THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE
1 Samuel 8
BACKGROUND PREPARATION You will need: the timeline and list of judges from the links section of the Youthwork, flip chart paper and pens, paper to use as voting slips and something to serve as a ballot box.
Know your history
10 mins
To understand why Israel wanted a king so badly we have to look at what came before: years of individual judges leading the people while making decisions on their own. This activity is about reminding us what happened before. Mix up the names and stories of the judges and get the young people to work together to place them on the timeline. As a group, discuss which stories they remember and which ones are new to them. Ask them if they have any favourite stories.
Read the passage
15 mins
In a group read twice through 1 Samuel 8; once by themselves, allowing people to mention anything that stood out to them and the second time out loud, either asking a young person or another leader to read.
Then split into two groups, one group discussing why the Israelites would want a king, the other talking about why having a king would be a bad idea. Get the groups to feedback to each other. Do they think that Samuel made the right decision?
Explain that Samuel was dealing with a difficult situation and was doing his best to follow God’s will and get the Israelites in tune with that. He made the best decision he could, his final choice of judges, his sons, had been a massive failure. So he took the cry of the people to God and handed it over to him.
Meditation
15 mins
Get all the young people to find some space on their own and to make themselves comfortable - lying down with their eyes closed. Say you are going to tell them a story and they have to imagine themselves in that story, focusing only on your voice and the story you are telling.
Start by telling them to breathe in and out slowly, to feel the floor beneath them. Tell them to answer the following questions in their heads. Read the following slowly, giving the young people time to think and reflect. Ask them to imagine themselves in the desert, sand everywhere; can they feel it between their toes? Can they feel the hot sun on their neck? They are in the Israelite camp - what can they smell? Tell them to imagine they are now in a city. How did they get there? Who led them there? What does the city look like?
They have a home and a family; what is their job? What does the front of their house look like? They hear rumours that they are going to be attacked; how do they feel? What are the other people in their street doing? What can they see from their window? What can they hear? Who is going to save them? They pray to God; what is their prayer? God has sent them judges in the past but now they want a king. What do they want their king to look like? When he speaks what does he say? How does his voice sound? How does he lead the people? What are his values? What does he stand for? How does he treat his people? How does he worship and honour God?
He saves you from the invading force. How does he do that? Does he lead his men into battle? Does he negotiate? Does the mere thought of him scare off the enemies? Is he the answer to your prayers? How do their neighbours respond to him? What do they think? Do they celebrate with them? Do they remember that he is a gift from God? Do they remember that he is an answer to prayers? Or has he replaced God as your saviour?
Bring the activity to a close by asking the young people to share their thoughts and reflections on that. How do they feel about the Israelites’ demand for a king? Finally, explain that Saul, the king chosen, was initially a successful, Godly king and that we’ll see more of his journey in coming weeks.
Election time
20 mins
Get the group to split up into four groups. Explain that they have ten minutes to come up with a political party name and manifesto to present to the other groups. The idea is that they are campaigning to run the country/youth group/church. Explain that they will then have two minutes to convince the rest of the group to vote for them.
Once each team has spoken hand out voting slips and ask them to vote. Stipulate that they are not to vote for their own team. While one of the leaders counts up the votes ask them how it felt to be making decisions for such a wide group of people. Did they find that there was a certain group that they wanted to help more?
Give them the results. Ask the winning team if they really think they will be able to be in charge or would they want someone else to do it. Ask the losing teams if they would be willing to go along with what the others have decided and follow them.
Closing
Remind the young people that leading isn’t always about asserting authority, it takes grace and wisdom to know what is right for each situation. In pairs pray with each other over any situation that is coming up this week where they may need humility.
For notes for adapting see the links section of the Youthwork website.
KEY POINT #1
Looking at the history of Israel we see that many people have led them. These people are all flawed and it is in their flaws that God uses them. Leaders, including pastors, vicars and ministers aren’t perfect, but they are trying to lead us by listening to what God has called them to.
KEY POINT #2
Samuel had the best of intentions and his manifesto was to lead people to God. But he realised that the people were unwilling to follow him, so he stepped back. How easy is it for us to follow the laws, rules and regulations that governments, teachers or parents have set for us, even when we don’t agree with them? Samuel had great humility and knew that God would still use this for the best.
