These questions are designed to help you read and study the Bible passage preached next week. Our prayer is that these questions will assist you in growing deeper in God’s Word as you examine the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

Read 1 Samuel 30:1–8.

David may have thought he was at rock bottom when he fled to the land of the Philistines for refuge (see chapter 28). However, what did David and his men discover as they returned home to Ziklag in verses 1-2?
Have you ever experienced a day where you thought things were bad, only to discover they could get worse?
In an event eerily similar to Israel’s experience on October 7 (2024), a group of brutal raiders kidnapped women and children to take them to the south as captives. How do David and his men respond in verses 4-6? How would you respond?
Looking back at 1 Samuel 28, how did Saul respond when he hit rock bottom?
Looking at 1 Samuel 30:6, how does David respond to rock bottom?
What does it look like to strengthen yourself in the Lord your God?

Read 1 Samuel 30:9–15.

What happens to part of David’s army as they pursue the Amalekites to the south?
How do they discover the location of the Amalekite band?
What lessons can we learn from David’s compassion towards this Egyptian slave?

Read 1 Samuel 30:16–31.

How does David see the mercy of God as he defeats the Amalekites?
As David and his men return to the troops they left behind, what do the “wicked and worthless fellows among the men” want to do (see verse 22)?
How does David respond and what principle does he establish for Israel going forward? How is this principle applicable to the church today (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–31)?
As David shares the fruits of his victory with “his friends, the elders of Judah,” he is prefiguring the work of Christ. How do we share in the spoil of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil (compare Ephesians 4:7–8 and Psalm 68:18)?