Unit 11 Session 1 2's & 3's - Life Bible Kids

THE BIBLE STORYIsrael Demanded a King1 Samuel 8–10Samuel was getting old. He had been a judge in Israel for many years. Samuel made important decisionsand led God’s people. Now it was time for his sons, Joel and Abijah, to be Israel’s leaders. There was oneproblem, though: Joel and Abijah were not good judges like Samuel was. They weren’t fair, and they didn’t alwaystell the truth.Some of the men in Israel went to talk with Samuel. “You were a good judge,” they told Samuel, “butyour sons are not like you. We don’t want them to lead us. We want a king!” The other nations in that area hadkings, and the people of Israel wanted a king too.Samuel didn’t know what to say, so he prayed to God. God said, “Samuel, give the people a king. Don’tfeel bad. They aren’t saying they don’t want you as their leader; they are saying they don’t want Me.”God told Samuel to warn the people about what having a king would be like. Samuel told the Israelites thatthe king would have rights. A king could make their sons serve in the army, he could make their daughters workfor him, or he could take away their fields and servants. The Israelites didn’t care. “Give us a king!” theysaid.Around this time, a rich man named Kish was looking for some of his donkeys. They had wandered off,and he didn’t know where they went. Kish told his son Saul, “Go look for the donkeys. Take a servant withyou.”Saul and his servant looked everywhere! They could not find the missing donkeys. They were just aboutto give up when the servant said, “Wait! Let’s go talk to the man of God. Maybe he knows where we couldfind the donkeys.” Saul and his servant found the man of God—it was Samuel!“Don’t worry about the donkeys,” Samuel said. “They have been found.” Samuel invited Saul to havedinner with him. The next morning, Samuel told Saul that God had chosen Saul to be the king of Israel. Saulwas surprised. He wasn’t from a big family. He was actually from the smallest tribe in Israel. Why had Godchosen him?Samuel used oil to anoint Saul. “You will be king!” Samuel said. Samuel gave Saul some instructions andsent him home. The Spirit of God was with Saul. Some time later, Samuel gathered the Israelites andintroduced Saul, their new king. The Israelites got what they wanted. “Long live the king!” they said.Christ Connection: The Israelites wanted a king. They did not trust God. God gave the Israelites a king, but Hehad a plan to send His Son, Jesus, to be king over the whole world. Jesus would be the perfect King. Jesus wouldbring peace and save people from sin.* To tell the Bible story to younger preschoolers or for reviewing the story, use only the Bible story words in bold.Our Prayer for You:We pray that as you prepare your hearts to serve this week, that you do so fully trustingGod to give you the wisdom to lead kids into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ