1 Samuel
1:9–12, 2:1
Have you ever had to wait for a long time before the Lord answered your prayer? How did Hannah feel when the Lord finally answered her prayer? What did she do? What does it feel like when the Lord answers your prayer?
Hummy thinks you could write a song to thank the Lord for answering your prayers.
First, choose a tune from a song you already know. Then write the verse. You could make it four lines like the verse in 1 Samuel 2:1. And you can choose to write your song by yourself or with a small group. Use your song to praise the Lord!
2:12–17
Eli was the high priest and his sons were also priests. Eli’s sons weren’t good men. They took for themselves the offerings that the people brought to the Lord. They took the offerings that belonged to God. The Bible says that they didn’t treat the Lord’s offerings with respect. Eli’s sons thought they could take what belonged to the Lord. And they thought nothing would happen to them if they did.
3:1–10
Samuel was about 12 years old when the Lord spoke to him the first time. The Lord had a special task for Samuel to do. So serving the Lord doesn’t depend on whether you are young or old. No matter what your age, the Lord may have a special task for you.
3:11–13
Adults teach us to do what’s right and not to do what’s wrong. That’s what the Lord has asked them to do. It might be your parents, grandparents or someone else who looks after you.
What does it feel like when those looking after you make you do what’s right? What does it feel like when they punish you when you’ve done something wrong?
Are you sometimes angry with them? Choose a color from Hearty’s color chart on page 19 that shows how you feel. How can you help those looking after you to do the job the Lord has given them?
3:11–15
Eli’s sons didn’t obey God’s laws. Because of their disobedience the Lord punished them. Eli knew what they were doing but he didn’t stop them. Because of this, God also punished him.
God also expects us to obey his laws and commands. When we do that, we show our love and respect for God in all the things we do and say.
4:1–11
The ark of the covenant was kept in the Most Holy Room of the holy tent. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Room and that was once a year. But the Israelites didn’t show respect for God’s commands. The Israelites took the ark to the battlefield with them. They thought the ark would help them to win the battle. That wasn’t true. They could win their battles only if they trusted in the Lord. But they put their trust in an object instead of the Lord. And so they lost the battle on that day.
4:19–22
It was a very sad time for Israel. Israel’s army had been defeated. The ark of the covenant had been captured. Eli and his sons were dead. When Phinehas’ wife’s baby was born, she named him Ichabod. It means “the God of glory has gone.” She felt that the Lord had left them. There was no joy for her in the news. She said that God had left Israel.
Inny knows that this often happens to people. They serve the Lord when they are young. But then when they grow up they forget about him. What can you do to make sure you continue serving the Lord?
5:1, 8, 10
The Philistines captured the ark and took it to their city, Ashdod. The Philistines had five important cities. Ashdod, Ashkelon and Gaza were near the coast. Ekron and Gath were in the interior. Each city had its own king. The ark was taken from Ashdod to Gath and then to Ekron.
7:13–17
These verses tell us about three wonderful things Samuel did for the Israelites. Write them down. Samuel was a leader whom everyone wanted to remember.
Inny wonders if you know of a leader like Samuel in your church. Write that person’s name on your paper. Then also write down a few things you want to remember about the person.
8:19–22
Read these verses in the Bible with Arty. Israel turned away from the Lord. They turned away from him as their king. God wants to be your Lord and King. Arty suggests making a poster to hang on your bedroom wall. Get a large sheet of paper or poster board. Write on it some of the good things God gives you. You receive these things because you love the Lord and he leads your life.
Decorate your poster. Thank God for not being like a human king. Thank him for everything he does for you.
9:1–2, 10:1
Saul was Israel’s first king. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul’s father, Kish, was an important person. Saul was a tall, handsome, young man. However, he wasn’t sure that he should be a king. When the people wanted to crown him, they couldn’t find him! You can find out what he did in 1 Samuel 10:20–24.
In the beginning, when Saul listened to Samuel’s advice, he was a good king. He was also a good military leader.
12:13–15
Samuel had a final message for the people. They, as well as their king, had to obey the Lord and serve him. The king wouldn’t be able to save them if they disobeyed the Lord. The Lord would help them and save them only when they obeyed him.
13:19–22
The Philistines had a strong army. This was because they had the best weapons. They had blacksmiths who knew how to make weapons with iron. The Philistines didn’t allow any of the Israelites to be blacksmiths. So the Israelites didn’t have any iron weapons to use against the Philistines. The Philistines fought with iron weapons like swords and spears. The Israelites fought with bows and arrows, and with slings and stones.
14:1–5
Jonathan was a brave and clever soldier. In this chapter, you can read how brave he was. Jonathan and the young man carrying his armour tricked the Philistines. His actions helped the Israelites gain a great victory over the Philistines.
Why could he do that? Jonathan didn’t just act. He first asked the Lord what he should do!
14:24–45
Why did Jonathan have to order the army to eat? Jonathan’s father, King Saul, made his soldiers promise not to eat anything that day. Jonathan didn’t know about this promise. So when he was hungry, he ate some honey. Because of the promise, Saul wanted to put his son to death. But Jonathan’s men rescued him. They told the king that Jonathan had saved them in battle. So the king let his son live.
15:1–3, 8–11, 22
The Lord told Saul to attack the Amalekites. He told Saul to destroy everything that belonged to them. The Amalekites were a cruel people. They had caused a lot of harm to the Israelites. Saul was disobedient. He didn’t kill all the Amalekites’ animals. Saul’s excuse was that he wanted to sacrifice the animals to the Lord. But the Lord hadn’t asked him to bring offerings. God wanted Saul to obey him. That was why the Lord was sad that he had made Saul king.
16:7
The Lord doesn’t see people the same way we do. Sometimes we see someone with good looks, nice clothes or fine ideas and think they are good. Or we think a person is important because they are smart or skilled in sports. We may think those things are important because we can see them. But that isn’t true for the Lord. What is most important to the Lord is what is in a person’s heart.
Talk with your friends about what this means. Then talk about things you can see that tell you that a person loves the Lord. Talky wonders what you are going to do to show others that you love the Lord.
17:12–15, 37–40
In those days, a sling was used as a deadly weapon. Soldiers often used slings against their enemies. Shepherds used slings to chase away or kill wild animals. David was a shepherd and most likely used a sling to protect his sheep.
Thinky found out that good soldiers could aim their slings very well. They could sling a stone 132 feet. And the speed of the stone could be 62 miles per hour!
Thinky wonders if you know why the Lord had David fight Goliath with a sling and not a sword? Read verse 37 to help you.
17:40–47
Imagine David and Goliath standing on the battlefield. Who was the tallest? Who was the strongest? Who was a well-known, mighty warrior? Who looked like they would be the winner?
But the winner was David. The Bible also tells us why David won. Inny says you can read about it in verses 45 and 46. Who really won the fight?
If the Lord is with you, nothing will be too much for you. We need the Lord’s help every day. Ask him to be with you and to help you.
18:5–9, 11–12
After David had killed Goliath, Saul gave him a high rank in the army. David was a good soldier and a good leader. Soon people liked him more than they liked Saul. This made Saul jealous. Saul remembered that the Lord was sad that he had made him king. Saul also saw that David obeyed the Lord. He saw that the Lord helped David. Then Saul was afraid that God would make David king instead of him.
19:1–9
Because the Lord wasn’t with Saul anymore, an evil spirit came on him. Saul’s heart was filled with jealousy, fear and hatred. It slowly became worse and worse. Saul did more evil things. When the Lord is in us, he helps us turn away from sin. He brings us joy, peace and truth and peace into our hearts. But when the Lord isn’t with us, sin takes over in our lives. And we will do bad things.
24:5–8
David felt bad about cutting off a piece of Saul’s robe. In those days, if you took someone’s clothes it was the same as harming that person. David knew that the Lord had anointed Saul to be king. That is why he didn’t want to harm Saul in any way. If anyone hurt God’s anointed person, they hurt God too.
31:1–6
The Philistines won a great victory over the Israelites. Saul and his sons died in the battle. Saul had served the Lord when he was young. In the beginning he was a good king and a good soldier. But then he stopped obeying the Lord. He became jealous, afraid and unhappy.
Inny knows that this often happens to people. They serve the Lord when they are young. But then when they grow up they forget about him. What can you do to make sure you continue serving the Lord?
