LESSON 2 INTRODUCTION PART 2 — ISRAEL’S FAILURE TO KEEP THE COVENANT In the first lesson, we quickly covered approximately 430 years from Abraham to Joshua! Joshua was appointed to lead Israel into the promised land and empowered as Moses’ successor. After winning many battles against the Canaanites, the Israelites became established in the land. However, they failed to drive out all the pagan peo- ples of the land, as God had commanded them in Judges 1. After the death of Joshua, a series of judges governed Israel. This period of Israel’s history was marred by a repeating cycle of unfaithfulness and idolatry, followed by God’s divine punishment and Israel’s eventual repentance and restoration. Sadly, with each successive cycle, Israel’s corruption and depravity grew worse. The book of Judges ends with these words: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). Amid spiritual decay in Israel, God mercifully raised up a righteous and faithful prophet named Samuel to lead and judge the nation. When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to take over as judges. Unfortunately, his sons were found to be corrupt, and the elders of the nation came to Samuel saying, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). This is where we will pick up Israel’s story.
DAY 1
God Gives Israel a King
1. Read 1 Samuel 8:1–9. What do you notice about the Lord’s response to Samuel in verses 7–9?
16 | Lesson 2
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