ROTATION.ORG WRITING TEAM

DAVID: GOD'S CHOSEN KING

CINEMA/VIDEO WORKSHOP

PASSAGE
Story: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Memory Verse: 1 Samuel 16:7

PURPOSE
See Bible Background

PREPARATION
See Bible Background

Materials List

• Bibles
  
• Bleach
  
• Film strips, 70 mm, or film pattern, transparency sheets and copier
  
• Markers
  
• Masking tape
  
• Newsprint or poster board
  
• Permanent ink sharpies
  
• VCR & Monitor
  
• Video: King David with Richard Gere (Paramount Pictures, 1985)
  

Advance Preparation Requirements

• Make or obtain 70mm film in strips. You can ask local movie houses for strips. Bleach them to get the movie ink off of them. You can also make your own by copying a film pattern onto transparency sheets. The younger the children, the larger you want your squares to be.
  

About the movie

Back in the 80's Paramount produced King David with Richard Gere in the lead role. It is, surprisingly, one of the best Bible movies ever made. It sticks extremely close to the script and has extremely few Hollywood sub-plots. It has some violence in it (as does the biblical story).

You will want to skip a section of Samuel confronting King Saul about the Ammonites (there's a beheading as in Scripture) and when David marries Saul's daughter, her breasts are briefly shown.

But if you can negate/fast forward through these two things, the rest of the movie is MARVELOUS. Gere seems particularly able to capture David's charisma, spirituality and exuberance.

The scene where Samuel the prophet goes to Jesse's house is good. Though they do put a "prop" in Samuel's hands -- stones that give off a reflection when the chosen boy comes near them. It's a good dramatic scene -- and lasts about ten minutes. Following this scene we see David go to Saul's camp. Sorry -- Richard Gere isn't in the movie yet. They have a young teenage boy portraying David at this point.

PRESENTATION

Open - Introduction

1. Ask the kids who David was and what he did. See how much they know. Write some of these things on a large piece of paper.
   
   
2. Introduce the movie to them and set up the scene. You might also write on the large piece of paper a TIMELINE of where the anointing of David takes place in Biblical history (after Exodus, before prophets and Jesus, about 1000 BC).
   
   
3. Include on the big sheet the Bible passage for the story. Distribute Bibles and ask the students to find the passage in the book of 1 Samuel. Read it with them.
   
   
4. Write the following sentences on a large piece of paper posted in the room. After viewing the clip, pass out markers and have the kids post their answers to the questions.
   

   Question #1 - Why did God choose David to be King?
   Question #2 - How did some of the people react to David being chosen?

Dig - Main Content

Show the movie.

You might want to identify characters as they appear. You might pause on the reflection stones Samuel has in his hand and explain them. You might also pause at the moment of anointing to explain anointing as the way they showed God's selection of their leaders.

Reflect - Closure

1. Give colored markers to the students and then have them approach the big sheet of paper to write down their answers to the two questions. If they can't write, draw pictures or write the responses for them. Collect the markers and discuss their responses.
   
   
2. Invite the students to create a "film" about God choosing them because they have "hearts for God." Circle the particularly good or relevant ideas on the big sheet of paper and add your own suggestions.
   
   
3. Distribute filmstrips and permanent ink sharpies. Guide the group as they create their "movies." The filmstrips can be several panels long. They can include a title for their movie, opening scenes of God saying, "I choose you Bob because you're __________." Help them define in their movie what a "heart for God is all about." They should include words, phrases, symbols and so forth.
   
   
4. Share the films with each other.

CONTRIBUTOR: Neil MacQueen

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ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

As an alternative to the 1985 Paramount Pictures King David movie, here are summaries of two additional films.

David & Goliath

Nest Family Video
6100 Colwell Blvd.
Irving, TX 75039
800-488-6900 www.nestfamily.com
ISBN 1-56489-207

This Nest Family video concentrates on David's battle with Goliath, but the first third does cover Saul's disobedience and Samuel's search for, and anointing of, David. The movie opens with Samuel's disappointment that Saul presented a sacrifice to the Lord before battle with the Philistines, and jumps ahead to his burning of the Amalekite village a few years later. Because Saul repeatedly listened to the voice of his own pride and insecurity rather than to the plain Word of God, the Lord directed Samuel to go to Bethlehem to visit the house of Jesse.

In the next scene, we meet Jesse, his wife and their seven sons at their evening meal. Samuel arrives and asks to meet the boys. None meet with Samuel's -- or rather God's -- approval, so David was brought in from the fields, where he was tending the sheep. Samuel realizes immediately that David is the Lord's chosen one, and anoints him as Israel's next king. The movie then goes on to David's eventual battle with Goliath, but our viewing ends here.

Our video clip starts at the beginning of the movie and ends soon after the anointing, when Samuel departs after a brief conversation with Jesse. The length of this clip is about ten minutes. Although the movie stays true to the Bible story, the animation is simple and is best suited for the K-3 age group.

David

Gateway Films/Vision Videos
P. O. Box 540
Worcester, PA 19490
800-523-0226 www.visionvideo.com
Price: $19.95
ISBN 0-7806-1823-8

This movie comes from the TNT Bible Collection, available through Gateway Films/Vision Video. Whereas Nest Family Video caters to young children, this "David" is an adult feature-length film that contains graphic violent scenes.

However, the short clip that pertains to David's anointing is appropriate for children. The clip should begin about twenty-five minutes into the film, after Samuel expresses the Lord's disappointment to Saul. Start when the Lord's voice says (against the backdrop of a cloud-studded sky), "Samuel, fill your horn with oil and set out for Bethlehem. There you will find a man named Jesse. Among his sons, there is a king." The clip is short -- approximately nine minutes. Samuel does indeed travel to Bethlehem, where he meets Jesse and his sons. He finds David in the field, and realizes that he is God's chosen one. Samuel then anoints David and the clip should end there.

This brief segment is appropriate for all age groups, though the children may snicker at the very end because Samuel kisses David three times -- once on each cheek and briefly on the lips as they embrace.

Other Possibilities

There are three other movies that deal with David, though two cover his battle with Goliath, and the third deals with Psalm 23. None of them include David's anointing.

Dave and the Giant Pickle
Veggie Tales

David and Goliath
Hanna-Barbera
It's too much like a Saturday morning cartoon.

The Lord is My Shepherd
Little House on the Prairie
Excellent video that tenderly shows how David's most famous Psalm comforts the family in their time of grief.

CONTRIBUTOR: Debbie Fisher