Journey Through 1&2 SamuelSample

Saul’s Demise: In the Text

Israel’s first king turned out to be a tragic failure, but he didn’t start out that way. Let’s see how involved the Holy Spirit was at each stage of his leadership to better appreciate how God was working out his plan through Saul’s initial victories and eventual failures.

The Spirit of God and Saul

Above you can see an arc of Saul’s tragic demise. In 1 Samuel, we see five steps of Saul’s demise that all involve the Spirit of God. On the next page you’ll be given verses describing those five steps and you’ll need to put them in the correct order.

Note how the Spirit of God was involved in several key steps in the demise of King Saul.

Step 1: Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. 1 Samuel 10:6 (NASB)

Step 2: When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon [Saul] mightily, so that he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 10:10 (NASB)

Step 3: Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 1 Samuel 11:6 (NASB)

Step 4: Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 1 Samuel 16:13 (NASB)

Step 5: Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. 1 Samuel 16:14 (NASB)

Saul’s Failure