Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 19:1-19

Helpful thoughts:

• God had promised David that He would subdue his enemies.  Chapter 19 continues this promises fulfillment.
• David’s initial approach toward Hanun was one of kindness.  Hanun disrespected David’s men and assembled an army ready for battle without any provocation.
  • Joab spoke rightly at the end of verse 13, “May the Lord do what seems good to Him.”
• Due to their decision to fight against Israel together, the Lord gave Israel victory over two enemies in one account.

Questions to consider:

1. Even if the Arameans and the Ammonites had been too strong for Israel that day (Verse 12), who could they have never overcome?  Whose power was with Israel that day?
2. Why did God give them this victory?  What had He promised?
3. What promises has God given to us in His Word?  Even in the midst of hardships or times that feel like major set-backs, what is God still faithfully doing?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 18:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Imagine the confidence David went out with after receiving these covenant promises from God in the previous chapter!
• David would not build a Temple for God, but these victories in battle provided materials for the construction during Solomon’s reign.
• Even though these good years would not last forever, the sense of finality in verse 14 serves as a type for the final reign of Christ.  Jesus will rule and reign with perfect justice and in complete righteousness.  And of His kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:32-33)

Questions to consider:

1. Why did David and Israel keep winning all these battles (Verse 6, 13)?
2. When David dedicated all the gifts from King Tou of Hamath to the Lord, what testimony did that give?  To whom did David give the credit for these victories?  To whom was King Tou introduced?  When our hearts are fixed on Christ, who will our friends, family and acquaintances hear about before too long?
3. How will you serve King Jesus today?  How will His eternal rule and reign give you proper perspective as you face the day?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 17:1-27

Helpful thoughts:

• David desired to build a house for God.  Instead God promises to build a house for David that will last forever.
  • The Davidic Covenant saw an immediate fulfilment through David’s reign and in his son, Solomon’s reign.
  • The ultimate fulfilment of the covenant will come through the eternal reign of King Jesus!
• In David’s prayer of thanksgiving, he acknowledges that these promises will hold because God was the giver of the promises.  This was God’s gracious covenant, not a reward for David’s own righteousness.
• David gives a great summary for the purpose of Israel’s existence in verses 21-22.  The right response to these truths follows in verses 23-24.
  • God does these things for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:1-3), and we all benefit.
  • The greatest blessing and benefit God could give to His people is Himself.  To give us anything less, to give us what we might think we want more, would be unloving.

Questions to consider:

1. What do we learn about God when we see His desire to have people build Him a temple is of lesser significance than what He has in store?  Do the ways people tend to think of honoring God always agree with what God sees as honoring to Him (e.g. Micah 6:8)?
2. Knowing that the “house” God built in David’s family includes Christ, what part do we (Christians) have in this promise?  How does our part in God’s family in Christ help fulfill verses 23-24?
3. How can our confidence in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises give us strength, endurance, peace and joy in the midst of this life?  How can the assurance of these promises embolden us to share the glory of God with the nations (And our neighbors) even when the world around us doesn’t find Christ to be desirable?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 16:1-43

Helpful thoughts:

• With the Ark now placed in the Tabernacle, the Levites were able to get busy with their appointed regular responsibilities as God had commanded.
• The words of David’s Psalm are found again in Psalms 96, 105, and 106.
• For a nation that had already worshipped so many false gods, and even for a time like today when truth and morality are treated as relative, verse 26 is incredibly important.
  • God is the maker of the heavens.  Any other form of worship or the lack thereof is wrong, sinful and destructive.

Questions to consider:

1. With the Tabernacle up, the Levites in service and the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, how big of a day was this for Israel?  Why would it have been so important?
2. What components of David’s Psalms encourage you most?  What do we learn about God in these words?
3. Knowing that God is Creator and Lord of all, how should we really see the souls of other people around the world and in our neighborhoods who do not know Him?  The world says that we should accept and even approve others in their choices in life, even when God calls their actions sinful.  What would God have us do (Matthew 28:19-20)?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 15:1-29

Helpful thoughts:

• David’s repentance is evidenced by this change of actions.  They read the Word of God, they confessed their wrong-doing, and they made it right.
  • This required humility on the part of this new king.  He admitted to his people that he had done wrong, went to the Lord to learn, and was willing to right his wrongs.  Good leadership.
• “Seeking God” or as other translations say it, “Consulting” or “Inquiring” of the Lord is defined here as reading His written word.  God’s word is sufficient.  Seek Him as He has revealed Himself to us.
• Verses 25-29 depict an occasion for celebration for all Israel.  This wasn’t David’s day, this was Israel’s day to celebrate and worship their God.
  • Michal’s (Saul’s daughter and David’s wife) perspective is man-centered.  She despised God before she despised David.

Questions to consider:

1. What were the evidences (Or the fruits) of David’s repentance?  What is the difference between confession and repentance?  Why are both necessary parts of growth?
2. When David changed and grew as a follower of God and as a leader, was everyone on board and excited for him?  Who alone must we live to please (2 Corinthians 5:9)?
3. Even if David did do something wrong on that day, or if he wasn’t acting regally enough, what would have been a proper response for Michal (Ephesians 4:15-16)?  Do we get a green light to hate and despise our brothers and sisters when they do wrong?  If our goal is going to align with God’s goal for His children, what must our goal be for one another?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 14:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Deuteronomy 17:14-17 has some laws for the future kings of Israel that shed light on what happens in today’s reading.
• Unlike the Philistines, who took the Ark of God back to their own cities after their victories over Israel, David and his men burned the idols of the defeated enemy.
• David received specific instruction from the Lord in verses 14-15, not just what to do, but how to do it, and David obeyed, and Israel won. (Contrast this with the tragedy of Uzzah and the Ark from chapter 13)
  • God is graciously helping David grow.

Questions to consider:

1. How do the laws concerning kings in Israel match up (Or not…) with what we read in the first 3 verses of today’s chapter?
2. What do you notice about verse 11 in chapter 14, and verse 11 in chapter 13?  What has the Lord done in both chapters? For whom?
3. David loved the Lord, and he still needed to grow.  How is God’s grace responsible for both of these truths and their culmination?  How are God’s unconditional love, grace, and faithfulness put on display in the life of all His saints?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• We will be what might feel a little harsh on David and Israel today in order to learn what we can from this passage.  When we think critically about the actions of the people in the Old and New Testaments, we shouldn’t walk away thinking we are better than them, but that we can and should learn from their actions, just as we would want others to learn from our own sins.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
  • There are detailed instructions for Israel on how to take care of the Ark (Numbers 4).  These instructions were not followed because the people did not know them.
    • The Kings of Israel were to write their own copy of the law when they began their rule (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
  • The ark was to be carried with poles by a specific line of priests.  It was not to be touched.
  • David did put a bunch of effort into consulting with people, and planning a big celebration, but he did not do any of this with a knowledge of God’s Word.
  • David was angry with God for Uzzah’s death.  In Numbers 4:15, God stated this would happen.
  • David’s fear of God initially led him to divert God away from himself.
• When we reflect on these passages, it’s important to hold grace, progressive sanctification, and our pursuit of holiness with the right balance.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the only way to know what the Word of God says?  What things can you do that help you to internalize the truth of God’s Word?  What motivates people to be in God’s Word and to strive to learn it?
2. Did David’s and Israel’s motives to bring the Ark to Jerusalem negate them from the responsibility to do things according to God’s commands?  We might say, “Well, their heart was right…”  But, if our hearts are right and we know God is holy and worthy of all obedience, won’t we also want to know what He has said, seeking to grow in doing the things He’s commanded the way He commanded us to do them?
3. Knowing that God is interested in (And holds all authority and justice over) not only what we do, but also why and how we do it, how good is it to know that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all our sin?  If you and I were responsible to make a list for all the things we needed Jesus to die for, would we successfully write an exhaustive list?  How can this inability on our part result in greater praise and thanksgiving toward God?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 12:1-40

Helpful thoughts:

• The ambidextrous men who came to David’s aid when he was a fugitive from King Saul were Saul’s own family!
• The Holy Spirit clothing Amasai would be a similar thing to the episodes where the Spirit empowered Samson for some of his major military victories.  This is different from the indwelling of the Spirit in the life of a believer today.
  • Here is a quick helpful article on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
• By the time David was king in Hebron, before he was king over all Israel, he had an army from all of Israel who were ready to go to war to make him the king.  God had made his choice, and the people were getting behind him.

Questions to consider:

1. Knowing what David did concerning God’s decreed will to make him king, what would David be seeing as all these men came to fight for him in Hebron?  Who was putting this army together?
2. From the perspective of those loyal to the line of King Saul, what would all these people be considered?  Whose labels and identifications matter to the children of God?  Who must we remain faithful to through all the ebbs and flows of cultural change in this life?
3. How did God fight for our loyalty and participation in His kingdom?  What does the indwelling of the Spirit tell us concerning whose side we are on (Romans 8:12-17)?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 11:1-47

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s reading, David becomes king over all Israel.  For more info on this time, including a short time of civil war, see the first five chapters of 2 Samuel.
• Jerusalem did not become the capital city of Israel until David’s reign.  Jerusalem came to be known as the City of David.
• Perhaps the most shocking inclusion in the list of David’s Mighty Men is found in verse 41, Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11).

Questions to consider:

1. Why might it make sense for a chronicle of Israel’s history, written after a nation’s return from exile, start to be written in greater detail at the beginning of King David’s reign?
2. What highlights do you notice where the Lord was acknowledged as being involved?  Where all was the Lord truly involved?  Who did Israel call the Lord in verse 2?  Whose God?
3. What was most important for each person in the nation of Israel, that David’s God blessed them as a country, or that the Lord became their God as well?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Saul didn’t want the Philistines to get the credit for killing him, so he killed himself.  Ultimately, he didn’t have the control over his own life he wanted.  His death was the Lord’s judgment.
• The Philistines had to send messengers throughout their territory to let their idols know that Saul had died.  Their gods needed messengers.  The one true God is all-knowing and everywhere-present.
• Saul chose not to obey the Lord, and then when the Lord would not give him what he wanted, he turned to paganism.
  • The Lord is sovereign.  He does not answer to us.  He alone is worthy of our praise, adoration and obedience.

Questions to consider:

1. As a “chronicle” of the reign of King Saul, what does this short chapter convey about Israel’s first king?  What is the major takeaway from this short chapter?  Israel wanted a king just like all the other nations, how did that go?
2. What is the great irony of the Philistines sending messengers to their idols?  The Philistines would have given credit or thanked their fake idols for this victory, but who was in complete control?
3. When Saul chose to disobey God, or when Saul was dissatisfied with God’s choices and went to a medium, who was Saul demanding God serve?  Who was the true king of Saul’s life and how is this answer truly at the root of our choices to sin?  How can this reality give us an even greater appreciation for God’s grace in giving us Christ for our salvation?