Listening To Hope

Lesson:  

People who know their God deal quickly  and effectively with their sins, extend mercy to the undeserving, and worship extravagantly sacrificing the best they have for God. 

Text(s):  2 Samuel 24 

Ice-Breakers: (opening questions to ask the members of the group) 

1. With grace in your heart share with the group a time when you needed and received mercy from someone against whom you sinned.  What did that feel like?
2. Turn the tables. Have you ever needed to extend mercy to someone who had offended you?  What did that feel like?

Background: 

      King David is nearing the end of his life in our text.  For some unexplained reason the Lord was angry with Israel and ‘incited’ (NIV) David to take a census which would surely result in large number of Israelites sinning against the Temple by not paying a ritual head tax demanded by the Law of Moses for enrolled soldiers.  Some scholars believe that David may simply have sinned in his arrogance by demanding to know how many battle-aged men were in his kingdom so that he might be assess his military might (and not trust God so much).

      The census brings Israel into cultic disobedience and God’s wrath on the people.  David’s conscience is stricken and Gad brings the word of punishment to David.  The King chooses to fall into the hands of God rather than any man and so the plague begins immediately eventually taking 70,000 lives.  Through a series of events David ends up purchasing the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and offering a sacrifice there to God.  When David famously refuses to accept Araunah’s offer  of the land and oxen as a gift we see the intuitive David coming the to fore.  “I will not offer to God a sacrifice that costs me nothing!” is the Davidic response that captures a principle of honoring God which is true across time and culture. 

Digging Deeper: 

1. Read the entire chapter aloud taking turns in your group.  You may ask various members to read the principal parts along with a narrator as an alternate method.  Afterwards, ask the group to tell you what jumped out at them.  What was a particular interest?

1. J.I. Packer in his book, ‘Knowing God’ said that Christians often settle for just knowing ‘about’ God and really knowing God.  What distinguishes David’s knowledge of God  from our own knowledge?  (Ask your group to answer this question on an individual basis—how is King David’s ‘knowing God’ different from mine?)

1. David was confronted by God on three different occasions about his sin (Joab, conscience, Gad).  What is the benefit in God confronting us over our sins?

1. Look up Matthew 5:7 and Mark 11:25.  How can we draw strength to extend mercy to those undeserving who have wounded us?  What had David learned?

1. Look up Malachi 1:10-12.  Why does God demand the best we have when we come before Him in worship?  How does David know this intuitively?

Wrap Up:

• In groups of two or three take some time to ask and answer the following questions (or maybe just one of the three) and then pray for one another:

            Are there sins with which you need to deal quickly and effectively?

            Is there some undeserving person to whom you need to extend mercy?

            Do you find yourself giving God the leftovers of your life? 

• As a group plan some form or extravagant gift of worship to God.  This can take many forms such as a service project or overnight prayer gathering.

Reach Out: 

• Is your group willing to serve some person or institution?  Is there a way to offer the costly sacrifice of time and energy given away to those who cannot pay you back?