Intermediate Level, Block 6—Establishing Kingdom
Week 59
David—Honoring and Respecting Saul
Point to Emphasize: We should show honor and respect all authority, even when they make mistakes or mistreat us.
Reference Reading: 1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 1
Memory Verse: Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:17)
Story Sample
David knew God had anointed him and that he would be the next king. However, David did not become king right away. David had to wait for about 15 more years. The king during that time was Saul. Remember how Saul became envious of David? He tried to have him killed him many times, but David never retaliated [to do something unpleasant to someone because the person has done something unpleasant to you.] He did not even defend himself. Rather, he escaped to a cave and later fled to a different city. Why did David do this? David was very clear that Saul, at the time, was the king established by God. As such, Saul was God’s deputy authority, that is, God’s representative during those days among God’s people. In David’s eyes, Saul represented God. Thus David feared and honored Saul in the same way he would fear and honor God. David set up a good order and pattern showing us how to honor and respect the ones above us!
Now, we all know we need to respect and honor all the ones above us (like our parents, our teachers, the principal, the police, and the librarian) because they have been placed by God. I know that all of you do just that, right? They are our leaders and we believe they should all behave their best and always do the right thing. However, let me ask you a question. What happens if the person that is above us makes a mistake? What if they mistreat you or are not being a good leader? Would you still honor and respect them? Think about it!
Saul, the king, the leader, made many mistakes and disobeyed God. Towards the end of his life, he had a sad ending. The Philistines had been warring against Saul’s army for a long time. The Philistines were battling with spears, swords and arrows. They were charging with chariots and horsemen. The noise of the battle was so loud! It was chaos! The Philistines chased Saul and his sons. They struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-Shua, Saul’s sons. Eventually, even Saul died.
David and his men were not in this battle. They were fighting somewhere else when all this was happening. But when David returned to Ziklag, a man from the battle went to find David to tell him Saul had died and brought him Saul’s crown. This man thought that David would be so happy to hear that Saul had been killed and that he could now be king.
But what do you think David’s reaction was? [Let the children talk about it.] Instead of being glad to hear that Saul was dead, David was so sad! When he heard that Saul and Jonathan were dead, he was greatly grieved. He ripped up his clothes and mourned and wept and fasted until evening. David sang a dirge, that is, a mournful song over Saul and his sons and he asked the children of the tribe of Judah to learn the song as well. In this song, David honored Saul and Jonathan saying nothing but good things about them. David sang, “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives…” Even with Saul dead, he still honored the king!
Do you think most people would respond like David? David was such a man that even though Saul, the person in authority, mistreated him, he was not glad that he was dead but rather he showed respect to Saul and honored him. Oh, this might be hard for us to do, but we should all do like David did. Let’s honor those who are in charge of us!