1 Samuel 30
Leaders Prep Section
Watch this video, read these notes, and send the pre-written email (below) to your group 2-3 days before you meet.
Notes
The truth of leadership is it is always risk. And we are never let off the hook. If you can learn to embrace this, you have a shot at being a great leader.
Group Guide Starts Here
Context of scripture
David has been living with the Philistines while raiding the historic enemies of Israel. The Philistines, suspicious of David, send him away. He is now returning to his home to move his family and followers to another place.
Increasingly throughout Samuel, we’ve seen David exhibit a level of leadership that God never intended a man to have to have. Remember, God never meant a man to be king over other men…but the people wanted it. So now God has to train up a whole new breed of man.
Read 1 Samuel 30: 1-6
David’s men want to stone him. They are drowning in fear and emotion because their wives and children have been kidnapped. Despite the fact that they are hardened soldiers, have killed thousands alongside David for years, and have been rescued time and time again by God, they cannot get past the panic of this moment.
However, David has been through worse. And his wives and children have been kidnapped as well and he is in despair too. The only difference between David and the men at this point is concisely captured in verse 6. “David found strength in the Lord his God.”
After reading all these stories about Joshua, Samson, Samuel, Jonathan, and now David you should have some idea of what it really means to “find his strength in the Lord his God?” It’s not some bullshit churchy slogan; at least it wasn’t back then. Based on what you’ve read in all these stories (not just heard other people say), what do you think it actually means for a man to “find his strength in the Lord his God?”
Read 1 Samuel 30: 7-10
There is a significant turn around between verse 6 and verse 9. If verse 6, David’s men were going to stone him. When the 600 men walked into their camp and found it raided, these men were literally still carrying their swords. They were ready to kill David in that very moment. David finds strength in God, consults God, and by verse 9, all 600 men are following him into the Besor Valley, such a physically difficult feat that 200 of them were too exhausted to even continue across the valley. Imagine what it took to go from wanting to kill David to faithfully following him again to the point of physically passing out.
We just talked about what it means for a leader to find strength in God. What does a leader have to exude to make men follow him like this? Again, don’t think about what you’ve read in books or heard other people explain…come up with your own answers from the stories we’ve read in Joshua, Judges, and now Samuel.
Read 1 Samuel 30: 11-25
Go back and think about the history of David. David is around 30 years old at this point. As a boy he worked with animals every day. He killed a lion and a bear by himself. 14 years ago he killed Goliath when he was still too young to join the army. He has been celebrated for killing tens of thousands. He was unjustly exiled, lived like an outlaw – with outlaws – fighting literally everyone. He has killed more people than you have even met. If you crossed him, he could cut you in half before you saw it coming. But if you worked you ass off to fight alongside him, he would risk his life for you. As a leader, David is the best there’s ever been up to this point in history. God has trained a king.
Does David resemble the kind of leader you would have expected God to create?
Note to leader: Tell the guys this is the end of 1 Samuel. Tell them to read 1 Samuel 28 and 31 on their own. 1 Samuel 28 is an amazing story of a witch raising someone from the dead. Interestingly enough, the author does not dispute that this is possible.