Lessons from the Life of
David -- #9
David teaches us about
Forgiveness
Last time we read 2 Sam 11 and saw David’s fall into sin
with Bathsheba. That is only half the
story, of course, in chapter 12 David is confronted by the prophet Nathan, and
repents. Read 2 Sam 12:1-25.
It could be dangerous for anyone to tell a king he was
wrong. What method did Nathan use to get
David to see his own sin?
What does Nathan say to show that God’s forgiveness was
complete?
Why then did the child that was born have to die?
How did David act which showed he understood that God’s
forgiveness was complete?
David wrote another psalm after these events. Perhaps during the week described in 2 Sam
12:16-17. The psalm is Psalm 51. This psalm teaches us about sin and
forgiveness. It is a psalm that should
be well-known by every Christian, since our message to others is one of
repentance and forgiveness (Lk 24:47).
Psalm
51
1. What is mercy, and
what is the most important work God does out of his mercy? (See Eph 2:4,5)
1. On what basis
does David feel he has a chance at receiving mercy from God?
1. The Hebrew word
translated as "blot out" is the one used for erasing what is written
down. Does God really erase our
sins? See Jeremiah 31:34
3. In what way was
David's sin always before him?
(Psalm 32:3-5 are verses David may have written in
connection with this sin also.) Have you
ever done something wrong, and your conscience kept bothering you, forcing you
to think about it day and night?
4. Why does David
say that it was only against God that he had sinned? See 2 Cor
5. This verse
teaches the doctrine of original sin.
Some other passages which also teach this are Gen 8:21, John 3:6, Job
14:4, Ps 58:3, Eph 2:3c. (You may wish to keep a list of such passages in your
Bible to be prepared to defend the teaching of infant baptism some day.)
6. What concerns
God more than our external actions?
7. When an Old
Testament believer became defiled, perhaps by touching a dead body, or by
touching a leper, he went to the priest to be cleansed. The priest performed a ceremony in which he
sprinkled the person by dipping a hyssop plant in water and shaking the water
off on the person. David wants God to do
this to him.
7. See Ex
8. How does God
crush us, and how does he let us hear joy and gladness, after we have committed
some sin?
8. If God has
forgiven us for sins we have committed, why do we sometimes continue to have a
guilty conscience about those sins?
10. Having confessed his sins, David now asks for a clean
heart. What promise do we all have in
regard to confessing our sins before God?
See 1 John 1:9
10-12. David prays that the Holy Spirit would not leave
him, showing he understood that God's Spirit lives in his children. What three gifts of the Holy Spirit are
mentioned in verses 10b and 12?
13-15. David prays for the Lord's help in telling
others. What help can we be assured of
if we feel unsure of ourselves or too insecure to tell others about what God
has done for us? See Rom
16. If God did not delight in all those Old Testament
sacrifices, why did he command the people to do them?
16-17. Do we as New Testament believers make sacrifices
to God?
What New Testament sacrifices are we told to offer?
a) Heb
13:15
b) Heb
13:16
c) Rom
12:1-2
d) Phil
4:14-18
17. How must we offer the above named sacrifices,
or they too, will not be acceptable?
17. What example
did Jesus give of a strong-willed person, and a person with a broken
spirit? Which received forgiveness?
18. The walls of