1 Samuel 17-20 Study Questions
I. Loyalty in Spite of Problems
(17:1-58)
Key Idea: When we are loyal to God, even when we face overwhelming odds, we
can expect His blessings.
1. Read 17:1-30. Describe the problem
Israel faced (v4-10), and Israel’s reaction
(v11, 24). How did David respond
differently (v26), and why do you think he
did (v26)? Apply this.
Israel faced the problem of finding someone who could fight Goliath successfully.
The method that the Philistines proposed, of having one of their warriors fight one of
Israel’s warriors to determine the victor, was an accepted practice in that day,
because it avoided the high number of casualties that a widespread battle would
incur. However, Goliath was over 9’ tall , and incredibly strong; Israel had no one that
would appear to be able to compete with him. The shaft of his spear was like a
weaver’s beam, and its head weighed about 15lb. He was extremely defiant against
the army of Israel, taunting them as well as their God, causing Saul and his army to
be dismayed (“shattered”) and greatly afraid. On the other hand, David’s response
was one of surprise that such a nobody (this “uncircumcised Philistine”) as Goliath
should taunt the armies of the living God, and he wanted a crack at fighting him. He
recognized that as long as one outside of God’s covenant made life difficult on God’s
people, it was a reproach (shame, like a black mark) on Israel. David believed in
God’s power because He was alive, and he knew that no profane man was a match
for anyone who truly drew on God’s power to fight the battle. We, too, must
recognize the enemy for who he is, and realize his power is completely limited by
God. The enemy is no match for God or His people when they allow God to work
through them. In spite of our natural fear, we must courageously stand in God’s
power against such taunts and tactics of intimidation.
2. From 17:31-37 what did David tell Saul
he would do (v32), and what was Saul’s
response (v33)? What were 2 reasons for
David’s confidence (v34-35, 36-37)?
David went to Saul and confirmed that he would fight the Philistine, although Saul,
believing David was no match for Goliath, tried to discourage him. Even if David were
the size of Goliath, his level of military experience compared to Goliath’s was
substandard. However, David knew two things: first, he had experience defeating
intimidating foes in every day life. By himself h had killed lions and bears to protect
his flocks, and he knew that he could do the same thing to this “uncircumcised
Philistine” who was taunting the living God and His armies. He also knew that the
Lord Himself would deliver him from Goliath just as He had from the paw of the lion
and bear. So, his previous experience, and the Lord Himself were the reasons of his
confidence.
3. In 17:38-49 what armor and weapons
did David use to fight Goliath (v38-40,
49)? How did Goliath react (v42-44), and
what was David’s response (v45-47)?
What does this teach?
Although Saul wanted David to put on his armor, his bronze helmet, and his sword
over his armor, when he did he realized he couldn’t even walk in them, so he took
them off. Furthermore, he had not tested them in battle. Instead, David relied on the
weapons with which he had previously been successful, 5 smooth stones and a
slingshot. When Goliath saw David coming toward him, he disdained him, calling him
a dog, who was coming against him with mere sticks; he also cursed David by his
gods. He bragged to David that if he would come up to him he would feed his flesh to
the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field. David, though, was not easily
impressed; he informed Goliath that he only came against him with the human
weapons of a sword, javelin and spear. David’s weapon was the “Name” of the Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom Goliath had taunted. He also
declared that the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hands that day, and that he
would strike him down, remove his head, and give the dead bodies of the Philistines
to the birds and beasts. All of this would result in “all” the earth knowing that there is
a God in Israel who does not deliver by sword or spear, but by His very own power.
This story teaches us that if God is on our side, it does not matter what the odds are
against us. We are able to defeat even the greatest enemy if we are in the middle of
God’s will, upholding His glory.
4. According to 17:49-58 what were the 3
results of the fight (v49-50, 51-54, 55-58)?
In your opinion, what was the “secret” to
David’s success, and how could you do
the same thing?
First, as the battle ensued, David slung a stone into the forehead of Goliath, killing
him as he fell face down to the ground. Secondly, seeing that their “champion” was
dead, the Philistines armies were pursued by Israel as they fled, and their camps
were plundered as Israel returned. The third result of the fight was that Saul noticed
David, and had an audience with him as he stood their with Goliath’s head in his
hand. While this was good, it also set the stage for Saul’s jealousy of David when he
gained notoriety for this monumental act of bravery. The secret to David’s success,
obviously, was that he believed and depended on God’s power, and not his own. He
had engaged in defeating overwhelming enemies with God’s power, so doing it again
seemed “normal” to him. Furthermore, he was passionate about God’s glory, and
even if he had not won, he probably would have engaged Goliath anyway.
II. Loyalty in Spite of Persecution
(18-1-19:24)
Key Idea: When we are loyal to God, even when we have to endure difficult
persecution, we can expect His blessings.
5. Looking at 18:1-16, how did Jonathan
relate to David (v1, 3-4), to Saul (v2), and
to the people (v5)? What caused Saul’s
relationship with David to change (v6-9),
and what was the result (v10-16)? What
can we learn from this?
(This question had a typo – David should have been the subject – “how did
David…”.) The soul of Jonathan was “knit” (bound together) to the soul of David’s,
and he loved him as himself. They thought and felt the same way about things,
including God’s plan for David’s kingship. For that reason Jonathan made a covenant
with David, gave David his princely robe, his armor, his sword, bow and belt. Saul
also felt kindly towards David, taking him to the palace permanently, and placing him
over his men of war. Finally, the people were pleased that David was over Saul’s
men, and that God prospered him wherever Saul sent him. However, when Saul
heard the women singing and dancing to a song which celebrated the triumphs of
David over Saul’s, he became very angry and displeased. He feared that David’s
next step would be to take over his kingdom, so he looked upon David with suspicion
from that day on. This resulted in Saul’s attempts to kill David, beginning with a
situation in which David was playing his harp for Saul. An evil spirit (from God – since
God is over all things, He allowed this evil spirit to terrorize Saul, but God was in
control of the whole situation) came upon Saul, and Saul threw his spear at David in
order to pin him against the wall. Meanwhile, David’s continued prosperity caused
Saul to dread him all the more. This story shows us that people will support us when
we are doing good things for them, but when they begin to fear that we will take what
they believe is theirs – power, prestige, money, influence, etc – their feelings towards
us will usually change. Unlike God, man is fickle, and his loyalty is mostly short-lived.
6. From 18:17-30 what 2 things did Saul
propose to get David killed (v17, 20-21,
25), and what was David’s response (v18,
26-27)? What was the result in Saul’s life
(v28-29), and in David’s life (v30)?
Saul used the occasion of giving David one of his daughters as a wife to try to get
David killed. He first promised his older daughter, Merab, to David if he would go out
and fight for Saul against the Philistines. Instead of being killed by the Philistines,
though, he was highly successful against them. Two things were curious about
Saul’s offer: first, David had already won the hand of his daughter by virtue of having
killed Goliath. Also, Saul didn’t give her to David after he had fought for him, but,
contrary to his promise, he gave her to Adriel the Meholathite. This allowed Saul to
offer his other daughter, Michal, to David as another ploy to get him killed. He asked
a dowry for her of 100 foreskins of the Philistines – obviously meaning David would
have to kill them first, placing himself in harm’s way. David was unfazed, however,
and killed 200 instead, and brought the foreskins to Saul. Saul gave Michal to David,
and was even more fearful of David than before because of these acts of bravery.
Through all of this David remained humble and unresentful, knowing that God was in
control; he continued to “do his job”, remaining loyal to Saul and trusting God. So, on
one hand, Saul became even more fearful of David, and on the other hand, David
esteem continued to grow in the eyes of Israel.
7. Based on 19:1-7 how did Jonathan
respond to Saul’s desire to kill David (v25), and how did this demonstrate his
loyalty? What was the result (v6-7)?
Jonathan’s responded by telling David what Saul was up to, and telling him to hide
himself until he found out something new about Saul’s plans. He then returned to
Saul and spoke well of David to him, imploring him to not sin against his servant,
David, since he had been such a great benefit to him. His reminder of David’s defeat
of Goliath, and his call to Saul to not shed innocent blood changed Saul’s mind; he
vowed to not put David to death. This was a great show of loyalty to David by
Jonathan, because he placed David’s life over his own, and over the wishes of his
father. The result of this display of loyalty was that David got to return to the palace
since Saul had vowed not to kill him, and this allowed Jonathan and David to be
restored in their friendship.
8. Using 19:8-24 what did Saul do next
and why (v8-10), and how did David
respond (v10, 18)? Who helped him (v11,
18, 20, 21, 23), and how (v11-17, 18, 2024)? What does this show?
After another war in which David led a great slaughter of the Philistines, Saul again,
under the influence of an evil spirit, tried to kill David with his spear while he was
playing the harp for him. Thus, this was not only a natural reaction by Saul due to his
jealousy of David, but also supernaturally allowed by God to for His own purposes.
David responded by running again, fearing that he would lose his life if he stayed
there. He first went home, and his wife, Michal, urged him to flee. She let him down
out of the window by a rope, then put a household idol in the bed under the quilt to
make it look like he was there. When Saul’s messengers went up to his bed, though,
they discovered her ruse, causing Saul to question her for her deception. However,
she told Saul that David had made her do it. David was then helped by Samuel, who
allowed him to stay with him at Ramah, and by God Himself, who filled Saul’s
messengers, and Saul himself, with His Spirit. This prevented them from getting to
Samuel, where David was. This story shows that God was committed to taking care
of David, and that He not only used others to help David, but even directly helped
him. This was a lesson David would need to remember.
III. Loyalty in Spite of the Price
(20:1-42)
Key Idea: When we are loyal to God, even when we have to make great sacrifices,
we can expect His blessings.
9. Read 20:1-23. What did David do next
(v1), how was Jonathan loyal (v2-11), and
what was Jonathan’s request (13-17, 23)?
What did it cost David and Jonathan to be
loyal?
Next, David met with Jonathan to discover what he had done that had caused Saul to
want to kill him again. Jonathan assured him that he would not let Saul kill him, and
told him he would let him know Saul’s intentions as soon as he found out. David and
Jonathan agreed that if David didn’t show up for dinner a couple of days in a row
Saul would reveal his heart about David, and Jonathan could return to tell David.
Jonathan showed his loyalty by carrying out this plan, even though when he covered
for David, Saul began to upbraid him for being disloyal to Saul and himself. But
Jonathan knew that David was God’s choice as the next king, so he only asked
David to deal with him in kindness after he became king by not killing Saul’s family
(including him). Furthermore, both of them knew believed that the Lord was in the
middle of their relationship forever. Obviously, Jonathan’s loyalty to David (and God)
was costly, because it meant going against his father, and accepting that he would
not be the next king. But David’s loyalty to God was just as real; rather than reacting
to Saul in revenge, he simply ran away. As many of the Psalms show this was a very
difficult time in David’s life, but his loyalty to God prevented him from taking matters
into his own hands. As costly as their loyalty was, this cost is what makes loyalty
genuine and so valuable.
10. In 20:24-42 how did Saul respond to
David’s absence (v24-26, 27), and how did
he respond to Jonathan (v28-34)? To
whom did Jonathan choose to be loyal
(v34), what did he do (v34-42), and why
(v42)?
Saul responded just as David and Jonathan thought he would. When Jonathan made
an excuse for David’s absence on the 2nd day, Saul became very angry with him,
calling him the son of a perverse, rebellious woman (it’s interesting that he didn’t take
responsibility for Jonathan’s actions). He reminded him that he would not be king as
long as David was around, and then commanded him to send and bring David to
him. But Jonathan, again, tried to talk Saul out of this, which provoked Saul to throw
his spear at Jonathan, his own son. In fierce anger Jonathan left the table, went to
the field where David was staying and informed him of his father’s intentions to kill
him. Jonathan’s loyalty to David and to God evidenced itself again as they embraced
and reconfirmed their covenant. He reaffirmed that God was the “silent” partner in
their covenant from generation to generation, then he left and went into the city.
11. Review the experiences David had in 1
Samuel 17-20. What do you think these
experiences taught him about God,
others, and himself?
David killed Goliath, led Israel into numerous victories, remained loyal to Saul and
played the harp to soothe him, entered into a covenant with Jonathan to protect his
descendants, and willingly fought to gain the hand of Saul’s two daughters. All of
these experiences would reaffirm to him that God was on his side, and that if he
depended on Him, all would be well. He also discovered the value of a true friend, in
that God worked through friends like Jonathan to take care of his people. However,
he also learned how undependable others can be, as in the case of Saul. We can
only put our trust in those who are committed to God first, as Jonathan was, because
everyone else will ultimately look out for themselves. As he began to run from Saul,
his faith in God’s commitment to him surely began to grow, since He used Michal,
Samuel and His Spirit to take care of him. Unfortunately, even though David had
these experiences of God’s care, he would not always rely solely on Him, as we see
in the next chapters.