Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 11

Helpful thoughts:

• David should have been out with his army.  He wasn’t busy doing what he was supposed to be doing.
• David in his right mind was concocting ways to sin and try to get away with it.  Uriah the Hittite showed more honor even after he was made to be drunk.
  • When David told Uriah to go home and “wash his feet,” this was a polite way to encourage him to go home and go to bed with his wife.  The gift David sent with Uriah would have been intended to give them a fancy date night.  David was only trying to cover his sin.
• Information about Bathsheba:
  • She was not a random woman in Jerusalem.  Uriah and her father, Eliam, were two of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:34, 39).  Her grandfather was one of David’s counselors (2 Samuel 15:12).
  • The language in verse 4, “and she came to him,” is a way to state that Bathsheba was willing.  What we don’t know is what her motivations were for being willing.  David put her in a terrible position either way.  As a leader, he should have been fighting for the purity of the people, not inviting/using them to sin.
  • The information about her purification from uncleanness confirms that the child was David’s.  She had just completed her cycle.
• Joab trusted David’s orders…Uriah was the one who had been trustworthy.  The man who was just died in an attempt to cover the sin of the unjust.  This is not the kind of sacrifice that brings forgiveness and reconciliation with the holy God.

Questions to consider:

1. Of all the people David sinned against, who was the most significant? (End of verse 27)
2. How did David’s pride and sinful desires cause him to view other people?  What kind of man did he assume Uriah was going to be when he came home?  How did he treat people like Joab to accomplish his desires? Was Uriah the only soldier who died in that battle (Verse 17)?  Did David lament the loss of lives?
3. How can sins of omission (Not doing what we should do) lead to sins of commission (Doing what we shouldn’t)?  How can you love the Lord and your neighbor today?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 10

Helpful thoughts:

• Shaving beards and cutting off these garments were things you did to humiliate prisoners of war who were now under your authority.  It might seem a bit much to start a war over beards and clothes, but this was more than that.  It was an act of aggression.
  • David was angered by this, but he didn’t ready an army until he heard there was one ready for battle against him.
• Joab reminded Israel’s army that the result of the battle was ultimately up to the Lord.
  • Their courage was to come from their faith and loyalty to God and for the good of others (The people of Israel).
• We are never told how many soldiers from Israel were there for these battles.  It doesn’t matter…God did what was good to Him.

Questions to consider:

1. What are the strengths of Joab’s “pep talk” to the soldiers?  What was to be their motivation?  In whom did they trust?
2. Why is it better to say, “May the Lord do what seems good to Him.” instead of “God is going to give us this victory!”  How is this especially true if one is fighting a war today in a nation that is not Old Testament Israel?
3. What promises do we have from God as citizens of the Kingdom of God?  Even though we are not promised ease and victory from the world’s perspective, what truths can we rest in?  (Romans 8:31-39)

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 9

Helpful thoughts:

• For a new king to bless the genealogical line of the previous king is rare.  David’s kindness helped ensure Saul’s lineage would continue and even remain prominent in the kingdom.
  • David’s decree also gave Ziba and his family their old jobs back.  This was a great day for them as well!
• Mica’s (Or Micah’s) descendants are listed in 1 Chronicles 8:35-38, 9:41-44.
• Mephibosheth’s response to David in verse 8 is not much different than David’s response to God’s gracious act in 7:18.

Questions to consider:

1. How would God’s promise to David in chapter 7 give him confidence to show this level of kindness to the descendants of Saul?  What did David have to believe about God and His promises?
2. How would this compare to a verse like 1 John 4:19?  How should God’s love for us shown through the Gospel impact the way we think about and treat other people?
3. How would Mephibosheth’s physical condition have contributed to his gratitude toward David?  What do we see lame people doing in the rest of Scripture?  How does a right view of where we stand before a holy God increase our thankfulness and love for Christ?

Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 8

Helpful thoughts:

• The kingdom of Israel extended to the north, south, east and west during David’s reign.
• When Toi sent his son to bless David and bring gifts, this was an act of voluntary submission.  Toi could not defeat Hedadezer, therefore he was happy to become loyal to David peacefully.
• Psalm 60 was written along with these events from 2 Samuel 8.
• Verse 15 is a picture of what will be done with complete perfection only when Christ rules and reigns.
• David’s sons did not serve as priests in the same way Zadok and Ahimelech did.  They were “ministers” in the king’s court.  Think “ministers” in the political sense, not the spiritual.  (See 1 Chronicles 18:17 for the translation of the parallel passage)

Questions to consider:

1. How would people look at David’s actions today?  If someone did today what David accomplished in this chapter, what would the world think?  Would it be right or wrong?  What makes David and the nation of Israel in the OT different than any king or political leader today?
2. What does it mean that David ruled over all Israel with justice and equity for all his people?  What makes this task so hard to fulfill in this world as it is?  Why will Jesus be the only one who can truly fulfill the task?
3. How will the kingdom of God under King Jesus look different perhaps than the kingdom of Israel under David?  Where will the people come from?  What will be the core foundation of our allegiance?  What will be our bond of unity?  In what ways should that bond already be shared in all Christ followers now?

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)