Bible Study - Faith (4) - King David/King Saul-Various Scripture in 1 and 2 Samuel - June7, 2025

 

Bible Study – Faith (4) – King David – Various Scriptures in 1 Samuel 15, 1 Samuel 16, 1 Samuel 17, 1 Samuel 18 and 2 Samuel 11 – June 22, 2025

Let’s explore!!!

King Saul was the King of Israel, but GOD was disappointed in Saul. Why?

GOD knew his heart! And GOD knows my heart and your heart, so be honest with GOD.

 Let’s read 1 Samuel 15:1-

1 Samuel 15:1 Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now, listen to the words of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘I witnessed^[a] what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt. ³ Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels, and donkeys.’”

WOW! Those were GOD’S orders, which King Saul was to carryout as instructed by the Prophet Samuel. Obedience to the Commander in Chief’s orders (GOD) are vital to every leader (King Saul).

⁷ Then Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Suhr, which is next to Egypt. ⁸ He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword. ⁹ Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals,^[b] as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So, Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.

¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.” ¹³ When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

¹⁴ Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we destroyed.”

NOTICE WHAT KING SAUL SAID, “YOUR GOD!” TO THAT IS A REVEALING STATEMENT. KING SAUL LIKED THE PRESTIAGE OF BEING KING BUT APPARENTLY DID NOT GIVE GOD THE CREDIT FOR PUTTING HIM IN THAT POZITION. THIS IS SERIOUS FOR THE SAKE OF ISRAEL!

¹⁶ “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” he replied.

¹⁷ Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel ¹⁸ and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ ¹⁹ So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.^[c] “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² Then Samuel said:

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.

²⁴ Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed the Lord’s command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. ²⁵ Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”

So, Saul feared the people more than The ONE TRUE GOD, YAWAH? King Saul is conniver.  

²⁶ Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ²⁷ When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the corner of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.”

³⁰ Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.” 

King Saul states again, “Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.”  Had King Saul already been infused with evil spirits? Sounds like it and Samuel being a Prophet knew that Satan had compromised Saul.

³¹ Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to the Lord.

We see King Saul wiggle and do all he could to justify his actions, which reveals his heart. GOD sees King Saul’s heart, as well as Samuel.

What is the message? Be honest with GOD because HE already knows your heart.

³² Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek.”

Agag came to him trembling,^[d] for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”^[e][f]

³³ Samuel declared:

As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.

Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

Samuel had to complete what King Saul did not do. WOW!

Obedience. Is vital when serving GOD and JESUS.

JESUS fulfilled the Law and paid the penalty for all sin, for those who will place their faith in JESUS, HIS sinless life, death, bodily resurrection on the third day, walked upon earth for 40 days and bodily ascended into Heaven to take HIS seat at the righthand of GOD, HIS FATHER.

JESUS is the intercessor on behalf of all who have been “born-again.”

Why do “Spirit-born” Christians need an intercessor/advocate?

JESUS fulfilled HIS Mission and purpose, which is, eternal salvation from Hell when a person accepts JESUS as his/her Savior through the miracle of being “Born-Again” into GOD’S eternal Family. The shed blood of JESUS paid in-full for the sins of all who are “born-again” through faith in JESUS and HIS Passion.

As GOD’S child, GOD desires for all “Born-again” Christians to be obedient to HIM as their Commander-in-Chief.

King Saul had disqualified himself from being King because he did not carry out GOD’S orders, therefore GOD was going to replace King Saul. GOD told Samuel that King Saul’s reign as King of Israel was over and for Samuel to anoint another person, that GOD would reveal to him who would be King Saul’s replacement.

The Prophet Samuel goes into action seeking King Saul’s replacement while King Saul remains King.

GOD knew just the right person, but HIS chosen person needed to be in the right position at the right time.

Can you look back over your life and see that GOD positioned you to be at the right time in the right place to be chosen?

The Prophet Samuel Anoints David to be King of Israel – 1 Samuel 16:1-13:

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for (King) Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”

² Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!”

The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate to you.”

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled^[a] and asked, “Do^[b] you come in peace?”

The people of Bethlehem knew for a Prophet of GOD to come to their City something serious was going to take place – good or bad. Bethlehem was significant in GOD’S future plans for the promised Messiah as recorded by the Prophet Micah in Micah 5:2: Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for me.
His origin^[a] is from antiquity,
from ancient times.

GOD revealed through the Prophet Micah that HIS only SON, JESUS, would be born in Bethlehem through the lineage of David years later.

The people of Bethlehem wanted to know why the Prophet Samuel was coming to Bethlehem and Samuel told them ---

⁵ “In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”^[c] Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees,^[d] for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

This is an encouraging fact from GOD to those who are chosen!!!

GOD sees a person’s potential because GOD knows a person’s heart.

Did you know that GOD has chosen you? In Ephesians 1: ³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons/daughters through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

GOD chose us!? The question is “do you choose GOD through faith in JESUS?”

Let’s continue - GOD’S Prophet, Samuel, was searching for GOD’S next King of Israel to follow King Saul.

⁸ Jesse (David’s dad) called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. ⁹ Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ any of these.” ¹¹ After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen - Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” ¹² So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy,^[e] handsome appearance.

Yes, David was handsome and physically fit, but GOD looks upon a person’s heart and his/her potential.

Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward. 

GOD’S plan begins to take shape as we read in 1 Samuel 16:14- David in Saul’s Court

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the Lord began to torment him, ¹⁵ so Saul’s servants said to him, “You see that an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God comes on you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.”

¹⁷ Then Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is also a valiant man, a warrior, eloquent, handsome, and the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul. ²¹ When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul loved him very much, and David became his armor-bearer. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor with me.” ²³ Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

David is living at the King’s Palace to keep King Saul calm and to accompany King Saul as his armor-bearer.

GOD positions HIS chosen to be at the right place at the right time but that does not mean things will always go smoothly.

Let’s read 1 Samuel 17:1-

David versus Goliath

17 The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

³ The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. ⁴ Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches^[a][b] tall ⁵ and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds.^[c] 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. ⁷ His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds.^[d] In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him.

⁸ He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. ⁹ If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

¹² Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul’s reign was already an old man. ¹³ Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, ¹⁴ and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶ Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. ¹⁷ One day Jesse had told his son David, “Take this half-bushel^[e] of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. ¹⁸ Also take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander.^[f] Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them. ¹⁹ They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”

²⁰ So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him.

He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other. ²² David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. ²³ While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard. ²⁴ When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.

²⁵ Previously, an Israelite man had declared, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ The troops told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep within the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”

²⁹ “What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” ³⁰ Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.

³¹ What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. ³² David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this, Philistine!”

³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this, Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

³⁴ David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,^[g] strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

GOD had prepared David for such a time like this. David’s experience protecting the flock of sheep prepared him to know he would be victorious in his fight with Goliath.

³⁸ Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. ³⁹ David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So, David took them off. ⁴⁰ Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy^[h] and handsome. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” ^[i] Then he cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. ⁴⁶ Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses^[j] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, ⁴⁷ and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. ⁵⁰ David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. ⁵² The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.^[k] Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³ When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. ⁵⁴ David took Goliath’s^[l] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

^55 [m] When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”

“Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”

⁵⁷ When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.

David had made a name for himself among the Israelites as we read in 1 Samuel 18: ⁶ As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments. ⁷ As they danced, the women sang:

Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.

⁸ Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.

Jealousy spells trouble. David was loyal to King Saul even though King Saul sought to do harm to David. King Saul was killed, and David became King of Israel.

Keep in mind that David was a man after GOD’S own heart.

David became King of Israel through the events of life playing out.

Life was good until King David decided to change his routine Spring schedule as we read in 2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

King David decided to remain in Jerusalem. A change in the routine.

Satan works 24/7 and as we read in 2 Samuel 11: ² One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. ³ So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ^[a]

⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to inform David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hethite.” So, Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. ⁸ Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So, Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.

¹⁰ When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”

It breaks your heart when you see the loyalty of Uriah.

David sinned in a number of ways and did not want to own what he had done. GOD punished King David.

Yet, David was a man after GOD’S own heart.

This is a message to all of us as chosen and “Spirit- born” Christians.

1 Peter 5:8

Christian Standard Bible

⁸ Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

A roaring lion is a hungry lion and that is the devil/Satan.

Satan seeks whom he can devour, and he loves to pounce upon those seeking to be and remaining in right relationship with JESUS as they journey through life.

When your thought life/desires/actions/notions are changing, it is time to talk with someone you can trust or seek help when you go through times of Spiritually unhealthy thoughts or actions.

Don’t fall for the thought “I can manage this.” Don’t count on it. Satan is a deceiver, and his game is to compromise and destroy all who walk with JESUS.

Keep in mind, as a Christian, 1 John 4: ⁴ You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one (JESUS) who is in you is greater than the one (Satan/Devil) who is in the world.

That sounds solid. Keep in your mind that we live in a body of flesh and Satan knows how to entice.

Get a trusted person to go through times like these with you and pray with you and seek counseling.

Mid-life crisis can come into any life and wreak havoc.

Blessings!!!