Bible Study notes for Sunday July 29th - 2 Samuel 11

Bible Study notes for Sunday July 29th

Texts

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21 - Jesus feeds the 5000 and walks on the water

(You might like to read all three passages first to get a feel for how they might fit together)

For the sake of time we’ll concentrate just on one of the passages for now, again the passage from Second Samuel, but keep in mind the feeding of the 5000

Have someone read it through slowly, whilst everyone else listens - (not following in your own bibles) - asking ‘what catches your attention in this passage? Does it leave you with questions?’

[At whatever point you have but a few minutes left for Study, Make sure to leave time at the end to read it through in this way at the end - ‘What is Christ saying to his church in these verses?’ is there a message for us at St John’s? Respond in prayer]

Questions

1.  So this week we return to the story of David, and the well known story of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah

1.1.                      There are several fundamental principles of our life under God operating here - take a moment to read Genesis 3:1-7 and bear it in mind as you continue the study.

2.   Last week David was at rest and looking around for something to do. Remind one another of what came to David’s mind.

2.1.                       David’s thought seems to be ‘what can I do for the LORD?’. Refresh your memory of the LORD’s response to David (2 Sam 7.8-11)

2.2.                       Discuss the question “Which more commands our attention and our actions, that which the LORD has done for us, or that which we think we might do for the LORD?”

2.3.                      What Does the LORD require of us?

3.  The Old Testament narratives are not mere recounting of events. The writer skillfully draws our attention to certain features [This is why retelling Bible stories in a disconnected manner is unhelpful - we miss the deeper underlying story which is being told. In this respect a more literal translation is also a great help] In this weeks reading we note that David has not gone out with his army to battle. He has remained in Jerusalem

3.1.                      Compare 2 Sam 11.1-2 with 2 Sam 7.1-2

3.1.1.    What are the differences?

3.1.2.    What are the commonalities?

4.  In both cases David responded to what he ‘saw’

4.1.                      Read Jesus teaching from the sermon on the mount, Matthew 6:19-24

4.1.1.    Note that Jesus puts the teaching about our eyes between a teaching on our treasures and our hearts, and about serving God and Mammon. How does this correspond to David and Bathsheba?

4.1.2.    What does this suggest about the problem with our ‘eyes’

4.1.3.    We talk about ‘setting our heart’ on something, or on a course of action. In both cases his response was wrong, in the second calamitously so - By what Sense is David ‘shown’ his errors? (2 Sam 7:4-5; 2 Sam 12:1)

4.1.4.    Reflect back on the primeval sin in Genesis 3 - what is the fundamental conflict regarding the senses?

4.1.5.    In 2 Sam 11:2-4, David ‘Saw’ and ‘took’ Bathsheba - Reflect once more on 2 Sam 7:8-11 - Here David is Told that it is the LORD who has provided all that he needs and more. Next week as the story unravels further and David’s sin comes home to roost, part of the Word of the LORD to David is couched in the same terms if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. ⁹Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight 2 Sam 12:8-9. What is the fundamental principle of faith underlying: the response of Eve in the garden; David and Bathsheba and the provision of Bread for the 5000? (You may also like to reflect further on the response of the Father to the Elder Son in the parable of the Prodigal ‘Everything I have is yours’)

[Reading the narrative of 2 Samuel, we may well miss the import of 2 Sam 7, so great is David’s fall in 2 Sam 11, yet it seems clear that David’s heart was wandering from Devotion to God, back in 2 Sam 7. His heart was not set to respond to God’s command, rather he was already looking to be his own lord, casting around for something he could do for God from his own instigation. Becoming the creator of a new reality. Setting himself up as God]

5.  Read the passage from Ephesians 3 - How does this Speak to all we have thought about today? How well do we Hear this? Why does this magnify the significance of ‘praying continually’ as St Paul puts it?

6.  Give thanks to the LORD for is goodness to us. Pray for a heart to desire only to respond to his living Word, the source of Life.

Sermon for Sunday July 22nd, 2012

Sermons and longer pieces have followed the elves and now can be found at

theelvesareheadingwest.com

This week's is to be found HERE

Study notes for the Old Testament reading - Sunday July 22nd

Bible Study notes for Sunday July 22nd
(Apologies for the formatting which doesn't seem to have transferred from the original)

Texts
2 Samuel 7:1-16
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34,53-56 (Note - the verses missing from this passage tell of the feeding of the five thousand - which is the set gospel reading in a couple of weeks time, but from John)


(You might like to read all three passages first to get a feel for how they might fit together)
For the sake of time we’ll concentrate just on one of the passages for now, from 2 Samuel

The theme of our worship this week is ‘Making Peace’ - in this passage we see the beginnings of our misunderstanding of Peace, and how a false peace can lead us into deep trouble

Have someone read it through slowly, whilst everyone else listens - (not following in your own bibles) - asking ‘what catches your attention in this passage? Does it leave you with questions?’

[At whatever point you have but a few minutes left for Study, Make sure to leave time at the end to read it through in this way at the end - ‘What is Christ saying to his church in these verses?’ is there a message for us at St John’s? Respond in prayer]


Questions

What is the context given to us in the text (vs 1) for this incident in David’s life?

Always it is worthwhile having the whole story in mind - look at 2 Samuel 11.1 - again David is ‘at rest’ - what is the outcome?

Both passages (chapter 7 and 11) speak of David with time on his hands and a wandering mind. He is musing - his intention to build a house for the LORD is not made explicit, but its seeds are in his heart. Is there some kind of warning here?

To come back to the passage for this week What is David’s concern (vs 2)?
Does this seem a reasonable concern to us?
What do you think might be David’s motivations - what feelings might he have which precipitate this incident? (vs 2)

Nathan responds positively to David vs 3 - but the LORD speaks to David through Nathan otherwise, in two parts vvs 5-7 beginning ‘Go and tell my servant David’ and 8-16

vs 5 - David has good intentions, but they are distorted by a poor understanding of the nature of God and his relationship to him. The LORD refers to ‘my servant David’ and then says “are you the one to build a house for me to live in” What does this suggest is the nature of David’s error?

Read verses 6-7 What do the LORD’s words suggest about the nature of God?

[Take a moment to read from Sunday’s Epistle - Ephesians 2-19-22  - what does this passage suggest about the nature of David’s error? (2 Sam 2:6-7)]

David has it in mind to do something for the LORD
Is that what it means to be ‘the servant of the LORD’?

Read Verses 8-16 - what is the highly repetitive element, emphasis of these verses cf  David’s intention alluded to in verse 2?

David has set out with a desire to ‘do something for God’ (Like Martha in the story of Martha and Mary??) A desire perhaps coming from an inner restlessness, or ‘idle hands’?? Yet the whole emphasis of the passage is on what God has done and will do for David. Sit in the quiet with this for a few minutes perhaps - what is it saying to us?

Although we see a sort of fulfilment of the word of the LORD in the life and reign of Solomon, son of David - the critique of David’s intention still holds good. The Word of the LORD is actually fulfilled in Christ. In John 1:14 we read ‘And the Word became flesh, and dwelt amongst us’ - the word in the Greek which we render ‘dwelt’ is in fact Tabernacled. Take time to give thanks to God that he condescends to dwell amongst his people and build us into a dwelling place for his Name, revealed to us in Christ.

Sermon for Sunday July 8th - 2012

'The Elves are Heading West' - has moved

This sermon can be found 

HERE