1. What, do you think, was behind the Lord's objection to Samuel mourning

     for Saul?

2. What characteristic of Samuel was necessary to choose David as the new

     king?

3. How was the Lord's choosing of David different from His choosing of

     Saul?

C. Comment :

Samuel receives a mild rebuke: stop going on about Saul! While he still mourned for Saul it meant he wasn't coming in line with the Lord's heart and that would stop him moving on to the next thing on the Lord's agenda. The Lord isn't going to waste time. Israel needs a king to replace Saul and so God will choose a man of His own choosing, not of the people's. Oh yes, God actually chose Saul but He chose him in accordance with the people's wishes. They wanted a big tough man who looked good, so God gave them one.

Now the Lord chooses a man whose heart is in tune with the Lord and that is far more important than what he looks like! To choose David, Samuel needed two characteristics: first he needed to be sensitive to the Lord's quiet voice and second he needed to be obedient to it. It's a funny picture seeing him working his way through these older sons until he runs out but there is a very strong lesson here: when God is choosing people we MUST let HIM choose, and they may not look good, they may not naturally be the people we would choose, but God knows.

D. Application?

1. Is our heart in tune with God's or do we espouse dead causes?

2. Do we look on the outside or have we learnt to look on the heart?

Chapter: 1 Sam 19/25

Passage: 1 Sam 19:11-24 & 25:1

A. Find Out:

1. What was Saul trying to do? v.11

2. To whom did David flee? v.18

3. What was Samuel doing? v.20

4. What happened to Saul's men? v.20,21

5. What happened to Saul? v.23

6. Who assembled to mourn for Samuel? 25:1

B. Think :

1. What do we learn about what Samuel was doing in his last days?

2. What do we learn about the presence of the Lord with him?

3. What does it say about Samuel that David fled to him?

C. Comment :

For this last study we jump some chapters (which you can read in the next series of these Studies entitled "David on the Run") to see Saul trying to kill David and David fleeing to the only sanctuary he knows, Samuel.

First of all we see Samuel in old age as a SANCTUARY for the needy. But observe what Samuel was doing. He was leading the school of the prophets, so we see him next as the SPIRITUAL ELDER to the prophets.

Not only that we also read that the presence and the power of God was so with Samuel and his prophets that when others came to them, (with far from spiritual motives!) the power of God overcame them and they joined in the prophesying as well! If this happened today we would say a revival was taking place.

We see Samuel therefore in the place of SPIRITUAL BLESSING right up to the end of his life. What a picture! No wonder, therefore, that the whole of Israel turn out to mourn for Samuel when he dies. He is in fact the end of an era, the last of the judges. He is the last of those who were both the spiritual headship and also the political headship of the nation.

D. Application?

1. Will we be able to have a testimony like Samuel's when we die?

2. God was with Samuel to the end. He is faithful.

RECAP - "Postscript"

SUMMARY :

In these last 2 studies we have seen:

- Samuel being sent by God

- Samuel anointing David to be king

- Samuel in his last days still being a source of blessing

COMMENT :

Saul may still be king but God has other plans for the future. The people's man may have been disobedient to God, but the Lord will not leave it at that. He will appoint a man of HIS choosing now that the people's choice has failed. He will choose a man after His own heart, a man who will follow hard after Him, and so He sends Samuel to anoint David. David may not reign for a number of years yet but that doesn't matter; God has His man in place!

In his closing years Samuel acts as a father figure to the school of prophets and teaches them the one thing he is good at doing, being sensitive to the voice of God. Whatever else goes on in the nation, it is imperative for them to hear the voice of God and move under the power of the Spirit, and so Samuel devotes his last years to ensuring that continues. Great!

LESSONS :

1. We need to be ready to move on with God.

2. God looks on the heart, not on the outside.

3. Will we be a source of refuge for others?

4. In old age will we still move in spiritual life?

PRAY :

Ask the Lord to help you be sensitive to His will, to be someone who looks on the heart and not the outward, someone to whom others come for comfort and support, to be someone who flows in the Spirit, right through to old age.

SUMMARY

The events we have observed in these Studies are:

1. Samuel's Birth & Calling

- a mother desperate for a child & a bargain made with God

- a voice from God calling the young boy



2. The Disgrace & Death of Eli

- a father failing to control his sons

- a man warned prophetically of his end

  - who fails to repent & who gets a second prophetic warning

  - who still fails to repent

  - who dies at the news of the ark captured

3. The Ministry of Samuel

- acknowledged to be a prophet (3:20)

- judging Israel (7:15)

- praying and teaching (12:23)

- anointing Saul (10:1)

- anointing David (16:13)

- leading the school of prophets (19:20)

4. An Ungodly People

- whose leaders act superstitiously (4:3)

- who act carelessly (6:19)

- who quickly ask for a king (8:5)

5. The Rise and Fall of Saul

- led by circumstances to meet Samuel

- anointed to be king & blessed by God

- chosen by lot

- rescues Jabesh

- foolishly makes offerings & is strongly rebuked

- badly leads the army

- is disobedient to God's command

- is rejected by God but continues to lead

6. The Calling of David

- chosen by God & anointed by Samuel

- opposed by Saul

7. The Activity of God

- calling Samuel and gifting him

- dealing with the enemy & equipping Saul, rejecting Saul,

- calling & equipping David

CONCLUSION

The story of Samuel and Saul raises various questions. Let's try to face them and suggest some answers:

1. Why did the Lord stop Hannah having children? (1:6)

Possibly because:

- the Lord knew how Hannah would eventually react

- He knew the sort of man Samuel could become

- He wanted Samuel dedicated from birth

- He wanted Samuel brought up before Him to receive the best upbringing

possible for a prophet and judge in these times of low spirituality.

2. Why did the Lord take so long dealing with Eli?

Possibly because:

- Samuel was not yet ready to lead

- He wanted to give Eli opportunity after opportunity to repent

3. Why did the Lord choose Saul knowing he would fail?

Possibly because:

- the Lord knew the lot would fall to him ( 10:21 )

                                                    i.e. He didn't MAKE it happen

- He knew Saul fitted the people's wishes perfectly

- He wanted Saul to have every opportunity of making good (and thus

   blessed him again and again in every way)

- He knew that the people would not accept a gentle shepherd boy like David

- He wanted to people to learn that they had to live with the hard

   consequences of their decision

4. Why didn't the Lord immediately remove Saul?

Possibly because:

- He wanted the people to live with the consequences of their choice

- He wanted to mould David and train him through the difficult

circumstances of Saul's reign

Finally:

Yes, remember the Lord is sovereign and all He does is wisdom! If He seems to take time to move, it is because He is working out the intricate details of His perfect plans and purposes. His blessing on lives is a sign of His grace and mercy. Praise & worship Him!