Judges - Saul (to be discussed November 13)

 

1. Read Judges 2:1-23 with footnotes 10a, 18a,b. How long did it take the children of Israel to forget their covenants after the Lord brought them into Caanan? In what ways were they unfaithful?

 

 

BONUS: Read Old Testament Student Manual Enrichment Section F-7 on Ashteroth and Baal. What motivated the children of Israel to worship these pagan gods?

 

 

2. Read Judges 6:1-24 with footnotes 10a, 11a,b. Were the Midianites more righteous than the children of Israel? How did the Lord use the Midianites? List leadership qualities of Gideon.

 

 

3. Read Judges 10, with footnotes 1a, 16b; Judges 17:6 and 21:25. What pattern of worship do we see during the reign of the Judges of Israel? What seems to happen when everyone does that which is right in his own eyes?

 

 

4. Read Ruth 1:1-18 with footntoes 2a, 14a; Ruth 4:9-22 with footnote 11a. How did Naomi and her sons end up in Moab? Give examples of Ruth's faith in the God of Israel.

 

 

5. Read 1Samuel 3:19-24; 1 Samuel 4 with footnotes 9a, 21a. How was Samuel recognized among the people of Israel? What did the ark represent? How did they use the ark? Why did they lose it?

 

 

BONUS: Read 1Samuel 5-6. How did Israel get the ark back? 

 

 

6. Read 1Samuel 8:1-22 with footntoes 12a, 13a. Why did the people want a king? What warnings did the Lord give through Samuel regarding monarchy as a form of government?

 

 

7. Read 1Samuel 9:15-21 with footnote 21b; 1Samuel 10:1; 1Samuel 13:5-14. List qualities of Saul before he was anointed king. Where did he go wrong after he was anointed? 

 

 

Related Articles:

"The False Gods We Worship," Spencer W. Kimball, June 1976 Ensign

"No Other Gods before Me," David H. Madsen, January 1990 Ensign

"Deborah and the Book of Judges," Kristen E. Lichtman, January 1990 Ensign

"The Ark of the Covenant: Symbol of Triumph," L.H. Read, June 1980 Ensign

"The Tragic Dimensions of Saul," Richard G. Ellsworth, June 1990 Ensign

Q&A: "What was the ark of the covenant and does it exist in any form today?" May 1973 New Era