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June 1927
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his father’s donkeys which were lost. Saul and the servant with him could not find them, so they went to find Samuel the prophet to' see if he could help' them. On their way, Samuel met them, but they did not know he was Samuel, and Saul asked where the. prophet lived. Samuel made himself known to Saul, and also told him his father’s donkeys had been found. Sam uel invited Saul and the servant to a feast and they stayed over-night at Samuel’s house. When Saul and the servant started for home the next day, Samuel went to the end of the city with them. The prophet then poured oil upon Saul’s head and anointed him as king over Israel. As Saul was returning home, God’s Spirit came upon him. Samuel had told Saul God would be with him as king if he would always obey God. God will help us to do right, just as He helped the great prophet, Samuel, to choose ■Saul for king over Israel. Our memory verse tells us to keep the commandments of God, and to walk in His ways. God knows just what ,is best for his people, and when we obey Him, we know He will guide us ,in the right way. God has a place and a work for each one of us, but He can not put us in the place '1 He has for us, if we will have our own way. Prayer, —o— Fred S. Shepard’s Blackboard Outline S ELECTION EPARATION E R V I C E Chosen, ordained, fruitbearing. Rom. 6:16, cession on their behalf. His final word was a warning (v. 25). Samuel needed no vindication as to his Own character in office. His evident pur pose in his opening challenge was to con vict the people. In coming days, when their newly chosen king began to exercise his authority, they would certainly recall that they were well off in the days when they were ruled by God’s appointed judges. They admit that Samuel’s hands were absolutely clean of bribes or blood, that the public good had been his only object, that he had never sought personal ascendancy or aggrandizement. How scarce in these days are men in places of power who could utter- such a challenge as did Samuel! God give us men who fear God but no man’s face; men who know what pure patriotism is! Where are« the politicians who can invite rigid scrutiny of their lives—who can ap peal to the world for a verdict of their integrity? They are nearly as scarce as hen’s teeth today. But not only does Samuel call them to look back upon the road by which he had come to the turning point in his life—he bids them recall the steps by which they, as a nation, had arrived at the position
you wanted to have your own way, or do you know of any boys and girls who act
because the natural heart “is deceitful •above all things and exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?” The one great ailment among God’s people has been, and is, heart disease—soul-sickness from sin. One’s having his name upon the Church register of a local congregation and being considered by men as being in good standing and full fellowship, is no guar antee that the soul is in a healthy condi tion. Throughout Christian history, most of the great disasters which have hin dered the progress of the kingdom of God may be traced back to an unregenerate leadership. One must, be born again, re generated, b e c o me a new creation in Christ Jesus (John 3:5; Titus 3 :4, 5; 2 Cor. 5:17). It became evident to the people that God had appointed Saul to His service as King of Israel. In order to advance the development of the kingdom, and to con solidate the then existing political frag ments into a (united kingdom, God touch ed the hearts of the people (See 1 Sam. 10:26); thus unity was attained. Today the only cure for' disintegration which is manifest throughout Christendom is to be found in God’s touching the hearts of his present followers and joining them to gether in the unity of the Spirit in the .bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3). At this point conditions were very, favorable for the rise of the Hebrew kingdom, but the in stant God’s kingdom begins to move for ward, Satan gets busy. In this case, Satan stirred up the Ammonites to declare war upon Israel. In order to prepare the leader for the impending conflict, the Spirit of God came upon Saul and he was moved with indignation (1 Sam. 11:6). The judges of Israel, of whom we read in the Book of Judges, were equipped for the conflict only by the coming of the Spirit of God upon them. Work which is accomplished in the energy of flesh is of no value in God’s sight (John 15:4). It is through the Spirit of God that His work is carried on (Zech. 4:6, 7; Rom. 8:12, 13; Eph. 6:10 f.c.). Though God had selected Saul as king over them, a certain element rejected him. After God gave victory through Saul, certain ones came forward and said, '“Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring them in that we may put them to death. And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death today; for to day Jehovah hath wrought deliverance in Israel.” j God selected and anointed Jesus as King of the Jews, but certain .ones of them said, “We have no king but .Caesar.” He is now in rejection, but when Israel is passing through the time of “Jacob’s Trouble” and is about to be engulfed in the great cataclysm, He the King will appear on the scene—His. feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives —and will bring deliverance to Israel, for they will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and will then accept Him as their Messiah and Saviour; then all Israel shall be saved (Rom. 11:26). •¿'4. ' Saul Becomes a King ( I Samuel 8:15—10:24 Memory Verse:-. “Thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways.” Deut. 8 : 6 . Approach: I wonder if any of you boys and girls ever pouted and grumbled because
in this way? Our par ents know what is best for us, and we should always g l a d l y obey them. Today our story is about some people who t h o u g h t- they knew better than God, and they wanted: to have.- their own way. They were grown-up
.folks, too. Let us bow our heads :and ask God to help us to always do as He has asked us to do in His word. Lesson Story.: We have been having such a good time getting acquainted with Peter, and we learned to love him, for he was brave and true and told others of Jesus. We will- not only meet Peter in Heaven but many: others who came to know:Jesus because they heard Peter tell of Jesus and His love for all people. We have heard of God’s people, Israel,- and how He led them through many hard places, fought battles for them against their, enemies, and cared for them in every way. Israel wanted to have their own way and have a king to rule over them like the other nations about them. The good man, Samuel, was the prophet at the time Israel asked for an earthly’‘king, and .he was greatly grieved, and he prayed ,unto the Lord. Samuel knew, to whom to go in his trouble, God told Samuel to. let the people have an earthly king, but the Lord told the people of, the great sorrow that would come through having an earthly king. The .people refused to obey the words of Samuel and said they would have a king, to rule over them. The Lord told Samuel He would send the man ,whom He would have to be king. A young man by the name of Saul was sent to look for
I .¿¡e., m. Ék Êè J uly 10, 1927 Jig
Sam u e l’s Farewell Lesson Text-—1 Sam. 12
AAUR chapter for today, recording the r* assembly of the people of Israel at Gilgal (1 Sam. 11:15) marks one of the important epochs ,in the history of that
people. It closed the period of the Judges a n d ratified th e choice of Saul for the first of the kings. Samuel would no longer act in the ca pacity of Judge, al though he retained
his influence as a prophet. In resigning his office, he delivered a solemn address, to the people. This address is recorded in chapter twelve. In vs. 1-3, he challenges them to im peach his sincerity and uprightness in office. This is answered by a unanimous confirmation of his integrity (vs. 4, 5). In vs. 6-12, he recalls to them God’s past mercies and their repeated ingratitude. In vs. 13-18 he reminds them that, al though God has permitted them to have a king, their prosperity will depend upon their bearing toward God, and this he confirmed with a miraculous sign. In the closing verses (19-25) he consoles the people and pledges his continued inter
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