Kings of Israel-Saul: “How We Finish Matters!”

Wk 1: An Introduction to Saul

1 Samuel 9:1-14

8/25/24

Justin Scarberry

Message Notes for Week 1

1 Samuel 9:1-14 NASB

Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a valiant mighty man. ² He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.” ⁹ (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

Brief History of Israel

1. Abraham-Isaac-___________________ & 12 sons living in the Promised Land (roughly modern-day Israel/Syria), moved to Egypt due to a famine.
2. ______________ years later Moses leads the people out of Egypt (Exodus)
3. Ruled by governors called Judges for around ___________________ years
4. ______________ becomes the first King of Israel

Important People in 1^st Samuel:

1. Samuel—Prophet/seer, priest, and last Judge of Israel before a king is crowned.
2. Saul—First king of Israel. From the tribe of Benjamin

Saul will start out as a very humble king but will quickly start to make excuses.

Excuses we make for not going to church:

I’m too _____________________________ to go to church.

Excuses we make for not sharing the gospel:

I’m too _____________________________ to share the gospel.

• Dan Hall is the transition team lead.  Please contact him with any questions.
• Transition Team Needs:
  • Areas that still need to be covered. If interested, contact Dan Hall:
    • Benevolence Coordinator— (assist with requests that come to the church from folks who have some kind of need).
    • Benevolence Team Member—with the lead of the coordinator, work to follow up on benevolence requests.
    • Missions Contact— (communication with the mission the church supports in S/E Asia).
    • Janitorial—help clean the building once every 3 weeks.
• Kari will be replacing Christine as bookkeeper.
• A Search Team is being put together to start the process of finding a new pastor.
  • The typical time to replace a Pastor is 12-18 months. Please wait on the Lord with us!
  • The team will update the church regularly
• Prayer is a critical part of this process! Please pray continually for the board’s guidance in seeking God’s will.

1. As a group, try and piece together the history of Israel starting with Abraham with rough dates for the events.

2. Read 1 Samuel 9:1-4, why do you think the writer of this book would take the time to explain Saul looking for his father’s donkey’s? Can we make any inferences from these verses that would not be too far-fetched from what may have been the reality?

3. When we are searching for those who are lost what are some of the things we need to be wary of?

4. Read Proverbs 4:14-15, what does it mean to “enter the path of the wicked”? What can happen if we do enter that path?

5. Read 1 Samuel 9:5-10, what are some of the reasons we can or have used for not going to church? Are there any valid reasons for not going to church?  What are some reasons that are invalid?

6. Are there any things we can infer about Saul’s servant from these scriptures?

7. Read Romans 2:11 in two or 3 translations. What is meant by this scripture?  Is there any one bible translation that you feel most comfortable with?  What is the reason you chose that version?

8. Read 1 Samuel 9:11-14, what is meant by “high place”? What are the high places in scripture?  Are the places usually good or bad or both?

9. Please pray for the transition team and the board for Godly guidance to chart the path God has planned for this church.

Matthew 20:28 NASB

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”