what to tell you. Samuel said, Are these all of your sons?
Jesse said, Well, I have one more he s my youngest, and he s out watching the sheep. But really, I don t think Samuel said, I m going to wait right here until your youngest son comes. A messenger was sent to bring Jesse s youngest son to the sacrifice. They waited and waited. Finally, the door opened, and in walked Jesse s youngest son, a boy named David. He was smaller than his brothers, and he was sweaty and dirty, because he had been out working. He had a big smile on his face, and he said, Hi, Dad. You called for me? David was not the biggest, the strongest, or the most impressive. But as soon as he walked in, God said to Samuel, That s him. Anoint that boy king of Israel. As all of David s brothers watched in amazement, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David to be the next king of Israel. As soon as he did, the Spirit of God came upon David. And then Samuel left. Why did God choose David to be the King of Israel, even though everyone else would have picked David s older brothers? Because God could see what everyone else could not see. God saw David s heart. God sees our.god knew what David was thinking. God knew what David loved and what was really important to David. God saw that David s heart was more like His own heart than anyone else s heart was. And God said, That s the man I choose to be king. Kids, what does God see when He looks at your heart? One thing I know for sure is that He sees things that other people cannot see. You can fool everyone else by covering up what is in your heart, but you cannot fool God. God sees our. Let me tell you some of the things that God should see in your heart. First, when God sees your heart, He should see honesty. God should see a heart that always tells the truth, and always wants to tell the truth. God should not see a heart that lies, cheats, and steals. God should see a heart that is afraid to lie, or even stretch the truth. He should see a heart that says, I must always tell the truth. Next, when God sees your heart He should see respect. You should have a heart that respects your parents, your pastor, your teacher, and the adults in your life. God should see a heart filled with gratitude. Gratitude means that you are thankful for what others have done for you. If you have no gratitude in your heart, you do not have a very healthy heart. God should see a heart that is hungry to know Him. He should see a heart that says, I want to be in church, I want to know more about Jesus, I want to think about and hear about and learn about my God. I want to know God better. God should see a heart that wants to do right. He should see a heart that wants to keep the rules, wants to obey, wants to behave, and wants to stay away from sin. God should see a heart that wants to help others. He should not see a greedy, selfish heart, but a heart that cares and wants to make the lives of other people better for the glory of God. David was chosen to be king, because God could see that he had the heart of a king. Not only did David grow up to be the king of Israel, but David reigned for forty years, and he was the greatest king that Israel ever had. God even called David, A man after mine own heart. Acts 13:22. God said, David has a heart just like mine. David has the heart that I want every man to have. What kind of heart does God see when He looks at you? Let s learn our memory verse: Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets DAVID CHOSEN TO BE KING Teen and Adult Lesson Year One, Quarter Four, Lesson Two Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. GOD CHOOSES YOUNG PEOPLE TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR HIM LATER IN LIFE. 16:1. David was still a young man. He was not ready to be king, and it would be many years before he would become king. But while he was still a young man, God chose him to be king. God is looking for young people who have a heart for him, and He calls people while they are still young. II. GOD DOES NOT SEE THINGS THE WAY WE SEE THINGS. 16:6-7. Even Samuel at first was not looking at things that way God does. As soon as God brought this to Samuel s attention, he stopped looking at the young men, and began listening for God s voice to confirm His choice. We must be sure that, as we do God s work, we do not try to do it our way. III. IV. GOD IS LOOKING AT THE CONDITION OF MY HEART. 16:7. What mattered most to God was the condition of David s heart. If I am going to please God, I must strive to keep my heart right with God. GOD IS NOT BOUND BY OUR CUSTOMS. 16:11. Who would have thought that God would bypass seven older brothers, and choose the youngest? It would seem more customary for the oldest child to be chosen for an important job. Jesse certainly thought so. He didn t even bring David to the sacrifice. But God operates according to His principles, not according to man s customs. V. GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THEMSELVES USEFUL. 16:11-12. David was busy taking care of his father s sheep. He had a job to do, and he was doing it. When God called a man to do the biggest job in the land, he called a young man who was busy doing the work that had been assigned him.
David Chosen to be King I. I SAMUEL 16:1-5 God s Instructions 16:1 God s provision for Israel s void 16:2-3 God s plan for Samuel s concern 16:4-5 Samuel s obedience of God s instruction II. I SAMUEL 16:6-10 God s Direction 16:6 Samuel s assumption 16:7 God s correction 16:8-10 Samuel s discretion III. I SAMUEL 16:11-13 God s Selection 16:11 David summoned 16:12 David identified 16:13 David anointed
DAVID CHOSEN TO BE KING God told the prophet Samuel to anoint a young shepherd boy named David to be the next king of Israel. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Psalm 1:4
Circle the letter next to the correct answer to each question from the Scripture passage and from today s Bible story. 1. Who was the first king of Israel? a. Adam b. Saul c. Jacob 2. What man was instructed by God to select a replacement for Saul? a. Saul b. Stephen c. Samuel 3. Where did God send Samuel to find Saul s replacement? a. Brooklyn b. Bethlehem c. Bethel 4. Samuel told the men of Bethlehem that he had come to: a. offer a sacrifice b. take a vacation c. eat a meal 5. Samuel invited what man and his sons to the sacrifice? a. Jesse b. Jeffrey c. Jerry 6. How many sons did Jesse bring to the sacrifice? a. one b. five c. seven 7. The LORD told Samuel that God looks on: a. the head b. the heart c. the hair 8. Where was Jesse s youngest son? a. sleeping b. playing games c. keeping the sheep 9. The name of Jesse s youngest son was: a. David b. Douglass c. Dexter 10. How did God describe David? a. a nice guy b. a handsome man c. A man after mine own heart The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Psalm 1:4
The answers to today s puzzle 1. Who was the first king of Israel? a. Adam b. Saul c. Jacob 2. What man was instructed by God to select a replacement for Saul? a. Saul b. Stephen c. Samuel 3. Where did God send Samuel to find Saul s replacement? a. Brooklyn b. Bethlehem c. Bethel 4. Samuel told the men of Bethlehem that he had come to: a. offer a sacrifice b. take a vacation c. eat a meal 5. Samuel invited what man and his sons to the sacrifice? a. Jesse b. Jeffrey c. Jerry 6. How many sons did Jesse bring to the sacrifice? a. one b. five c. seven 7. The LORD told Samuel that God looks on: a. the head b. the heart c. the hair 8. Where was Jesse s youngest son? a. sleeping b. playing games c. keeping the sheep 9. The name of Jesse s youngest son was: a. David b. Douglass c. Dexter 10. How did God describe David? a. a nice guy b. a handsome man c. A man after mine own heart