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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? The major reason why David did not discipline his son Amnon to my mind was because of his weakness which was first seen when he failed to discipline Joab for murder. Another reason David did not discipline his son could have been due to the fact he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and thus did not have the moral right or courage to discipline his son for any sexual offence. The consequences of David's action were the loss of integrity.

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's deserved to die for adultery and murder but he got away with a merciful punishment of a) his son, the product of adultery to die; His kingdom to be threatened by a mutiny and David's wives to be defiled by his own blood relations. The Davidic Convenant provided that violation of the Covenant will attract punishment through other men. This what David got through his Absalom. David's sins tarnished the glory of God by making the unbelievers belittle the God of David. Our sins do similar thing and close doors of salvation as we cease to be light and salt of the earth.

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? As a king, David did not have to listen to Nathan. Nathan could have been denied attention id he did not use godly wisdom to approach the king. Nathan therefore used a story of injustice which attracted David's attention and his anger against any such ugly offender who could rob a poor man of his only possession. By acknowledging and pronouncing that what the rich man did was great injustice, David merely passed a sentence on himself which made Nathan's job easier subsequently. He had done worst than what the rich man in the story was said to have done- murdered Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba.

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, a man after God's heart could do such an ugly thing because he allowed his evil passion to blind him at the moment of lustful temptation. We are all human and therefore vulnerable. We sometimes or often do this kind of miss- judgement, allowing our **** to do the wrong thing to blind us from seeing the terrible consequences This is a big lesson to us that evil seems pleasant only at the peak of the temptation. After yielding to it,follows the bitter consequences. David might have not recovered his integrity in the eyes of man but in the eyes of God, it takes only genuine heart felt confession and repentance for God to forgive and forget the sin.

Q1. (2 Samuel 9:1-13) Why does David honor Mephibosheth? What does this teach us about David's character? David honoured Mephibosheth because he had promised Jonathan that he would protect and take care of Saul's family when he became king. This action showed that David was a man of integrity who kept his word even when Jonathan was no longer alive.

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? He disciplined David and his descendants through family crises, coups. God also had disciplined David by allowing Bathsheba's son which was as result of adultery to die despite David's fasting and prayers for the child to live

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? 1. A great name 2. Security within his territory 3. Peace 4.Establish his dynasty/ house where rulers come from his decendants 5. His son to build a house for God 6. An everlasting kingdom I think the promises were not conditional as some of them were fulfilled despite David's short comings. If the promises were made on constitutionalities, some might not have been fulfilled. But it was by grace alone God fulfilled the promises. The most important one is the establishment of an everlasting kingdom through the Lord Jesus Christ and I am a part of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 believed that David was anointed by God and thus would have heard from God that was why he quickly told him to go ahead to do what was in his mind. Nathan should have consulted God to verify if what David had in mind was from God. They could utterly be wrong as their decision could be merely their own imagination I think he knew that God needed a befitting structure for his dwelling. This a right thinking irrespective of whether he had some guilt of not starting with that before his palace was built.

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? Mitchal was the first wife but now the 7th wife. She was relegated to the background. Furthermore, she in love with David when her father was king. But her father and all her household were no longer in control of the kingdom. These both combined to make Michal to resent David. She was so blinded by her resentment that she could not see David's genuine motive for the dancing- to praise and give the Most High God praise for making him king. I cannot recall when I had been bitter with God. There are times I did not understand why He allowed certain things to happen or seemed to ignore some earnest prayers repeatedly presented to Him.I however do not usually tarry long on this state of mind but quickly return to Him in 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? David worshipped God freely by dancing with all his heart, strength and irrespective of what anyone felt. We can dance, shout, jump in our worship of God or be silent/ still before him or do whatever that will bring glory to God as the spirit leads us. Humanly speaking, there are times when my worship is either restricted/ limited by what others may think or exaggerated to impress others. This should not be so. I pray the Holy Spirit will teach me to worship God in the power of the Spirit.

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? The Ark should have been carried only by the Levites who were set apart by God for that purpose. David in particular should have enquired from the books on how to carry the Ark of God. He is therefore responsible for the punishment meted on Uzza. David's mistake teaches us that we should know the Word of God and obey it to avoid punishment that may arise from disobedience.

Q1. (2 Samuel 6:1-10) Why does God strike Uzzah? Why is David so angry? God stroked Uzzah because he touch the Ark of God though innocently in his attempt to stop it from falling. David was angry with God for two reasons: a) He believed that his motive to bring the Ark to Jerusalem was good and thus God should not have been so hard in his judgment. He also felt that judgment in the public could have led the people to conclude that God was not working with him.

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 needed to be sure that God was with him and would give him victory before he face the Philistines. He wouldn't have succeeded in routing the Philistines. God uses different strategies to achieve results. We often think we know it all and come up with our plans. We however need to constantly enquire from God for the success of our battles/ projects or else we will fail.

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? Fulfilling God's word could seem long to man but his word also says that a day to God may be like 1000 years and 1000 years may be just as one day. David was a very patient man waiting for God's appropriate timing to be king. This explained why he had the opportunity at about two occasions to kill Saul and assumed power but did not do it. I am usually very impatient and pray that God will help me to be more patient.

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? To revenge the killing of his brother by Abner It appears it didn't affect the unification process as they saw the way King David mourned for Abner and occluded that David did not have hand on it Joab is so blind and selfish because he was more interested in revenging the death of his brother and concerned about the unity that Abner was working on. Spiritual blindness may prevent us from carrying out the plan of God in our lives.

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 as a mighty anointed king and mighty warrior. I think God evaluates Saul's life as someone who had a good beginning but a bad ending, a failure. The lesson to learn here is that it does not matter how good/ well we start but rather, how well we finish.

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? David pours his heart and tell God his pains; the threat of his enemies and then appeal for his intervention and declares his trust/ faith in Him David worships, praises God and asks God for help then declares his dependence on God's unfailing love and love.

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 Because David left the camp without leaving some men to guard it. They believed that it was David's fault Because the men were already tired from the long trek and found their loved ones and valuables all taken away. David turned to God, wept, sang quietly and asked God's intervention. David didn't act immediately because he needed to wait and know God's counsel on the issue

Q4. (1 Samuel 28:7-14) Why do you think God condemns occult practices of communicating with the dead and channeling spirits of the dead? How might such practices open Christians to victimization and oppression by evil spirits? What should you do if you've been involved in such practices in the past? Because it exchanges the place of God for satanic agents. Christians who consult mediums other the living God may be controlled by Satanic agents because they (Christians) have accepted the satanic agents Quit immediately and repent.

Q3. (1 Samuel 25) What do we learn about David's character in this incident with Nabal and Abigail? What do we learn about Abigail's character? Nabal's character? Why do you think this story was included in 1 Samuel? What important knowledge does it add to our understanding? David was a righteous man who did not harm Nabal by stealing his flock. He was humble to ask for help instead of using force. But Nabal was very inconsiderate and stingy. Abigail was a beautiful and intelligent woman. She was also diplomatic, a character that prevented David from attacking her family. The lesson in this story that made it to be part of the Bible was so that we will learn not to be like Nabal- a stingy and unreasonable character. It was also to learn not to rush to make a vow. A positive aspect of David's character that was included for us to learn is the need to thank God for preventing us from falling into sin.

Q2. (1 Samuel 24:12) How do we apply the principle of not lifting a hand against the Lord's anointed in our day? What provisions are there in 1 Timothy 5:19-20 for calling leaders to account. What do you think God will do to those who slander, persecute, and martyr his appointed leaders? We should fear God and do talk / do evil against our leaders because God warn us not to touch his anointed one or do his prophets no harm. Leaders that are found to have actually commit offences should be publicly confronted to serve as a lesson to others. God will punish those who slander, persecute and martyr his appointed leaders.

Q1. (1 Samuel 24:1-15) Why doesn't David kill Saul when he has the chance? What motive do David and his men have for killing a king who is trying to kill them? What is David's rationale for sparing Saul? What does this tell us about David's character? About his faith? What does it say about David's leadership ability that he is able to dissuade his men from killing Saul? David doesn't kill Saul even though he has the chance because he feared God who anointed Saul king. The motive they have is their innocence and justification for killing him as their enemy. David is a humble man with faith in God and doesn't want to do anything against God. David is a great leader with administrative skill.

Out the 7 Psalms listed, I think only two Psalms, Psalm 18 and 34 celebrate happy occasions. Five others were prayers of deliverance from the enemy or complaints about the schemes of the wicked. This shows that David relationship with God was close. He would run to God when in need or in trouble and also knew when to burst into praise and worship of God for deliverance. I personally love the Psalms and would listen or read them from the beginning towards the end enjoying the the different swings of the Psalmist's moods that result in praise and cry for deliverance.

Q3. (1 Samuel 23:14-18) Why does Jonathan visit David in the wilderness? What risk is there for David? What risk is there for Jonathan? What do you think it meant to David? Have you ever received a visit from a friend when you needed it most? Jonathan visited David to encourage him. He reassured David that his father would not kill him and renewed his covenant with his friend David. The risk that was there for David was the possibility of Saul trailing Jonathan to David. Perhaps Jonathan could also change his mind and betray David and hand him over to Saul, his father. The risk to Jonathan could have also been the possibility of Saul finding out that Jonathan had contact with David and then kill him.

Q2. (1 Samuel 22:20-23:12) What did Abiathar and the ephod have to do with "inquiring of the Lord?" Why did David inquire of the Lord? What huge advantage does the person have who seeks God's will before acting? How can you find God's will at key points in your Abiathar was a priest and the priest's ephod contained the urim that were used to seek God's guidance on whether to carry out a task or not. David was continuously getting closer to God and needed a clear direction before he acted so that he would not go wrong. Who ever enquires from God before acting will always get the right result while those who do not do so are most likely going to go wrong with great negative consequences. We can find God's will by praying and even fasting to seek for His will. He reveals His will through his written word- the bible or by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.