DAY 237 - BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR -THE UNITED MONARCHY

Reading: 1 Samuel 15:1-34 

The man who stole the peoples’ hearts was rejected by God. How did that happen? Saul had successfully delivered Israel from the Philistines. The nation was united. Even Samuel was still around. It was all looking so good for Israel under Saul’s leadership. 

Saul was rather happy with himself after defeating the Amalekites and even made a monument of himself to commemorate the victory. What a surprise for him to hear from Samuel that he had disobeyed the LORD and that the LORD had rejected him as king and was searching for a new king. This is the point where it all went wrong for Saul. We learn that rebellion against the word of the LORD is like performing witchcraft. 

Bear in mind that the more prominent and important you are in God’s kingdom, the stricter the requirements are. Does it really matter if a mere minion disobeys the Lord? How dire can the consequences be? But if a king disobeys the Lord, the whole nation is led astray. 

Dear Father, I find myself thinking that what Saul did wasn’t so bad. Yikes! Help me not to compromise Your words and commands. 

Use the following object lesson to show your children how it is more problemmatic when a king disobeys God than when a mere person disobeys God. 

DO

Throw a small stone into a bucket of water...note the size of the ripple effect. Now throw a much bigger stone into the bucket of water and see how much bigger the ripple effect is. 

Talk to your children about the government of your own nation. Make mention of those who have been Godly leaders and those who have been corrupt and self-aggrandising. Allow them to share with you what they think of that.