“A Sad End”
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
David’s victory celebration is stopped by word of Saul’s final defeat.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OVERVIEW
Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can't make it better by making it worse"? It’s a reflection of the idea that sometimes, in our efforts to improve a situation, we might inadvertently make things even worse. This concept is often related to the unintended consequences of our actions.
The story of David in the Bible is a great example of someone who made decisions that led to unintended consequences. He was chosen by God to be the king of Israel, but he made choices that brought about a lot of trouble in his life, such as his assault of Bathsheba, and the consequences that followed. In today’s lesson, we get another example of the poor choices he made when he chose to follow his own wisdom instead of God’s.
Making mistakes doesn’t have to define us. It's a part of human experience to make mistakes and learn from them. It's how you respond and grow from those experiences that truly matters.
OPENING ACTIVITY: DILEMMAS
Prepare a list of situations that require a decision to be made.
DISCUSSION
Almost everything we do requires a choice. Some choices are innocuous, and others have significant consequences. The interesting thing is that every time one makes a choice it makes a pathway in one’s brain. Every time you make the same choice, it becomes easier to do the same thing again. Choice’s matter.
TRANSITION
The story of David, King Achish, Ziklag, and the death of King Saul would make for a pretty intense movie. It shows what happens when people follow their own wisdom instead of seeking God. Let’s dive into the stories and see what life lessons can be learned and how we can avoid making some of the same type of mistakes.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read 1 Samuel 29:6-10.
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”
DISCUSSION
Read 1 Samuel 30:1-25.
David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat—12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
DISCUSSION
Read 2 Samuel 1:6-16.
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”
DISCUSSION
This is a slightly disturbing situation in the story.
APPLICATION
Read Daniel 2:21.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
Read Romans 13:1.
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Both passages are a reminder of how we are to live and function in this world. The political system is a mess, but it has always struggled since sin entered the world. However, just because it is a mess doesn’t mean that God hasn’t allowed it and that we don’t have a responsibility to act in a manner that is in keeping with God’s command to love others in the same way we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37). David refused to kill his king even though his king tried many times to kill him. One of the main take-aways of this passage is that we have a choice in how we live. We can choose to follow God’s leading in our lives or we can choose to listen to other voices and make different choices. Our world is a sinful one, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a choice about who to follow or how we treat others. Jesus lived in a pretty messed up time with some very bad political characters, but He chose to live His life in a way that made things better. What do you want your legacy to be?
FOLLOW UP
Living like Jesus and following His teachings can indeed contribute to making the world a better place. Here are some practical suggestions on how to do so:
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
Have you ever had your heart broken or your dreams dashed to the point where you could no longer produce anymore tears? You were literally “all cried out”? How did you handle it when you did not make the team, or the “love of your life” called it quits? Were your spirits left crushed and disappointed? How did you respond when you did not get invited to the party, group, or school of choice? Did you get mad or angry? Or did you sink into great depression and despair?
When it comes to life, there is a simple reality. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. The question on the table is, “So how do I handle the bad things when they come?” 1 Samuel 30:6 gives us a glimpse into how David responded in such a time. Let’s delve into 1 Samuel chapter 30 to see what he did.
All Cried Out!
Name three movies or characters that encourage you.
Read 1 Samuel 30:1-16.
David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah.
1. What emotions might have David experienced seeing Ziklag burned?
2. Why did David’s men talk of stoning him once they saw Ziklag burned?
3. Who are the individuals you turn to when you become discouraged?
4. How can you encourage yourself like David did when things go badly?
5. What can you do on a daily basis to help you when hard times come?
6. How do you respond when you feel let down by God?
7. When you experience trials, do you act like David, or do you respond like his men and look for someone to blame?
8. Think of a time when God restored something you had lost.
CONCLUSION
David and his friends had lost it all. They had lost their wives. They had lost their children. They had lost their homes. With everything seemingly gone, they had even lost their faith. They cried to the point where they were “all cried out!”
With everything spinning out of control, naturally David was broken and in total despair. But through it all, he never lost his cool, and he never lost his mind. But how was that possible? He kept it together by keeping his gaze on God.
When bad news hits, you can choose to fall apart like those around you, or you can choose to respond like David. You can encourage yourself in the Lord! You can remember how God has been faithful in the past. You can sing His praises and recite His promises. Storms of life will come and go, but God’s promises stand sure. So, put your trust in the God who brings down giants, shuts the mouths of lions, and opens up seas.
APPLICATION
BE A CHEERLEADER.
PUT YOURSELF IN THE STORY.
ALL CRIED OUT.
What if the Miracles of Jesus are more than meets the eye?
What if there is so much more to each story than we see?
What if each time Jesus did something supernatural, He was inviting us to look deeper?
Beyond the healing.
Beyond the deliverance.
Beyond the acts that defied the laws of nature.
What if Jesus were inviting us to see something bigger?
Something more amazing about the love of God.
Something mind-blowing.
What if the ultimate Miracle is that God can transform us?
The Miracle Series is an interactive study of 15 of Jesus’ awe-inspiring encounters while here on earth. These lessons, and messages are designed to connect with teens and youth and take them on a journey of discovery. Included in this kit is everything you need:
We invite you and your youth to not just study the Miracles of Jesus but to experience The Miracle.
