pursuing justice

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2 Samuel: Lesson 5 — Look What I Did!

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 2 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

A Man After God’s Own Heart:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

A Study of the Book of 2 Samuel

Lesson 5 (Look What I Did!)
2 Samuel 4

The Text:

  1. What effect did the death of Abner have on Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, and all of Israel?
    –
  2. Who were Baanah and Recab?  How were they connected to the people of Israel?  Who was Mephibosheth?  What do we know about him?  How did he become crippled?
    –
  3. Where did Recab and Baanah go?  What did they pretend to do?  What was their real purpose?  What did they accomplish?
    –
  4. What did Recab and Baanah take to David?  What was their message to him?  What seems to be their expectation?
    –
  5. How did David take the news that was given to him?  How does he describe what took place?  What does he order to be done?
    –

The Application:

  1. On whom, or what, is your courage based?  What events would cause you to lose your courage?  Are there people whose loss of courage would cause you to be alarmed?  Are there people who would be alarmed if you were to lose your courage?
    –
  2. What are some things that would make you feel more, or less, connected to a group?  What harm comes from being disconnected and/or disillusioned?  Are there people who are easy to overlook because they seem to have nothing to offer?  Is that right?
    –
  3. How desperate are you to get ahead in life?  Are there people who you believe stand between you and success?  How do you treat them?
    –
  4. Do you ever expect to be rewarded for something that seems to help someone else even though it was done in a wrong manner?  Do you reward, or honor, activity that helps you even if the activity was wrong?
    –
  5. How would you respond to the falling, or even death, of someone who lives as your adversary or in opposition to you?  How can you live with integrity and honor, even with your enemies?
    –

Next Week: Conquering King
2 Samuel 5

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2 Samuel: Lesson 4 — A Deadly Feud

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 2 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

A Man After God’s Own Heart:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

A Study of the Book of 2 Samuel

Lesson 4 (A Deadly Feud)
2 Samuel 3:22-39

The Text:

  1. Where have David’s men been?  Who has been leading them?  How successful have they been?  What had taken place while they were gone?
     
  2. When he hears of what had happened while he was away, who does Joab go to?  What are his stated concerns?  What response does David have? 
     
  3. What does Joab have done?  What does Joab do when Abner returns?  Why?  How much of this was David aware of as it happened? 
     
  4. How does David react when he hears of what Joab did?  What is his wish, or prayer, for Joab’s house?  What was the difference between the deaths of Abner and Asahel?
     
  5. What did David require Joab and all those with him to do?  What did David do?  What statement did these actions make to the people?  How did these events make David feel as a leader?

     

  The Application:

  1. How focused are you on being successful at what you do?  What defines that success?  Does it ever seem like what you do causes you to miss things that are important?
     
  2. When you disagree with a decision you had no part of, how likely are you to go to the person responsible for the decision?  How thorough would you be with the real reasons for your concern?  Is an explanation or response from the “other side” important to you?
     
  3. Have you ever gone “behind the back” of an authority that you disagreed with to accomplish what you thought should have been done?  Would it have been helpful to hear the authority out before you acted?  What can be the problem of pursuing justice as you see it?
     
  4. How appalled/accepting are you of sin in the lives of the people closest to you?  Why? 
     
  5. How can you keep the wrong of others from discrediting you when it appears that you would benefit from the wrongdoing?  How does having to address sin in others make you feel?

  

Next Week: Look What I Did!
2 Samuel 4