1. When the people asked Samuel for a king, why did they ask? Why was this wrong?

They wanted a visible King to go out and win them battles just like the other nations. They rejected Yahweh as their King. God had given rules for a king in the law (Deuteronomy 17). However, the people wanted a King to be like the other nations. They asked with the wrong motives.

2. What is Saul looking for when he comes to Samuel? Do you think he will be a good king if he can’t even find his father’s donkeys? How does the Bible describe Saul?

He is looking for his father’s donkeys. It seems like Saul is not going to be able to govern over the flock of Israel. Saul is handsome and tall and strong. He looks like how a king should look. He looks like the kind of King Israel wants. Is this the kind of King God wants?

3. What happens to Saul a short time after Samuel anoints Saul? What does God give Saul?

The Spirit of God comes and rushes on Saul, just like he did before with the Judges. God gives Saul a heart that loves God and wants to serve him. It seems like Saul is off to a good start.

4. When Samuel called the people together, where was Saul? Why was he hiding? Did everyone accept him as king?

Saul was hiding in the baggage. The people had to go look for him after his name was called and chosen for him to be King. Saul was hiding maybe because he was scared or afraid of the responsibility of being King. The Bible doesn’t exactly tell us, but it does show us that Saul was not wanting to become King. There were some of the people who didn’t give Saul an offering. That means they did not accept him as their King, even though most of the people did.

5. When the Ammonites attacked Jabesh-Gilead in Israel, how did Saul show that he was the king? After the victory, what was Saul’s choice?

Samuel told the people to put away their idols and serve Yahweh only. And they did. He brought them together and built an altar and burned sacrifices. While they were repenting before God, the Philistines attacked them. And through Samuel calling Israel to repent and making sacrifices for them, God came and defeated the Philistines with a mighty sound and made them all confused so that Israel could defeat them.

6. Even though it was wrong for the people of Israel to ask for a king, how is God going to use it in his greater plan for their good and for his glory? How does Jesus’ life show he is a better King?

God will use Israel’s request for a King to raise up a King after God’s own heart. God uses their request to bring about King David, through whom God will make a covenant with him to raise us Jesus to establish God’s Kingdom forever. Jesus is the King that was chosen by God, who was anointed by God, who was filled with the Spirit of God, who defeated Israel’s enemies of Sin, Satan, and Death, and who Loved His Father with his whole heart.