Intermediate Level, Block 6—Establishing Kingdom
Week 58
David—Talking to God
Point to Emphasize: We should always talk to God.
Reference Reading: 1 Samuel 30
Memory Verse: …Jehovah hears when I call out to Him. (Psalm 4:3b)
Story Sample
Because of Saul’s envy, David had to flee and live in a cave in the wilderness. But God took care of him by having him go to King Achish, a Philistine king. While David and his men were with this king, they and their families were taken care of. They had earned the trust of this king and were even given a city, Ziklag, where they could all live together. It was much better than living in a cave in the wilderness, and King Saul was also not able to pursue David there.
But Israel’s other enemy, the Amalekites, were not letting up. One time, while David was gone from Ziklag, they took advantage of David’s absence and raided the city. They burned it with fire, captured all the inhabitants, and carried them off. By the time David and his men returned to the city, they found it burned and empty. Where homes had been, now only heaps of burned rubble and ashes remained. The returning men wept and wailed—no families, no homes—nothing was left of the ones they loved.
The men were bitter with sorrow and were so distressed. They blamed David for having caused them to leave their families without protection. They were so angry that they even talked of hurting him. In such a situation it would be easy to be hard-hearted (indifferent, cold, uncaring, unkind, unforgiving) like David’s men. People can easily react in hardness when they are upset. But we should not have a hard heart.
What was David going to do? In the face of this crushing loss of family and belongings and with all the people turning against him, David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God. David asked Jehovah what he should do.
One time a family lost their little dog. They were packing the car, getting ready to go on a vacation, and with the door being opened so much, the little dog got out. When they discovered that the dog was gone everyone was so upset. What could they do? One of the daughters (8-9 years old), in tears, told her mommy, “Mommy, we need to pray to God to return our doggie.” And that is what they did. They asked God to help find the dog. [Storyteller, the children may ask if they found the dog. If they do, tell them that yes, the dog was found. But the point is to talk to God, not what the results might be.]
This is the same kind of heart that David had. His response was to talk to Jehovah. God took care of him and his men. Jehovah promised David that he will win over his enemies, and David was able to overtake the Amalekites and take back everything they took from them—nothing was left or missing. Everything was arranged by God for this to happen. The most important part is that David talked to God in his difficult situation.
[Wrap up this story by letting the children bring up situations where their heart is hardened when things don’t go their way and what their responses are….or could be.]
God always hears us and listens to us. Whether we are happy or sad, we should always talk to God. Sometimes He may not answer the way we want, but He always knows what’s best for us. He always takes care of us!