Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Helpful thoughts:

• The LORD of hosts has never and will never know defeat.  Not only is God faithful to fulfill His promises.  He is also to withstand and defeat any who would try to attempt to prevent Him from succeeding.  God doesn’t lose.  When we are with Him, we are on the victory side.
  • David’s courage didn’t come from building a great temple.  It came from receiving grace from the great God.
  • David’s courage didn’t come from seeing himself as a mighty king who God came to fancy, but in being chosen as a servant of the Most High.
• David’s request for blessing was an acknowledgement that God alone was able to see His plan through to completion.
  • Verse 22 – “Therefore you are great, O Lord God.”
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Questions to consider:

1. Why does David rightly call God’s covenant promise “instruction for mankind?”  What things do we learn about God through the covenant and God’s fulfilling of the covenant?  Which attributes of God are on display (Which attributes did David mention in this passage)?
2. How does a question like, “Who am I” give us an even greater love for God and joy in Christ?  In what way is “Who am I” very counter cultural?  Why does a high view of our self minimize our view of God’s love and steal our joy?
3. How do the answers to question 2 relate to our understanding of the gospel?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• David wanted to build a house for God, but God is the one who builds the “house.”
• This passage contains what is called the “Davidic Covenant.”  Instead of God commanding David to build Him a house, God makes an unconditional promise to David that will last for all eternity.
  • A descendant of David will sit on the throne over Israel forever. (Luke 1:26-33)
• Christ never committed iniquity (Verse 14).  His chastisement brought us peace and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Questions to consider:

1. What can this passage teach us about glorifying God?  When we glorify God, do we actually make Him bigger or do we simply reflect the glory He already fully possesses?  In light of this, why does obedience glorify God more than what we might consider a “new” idea?
2. How did Solomon and every other king in David’s line (Save One) fail to rule forever?  Why did these men continually fall short?
3. When will this promise find it’s complete fulfillment? (Revelation 22:12, 16)

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 6

Helpful thoughts:

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” – Proverbs 1:7
  • God had commanded the Ark to be carried only one way (Numbers 4:15, 7:9).
  • In Uzzah’s death, God’s holiness, faithfulness and justice were defended.  He is not to be trifled with.
  • David’s fear drove him to God’s Word.  Once David saw God’s wrath had subsided, he went and got the Ark according to God’s written command.
• The people of Israel got to see a king who was willing to repent, obey God’s commands, worship without fear of what people might say, bless people in God’s name, and be more interested in their love for God than for himself.  David was not a perfect man, but this was a good day.
• Michal’s rebuke of David might have sounded righteous without knowing the context.  But her accusations were false, embellished, and based on a system of right and wrong not of God’s design.

Questions to consider:

1. This passage doesn’t say exactly who David was angry with when Uzzah died.  Who would it make sense for David to be angry with?  Who had previously moved the ark with a cart and animals?  Was it God’s fault?  Was it the Philistine’s fault?
2. Did God change from verse 7 to verse 13?  What changed?  Why was David right to dance in worship with all his might?  Why is it only right for us to follow Jesus with all our might today?
3. Who gets to decide how Christians ought to act?  Who gets to decide how Christians spend their time and resources? (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 5

Helpful thoughts:

• The elders of Israel gave three reasons they were to be united under the rule of King David
  • David was their “brother” (Deuteronomy 17:15)
  • David had already proven himself to be an able protector of the people.
  • God had clearly chosen David as king.  They would choose to agree with and follow God’s will.
• The city of Jerusalem had served as a barrier between the northern and southern tribes.  David’s completion of God’s command (Judges 1:21) and making Jerusalem the capitol united the kingdom.
• David’s accumulation of wives and concubines may have looked “kingly” in the world’s eyes, but it was disobedience.
• The idols of the Philistines were supposed to guarantee their victory.  Instead, Israel’s unity and power grew and the idols of the Philistines were burned (1 Chronicles 14:12).

Questions to consider:

1. If everyone else in Israel thought David was their hero, what did David seem to know at this point?  (Verse 12)  For whom did David become king?  Did the kingdom exist to serve him or did he become the servant of the people?  What can this teach us about leadership?
2. What is ironic about the Jebusites’ taunt of David?  Could the blind and lame of the Jebusites defend the city against Israel and their God?  What kind of blindness did this taunting reveal about the Jebusite people?  Who among the Jebusites proved to be blind?  What didn’t they see?
3. God promised David, “I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”  What promises from God’s Word give you joy because of their certainty?  What makes God’s promises so certain?  What attributes of God make His promises so certain?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 4

Helpful thoughts:

• Ish-bosheth and the rest of Israel knew their stability was gone after the death of Abner.  Ish-bosheth had only become king because Abner had declared it to be so.
• The men who killed Ish-bosheth were from his own tribe.  Perhaps they hoped that David would show them mercy if they helped him take over their own people.
• These men who murdered Ish-bosheth believed they were alleviating David of his concerns.  David pointed them to the LORD, “who has redeemed my life out of every adversity.”

Questions to consider:

1. Why did David have these men executed?  What crime did they commit?  How did they seek to justify themselves?
2. Do the ends justify the means?  Does God care as much about the journey as He does the end result?
3. Are there any ways we might be tempted to “help” God accomplish His will through tactics of our own design?  How can we show our faith in God’s Word by not just trying to accomplish a task, but also by accomplishing it according to His command and leaving the timing and results up to Him?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 3

Helpful thoughts:

• Over two years of conflict between the house of Saul and the house of David, David gained and Ish-bosheth waned.
• Deuteronomy 17:17 – And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
  • David’s marriages were strategic and solidified support among the people and also (“The daughter of Talmai king of Geshur) added to Ish-bosheth’s list of potential enemies.  His demand for the return of Michal also placed David back within the house of Saul.
  • Jesus spoke of God’s plan for marriage (Matthew 19:3-9).  One man, one woman and the two become one flesh.
• When Ish-bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with the king’s concubine, he was accusing him of taking control of the king’s possessions…including the throne.  This would have been considered an act of treason.
  • Ish-bosheth did the same thing his father had done, distrust a loyal servant.
  • Abner’s response seems to prove his innocence in the matter.  Furthermore, his ability to move about and do all that he did also shows he was the one who truly held power and influence.  It was only by Abner’s kindness and loyalty that Ish-bosheth had remained king as long as he had!
• Joab’s personal vendetta could have destroyed the imminent unity of all Israel.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did David become the king?  What did Abner acknowledge in verse 18?
2. Should it surprise us to find evidence of sin in the lives of Old Testament figures like David (Romans 3:23)?  If God is going to accomplish good through people in this world, what kind of people are going to be used?  Can God use you to accomplish His will?
3. How does the Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness?  How can God be merciful and gracious and yet, by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:6-7, Isaiah 53:6)?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 2

Helpful thoughts:

• Instead of immediate conquest after Saul’s death, David inquired of the Lord.
• Hebron was one of, if not the most distinguished cities in Judah (David’s tribe).
  • It was a city of refuge (A safe place for people accused of manslaughter to flee).
  • It was a city for the priesthood.  David was accompanied by Abiathar the priest.
  • David probably brought over 1,000 people with him to Hebron and it’s surrounding villages counting the men who fought with him and their families.
• David sought to show empathy and respect to those who mourned over and respected Saul.  He was trying to do the right things the right way.  Others sought the world’s methods.  We will see more examples of this in the next few chapters.
  • Regardless of how people handled themselves, God’s sovereign will would always be accomplished.

Questions to consider:

1. If Abner saw Joab as the first in command of David’s army, what did he have to gain by taking Saul’s son and seeking to re-establish the kingdom through Saul’s descendant?
2. How does the difference in years in verses 10-11 show David’s patience?  How long would David have reigned in Judah before Ish-bosheth even was made king over the rest of Israel?  Was David pushing things through or was he waiting on the Lord’s timing?
3. Why did David eventually become king over all Israel?  Whose faithfulness was ultimately put to the test and proven?  What promises has God given us in His word?  Why do you know all of God’s promises will be fulfilled?