Skip to main content

David #11

 [DAVID] Misplaced trust_ 

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1 

 
October 29th, 1929, is known as “Black Tuesday”, the day of the Wall Street crash and the beginning of the Great Depression. One person wrote, “The thing I remember most about the Depression is my father saying, ‘So and so killed himself today.’ And I suppose ten of my father’s friends committed suicide in the banking business.”  
Over 600,000 homeowners lost their property between 1930 and 1932. More than 5,000 banks failed. Depositors lost a total of $7 billion. By 1933, 25% of the workforce – nearly 13 million people – did not have jobs. 
What makes you feel secure? Is it a steady job? A big savings account? Good health? Family and friends? Each of these can be a gift from God and a reason for giving thanks. However, when we begin to trust in the gift rather than the Giver, we are headed for trouble. 

 

[Group discussion starter] What sorts of things contribute to your feelings of security? 

 
In this chapter, David discovers the terrible consequences of misplaced trust... 

 
[Read 1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1] 

 

What do you think motivated David to take a census of Israel? 
 

 
In what ways does the author make it clear that David’s action was evil? 
 

 
Unfortunately, the author does not tell us why David’s action was sinful. 
Why might the Lord have viewed David’s action as sinful? 
 

 
Why are we often tempted to trust in human strength and resources rather than in the Lord? 
If you were David, which of the three options for punishment would you choose, and why? (verses 11-13) 
 

 
In verse 14, in what sense was the plague on Israel appropriate to David’s sin? 
 

 
What are some of the perils of finding our security in something or someone other than the Lord? 
 

 
What contributes to the mood of fear and urgency in verses 16-27? 
 

 
Why do you think the author devotes half of the chapter to David’s purchase of the threshing floor? 
 

 
In 1 Chronicles 22:1, why was this an appropriate site for building the house of the Lord? 
 

 
Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary to atone for our sins (Hebrews 10:11-12). What, then, should we do when we discover we are guilty of misplaced trust? 
 

 
Take time this week to read and meditate on Psalm 37: 3-6... 

Trust in the Lord and do good; 
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 
Delight yourself in the Lord 
and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Commit your way to the Lord; 
trust in Him and He will do this: 
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, 
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #1

  The Lord Who Speaks_   Revelation 1:9-20   We  don’t  tend to get many letters these days. We get emails, text messages,  WhatsApp  and other electronic messages, but rarely  a handwritten, pen-and-paper letter.    I tend to save any good ones I get... notes from when Leah was little. Letters that encourage or bless me.   I’ll keep them in my  bedside  drawer or  tucked  into books on our shelves. Then I get to read them again and feel loved and blessed by their words. ..     [Discussion starter]    Tell the group about a significant letter you have received and why it meant so much to you.     Revelation 2-3 records seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches.   It must have been a thrill for an early church congregation to receive a letter from the apostles Paul, Peter, or James... but here were letters from Jesus himself . And we all get to read everyone else’s ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #3

  {SEVEN LETTERS}    The Attractiveness of Suffering_   Revelation 2:8-11     In the year AD 177 persecution broke out against the Christians living in what is today the French city of Lyon. Christianity had raised the suspicions and hatred of the Roman  bureaucrats who governed the city. The vicious persecution that raged, touched Christians at every level of society. After the persecuti on subsided, church father Irenaeus, arranged for a letter to be written to Christians in other parts of the Roman Empire describing the faithfulness of the  martyrs...   We  can’t  even begin to put into words, much less describe in detail, the  magnitude  of the persecution here: how the pagans raged so terribly against the saints, and how the ble ssed martyrs endured so patiently... To begin with, they nobly endured all the abuse the whole mob collectively piled on: screaming  at them, punching them, dragging them through the stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

PARABLE: the rich man and Lazarus

  {PARABLE} the rich man and Lazarus_   Luke 16:19-31   Have you ever heard someone say that religion is just  a ‘crutch’ or just a source of comfort for the weak?   Have you ever heard someone say that religious people pay no attention to those who are hungry or suffering?   Christianity doesn’t teach passive suffering in the face of injustice and oppression. Jesus calls us to serve those who are in need.     [Discussion starter] Have you ever been asked for money by someone homeless?   How did you react?     The final parable in this study reminds us that suffering in this life can be replaced by bliss in the next ...     [Read Luke 16:19-31]     In verses 19-21, how does the parable reveal the rich man’s lack of concern for Lazarus?       How would you account for the rich man’s indifference towards Lazarus?       What are some of the ways that you have heard people explain why ...
Post a Comment
Read more