FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 1

FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 1

Take to quiz on what we know so far TRUE/FALSE DESCRIPTION 1. T or F David stunned the giant Goliath with a sling and stone and then finished him with a sword. 2. T or F David played the harp to take away the depression King Saul sometimes suffered. 3. T or F David was the youngest born, with nine siblings. 4. T or F David likely stole the heart of King Saul s wife, Ahinoam. 5. T or F David reigned as King for forty years: 7 years in Hebron ruling over Judah and then 33 years in Jerusalem ruling over all Israel and Judah. 6. T or F David had eight wives and ten concubines. 7. T or F David wrote 73 of the 150 psalms, plus additional poems recorded in Chronicles and 1 Samuel. 8. T or F Absalom exterminated all of his half-brothers in retribution for the rape of Abishag. 9. T or F David s first wife Michal never loved David yet managed to raise eleven children with him all girls. 10. T or F David sported a head of long blonde dreadlocks. 11. T or F David and Jonathan were bitter enemies. 12. T or F King Saul was a reasonable boss and an excellent manager who motivated his subordinates by building trust and fostering transparency. 13. T or F David s covenant with Jonathan extended to caring for Mephibosheth, Jonathan s lame son. 14. T or F David s birth name may have been Elhanan, and the name David -- mighty commander -- may have been given to him when he was crowned king. 15. T or F David s wife Abigail may have been the idealized model for the Proverbs 31 woman. FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 2

Undefeated King David doesn t lose. His first battle listed in the Bible occurs when he s a teenager, defeating Goliath at the Valley of Elah (1 Samuel 17:26). Upon becoming a professional soldier David successful fights endless battles, skirmishes, raids and military campaigns and wins them all. And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with a great slaughter. And they fled from him. (1 Samuel 19:8) The Battle of the Valley of Elah, David verses Goliath 1 Samuel 17 David Saves the City of Keilah and Out Maneuvers King Saul 1 Samuel 23 (21:1 15; 22:1 5) Saul s Pursuit of David in the En Gedi 1 Samuel 24 David s Strategic Movements -1 Samuel 26 27 David Saves the City of Ziklag 1 Samuel 30 King Saul s Final Battle 1 Samuel 31 War Between David s Judah and Ishbosheth s Israel 2 Samuel 2 4 King David s Conquest Establishes Jerusalem 2 Samuel 5 David s Mighty Men and Special Training 1 Chr 11:10 25; 12:1 2, 8 King David s Great Conquests 2 Samuel 8 (2 Chr 18) The Ammonite Rebellion 2 Samuel 10 Absalom s Rebellion 2 Samuel 18 (2 Sam 13 17) Sheba s Rebellion 2 Samuel 20 King David Avenges the Gibeonites 2 Samuel 21 (1 Chr 29:26 30) David invades the lands to the north, south, east and west of him. His attacks are successful and often brutal and bloody. And David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, for they were the inhabitants of the land from the past days, as one comes into Shur, even into the land of Egypt. And David struck the land, and did not keep alive man nor woman, and took away the sheep and the oxen and the donkeys and the camels and the clothing, and returned and came to Achish. (1Samuel 27:8-9) Even when others attacked him, he managed to win. For many years, the city of Ziklag was his headquarters. It was once attacked by the Amalekites, burnt to the ground and all the women of the city taken prisoners, including David's wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. He asks God, through the High Priest's ephod (the Urim and Thummin), if he would be victorious against those who raided the city. After receiving an affirmative answer, he collects 600 men and goes after the Amalekites. With the help of a young Egyptian slave, he finds out where those who attacked Ziklag are locating. The Amalekites are soon attacked and routed. All the people who were taken as prisoners are freed and a great amount of spoil comes to FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 3

Israel. In fact, so much was taken from the Amalekites that not only Israel's fighting men but also at least thirteen cities shared in the spoils of war! And nothing was lacking to them, from the small to the great, even to sons and daughters, and from the spoil, even to all that they had taken to themselves. (1 Samuel 30:19) The Philistines came in for the harshest treatment. A coastal people, they attacked twice in the central hill country and David defeated them both times (2 Samuel 5:17-25). The Philistines soon resigned their efforts at military expansion. David desired a permananet mountain home. He decided to attack the Jebusites and take the city which until then had remained in Canaanite hands. The people of Jebus said to David, You shall not come in here! But David took the city which came to be known as Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion, the City of David. From here, he reigned 33 years. Militarily, David had already developed a cadre of well-trained troops when he fled from Saul. These devoted soldiers were ready to follow him anywhere, and in fact did follow him from the wilderness of Judah to Gath, Ziklag, Hebron, and finally Jerusalem. Many became his personal guard and the core of his regular army. After checking the Philistine advances on Israel s western border, David was free to expand his kingdom to the east. There he defeated the Moabites, who then became a vassal state, paying tribute to David (2 Samuel 8:2). David also fought with the Ammonites, although the precise sequence of these wars is unclear. By gaining control over international trade routes, his kingdom became an economic power. David became rich from the spoils and tribute brought to Jerusalem. The expansion of David s kingdom altered the status of Jerusalem. From a small declining Canaanite city-state with a territory of a few square miles, it became capital of a territory that extended from Dan to Beersheba -- it extended over both sides of the Jordan River, as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, from the river of Egypt north to the Euphrates. FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 4

Wartime rivals Joab versus Abner Abner son of Ner initially introduced David to Saul following David's killing of Goliath (1 Samuel 14:50). Joab was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of David, and a captain of his army (2 Samuel 8:16; 20:23). FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 5

After leading the assault on the fortress of Jebus, Joab was promoted to the rank of General (1 Chronicles 11:4-6; 27:34). He led the army against Aram, Ammon, Moab and Edom in a major victory recorded by David in Psalm 60. A cunning soldier, he colluded with David in the death of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14-25). Joab played a pivotal role as the commander of David's forces during Absalom's rebellion. Absalom, one of David's sons, rallied much of Israel in rebellion against David, who was forced to flee with only his most trusted men. However, David could not bring himself to harm his son, and ordered that none of his men should kill Absalom during the ensuing battle. However, when a man reported that Absalom had been found, alive, caught in a tree, Joab and his men killed him (2 Samuel 18:1-33). Hearing of David's grief over the reported death of Absalom, Joab confronted and chewed-out David. The king followed Joab's advice to make a public appearance to encourage his troops (2 Samuel 19:1-8). David later replaced him as commander of the army with his nephew, Amasa (2 Samuel 19:13). It s no surprise that Joab later killed Amasa (2 Samuel 20:8-13; 1 Kings 2:5). Joab and other commanders began questioning David's judgment (2 Samuel 24:2-4). As David neared the end of his reign, Joab offered his allegiance to David's eldest son, Adonijah rather than to the promised king, Solomon (1 Kings 1:1-27). On the brink of death, David told Solomon to have Joab killed citing Joab's past betrayals and the blood that he was guilty of, and for this Solomon ordered his death by the hand of Benaiah (1 Kings 2:29-34). Hearing this, Joab fled to the Tent of the Tabernacle (where Adonijah had previously sought successful refuge (1 Kings 1:50-53)) and told Benaiah that he would die there. Benaiah, as ordered by King Solomon, killed Joab in the House of Yahweh and replaced him as commander of the army. Joab was buried in 'the wilderness' (1 Kings 2:34). Psalm 60 1-2 God! you walked off and left us, kicked our defenses to bits And stalked off angry. Come back. Oh please, come back! You shook earth to the foundations, ripped open huge crevasses. Heal the breaks! Everything s coming apart at the seams. 3-5 You made your people look doom in the face, then gave us cheap wine to drown our troubles. Then you planted a flag to rally your people, an unfurled flag to look to for courage. Now do something quickly, answer right now, so the one you love best is saved. 6-8 That s when God spoke in holy splendor, Bursting with joy, I make a present of Shechem, I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift. Gilead s in my pocket, to say nothing of Manasseh. Ephraim s my hard hat, Judah my hammer; Moab s a scrub bucket, I mop the floor with Moab, Spit on Edom, rain fireworks all over Philistia. 9-10 Who will take me to the thick of the fight? Who ll show me the road to Edom? You aren t giving up on us, are you, God? refusing to go out with our troops? 11-12 Give us help for the hard task; human help is worthless. In God we ll do our very best; he ll flatten the opposition for good. FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 6

Commander in Chief Fill in the correct words secret agents allies and supplies The Lord 1. Great leaders command respect and from their troops. David s men would do almost anything for David, risking their lives and their reputations to serve with him. 2. Great leaders know when to retreat. In the rebellion of Absalom, David allowed him to take. In so doing, David saddled Absalom with major distractions including the administration of the capital city, its expenses, and incidentally, the king s stable of concubines. 3. When King David retreated from Jerusalem, crossing the Jordan into friendly territory where he recruited. He arranged for Absalom to be delayed in Jerusalem until his counsels were divided and he was forced to go out in person, leading his army into territories where David knew the ground and where David could select the time and place best suited to his counterattack. 4. Great leaders access intel. David knew at all times where Absalom was and what he was doing. But Absalom did not know where David was. By planting David stayed fully informed of his enemy s situation. The loyal priests, Zadok and Abiathar, who would have followed him, David commanded to remain in Jerusalem. There they would observe Absalom s activities, his mood, the morale and readiness of his troops, and other things useful for the king to know. Their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, delivered the information to David promptly. 5. Where David truly excelled as a commander was in installing his friend, Hushai as one of Absalom s close advisors. This was one of the great of all time. His job was to counter the good advice of Absalom s mentor, Ahithophel, and feed the rebellious prince bad advice. Hushai succeeded so brilliantly that Ahithophel quit and committed suicide (2 Sam. 17:23). 6. Great leaders go to the top. King David consulted whenever he wished to go to war (2 Samuel 5). 7. Only once did David nearly lose his life in battle due to. After that his generals refused to let him fight on the front lines (2 Samuel 21:15). loyalty Jerusalem exhaustion intelligence coups FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 7

Mighty men and daring do Before there were the Avengers or the Justice League, there were the Mighty Men and The Thirty. These risk taking warriors were the stuff of legends. The Mighty Men as recorded in 2 Samuel 23: 8-12 are named Jashobeam, Eleazar and Shammah. These are the names of David s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three the three mightiest warriors among David s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single day. 9 Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. 10 He killed Philistines until his hand was frozen to his sword, and the LORD gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder! The Thirty are not heavily described by the text, merely listed. Three of The Thirty were a special group within The Thirty. Their fame arises due to a single exploit. One hot day Three of the thirty visit David when he is located at the cave of Adullam. While there, David expresses a heartfelt desire for water from a well near Bethlehem, which the narrative states was occupied by 11 Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12 but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the bean field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory. Philistines. The three of the thirty therefore forcefully break past the Philistines, and draw water from the well, which they take back to David. David refuses to drink the water, instead pouring it out the water to Yahweh as a libation (2 Samuel 23: 13-17) There were more.abishai, the brother of Joab killed 300 men with a spear, and so became famous among The Thirty, though not as famous and respected as The Three. The Three is not just a group of famous people, but something which an individual could in some way gain membership, with criteria that involved more than fame and honor. Benaiah, head of David s bodyguard is another great warrior, as famous as The Three, and significantly more respected than any of The Thirty. Benaiah's "great exploits" include killing two of Moab's best warriors, killing a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and attacking a 7 ½ foot tall Egyptian with a club, stealing the spear that the Egyptian was using, and killing the Egyptian with it. NO CLASS OCTOBER 22 and OCTOBER 29! FCCH ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL PAUL EDWARDS 8