Plymothian

David does not go unpunished for his taking of Uriah the Hittite’s wife.  the murder of Uriah and his wife are played out within David’s own house and David shows his guilt by paralysis.  Amnon rapes his sister.  This is a violent sexual act and mirrors David’s taking of Bathsheba.  Absolom kills his brother Amnon.  This is a violent act and mirrors David’s decision to kill Uriah.  David has guilt which will not enable him to pursue justice for his daughter or his son.  He knows that he is guilty of similar sin. 

David’s passivity and his family’s unruliness sets the scene for the civil war that follows.  David’s punishment is extensive, eventually involving the whole of his country.

2 Samuel 13, 14

¹In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.

 ²Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

 ³ Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. ⁴He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”

   Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

 ⁵“Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”

 ⁶So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

 ⁷ David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” ⁸ So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. ⁹Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.

   “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. ¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. ¹¹But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”

 ¹² “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. ¹³ What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” ¹⁴But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

 ¹⁵Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

 ¹⁶“No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”

   But he refused to listen to her. ¹⁷ He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” ¹⁸ So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate^[a] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. ¹⁹Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.

 ²⁰Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.

 ²¹ When King David heard all this, he was furious. ²²And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

Absalom Kills Amnon

 ²³ Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. ²⁴Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”

 ²⁵“No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.

 ²⁶Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”

   The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.

 ²⁸ Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.” ²⁹So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.

 ³⁰ While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” ³¹The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.

 ³² But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

 ³⁴Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.

   Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”^[b]

 ³⁵Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”

 ³⁶As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.

 ³⁷Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.

 ³⁸ After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. ³⁹ And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.

¹ Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. ² So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. ³Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

 ⁴ When the woman from Tekoa went^[a]to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

 ⁵The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

   She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶ I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. ⁷Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

 ⁸The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

 ⁹But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”

 ¹⁰The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

 ¹¹She said, “Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

   “As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

 ¹²Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”

   “Speak,” he replied.

 ¹³ The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? ¹⁴Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.

 ¹⁵ “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. ¹⁶Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’

 ¹⁷“And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.’”

 ¹⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”

   “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.

 ¹⁹The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?”

   The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. ²⁰Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”

 ²¹The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

 ²²Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

 ²³ Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

 ²⁵ In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels^[b]by the royal standard.

 ²⁷Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.

 ²⁸ Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. ³⁰Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

 ³¹Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”

 ³²Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”

 ³³ So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

Questions

1. What two crimes are committed in 2 Samuel 13?
2. Why does David respond as he does?
3. How does David help sow the seeds of civil war?
4. How does the violence in the world reflect the decisions of previous generations?
5. What kind of seeds do your actions plant in the life of the young?

Republican candidate Herman Cain is fighting off allegations from a number of women that he abused positions of power by abusing and harrassing them.  The details in the news are quite graphic of the nature odf the allegations.  We find such allegations to be nothing new.  In fact David what rightly accused by the prphet Nathan after using the power of the kingship to take a woman whom he desired and then arranging the murder of her husband.

It seems that with more power there is often te perception in an individual’s mind that they are moving above the law.  What the passage reminds us is that all power is subject to the one ruler of all.  All kings are subject to the king of kings.  David realises this late in the game and his family and his people reap the consequences.  However, there was a way back.  There is always a way back to God in this life.

2 Samuel 10 – 12

¹ In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. ²David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

   When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

⁶When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁷ On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. ⁸The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

⁹ Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. ¹²Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”

¹³ Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. ¹⁶Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

¹⁷ When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸ But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.^[a] He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them.

   So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

2 Samuel 11

David and Bathsheba

¹In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. ⁵The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. ⁹But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,^[b]and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

¹² Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

¹⁸ Joab sent David a full account of the battle. ¹⁹ He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, ²⁰ the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth^[c]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

²² The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

²⁵David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

2 Samuel 12

Nathan Rebukes David

¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! ⁶He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

¹¹ “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. ¹²You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

¹³Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

   Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for^[d]the LORD, the son born to you will die.”

¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth^[e] on the ground. ¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

¹⁸On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

¹⁹David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

   “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

²⁰Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

²¹His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

²² He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ ²³But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; ²⁵ and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.^[f]

²⁶ Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. ²⁷ Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. ²⁸Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

²⁹ So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. ³⁰ David took the crown from their king’s^[g] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent^[h] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city ³¹ and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.^[i] David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Questions

1. Against whom does David have success?
2. What leads David astray?
3. In your opinion does the text question David’s decision to be in the palace?
4. How have people in power abused that power in recent weeks?
5. What responsibilities might you gain in the coming years?  How can you avoid abusing that power?

My wife’s father was a cripple.  It surprised me sometimes to hear him comment on American football games and if someone dropped a catch he’d call them a ‘cripple’.  There was an irony there that I think that he intended, but still it showed the tendency in our ‘enlightened’ times to look down on those who are physically disabled.  In David’s time in the Bible, people would have shunned cripples so that they were seen as dogs – little more than animals.  It was often thought that cripples were cursed by God.

David shows his loyalty and kindness by reaching out to Mephibosheth.  He is the crippled heir of Saul’s line.  No-one seriously considered him for king and he hadobviously been left out of the social spotlight.  David welcomes him into the heart of the kingdom and gives him great honour.  This shows how a godly person does not focus on physical ability and is not afraid to honour rivals.  How do you treat the physically disabled?  How do you treat your rivals and their families?

2 Samuel 9

 ¹David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

 ²Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

   “At your service,” he replied.

 ³The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

   Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

 ⁴“Where is he?” the king asked.

   Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

 ⁵So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

 ⁶When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

   David said, “Mephibosheth!”

   “At your service,” he replied.

 ⁷“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

 ⁸Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

 ⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

 ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s^[a]table like one of the king’s sons.

 ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Questions

1. How is Mephibosheth related to Saul?
2. What does David do for him?
3. What does this show about David’s character and God’s character?
4. Who are your rivals?  How do you treat them?
5. Do you reach out to the disabled?  How could this be done?

When I was growing up I liked collecting medals.  I won medals for soccer, Bible recitation, running, and athletics.  I thought of them as giving me worth in some way.  My father had raised me with the ‘no-one-remembers-second’ mentality and I had bought into that.  Since I have grown up awards and accalades have been a snare for me.  I have excused my insecurity as having ‘words of affirmation’ as my love language.

It is good to honour those who have done well but not to create vain superheroes.  The aim of all achievement is to give glory to God.  Recently I have started accumulating running shirts and medals.  They are not on display, but I keep them as a reminder to be thankful for all God has done in keeping me fit and allowing me to compete.

The list in 2 Samuel of David’s exploits is really an account of how God strengthened David’s hand.  How God brought security and safety to Israel is testimony to David’s trust in God.  It is not the aggrandising of self.

2 Samuel 8

¹In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

²David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

³ Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at^[a] the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers^[b]and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. ⁶He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.

⁷ David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tebah^[c]and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

⁹ When Tou^[d] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ he sent his son Joram^[e]to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

¹¹ King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: ¹² Edom^[f]and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites^[g]in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.

David’s Officials

¹⁵ David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. ¹⁶ Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; ¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; ¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.

Questions

1. What kinds of things are listed as achievements for David?
2. What would have been the original response to all of the bloodshed?
3. How is God portrayed through David’s victories?
4. What would your trophy cabinet look like if it honoured your most recent achievement?
5. Which of your achievements would God place most value in?

About 2 Samuel 7 Bill T. Arnold Writes:

This text illustrates through the life of David once again the nature of evangelical faith.  By this I mean the way the narrative is blended into its portarayal of David a desire to serve and please God with a complete reliance on God’s revealed word.  As elsewhere in the extended narrative (1 Samuel 16 – 2 Sam 8), this text shows David to be a paragon of virtue and a model of faith.  In this text as elsewhere, he is in close relationship with the people and institutions that become God’s means of communication and direction in his life.  He listens to Nathan and quicklyacquiesces to the prophetic word.  When he feels overwhelmed by God’s response, he enters in before the ark of the covenant and prays.

Even David’sprayer is a model of yielding to Godwhile at the same time boldly imploring that God truly be God, keeping faithfully his promises.  Likewise, present day believers must avail themselves of every opportunity to receive the grace of God:  church attendance, Bible study, prayer, involvement in missions and outreach, commitment to serve the poor, and so on.  Jusat as David lived close to the established means of God’s grace, so must today’s believers learn to revel in the different ways in which God speaks today.  The historian of the books of Samuel has offered David as an example for future kings through the narrative thus far.  As such he functions as a model for all of us who worship the Son of David today.

2 Samuel 7

¹ After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

⁴But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders^[a]over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

   “‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

   “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a mere human!^[c]

²⁰ “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign LORD. ²¹For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

²² “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²³ And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?^{[d] 24}You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

²⁵ “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, ²⁶so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

²⁷ “LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹ Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Questions

1. What does David want to do for God?
2. What does God want to do for David?
3. What is God’s nature in this passage?
4. What does God tell people they must do for him in the Bible?
5. What should be our attitude in living out God’s word?

There is a song that youth have been singing for a while now.  It is called Undignified http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQeNVXY6ZIc by David Crowder.  When I have been with junior highers there has been some slam-dancing and the church becomes a mosh pit.  Is this okay?  The church when I was growing up emphasized a stoic worshiping God in ‘spirit and in truth’ where dancing was abandoned in the New Testament in their interpretation.

Looking at David in 2 Samuel 6, I don’t buy it.  How are you able to let it all go in worship?  How can your inhibitions be removed?  Do you care enough?

2 Samuel 6

¹ David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. ² He and all his men went to Baalah^[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,^[b] the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. ³ They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart ⁴ with the ark of God on it,^[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. ⁵ David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets,^[d]harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. ⁷The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

⁸ Then David was angry because the LORD’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.^[e]

⁹ David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” ¹⁰ He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ¹¹The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.

¹² Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. ¹⁹Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²²I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Questions

1. What was to be moved and why?
2. Why did David become afraid?
3. How does David’s outward action both display obedience and passion?
4. Does God want to see movement in your life?
5. How do you display outward commitment and passion?

Bob Marley made Zion famous again when I was growing up.  He held up Zion as an image of freedom and hope.  The Jewish people are derided as ‘Zionist’ by their neighbours.  As an accusation, Zionism is een as a conquering nationalism where Jewish people have created a country in a land that they have no right to own.

In 2 Samuel 5 David conquers Zion and sets up his capital on the mountain.  The mount becomes a symbol of God’s dwelling with mankind.  Mount Zion becomes a physical and spiritual focus for Israel.  Zion is used to talk about a reestablishment of a Theocracy where God reigns from a central location of power.  Many Christians believe that God will set up a new Zion-centered kingdom and Christ will rule.  What do you think?

2 Samuel 5

¹ All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ²In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

³When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. ⁵In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

David Conquers Jerusalem

⁶ The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” ⁷Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

⁸ On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.^[a]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”

⁹ David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces^[b] inward. ¹⁰And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.

¹¹ Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. ¹²Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

¹³ After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. ¹⁴ These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines

¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ¹⁹so David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”

   The LORD answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”

²⁰ So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.^{[c] 21}The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

²² Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ²³ so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. ²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” ²⁵ So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon^[d] to Gezer.

Questions

1. How is David’s family increased?
2. How is David’s domain stabilized?
3. How is Zion viewed by the people?
4. How is Zionism used in modern speech?
5. What do you think is God’s role for Zion?

Ishbosheth was killed.  His murderers thought they were doing David a fsvour.  In a sense they were.  By removing the heir of Saul David’s claim to the throne was strengthened.  However, David did not approve of the way two men murdered their king.  He therefore had them executed.  God can allow unrighteous acts to occur and in allowing them he brings about a greater good.  God brought David to the throne.  the difficult point is that God used unrighteos murderers in his plan. 

Hidden in this passage is part of the answer to the question why God allows evil to exist.  How do you process that God allowed evil for the sake of good?

2 Samuel 4

¹ When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. ² Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, ³because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

 ⁴(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

 ⁵ Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. ⁶They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.

 ⁷ They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. ⁸They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

 ⁹ David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, ¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! ¹¹How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

 ¹² So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

Questions

1. How is Ish-Bosheth killed?
2. How is his death both good and evil?
3. What kind of character does David show upon hearing the news?
4. Does a death penalty decrease murder?
5. How has God used liars, cheats or thieves to further his plan for your life?

A lot of American movies, especially action movies, focus on revenge.  Revenge is attractive because it leaves room for justice to run its course.  If we repay a crime we are dishing out punishment.  If a life is taken and we respond by taking a life it is justice and revenge.  However, revenge is not the highest good.  The Bible asks us to leave revenge with God (Rom. 12).  We should look to the grace that we have received and issue mercy and grace to others.

David was mindful of this principle.  When Abner came to him in repentant submission David did not take the opportunity to get revenge.  However, Joab (David’s military officer) took revenge for the slaying of his brother by Abner.  Rather than approving of this as a just end to a feud, David castigates Joab for his harsh action.  David mourns Abner and gives him hnour, even though Abner has been fighting against David in a civil war.

Are you consumed with justice and revenge?  God wants you to let that go and be free.  You do not have power over the life of another – anger and a desire for revenge eventually destroy the one desiring them.  Mercy and grace flow from a free heart.

2 Samuel 3

 ¹The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

 ² Sons were born to David in Hebron:
   His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
 ³ his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;
   the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
 ⁴ the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;
   the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
 ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.
   These were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Goes Over to David

 ⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. ⁷Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

 ⁸ Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! ⁹ May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath ¹⁰ and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” ¹¹Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

 ¹²Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

 ¹³ “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” ¹⁴Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

 ¹⁵ So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. ¹⁶Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

 ¹⁷ Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. ¹⁸Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”

 ¹⁹ Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. ²⁰ When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. ²¹Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Joab Murders Abner

 ²² Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.

 ²⁴ So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! ²⁵You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

 ²⁶ Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. ²⁷Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

 ²⁸ Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy^[a]or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”

 ³⁰(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

 ³¹ Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. ³²They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

 ³³The king sang this lament for Abner:

   “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
 ³⁴ Your hands were not bound,
   your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”

   And all the people wept over him again.

 ³⁵Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

 ³⁶ All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. ³⁷So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

 ³⁸ Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? ³⁹ And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

Questions

1. Who is added to David’s royal line?
2. Who is reclaimed by David?
3. Why is it important that David be cleared of wrongdoing when establishing his line?
4. What hopes do you have for your family?
5. What are you willing to do to ensure your dreams come true?  Can you sacrifice your dreams to God and relinquish control?