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Week 1        |          Week 2        |        Week 3        |        Week 4        |        Week 5        |        Week 6        |        Week 7        |        Week 8        |
Week 9        |
Week 9—Read 1 Samuel 12:13-25 to see the context of this week’s verse or, if you’ve got a little bit of time, read all of chapter 12. In a nutshell, the time of the Judges has come to a close, and the people of Israel are clamoring for a king. They want to be like the nations around them (8:5). God reluctantly agrees to their request, but recognizes this as Israel’s rebellion and a rejection of His leadership (8:7). Saul is crowned the first king of Israel (10:24) and starts his reign with a major military victory (11:11). In chapter 12, the last Judge, Samuel the Prophet, gathers all Israel together and delivers one final speech to the people. He confronts them about the long series of wicked decisions they and their ancestors made from the moment they left Egypt (12:7). He encourages them to fear the Lord and worship Him (12:14) and even invokes a terrible thunderstorm to demonstrate God’s power to them (12:18). In verses 20-22, Samuel instructs the people to avoid idolatry and remember the care and provision and faithfulness of the Lord. He says “the Lord will not abandon His people,” even in spite of the wicked decisions they have made. Ask your family these questions to dig deeper into the text: How does it make you feel that God promises to be with you and care for you even though you sin? How should God’s faithfulness to us affect the way we think about Him? How should it affect the way we worship Him? After you finish asking the questions, take turns reading through the key verse in your booklet and memorize it together!

Every verse in the Bible points us to the Good News of Jesus Christ. What Gospel Connections do we find in 1 Samuel 12:22? (1) In spite of our sin. The most powerful message of 1 Samuel 12:22 isn’t just that God cares for and is faithful to His people; it’s that God is faithful even when we are NOT. And this is the essence of the Gospel, that God loves rebels. He seeks the sheep who have willfully strayed away. Romans 5:8—“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were still sinners. We don’t have to clean up our act before we can come to God for salvation. He loves us in the midst of our sin and redeems us though we absolutely don’t deserve it! (2) Who sits on the throne. Israel chose to reject the Lord’s leadership and asked for a king to rule over them. The same happens when we choose our sin over the Savior. But when we come to faith in Jesus, we turn our back on our sin and we take hold of Jesus as our Lord and King. We worship Him alone and serve Him faithfully. Can you see any more pathways to the Gospel in 1 Samuel 12:22? We would love to hear about it! Send us a quick email at fbc@fbcvan.org and let us know!

A beautiful song about God as our shepherd!

An animated overview of the book of 1 Samuel.

A short devotion from David Guzik about our verse.