The big picture
The Book of 1 Samuel ends not with David crowned but with Saul defeated, Jonathan dead, Israeli towns abandoned, and a night rescue of bodies from a Philistine wall. The battle on Gilboa fulfills the judgment announced at Endor. Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua fall before Saul, and the wounded king takes his own life after his armourbearer refuses to kill him. The defeat spreads beyond the army as civilians leave their cities and Philistines occupy them. Saul's head, armour, and body become instruments of enemy celebration, displayed in temples and at Beth-shan. Yet the final act belongs to Jabesh-gilead, a city whose own history with Saul is older than his collapse. Its valiant men travel through the night, recover the bodies, bury the bones, and fast seven days. That ending refuses two easy reductions at once. Saul's failures and rejection are not erased by honour at his death, but neither do those failures erase the memory that he once rescued Jabesh. The book closes with judgment, gratitude, grief, and unresolved succession all still present.
Central truth
As Saul seeks a forbidden answer and meets his foretold end, David again spares him, recovers Ziklag's captives through the Lord's guidance, and shares the spoils with exhausted companions.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
1 Samuel 31:1: “Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.”
Slow down at the turning point
1 Samuel 31:8: “And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.”
Keep this word trail visible
Saul, Philistines, sons, armourbearer, Israel, fell
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
1 Samuel 26:1-25
The spear and the cruse
Begin with a scene that echoes chapter 24 on purpose. The Ziphites betray David again, Saul hunts him with three thousand men, and David enters the camp at night with Abishai. Explain "cruse" as a water jar and "bolster" as the place by his head. Read 26:9-11: David will not kill the LORD's anointed and trusts that the LORD will deal with Saul in his own time. Note 26:12, that the sleep was "from the LORD". Then David's taunt of Abner and his plea to Saul. Saul confesses, "I have played the fool", and they part for the last time.
1 Samuel 27:1-12
David among the Philistines
Read 27:1 closely: "David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul." For the first time in a long while David reasons from fear and does not ask the LORD. He goes to Achish and receives Ziklag. Explain "made a road" as made a raid. Then name what he does: raids on peoples in the south, no survivors left to report, and false reports to Achish. Do not call this exemplary and do not give details. Teach this step honestly; the Book of 1 Samuel shows David's weakness here as clearly as his strength in chapter 26.
1 Samuel 28:1-14
Saul at Endor
Set the scene: Samuel is dead, Saul had expelled mediums, and now the Philistines gather and Saul is terrified. The LORD does not answer him. Explain "familiar spirit" as a spirit consulted by a medium, which the law forbade (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Saul disguises himself and asks the woman to bring up Samuel. She cries out when she sees him. Say plainly that readers disagree about what happened: many hold that God allowed Samuel to appear, others that it was a deception. The Book of 1 Samuel names him Samuel. Do not satisfy curiosity about the occult.
1 Samuel 28:15-25
No new word
Read Samuel's message. It adds nothing to the verdict of chapter 15 except its timing: the kingdom is given to David, because Saul did not obey concerning Amalek, and tomorrow Saul and his sons will die. Saul collapses, weak from fear and fasting. The woman, who has been afraid for her life, cares for him: she kills a calf, bakes bread, and persuades him to eat. Teach this step to show that the forbidden route gave Saul nothing but the truth he already knew, and to let the woman's kindness at the end be noticed.
1 Samuel 29:1-30:6
Sent home, and Ziklag burned
The Philistine princes refuse to let David march with them against Israel. Achish praises him "as an angel of God" (29:9) but sends him back. The text does not say what David would have done in the battle. Then the shock at Ziklag: Amalekites have burned it and taken the women and children captive. The men weep "until they had no more power to weep" (30:4) and talk of stoning David. Then 30:6, "David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." Teach this as the turning point: David returns to God at his lowest.
1 Samuel 30:7-31
Recover all, share alike
David asks the LORD and is told to pursue. Two hundred men are too exhausted to cross the brook Besor. The starving Egyptian slave, abandoned by his master, is fed and leads them to the raiders. David recovers everything; nothing is lacking. Then the dispute over the spoil and David's ruling that those who stayed with the baggage share alike, which "he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel" (30:25). He sends gifts to the elders of Judah. Teach this step as David acting like a king before he is one: generous, just and crediting the LORD.
1 Samuel 31:1-13
Gilboa and Jabesh-gilead
This step needs particular care. Read 31:1-6 plainly and briefly: Israel is defeated, Jonathan and two brothers are killed, Saul is badly wounded and takes his own life, and his armourbearer dies with him. Do not describe the method beyond what you must read and do not dwell on it. Mention the Philistines' dishonouring of the bodies in one sentence. Then the men of Jabesh-gilead travel all night, recover the bodies, bury them and fast. Teach the book's ending as tragedy and grief, and as the faithful kindness of a town Saul once saved.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Saul consulted a medium and Samuel appeared, so contacting the dead must be acceptable sometimes."
The law forbids it (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), and Saul himself had expelled mediums (28:3, 9). He goes to Endor only because the LORD will not answer him (28:6), and the message he receives is his own judgment (28:16-19). 1 Chronicles 10:13 lists asking counsel of a familiar spirit among the reasons Saul died. Whatever readers conclude about the appearance, the passage shows the consultation as a desperate act of a rejected king. Teach that the way forward when God seems silent is repentance and Scripture, not the occult.
"Saul killed himself, so he is definitely lost forever."
The text records Saul's death without pronouncing on his eternal state. Samuel's words "to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me" (28:19) speak of death, and Jonathan is included, so they cannot settle anyone's final destiny. Christian traditions have spoken about suicide in different ways, and this lesson should not issue a verdict. Speak gently: some in the room may have lost someone to suicide or may be struggling themselves. Make clear that help is available and that they can talk to you or to a trusted person.
"David was always good, so his time with the Philistines must have been part of God's plan."
God used even this period, and the princes' refusal kept David out of the battle (29:4-11). But the text reports his deceit and raids without approval (27:8-12), and it begins with David speaking in fear "in his heart" rather than inquiring of the LORD (27:1). Compare 30:6-8, where he turns back to God. Teach learners that God's faithfulness through our wrong turns is not his endorsement of them, and that Bible heroes are honest records, not flawless models.
"Recovering all means God will always give back everything we lose."
In 30:8 the LORD promised David specifically, "without fail recover all", and the text records that it happened (30:18-19). That was a particular promise in a particular crisis. Many faithful people lose things or people that are not returned in this life, and the same chapter of 1 Samuel ends with Jonathan's death a few verses later. Teach the passage as God's faithfulness to David that day, and do not promise grieving learners that every loss will be undone now.
Learning objectives
- Explain why David takes Saul's spear and water rather than his life.
- Identify the deception and violence in David's Philistine residence.
- Connect the message at Endor with Saul's earlier disobedience.
- Trace David's response to the loss at Ziklag.
- Explain his decision about the exhausted men's share.
- Connect Jabesh-gilead's burial mission with Saul's first deliverance.
Teacher preparation
- Prepare a six-chapter outline; locate Ziph, Gath, Ziklag, Endor, Gilboa, and Jabesh-gilead simply.
- Explain 'cruse' as a water vessel, 'stuff' as baggage, and 'made a road' as raided in 27:10.
- Read 27:8–12; name David's lethal concealment and misleading reports without calling them exemplary.
- Read Deuteronomy 18:10–12 before Endor; preserve the Book of 1 Samuel's identification of Samuel while separating disputed explanations.
- Summarize battlefield deaths and Saul's suicide non-graphically; omit methods and never invite reenactment or personal disclosure.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Read 26:9–12: David forbids killing Saul, and 1 Samuel explicitly attributes the camp's deep sleep to the Lord.
Scripture-supported
Connect 28:17–19 with 15:22–28: Endor repeats the rejected king's existing sentence rather than offering an escape from it.
Strong inference
Infer from 29:4–11 that David's dismissal removes the immediate conflict of marching against Israel; his intended conduct in that battle remains unstated.
Possible or traditional reading
Present a genuine appearance of Samuel and alternative deception readings as disputed explanations of 28:12–19; emphasize that the book itself repeatedly names Samuel.
Limit
State that 28:19 does not settle Saul's eternal destination, and 30:8, 18–19 does not promise every grieving family an identical recovery.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What does the missing spear prove without a killing?
What a good answer contains
That David had Saul's life in his hand and spared it. Abishai says, "God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him" (26:8). David answers, "Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?" (26:9), and takes only the spear and the cruse of water. From the hilltop he says, "see where the king's spear is" (26:16). A good answer sees that opportunity, even one the LORD arranged with "a deep sleep from the LORD" (26:12), is not permission. A weak answer misses Abishai's offer.
Show teacher guidance
Read 26:8–16: David had access and refused Abishai's proposal. God's provision of opportunity is not permission for every available action.
2. Why is David's place in Achish's army morally complicated?
What a good answer contains
Because David keeps Achish's trust by deception and killing. He raids "the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites" and "left neither man nor woman alive" (27:9), then tells Achish he raided the south of Judah (27:10). The reason is given: "Lest they should tell on us" (27:11). Achish concludes David's people abhor him (27:12). Then the Philistine princes refuse to trust him in battle (29:4). A good answer names the lies and killings honestly without calling them a model. A weak answer turns David into a spotless hero or skips chapter 27.
Show teacher guidance
Use 27:8–12 and 29:3–5: deception and lethal raids sustain Achish's trust, while the commanders fear betrayal. Avoid a spotless-hero explanation.
3. What new escape does Saul receive at Endor?
What a good answer contains
None. Saul seeks a medium because "the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (28:6). At Endor Samuel asks, "Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" (28:16). The message repeats 15:28 and adds, "to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me" (28:19). A good answer sees that Endor offers Saul no escape, only confirmation of judgment. A weak answer treats the consultation as an approved alternative when God seems silent, which Deuteronomy 18:10-12 forbids.
Show teacher guidance
Read 28:16–19: none; the message recalls disobedience and announces defeat. Do not teach the consultation as an approved alternative when God seems silent.
4. What happens between David's distress and the recovery of the captives?
What a good answer contains
Faith, inquiry and kindness. When the people speak of stoning him, "David encouraged himself in the LORD his God" (30:6). He asks the LORD through the ephod and is told, "Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all" (30:8). On the way his men find a starving Egyptian, give him bread, figs and raisins, and "his spirit came again to him" (30:12). The Egyptian leads them to the raiders. A good answer gives each step its place, including the mercy to a stranger. A weak answer jumps straight to the battle.
Show teacher guidance
Trace 30:6–19: seeking strength in the Lord, inquiry, pursuit, feeding the abandoned Egyptian, and following his information precede recovery.
5. Why must those who stayed with the baggage receive a share?
What a good answer contains
Because the victory was the LORD's gift, not the fighters' earnings. The two hundred men were "so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor" (30:10). When "wicked men and men of Belial" want to deny them a share (30:22), David says, "Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us" and "as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike" (30:23-24). A good answer sees grace and justice together. A weak answer calls the two hundred lazy.
Show teacher guidance
Read 30:21–25: they were exhausted, and David identifies the victory as the Lord's gift. Correct any claim that they simply refused responsibility.
6. Why do the men of Jabesh-gilead retrieve the bodies?
What a good answer contains
The text does not give their reason in words, but the context points to gratitude. Saul's first act as king was to rescue Jabesh-gilead from Nahash (11:1-11). Now "All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan" (31:12), buried them and "fasted seven days" (31:13). A good answer connects the two chapters and calls gratitude a strong inference, not a quoted speech. A weak answer either ignores chapter 11 or says their honour cancels Saul's failures.
Show teacher guidance
Connect 31:11–13 with 11:1–11; gratitude is a strong contextual explanation, not an explicitly reported speech. Honor does not erase Saul's failures.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Compare Saul's search for another answer with David's inquiry at Ziklag; discuss responding to unwelcome instruction without inventing divine permission.
Relationships and community
Give a fictional team an exhausted support crew; use 30:23–24 to challenge treating visible frontline effort as the only contribution worth honoring.
Remember without sanitizing
Draft a balanced account of Saul's reign that acknowledges rescue, wrongdoing, loss, and Jabesh's respectful action without ridicule or concealment.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
The spear and the cruse
Read 26:7-12 and 26:21-25. Ask question one.
Among the Philistines
Summarise 27:1-12 honestly. Ask question two and use confusion three.
Endor
Read 28:5-19. Ask question three and use confusion one.
Encouraged in the LORD
Read 30:1-8 and 30:11-25. Take questions four and five and confusion four.
Gilboa and Jabesh
Read 31:1-6 briefly and 31:11-13. Ask question six and use confusion two with great care.
Handout
Read the key verse together, give out the handout, and pray, including for anyone grieving.
90 minutes
Six chapters
Give an outline of chapters 26 to 31 and locate Ziph, Gath, Ziklag, Endor, Gilboa and Jabesh-gilead.
Spared again
Read 26:1-25. Take question one and compare chapter 24.
A wrong turn
Read 27:1-12 and 29:1-11. Take question two and confusion three.
Endor
Read 28:3-25 with Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Take question three and confusion one.
Ziklag
Read 30:1-20. Take question four and confusion four.
They shall part alike
Read 30:21-31. Take question five and discuss how the ruling became a statute.
The end of Saul
Read 31:1-13 with care. Take question six and confusion two. Recall 11:1-11.
Pastoral time
Leave space for quiet. Mention where help can be found for anyone grieving or struggling, and offer to talk afterwards.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Focus on two scenes. First, David creeping into Saul's camp and taking only the spear and water jar, because he would not hurt Saul. Second, David's town burned and everyone taken, and David finding strength in God, helping a hungry stranger, and bringing everyone home. Leave out Endor and Saul's death, or say only that Saul died in a battle and people were sad. Teach that everyone shares, even those who stayed behind.
Youth
Spend time on 26:9-11 and 30:6, and on David's ruling about the baggage. Be honest about chapter 27. Treat Endor without encouraging curiosity about the occult, and say clearly that the Bible forbids it. Handle Saul's death with great care and no detail; some may have been touched by suicide. Make clear where they can get help, and give them a way to speak to you privately.
Adults
Give room to the contrasts: Saul at Endor seeking a forbidden word, and David at Ziklag encouraging himself in the LORD. Discuss the disputed questions at Endor without letting them dominate. Treat 31:4 with pastoral sensitivity and without theological verdicts on Saul's destiny; some adults carry grief from suicide. Close with Jabesh-gilead's loyalty and the long view of God's purposes through David.
One to one
Read 30:1-8 together and ask what it might look like for them to encourage themselves in the LORD in their present trouble. If they are grieving, let 30:4 show that weeping until there is no strength left is allowed. If they mention thoughts of harming themselves, take it seriously, stay with them, and help them reach immediate support. Do not use Saul's death as a warning to them.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
1 Samuel 26:1–31:13
The passage in brief
David again spares Saul's life, taking only his spear and water jar. Fearing Saul, David goes to live among the Philistines and deceives their king. Saul, terrified of the Philistines and unanswered by God, consults a medium at Endor, and hears that he and his sons will die. David's town of Ziklag is burned and the families taken, but David finds strength in the LORD, pursues the raiders, and recovers everyone, sharing the spoil with all his men. Saul and his sons die in battle, and the men of Jabesh-gilead bury them.
A verse to keep
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
1 Samuel 30:6 · King James Version
Questions to take home
Why did David refuse to kill Saul in the camp (26:9-11)?
What did Saul do when the LORD did not answer him, and what did he hear (28:6-19)?
What did David do when everything was lost at Ziklag (30:6-8)?
This week
When trouble comes this week, turn first to the LORD your God before you turn anywhere else.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
