3/18 1 Samuel 13 - The Sin of Impatience

Life does not always go according to our schedule. Today we’ll look at an account from King Saul’s life where he took matters into his own hands, and ultimately was lost his kingdom because of it. Join us in a challenging reminder to trust God and wait on Him.

DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.    How was Saul’s army chosen in verse 2? What kind of pressure with the support on Saul to have victory in these early battles?
2.    What was the size of the Philistine army in verse 5? How does this compare to Israel’s army back in verse 2?
3.    What were the Philistines prohibiting the Jews to do in verse 19? What impact would have this had on their weaponry?
4.    Back in verse 3, what did Jonathan do to instigate this battle? What did this indicate about His faith and character, especially being so undermatched to a superior opponent?
5.    Once the Philistine army turned its sights on the Israelites, what did they do in verses 6 and 7? What does this indicate about their faith and character?
6.    What were the people doing in verse 8? According to verse 15, how many men were left with Saul? How do you think this affected Saul’s decisions about what to do in verse 9? 
7.    What did Saul do in verse 9? Why was this disobedience? Why is the principal true from 1st Samuel 15:22, that “to obey is better than sacrifice”?
8.    How did Saul’s actions in this passage indicate He still had a “rabbit’s foot theology” view of God? 
9.    What was Samuel’s estimation of Saul’s actions in verse 13? What was Samuel’s prophecies regarding Saul’s kingdom in verse 14? How do you think this would have struck Saul?
10.    How does this passage demonstrate the danger of rushing God? How did Saul take matters into His own hands, and ultimately displease the Lord? How should Saul have waited?
11.    We know that verse 14 is ultimately pointing to David. How does Samuel describe David’s heart in this verse? What do you think this means? Would this be how someone would describe you? Why or why not?

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