Week 19, May 6 - 12, 2018

Sin can have far-reaching effects as one thing leads to another.  In the next chapters of 2 Samuel, Amnon raped his sister Tamar.  Absalom murdered Amnon.  David banished Absalom. Absalom revolts against his father.  The whole nation goes to war, divided between Absalom and David.  Absalom is killed and David goes into mourning.  All this can be traced back to God's rebuke in 2 Samuel 12:11 after David sinned with Bathsheba and had Uriah killed, "Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you."

Sunday, May 6, 2 Samuel 13 - 14, Psalm 53

• How could Amnon go from being "in love" with his sister to hating her in 2 Samuel 13?
• Why would David bring Absalom back to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 14 but not allow him to see David?
• Psalm 53:3 says, "Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."  Why is sin such a universal problem?

Monday, May 7, 2 Samuel 15 - 16, 2 Corinthians 8

• How did Absalom steal the hearts of the people of Israel in 2 Samuel 15?
• Why did David have Zadok take the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 15:25?  What does this show you about David's trust in God?
• In 2 Samuel 16 why did David put up with Shimei cursing him and throwing rocks and dirt?
• What does Paul mean in 2 Corinthians 8:7 telling the Corinthians to excel in the grace of giving?
• Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:12, "the gift is acceptable according to what one has."  Are you obedient to God in giving to others?

Tuesday, May 8, 2 Samuel 17 - 18, Psalm 54

• Why did Ahithophel hang himself in 2 Samuel 17?
• In 2 Samuel 18 why was Ahimaaz son of Zadok so determined to run with news to David, but only told David part of the news?
• What is David asking for in Psalm 54?

Wednesday, May 9, 2 Samuel 19 - 20, 2 Corinthians 9

• Why did Joab tell David in 2 Samuel 19:6, "You love those who hate you and hate those who love you."  Was Joab right or was he lacking compassion for a grieving father?
• Why were the people of Abel Beth Maakah willing to kill Sheba in 2 Samuel 20?
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, "God loves a cheerful giver."  What is your attitude toward giving?

Thursday, May 10, 2 Samuel 21 - 22, Psalm 55

• In 2 Samuel 21 the Gibeonites were given the opportunity to say what it would take to make things right after Saul had violated the treaty that Joshua had made with them.  Joshua's treaty was made hundreds of years before Saul lived.  Why would God expect Saul to keep it?  Why would David have to make things right for what Saul did?
• David was not a perfect man.  How can he say in 2 Samuel 22:21, " according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me"?
• In Psalm 55 David describes trouble and fear because of threats of the enemy.  However in verse 22 he says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you."  How do you cast your cares on the Lord?

Friday, May 11, 2 Samuel 23, 2 Corinthians 10 - 11

• Should David have poured out the water that his warriors brought him in 2 Samuel 23:16?
• Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world."  What weapons is he referring to?
• Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:14, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."  How can a person keep from being deceived?
• What is Paul's purpose, in 2 Corinthians 11, in describing the hardship he had endured?

Saturday, May 12, 2 Samuel 24, 2 Corinthians 12 - 13

• What was wrong with David taking a census in 2 Samuel 24?
• According to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7, what was the purpose of his thorn in the flesh?
• Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10, "For when I am weak, then I am strong."  What do you need to do to see God's strength evident in your time of weakness?
• In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul tells us to test ourselves.  How do you do this?