The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
2 Samuel 1-4
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: 2 Samuel 1-4
First and second Samuel were written as a single narrative, but because of their length and the limitation of scrolls they were divided into two parts. We should see them as they were intended; they give us the story of the rise of the Kingdom in Israel. We have seen the failure of Saul, now in this second scroll we have the rise of Israel’s greatest human king, David. We will also see that David is a flawed king and that his sins will echo through the ages. His sins, including taking many wives, will lead to foolish sons who will cause strife and division in Israel and heartache for David. We will see several times where David is unconcerned with the hearts and lives of others, like Michal’s husband. Yes, the way she was taken from him was wrong, but his callousness in how he “gets what he thinks is his” is on display here, as well as later in the moral disaster of his relationship with Bathsheba. David is not completely bad; he is a vacillating one. He goes back and forth between being a king who seeks the Lord’s will and metes out the Lord’s justice, to a king who tries to rule based on mere human reasoning and human strength. We know how the story of Israel’s kings will end; David’s greatest son, Jesus, will be Israel’s true king. He will be perfect in all his ways.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for God to encourage Sarah as she serves overseas and studies the Bible with Mike & Rachel, former Muslims. Pray for their salvation!
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.