Adult Lesson Plan: 1 Samuel 17–18;24–26;2 Samuel 5–7

OPENING (2–3 minutes)

Put this question on the table and let it hang for a moment: Why does David’s story include two kinds of heroism, the flashy kind in 1 Samuel 17 and the quiet kind in 1 Samuel 24 and 26? Many of us grew up on the sling-and-stone version of courage. Scripture gives us another version: David in a cave, with a king within arm’s reach, choosing not to end the problem the easy way.

Come, Follow Me frames the week with David’s line, “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). Adults can feel the tension: if the battle is the Lord’s, why does David still have to run, hide, wait, and keep making costly moral choices? That question sets up the whole lesson.

SCRIPTURE EXPLORATION (15–20 minutes)

Start in 1 Samuel 17:45–47, because David explains his own theology before he throws the stone.

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45) “This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:46) “And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:47)

Ask the class to listen for what David wants people to “know.” He does not frame this as personal destiny. He frames it as public witness, “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46). Then ask: What “weapons” does David refuse to treat as ultimate? He names “sword and spear” (1 Samuel 17:47), and he also refuses Saul’s armor earlier in the chapter (see 1 Samuel 17:39). You can let that connect to Come, Follow Me’s emphasis that David is “wearing no armor but was clothed with impenetrable faith in the Lord.”

Move to 1 Samuel 24:5–6. This is the cave at En-gedi, and the moral stakes are higher than they look at first glance.

“And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.” (1 Samuel 24:5) “And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 24:6)

Let the class wrestle with the phrase “David’s heart smote him” (1 Samuel 24:5). He has not killed Saul. He has cut fabric. Yet his conscience reacts fast. Then David names Saul as “my master” and “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:6). Ask: What kind of spiritual maturity does it take to separate “he is harming me” from “the Lord has placed him in an office I will not violate”?

Then add 1 Samuel 25:31, where Abigail gives David language for what he almost becomes.

“That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.” (1 Samuel 25:31)

Abigail focuses on David’s future interior life, “no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart” (1 Samuel 25:31). Adults understand this. Sin does not only break rules, it damages the self. Ask: Why does Abigail treat David’s conscience as part of his preparation for kingship?

If time allows, land briefly in 2 Samuel 5:19 and 2 Samuel 7:16 to show what David becomes when he keeps choosing restraint and revelation.

“And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” (2 Samuel 5:19)

“And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)

DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION (10–15 minutes)

David’s first battle is public, but his most formative battles happen when no one would blame him for striking back. Come, Follow Me points us to multiple voices in 1 Samuel 17, and adults can recognize themselves in them. Saul sees danger and freezes: he and Israel are “dismayed, and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:11). Eliab sees David’s questions and diagnoses them as pride (see 1 Samuel 17:28). Goliath sees David’s youth and assumes contempt will win (see 1 Samuel 17:43–44). David sees covenant: Goliath has “defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:26). A useful whole-class question is: Which voice do you hear most easily in your own head when a “Goliath-size” problem shows up?

David’s faith includes memory. He tells Saul, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37). That sentence is theology built out of personal history. Another question for adults: What past deliverance do you tend to forget right when you need it most?

Then shift to the doctrine of restraint. David spares Saul twice. In 1 Samuel 24 he refuses to “stretch forth mine hand” against “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:6). In 1 Samuel 26 he repeats the principle: “Who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (1 Samuel 26:9). Adults can explore the difference between passivity and restraint. David is not passive. He is active in loyalty. He is governing himself. Ask: When have you seen self-control require more courage than confrontation?

Abigail adds another doctrinal layer: she interrupts David’s anger before it becomes identity. Her warning is specific: “shed blood causeless” and “avenged himself” (1 Samuel 25:31). She describes the spiritual cost of winning the argument the wrong way. A question worth asking slowly is: What kinds of “victories” leave “grief” and “offence of heart” afterward (1 Samuel 25:31), even if we can justify them in the moment?

Finally, connect restraint to revelation and covenant. In 2 Samuel 5, David does not assume yesterday’s answer works for today. He “enquired of the Lord” (2 Samuel 5:19), and later the Lord gives a different strategy (see 2 Samuel 5:23). Adult discipleship includes this humility: asking again. Then in 2 Samuel 7 the Lord turns David’s temple plan into a covenant promise, “the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house” (2 Samuel 7:11), culminating in “thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16). Come, Follow Me explains that this promise “was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, our Eternal King, who was a descendant of David” (see Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:32–33; John 18:33–37, as cited in the manual). A good class question here is: How does it change our view of God when He responds to a righteous desire with a different, larger gift?

I love how these chapters let Jesus Christ stand in the background as the true King. The Lord’s covenant points beyond David’s lifetime, and it steadies my confidence that God keeps promises across generations, not only across a weekend.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION (5–7 minutes)

Invite the class to name modern “Goliaths” without turning it into a complaint session. Keep it concrete: a strained marriage dynamic, a child’s faith crisis, a long illness, job pressure, loneliness, a recurring temptation. Then return to David’s two repeated practices.

First, David speaks covenant truth out loud. “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45). Adults can try a similar move in prayer: naming the real issue before God, then naming God as the real source of deliverance.

Second, David refuses to solve spiritual problems with spiritual violence. He will not seize what God has promised by breaking God’s standards. “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing” (1 Samuel 24:6) becomes a sentence we may need in an email draft, a family argument, or a private fantasy of payback. Abigail’s phrase “blood causeless” (1 Samuel 25:31) can apply to words that wound, not only weapons that kill.

Third, David asks for guidance for real decisions. “David enquired of the Lord” (2 Samuel 5:19). Adults can talk about what it looks like to inquire without demanding, and to act when the answer is clear. Doctrine and Covenants 8:2, quoted in the weekly research, describes revelation as coming to “your mind and… your heart” (D&C 8:2). That pairing helps adults trust that God can guide both thought and desire.

If discussion turns toward temple worship because of “house” language in 2 Samuel 7, you can affirm reverence and keep it appropriate. This is sacred and personal, please speak with your bishop or refer to the temple recommend questions.

CLOSING TESTIMONY & INVITATION (2–3 minutes)

Tie the lesson together with David’s two sentences that can carry a whole week: “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47), and “David enquired of the Lord” (2 Samuel 5:19). One speaks to courage, the other to guidance. David’s life shows that the Lord can deliver us in a moment, and the Lord can also shape us across years while we keep choosing restraint, repentance, and inquiry.

Invite the class to choose one “battle” they will consciously place in the Lord’s hands this week, then choose one decision, small or significant, where they will inquire of the Lord and act on what they receive. I trust the Lord who made a shepherd into a king can also make disciples into something steadier, cleaner, and more like His Son, line upon line, as we keep our hands from “blood causeless” (1 Samuel 25:31) and keep our hearts turned toward Him.