STARTING WELL, BUT ENDING A DISASTER (Saul)

 

 

1 Sam. 9:7       What is Saul concerned with regarding Samuel, the man of God, for his counseling services?

 

Are you sensitive to and considerate of the spiritual services you use from men of God?                If so, how?

 

9:18     How does Saul show his politeness?

Are you polite in your communication with other people? If so, how, and why?

 

9:21     What good character trait does Saul exhibit after being told by Samuel that Saul was God’s choice of a leader in Israel?                                     Do you exhibit humility when someone confers an honor or compliment to you?

           

            If so, how did you arrive at your answer?

 

9:26     What other good quality does Saul exhibit here?

 

Are you obedient to your spiritual leader(s) when they instruct you to do something?

Why should we (Heb. 13:17)?

 

10:6, 9, 10; 11:6         What things happened to Saul?

 

Has God changed your heart/life so that you’re a new person (2 Cor. 5:17) and are controlled by His Holy Spirit?

How do you know?

 

10:21, 22         Though Saul was told he’d be the ruler of Israel (10:1), where was he when Samuel was going to publicly introduce him to the nation?

 

Would you have been prideful and strutted around arrogantly waiting to be introduced as the first king of Israel because you knew in ad­vance God had chosen you?                     What does this tell you about Saul, especially in light of 10:27?

 

Would you consider yourself humble, meek, or shy?         Why?

 

11:12, 13         What other good qualities of Saul are seen here?

 

Are you a merciful person, and do you credit God with the successes or accomplishments in your life?

How did you arrive at your answer?

 

10:8; 13:5, 8-13          What does Saul do that he shouldn’t have because he was under the pressure of difficult circumstances?

 

Do you ever disobey God because you’re in a tight situation (by ly­ing, cheating, stealing, etc.)?

What consequence did Saul incur as a result (13:14)?

 

15:3, 9-11        What sin did Saul commit here?

 

Do you sin/rebel against God by only partially obeying Him?

What was Saul’s response (15:13, 15, 20, 21)?

 

Do you blame your sins on others (15:15, 21) or rationalize your sins (15:20)?

How did God view what Saul did (15:16, 19, 22, 23)?

 

Do you realize that every time you sin, it’s rebellion against God and rejection of His Word?

After finally admitting he sinned, what does Saul state as his reason (15:24)?

 

Are you more afraid of not pleasing God or of not pleasing people, and why?

What was the consequence of Saul’s disobedience/rebellion (15:26, 28)?

 

Do you think that God may take away your ministry or life one day be­cause of your disobedience/rebellion toward Him?                Why?

 

Did God do so to two believers in the NT (Acts 4:32; 5:1, 3-5, 10)?

 

15:12               Do you think that pride also became a problem for Saul?              Why?

 

Do you become prideful after some accomplishment that God gives you (e.g., someone becomes a Christian through your witness; a lot of people show up to your Bible study group; a lot of your follow-ups are respond­ing positively; you have a couple of really good disciples/trainees, etc.)?             Why?

 

15:24, 25, 28, 29         Does our confession of sin and getting God’s forgiveness necessarily mean that we won’t suffer the consequences of that sin?

 

16:14               What was another consequence of Saul’s sin?

 

Though as NT believers the Holy Spirit won’t depart from us (Eph. 4:30; 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22), Satan or a demon can terrorize us (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20).  Have you ever experienced demonic oppression or attacks after failing to deal with sin in your life?

 

18:6-9              What other sins does Saul commit in his downward moral spiral?

 

Are you ever angry or jealous of people whom God blesses and whom people praise?

 

18:10-12          What sin does Saul try to carry out?

 

Do you see how morally low a person can get who was once control­led by the Holy Spirit?

What can you do to prevent this from happening to you?

 

18:14, 15, 29   What does Saul feel toward godly David?

 

Have you ever viewed godly Christians as your enemies when you were backslidden/carnal?

 

20:30, 33         What sins does Saul commit toward his son, Jonathan?

 

22:17, 19         What sin does Saul commit now?

 

Do you see how Saul’s moral condition gets progressively worse?

Do you ever fear getting this low morally because of an initial act of disobedience/rebellion that you might commit?

Why?

 

28:6-8              Because God wasn’t speaking to Saul anymore, what sin does he now commit (Deut. 18:9-12; Lev. 19:31)?

 

28:16               What was God’s position/attitude toward Saul now?

 

How would you feel if you knew God was your adversary, and why?

 

28:18-20          What was the final consequence going to be for Saul’s disobed­ience?

 

Do you see how the sin of one person can affect the lives or deaths of others?

 

31:4     What is Saul’s final sin?

 

Did you notice Saul’s moral downslide ever since he disobeyed God and rationalized his sin long ago?

How will knowing this affect your complete/full obedience to God?