𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝟯𝟬-𝟯𝟭 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹
We’ve made it to the final chapters of 1 Samuel—and what a journey it’s been! As we close out this book, we see David at his lowest and highest and Saul’s tragic final moments. These chapters remind us of God’s faithfulness, the consequences of sin, and how true strength is found in seeking the Lord.
Before we begin this study, we encourage you to read 1 Samuel 30-31 first, then dive into this study.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 👉 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘣𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴-𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟬 – 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱’𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
David and his men return to Ziklag, only to find the city burned to the ground and their families taken captive by the Amalekites. Understandably, they are devastated, and David’s men even consider stoning him (yikes).
But here’s where David does something crucial: "𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥." – 1 Samuel 30:6
Instead of acting out of panic or anger, David seeks the Lord’s guidance. He asks if he should pursue the Amalekites, and God tells him: "𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦." – 1 Samuel 30:8
And that’s exactly what happens. David and his men defeat the Amalekites, rescue their families, and recover everything that was taken. Not only that, but David shares the plunder with those who had stayed behind, showing wisdom and generosity.
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• What do you do when faced with overwhelming hardship?
• How can we, like David, "strengthen ourselves in the Lord" instead of reacting emotionally?
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟭 – 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗹’𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝗻𝗱
While David experiences victory, Saul’s story comes to a devastating close. The Philistines defeat Israel at Mount Gilboa, and Saul’s sons—including Jonathan—are killed in battle. Saul, wounded and surrounded, chooses to fall on his own sword rather than be captured.
It’s a tragic but fitting end for a man who had continually rejected God’s direction. Saul started with so much promise but ended in destruction because he refused to fully trust the Lord.
Saul’s life is a warning about what happens when we ignore God’s guidance. David, despite his failures, always returned to the Lord, while Saul continued to rely on his own wisdom.
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• What are some ways we might be rejecting God’s direction in our own lives?
• How can we learn from Saul’s mistakes and be people who seek God’s will first?
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹
1 Samuel is a book of contrast—Saul vs. David, fear vs. faith, self-reliance vs. God-reliance. As we wrap up, here are a few big themes to reflect on:
• God’s choice isn’t always man’s choice (𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥).
• Obedience matters (𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯).
• God is our strength in trials (𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘡𝘪𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥).
• The humble will be exalted, and the proud will fall (𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭'𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘴. 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦).