Bible Study

1)      Read 1 Samuel 21:1-2.  Here is the first time we see David doing something less than perfect.  What do you think of David’s lie?  Is it sin?  Is it righteous?  What allowances, if any, does God give us when it comes to lying?  Before you answer that question, what Bible verses can you find that discuss God’s views concerning lies?  Is there any distinction anywhere in the Bible between little lies / white lies / big lies / bad lies / lies intended to spare someone’s feelings?  Please share the verses you find with us and your interpretations.   

2)      Given all that you know about lying, how can people who have lied still be called people of God?    

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen

Start by reading 1 Samuel 20

1)      In what way(s) did Jonathan continue to honor his father in this chapter?

2)      Did you find it interesting that Jonathan did not try to defend his father’s actions but instead did not hide any of it from David?  What does this suggest about Jonathan’s ideas concerning family?  What about his ideas concerning those who honor God?  Does his actions suggest friendship is more important to him than family?  Do you have any favorite passages concerning how we should look at family or where our families should be on our priorities list? 

3)      David is at the beginning of a long stretch of time (about 20 years) of living as a fugitive.  He doesn’t know why King Saul wants him dead.  He doesn’t know what is going to happen next.  He can’t go back to his wife, his best friend, or anything he had at the time.  His future is looking dreary to say the least.  What is to keep David from giving up/from blaming all his troubles on God/from drowning his sorrows in liquor, food, or prostitutes/from any of the “crutches” we tend to lean on when everything seems to be going wrong? 

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!

Start by reading 1 Samuel 19

1)      What risks did Jonathan take by confronting his father about David?

2)      Read Galations 5:16 thru 26.  Which acts has Saul exhibited?  Which ones has David exhibited?  Based on this information, why was Saul unable to keep his oath?  Was he unable or unwilling? 

3)      Read Psalm 59:1 thru 4.  Here is the prayer David prayed as he fled his own house when Saul sent his guards to ambush him.  Anywhere in this prayer does David hold God at fault for his troubles?  If not, who does he place the blame on?  If we take David’s example of prayer during a crisis, how should we pray during our own crises?  What lessons can we take from this dramatic event in David’s life?  Why do you suppose David went to Samuel?

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!

1)      How would you describe the friendship Jonathan and David had after reading 1 Samuel 18:1?  Knowing that Jonathan is a prince and David (as far as people knew) was just a Shepherd.  Do you have a friendship like this? 

2)      In the very next verse, 1 Samuel 18:2, we find that David is immediately put into the service of King Saul (and the continued service of the Lord).  David went from a menial job to working for the King in a moment.  Here’s my question, could David have been the man he was without spending years tending sheep?  Would you be the person you are if you hadn’t gone through the tough / boring times in your life?  I wonder if David grumbled about having to tend sheep.  I know I have grumbled about some of my menial jobs, like filing hundreds of checks every week or pulling a couple hundred back out at the end of the year for the auditors to test and return to me.  I am pretty sure they shuffle them like a deck of cards while they’re at it.  Although, if I had been a bit more joyful and focused it probably wouldn’t have taken me so long to learn some things about the world of accounting. 

3)      If you think back on the changes in your life, how often were they gradual?  How often were they sudden (i.e. being laid-off, by a phone call, an accident, an argument, etc.)?  Does this make you reconsider your attitude / behavior for the times before those life changes?  Does it make you reconsider your attitude for your current situation?  What is coming next could be a promotion beyond what you’re expecting.  Or it could be the loss of all you take for granted now. 

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!

Start by reading 1 Samuel 17:38-58

1)      In verses 38 – 40 David tries on and turns down all of King Saul’s armor.  He didn’t itemize…he didn’t try out different combinations of King Saul’s armor to see if he could make it work.  He didn’t spend time trying to come up with a backup plan in case Goliath was able to get to him.  This suggests to me that David either trusted God completely and therefore had no reason to come up with a plan because God would provide everything that was necessary beyond the 5 stones and the sling David had with him.  Or, he was simply too young to see the benefits of having back-up plans.  What do you see in this passage?  What understanding can we take from this passage for our own lives/choices?

2)      Does anyone find it hard to believe a stone from a sling shot could knock a man out let along kill him?  I did, but Peters and Richards made a good point in their book The Life of David, The Smart Guide to the Bible, “The book of Judges reports that out of 26,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were old enough to fight, 700 could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss (Judges 20:16)…By way of comparison, only a few major-league pitchers can consistently throw baseballs at 95 miles per hour or faster.  But even so, if another player were hit in the face even by a slower pitch, he could easily be injured for life – or killed” (pg 113).  Such a simple weapon that can surprisingly cause a lot of damage.  What are your thoughts on David’s actions after hitting Goliath with the stone?

3)      David’s speech and his actions are so powerful in this passage.  What inspiration / revelation / encouragement did you find in this passage?

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!

Start by ready 1 Samuel 17:27 – 37

1)      Checking back in with David we find his oldest brother accusing him of only showing up at the battle to serve selfish pride.  David’s response suggests this is not the first time Eliab has reacted this way to David.  What reasons could Eliab have for reacting this way?  Could it be anything more than Jealousy because he, the oldest son, was skipped over for the position of King and this, his youngest brother, was chosen?  What else could it be?

2)      Applying this to us…have you found yourself feeling animosity toward someone whose actions, taken at face value, are good and pleasing to the Lord?  Have you taken the time to analyze whether those feelings are trustworthy or not (not trustworthy meaning they’re based in jealousy or any of the other reasons listed for question 1)?  How does one discover the true source of these feelings and overcome it?

3)      Can you give references to any other stories in which families were divided or at war with each other?

4)      In 1 Samuel 17:34 – 36 David speaks his mind in a powerful way.  David acted in faith when he was young.  He had a lowly job then, but his social position did nothing to limit his connection with God.  What was David spending his time doing in his youth but, working, singing, living right, learning, and letting someone else’s (GOD’s) teaching re-shape his own thoughts, actions, and beliefs.  Ignoring any and all things you perceive as failures in your past, look back.  What have you done and accomplished (by your standards and/or God’s) that you did not believe you could do?  Are you still afraid to (or do you still not believe you can) do these things?  If so, I encourage you to do what David has done…think about how God delivered you from your un-accomplishable task, or from your most daunting task.  What was it that made David so confident God would not only be with him but make him succeed in killing Goliath?   

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!

Start by reading 1 Samuel 17:12-26

1)      Why do you think the number 40 is used so many times in the Bible?  Can you list any other Biblical events that involved the number 40? 

2)      I am fairly naive when it comes to battle strategies, but does anyone else find it hard to imagine an army letting their champion taunt their foe for 40 days without saying alright already…if you don’t have a champion by X time you forfeit the fight and will be our servants?  Is this a tact armies use?  Spend long periods of time intimidating the enemy in an attempt to magnify/encourage the enemy’s fear/worry/doubt? Anyone know?  How about on a personal level and figuratively…what do we face that comes at us day and night or at least repeatedly? 

3)      What do we learn about David here?  Was he ambitious?  Did he drop everything without concern when told to go to his brothers?  What characteristics of David do we discover here and what is it that suggests such characteristics?

4)      1 Samuel 17:26 speaks volumes concerning David’s point of view as a man after God’s own heart.  “Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’” (NKJV)  How would you describe David’s point of view concerning; Goliath-the man, himself and the Israelites, and God?

5)      How would you explain to someone who has not necessarily been part of a Church and may not know “Church Lingo” what it means to be a man/woman after God’s own heart?

Dear Father!  May you be glorified in this Bible study and in each of our lives daily/hourly/by the minute!  May You bless each person in this Bible study with new insights and a growing relationship with You.  May each of us improve our relationship with you as well as guide the next generations according to your will!  Please help us recognize the ways each of us has turned away from you and how to change it.  In Jesus Name we pray!  Amen!