Third Quarter GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS COVENANT

Lesson 5: DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD’S HEART AND THE GIFT OF WISDOM TO SOLOMON
Timeframe: 10 sessions

CHRISTIAN MESSAGE SOURCES/MEANS OBJECTIVES

Doctrine: God is our sovereign King
who rules through the leaders he has
chosen. He made them representatives
of the nation before him and mediators
of his rule to the people. Through them
he indicated the perfection of kingship
in Christ and throughout their rule he
manifested his fidelity to His covenant
with the people.
Moral: Obedience to God’s law and
trust in His instructions make our life
as Christians a reflection of the
sovereignty of God as king of our life.
Worship: The Lord the most high,
great king of all the earth… He
subdues peoples under us…. Sing
praise to God sing praise, sing praise
to our King ,sing praise. Psalm 47
SOURCES: This lesson is ordered to enable the students to:
Scriptures:
1 Samuel 8:4-10,19-22 Doctrine: Understand that God is our sovereign king
Israel demands a king who makes people share in his kingship in order to
1 Samuel 10-15 – Saul fulfill His loving plan of salvation.
1 Samuel 16- 2 Samuel 12 – David
1 Kings 1 -3, 9-11 – Solomon Moral: Live in such a way that you reflect God’s
kingship in your life, by imitating Christ’s humility,
Church Teaching obedience and dependence on God. How will you
PCPII #61 discuss the meaning of Christ’s kingship in the
Christ came to serve and not be served... means?
DV 14 To this people which He had acquired for Himself, He Worship: Praise and worship God as King,
so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one thanking Him for giving us a share in His rule ,
true and living God that Israel came to know by experience turning to him in prayer and asking his help in our
the ways of God with men. troubles, seeing his will in the midst of all our
experiences and praying for those people whom He
CFC 445 Psalms is their direct gives authority over us.
personal address to God, expressing deep faith and trust in
the Lord.
• Book of Psalms(Constant communication with the
beloved)

HUMAN EXPERIENCE (Before) HUMAN EXPERIENCE (During) HUMAN EXPERIENCE(After)

 Students tend to see leadership as
means of lording it over others, of
having power, prestige and esteem,
of being able to make people do
whatever they want.
 Tendency to own success in
themselves and to limit prayer only
 Students realize that leadership is a gift from God. One
cannot have dominion over anything or anybody unless
God wills it. Those to whom power is given must
exercise it in God’s name and must manifest the qualities
of God Himself as revealed in the one perfect and only
KING Jesus.
 Recognizing God’s gifts and the experience of his grace
 Students may choose to subject themselves to
God’s loving rule, by living in obedience to His
will in the daily. They may strive to acquire the
attitudes of servant leadership patterned after that
of Jesus as a participation in His kingly ministry.
They may commit themselves to pray for those
who exercise leadership in the world, in the
 to moments of joy and need.
 Students think of wisdom as being
shrewd.
 Students’ fascination with
popularity, attention, and the latest
and most expensive possessions
and fads.
 Dual experience of strength and
weakness.
LESSON 5: DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD’S HEART AND GOD’S GIFT OF WISDOM TO SOLOMON
in the daily. country, etc.
 Have a deeper sense of trust and gratitude for their
 The experience of God as the king who graciously gifts and divine providence.
provides for all our needs and our security.
 Giving due credit to God.
 Realization of our need for forgiveness.
 Integrate prayer as the essential part of their daily
experience.
 Students recognize that wisdom comes from God,
a virtue that places things in their proper
perspective.
 May desire simplicity of lifestyle.
 Develop genuine sense of sorrow and frequent the
Sacrament of Reconciliation as means of
encountering the merciful, all forgiving God.
 OPENING

In our previous lesson, we learned how God showed His care for the Israelites in spite of their infidelities and weaknesses by calling on qualified
leaders to guide them in the person of the Judges like Joshua, Gideon, Samson and Samuel in the conquest of and settlement in Canaan.

In our next lesson, we will see how the Israelites, as they are already settled in the promised land and enjoy its peace and bounty, requests for a
human king to rule over them. Israel had a number of kings… kings who brought them victory and prosperity, kings who brought them to defeat
and division. In all these we will try to see how the hand of God is at work… faithfully fulfilling his promises to his people in the person of these
kings.

CONTEXT

GROUP ACTIVITY:

Search for Model Servant leaders or see PPT: Corruption (Enjoying Good School, Enduring Bad Governance- edit for students’ version; provoke
students to ask 6 thinking hats questions)

The students will be divided into 6 groups. They will be identifying persons who have exemplified the qualities of a good leader. They will role
play the person they have chosen to show his/her accomplishments as a leader as well as his/her leadership qualities. After having presented, the
class will be writing in strips of paper the “clay feet” (weakness) of these leaders (Example: Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Cory Aquino,
Cardinal Sin, Mother Theresa).

PROCESSING

What makes a leader? How does one become a leader? Why is it important to have leaders? Who are icons of good leadership? What are the
criteria of good leadership? Is leadership absolute?

We have seen in the activity that aside from the talents, skills and expertise of a person, attitude plays a crucial part of becoming a good leader.

There are two kinds of leadership: leadership by status and position and leadership by witness and example. Not too many can be leaders by
status and position. Not all have the privilege of an education. A leader in a position must be able to think far and deep and to speak fluently and
authoritatively. He or she must have a clear sense of vision and mission and the strategies and skills to do it.
All are called to be leaders by witness and example. To witness to one’s value and one’s beliefs to others is an exercise of leadership. Parents are
moral leaders to their children as teachers are to their students, and students to their fellow students. Leadership by way of example and
witnessing is the kind of leadership that is so lacking in our country today’ in our homes, schools, government and society.

There is a need for good leaders as well as good followers. There are many times that the very weaknesses and faults we accuse our leaders of are
the same faults and weaknesses that beset us in varying degrees: we also tend to be materialistic, extravagant, controlling, authoritarian, self-
sufficient, shrewd and proud, there are also times we forget about God thinking we could fulfill our obligations on our own.

Let us learn what leadership is from the story of some kings of Israel. As we go through their story, let us identify who is indeed the real king of
Israel. Who could be the king of our life?

EXPOSITION

A. SACRED SCRIPTURES

1. 1 Samuel 8:4-10,19-22

STUDENT ACTIVITY: Graphic Organizer

Let the students read 1 Samuel 8:4-10,19-22

Divide them into small groups of 3 to complete the graphic organizer below.

Herringbone Organizer
Group 1: What? When?
Who? The people When they were settled
SUMMARY: requested for a in the Promised Land
(given ) humanking.

Main Idea: Kingship in

Group 2 Why?
Where? How? They wanted security& status like
Who – God ( given ) Promised They openly request for it as other nations
What- Granted peoples request land a people
When - When they were settled in the promised land
Where - Promised land
How – through the mediation of Samuel. Warns the people of their folly.
Why? – foreshadowed the kingship of Jesus.

Group 3
Who – Samuel (given)
What- take recourse in prayer warns the people and gave in to their request
When - When they were settled in the Promised Land
Where - Promised land
How – Samuel was hesitant in granting them their request and accused the people of their lack of trust in God.
Why – its an explicit rejection of the kingship of God

Students come to the big group to present their work.

Emphasize:
 Israel’s desire to have a king is only an imitation of other pagan nations.
 Samuel warns the Israelites of their reckless rejection of God’s ways.
 The Israelites however also wanted to have security, safety, power according to their ways forgetting that in the covenant at Sinai, God
promised them Himself … as their God and along with it goes their safety and provision and strength.
 Samuel accuses the people of not trusting in God. But God tells Samuel to do as the people requests because it is also His will that His
people be ruled by a KING.
 The people were foolish to subject themselves to the consequent demands of their own folly.

Teacher solicit reactions from the students – Journal writing

 How do you feel about the request of the Israelites?
 How do you feel about the accusation of Samuel?
 How do you feel about God’s response?

We also see in the Biblical narrative that God is the source of all power, it is He who gives authority to man to rule His own people. Let us now
discover the first great kings of Israel.

STUDENT ACTIVITY: Presenting the great kings of Israel

 Students will be divided into three groups and assigned a particular King they are to read the scriptural passages assigned to them and creatively
present the life of the kings assigned to them. They are to highlight the king’s calling/ anointing, their rule, their weakness and other significant
occurrences. (Another option would be to make a STORY MAP, ACTION MAP AND STORY BOARD )

The teacher commends and comments on the presentations. Filling in and emphasizing details as needed.
Background / The early reign of Saul The latter reign of Saul
King
Life Before God’s Call
Saul A simple shepherd from the south. He o Saul had all the qualities of a good king. He was a good and o As his responsibilities for the
had come to Ephraim where Samuel an able-bodied man. kingdom grew. Saul became
was to look for his father’s lost o He was a capable mediator and prevented the tribes from temperamental and impatient. He
donkeys. fighting each other. He successfully gathered men from all had violent mood swings and
Samuel privately anointed Saul as the the Israelite tribes to form an army (the judges had not been began to make wrong decisions.
first king of Israel (1Sm10:1). The able to do this before) Even worse he quarreled with
spirit of the Lord was given to Saul so o Saul claimed his first military victory over the Ammonites Samuel, his closest adviser.
he could be a leader who could save (1 Sm 11:1-15) and this brought him every admiration and o The sacred writers often describe
God’s people. Samuel commended support for his leadership. Saul found favor with God. Under Saul’s fits of anger with the phrase.
Saul saying, “Here is the man the his leadership Israel became united. “the spirit of the Lord had left
Lord has chosen. There is no one else him.” At one time, Saul performed
like him.” (1 Sm 10:24) religious ceremonies before the
battle even after Samuel had told
him not to do so. In another battle,
he was instructed by God not to
take anything from the defeated
enemy. But again Saul disobeyed
God and took the best of the
enemy’s oxen, sheep and lambs (1
Sam. 15).
o Saul’s power gradually alienated
him from his own people and now
threatened the continued existence
of their kingdom. He had forgotten
that BEING A KING MEANT
 SERVING OTHERS. He had
grown corrupt and self-centered
in his power.

We see in the life of Saul how our

lack of trust in God leads us to be
more fearful because we put our
trust only on our own capacities
which are very limited forgetting
our original purpose and mission.

Background / Mission/ Greatest Most important message Biblical theme

Life Before God’s Call Achievement

David Shepherd Farmer Herdsman Musician
Solomon *Second son of David with Bathsheba
*Educated man prepared to be king
*Scholar
*Anointed by priest Zadok & prophet
Nathan
*Gained military and
political victories
*Established Jerusalem as
the Capital and Seat of
Power
*Encouraged the writing
of the Old Testament
Books *Received God’s
promise of greatness and
immortality to his
kingdom
*Brings Israel to its golden
age
*Building the Great
Temple of Jerusalem
*Writing the Book of
*God’s call is irrevocable & his
plan of salvation is unchanging
even though man is prone to sin
for he is rich in mercy and
abounding in kindness.
*God calls us to have genuine
repentance by seeking his mercy
than wallowing in guilt.
*Psalms provide us with models
of prayer-joy, praise, gratitude,
sorrow, anger, grief and
confusion.
*Acknowledge God’s merciful
love & power despite our
human limitations and
weaknesses as He uses us to
accomplish His saving plan.
*Desire first the will of God
before we seek the fulfillment of
our own personal needs.
*Solomon is a paradigm of a
leader gifted with power and
*Faithfulness to God leads to
success; disobedience leads to
disaster.
*Israel’s kings are chosen by God
and are responsible for God’s
interests.
*The person God chooses is often
not the person we might choose.
*No matter what emotions we are
feeling, we can bring them to God in
prayer.
*The success of the king’s reign
relies on his obedience to God.
*Disobeying God’s Law and
worshiping false gods result in the
loss of the kingdom.
 Proverbs
*Using his gift of Wisdom
to pass wise judgments
wisdom yet succumbed to the *God offers hope and continues to
lure of the world. speak to his people through the
*True wisdom comes from our prophets.
nature which is created by God *Israel’s history was guided by God.
and is perfected by His grace.
*Pray for God’s grace for deeper
understanding.

Student Activity: Graffiti

Provide some moments of silence, and then ask students to come to the board to draw images, write word/s or phrases that would express their
significant learnings / realization about the lesson on kings.

After seeing the lights and shadows of the kings of the Old Testament, let us now see what kingship really means according to the Church
Teachings.

B. CHURCH TEACHINGS

1. PCP II # 61:

Movie Clip Viewing: Washing of the feet

PCP II # 61 (2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines): He was a king. But he washed the feet of his own disciples. He came, not to be served, but
to serve, to lay down his life as a ransom for all. The father had given everything into his hands, but he used the power not to dominate and
destroy but to give life and build up. His kingdom does not conform to the values of this world. It does not belong to this world.

Student Activity: Clock buddy chat

 What do you feel about Jesus’ manner of being King?

 What characteristics of a true king/leader did Jesus exemplify in his life?
 What challenge does Jesus’ kingship pose in your personal life?
Jesus as king is the perfection of all kings of old. His is a kingship which completely contradicts the values of the world. He is king because he is
the servant of all. He uses all his might and power, never to destroy or dominate, but only to give full life. “I came that they might have life and
have it to the full.” ( Jn 10:10) His kingship, exercised in his servant hood, reached its perfect fulfillment in his laying down of his life as a
ransom for all.

Deepening:

Compare and contrast the kings of Israel and our present leaders with Jesus.

MEANS

 Electoral campaign (with actual presentation, feedbacking and evaluation)

They will choose somebody from the class to be the next SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) president of their local barangay who embodies the qualities
of a good Christian leader. You are his/her campaign manager/team. How will you campaign for him/her?

To create a positive change in the way the youth of the barangay view leadership, the students will be grouped together into 5 and act as campaign
managers.

The SK youth leaders in the barangays are influenced by self-centered and corrupt adult politicians who rule the nation. Your classmate has the
capacity to make a difference if given an opportunity to lead. You have volunteered to support him/her campaign for the upcoming SK elections.

They are to prepare campaign materials and strategies for this purpose. The campaign should encourage and challenge the young people to opt for
authentic Christian leadership. The students are to keep a log of their experiences and realizations.

The teacher will be preparing a rubric for the campaign material taking into consideration its content, creativity and capacity to influence and
create an impact to other young people.

Processing

 What was your group’s initial reaction?

 How did you cope with the task given?
 What skills and attitudes did it take to succeed in this endeavor? What skills and attitude did you acquire?
 What are the group’s assets, strengths, limitations and weaknesses?
  What problems did you encounter? How did the group come up with the solutions?
 What roles did each member play? What did each member learn significantly?
 Would you be willing to do this for real? Why or why not?

INTEGRATION

You have learned that God is the source of all authority. Any authority He gives a leader or to any of us is a gift and a responsibility. “With greater
power comes greater responsibility.” You have also seen the qualities of a good Christian leader – who “must” always be a leader after God’s own
heart. With this, we realize the need that these leaders be deeply rooted in prayer and in their relationship with the only sovereign King. You have
also seen the reality of leadership among your peers and the needs it has to address. Our leaders need our prayers, respect and support. We praise
and thank God for being our God and for the gift of our leaders and for allowing us too to participate in His authority. As leaders, we do not abuse
our power, this was given that we might serve. The challenge is posed before you. Will you make the difference?

SUMMARY

Guide Questions:

1. What is the role of the leadership in God’s loving plan for his people?
2. What does the call Saul, David and Solomon show us about how God chooses his leader? If that is the case what must be our attitude as
the leader? Or as followers?
3. What made each king distinct from one another? What were they famous for?
4. What qualities of God are shown in the person and rule of King Saul, David and Solomon? Applying it to yourself, what qualities of God
do you manifest in the way that you lead? (They are all called to be servant leaders.)
5. How does their obedience and disobedience to God as ruler affect the nation? What does this tell you about your own actions as leader?
About the scenario of our present political leaders?
6. What made King Saul, David and Solomon turn away from God? How can we guard ourselves from those dangers?
7. What is the importance of prayer in the lives of leaders?
 8. What can we learn from these leaders regarding God’s call today?

God called kings to represent the nation before him, and to mediate his rule over his people. It is his will that they be given such giftedness,
power, greatness, fame and glory. Prayer and a deep relationship with God therefore it is vital in the life of a king. Despite their weaknesses,
failures and sins He remained steadfast to his promise. He showed them his compassion and forgiveness but he also exercised his justice.
The stories of the kings bring to light the nature and reality of sin and the suffering and division that sin brings to the lives of others. The
imperfection of their rule makes us aware of a yearning for a perfect ruler thus pointing out to the King of Kings: Jesus.
Jesus as the servant is the King of all Kings because his kingship contradicts all worldly values, it brings to perfection its true meaning.
Jesus was perfect in His obedience and trust in God, and therefore, was exalted as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Prayer Celebration: Paralitugy on Leadership