This week we
will continue the study of the Book of 2 Samuel in the Old Testament.
Mephibosheth:
(1) How did Mephibosheth demonstrate his loyalty to David?
(2) Why did David question Mephibosheth for not fleeing with him, even though he knew he was lame? (See 16:3)
(3) What was Mephiboseth’s explanation?
(4) Did David believe him? Did David come to recognize the hasty mistake he made? Did he really rectify his mistake?
(5) How did Mephibosheth take David’s decision?
(6) Do you have any comment on Mephibosheth? What about David?
Barzillai:
(7) Read 17:27-29 to recall what Barzillai did for David and his men as they were fleeing from Absalom.
(8) How did David wish to reward such loyalty and kindness?
(9) Why did Barzillai send Kimham (whom some commentators believe with good reason that he was Barzillai’s son based on 1 Ki. 2:7) instead to go with David?
Quarrels among the tribes:
(10) Why did “all the men of Israel” (meaning their representatives) take exception to the tribe of Judah?
(11) Was their complaint justified? Why or why not?
(12) Was the answer given by the men of Judah valid? Why or why not?
(13) To whom did the men of Israel take their complaint? (v. 41)
(14) Why didn’t David even try to answer or step in to bring peace among his people? (See 19:11-14)
(15) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Why did the men of Israel respond to the call of Sheba to desert David so readily?
(2) Why did the men of Judah choose to stay with David?
(3) What could David have done to avoid this division? Why didn’t he?
(4) Do you think how David treated the ten concubines was an act of honor and kindness? Why or why not?
(5) Now, David had to deal with the rebellion of Sheba and he acted on his promise, making Amasa his commander, except Amasa had to gather the rest of the men in Judah (which was the likely reason why David appointed him in the first place). The Bible does not explain why Amasa took longer than the three days set by the king:
a. Were three days enough for him to call his men and gather them back to Jerusalem (i.e. 1½ days to summon them across Judah and 1½ days to march back to Jerusalem)?
b. Why didn’t David wait?
(6) Now David asked Abishai (Joab’s brother) to take his “master’s men”, meaning Joab’s own men, to pursue Sheba. What kind of game was David playing? Should he? Why or why not?
(7) Why did Joab murder Amasa, again in cold-blood (as he did Abner in 3:26-27)? Whose fault was it? Why?
(8) In spite of David’s maneuver, who was actually leading the army?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Sheba was able to gather the men of Israel to follow him, all the way to the very northern end of Israel —Abel Beth Maacah. This also meant that he was far away from his home base in Benjamin (you may want to look at a biblical map of the time). What mistake did he make in using the city of Abel Beth Maacah as his fortified city to fight against Joab?
(2) What does it tell you about the strength of Joab’s army, being able to march such a long way to besiege the city?
(3) The “wise woman” was most likely a female leader of the city, like Deborah. While scholars cannot trace any history behind the saying, “Get your answer at Abel and that settled it” (v. 18). What does the saying tell us about the history of this people and their city, and their status in Israel?
(4) How did this woman caution Joab in his attempt to attack the city?
(5) What compromise did Joab make?
(6) What does this tell us about this sometime “cold-blooded” warrior?
(7) While David appeared to be trying to demote or sideline Joab, Joab remained the commander “over Israel’s entire army” (v. 23): Do you think David should be afraid of Joab (3:39)? Why or why not?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Here is an account that does not appear to follow any chronology. The author of the book appears to insert this in toward the end of David’s reign to make his account complete:
(1) Why did David feel the need to seek the face of the Lord because of the famine?
(2) How special or unexpected was God’s answer?
(3) The bloodshed was the crime of Saul and his household (and they were no more), so why should the famine be upon David and his people?
(4) What does it say about how God looks upon the breach of promise and the guilt of bloodshed? (See Note below)
(5) In their answer to David, the Gibeonites said the following: (i) they saw that blood-guilt could not be recompensed with silver or gold; (ii) neither could it be recompensed through the life of innocent people; (iii) but only from the descendants of the guilty party — Saul, the Lord’s chosen one; and (iv) have them killed in Gibeah — Saul’s hometown and capital!
a. What do you think about their response?
b. Was it justified under the Law of Moses? (Num. 35:31)
c. Strictly speaking, David did not have to comply with their request, but what if he did not? (See 21:14)
(6) While David spared Mephibosheth for obvious reasons, he offered the two sons of Rizpah (Saul’s wife who slept with Abner) and the five sons of Merab (whom Saul first offered to David in marriage, which he later rescinded).
a. How do you feel about their death — these men as substitutes for Saul’s own sin?
b. How would you feel if you were their mothers?
(7) How did Rizpah feel and what did she do?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
Nothing is known about this blood-guilt of Saul except what was being said in v. 2 that “Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorite; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them”. Keil and Delitzsch opine that the death of the seven descendants was by crucifixion, only that they were killed first before being hanged.
Burial of the bones of Saul and his descendants:
(1) Read again what Rizpah did to protect the honor of her dead sons:
a. When do you think God “answered prayer on behalf on the land” and sent rain to come down?
b. What prompted David to gather even the bones of Saul and Jonathan together with the bones to these killed descendants to give them a proper burial?
Four Battles with the Rephaites:
Like the account of the famine, these four battles appeared to have taken place not necessarily toward the end of David’s reign, but rather formed a collection of battles between the four descendants of Rapha (i.e. Rephaites) in Gath and David, and they were presumably known for their gigantic stature.
(2) The battle with Ishbi-Benob:
a. Compare the spear of this man with that of Goliath who was killed by David when he was a “boy” (1 Sam. 17:7).
b. Now that David was far better equipped, was he able to kill this giant? Why or why not?
c. Who came to his rescue?
d. Why did David’s men make him swear not to go battle again? What reason did they give? What did they mean?
e. What do you think was their inner motive?
(3) The next three battles were also recorded in 1 Chronicles 20:4-8:
a. What was the common theme among these battles?
b. What does the Biblical author intend to tell us?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Chapter 22 is a song sung by David and is repeated in Psalm 18 (with minor variations). Both give us the same occasion and that was when “the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul” (2 Samuel 22:1, and the Superscription of Psalm 18). Since the reference was also to the deliverance from Saul which happened in the very early part of his adult life, this song might not be necessarily written toward the end of David’s life, but when he had firmly established his reign of Israel. Let’s consider this song/psalm by dividing it into meaningful parts (suggested as follows):
2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18
Vv. 2-4 Praise to God vv. 2-3
Vv. 5-7 Lament/plight vv. 4-6
Vv. 8-16 God’s mighty appearance vv. 7-15
Vv. 17-20 God’s deliverance vv. 16-19
Vv. 21-25 Self-Innocence/righteousness vv. 20-24
Vv. 26-28 God’s righteous way vv. 25-27
Vv. 29-37 Confidence vv. 28-36
Vv. 38-46 God gave victory vv. 37-45
Vv. 47-51 Vow to Praise vv. 46-50
Today, we shall consider vv. 2-25
Vv. 2-4 Praise to God
(1) How does David describe his enemies?
(2) Who might be your enemies?
(3) Reflecting on who God is to him, David uses three sets of triplets. Do list or highlight all three sets in your Bible.
(4) What kind of a picture does David wish to paint of God through these triplets?
(5) Who is God to you? Can you also describe Him in three sets of triplets?
Vv. 5-7 Lament/plight
(6) What metaphor does he use to describe his plight?
(7) How similar was his metaphor to the real life experience of Jonah (see Jon. 2)?
(8) Whose plight was more terrifying and deadly?
(9) Have you ever experienced anything close to David’s plight?
Vv. 8-16 God’s mighty appearance in answer to his prayer
(10) Although it was unlikely that David actually “saw” God’s appearance in such an awesome way, he is portraying how God did appear to His people in the past, especially in Exodus. Compare David’s poetic rendering of God’s appearance here with that at Sinai (Exod. 19:16-19). What are their similarities?
Vv. 17-20 God’s deliverance
(11) David believes that it is the same God with the same awesome power that has delivered him. Should such a realization give you strength and hope today? Why or why not?
(12) What is the reason given by David for his deliverance by God?
Vv. 21-25 Self-Innocence/righteousness
(13) Do you think David penned these words before or after his sin against Uriah? Why?
(14) Read Psalm 103:10. If you were David writing in his older years, how would you have written vv. 21-25 in this poem or psalm?
(15) Read 1 Kings 14:8 and 15:5.
(16) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Vv. 26-28 God’s righteous ways
(1) Here, David shares from his own experience the ways of the Lord. Is that what you have experienced or observed too?
Vv. 29-37 Confidence in the Lord
Because of his faith in God and his personal experience in the ways of the Lord, David now expresses his confidence in the Lord that can be experienced by everyone:
(2) Who will be able to share his experience in the Lord according to v. 31?
(3) Which of the following acts of grace mean the most to you? And why?
a. God is a lamp that turns your darkness into light.
b. God is your help that enables you to advance against a troop and scale a wall.
c. God arms you with strength.
d. God makes your way perfect.
e. God makes your feet like the feet of a deer (with spring in your steps).
f. God enables you to stand on the heights (i.e. with no fear).
g. God trains you for battle (i.e. spiritual battle in your case).
h. God gives you a shield of victory.
i. God “stoops” down to make you great.
j. God broadens the path beneath you so that your ankles do not turn. (What does that mean?)
Vv. 38-46 God gave victory
(4) What are the words David uses to denote “total” victory in the Lord? (Try to underline those words.)
(5) Have you experienced similar “victories” in your life? Can you? Why or why not?
Vv. 47-51 Vow to Praise
(6) We know that David’s life was actually full of turmoil ever since he was anointed or chosen by the Lord. From this “vow” to praise, why is he able to commit to praise God in spite of all his calamities?
(7) What about you? Can you commit to praise God in spite of all your calamities?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?