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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Unit 9: King David and King Solomon OT9.5 David and Abigail
Lesson
Scripture: I Samuel 25
Lesson Goal: God had chosen the shepherd boy David to become the
next King of Israel but it would be many years before he would
assume the throne. For many years before he became king, David and
his band of men hid in the wilderness from King Saul. During this
time David met a woman named Abigail who used God's wisdom and
saved her whole household from being killed.
Introduction: This lesson is found in the book of 1 Samuel. 1
Samuel is in the second group of books in the Old Testament called
the historical books. These books begin with Joshua and go through
Esther. Let's say these books--Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2
Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah and Esther.
Attention Getter: “Choices” We make choices all the time. We
choose what to eat, who to play with, whether to answer when our
parents call us, or if we will be a faithful friend or not. We make
some choices just because we like certain things more than others.
An example of this is when I choose whether to eat a red apple or a
green one. But other choices we make can be good or bad. A bad
choice is to say mean things to someone and hurt God, yourself, and
others. A good choice is to be kind and please God. God cares about
the choices we make. He is ready to give us wisdom so we can make
the best choices.
In this lesson we will learn about Abigail who used God's wisdom
and saved her whole family.
Opening Prayer: "Dear Father in heaven, we want to be wise like
Abigail. Help us to ask you for godly wisdom. We know that you love
us and want to help us. We want to follow you and do what is good.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Memory Verse: The memory verse is James 1:5 “If any of you lacks
wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/atwhGHUs5uc God had chosen David
the Shepherd boy to be the new king for Israel. David had a heart
that loved God. As a shepherd boy David learned great courage and
faith in caring for the flock. He trusted God to help him protect
the sheep by killing lions and bears with his sling shot. David
also learned to sing and play songs of thanksgiving to God on his
harp. Because David loved the Lord and the Spirit of God was with
him, whatever he did, he always did it as unto the Lord.
When Israel’s enemies, the Philistines came to attack Israel God
used the young boy David to kill the giant Goliath. David used a
stone and his sling shot to hit the giant right between the eyes!
God gave him a great victory that day!
After David’s victory over Goliath, King Saul asked David to
come and live in the palace with him and his family. David was one
of Saul’s most loyal and helpful men. He became one of King Saul’s
commanders and led the Israelites in many successful battles with
the Philistines. Soon he became a national hero! But Saul became
very jealous of David because he was more popular with the
people.
The spirit of God had left King Saul and he was a very tormented
man. David would play his harp for King Saul. One day the king
became very angry and tried to kill David by throwing his spear at
him. This happened a second time and David had to escape from the
palace.
https://youtu.be/atwhGHUs5uc
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
From then on, David lived a very hard life in the wilderness. He
slept in the forest, or in caves, or in the mountains hiding from
King Saul. Wherever he went, Saul chased after him and who ever
helped David was in terrible trouble. Soon people heard about David
hiding from King Saul and four hundred men joined to help him.
Although they were constantly on the run from King Saul and his
army David and his men often had battles with the Philistines who
were constantly raiding Israel.
While they were living in the Desert of Maon, David's men helped
the local shepherds. They would protect their flocks from tribes
who often raided in the region. In exchange for this protection,
the local people would give David's men food. It was a good deal
for both the shepherds and for David's men.
One man whose sheep they protected was Nabal. Nabal was a very
rich man in Israel. He had 3.000 sheep and 1,000 goats. He had many
shepherds who worked for him. Nabal knew a lot about sheep, but he
was rude and mean. David's men had been very careful not to
mistreat Nabal's workers nor to allow any animals from Nabal's
flocks to be stolen. Now Nabal had a wife named Abigail. She was an
intelligent and beautiful woman.
One day, David heard that Nabal and his herdsmen were shearing
sheep. Shearing was a festive time of thanksgiving when people
usually shared what they had. So David sent ten of his men to Nabal
with a message. David’s men kindly said, “Greetings to you! Your
shepherds were with us at Carmel. We gave them lots of favors and
protected your sheep. Since it is a festive time of sharing, would
you please give us some food? We are tired and hungry. Whatever you
desire would be good.”
Do you think Nabal was pleased to give them something to eat?
No! Nabal said, “Who is this David? Why should I take my bread and
meat that I have slaughtered for the feast and give it to men who
have come from who knows where? Nabal said unkind things to David's
men and was very selfish and cruel. Nabal refused to give David and
his men any food! Rather than show thanks for the good David's men
had done toward him, Nabal made a bad choice. He even pretended not
to know who David was! Nabal had no godly wisdom!
When the messengers returned and told David what Nabal said,
David called his men to put on their swords. David was really mad.
He decided to pay back Nabal's unfriendliness by killing him and
all his workers! He took 400 of his men and headed for Nabal’s
land.
One of Nabal’s servants knew that his master had done a very
wicked thing so he quickly rode to tell Nabal’s wife Abigail about
the problem. He said, “David sent messengers from the desert to
give our master a greeting but he hurled insults at them. All the
time we had our flocks in the desert David and his men were very
good to us. They protected our flocks from the raiders so that none
of the sheep went missing. Now your husband Nabal is bringing
disaster upon all of us. He is such a wicked man that no one can
talk to him.”
Abigail lost no time. She knew that Nabal was a drunken
unreasonable man and she could not talk to him. She did not want
David in his anger to kill all the servants. So she took two
hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep,
five bushels of grain, a hundred raisin cakes and two hundred
pounds of pressed figs and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told
one of her servants, “Go on ahead, I’ll follow you.”
Just as Abigail came riding her donkey over the mountain, there
was David and his men coming down the valley toward her. David had
just said, “It has just been useless to protect his fellow’s
property in the desert. He has paid me evil for good! May God
punish David’s enemies! I am not going to leave one of his men
alive by morning.”
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed
down before David. She bowed down at David’s feet and said, “My
lord, I am Abigail the wife of Nabal. Let any blame be on me.
Please let me speak to you and hear what I say. Don’t pay any
attention to my wicked husband Nabal. He is just like his name. He
is a fool. Please know that I did not know that your servants had
come to our land.”
“So far you have not killed any of the servants. Please let all
your enemies be like my foolish husband Nabal. Take these gifts
that I bring and give them to your men. Forgive me for not knowing
about your request. You are a great fighter for the Lord’s battles.
Don’t do any wrongdoing and cause God’s judgment to fall on you
because you have taken revenge. Let God pursue your enemies and you
will have no guilt when you become the King of Israel!”
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
David was amazed at Abigail's words, and he instantly changed
his mind about attacking Nabal and his men. He praised Abigail for
her wisdom and took the wonderful gifts she had brought. He told
her, "May the Lord bless you for your good judgment and for keeping
me from taking revenge. You can go home with a peaceful mind. I'll
listen to your advice and do as you ask."
When Abigail returned home from meeting with David, her foolish
husband Nabal was in the house holding a banquet like that of a
king. He was very drunk. So Abigail told him nothing until the next
morning when he was sober. When Nabal heard about the great danger
that his household had narrowly escaped, his heart failed within
him. He was paralyzed, and ten days later Nabal died. Abigail was
right. David did not need to take revenge on Nabal. God took care
of him in His own way and in His own time!
Later, when David heard that Nabal had died, he asked Abigail to
be his wife. Abigail gladly consented. How glad David was now that
this wise, gracious woman had not only protected her household, but
that she had kept him from acting so foolishly in anger.
Abigail kept David from killing a bunch of people and she saved
her foolish husband from David's sword too. Abigail used God's
wisdom. She made a good choice and saved everyone from a terrible
situation. Nabal was a rude, mean, selfish, foolish man. He did not
use godly wisdom by refusing to share his food with David and his
men. His life ended in a disaster because he did not choose to
serve God. We want to be like Abigail and use good wisdom in
solving our problems. Abigail was rewarded for showing godly
wisdom.
We want to choose Godly wisdom, too. But--how do we get godly
wisdom? We read the Bible to learn what God says. We memorize
scripture and learn from godly examples. We ask God for wisdom. God
wants us to pray and ask Him to help us! He wants to guide us in
the right direction.
Remember Ask God for wisdom and do what is right!
Review Questions: “Giant Pick Up Sticks” Preparation: You will
need 30 craft sticks or purchase a commercial game of pickup
sticks. Each game or canister comes with 30 colored wooden sticks
that are 9¾" long. Larger sized sticks work better for younger
children. Colored or painted craft sticks can be used to add
variety to the game. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Abigail
had to “pick up the pieces of the mess that her foolish husband
Nabal caused. She saved the lives of her servants and shepherds and
the life of her husband. Abigail also prevented David from taking
revenge and having a guilty conscience when he became king. We are
going to play a game that will remind us of Abigail’s wise decision
while we answer the review questions.” Procedure: Divide class into
smaller groups of 3-4 children each. Give a set of colored sticks
to each group of children. Begin the game by holding the sticks
vertically and dropping them. Players must take turns picking up a
stick without moving or touching the others. If the other sticks
move, then their turn is passed to their opponent. The winner is
the most sticks in the end. The game begins by students answering
one of the following review questions. If they answer the question
correctly they can attempt to pick up a stick. When they move a
stick, then the next student must answer a review question
correctly before taking their turn at picking up a stick. Optional:
Assign the colors of the pick up sticks different values such as
red 2, yellow 4, green 6, etc. To determine the winner of the game
add up the value of the sticks each student collected.
1. What quality did David have that God was pleased with to
choose him to be king? (He had a heart that loved God and was
totally devoted to Him.)
2. How did being shepherd help train David to be a good king?
(He learned to care for others by caring for the flock. He learned
to protect the flock. He would have to fight many battles as a king
for the
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
nation of Israel to protect them. He would have to care for
them. In protecting the flock David learned to rely or trust of
God’s strength. David played on his harp and sang songs of
thanksgiving to the Lord. He knew that God had protected him and
helped him!)
3. Why was David chosen to play his harp for King Saul? (King
Saul was bothered by an evil spirit. His spirit would be soothed
while listening to beautiful harp music.)
4. What did David use to fight Goliath? (David killed Goliath
with a stone and his sling shot.) 5. What made Saul so jealous of
David? (After winning a great battle against the Philistines David
was
returning with his men and the women sang and danced a song with
the words, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten
thousands. They praised David more than King Saul!)
6. How did King Saul first try to kill David? (David was playing
his harp. Saul had a spear in his hand. He hurled it toward
David)
7. What happened to David for the next few years while Saul was
still on the throne? (David left to go into hiding in the
wilderness and the forests and would run for his life for many
years to come.)
8. What arrangement did David and his men have with the
shepherds who lived in the Desert of Maon? (David and his men would
protect their flocks from tribes who often raided in the region. In
exchange for this protection, the local people would give David's
men food.)
9. What occasion did David send ten messengers to Nabal’s land?
(The occasion was the time of shearing and it was a festive time of
thanksgiving and sharing.)
10. What did Nabal say to David’s messengers when they asked for
food? (Nabal was rude, selfish, and mean. He said, “Who is this
David? Why should I take my bread and meat that I have slaughtered
for the feast and give it to men who have come from who knows
where?” He refused to help the hungry men.)
11. How did David react to the news that Nabal had refused to
give his men some food? (David was really mad. He decided to take
revenge on Nabal by killing him and all his workers! He took 400 of
his men and headed for Nabal’s land.)
12. When one of Nabal’s servants heard what his master had done,
what did he do? (One of Nabal’s servants knew that his master had
done a very wicked thing so he quickly rode to tell Nabal’s wife
Abigail about the problem.)
13. When Abigail was told about her husband’s rude reply to
David, what did she do? (She prepared a gift of two hundred loaves
of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five bushels of
grain, a hundred raisin cakes and two hundred pounds of pressed
figs and loaded them on donkeys and took them to David and his
men.)
14. When Abigail saw David, what did she tell him to convince
him not to kill Nabal and all their servants? (Abigail said, “My
lord, I am Abigail the wife of Nabal. Let any blame be on me. Don’t
pay any attention to my wicked husband Nabal. He is a fool. Take
these gifts that I bring and give them to your men. Forgive me for
not knowing about your request. You are a great fighter for the
Lord’s battles. Don’t do any wrongdoing and cause God’s judgment to
fall on you because you have taken revenge. Let God pursue your
enemies and you will have no guilt when you become the King of
Israel!”
15. Why do you think David was surprised at Abigail? (She knew
that her husband was foolish. She was trying to do what was right
despite him. She made a very wise argument that someday David would
be king and he would not want to be guilty of revenge.)
16. How did God judge Nabal? (When Nabal heard how David had
nearly destroyed him and all his servants, he had a heart attacked
and died ten days later.)
17. How was Abigail rewarded for her wise decision to help David
and his men? (After her husband’s death, David invited her to
become his wife and she did! Abigail became a queen of Israel.)
18. How do we get godly wisdom for solving difficult problems?
(We read the Bible to learn what God says. We memorize scripture
and learn from godly examples. We ask God for wisdom. God wants us
to pray and ask Him to help us! He wants to guide us in the right
direction.)
19. What is the memory verse? (James 1:5 “If any of you lacks
wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to you.”)
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Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Puzzle Pieces” Our memory verse is
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who
gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given
to you.” Help students locate the verse in scripture and read the
verse together orally several times. You can print the verse on a
poster board and display before the class to read aloud together.
Say: “We all need help in making wise choices in difficult
circumstances. God promises to give us wisdom when we pray to Him
and ask for His help. Let’s say our memory verse again
together.”
Preparation: Create a large jigsaw puzzle with pieces of
cardstock. Write a couple of words from the memory verse on each
sheet, then cut them to fit together to make a large floor puzzle.
Hide the pieces around the room.
Procedure: Tell the children that the memory verse puzzle is
hidden around the room as puzzle pieces. Let them find it, allowing
each child to discover at least one piece of possible. Then work as
a group to assemble the verse. Ask them to read the verse before
disassembling the pieces. Divide the class into two teams and let
one team hide the puzzle pieces while the other waits outside or
hides their eyes. After the second team finds and puts together the
puzzle pieces, reverse roles. Each time after the puzzle is
assembled, lead the class in reading the verse in unison.
Group Learning Activity: “Choice Chart” (Grades K-5)
Preparation: You will need a display of several food items for
students to choose what they would eat. Examples: piece of fruit,
handful of candy, various kinds of cookies, or a piece of bread.
(Or you can have pictures of different food items.) You will also
need a tally chart.
Fruit Candy Cookies Bread
Apple 3 Banana 2
Snickers 2 Hershey 3
Chocolate Chip 4 Snicker doodles 1
White Bread 2 Wheat Bread 2
Procedure: Ask a volunteer to come forward. Show them the food
items and ask what they would choose if they could eat just one.
After the volunteer chooses one, take a vote, asking the rest of
the class who would make the same choice as the volunteer. Record
the number of first choices that food item would receive on a
chart. Then ask who would choose each of the other items. For each
item ask one child who voted for that item to share why they made
that choice. Say: “We make choices all the time. We choose what to
eat, who to play with, whether to answer when our parents call, or
if we will be a faithful friend or not. We make some choices just
because we like certain things more than other things, like
chocolate chip cookies instead of snicker doodles. But other
choices like whether to say mean things to someone or not, can be
good and please God or bad and hurt God, yourself, and others.”
Say: “What are some other choices we make in a day? (Who to sit
with at school, what to watch on TV or what game to play on the
computer, whether to finish our homework or not, etc.)” Say: “God
cares about the choices we make. He has given us the Bible as an
important tool so we can make the best choices. In this lesson we
learned that Abigail made a good choice. She stopped David from
taking revenge and saved her whole family and servants’ lives.”
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Group Learning Activity: “Donkey Race” (Grades K-5) Preparation:
You will need medium sized baskets, bungee cords or strips of
fabric, six or more empty food boxes or containers such as oatmeal
and cereal boxes, cookie, tins, plastic peanut butter jars, etc.)
Procedure: Divide the class into two or more teams. You’ll need six
empty food containers, one basket, and one bungee cord or fabric
strip per team. Each team will have to transport their food
containers from one location to another by strapping the basket on
players who act as the donkeys. Choose starting and finish lines,
and designating two children from each team to be the donkey and
donkey leader. Stack food containers at the starting point. To
begin, one player will crouch on all fours while half the team
members load the basket with food containers. The donkey leader
will take the donkey through the obstacles to the ending point,
where the other team members are waiting to unload the donkey. The
first team to return to the starting point will be deemed the
winners. Play again, allow new children to become the donkey,
donkey leader, and loaders/unloaders.
Group Learning Activity: Object Lesson: “Lantern or Lamp”
(Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need a oil wick lamp or lantern.
Procedure: Show lantern or lamp. Say: “When do people use lights
like these? How might a light like this help when you are afraid in
the dark? (Students respond.) In England during the 1800s, a woman
named Florence Nightingale became known as “the Lady with the
Lamp.” When Florence Nightingale lived, hospitals were nothing like
they are now. There were very few doctors and nurses, and people
didn’t understand that germs make people sick. Hospitals weren’t
kept very clean. Many people who went to hospitals became sicker
instead of getting better. When Florence became a nurse, she
believed God wanted her to change things! She used her own money to
buy clean clothes for patients. She hired people to wash sheets and
blankets. Florence often worked until late at night, carrying a
lamp through the hospital as she checked on her patients. She was
never too tired to help someone. As Florence worked, she also
talked to people about Jesus Florence—”the Lady with the
Lamp”—helped people learn about Jesus’ love and saved the lives of
many sick or injured people because of her kindness and
generosity.” Read 1 Timothy 6:18 “Command them to do good, to be
rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” Say:
“How was Florence Nightingale kind and willing to share? How can
you be kind and share? Students can tell their ideas. Let’s ask God
to help us build friendships by being generous and kind this week.
Lead
students in prayer.
Group Learning Activity: “Peace Doves” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To
help students learn how God wants us to live in peace with each
other. Preparation: You will need Bibles, spiritual journal page,
pencils or pens. You will need printed copies of the dove of peace
for each student, white curling ribbon, marking pens, and tape.
Say: “In this lesson Abigail was a wise beautiful woman. She
brought peace to David and her household by preventing David from
bringing revenge. She understood that
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her husband Nabal was a foolish man because he did not share
their food with David and his men. They owed David and his men a
gift for the protection they had brought to their flocks of sheep.
Today we are going to learn what the Bible says about peace.”
Procedure: Distribute a dove figure to each child. Ask the children
to cut out their dove and staple a ribbon to the dove to act as a
hanger. Each child reads one of the following verses aloud.
Together as a group the class decides what way God brings peace.
The child is to write the key words on the dove. Continue reading
the verses aloud and writing the key words on the doves. Hang the
doves in the classroom as a way of reviewing how God gives peace.”
Read the following verses about peace aloud. Lead children in
discussion of each way God brings peace.
• Psalm 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord
blesses his people with peace.” God has more strength than anyone
or anything. When He gives His strength to His people they have the
power to overcome any problem! God’s power raised the dead and
created the world. He even had the power to save us from sins. Key
Word: Strength
• Proverbs 16:7 “When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
he causes their enemies to make peace with them.” When we please
God by becoming peacemakers, even our enemies are made to want
peace as well. If our enemies do not want to make peace we have not
lost anything because we are doing what is the most
important—pleasing God. Key Words: Pleasing God
• Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called children of God.” When we follow God and obey Him we become
like Him. God is the ultimate peace maker. He has given us peace
with God or salvation. We are to become the witness of His peace by
sharing the message of salvation with others. Then we become the
vessel of his peace or are His peacemakers. Key Word:
Peacemaker
• John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do
not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.” When we become a Christian and
receive the gift of salvation, God gives to us His peace or the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and guides us into all
truth. Key Word: Holy Spirit
• Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what
leads to peace and to mutual edification.” As Christians we are to
live at peace with others. We can do this when we edify or
encourage others by our actions and words. Key Word: Encourage
• Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace.” One of the jobs of the Holy
Spirit is to bring unity to believers. As Christians our job is to
let the Holy Spirit lead us to do our part to keep the peace. We
are to focus on God not ourselves. Key Words: Be Unified with
Others
• Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” God’s peace does not come through positive thinking, the
absence of conflict, or in good feelings. It comes through knowing
that God is in control. His peace keeps us from being anxious or
defeated in sin. Key Words: God’s control over us.
Say: “What are some ways God brings us peace? (He takes care of
us. He gives us the gift of peace; he uses other people) Why does
God want us to have peace in every part of our lives? (Because he
doesn’t want us to be afraid; he wants us to trust in Him.) One of
the characteristics of God is peace. The Bible tells us in
Ephesians 2L14 that Jesus is our peace. Having peace with God means
having a close relationship with Him through Jesus.”
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Close in prayer asking that God grant peace to each child. Say:
“God we thank you for your peace that passes understanding. Thank
you for guarding our hearts and minds with peace. Help us to
remember to walk in your peace wherever we go. In Jesus’ name we
pray, Amen.” Have students record the principles they have learned
from this lesson in their spiritual journal. Close in prayer asking
God to help us to be a godly friend and have godly friends.
Group Learning Activity: “Peacemaker Cards” (Grades 3-5)
Preparation: Print one set of the template of Peacemaker cards
below on cardstock. Cut the cards apart. Say: “In our lesson
Abigail was a peacemaker. She knew that her husband Nabal had
committed a wrong action toward David and his men. She solved the
problem between the two men by offering a gift to David. She solved
the problem. Even though she did not cause the problem she was the
solution! Today we are going to play a game of “Peacemaker Cards.”
All of these cards have a problem and a matching solution.
Sometimes the solution to the problem is not solved by the people
who caused the problem.” Procedure: Hand out the “Peacemaker” cards
one to each of the students. Have students read their card and
decide if they are a problem or a solution. When everyone has
decided on their card’s category, have them stand up and walk
around the room, calling out either “Problem” or “Solution.”
Whenever they get near another person they can compare cards and
see if their cards go together. That is, they will have a problem
and its peaceful solution. (Each card has only one match.) Once
each match is found the partners should sit down together. If you
have too few students then make sure that you select a pair of
cards that match to pass out to the class members. Have the
partners take turns reading their problem and the solution. Discuss
the situation in class. Offer other ways that the problems might
have been solved. Say: “Sometimes we just want to ignore a problem
or hope it goes away on its own. We don’t want to do the work of an
extra chore for our family or stay after class a few minutes to
thank a teacher or be the only one who keeps in line at practice
when everyone else is going crazy. It’s easy to think that these
are their problems. But choosing to help is a way to prove you care
about others by being part of the solution. You’re proving that you
care about your parents and teachers and coaches, and you’re
proving that you care about the ones who are caught up in the
problem, too.” Share a time when you chose to do more than you had
to in order to be part of the solution and make peace in a
situation.
Craft Learning Activity: “Play-doh Food Basket” (Grades K-3)
Preparation: You will need play-doh and paper plates. Cover the
table with a plastic cloth. Procedure: Have the class sit down at
tables covered with plastic cloths. Review the lesson emphasizing
what things the children know about David such as how David was
chosen to be king; how David fought Goliath; how David played his
harp for King Saul; how King Saul became jealous of David, etc.
Review the main events in the story of David and Abigail. Emphasize
how it is wise to share with one another and help one another. Say:
“Abigail made sure that everyone was living in peace by sharing the
extra food that she and Nabal had. It is always better to share and
live at peace with everyone than to fight. That is why Abigail gave
David and his men a gift. God wants us to be kind and share with
our friends. We are going to make a craft that will help us
remember to share with others.”
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Procedure: Distribute the play-doh and the paper plates to each
child. Each child will use the play-doh to make food items. Have
them place their food creations on a paper plate and give it to
another child. Review the items that Abigail gave to David and his
men: gift of two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five
dressed sheep, five bushels of grain, a hundred raisin cakes and
two hundred pounds of pressed figs. Say: “Today we learned a very
important lesson. God doesn’t like it when we fight, He wants
everyone to get along. It can be hard to share sometimes but try to
remember that this is what God wants you to do. Everyone will be
happier if you agree to get along.”
Craft Learning Activity: “Abigail, Nabal, and David Stick
Puppets” (Grades K-3) Preparation: Print out the Bible stick puppet
figures below on cardstock or heavy paper. You will need crayons or
colored markers, large craft sticks, glue, and scissors. Procedure:
Distribute the printed stick puppet figures and other supplies to
each child. Have children use the crayons or colored markers to
decorate the figures of Abigail, David, and Nabal. Demonstrate to
children how to cut out the figures by cutting on the outside heavy
black lines. Children may want to add additional items for each
character such as drawing pictures of food and gluing them to
Abigail’s hands; or add a spear and sword to David; or add a staff
and sheep to Nabal. They could even make a donkey for Abigail to
ride. Have students glue the stick figures to large craft sticks.
Be sure to have the children use their stick puppets to reenact the
story. You can have one child read the narration from 1 Samuel 25
while the other children act out the story using their puppets.
Optional: You can also use the same figures to make sack puppets.
You may want to enlarge the figures on your copy machine.
Craft Learning Activity: “Abigail’s Gift” (Grades K-3)
Preparation: You will need a small brown lunch sack, a plastic
baggie, 5" x 7" tan construction paper,9" x 12" white construction
paper, 5" x 7" gray construction paper, scraps of yellow, black,
and brown paper, marker, scissors. Procedure: Hand out tan paper.
Cut large round oval out of tan paper. This bread. Write "200
loaves of bread" on tan oval. Hand out gray paper. Cut out a bottle
or container. This is the wine or grape juice. Write "grape juice"
on bottle. Hand out white paper. Draw five sheep. Write "sheep" and
an "x" for the sheep’s eye. Cut sheep out. Hand out small plastic
bag or baggie. Hand out yellow scraps. Cut many small yellow
circles. This is the parched corn. Place corn in plastic bag. Hand
out black paper. Cut many smaller circles. These are raisins. Place
raisins in plastic bag. Hand out brown scraps. Cut 2" circles.
These are figs. Write "fig" on brown paper. Place figs in plastic
bag. Hand out small paper bag. Write "What Abigail Brought to David
as a Gift" and "1 Samuel 25" on brown bag. Place all items in paper
bag. Fold down edge of brown bag.
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Life Application Challenge: “Be Generous” Say: "In this lesson
we learned that Abigail was generous to David and his men by
providing them food when they were hungry. Nabal was not generous.
He was selfish, mean, and unkind man. God wants us to show love to
others. He wants us to have a generous attitude. A generous
attitude means that we are willing to share or give more than is
usual or expected.” Say: “What are some things we can share to show
that we have a generous or kind attitude? We an share food with
people who are hungry. We can give time to help someone who is
hurt. When we share with others we build friendships. People like
to be around others who are generous and kind. People are often
more willing to be share when you have been generous with them.”
Encourage students to make a commitment to be generous with someone
this week.
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
David and Abigail
James 1:5
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to
you.”
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Abigail and David Stick Puppet Figures
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Nabal Stick Puppet Figure
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Dove of Peace
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Peacemaker Cards
Everyone on your soccer team is fooling around when your coach
told you to run drills. The coach is helping another group, while
your team is really getting out of hand.
You choose to obey your coach and run drills just like he said,
and you decide to see if you can get Ashley and Braden to do them
with you.
Your little brother really wants a cookie, but he can’t reach
the plate. He’s starting to cry. You want to give him a cookie, but
you don’t know why your dad made cookies and set them out. You
think that they might be for the bake sale tomorrow.
You ask your dad if your brother can have a cookie. When he
tells you that the cookies are for the bake sale tomorrow, you take
your little brother outside and play with him for a while so your
dad can put the cookies away
Your friend Megan says something unkind about your other friend
Lizzie. You don’t know if it’s true, but it’s pretty hurtful. You
know Lizzie would feel awful if she heard it.
You refuse to talk badly about Lizzie with Megan and invite them
both for a play date, where you discover you all like the same
music and same flavor of ice cream
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OT9.5 David and Abigail ©Beverly Wilson 2019
Peacemaker Cards
Instead of paying attention to what Ms. Wilcutts, your art
teacher, is talking about, most of the class starts squishing the
paints out all over the table. It’s really messy, but it looks like
fun. You notice that the teacher is talking louder and louder and
she looks upset.
You listen to Ms. Wilcutts and put your painting things in the
center of the table. After the rest of the class goes to recess,
you volunteer to help clean up the mess.
You see a brand new kind of cereal that’s been in all the
commercials. You’re shopping with your family. It has your favorite
TV character on the box and has a cool toy inside. Your parents say
that they won’t buy it because it has too much sugar. You feel
really upset because you have been looking forward to trying this
cereal. You want to make the rest of this shopping trip miserable
for everyone.
You take a deep breath and keep shopping with your parents. When
they ask you what kind of fruit you’d like to pick out for your
lunchbox, you cheerfully decide between bananas and oranges.
Your sister wants to watch Spy Dogs: Canines Undercover, your
brother insists on seeing the new behind-the-scenes show about
theme parks, and you were hoping to watch the football game
highlights. None of you can agree.
You suggest playing your family’s favorite board game instead of
watching a movie and ask your parents to help you set out some
snacks.