This is lesson 20 in the Life of David series. It is found in 2 Samuel 2-5. This lesson really should be divided into a couple of weeks to have time to use the worksheets and application worksheet. King Saul was in a battle against the Philistines. The people started to run, and Saul and his three sons were killed. David and the people were very upset when they learned that Saul was dead. David mourned Jonathan who was like a brother. David asked the Lord if he should go to any of the cities in Judah, and God told him to go to Hebron. David took both of his wives and the men that fought with him to Hebron. The men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over Judah. It was God’s plan for David to be the king over all of Israel, but Abner made Ishbosheth the king over Israel. Abner was related to Saul (1 Chron. 8:33) and was the commander of Saul’s army. Ishbosheth was the only son of Saul that was alive. He was 40 years old when he became the king. He reigned 2 years. David was king over Judah for 7 ½ years. This begins battles between Judah and Israel. Abner seemed to instigate, as he had been the one to make Ishbosheth a king, then decided to have the men from each side compete. After a particularly bitter battle, when they counted the men, only 20 of David’s men had been killed. But 360 of Abner’s men had died. David’s men were good soldiers. (Chapter 3) The battles continue. The first verse tells us that there was a long war between Saul’s people and David’s. David’s just grew stronger as Saul’s grew weaker. David’s family is growing. He has 6 sons by his 6 wives. God did not approve of having more than one wife as seen in Deuteronomy 17:17. This verse also warns kings about being concerned with making more and more gold and silver. These things will turn them away from God. Abner has been gaining more authority over Ishbosheth and Saul’s people. Ishbosheth and Abner got into an argument and Abner said he would set up a covenant with David and David would have both kingdoms. Abner sent messengers to David saying that he would give Israel to him. David said he would make the covenant with Abner; but first, he had to bring David’s first wife back to him. David wanted Michal (Saul’s daughter) back. So, David now has 7 wives. Abner talked to the elders of Israel and said “It is time for David to be king of Israel. The Lord has said that he will save the people from the Philistines and all their enemies.” David had a feast with Abner and his men. Abner said he was going to gather the people to make a covenant with David. After he left, a man named Joab took him aside. He wanted to talk to him in private. But instead, Joab stabbed him in the stomach and killed him. David didn’t know anything about it. When he found out, David told the people to mourn for Abner and King David followed the coffin. He showed his grief for Abner’s death and said he didn’t have anything to do with it. In chapter 4, we read those two men snuck into Ishbosheth’s house. He was lying in bed, and they killed him. David was angry when he learned about his death. This changes things for Israel. With the death of Ishbosheth, the tribes of Israel went to David. They made a covenant with David and made him king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he became the king. He was king for 40 years. He was the king in Hebron over Judah for 7 ½ years and was king over Israel and Judah for 33 years. The printables for David in this series are for an older age group than I usually post. Most of these lessons about David are not appropriate for early elementary. But David is a great study. So, as you can see from the above picture, there is a Q&A. This could be used with younger groups by using the answer sheet and just asking the questions for discussion. Each post in this series will have a maze and some type of puzzle. The additional application worksheet is different than the others in this series. It will take a couple of weeks to really use this in depth and study everything. This is a general comparison of Saul, David and Solomon. There is a teacher's answer sheet for this and they are both black & white only. This also includes an extra page of added notes to support some of the answers and aid discussion. Click here to download the application pack. Click here to download the lesson. Click here to download the visuals. Click here to download the Pictures to Color. Click here to download the updated visuals. The lesson is included since these are assorted visuals for King David. (These are not included in the application pack.) Click here to download the pictures to color. (These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.) Bible Verse: 2 Samuel 5:4-5 Click here to see the entire list and links for the Life of David series. Click here to see the Magnetic Board Visuals for this lesson. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.