Lesson 91

1 Samuel 25–31

Prepare to Learn

Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Take time to ponder and pray about the truths you identify. As you do so, the Holy Ghost will teach you how to become more like Jesus Christ.

Begin your study with prayer.

Do the choices you make affect your family members and friends?

Listen to Sister Mary N. Cook, former counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, describe a choice her brother made that affected her eternally.

You can read the text for this video here: “Strengthen Home and Family,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 12–13.

The Domino Effect

How might the effect of the first domino falling and knocking over the other dominoes be compared to the righteous choices we make in our lives?

As you study 1 Samuel 25, look for a principle that relates to the effects your righteous choices have on the people around you.

David’s Request

As recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1–9, Samuel the prophet died and all the Israelites gathered to mourn his loss. After Samuel’s funeral, David and his men went into the wilderness. David sent 10 servants to request supplies from a man named Nabal, who lived in Carmel. Nabal had many possessions but was rude and “evil in his doings” (verse 3).

Read 1 Samuel 25:10–13, looking for how Nabal responded to David’s servants’ request.

What did David do when his servants told him about Nabal’s response to their request?

Abigail

David instructed his men to prepare their swords to go up against Nabal and his household. According to 1 Samuel 25:14–17, one of Nabal’s servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, about her husband’s mistreatment of David’s men. The servant also told Abigail that David and his men had provided protection to Nabal’s servants and had never tried to take any of Nabal’s animals.

Read 1 Samuel 25:18–19, looking for what Abigail chose to do after she learned about her husband’s actions.

One Person’s Righteous Choice

From 1 Samuel 25:20–31 we learn that when Abigail found David in the wilderness, she bowed before him and humbly asked him to spare her household despite her husband’s iniquities. In this account, Abigail is a powerful type, or symbol, of Jesus Christ. Not only does she ask for her household to be spared, but she is also willing to take Nabal’s iniquity upon herself and asks for David’s forgiveness.

Read 1 Samuel 25:32–34, looking for how Abigail’s actions affected David’s response. The phrase “any that pisseth against the wall” (verse 34) is a crude cultural expression used to mean “all males.”

What principle does this account illustrate about the potential influence of one person’s righteous choice?

Blessed by Righteous Choices

One truth we can identify from Abigail’s example is that our righteous choices can bless not only us but also others around us.

We can compare the effect the first domino has on the other dominoes to the effect that one righteous person’s choices can have on other people.

1. Answer the following questions:

• When have you been blessed because one of your family members or peers made a righteous choice?

• What is a choice you could make to potentially bless your own life, your family, and the people around you?

Saul’s Plea for Help

We read in 1 Samuel 26–27 that King Saul took 3,000 men into the wilderness to find and kill David. One night, David and one of his servants approached Saul’s camp and found Saul and his men asleep. David’s servant wanted to kill Saul, but David refused. Later, when King Saul discovered that David had spared his life again, he said he would “no more do [David] harm” (1 Samuel 26:21). David did not believe Saul, however, so he took his family and his men and their families to live among the Philistines.

From 1 Samuel 28:1–5 we learn that David and his men joined the Philistine army at the Philistine king’s request. When Saul saw the Philistine army approaching, he “was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled” (verse 5). Remember that during this time in his life Saul had willfully rejected the Lord’s commandments.

Read 1 Samuel 28:6, looking for what happened when Saul asked the Lord for help.

What We Can Learn

Because of his willful disobedience, Saul was not worthy to receive the Lord’s help.

Think about how Saul could have received the Savior’s help by choosing to repent.

What principle can we identify from this account about receiving the Lord’s help when we are disobedient?

Separation from the Lord’s Strength and Guidance

From Saul’s failure to receive the revelation he desired, we can identify the following principle: When we willfully disobey God, we separate ourselves from His strength and guidance.

2. Answer the following questions:

• Why can our disobedience make it difficult to receive personal revelation?

• When will it be especially important for you to have God’s strength and guidance in your life? Why?

• How has the Savior made it possible for us to change when needed and become obedient so we can receive His strength and guidance in our life?

The Witch of Endor

Instead of choosing to repent and obey the Lord and striving to be worthy of revelation, Saul chose to turn to wicked sources. According to 1 Samuel 28:7–10, Saul visited a woman from Endor who claimed to be able to speak with the dead.

From 1 Samuel 28:11–25 we learn that the woman Saul went to see claimed that she had called the prophet Samuel from the dead to speak to Saul. She told Saul that he and his sons would be killed the next day in battle with the Philistines.

It is important to understand that affiliating with enchanters, diviners, witches, and those who have “familiar spirits” (communication with evil spirits) is against the laws of God (see Exodus 22:16–20; Leviticus 19:3; Leviticus 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:10). Despite what this woman said, it was not possible for her or others like her to summon the spirits of the Lord’s departed servants. She either pretended to see Samuel or was under the influence of evil powers when she delivered her message to Saul (see Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. [1963], 4:107–8).

A Tragic Time

Concerned that Saul would break his promise not to harm him, David and 600 of his men along with their families had gone to dwell among the Philistines. David gained the trust of a Philistine leader named Achish by leading Achish to believe that he and his men were conducting raids on cities of Judah while they were in fact raiding non-Israelite cities (see 1 Samuel 27:6–12).

We learn from 1 Samuel 29:1–11; 30:1–4 that David and his men were later with the Philistine armies as they went to fight the Israelites. Several Philistine leaders did not want David and his men in the battle, so the king commanded David and his men to return to the land of the Philistines. When they returned, they found that their city had been destroyed by the Amalekites and that their families had been taken captive.

Read 1 Samuel 30:6–8, looking for what David did during this tragic time.

David’s Trust in the Lord

At this moment when he was “greatly distressed,” David “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). This meant that David trusted in the Lord. Then he asked the high priest to bring him the “ephod” (verse 7). The ephod was part of the dress of the high priest. It was attached to the high priest’s breastplate, which held the Urim and Thummim (see Exodus 28:26–30).

The Urim and Thummim was a divinely approved instrument of revelation. David had asked the high priest to bring the ephod so he could inquire of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim. When David asked the Lord a specific question about whether he should pursue the Amalekites, the Lord answered that he should pursue them. David was blessed with the Lord’s direction, while King Saul was not.

What principle can this account teach us about inviting the Lord to direct our lives?

Your Experiences

One principle we can identify from this account is that when we are faithful, we invite the Lord to direct our lives.

When have you felt the Lord directing you? How were you blessed for following the Lord’s direction?

Saul and His Sons

As recorded in 1 Samuel 30:9–31; 31:1–13, David and his army conquered the Amalekites and rescued their families. David then shared the enemy’s supplies with his people. In the meantime, the Philistines went to battle against the Israelites. Three of Saul’s sons were killed. Saul was badly wounded, and when he feared he would be killed in battle by the Philistines, he took his own life.

The book of Chronicles records this about the conclusion of Saul’s life: “So Saul died for his transgression, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it” (1 Chronicles 10:13).

Your Choices

The following truths were identified in this lesson:

• Our righteous choices can bless not only us but also others around us.

• When we willfully disobey God, we separate ourselves from His strength and guidance.

• When we are faithful, we invite the Lord to direct our lives.

Think about how your choices affect your own life as well as the lives of people around you. Determine now to make righteous choices so that the Lord can direct you throughout your life.