The Annointing Of Prophets and Kings

Consistent with the Torah promise of: the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6), the night before Jesus was crucified, He confided to His disciples,  “If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you... All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:15-18,25-26)

All those who believe Jesus is the Son of God and have made Him Lord of our lives, will receive the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, this was not the case. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was only given to prophets and kings.  The study of their history can help us understand the anointing of the Spirit and encourage us to continue to seek being filled.

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Fresh Anointing

Read 1 Samuel 8:1-9:2

  1. Samuel was the prophet of God, an upright man who was a leader and judge over the people of Israel. Although Israel was in the promised land, there were still many evil tribes around them and war was ahead of them. What did the elders of Israel ask Samuel to do? Why did they want this? See verses 8:4-5, 20.

  2. What was Samuel’s reaction to their request? How did God console Samuel? What did God instruct him? See verses 8:7-8.

  3. God’s choice was Saul. How was Saul described? See verse 9:2.

Read 1 Samuel 10:1, 6-10, 17-19

  1. God chose Saul. What did Samuel do in verse 10:1?

  2. What happened to Saul in verses 10:6-10?

  3. What did God think of all this? See verses 10:17-19.

Read 1 Samuel 15

  1. What did Samuel instruct Saul to do in verse 15:3?

  2. What did Saul do? See verses 15:7-10.

  3. When Samuel confronted Saul, how did Saul react? See verses 15:15-21.

  4. What was God’s reaction? See verses 15:11, 22-23.

Reflection

  1. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved, we receive the Holy Spirit, the anointing, the same Spirit King Saul received. Can you remember a time or times when you received or experienced the Holy Spirit? Share that with us.

  2. What does this scripture tell us about the anointing of the Holy Spirit? What does God give us? Why does He give this to us?

  3. What does this scripture tell us about our responsibility towards God?

  4. What is your take-away from the story of Saul?


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The Anointing of the Prophets

Read 1 Kings 16:29-17:1

King David reigned in Israel after Saul. Although David too had his flaws, he proved to be a man after God’s heart. His son Solomon reigned after him. Solomon started well but his wealth, power and many foreign wives corrupted him so after his death, the nation of Israel had a civil war and divided into two nations, a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern kingdom called Judah. Israel became corrupt from the start and this is where we meet King Ahab of Israel.

  1. What were Ahab’s sins? See verses 16:30-33.

  2. What do you think happened to the people of Israel as a result?

  3. Enter the prophet Elijah. What did Elijah tell them was going to happen? See verse 17:1.

  4. Why do you think the Lord did this to His people?

Read 1 Kings 18:1-4, 15-40

  1. Did all the people of Israel turn against God? If no, where were all those people? See verses 18:2-4.

  2. How did Ahab view Elijah? See verse 18:17. Why do you think that was?

  3. How did Elijah challenge the prophets of Baal? How did that turn out?

  4. Elijah had courage while others stayed hidden. Why do you think that was?

Read 1Kings 19

  1. After Elijah’s success, he seemed to falter in verse 19:4. What did he ask of God? Why do you think that happened to Elijah?

  2. Did God seem to be angry or frustrated with Elijah? What was God’s reaction? What did God tell him to do?

  3. What did Elisha do when he was called by Elijah? List all the things he did. What does this tell us about Elisha?

Reflect

  1. What do these stories about Elijah and Elisha tell us about the power of God’s anointing?

  2. Do you believe this power is available to us today? If yes, how do we tap into this power?

  3. Even if God never selects us to work in this kind of power, how can the stories of these men encourage us today?


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In Training

Read 1 Samuel 17:1-29

  1. Describe the battle between the Israeli army and the Philistine army in verses 1-11. How would you describe the Israeli army? How would you describe the Philistine army?

  2. Why did David go to the army? See verses 17-18.

  3. What was David’s reaction to Goliath? See verse 26. What did David see in this situation that the others did not?

  4. What was the reaction of David’s older brother in verse 28? Did the older brother’s reaction deter David from what he meant to do?

Read 1 Samuel 17:30-40

  1. What was King Saul’s reaction to David in verses 33 and 38? Did Saul’s reaction deter David from what he meant to do?

  2. What did David take with him to do battle with Goliath? See verse 40.

Read 1 Samuel 17:41-53

  1. What was Goliath’s reaction to David? See verses 42-44. Did this deter David from what he meant to do?

  2. How did the battle turn out? Why do you think it turned out this way?

Read 1 Samuel 18:5-16

  1. After David’s glorious victory with Goliath, his life continued to have ups and downs. In this section, what good things happened to David? What bad things happened?

  2. How did the lack of the Holy Spirit’s presence affect King Saul? See verses 9-12 and 15.

  3. How did the presence of the Holy Spirit affect David? See verses 14 and 16.

Reflect

  1. Why was David not deterred by all the negative reactions he received from his older brother, from King Saul and Goliath? Note: all these men were older, in positions of authority and physically more powerful than David.

  2. What negative reactions are you receiving lately? Is there a person in your life with the “gift of criticism”? How are you handling it presently? How does this encourage you?

  3. How do you determine if you need to take a criticism to heart or if you need to ignore it)?

  4. How does David’s and Saul’s life show that even when we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we still encounter trials? Why is it vital to keep seeking fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit?


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The X Factor – Revenge or Refuge?

Read Psalm 57

  1. This is the song David wrote when he was in hiding, living in caves in the dessert, while King Saul was searching for him, trying to kill him. How was David feeling in verses 1-4?

  2. What did David ask of God?

  3. How did David end this Psalm? See verses 7-11.

Read 1 Samuel 24

  1. King Saul had been hunting down David and his men. What did David’s men advise him when they saw King Saul come into the cave in verse 4?

  2. What was David’s reaction? See verses 5-7.

  3. What did David call Saul in verse 8?

  4. How did David expect to be judged? See verses 12 and 15.

  5. How did King Saul react in verses 16-21?

  6. What did David promise Saul in verses 21-22?

  7. What do you think about what David did, and did not do?

  8. David did flee the palace when he saw King Saul was trying to kill him, but David refused to kill Saul. What does Psalm 57 tell us about David’s heart and how he coped?

Read Romans 12:17-21

  1. How did David fulfill this commandment?

  2. Is there someone in your life who is hurting or harming you? Is there a way you can repay good for evil? How can you leave vengeance to the Lord?

  3. Where can we get the strength to do such difficult things?


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