Submission to the Will of God – SS2 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note (Second Term)

Submission to the will of God is obeying God and accepting his way, even when it is difficult.

Behavioural objectives

1. Explain why Saul wanted to kill David.
2. Describe the two occasions on which David spared Saul’s life.
3. State why David refused to kill Saul.
4. Narrate how Jonah tried to run away from God’s command and what happened to him.
5. State the lessons we learn from David and Jonah about submission to God’s will.

What is submission to the will of God?

Submission to the will of God means putting God’s wishes before our own plans, feelings and desires.

• Obedience: doing what God commands, even when it is hard or costly.
• Acceptance: trusting God’s way and God’s timing instead of taking matters into our own hands.
• Example of submission: David, who refused to kill Saul, the Lord’s anointed.
• Example of disobedience: Jonah, who ran from God’s command to preach in Nineveh and later repented.

Why did Saul seek to kill David? (1 Sam. 18 to 19)

Saul sought to kill David because he became jealous of him after David defeated Goliath.

• Praise from the people: the women sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
• Jealousy: Saul felt David was becoming more popular than he was.
• Result: Saul looked for different occasions to kill David.

What was the first attempt on David’s life?

• Setting: David was playing music for Saul.
• Action: the evil spirit that troubled Saul came upon him, and he threw a spear at David.
• Outcome: David narrowly escaped.

What was the second attempt on David’s life?

• Plan: Saul offered his daughter Michal to David as wife.
• Condition: Saul asked for no dowry, only a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge the king’s enemies.
• Motive: Saul hoped the Philistines would kill David.
• Outcome: God was with David, and he killed two hundred Philistines and brought their foreskins to the king.

What happened after the attempts?

• Jonathan’s help: Jonathan warned David of his father’s plans and spoke well of David to Saul.
• Saul’s attitude: Saul did not stop trying to kill David.
• David’s response: David ran away and went into hiding.

How did David spare Saul’s life?

David spared Saul’s life on two occasions: at Engedi (1 Sam. 24) and in the wilderness of Ziph (1 Sam. 26).

What happened at Engedi?

1. Saul kept chasing David until David reached Engedi.
2. David found Saul within his reach and had the chance to kill him.
3. David’s men told him to seize the opportunity at once.
4. David refused and only cut off a piece of Saul’s skirt.
5. He told his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”

What happened in the wilderness of Ziph?

1. The people of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding, and Saul pitched on the hill of Hachilah.
2. David went to Saul’s camp with Abishai.
3. They found Saul, Abner (captain of his host) and the other people all asleep.
4. Abishai urged David to seize the chance, because the Lord had delivered his enemy into his hands.
5. David refused to lay his hands on the Lord’s anointed.
6. He took Saul’s spear and the cruse of water and went away.
7. David then called out to Saul and Abner and showed that he could have killed Saul but had spared him.
8. Saul apologised, admitted that he had sinned, and each man went his way.

Why did David refuse to kill Saul?

• Saul was God’s anointed: David believed it was wrong to harm the man God had chosen as king.
• Respect for God’s authority: David left judgement to God.
• Refusal of revenge: David would not repay evil with evil.
• Trust in God’s timing: David waited for God to make him king in his own way.

Who was Jonah and how did he try to run from God? (Jonah 1 and 2)

Jonah was a prophet whom God sent to preach to the people of Nineveh, the city of Assyria, but he disobeyed.

• The message: the people were to forsake their evil ways and turn to God.
• If they repented: the Lord was ready to forgive them.
• If they refused: divine judgement would follow.

How did Jonah try to escape, and what was the storm?

1. Jonah boarded a ship at Joppa going to Tarshish, away from Nineveh.
2. He went into the inner part of the ship and fell asleep.
3. God sent a great wind on the sea, and the ship was in danger of breaking up.
4. The mariners threw their belongings into the sea to lighten the ship, but the storm continued.
5. Each man cried to his own god, and they cast lots to find who caused the trouble.
6. The lot fell on Jonah.

What happened to Jonah and the great fish?

1. Jonah confessed that he had disobeyed God.
2. He told the mariners to throw him into the sea.
3. God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.
4. Jonah stayed in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
5. Inside the fish, Jonah prayed to God.
6. God forgave him and spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

How do David and Jonah compare?

David submitted to God’s will by sparing Saul, while Jonah first disobeyed God and then repented.

What lessons do we learn about submission to God’s will?

• Respect leaders: we should respect people in authority, even when they treat us badly.
• No revenge: we should leave judgement to God and not repay evil with evil.
• Patience: we should wait for God’s time instead of forcing results.
• Obedience: we cannot escape God’s command by running away.
• Disobedience brings trouble: Jonah’s flight caused danger to himself and the mariners.
• Prayer and repentance: God forgives those who pray and turn back to him.

Evaluation

1. David hid from Saul on the hill of _____.
   A. Jeshimon
   B. Hachilah
   C. Adullam
   D. Gilboa
2. David did not kill Saul because _____.
   A. he had no weapons
   B. God warned him not to
   C. Saul was God’s anointed
   D. Saul was his father-in-law
3. Who accompanied David to Saul’s camp?
   A. Abishai
   B. Ahimelech
   C. Joab
   D. Asahel
4. To run away from God, Jonah decided to escape to _____.
   A. Damascus
   B. Syria
   C. Tarshish
   D. Joppa
5. When they found out that Jonah was the cause of their trouble, the mariners _____.
   A. threw him into the sea
   B. killed him
   C. locked him up
   D. prayed for him

Assignment

Describe the two occasions on which David had the chance to kill Saul and refused. Then narrate how Jonah tried to run away from God and what happened to him.