tempted to behave out of super! The next verses tell us that the
stition than out of faith. For expeople of Beth Shemesh had the
ample, someone
ark sent to
might think that
Kiriath
reading through
Jeraim,
Faith at Home
the Bible each
where it was
What religious symbols do you
have in your house? How do they
year obligated
kept in the
remind
you
of
God?
How
can
you
God to bless their
house of
make sure that you and other members
lives. The truth
Abinadab
of
your
family
do
not
treat
them
as
is that reading
until years
objects of worship rather than as
through the Bible
later taken to
reminders of the God you worship?
each year is its
Jerusalem by
own blessing.
King David.
Someone may wear a cross necklace, thinking it will keep them
Making It Personal
physically safe. A more approExamining our own use of relipriate reason for wearing a cross
gious symbols and items
would be as a reminder of Christ
! The Israelites used the ark of
who died on the cross for us and
the covenant as though it were a
as an opening for sharing our
“god in a box,” some kind of aufaith with other people.
tomatic device that could be used
! Ask the class to suggest how
to assure their desired outcome.
people
might trust religion rather
They wanted to control God, not
than God in each of these areas.
submit to God. They carried the
Also have them tell a proper view
ark into battle thinking that just
of each of these actions.
having it would guarantee mili" church attendance
tary victory. Rather than serv" baptism
ing God, they wanted God to
" church wedding
serve them. Their approach was
" dedicating their children
superstitious at best and idola" tithing
trous at worst.
" memorizing Scripture
! Even Christians might be
Wrapping It Up
! God is sovereign and we cannot manipulate Him by doing certain
things, even if they are good things to do. We must worship Him for
who He is and trust Him no matter what happens in our lives. We
must reverence Him as God and never try to use Him as our servant.
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
Bible Series
Page 4
Teacher’s Toolbox
Getting your class into God's Word
and God's Word into your class
ExcitingBibleStudy.com
Bible Series
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
Prepared by David Williams
PO Box 628, Liberty, TX 77575 972-814-5378
[email protected]
© 2016 David Williams. Thank you for using Teacher’s Toolbox. Except in the case of individual subscriptions, when a church or individual purchases Teacher’s Toolbox, a church license is granted. Teacher’s
Toolbox may be freely duplicated for use in the purchaser’s church and in any small groups or classes
sponsored by that church. Permission is granted to share a sample with someone from another church once,
but Teacher’s Toolbox may not be provided to persons in another church on a regular basis.
HOW TO USE TEACHER’S TOOLBOX: Make a four-page folded teacher’s leaflet from the first two sheets
by printing two-sided (or by putting the blank sides together). The other two sheets are for duplicating,
displaying, distributing, or otherwise using as called for in the lesson plan.
Faith at Home – A specific application of today’s Bible passage to
family life, to be used for individual reflection, family discussion, or class activity.
Getting Started
What’s wrong with that?
! Hand out each of the following statements (cut apart Item 1). Ask that
they be read aloud in order. After each is read aloud, ask the rest of the
class, “What’s wrong with that?”
#1 “I may have been late for dinner last night, but these flowers I bought
my wife will take care of that and make everything alright.”
#2 “I buy a lottery ticket everyday and I always use my lucky numbers
and I know that sooner or later I am going to hit the jackpot.”
#3 “I’ve been having a lot of problems lately. I think I need to start going
to church again.”
! There is a danger in thinking that taking certain steps will obligate
God to improve the circumstances of our lives. God wants us to have
a personal and intimate relationship with Him, not just cling to
certain symbols and rituals. For example, wearing a cross necklace
can be a good thing, but not if we are using the cross as a good luck
charm like a rabbit’s foot carried on a key chain. In today’s study we
will see how the Israelites misused an important religious symbol and
lost it as a result.
Exploring God's Word
Getting the background
! Show the class a drawing of the
ark of the covenant from a study
Bible, Bible dictionary or other
resource. You could also search
images for “ark of the covenant” at
www. google.com.
! Write on the chalkboard the
following questions:
" Where did the ark of the covenant come from?
" What did the ark of the covenant
look like?
" What did the ark of the covenant
contain?
" What did the ark of the covenant
represent?
" How was the ark of the covenant
used?
! Divide the class into five groups
and assign one question to each
group. Give each group the appropriate written assignment below
(cut apart Item 2):
! Give groups three or four minutes to read their assignment and
Bible passages. Then call on each
to give a one-minute report.
Setting the stage
! We have seen that the ark of
the covenant was at the center of
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
the Israelites’ covenant relationship with and worship of God. It
was vital to their identity as the
people of God. At the time of the
passage we are studying today, it
was located at Shiloh, which was
their central place of worship,
and it was under the care of Eli
the priest and his two sons. His
sons were wicked, taking advantage of the people and not showing reverence toward God. As a
result, God was bringing judgment upon them, judgment that
would be felt by all the people of
Israel. God had told young Samuel (1 Sam. 3:11), “I am about to
do something in Israel that will
make the ears of everyone who
hears of it tingle.” That something would be the capture of the
ark of God by the Philistines.
Today’s study is about that capture and the return of the ark
seven months later.
Questions and answers
! Have someone read aloud 1
Samuel 4:1-11.
! What prompted the Israelites
to send to Shiloh for the ark of
the covenant? (they had been
defeated in battle by the
Philistines, losing 4,000 men)
Bible Series
Page 2
! What happened when the ark
led the Israelites into battle?
(They were defeated, losing 30,000
men, the rest fleeing to their tents.
The ark was captured. Eli’s sons
died.)
! Why do you think they were
defeated despite having the ark
with them? Wait for responses.
Then suggest these differences:
" God had not sent them into battle, nor had they sought His will
concerning the battle.
" They were not viewing the ark
as a symbol of the presence of
God, but as a good luck charm, a
“god in a box.”
" There was no preparation before
the battle through confession of
sin, prayer and personal consecration. In fact, the ark was carried
and accompanied by two wicked
priests God had already judged.
Different perspectives
! Divide the class into three
groups. Assign each group one of
the following perspectives: the
Benjamite messenger; Eli the
priest; the wife of Phinehas. Ask
each group to read 1 Samuel 4:1222 and write a description of the
event from the perspective of the
assigned person. Allow five minutes for groups to work. Then let
each group share.
Tracking the ark
! Have members read silently 1
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
Samuel 5:1-12 and call out information about the travels of the ark
while in the control of the
Philistines. Be sure they cover the
following points:
" Ashdod: put in Dagon’s temple;
idol Dagon fell on face; after put
back, Dagon fell again and broke
head and hands; people afflicted
with tumors (and rats, according to
some manuscripts); they send the
ark to Gath.
" Gath: panic; outbreak of tumors;
sent the ark to Ekron.
" Ekron: panic; fear; death; outbreak of tumors; demanded the ark
be sent back to Israel.
! 1 Samuel 6 tells how the
Philistine priests decided to send
the ark back with five gold tumors and five gold rats as a guilt
offering for taking it. They
placed the ark and offering on a
new cart pulled by two cows.
They decided that if the cows
took the ark to Beth Shemesh,
then that would be a sign that
the plagues had indeed been
from God as punishment for taking the ark. The cows did take
the ark to Beth Shemesh. The
people were excited to see it, and
some even curiously looked inside. That was a big mistake,
because it showed a lack of reverence for the ark.
! Have someone read aloud 1
Samuel 6:13-20.
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Page 3
#1
“I may have been late for dinner last night, but these flowers I
bought my wife will take care of that and make everything alright.”
#2
“I buy a lottery ticket everyday and I always use my lucky numbers
and I know that sooner or later I am going to hit the jackpot.”
#3
“I’ve been having a lot of problems lately. I think I need to start
going to church again.”
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
Bible Series
Item 1
Where did the ark of the covenant come from?
After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Then God gave
them instructions for making a tabernacle (tent) in which God would dwell among them. In addition to the tent itself,
they were to make furnishings, including an ark (chest), table, and lampstand. Read Exodus 25:1-9.
What did the ark of the covenant look like?
The ark (chest) was a wooden box, overlaid with pure gold inside and out. It was about 4 feet long, 2 ½ feet wide
and 2 ½ feet deep. It had a gold cover overshadowed by the wings of cherubim. Read Exodus 25:10-22.
What did the ark of the covenant contain?
The stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod which had budded to show he
was God’s choice for a leader. Read Hebrews 9:1-5.
What did the ark of the covenant represent?
The ark represented the presence and glory of God in the midst of Israel. Read Joshua 7:6-9, where Joshua and the
elders fell facedown before the ark as they prayed to God, and Judges 20:27 where the Israelites went to the ark to
inquire of the Lord.
How was the ark of the covenant used?
The ark led the way whenever the Israelites moved from place to place in the wilderness. Read Numbers 10:33-36.
Carried by the Levites, it led the way through the Jordan River and divided it (Josh. 4:7). It was carried in the battle
march around Jericho (Josh. 6:6-11).
1 Samuel 4–6
June 19, 2016
Bible Series
Item 2