Elementary Level, Block 6—Samuel to David
Week 58
David—Respecting Authority
Point to Emphasize: We can respect those God has put in charge of us.
Reference Reading: 1 Samuel 24
Memory Verse: …There is no authority except from God… (Romans 13:1b)
Story Sample
David’s life was a life of fighting, wasn’t it? When he was a young shepherd, he fought a lion and a bear to protect the sheep. Later, he became a warrior who fought Goliath and the Philistines and the other enemies of Israel. During all that fighting, David trusted God to protect him and make him victorious. So, he became a very brave and victorious warrior. But did you know there was one person David would not fight? It was King Saul.
King Saul was the king that God had chosen, and because David respected God, he also respected the king. Actually, King Saul was not even very nice to David. If anyone should have been allowed to fight against King Saul, we might think it would be David. You see, King Saul was very jealous of David. He didn’t like the way people admired David for being such a great warrior. King Saul was so jealous that he even sent his men to capture David—but David escaped. King Saul kept sending men to capture David, and David kept escaping.
Even though King Saul was always chasing after David, David would not hurt him. David respected God and God’s authority on earth, which at that time was King Saul. David would never do anything to hurt the king who God had raised up.
God has put certain ones in charge of all of us. We may not have a king, but we do have parents, teachers, and serving ones. All of these people were chosen by God, and we were put under their care for our protection and benefit! When we respect them, we really respect God.
We can be just like David when we respect those in authority. Sometimes it’s as easy as saying “Ok, mom!” when our mom asks us to do something. I remember one time my mom asked me to help clean up something. At that moment I was playing with some toys, and I didn’t want to stop. But I also knew that cooperating with my mom and obeying her were the right things to do. So I said, “Ok, mom,” and stopped playing for a few minutes to help out. Oh, it felt so good to do that! I was not only obeying, but I was respecting my mom’s authority. God gave me my mom to take care of me and help me grow. When I respected her like that it made me, my mom, and God all so happy! [Storyteller, insert your own example of regarding or not regarding those over you.]
Eventually, David had the chance to really hurt Saul, but he chose not to. He honored the king and respected the authority God had chosen. We can be like that, too! God has placed many above us for our protection and benefit. We can be like David who respected the king God placed above him. Even when King Saul was not a good king and was trying to hurt David, David respected Saul because he knew he was the authority set by God. Let’s be those who respect all authority given to us by God!