the outward appearance, but the L ord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
them that they should let their lights shine before men and glorify God, instead of letting their lives be spoiled by sin.
Samuel spoke to them again in 1 Samuel 10:19. A ll of this disobedience resulted in great sorrow, as it does today when God’s people choose the world.
March 31, 1957 Two S auls and T wo S words
OBJECTS: Two swords cut from card board. (One should be covered with silver paper and the other with black
March 24, 1957 S ouls and S acks
March 17, 1957 S in and S orrow
OBJECTS: Two paper sacks, a tin heart painted white, a black card board heart and a white magnet. (One sack should be large and fancy in appearance and the other a com mon one. Place the black heart in the large sack and the tin heart in the other.) LESSON: These sacks are very much like people. They are different in many ways. One is good looking and the other is small and plain. The size and quality of the sacks are not the greatest difference however. Often the differences in people do not show up until they are tested. If I push the two sacks across the table with my hand they move along to gether, but if I want them to be drawn by this magnet they quickly show their differences. One follows the magnet and the other remains behind. These sacks remind me of two peo ple in the Old Testament.- One was tall and handsome but he failed to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The other was small and looked rather common but he followed the Lord. Can you guess of whom these sacks remind us? “ Saul and David.” Yes, that is the correct answer. The difference in the way these sacks act toward the magnet is not due to their outward appearance, but to their hearts. We will open, them and see what we find. The large one has a black heart in it and the small one has a white heart. Saul disobeyed God because his heart was not right. David obeyed God and kept His commandments be cause his heart was clean in the sight of God. If I had asked you to choose be tween these two sacks before I opened them, most of you would have chosen the larger one. When David was to be anointed king over Israel, Samuel was warned against making a mis take. We read, “ . . . man looketh on
OBJECTS: A quart milk bottle, a can dle, a shallow pan, a piece of tire tube large enough to cover the mouth of
paper. On one side of the black sword put a few drops of red ink. On one side of the silver sword put a red cross.) LESSON: Have you boys and girls ever seen a sword? The swords I have brought with me this morning are only imitations but they remind us of real ones. One is black and the other is silver in color. They repre sent two men in the Bible who had the same name. One is mentioned in the Old Testament and the other in the New Testament. Can you guess their name? “ Saul.” Yes, you are right. Saul was the first king of Israel, and hundreds of years later Saul was the name of the man in the New Testament who per secuted the church. The second Saul is better known by the name Paul which was given him after he became a Christian. These two Sauls had two swords. King Saul had the sword of death- We will let this black sword remind us of his sword. You will recall that in an hour of great disappointment, he used his sword to take his own life. In turning Saul’s sword over we find that the back of it is splashed with red which reminds us of his blood spilled by his own sword. Paul had a sword but his was a sword of life rather than a sword of death. We will let this silver one remind us of his sword. His sword was the Word of God. It was a life- giving sword. Notice the red cross on it. Men turned from death to life because of Paul’s sword. Paul wanted to make alive instead of to kill. It is possible for us to have two kinds of swords today. Many people are becoming so discouraged that they take their own lives as well as the lives of their fellow men. Others are using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph. 6:17) and by it are giving life to lost men. END.
the quart bottle, and about a pint of water colored with black ink. (Melt some of the candle and stick the base of the candle to the rubber.) LESSON: We will let this clean bottle remind us of Saul at the beginning of his life as king of Israel. There were many nice things about him when he was appointed king. He was tall and good looking. A very com mendable characteristic was that he was humble. He had a wonderful start in letting his light shine for God. He was living in a world where sin surrounded him. (Pour the pan nearly full of water and place the candle in the middle of the pan.) We will put this bottle, representing Saul, over the candle and see what happens. (Press the bottle firmly on the rubber.) The light is going out, just as Saul’s light for God went out. Watch carefully and see what hap pens when his light has completely gone out. (With the finger, break the seal and the vacuum caused by the burning candle will suck the black water into the bottle.) See, the black rushes into the bot tle. It was so in the life of Saul— his light for God went out and soon his life was filled with jealousy and hatred. On one occasion David had returned from a battle with the Phil istines. We read, “ And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thou sands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have as cribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?” (1 Sam. 18:7,8). From then on Saul tried to kill David. This should be a warning to people today, showing
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