Finding David

Saul was the first king of the Israelite nation. Samuel, the prophet, had anointed him as the king. Saul had won many battles against the enemies of God's people. But God wasn't happy with Saul as king, because he disobeyed His commands.

Samuel went to Saul. He said, "Since you have disobeyed the Lord's commands, God does not want you as king." God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem to find a name named Jesse. God said he had chosen one of Jesse's sons to be the next king.

So Samuel went to Bethlehem to see Jesse and his sons. Samuel looked at the oldest son. He thought he looked like he would be a good king, but the Lord said, "I do not look at the outward appearance of a man. I look at his heart. This is not the son that will be king."

Then Jesse called his next son and had him pass in front of Samuel. He was not the one the Lord had chosen either. Seven of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel, but not one of them was chosen by God.

Samuel asked, "Are these all the sons you have?" Jesse said, "No, there is still the youngest son, David. He is out tending sheep." Samuel sent someone to get David. When David came in, Samuel could see that he was very strong and healthy. When David arrived, the Lord said to Samuel, "This is the one. Anoint him as king." So Samuel took the oil and anointed David in front of his brothers. Immediately, the Spirit of the Lord was with David.

Later, David would fight and kill Goliath, the giant Philistine. He would also grow up to become Israel's greatest king. 

And Jesus would be born into David's family many years later! As king, David wrote many of the Psalms. God loved David.

(1 Samuel 16)

Adapted from TeacherCreated.com

David and Goliath

The Israelites and the Philistines were enemies. One of the Philistines was a very tall man. They said he was a giant because he was nine feet tall! He was a very strong man. His name was Goliath.

Goliath wanted to fight any man from the Israelite army that would agree to fight him. Goliath said, "If I win the fight, you will be our slaves. If any Israelite wins the fight, we will be your slaves."

But no one wanted to fight Goliath, for he was very big and very strong.

David was a shepherd boy. He went to visit his brothers in the Israelite army. He heard Goliath's challenge. He asked King Saul if he could fight Goliath. The king said, "David, you are small, and he is big. He is strong, and you are very young. You cannot fight him."

David replied, "While tending my father's sheep, I have fought a bear, and I have fought a lion. If I can fight off those two animals, I can fight this giant."

The king replied, "If you must go, then take my armor and my sword with you. And may the Lord be with you."

So David put on the armor and took the sword. But he was not used to wearing armor so he took it off.

"I will fight him without the armor," David said. So he took his shepherd's stick and his sling. He found five smooth stones from a nearby stream, put them in his bag, and went to meet the giant Goliath.

When Goliath saw David, he was angry, because David was just a small, young man. The giant shouted at David, "Come here... and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" (1 Samuel 17:44)

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord. The Lord will help me beat you." Then David took a stone from his bag and put it in the sling. He struck Goliath in the forehead and killed him.

David got his strength and power from the Lord. He beat Goliath. David grew up to become one of the greatest kings of the Israelite nation.

(1 Samuel 17)

Adapted from TeacherCreated.com

Elijah: Fed by Ravens

 Elijah was a prophet. God told Elijah things that would happen. One day, Elijah went to King Ahab. Elijah told him, "There will be no rain during the next few years unless I say so." And so it happened. There was no rain for a long time.

God was good. He took care of Elijah during the drought. God told Elijah to go to a special stream. Here God provided food and water for Elijah. Elijah drank from the stream, and God had ravens bring Elijah bread and meat every morning and every evening.

When the stream dried up, God told Elijah, "Go to the town of Zarephath. I have told a widow there to feed you." The widow was trying to prepare a meal. However, she only had a small amount of flour and oil - just enough to make one last meal. After that, she and her son would have nothing to eat and would die.

Elijah asked the woman for some water. He told her to make him a piece of bread. The woman said, "I have very little oil and flour - only enough for our last meal. Then my son and I will die." Elijah told the woman to do so as he said and not to be afraid. He told her that she would have enough flour and oil until the Lord send rain on the land.

The woman did as Elijah told her. She prepared bread from the flour and oil for Elijah. She also prepared a meal for her son and herself. There was still flour and oil left in her jars. God provided for the widow and her son. The flour and oil were not used up, just as Elijah had said.

After some time went by, the woman's son grew very sick. He died. The woman was very sad. She blamed Elijah for her son's death. 

But Elijah carried the boy upstairs and prayed aloud to the Lord. Elijah stretch out his body on top of the boy three times. He prayed, "O Lord, please let this boy live again." The Lord answered Elijah's prayer. The boy began breathing again.

Elijah carried the boy downstairs to his mother. She was very happy to see her son alive again. She said,"...'Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth." (1 Kings 17:24)

(1 Kings 17)

Adapted from TeacherCreated.com

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Daniel was a good man and a prophet from God. He prayed to God three times every day. King Darius  gave Daniel a very important job. The king liked Daniel a lot. 

Some evil men were jealous of Daniel. They made a plan to trick the king into making a new law that would get Daniel into trouble. The new law said: "You can't pray to any god except the king. If anyone does, he will be killed." 

The king passed the law. But Daniel was brave. He still prayed only to God three times a day. Daniel trusted God. 

When the evil men saw that Daniel still prayed to God, they told the king. The king liked Daniel. He didn't want to have him killed, but he knew that he had to follow his own law. So Daniel was taken to the lions' den and thrown in. The king said to Daniel, "I hope your God rescues you from the lions!"

That night, the king couldn't sleep. He was worried about Daniel. In the morning, the king ran to the den of lions and called out, "Daniel, was your God able to save you?" Daniel answered, "God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions. They haven't hurt me because God knows I have done no wrong."

The king had Daniel taken out of the lions' den and the evil men who got Daniel into trouble were thrown in.

After that, the king wrote a letter. He said that everyone must worship Daniel's God for He is the true God.

(Daniel 6)
Adapted from Teachercreated.com