II SAMUEL 5 Lesson # 5
WHEN GOD GUIDES, GOD PROVIDES
I. Introduction:
Note: Share a time when you were blessed with God’s help and you took it for granted, you became arrogant, and then everything went bad.
Q Has God ever blessed something you did and then later when you took that blessing for granted things went sour?
An = See if they will share some times.
II. The Crowning of the King: II Samuel 5:1-5.
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 5:1-5.
Q Why did the Israelites make David their king?
An = 1) David was of their own flesh and blood. He had a physical connection. 2) He had previously led them into battle successfully. They had the “sign” of anointing through David’s previous victories. Not only was David part of them, but they had seen the previous success on their behalf. 3) God had decided it was to be so. It was God’s ordination. If God has decided we are to be anointed, then it will happen. It may take fifteen years, as in the case of David, but it will take place. Men will eventually see what God has already ordained.
>>>> Have someone turn and read I Samuel 16:11.
>>>> Have someone re-read II Samuel 5:2
Q In the Lord’s speech quoted in 5:2 what two titles does the Lord use for David’s type of rule?
An = He is to be a “shepherd” and a “prince”. Shepherds serve the sheep, not devour them. And David is to be a “prince” because God is still the king. As leaders of our homes or businesses or ministerial positions of leadership we are still to be always aware that our role is “to serve” and be aware that the real leader is the Lord.
Q Why should Jesus Christ be our king?
An = Matthew Henry, p. 331, reminds us that 1) Jesus is “one of us”. He was born in life like us. He lived a human existence. He knows our sorrows and trials. He is part of our race. 2) He is has already begun to win victories for us. If He has already done things for you, then they are signs that He desires to be your Lord and do even more. 3) He is the good shepherd and the true prince. He will shepherd His people.
Note: David made a covenant with them and they anointed them in verse 3. God wants to “commit Himself” to us. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? We then are to anoint Him, to make Him king.
III. Conquest of Jerusalem: II Samuel 5:6-10.
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 5:6-10.
Q What is puzzling about this story of Jerusalem’s capture?
An = It seems so foreign to speak negatively of the “blind and lame”. This is understood by the scholars to be one of the most difficult passages in the books of Samuel. The Hebrew is really obscure. Let me give you a couple of “guesses” about how to understand the situation of the “blind and lame”.
1) The references could refer to the utter confidence the Jebusites had that no one could capture their stronghold. Even the “blind and lame” could ward off an attack. 2) Others think the phrase refers to the determination of the Jebusites to fight to the last man, even those disabled in the city. 3) Others believe it referred to a previous oath David had taken that meant if he attacked then he and his men would become “blind and lame”. (For discussion of the first three options, see Gordon, p. 226) 4) Finally, the “blind and lame” could be David’s reference to the idols that the Jebusite thought protected their city from attack. (see Matthew Henry, p. 332)
Note: Most historians have seen David making Jerusalem the capitol of his kingdom as a wise, political move. 1) Jerusalem was David’s city, captured by his own troops, so the capital was “his”. It was the “city of David”. 2) Jerusalem was not a part of Judah nor really a part of Northern Israel. It was neutral and it was located between both. 3) It was a city that could be defended.
Note: David now had a home and his own capital. Most importantly the narrator sees this city as sign of David’s increasingly stronger position. All of which is seen as blessings from the Lord.
IV. Blessings: II Samuel 5:11-16.
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 5:11-16.
Q What type of blessings did David experience in these two short passages?
An = He has been given a positive political alliance (that resulted in a good home) and he had more children.
Q What does David realize in 5:12?
An = Two things: that God was establishing him and his kingdom and that its establishment was not for himself but for the “people”.
Q Do you know of Christian people who have had success and have forgotten this?
An = Ministers do this and so do businessmen. Our success was not just for us but for our community as well. We are to be a conduit of blessing to others, not a stagnant, ever growing pool.
V. Blessings In Battle: Proof of the Anointing. II Samuel 5:17-25
A. The Prophesy
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 3:18.
Note: Do not comment on this verse. Just ask them to remember this verse as we read on.
B. The First Battle: II Samuel 5:17-21.
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 5:17-21
Q What does David do before he attacks?
An = He prays and asks if God is going to go with him. Remember, David is an aggressive man and yet he gives God “veto” power over his plans. “Prayer precedes Victory!”
Q How would this apply to our personal lives?
An = Let them share in this category.
Q How would this apply to our church?
Note: The capturing of the Philistine gods is in direct contrast to I Samuel 4:10-11.
>>>> Have someone read those verses to the group. In that story the Israelites were very religious before they went into battle but were utterly defeated, even though they carried the “Ark” into battle with them. They did not pray and submit their plans to God and they failed. Here the leadership gave God “veto” power of his plans, and the result was God’s blessing.
C. The Second Battle: II Samuel 5:22-25.
>>>> Have someone read II Samuel 5:22-25.
Q With new problems how does David face the crisis?
An = He prays again. He prays, really wanting to listen. Notice, God gives a different answer than before. Perhaps, if he had attacked in the same manner as before, he would not have had a “break-through” that gave him victory, because the Philistines would be looking for him. So God gave him different battle plans, and he won again. David did two valuable things: he heard and he obeyed. Religious talk is empty in God’s sight if the hearing does not work out in obeying.
Q What does this mean about going to Bible Studies?
An = They would be of little help if after hearing what God’s Word said we did nothing about it. If we listen and we obey then He will be in the midst of our lives as well.
VI. Conclusion:
Note: If God guides, then God will provide. If God anoints a man or a ministry (1-5) then He will bless it. He blessed David with the capture of Jerusalem and gave David a city (6-10). He blessed David with a valuable political alliance who helped build him a house (11-12), expansion of his family (13-16), and finally freedom from his greatest military threat and the greatest threat to his people with the victory over the Philistines (17-25). David is blessed with a city, house, sons and victory.
Note: Note some of David’s actions.
Q What does David do in 5:12?
An = He realized it was God who was working for him, for the people. Remember, David was to be a shepherd for his people.
>>>> Have someone read 5:2.
Q What does David do in 5:19 and 5:23?
An = David prayed and handed over “veto power” to the Lord. He remembered that he was not the king but rather the prince! He gave the real King the chance to review his plans and he was willing to have his plans changed.
>>>> Have someone read again 5:2b.