1 KING OF HEARTS introduction

Orient yourself to this study series

2 2 SAMUEL 1-5 the chosen king

Why do we want to rule ourselves? Why should we submit to God’s chosen king?

6 2 SAMUEL 6-8 the promised king

Why do we try to be our own ‘saviours’? What would it be like to rest in God’s salvation?

10 2 SAMUEL 9-12 the selfless king

Why don’t we trust our leaders? What kind of leader could we trust?

14 2 SAMUEL 13-15 the righteous king

What happens to the weak when power is abused? Who can bring the justice we long for?

18 2 SAMUEL 16-20 the cursed king

Who can take God’s judgement so we don’t have to?

22 2 SAMUEL 21-24 the hopeful king

What will the future hold, if God is the real king?

2 SAMUEL king of hearts David draws our hearts to Jesus Battle for the throne. Bloody civil war. Summary executions. Political assassinations. Adultery. Rape. Corruption, conspiracy, subterfuge and betrayal! There’s no denying that 2 Samuel packs a punch. But as you follow the story, you’d be forgiven for thinking Game of Thrones has somehow found its way into the Bible! So why has God given us these stories about the ancient kingdom of Israel? The apostle Paul reminded his apprentice Timothy: “You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus ” (2Tim 3:16). 2 Samuel , one of those Holy Scriptures, tracks David’s rise from ‘anointed to be king’ to actually king. It then tracks his phenomenal success in the early years of his reign. Though only Israel’s second king (after Saul, the first), David ended up being Israel’s greatest king. So he became the prototype in Israel’s hope for a future ‘anointed one’ (Hebrew: messiah, Greek: christ). But in the end, 2 Samuel dwells on David’s tragic failures. After those failures, Israel ultimately yearned for a much greater anointed/messiah/christ than David ever was. As 2 Samuel honestly portrays David’s kingship - its God-given success and its all-too-human failure - it leaves us wanting more. In other words, it makes our hearts yearn for a better king, so making us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus .” Each study has the same format:

explore

We’ll hear the story read by David Suchet. As you listen, there’ll be a map to label, a graph to draw, or a table to fill

in. The aim is to catch the thrust of the story.

explain

We’ll find the point which the story makes for us when we follow it all the way through to Jesus. This is where you’ll

compare and contrast David in 2 Samuel with Jesus in the New Testament.

experience

2 Samuel will prompt us to appreciate some truth about Jesus, and that truth will have strong implications for

different areas of our lives now. This section lets you pick one or two areas of life to talk about concretely.

express

Finally, each study should give you good news about Jesus, to share with others and to praise God for!

I hope you enjoy the great story that is 2 Samuel . I hope you come to understand David more deeply. Even more so, I pray you’ll come to freshly appreciate Jesus, and that you’ll change to be more like him. Jeremy Wales, June 2015

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2 SAMUEL 1-5 the chosen king It’s a controversial claim: Jesus Christ is king of all. People say it’s too exclusive to claim that Jesus reigns alone. We want our own authority, especially over our own lives! Well, as we start 2 Samuel, we’ll see it was just the same for another Christ (or ‘Anointed’), David. At this point in the story, Saul, the first king of Israel, has just died. David has already been anointed by God as the next king of Israel… but now, lots of people have other ideas. Which turns out better: ruling ourselves, or submitting to the king anointed by God? 2 Samuel 1-5 illustrates what happens either way…

Listen to 2 Samuel 1:1-5:12 (18mins). Enjoy the story…

though be warned: it’s often gruesome!

Follow the events on

the map and label the locations with what

happened there. Once you’ve listened :

What interesting things did you notice

as you followed on the map?

- David’s king of Judah at Hebron, deep in southern Judah. - Ish-Bosheth’s king of everywhere else in “Mahanaim”, which means “two camps”. - All the fighting takes place at the Israel/Judah border as Israel advances south. - Once David’s king of all Israel, he shifts his capital from Judah-central Hebron to Israel-central “Jerusalem,” which means“city of peace”.

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http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/suchet/nivuk/2Sam.1http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/suchet/nivuk/2Sam.1

There’s obviously a lot of gruesome bloodshed in these chapters. If you’re not a fan of the ‘Game of Thrones’ genre, you might want to recoil in horror. But it’s important to understand what caused it… and what stopped it. In chapter 2, the tribe of Judah made David king because God had anointed David in place of Saul (1Sam 16). But Abner made Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth king of the rest of Israel, to continue Saul’s regime in which Abner himself had a position of power. Look at 2 Samuel 3:9-10, 3:17-18, 5:1-2. What did Abner, Ish-bosheth and northern Israel know about David? That God had promised David he would be king. If they knew that all along, why do you think they didn’t just make David king straight away? They thought they could have their own power, and that maybe they could rival God’s choice of king. Look at 2 Samuel 2:14-17, 2:22-23, 2:26, 2:30-31, 3:1-2, 3:27, 4:5-6. How would you summarise the results of trying to rival God’s chosen king? Bloody civil war, personal payback, assassination, and ultimately… failure. Look at 2 Samuel 1:11-12, 1:17-18, 2:4-7, 3:28-37. How does David try to bring peace and reconciliation in Israel? By mourning his rival’s losses and even by praising those who helped them. The message from David is: we’re all on the same side here. Of course, some of the most shocking bloodshed is at David’s own hands. But perhaps it’s for a greater good… Look at 2 Samuel 1:5-10 (vs 1Sam 31:1-6), 1:14-16 (with 1Sam 24:3-7, 26:7-10), 4:9-12. Why do you think David dealt so harshly with these men? The Amalekite lied to David (contra the narrator’s true version of events: 1Sam 31), presumably because he knew Saul had tried to kill David, but now David would be king, so he reasoned David would reward whoever killed Saul. But David knew: respect for the Lord’s anointed, i.e. God’s choice of king, was what Israel needed, and boasting about killing the Lord’s anointed (even if deceitful) was hardly that. Similar with Baanah & Rekhab. Israel needed peaceful unity, not an endless cycle of tit-for-tat violence. Civil war erupted when Ish-bosheth became king in Mahanaim (Hebrew meaning: “two camps”). Israel united under David in Jerusalem (Hebrew meaning: “city of peace”). What do you think is the main message of these chapters? People will only have peace with each other when they unite under God’s choice of king.

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Different characters had different things they were striving for in these stories:

★ Amalekite ★ Abner ★ Ish-Boseth

★ Joab ★ Baanah & Rekab ★ Tribes of Israel ★ David

Try to infer their likely motivations, then group them together accordingly below:

Likely motivation Characters

Power Abner: keeps Saul’s regime going because that’s where he has power Ish-boseth: accepts throne, challenges Abner when he tries to rise higher

Profit Amalekite: lies in hope of reward Baanah & Rekab: kill in hope of reward

Payback Abner: crosses over to David when Ish-bosheth stops his further rise Joab: murders Abner for wartime killing of his brother

Peace Tribes of Israel: make David king to end the bloodshed. David: obviously. To save time, you can summarise this for the group, a sentence per box.

What is it like today to work in a company where people are set on their own power or profit? Employees often try to take more credit than they’re due, robbing someone else, or subtly exposing others’ shortcomings, in the hope of rising faster through the ranks themselves. Bosses often push their employees beyond what’s reasonable, sometimes holding the threat of stalled advancement or even redundancy over them, to make more profit. What is it like today to be in a family where people are set on payback? A lot of long-term family tensions are the result of people not letting go of past hurts, wanting payback of some kind. When both sides feel like that it can be neverending, and can ruin relationships. Israel found peace with Judah only when they all united under God’s Christ (‘Anointed’) as their only king. In a much greater way, Jesus Christ brings peace by joining Israel together with others. To see how, read Ephesians 2:11-18. What did Jesus actually do to bring peace between people? How does it work? By his blood (v13) on the cross (v16), Jesus brought Israelites and Gentiles together under the one God. Jesus died for my sins and he died for your sins, so we can both be reconciled to the same God and, therefore be reconciled to each other. How does that compare with what David did to bring peace? Unfortunately, to bring peace, David had to shed other people’s blood. But Jesus shed his own blood. David brought peace to all Israel. Jesus brings peace to the whole world.

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Even if you agree that Jesus Christ alone should reign, it might not be clear what that should look like in practice today. As a group, pick 1 or 2 areas of life below to think about together:

❏ relationships ❏ family ❏ church

❏ career/business ❏ money/property ❏ recreation

What would it look like to submit to Jesus in this area of life? Since you’re in Ephesians… e.g. Family: Husband should love his wife and sacrifice his interests for her godliness (Eph 5:25-33), raise his children to know and follow Jesus (6:4); Wife should respect and submit to the leading of her husband (Eph 5:22-24); Children should obey their parents (6:1-3). Career/business: Eph 6:5-10. Money/property: Eph 5:28. Church: 4:15,32. Recreation: 5:3-5. If Jesus’ kingship was acknowledged in this area of life, how could it create peace between people? e.g. Family: If a husband and wife, parents and kids all know they’ve all been died for by Jesus, there’s a basis for mutual forgiveness instead of payback. If everyone knows their future is with Jesus, not some self-fulfilling power or profit, then a husband will use his authority for his wife’s good, instead of his own, and a wife will respect and submit to that, instead of undermining him. What stops you from submitting to Jesus in this area of life? Whatever the area, it’s usually self-interest. The idea is that you’ll be better off if you go your own way, you’ll get the satisfaction of more power, profit or payback, than if you go the way commanded by Jesus. What might help you to do that more? It could help to think about what happens in the world when everyone does their own thing, looking out for number one more than anyone else. Is that the world you want? No? Then why do it yourself? It could help to think of what Jesus has done for you: shedding his blood on the cross. Just as that action was not for his benefit, but for yours, so are his commands.

When talking with friends and family, how would you express the benefits of making Jesus king? Jesus’ kingship ultimately aims at world peace: peace between humanity and God, and therefore peace among all humanity. Of course, Jesus’ “followers” haven’t always followed him faithfully in that aim. But it could still be a helpful idea to discuss with people: Jesus’ exclusive kingship is actually good thing, because it brings peace. What would you pray to God from this study? Thank God for Jesus’ kingship and the peace it brings between different kinds of people, for the sacrifice of his own blood to make that happen, not that of others.Pray that God would help us to submit to Jesus’ kingship, not ruling ourselves our own way without him, and that others would see the peace that brings, and they would be drawn to Jesus’ kingship also.

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