TEACHING WITH EXCELLENCE Bible Study Lesson Schedule and Weekly Essentials Summer, Samuel

Transcription

1 TEACHING WITH EXCELLENCE Bible Study Lesson Schedule and Weekly Essentials Summer, Samuel June 2-3 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 1:22-27; 2:1-7 Be sure to refer to Biff Johnson s background material and outline of 2 Samuel. Background: 2 Samuel 1 opens with David receiving the report that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in the battle with the Amalekites (verse 4). David and his men responded by tearing their clothes, weeping and fasting over the death of Saul and Jonathan (verses 11-12). On one level, this response is surprising because Saul had hunted David and made his life miserable for the better part of 3 years. But, David saw the bigger picture, from God s perspective. He saw Saul as God s anointed and genuinely mourned his death. Remember, in the book of 1 Samuel David had two opportunities to kill Saul but he refused. He trusted God rather than taking matters into his own hands. Thus, it was a pattern in David s life to have a Godly perspective. 2 Samuel 1:17-27 David, ever the poet and musician, composed a lament to mourn and honor Saul and Jonathan. o Three times in the lament David says the line, How the mighty have fallen! (verses 19, 25 and 27) o In verse 20, David laments that Israel s enemies would rejoice over the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan. o In verses David celebrates the military ability of Saul & Jonathan. o In verse 24, he calls on the daughters of Israel, who had once sung Saul s praises, to now weep over their fallen leader. o In verses 25-27, David ends with a tribute to his best friend, Jonathan. 2 Samuel 2:1-7 Now that Saul was dead, David could officially be anointed and recognized as the King of Judah. He was also free to move about the country rather than being hunted by Saul. David had looked forward to this day since his anointing by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:13, about 15 years earlier. He sought the mind of the Lord and was told to go to Hebron to be formally installed as King. David also blessed the men of Jabesh-Gilead who buried Saul and reminded them that he was now their King. Even after Saul s death, David continued to show respect for him. APPLICATION: (1) Have a godly perspective regarding your circumstances see the bigger picture rather than immediately reacting when things don t go your way. (2) Life is not fair. The Bible is full of people who were unfairly treated but continued to trust God. (3) God s top priority is not your happiness or your comfort, but your holiness your Christlikeness.

2 June 9-10 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 3:8-21 BACKGROUND: Verse 1 of Chapter 3 is a summary of 2:8-32. The point of the remaining verses is that during the seven and one-half years that David ruled Judah, he grew stronger because God blessed him. However, David had multiple wives, which God had forbidden the King to do. Dr. Constable states, David undoubtedly married the women mentioned, partially in order to cement political alliances, as was common in the ancient Near East. [Dr. Constable s Notes on 2 Samuel, page 16] But again, God had forbidden such alliances (Deut. 7:3). Chapter 3:2-5 lists David s sons. The theme of this section of 2 Samuel is David s effort to unify the nation of Israel and become the leader of all 12 tribes. 3:6-11 The need for unification: there was war between Saul s and David s families. As 3:1 states, it was a long war, which suggests a state of hostility for as long as two years. The term house often referred to a man s descendants, his family. Thus, the reference to the house of Saul and the house of David. Saul s family wanted to limit David s rule to the tribe of Judah only. The house of David desired to unify all 12 tribes under David s rule. Within the house of Saul, there was a conflict between Abner and Ish-bosheth. Abner was the power behind the throne and eventually shifted his support over to David (verses 9-11). 3:12-21 Abner proposed to David that they make a covenant together that he would help David secure Israel and unify the nation. David demanded that Abner restore to him his long-separated wife, Michal, as a sign of good faith. She was the daughter of Saul, which would contribute to the unity of the nation to bring together the house of David and the house of Saul. Abner brought Michal to David he took her from her current husband, Paltiel. Then, Abner met with Israel s elders and persuaded them that it was in their best interest to unify under David s rule. This elevated Abner in David s estimation, which may have been Abner s plan all along. Abner left David, but when David s men found out about his covenant with Abner, they were not happy. Joab, David s military leader of the army of Judah, was especially incensed at the arrangement. Earlier, Abner had killed Joab s brother, Asahel (2:23). As it turned out, Joab got his revenge by killing Abner see 3: APPLICATION: What are we to make of this story? It s messy! As Warren Wiersbe states referring to this section of 2 Samuel, Sin was reigning as men lied to each other, hated each other and sought to destroy each other. [The Wiersbe Bible Commentary Old Testament, page 559] Life is messy. Because we live in a fallen world, we will always have crises with which to deal, no matter how much we love God, pray, study Scripture, attend church, etc. Remember, David is called a man after God s own heart. (Acts 13:22; 1 Samuel 13:14) And yet, he sinned, was disobedient at times and made mistakes. God uses imperfect people and bad examples to teach us as well as good examples. See Romans 15:4. All Scripture is profitable for teaching us (2 Timothy 3:16), even the messy parts.

3 June (Sunday is Father s Day) Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 5:9-12; 6:12-19 BACKGROUND - We could call this lesson David s Coronation as King of Israel. He would finally be formally installed as King. This included two components: (1) Political - The establishment of Jerusalem as the capital. (2) Spiritual - Bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. 5:9-10 The establishment of David s kingship was set in the city of David and he built from Millo and inward. The Lord was with David and David continued to grow. 5:11-12 Hiram sent resources to build a house for David. David realized that the Lord had established and exalted His kingdom and it was for the sake of Israel. 6:1-7 David s kingdom was established, and David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. As it was being moved, it slipped and Uzzah reached out to take hold of it. The Priests were the only ones allowed to touch the Ark so Uzzah s action was considered irreverent. God struck him down and he died. 6: David became angry with God and afraid of God because of Uzzah s fate. David left the Ark at the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite because David wondered how the Ark could come to him. 6: The ark remained at Obed-edom and the Lord blessed him and his household. When David heard of Obed-edom s blessing, he brought the ark to Jerusalem. He offered burnt and peace offerings. He celebrated with dancing. 6:18-19 In addition to the offerings made to God, David blessed the people with bread, dates and raisings. APPLICATION: - The capital was established but one important thing was missing which was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of biblical Mount Sinai. The Ark represented God s presence with Israel. The real significance of the Ark of the Covenant was what took place involving the lid of the box, known as the "Mercy Seat." The term mercy seat comes from a Hebrew word meaning to cover, placate, appease, cleanse, cancel or make atonement for. The Mercy Seat on the Ark was a symbolic foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice for all sin the blood of Christ shed on the cross for the remission of sins 1 o When we are saved because of God s mercy, we want Him in our lives as David wanted the Ark in Jerusalem? o Are there times when God does something or allows something to happen that makes you angry with and afraid of God? 1

4 June Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 7:8-21 BACKGROUND - This passage captures God's response to David after David requests that God allow him to build a permanent temple. In verse 2, David says "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." David longs to build a permanent home for the presence of the Lord to dwell. However, in God's response through the prophet Nathan, we see that God is not interested in David building him a house of cedar, but He instead gives David a glimpse into what He will do in the future through King David's family. 7:8-11 In these verses, God recaps what He had already done in David's life, to elevate him to his place as king from his days in the pasture as a shepherd. God brings up His past faithfulness of protecting David from his enemies and leading him into his vocation as king. He mentions these things in order to show David that He will continue to be faithful in the future. In verse 9 He says: "Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth." 7:12-16 Although David will not get to build the permanent temple for God, he does receive the promise that God will raise up his offspring to build a house for the Lord. Even greater is the promise from God to build a lasting 'house', or family line, for David. Unlike Saul before him, God gives David's family the throne 'forever'. Even when David's descendants do wrong (as they would in the future), God would not remove His favor or promise from them. On the one hand, God was promising that David's son, Solomon, would get to build the temple for the Lord. In addition to this, God was pointing forward to David's later descendant who would usher in an eternal Kingdom, and that descendant is Jesus. 7:17-21 David responds appropriately to God's message with humility and with wonder. "Who am I, Sovereign Lord, that you have brought me this far", David says in wonder for the things revealed to Him. David gives the appropriate response of praise, wonder, and worship to the Lord. APPLICATION: Below are two (2) applications that we can consider: 1. We ought to remember God's faithfulness that has brought us to where we are now. Remembering God's past faithfulness will help us have eternal perspective on the future that He has planned for each of us. 2. God does have a good future planned for those who are in Christ! God uses His people to do incredible things in the world, and if you are one of His children, He does have good things in store for you, whether in this life or in the age to come.

5 June 30-July 1 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 9:1-13 BACKGROUND - This passage gives an account of King David seeking out and honoring the grandson of his enemy, King Saul. David acts in the opposite fashion of typical usurping kings in the ancient world, by showing kindness and respect to the progeny of the previous king. David s actions reflect his security in his vocation as king, as well as his honor for his close friendship with Jonathan, the son of Saul. 9:1-5 David begins by asking Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan s sake? David goes directly against the precedent of pretty much any political usurping party in the history of the world, especially in the ancient world. Typically, any new dynasty in the ancient world (and even now in modernity) would set out to eliminate any remaining family members of the previous dynasty in order to secure its own political power. This would usually be done through exile or straight up murder. 2 David s behavior is different, as he seeks out the family members of King Saul for the purpose of showing kindness to them on behalf of his dear friend Jonathan. Ziba, a household servant of King Saul, informs David that one of the sons of Jonathan is still alive. However, Ziba tells David that this man, Mephibosheth, is crippled. One important thing to remember is that in the ancient world, someone with a physical disability like Mephibosheth would be considered a burden. On top of that, many people would assume that Mephibosheth had this ailment as a punishment from God because of his own sin or the sins of his family. David s response to Mephibosheth is telling of his character and even grace and mercy. 9:5-8 David calls Mephibosheth to have an audience with him. When the guest arrives, David tells him not to be afraid, and that he intends to show kindness to the son of his dear friend by restoring to him all of his grandfather s wealth. On top of that, David promises that Mephibosheth will always eat at the table of the king. The crippled man responds by humbly asking What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me? APPLICATION: 1) God s Kingdom is fundamentally different from the kingdoms of the world. This passage serves a reminder that God s kingdom is unlike the patterns, behaviors, and precedents of the powers that be. Jesus goes on to elaborate on the nature of God s Kingdom during His ministry. The kingdoms of the world try to attain and consolidate power, eliminating threats and inconveniences for the sake of the institution or for personal gain. God s kingdom operates by raising up the lowly, forgiving those who have wronged, loving enemies, and lavishly showing compassion. 2) The correct response to mercy is humility Mephibosheth shows the correct response to David s kindness. He was probably worried that the new king would want to kill him. And when he is shown kindness by the king, Mephibosheth responds with gratefulness and humility. Our response to God s mercy in our lives should be the same. We do not deserve any of the good gifts that God so lavishly showers upon us. Knowing 2 See Baruch Halpern, Sybil, or the Two Nations? Archaism, Kingship, Alienation, and the Elite Redefinition of Traditional Culture in Judah in the 8 th -7 th Centuries B.C.E., in The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty- First Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference, ed. J.S. Cooper and G.M. Schwartz (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1996),

6 that we are all spiritually crippled in relation to God s Holiness will give us the humility to step into whatever calling God has for us with obedience and thankfulness.

7 July 7-8 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 12: BACKGROUND: In this famous passage, the prophet Nathan confronts King David regarding his sins against Uriah and Bathsheba, and ultimately against God. He does this by telling the story of a rich man who wrongs a poor man. Nathan tells David that calamity will befall his family, and David responds with confession and remorse. The backdrop for this story comes from David s actions with Bathsheba and Uriah. Uriah was a great warrior for David, loyal to the King and to Israel. While Uriah was off at war, David saw the soldier s wife, Bathsheba, bathing on her roof and he began to desire her. David called Bathsheba to his house, slept with her, and got her pregnant. The King tried to cover up his wrongdoing by bringing Uriah back from war for a short time to sleep with Bathsheba. However, Uriah refused to sleep with his wife out of loyalty and honor toward his fellow soldiers. Frustrated with this turn of events, King David orchestrated the guaranteed killing of Uriah in battle, after which he took Bathsheba to be his own wife :1-6 Nathan tells King David about two men, one rich and one poor. The rich man had all the sheep and cattle (livestock and land were the major measures of wealth in the ancient world) he could ever need. The poor man had only one little lamb in his possession. He treasured this lamb, raised it, fed it, and even held this lamb while he slept. One day, the rich man needed to take part in a hospitality ritual for a traveler by killing and serving a sheep, so the rich man took the poor man s lamb fed it to the traveler. King David became furious after hearing the tale, and vowed to punish the rich man. He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity, declared David :7-10 Nathan brings down the hammer on David, declaring you are that man! David s infidelity, his selfishness, his abuse of power, and his disregard for God s law led him to take actions like the rich man in Nathan s parable. David was the King of a great nation, a man who had all of the possessions, power, prestige, and pleasure that any one man could ever want or need, but he still allowed his covetousness, jealousy, selfishness, and pride lead him into truly reprehensible actions :11-14 Nathan, on behalf of God, tells David that calamity will come upon him because of his heinous actions. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. David confesses his sin, and Nathan tells David that he will not die, but his son by Bathsheba would die. 5. APPLICATION - Spiritual laziness leads to spiritual peril. David was guilty of covetousness, adultery, lying, and murder. How could this happen? He was a man after God s own heart, right? The mostly likely explanation is that it all started with David neglecting his duty and vocation as king of Israel. 11:1 tells us that in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out instead of himself. David s duty was to protect and guide Israel, but he neglected his duties in favor of remaining comfortably at the palace. In his luxury at the palace, David saw Bathsheba, he gave into his lust, which led him to abuse his power toward a woman with no real option to refuse him, which led him to attempt deception to cover up his sin, which led to

8 frustration when his plan didn t work, which led to murder to make the problem go away. When God calls us to do something, we must do it. Laziness, apathy, and drifting lead us into dangerous spiritual territory.

9 July Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 13:15-20, BACKGROUND - The beginning of chapter 13 tells about a horrible episode in the family of King David, and it sows the initial seeds of David being forced to flee from Jerusalem later on in his rule. One of David s sons, Amnon, fell in love with Tamar (his step-sister). However, this love was more akin to lust, the passionate Eros desire to possess or have the other. 13:2 strongly implies that Amnon was frustrated that he could not do anything sexually with Tamar. From the beginning of the episode, the text intentionally draws parallels between the sexual deviance of Amnon and David s sins with Bathsheba beforehand. At the advice of his shrewd friend Jonadab, Amnon plots to have David send Tamar to his chambers in order to bring him food. When Tamar arrives, Amnon forces her to sleep with him against her will. 13:15-20 After the encounter, Amnon began to hate Tamar with an intense hatred. This is further proof that the love that Amnon felt was actually selfish lust. Amnon s actions were reprehensible and evil, and they were also short sighted. Tamar points out herself to Amnon that the king will not keep me from being married to you if he were only to ask. Amnon was clearly a fleshly man who did not respect women, nor the laws of the Lord. This rape was truly heinous because of 1) the power imbalance between the brother and sister 2) the obvious non-consensual nature of this encounter and 3) the disastrous after-effects that this would have on Tamar s life. Tamar s virginity was taken away from her, which in the ancient world would destroy a woman s life. Verse 20 tells us that she was forced to live as a desolate woman. One of David s other sons, Absalom, found out about the rape, and took Tamar into his house to take care of her. 13:31-39 Absalom executes a plan to have Amnon killed because of what he did to Tamar. There are a few key elements at play here: o Absalom waits two years to get revenge on Amnon for what he did to Tamar o Amnon was the crown prince of Israel, the next in line to be King after David s death o Rape is roundly condemned in the Old Testament, but the designated punishment for rape was not murder. Absalom s response, while on the surface seems justified, is an over-reach o There is good reason to believe (based on Absalom s later action) that Tamar s rape is not the full reason for Absalom s plot to kill Amnon, but he is in fact motivated by his own desire to be the King after David s death Absalom fled and was gone for three years. David did not hold a grudge against Absalom. In fact, David longed to see his son again. APPLICATION: Let s take a look at the 2 applications below: 1. Generational Sin. The Bible gives us a clear pattern of showing the sins of fathers often repeating themselves in successive generations. In this case, Amnon repeats David s sins of jealousy, lust, and abusing one s power against a woman. Absalom repeats David s sins of duplicity and deception, as well as plotting to murder. While we do not believe that the sins of one generation guarantee the same sins in the next, it is clear that these things do often repeat themselves within families. When we sin as individuals, our actions do not only affect

10 ourselves, but they often effect those who come after us. Your sins may very well have a direct impact on the future of your children. 2. Lack of Leadership. David s other major issue in this story is his own failure of leadership. David is fooled and manipulated by both of his sons in this story, with disastrous consequences as a result. Leadership and authority can be a very difficult burden, but God does expect us to manage prudently with the responsibilities that He gives us. David s lack of effective leadership play a major role in this horrible saga.

11 July Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 15:10-16, BACKGROUND - In this passage, King David discovers that the sentiments of the people of Israel shifted from him to his son Absalom. Absalom completed a political coupe of sorts, in which his aim was to become king instead of his father David. David is forced to flee Jerusalem, and he mourns this turn of events along with those who were loyal to him. 15:10-16 Absalom worked to strengthen his conspiracy efforts to become king of Israel. He sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to spread the propaganda that he was the true king of Israel. David discovered through a messenger that The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom, and he had no choice but to flee Jerusalem. 15:24-30 David sent the high priest, Zadok, along with the Ark of the Covenant, back to Jerusalem, saying If I find favor in the Lord s eyes, He will bring me back and let me see it and His dwelling place again. David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as a broken man along with those who were with him. APPLICATION: Even at our lowest points, God is not finished with us yet. This moment of fleeing from Jerusalem may have been the low point of David s life. Functionally, he was being forced out of the vocation of Kingship that God had given him, betrayed by his own son, knowing that his sins were the root cause of all of these things. David s story is undeniably messy, and although he was broken and dejected, he still held out hope that the Lord may return him to his Kingship one day. As we read later in David s story, he was returned to Jerusalem again, but the experience was still extremely painful for David, because his son would die in the process. Our actions do have consequences, but even in the worst moments of experiencing the consequences of our actions, God can and will still use us again in the future.

12 July Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 19:1-15 BACKGROUND - This passage gives us a bittersweet account of David being put back to his rightful place as King of Israel. While Absalom temporarily took the hearts and loyalties of the men of Israel from David, he ultimately found himself dead and hanging from a tree. David is brought back to his rightful place, but not without much mourning for the loss of his son, and not without much suffering from the abandonment of his people. 19:1-8 At the end of chapter 18, David received the news of Absalom's death during their battle. Absalom, while riding his mule away from David's men, got his head caught in a tree, and he died as a result. Upon receiving this news, David mourned greatly, wishing that he had died instead of his son. While David's army won a victory over Absalom's forces, David was weeping over his son. Joab made a point to tell David that his reaction was disrespectful and humiliating to his own men. He tells David, "You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you." This speak stirs David to do his kingly duty and encourage his men. 19:9-15 The people of Israel begin to return their allegiances back to David, the rightful king. Israel is reunited, but on very tenuous terms. APPLICATION: Consequences for Our Actions - Every painful part of this saga came indirectly as a result of David's horrible actions with Bathsheba and Uriah earlier in his life. Obviously, there were other individual people making choices that led to the end result of chapter 19, but 2 Samuel makes it clear that David's actions were the key driving force behind all of this heartache. David's jealousy, lust, adultery, deception, and murder had ripple effects that brought him pain and misery. His children followed after his footsteps in sin, and at least 3 of David children were killed in the fallout. David's sin did not lead to his death, and it did not even lead to him permanently losing his place as king. However, his sins did make the process of regaining his Kingship a painful and bittersweet experience. Does God forgive our sins if we are his children? Of course he does? But our sin does have real, and often incredibly painful, consequences. David's life is a prime example of this truth.

13 August 4-5 Lesson Passage: - 2 Samuel 20:1-2; BACKGROUND The nation of Israel was divided. There were 10 tribes from Northern Israel and 2 tribes from Judah. Each group expressed their claim on King David based on their past experiences. The summary of their thoughts in chapter 19 is expressed below: 2 Samuel 19:43 - But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king? 20:1-2 - Expresses the thoughts of Sheba, the leader of the Northern Tribe o Now a worthless fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said, We have no portion in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel! o So, all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah remained steadfast to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem. Although Sheba, the leader of the Northern Tribe was described as a worthless fellow, his influence was evident in verse 20 - So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri 20:4 - Several commentaries noted that David s initial response to Israel s division was a surprise. Many commentators wondered if David really understood the depth of the problem. It may have been wiser for him to become personally involved rather than delegating the responsibility to Amasa. Secondly, Amasa had been the commander of Absalom s army in the earlier rebellion against David which causes one to question Amasa s loyalty to David. But the king said to Amasa, Call out the men of Judah for me within three days and be present here yourself. 20:5 - Amasa s partially obeyed the King s orders. Note what happened in Verse 5 - So Amasa went to call out the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 20:6 - After Amasa s partial obedience, David changed his strategy. He said to Abishai, Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. He ordered Abishai to pursue Sheba to prevent his escape Joab killed Amasa and the head of Sheba was tossed over the wall to Joab. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem APPLICATION: - Just as Israel was God s chosen people, the Body of Christ is God s children because of the grace of God which invites to know Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God who died and paid for our sins. He was resurrected by the power of the God; sits at the right hand of the Father and will return to gather His church to be with Him eternally. Until His return, the church may encounter division, but we must eliminate the source of the division. Unlike David s fight, the source of this division is not flesh and blood. This division comes from the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly place.

14 Knowing that our battle is spiritual, we must follow God s strategy and direction. He sees the battle eternally and spiritually. Our natural approach is not effective. By embracing the wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit in our renewed spirit, we can rest in the finished work of our Lord and Savior and return to our King just as Joab returned to King David.

15 August Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 21:1-6; BACKGROUND- According to verse 2, the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, but the sons of Israel made a covenant with them. An account of how this covenant came about can be found in Joshua 9:3-15. The Gibeonites pretended to be a nation from a faraway country. Israel did not inquire of the Lord but entered into covenant relationship with the Gibeonites. This covenant prevent Saul from harming the Gibeonites although he had a zeal to protect Israel 21:1 - David sought the Lord because of the three-year famine. The Lord s revealed the reason for the famine. The covenant between the Gibeonites and Israel preempted Saul s zeal to kill them and made Saul s action unholy in God s eyes. 21:4-7 The king asked the Gibeonites What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord? The Gibeonites did not want silver or gold but wanted seven (7) of Saul s sons to atone for what Saul had done by death. They killed Saul s sons in the mountain before the Lord. 21:12 David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan and buried them in the country of Benjamin, in the grave of Kish, Saul s Father. 21:14 Israel did all that the king commanded, and God was moved by prayer for the land. APPLICATION: - Although the covenant with the Gibeonites was secured during Joshua s time and under false pretenses (Joshua 9), God expected all provisions of the covenant to be fulfilled. Disobedience by Saul caused a famine in Israel for three straight years. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are under a new covenant with Him. Our covenant with Him is based on truth and Jesus has fulfilled every aspect of the covenant. Although our salvation is secure, disobedience does cause our Father to discipline us. Hebrews 12: 4 tells us My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives. o It is never too late to repent. God s grace is eternal and is part of the discipline. Don t allow the enemy to deceive you into thinking that God is condemning you. Discipline provide life with peaceful fruit of righteousness when we are trained by it. Condemnation destroys. See what our Father says in Hebrews 12:11 about the outcome of discipline - All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. o Do you need to repent of a sin that your conscience and the Holy Spirit has been placed a flag on your action but you have been ignoring it or trying to justify your action? Feel confident to approach the throne of grace to receive mercy today.

16 August Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 22:26-36; BACKGROUND - 2 Samuel 22:1 tells that these verses are part of David s song to the Lord when He delivered David from all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. Most commentaries are not 100% sure how long David had to wait until he officially became King of Israel. Some speculate that David had to wait approximately 15 years from the time he was first anointed by Samuel to the time he became king over Judah. It was another seven years before David was anointed king over all Israel. This means David waited over 20 years of his life to see God s will done on earth as it was in Heaven When we reflect God s attributes, He responds in like manner. For example, He is kind to those who are kind, because He sees His kindness on display and in action through us. Every aspect of His kindness in us is holy including our motives and our actions. They are seeded in Him and empowered by the Holy Spirit. 22: God empowers us to do His will. I can run upon forces/troops and leap over walls because of His power. I can do the impossible when I walk in His strength. I never use my natural power to accomplish kingdom work. My power is ineffective. Each day I ask to be filled with Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). 22: God s profile - God s way is blameless and His word has been globally tested. God is a trusted shield and the Rock of Ages. He is my strong fortress; He is personal and sets me in high places, a place of worship. Some high places played a major role in Israelite worship, and the earliest biblical mention of a site of worship, later called a high place, is found in Genesis 12:6 83 He gives me hind s feet; He trains my arms to fight because He knows that our fight is not against flesh and blood. 22:51 We, like David should end our song to the Lord with Thanksgiving Read verse 51 - Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name. APPLICATION: God is always faithful. God gives us promises to anchor us but those promises are manifested on earth in His perfect timing. His perfect timing can be days, months, or years but we are encouraged to persevere. Our prayer is that you will remain vigilant, allow Him to sanctify you and keep your eyes on Him. Make time to reflect on His profile as you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Although David s journey to experience His kingship was approximately 15 years, the psalms that he wrote have ministered to the body of Christ. This is a great example of what was intended for evil has been good for all of us. 3

17 August Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 24:10-25 Essentials BACKGROUND- David numbered the people but didn t seek God s direction. Joab tried to convince David not to number the people but David would not listen to his counsel. History does mention the objections which Joab and other distinguished officers urged against the council of David. But it expressly states that they were all overruled by the inflexible resolution of the king 4. 24:10 When we are disobedient, our conscience convicts us of our sinful act. Moses numbered the people but it was in direct obedience to God s direction for him. The difference between David and Moses was that David s act was a result of his independence, perhaps pride and confidence in his own ability. David did not inquire of the Lord before or after he was counseled by Joab. 24:10b David s confession - I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly God spoke to David through Gad, the prophet about David s sinful act. He gave David a choice of three consequences o Seven years of famine in his land o Three months of fleeing from his foes o Three days of Pestilence in your land 24:14 When David thought about his choices, he chose to fall into the hand of the Lord because the Lord s mercies are great. 24:15 - The Lord s discipline was great. He sent the pestilence and 70,000 men died. The Lord stopped the pestilence when the angel stretched his hand toward Jerusalem. 24:17 David interceded on behalf of the people after he saw the consequences that they were suffering. He spoke to the Lord and took full responsibility for numbering the people. David was told to erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. 24:18-21 When Araunah saw David, he bowed before David and asked the reason for the visit. David explained that he had come to buy the threshing floor but Araunah wanted to give David everything David needed David refused Araunah s offer because he didn t want to offer God something that didn t cost him anything. 24:25 - David built the alter; offered burnt and peace offerings. Good news God was moved by prayer and the plague was stopped. APPLICATION: David is described as a man after God s own heart but this is another account where David did not seek God s heart. We are told in verse 1 that God s anger burned against Israel and He incited David to number the people. Other translations have used the word tested instead incited. David did not seek God after he was told to number nor did he seek God after Joab advised him against numbering the people. 4 Commentary Critical Exposition of the Bible

18 As children of God, we are told in 1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. When we chose to follow the wrong spirit, we must repent. Although we may experience difficult consequences as a result of our action, God s shows us mercy in the midst of those consequences.