Lion of Grace

Q3. (2 Samuel 18:1-19:8) Why does David command mercy for Absalom in the battle? Why does Joab kill him against David’s orders? How does David’s loud mourning threaten his kingdom? What does this say about his followers’ loyalty? What does it say about David’s faith? About his weaknesses? David commands mercy for Absalom in battle to spare his life. He knew if Absalom was cornered, he would be killed. It was a last ditch effort to deny the reality of his son's corruption. David must have loved his son even though his son was out to kill him. This was David's weakness. Once again, he was not willing to discipline his son or (as Joab did) eliminate him for the good of everyone! He put his son's life over everyone and put everyone in danger because of him. Blind loyalty always get people in trouble. We have to do what is right, not side with our emotions. Joab killed Absalom against David's order because he knew it was the wisest thing to do. He knew there needed to be an end to Absalom to have an end to the revolt. David's loud mourning threatened the kingdom because it showed that David was weak. I think people would have questioned his wisdom and ability to lead. David seemed ungrateful for the loss of life and the loyalty of the people towards David and for what? To mourn his son who only wanted to tear David from the throne, who most likely would have killed David anyway and who was nothing but ruthless and disrespectful towards his father. I know I would have wondered about David's capacity to judge correctly if I saw all that! I've seen blind loyalty in leadership for people doing wrong and it does make you wonder about wisdom. His followers though, were willing to allowed him time to mourn. They were sympathetic. The coup threat was past with Absalom's death and they could afford time for David to work through his sorrow. It may have been different though if Absalom had lived. Grief over a child is a hard circumstance to go through. I'm glad Joab could give wise counsel to David to see what it may "appear" to look like to those who had worked so hard to valiantly defend David. David needed a wake up call. I'm glad David, though with great heaviness of grief, took his advice and diverted what could have grown into a disaster. David's faith was shown through out all of these circumstances. He still remained trusting God and His promises. How hard that all must have been! How strong his faith was! Once again, David's weaknesses are glaring also. He paid a cost for becoming a complacent leader, he lacked common sense because of devotion towards his (evil minded) son, he refused to discipline him to the very end, he wanted to give way to blind loyalty at the expense of his Kingdom, he was ungrateful and became self absorbed in grief. He didn't even take the curse on himself very seriously. He didn't try to think about or reason through "doing right" to avoid the consequences of the curse. It's sad. It's sad that we all have our set of weaknesses to work through also. How important to seek God's direction every day of our lives and be obedient to it!

Q2. (2 Samuel 16:5-14) Why doesn’t David silence Shimei son of Gera from cursing him? Is this a political decision or a spiritual decision? What does it tell us about David’s faith? David doesn't silence Shimei because he thinks the cursing and rock throwing may be from God as punishment and he doesn't want to stand in God's way in anything. This is a spiritual decision, purely submitting to the discipline of God. This tells us that David's faith in God was all encompassing. It wasn't just in good times that David trusted God, but even in the times he feared God had left him and had taken favor from him. He still trusted in God enough to submit to God's will in repentance and hope!

Q1. (2 Samuel 15:14-30) Why does David flee Jerusalem rather than stay and fight? What are David’s emotions during this retreat? Why doesn’t he take the ark with him into exile? Does this exhibit faith, fatalism, or submission? What does this tell us about his faith? David flees Jerusalem rather than staying to fight because he has the welfare of the people in his mind. He knows he is not prepared to defeat Absalom and his army and the cost in blood would be too high, so he strategically evacuates the city. David's emotions at this time are very raw. He is weeping and in despair, head covered and barefoot, but he is also repentant and submitted to God, hoping God will help him. David knows Absalom's rebellion is from the curse, out of of his own wrong doing. He doesn't take the ark with him because he knows God will be with him even if he does not have it in his possession. He has faith that God will return him to see the ark in the temple again and if that doesn't happen, then he is submitted to God's will in that for him. David isn't feeling sorry for himself in this passage, so he isn't experiencing fatalism. He is though, experiencing submission to the punishment for his sins and to God's will and control over his life as well as experiencing faith and hope that God is still with him. His hope is that God will change his mind about this disaster sent upon him and that God will turn and help him. This tells me that David's faith is strong. It's one thing to cling to God when things go right, but another to bow your head and submit to discipline or when God's will for your life doesn't seem to be what you have envisioned. He could have taken the ark with him, yet he left what was very dear to his heart in hopes of returning to see it in the temple again. It is very hard to let go of what is close to your heart and dear to you, trusting God is in it all. It takes faith and trust to act on that and it takes submission and faith to accept the outcome no matter what.

Q4. (2 Samuel 13-15:13) It’s difficult to find positive spiritual lessons in these sad and grim chapters. What negative spiritual lessons do you find? The negative spiritual lessons I see are: Becoming lax in following God and being obedient to God. Lack of integrity in raising children. They do as they see us doing. Failing to be a responsible parent training children in the way they should go. Weakness in teaching them character. Overlooking serious sin. Weakness in carrying out authority gaining respect from our children. Allowing bitterness and hatred to fester. Lack of communication. Pride and it's downfall. Ignoring justice/neglect Deception and coveting.....all grow into serious problems. Family chaos, lack of love and loyalty. Mostly though....this family slowly turned from God and that was the real reason they all declined in favor. When David walked closely with God he had success and favor. When he became prideful and weak....he lost favor. It is a sad ending to such a marvelous life.

Q3. (2 Samuel 15:1-6) What are the elements of Absalom’s public relations campaign to win over the people to his side? How effective is it? What should David have done differently? Which of David’s weaknesses does Absalom exploit? Absalom uses "politics" to win the people over to his side. First he sets up his "public" image and makes sure he looks important, successful and confident. He then panders to the people's perceived "needs". He pleases them by getting them to believe he's "on their side." He promises justice and hints at the lack of justice with the King. He convinces them they have no representation with the current leadership and then he kisses them to show his sincerity of love for them. He pandered to emotions and perceptions and he was good at it! He was extremely effective. He won the hearts of the people. What should David had done differently? First, he should have been more authoritative early on in Absalom's life. He let him do anything he wanted! Sooner or later, that was bound to be turned against him and it was. Absalom wanted the kingdom and he set about taking it. Why not? He took his own brother's life and got away with it. Who was going to stop him now? The man who "allowed" him to get away with it? There was no respect cultivated there. Not only had David not disciplined Absalom but he had allowed Amnon to get away with other crimes like rape. Absalom saw that first hand and probably despised David's weakness in not carrying out justice. Isn't it interesting that Absalom ran his campaign on justice and David's lack of giving it? Tamar's plight made a lasting impression on Absalom, but he used that for evil instead of good. I think he saw David as weak all around and Absalom had become bitter and out of control with delusions about his own power and attributes. He was so deceptive in it too. Manipulating the people not to mention being two faced with David and undermining him. I think Absalom exploited David's weakness in lack of giving out justice. He suffered from it first hand and he played on that theme with the people. Bitterness drove him and lack of discipline or authority over him allowed him to get away with it, but I think his platform was justice.

Q2. (2 Samuel 13:39-14:24) Why do you think Joab conspires to get David to bring Absalom home? Why do you think David does not immediately show Absalom his favor? Joab conspires to get David to bring Absalom home because: 1) He knows David misses Absalom 2.) To get the (now) heir to the throne back in good graces to avoid civil war upon David's death. This would be for the security of the kingdom. David does not rush to reconcile with Absalom. He allows him to come home, but makes sure Absalom knows that "favor" is not upon him. I think maybe David realized being lax as a parent had cost him dearly. Perhaps this was his way of showing Absalom he was at his father's mercy. David proved his authority over him. He "put him in his place" so to say. Perhaps he needed to show some rigid standard also to the people in the kingdom. I'm sure there had been some raised eyebrows over the rape, the murder and the lack of following law concerning Absalom. It could have been a political move by David to retain some respect for himself, yet have his son returned. To "Have his cake and eat it too." That's all speculation. We do know he missed Absalom....and had grieved Amnon's death.... perhaps he just hadn't come to a point of really forgiving Absalom and took some time to work through that while keeping Absalom near .

Q1. (2 Samuel 13:21-22) Why do you think David doesn’t discipline his son Amnon for his sexual assault on his half-sister? What are the consequences of David’s inaction? Based on my own thoughts, I tend to think that David probably had guilty feelings about his own sin with Bathsheba and though he was angry that Amnon had engaged in the same behavior, he did not feel qualified to condemn him for it. Amnon was also his firstborn and heir to the throne by Jewish law. David probably felt a heaviness to protect his family's reputation and the throne. (Note: In the end all for naught) Also, women were not considered as important or equal to men in those times, so consequences in Tamar life would not have been considered in the same way. David obviously had a lack of character in this even for his own daughter and he paid dearly in consequences. The family may have had a cover-up for the moment, but unrepentant sin has a way of growing. Absalom nursed hatred for his brother because of the crime against his sister until the day he murdered him. David's relationship with Absalom failed completely even to becoming serious enemies. David did wrong in not addressing this crime against Tamar and true to the curse spoken over him, family problems were birthed. If David had handled it properly....could it have gone better for him? We don't know. He chose to ignore Amnon's sin. The saddest part though, is Tamar, who was an innocent victim and who was forced to carry the burden of Amnon's sin and David's rejection as a father to protect her or defend her character. Her life was shattered.

Q4. (2 Samuel 12:10-14) What punishment does David deserve? What does he get instead? How does this punishment relate to the provisions of the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7:14-15? How do David’s sins hurt God’s glory? How do our sins reflect on Jesus Christ? David deserved death. He had completely and utterly despised God. He deserved that in return. Instead, David received mercy, but he also received discipline and punishment. His son from Bathsheba died and he would be punished with a rod through men when he did wrong in the future. David's sins hurt God's glory because David represented God's Kingdom. If the representative shows contempt for who he represents then that is severe. It makes others question the validity of what he believed and who he served. Our sins represent the same thing. If we are representatives of God's Kingdom, but go about and do anything we want, not following truth, then we show others we don't REALLY believe it and we dishonor God and His supremacy in our lives.

Q3. (2 Samuel 12:1-10) Why might it be dangerous for Nathan the prophet to confront the king? What device does Nathan employ get the king to listen to him? How does David’s condemnation of the rich man’s greed help him acknowledge and condemn his own actions? It is dangerous for Nathan because the King could react in any way he wanted to. If he didn't want to hear what Nathan said and he decided to lop his head off for speaking then so be it! David it seems was going through a prideful period in his life. Military victories, growing Kingdom, absolute power over the nations around him and then with Bathsheba, taking what he wanted on a whim and covering over his sin even to the point of premeditated murder. There can be a madness in power and there was danger! The devise that Nathan used was a parable in which David himself would be the judge. But little did he know he was judging himself! When David judged the man in the parable, I believe he received a wake-up call. Sometimes we are double minded and we don't see that the sin we condemn in others can be our own sin also. As we grow, God shows us that and I think David "saw" at this point that he was the guilty party and realized that the judgement he gave another should be meted out to himself also. He had not come forward voluntarily with his sin. He had been called out and had spoken his own judgement. How awful! I think later, he realizes his judgement on another was even harsher than what God delivered to him. He thought the man should die and have to pay 4x's over for the lamb! Men it seems to me, have way less pity or mercy than God does. David did not die, but did pay a life for a life, but not 4x's over. He did receive forgiveness and that was more than he would have given for the man who he would have condemned to death. Nevertheless, David was convicted of his sin and finally repents and learned a bit about mercy for others too I bet.

Q2. (2 Samuel 11) How can a “man after God’s own heart” do something so ugly, so despicable as this – first adultery and then murder by proxy to cover it up? What does this teach us about our human condition? What is our problem as humans? How can David ever recover his integrity after this? David was human. He was not immune to our human condition which is sinful. He was not immune to the sin of ****, or of denying his sin and creating deception to cover the sin up. In the end, he went even further than that and committed murder to cover his sin. Our human condition is sinful. We fall into traps and give way to darkness and hiding our sin. We reject God's forgiveness either because we are afraid or we are too prideful to admit our sins and be in agreement with God that we do sin. David can recover his integrity, by confessing his sin and repenting that he sinned against God. In this case, he paid a high price in discipline for not repenting right away. He had to be called out. It's best to confess right away. In receiving forgiveness for the wrong we know we have done, God helps us to heal and become humble again and he reinstates us in good grace. Through Him, we can lift our heads again, not only loved, but considered the beloved of God.

Q1. (2 Samuel 9:1-13) Why does David honor Mephibosheth? What does this teach us about David’s character? David honors Mephibosheth because of the promise he gave to Jonathon to not cut off his descendants. Jonathon was the father of Mephibosheth and David honored the promise through him. He honored it out of love for Jonathon. This shows a lot of character in David. First, his love was genuine and his word was trustworthy. He retained loyalty even beyond the deaths of Jonathan and Saul and it showed he gave the full measure of his promise. He gave fully and generously. He could have spared Mephibosheth and stuck him in the west wing somewhere, provided for, but David went beyond that measure and honored him in close relationship. Instead, he placed him at his table which was an honor indeed. He also, restored his land to him and provided someone to work the land. He gave him a sense of independence doing that. David didn't make Mephibosheth totally dependent on him, he offered dignity in providing him with a means of supporting himself. This insures his future also.

Q4. The Davidic kingdom did end in 587 BC – temporarily. How did God fulfill his promises in the Davidic Covenant? In what ways is it fulfilled in Christ? God fulfilled His promises in the Davidic Covenant through Jesus Christ who was a direct descendant of David. It is fulfilled in Christ in that Christ's Kingdom will be forever. Also, that we, (identified with Christ through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to cover our sins) may still sin in this present world and may be disciplined for our sins, but we have the guarantee of eternal life in Christ's Kingdom that will last forever. The Davidic Covenant is our promise as well through Jesus.

Q3. (2 Samuel 7:14-16) There is a conditional aspect in the Davidic Covenant – that God will discipline David’s descendants when they sin. How did God discipline David and his descendants? God disciplined through family crisis. The chastisement came in the form of family problems when there was sin. Eventually, the Kingdom was divided and each side eventually went into exile under the Assyrians or the Babylonians.

Q2. (2 Samuel 7:8-13) What are the main promises of the Davidic Covenant? Are these promises conditional or unconditional? Why does conditionality make a difference? Which of these promises is most important to you as a Christian? Main promises of the Davidic Covenant: A great name A secure homeland for his people Peace A dynasty A son who will build the temple An everlasting Kingdom These promises are unconditional If they had been conditional, then David or his descendants would have been required to meet a demand to have the blessings bestowed, but these promises are are free gift and a promise to them with no conditions attached. The most important of these promises to me as a Christian are the promise of an everlasting Kingdom. This is a free gift to me through Jesus Christ. I did not have to do anything to receive this. I only had to accept Christ's free gift of dying on the cross to cover my sins and I receive this everlasting Kingdom not because of any conditions I met, but through Jesus who became the atoning sacrifice for my sins. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Q1. (2 Samuel 7:1-7) Why is Nathan so quick to give David approval to build the temple? What should have Nathan done instead? What is the danger of leaders and followers too quickly approving major spiritual directions without really waiting upon the Lord? David’s heart is partly right about building the temple though. Which part does David have right? Nathan approves David to build the temple because he "assumes" that David has heard from God to undertake building a temple. Nathan (like all of us) should never have "assumed" anything! He should have sought God's direction in it. If it was confirmed, then so be it, but in this instance, God had never instructed David to build Him a temple and would have been angry if he had done so on his own. The danger of leadership approving major spiritual direction without waiting on God is the possibility of not being in God's will. If anything is not in God's will, it may not be fruitful and could actually turn out chaotic with multiple struggles. David had it right in having a pure heart desiring God to have a permanent temple, but he did not have it right in if God WANTED a permanent temple at that time or WHO was to build the temple if he did want one.

Q4. (2 Samuel 6:16, 20-23) What has happened to Michal that she is so bitter at David? How does her bitterness cause her to misjudge what she sees? Are you bitter towards God about something in your past? What effect might it have on your spiritual life? How can you find healing from the bitterness? What would have happened if David had conformed his worship expression to his wife’s preferences? Michal is bitter at David because she is no longer considered important. She was raised as a princess but her family line no longer reigns. She is in a marriage without love, taken from another man who did love her, and the last thing she clings to is her "position" of being married to a king. But even that was questionable in her eyes when she saw David behaving like a commoner. In the end, she lost it all. She tried to get her worth from worthless ideas and things and it all failed her. Her bitterness causes her to misjudge what she sees because she allowed her anger over the years to become a damaging root within herself. I'm sure she brooded over all the things that had gone wrong in her life and it wasn't so much the dance that she despised, but she blamed David for all those things she was angry about. I think the dance was just an occasion for her bitterness to seep out and it was directed at David. Do I harbor bitterness towards God from anything in my past? I don't think so. I have done that though....wondering why my life took the turns it did sometimes. I've had to learn to forgive molesters from my early teen years and the downward spiral I went into because of that. I was devastated and took a nose dive into bitterness and hatred. That led to sin and covering over my pain and acting out in self hatred trying to further destroy my own life. I had to repent of the sins I did in that horrible time, though I know God had an understanding of my pain and devastation. I also questioned God when my 2nd daughter was stillborn. I was very angry for a time, but over years, I did see how God redeemed my pain and turned it for good. I just had to do a lot of forgiving during these periods. I had to forgive others and I had to forgive myself and I had to learn to cling to Him in times of trouble and not turn away from the hand that wanted to help me. I've been brought from the depths of severe depression and emotional turmoil, but I have deep gratitude towards God for the goodness, kindness and care He gave to me. I owe Him a great debt of gratitude. He's my lifeline....not the one who caused me pain. Bitterness is one of the most damaging things for our spiritual lives. It causes us to look inward and concentrate on "self" and not in a good way. We begin to feel sorry for ourselves and we become hard and unforgiving. We see all the negatives in life and begin to feel cheated in life and that causes our hearts to begin to hate and become revengeful. Unfortunately, that anger and discontent seeps out to others who are not deserving of it. Finding healing from bitterness comes when you find the love of God. When we are loved and forgiven, we begin to love others and forgive others. Our hearts are softened in this process. We become more patient and more aware of the pain of others (as opposed to only thinking about our own pain) and we can gain understanding even if people continue to hurt us. We no longer become angry at them, but empathize with their pain and reach out to help instead of becoming angry or resentful. We also learn that all of our worth comes in and through God, so all those times we are hurt, we turn to Him for healing and are built up in Him, not people. Our expectations of other people decrease and their behavior doesn't have such a profound effect on us anymore. David would not have been true to who God created him to be if he had conformed to Michal's expectations. He would have been bound by another person's "perspective" that would not have been true for himself. God saw David's heart in his worship and He accepted David's worship. David gave himself in abandoned praise to his God. If Michal didn't like it, that was fine, but David didn't need to be a "people pleaser" and change what he knew was acceptable to God. His heart of worship and the One accepting the worship was enough for him! He had a pure heart in his praise.

Q3. (2 Samuel 6:14, 22) How would you describe David’s approach to worship? What does his dancing here teach us? What do we learn about praise from the psalms he wrote? Does what others might think affect your ability to worship? How has God been working in your life to teach you to worship him in spirit and in truth? I would describe David's approach to worship as "abandon". He didn't care about anything at that moment but gave himself completely away to worshiping and thanking God. His dancing indicates to me that he couldn't contain himself! He just gave over and every part of his body was given away to joy! We learn from the Psalms that praise is joyful, full of thanksgiving and has many aspects to it. We learn to abandon ourselves before the throne and give totally of ourselves to praise for our wonderful God! (Yep! I'm a "holy roller!" Praise God!!!) No, what others think does not affect my ability to worship. I am careful to not be "distracting" in worship. We aren't to do that. But really, in worship, I'm before the Throne....not watching or wondering what others are thinking. Usually, I get the opposite comments that I really show my love of God through worship and that by worshiping with abandonment it was an encouragement for those too timid up until then to do the same. I think the best thing God has shown me to worship in Spirit and truth is: 1) Make sure the words I sing are in accordance with His truth and my countenance in it are honoring to Him. 2) To worship is not a Sunday morning song fest. I am to worship Him with my whole life, living the truth.

Q2. (2 Samuel 6:11-13) How should the ark have been transported? How are Uzzah and David responsible if they don’t know the provisions of the Mosaic Law? What does David’s mistake in this incident teach us about seeking to do God’s will? Only the Levites (Priests) were to carry the Arc of God. They were to consecrate themselves before the Torah before transporting it. No one else was to touch the Arc. David and Uzzah were responsible to be looking up the provisions according to Mosaic Law. They were the leadership and they should have set the precedent of being in complete obedience to God. If the leaders here, thought it would be OK to do things any old way, then the people would follow. God though, commanded respect from a nation that was now professing to follow Him. The leading in that fell on David and he was careless with "good intentions" but neglected to respect and honor God fully. This teaches us to do the same! So often we know what God calls us to do in ministry, but we don't inquire as to the "how" God wants that done. It's important to set a precedent of inquiring daily in the direction God is leading us. Our intentions may be good and we may even have an overall true vision God has sent, but we can't proceed on our own. If He gives a vision, then He has specifics He wants done in that and we need to inquire of Him for those directions.

Q1. (2 Samuel 6:1-10) Why does God strike Uzzah? Why is David so angry? God struck Uzzah because he had touched the holy Arc. He was not appointed by God to do that. He wasn't worthy. David had not inquired of the Lord as to how to transport the Arc. David is angry because he thought he was doing a good thing. He thought that he was misunderstood and questioned God on Uzzah's death. David also was probably angry because he and his leadership skills were now questionable. He was trying to unite a nation and to put that nation under God's reign again. I'm sure he was embarrassed as well as questioning God as to why he was humiliated this way when all his intentions were good in his mind. But he overlooked God's holiness and need for holiness and didn't inquire on the "how to" of moving the Arc. God saw David's intention, but also saw lack of character in being completely obedient to God. He was teaching about holiness and in inquiring about everything before moving forward.

Q3. (2 Samuel 5:17-25) Why does David inquire of the Lord before he attacks the Philistines the first time? What would have happened if he thought he knew how to attack the Philistines, and didn’t inquire of the Lord the second time? Why do we often want to figure out the process so we can act independently, rather than wait on God as a way of life? What does that say about God? What does that say about us? David inquires of the Lord before he attacks because he has placed total trust in God's wisdom. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't done that again the 2nd time. Who knows what God would have done! Sometimes in the Bible the people were defeated because they didn't inquire of the Lord. Other times the casualties were higher though they were given victory and sometimes God was outraged at the disobedience and punished His own people severely! That's all speculation. I'm just glad David asked and was obedient! It's human nature to think we can figure things out ourselves. Sometimes it's ignorance while we learn the ways of God. Sometimes outright rebellion. Most times our flesh takes over and we revert to what the world has taught us all our lives. Be self reliant. Only when we grow in knowing God can we begin to see that His ways are not our ways and He's always right! What does this say about God? He has infinite wisdom. What does it say about us? Our know how is finite and limited. I say go with HIS plan! : )

Q2. (2 Samuel 5:1-5) Approximately how long has it been since David had been anointed king by Samuel? (See Appendix 4. Chronology of the Life of David). Why did the fulfillment of God’s word take so long? How would you evaluate David’s patience concerning this prophecy that he would be king? How would you measure your own patience concerning what you believe God has promised you? It was approx. 15 years since David had been anointed by Samuel. He was around 12-15 yrs. old when he was anointed as future king and became king at the age of 30. The fulfillment of God's word took so long because God trained David to be a Godly man and King. He wanted David to be trained in obedience and trust so that God's will would be carried out through David. I think David had a lot of patience, but not without pain. I believe he grew in patience during this period as well as growing in Godliness and in God's will. My own patience is being tried right now. Looking back on how often I didn't wait on God in the past or how often I didn't have an understanding of truly waiting on Him, I do see growth in myself. I've learned to "inquire" of the Lord more and take things step by step, not forging ahead and then asking God to bless MY efforts! I still slip up sometimes, but I really am relaxing in His peace while I wait more and more for His timing and His will! There are just so many things you don't get right away that are promised to you even though they are good things and you know they are in God's will. To wait though, really reveals God's faithfulness and his perfect will. That grows trust in God and that's what we need to see us through!

Q1. (2 Samuel 3:22-39) Why does Joab slay Abner? Is he justified in doing so? How does this affect his king’s unification plans? Why do you think Joab is so blind? How can our spiritual blindness get in the way of God working out His plan in our lives Joab slays Abner to avenge the death of his brother Asahel. He is not justified in doing this because Abner killed Asahel in battle, defending his own life. This affected the Kings unification plan because David could have been viewed as being behind the murder. He was to be King over all the tribes, but there still were some divisions. He couldn't risk even looking like he was behind the murder. He needed to prove he was King over all in fairness and integrity. Joab was blinded by hatred. He was angry that his brother was killed in battle. He took revenge in his own hands and except that David took care of the situation wisely, it could have caused division and disunity and could have stood in the way of God's will for David and all of Israel. Our spiritual blindness can do the same. If we take matters into our own hands and for the wrong reasons or out of our own sinfulness, we can be a detriment for God's will being done. I thought it interesting that Joab was blinded by hatred and let bitterness grow in his heart until he acted in violence. A good warning for all of us to not let that bitterness grow out of our own sorrows. If we do, we react with emotion and we don't handle situations in Godly ways.

Q3. (2 Samuel 1:19-27; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14) David is gracious in his memorial psalm. How does he remember Saul’s life? How does the Chronicler remember Saul’s life? How do you think God evaluates Saul’s life? What do we learn from this? David remembers Saul's life for the good things he did. He remembers him as a mighty warrior and as a person who was loved and will be missed. He remembered him as a King who should be grieved over. The Chronicler, remembers him for the evil he did. That he turned from the Lord and that he died because he had not been faithful to the Lord. I think God loved Saul, but God is righteous also. Saul turned from God and God left him. I think God grieves when those he loves don't love him back, but he doesn't "force" his love on them and in righteousness, he leaves them just as He left Saul. I learn from this to make sure I am in right standing with God. I love God and desire to please Him and follow Him, but if I ever turn from Him in rebellion, He doesn't have to stay with me. My free will is to accept Him or not and to choose the way I will walk. With Him or not.

Q2. (1 Samuel 30:6) From the Psalms of David, how does David seem to strengthen himself in the Lord when things are going bad? What devotional exercises does he adopt? What is the focus of his faith? From the Psalms David strengthens himself by humbly coming before God and seeking refuge in Him and asking for strength. He draws on the character of God and the promises of God to come to his aid. David adopts songs and psalms of thanksgiving and praise and draws on scripture to proclaim who God is. He is very prayerful and not only ask God for help, but proclaims the righteousness of God and the strength of God and all the attributes God has shown to him in intimacy of His faithfulness. The focus of his faith is the love of God and the faithfulness of God to His servant David.

Q1. (1 Samuel 30:1-6) Why do the men blame David? Why is the situation so explosive at this point. What does David do in the situation? What is David feeling? Why doesn’t he act immediately? The men blame David because he led them and took all the men to fight in the north. They felt that some men should have been left to protect the women and children and now all of them had been taken captive. The situation is so explosive because each man was bitter in their own hearts and talked of stoning David. This was a rebellion against their leader. David, is himself devastated at their loss. But he, does not let the anger and bitterness overcome him. He instead, turns to God and quiets himself, praying to God and trusting Him to help in the situation. David is feeling every bit of grief the others feel, but he reacts to it in a different way. He doesn't act immediately because he knows that he needs to seek God and he needs to wait on God for help and for wisdom for the means to bring their families back home.