Gathering (Choose one.)

Describe the season of Spring where you live. Which of your senses does it bring alive?

 

What do you do when you experience sleeplessness? And when that doesn’t work, what then?

 

God’s Story

Have one person read 2 Samuel 11: 1-27 Read the passage a second time and put yourself in the place of David, Bathsheba, Uriah, the messenger, and Joab.

 

Backstory

That Bathsheba was bathing to “purify” herself is key to understanding this story. She had just become ritually unclean—following the 7-day period of “uncleanness” due to menstruation—a cleansing prescribed by Jewish law (Leviticus 15:19-30). Having just had her monthly period meant this baby could not be husband Uriah’s, but David’s.

 

Finding My Story in God’s Story

What self-talk in David’s mind do you hear?

  1. “Bathsheba knew I would see her. She must want me to invite her to be with me.”
  2. “I am the King. What I want, I get.”
  3. “With the year I’ve had and what I had to sacrifice, I deserve this.”
  4. “No one will find out.”
  5. Other __________.

 

What do you think was going on in Bathsheba’s mind when David commands: ‘come to me’ and ‘sleep with me’?

  1. “Wow, the King wants me. Who am I to be desired by the King?”
  2. “Oh no, the King commands me. I must obey.”
  3. “I don’t think Uriah would approve.”
  4. “My plan worked. I timed my bath just right for the King to see me.”
  5. Other __________.

 

As this story unfolds and you begin to connect the dots, what do you suppose is going on in the minds of David, Bathsheba, or Uriah? Some possibilities:

  1. “OMG, David, we’re pregnant! What now?”
  2. “Why would David call me home?”
  3. “If I get him drunk, he won’t know what happened.”
  4. “So he let’s me visit my wife, now he wants me killed. What’s up with that?”
  5. Other __________.

 

Why did David’s first and second attempts to cover up his guilt fail? (2 Sam 11:6-13)

 

What do you think was “the thing David had done” to most displease God? (11:27)

  1. Committing adultery in the first place.
  2. Covering up adultery after the fact.
  3. Conniving to get one of his own troops killed.
  4. Concocting a scheme to fool God.
  5. Other __________.

 

How would you tell this scandal-filled story to your adolescent son or other young men? What would you say it differently to your adolescent daughter or granddaughter?

 

How can we help each other, brother to brother, deal with such sexual temptations?

 

Our Story

With the pornography endemic in American culture, we are rightly concerned about its impact on the brain, on human trafficking, and on future relationships. The “Me Too” movement makes us more aware of this power to command sexual acts. How does this story reflect God’s heart on these modern cultural energies?

 

What safeguards or accountability covenants help you avoid these traps?

  1. The “Billy Graham rule”: Never dine or drive alone with a woman other than your spouse.
  2. Turn over my cell phone and share passwords with my spouse.
  3. Block porn sites and activate a “Covenant Eyes” app and agreement with a bro.
  4. Join a “Forgiven and Free” support and accountability group.
  5. Other __________.

 

As a next step suggested under #10 or #12, before our group meets again, I will….