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Saul, a leader of squandered potential
Title: Saul, a leader of squandered potential Aim: To follow God’s guidance in choosing leaders. Scripture: 1 Samuel 9:1–2; 10:17–26 The worsening situation in Israel, 1 Samuel 9:1–2 In Samuel’s old age, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Yet, unlike their father, who was a great prophet and leader, these men proved to be greedy (1 Sam. 8:1–3). The sons not only accepted bribes but also perverted justice. In response, the leaders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. They demanded that he give them a king like all the other nations had (vv. 4-5). Samuel was upset by the request of the…
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Bewitched: A Bible Story for Halloween
As the world focuses on goblins, witches, death, and cemeteries, we find in the Word a lesson for the season (borrowed from a previous post)…. Double, double, Saul in trouble/Flew to Endor on the double. The year was about 1007 BC. When our story in 1 Samuel 28 opens, the prophet Samuel has died and King Saul removed all the necromancers and mediums from the land—one of his few obedient acts. When his enemies, the Philistines, assembled at Shunem in the north part of Palestine, King Saul cobbled together an army. As he camped with his troops at nearby Gilboa, the size of the Philistine force left him quaking. By all…