Come, Follow Me · Week 24 · June 8–14

1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16

This Week's Reading

This week's reading in 1 Samuel chronicles a pivotal transition in Israel's history as the nation moves from a theocracy to a monarchy under King Saul. The people request a king like other nations, prompting God to reveal that they have rejected Him as their ruler 1 Samuel 8:7. We witness the dramatic anointing of Saul by the prophet Samuel, marked by divine signs and prophetic inspiration 1 Samuel 10:1–10. However, the narrative also highlights Saul's repeated failures, including his unauthorized sacrifice and his disobedience regarding the command to destroy Amalek 1 Samuel 13:8–14; 15:1–10, ultimately leading God to seek a man after His own heart. These stories teach us that while political structures change, true leadership always depends on faithfulness to God's commands and reliance on His Spirit.

Key Passages

1 Samuel 8:7: This passage reminds us that seeking human leaders apart from God is ultimately rejecting His direct rule and guidance over our lives.
1 Samuel 10:1–10: Here we see the power of divine anointing, where God prepares Saul for leadership through specific signs and the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit.
1 Samuel 13:8–14: This section illustrates the serious consequences of trying to take matters into our own hands or acting out of fear rather than trusting in God's timing.
1 Samuel 15:1–10: These verses demonstrate that even great victories are incomplete if we do not fully obey God's specific instructions, showing that obedience is better than sacrifice.

Questions to Ponder

How does the Israelites' request for a king in 1 Samuel 8 reflect our own tendency to want worldly solutions instead of trusting God?
In what ways did Saul's initial success and anointing lead him to compromise his obedience, and how can we guard against similar pride or fear today?
Why does God say He is seeking a man after His own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14, and what qualities define that kind of heart?
How can the story of Saul's failure encourage us to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than our own strength when facing difficult decisions?

A Thought to Take Home

God remains faithful even when His people stumble, always offering a path back through repentance and reliance on His grace. Just as He sought a leader who would walk in obedience, He seeks hearts that are willing to listen to His voice above all else. We can find comfort knowing that our worth is not based on our perfection but on Christ's perfect atonement, which covers our mistakes and restores us to Him.

Further study 1 Samuel 8:4–7, 1 Samuel 10:1–10, 1 Samuel 13:8–14, 1 Samuel 15:1–10

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This guide was prepared with AI from the scriptures and checked against the text; it can still make mistakes. For the Church's own guidance, read the official Come, Follow Me manual for this week. Nephite Atlas is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Key passages

1 Samuel 8:4–7

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, ⁵And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. ⁶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. ⁷And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

1 Samuel 9:10–17

¹⁰Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was. ¹¹And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? ¹²And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: ¹³As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him. ¹⁴And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place. ¹⁵Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. ¹⁷And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.

1 Samuel 10:1–10

¹Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? ²When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? ³Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: ⁴And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. ⁵After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: ⁶And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. ⁷And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. ⁸And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. ⁹And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

1 Samuel 13:8–14

⁸And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. ¹¹And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; ¹²Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. ¹³And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. ¹⁴But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

1 Samuel 15:1–10

¹Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. ²Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. ⁴And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. ⁶And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. ⁸And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. ¹⁰Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,