A KING MAKES FUN OF
DAVID’S MEN -- 2 Samuel 10
King David and Nahash, the
Ammonite king, had been friendly
to each other. When Nahash died,
David sent messengers with a
sympathy message to Hanun, the king’s son. But Hanun’s officers did not
trust David or his messengers. They thought the men were spies. So they
shaved off half of each messenger’s beard and cut off each one’s robes at
the hips. They sent the messengers home half naked.
The Ammonites soon realized how angry they had made David. So
they hired 20,000 Aramean soldiers to help them fight. When David heard
about this, he sent his general, Joab, and the entire Israelite army to
attack the Ammonites and the Arameans.
Joab knew he would have to fight on two fronts. So he sent his
brother Abishai to fight the Ammonites in the city. Joab himself led the
best soldiers out to the fields where the Arameans were. Joab said to his
brother, “If you need help, I will come and help you. And if I need help, you
can come over and help me.”
When Joab attacked, the Arameans ran away. When the Ammonites
saw this, they also began to run away.
Joab and his soldiers went back to Jerusalem. But they couldn’t stay
there long. The Arameans gathered a much bigger army. This time King
David led a big Israelite army. The Arameans ran away again. They lost
40,000 horsemen and 700 chariot drivers. The Arameans realized that they
had been defeated. So they made a peace agreement with David. After
that, the Arameans would not help the Ammonites anymore.
DISCUSSION:
Why did David send messengers to see Hanun? What did Hanun do to the
messengers? Why did the Ammonites plan for battle? Who helped them?
Who won these battles? Do you think Hanun was sorry that he had made
fun of David and his messengers?
When we do something foolish, there are always consequences. That
means something happens as a result of what we did. Usually what
happens is not good.
The next time you are tempted to do something foolish, stop! Think about
what could happen. Is it worth it?
KING DAVID AND THE AMMONITES
Solve the crossword using the list of words and the clues.
HANUN
1
2
DAVID
3
4
5
ABISHAI
SPIES
6
JOAB
7
ANGRY
8
NAHASH
HORSEMEN
Across
Down
2. David's general
4. Brother to Joab
6. What Hanun thought
David's men were
7. Son of the Ammonite
king
1. King of Israel
3. Ammonite king that died
5. What the Arameans lost
40,000 of
8. David felt this way
towards Hanun
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Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
nathan tells david a sad story
2 samuel 11:1 - 12:25
David did something terribly wrong.
He wanted Uriah's beautiful
wife, Bathsheba. To get her, he arranged to have Uriah killed. Then David
and Bathsheba had a baby boy.
God sent the prophet Nathan to see David one day. He told this story:
"A rich man and a poor man lived near each other. The rich man had
many sheep and goats. The poor man had only one little lamb. The lamb
was his children's pet. Even the poor man himself would cuddle the lamb
as if it were a little child. Then a visitor came to the rich man's home. The
rich man stole the poor man's pet lamb. He cooked it and served the meat
to his visitor."
When Nathan came to the end of his story, King David was angry with
the rich man. He thought it was terrible for a man to do such a thing.
"That rich man should be put to death," King David shouted. "Before he
dies, he should give the poor man four lambs to take the place of the one
that he stole."
Nathan
looked at David's
angry face. He
pointed a finger
at David. "You
are that rich
man," he said.
"God says that
He made you
king and gave
you a beautiful
palace. He has
given you so much, and he would even have given you more. But you killed
Uriah and stole his beautiful wife. Because of this terrible sin, your family
will fight against you. Other terrible things will happen to you."
"I have sinned!" David cried out.
"The Lord has forgiven you," said Nathan. "But you'll be very sad
because Bathsheba's baby will not live." It wasn't long until Nathan's
words came true.
As time passed, David and Bathsheba had another baby boy. They
named this baby Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon and blessed him.
DISCUSSION:
What story did Nathan tell David? Who sent Nathan to tell
this story? Who did the rich man represent? How had
David sinned? How did God punish him?
Sin brings punishment. Remember this the next time you are
about to do something wrong.
David and Bathsheba
BABY
BATHSHEBA
BATTLE
DAVID
DIED
FORGIVE
GOD
HEART
JERUSALEM
KILLED
LOVE
MARRIED
NATHAN
REPENTED
SINNED
SOLOMON
SON
URIAH
WIFE
I Samuel 11:1-12:25
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Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
absalom rebels
2 SAMUEL 14:25; 15
David had a handsome son
named Absalom. But David had
not raised Absalom well. So this
good-looking son was not loyal to
his father. Absalom wanted to become king even if that meant he would
have to kill his own father, King David.
Absalom brought many people over to his side by promising them
good things. He pretended that he would help them more than King David
did. He went out among the people and shook hands with them. He
pretended to be their friend. This went on for four years.
Then one day Absalom asked King David if he could go to Hebron. He
wanted to give an offering to the Lord there. David thought that was all
right, so he let Absalom go. But while Absalom was in Hebron, he got
many people to join him and crown him king.
When David heard about this, he
would not fight his own son. Instead, he
left Jerusalem with his loyal followers.
They crossed a valley on their way to the
Mount of Olives.
David sent some of his followers
back to Jerusalem with the Ark of God.
Then David went on, walking up the
road to the Mount of Olives. There David
met a loyal advisor named Hushai. He told
Hushai to go back to Jerusalem and
pretend to be loyal to Absalom. When
Absalom's counselor gave Absalom advice,
Hushai would give advice that would seem
better. In that way, he would really be
helping David.
So David's friend Hushai went back to Jerusalem. He went to meet
some of David's other friends so they could work together to help their
king. Hushai got there just as Absalom came into the city.
DISCUSSION:
How did Absalom win people over to him? How did Absalom make himself
king? Why would David not fight Absalom? What kind of person was
Absalom?
Do you ever wish you were more beautiful or handsome? Do you ever wish
you were bigger or smaller? Do you ever wish you were different in some
way?
God doesn't look at how beautiful we are or aren't. He looks at how good
we are in our heart. Remember: Doing Good is better than Looking Good!
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
SHIMEI SAYS BAD THINGS ABOUT
DAVID
2 samuel 16:5-14
When some of King David's friends went back to Jerusalem, David and
the rest of the people with him kept going. It wasn't safe for him to go into
the city where his son Absalom was trying to take over as king. So David
went across to the other side of the Mount of Olives.
Near a small village a member of King Saul's family came out to curse
David. The man's name was Shimei. He threw stones at David and his
officers. He threw dust into the air and said terrible things to David.
"You stole the throne from
King Saul!" he shouted. "Now
the Lord is paying you back.
He will give the throne to your
own son Absalom. Then your
son will be the king instead of
you. At last you are getting
what you deserve!"
Abishai, one of David's
army commanders, wanted to
kill Shimei. But David said no.
"My own son wants to kill
me," said David. "This man is only cursing me. Perhaps the Lord has told
him to do this. Or perhaps the Lord will bless me because of all the bad
things people have done to me."
David and his men went on. Shimei kept up with them, throwing stones
at them and cursing them. He kept throwing dust into the air.
By the time David and his people came to the Jordan River, they were
tired. So they stayed there to rest.
DISCUSSION:
What bad things did Shimei do and say? Who wanted to kill him? Why
didn't David let him do it?
We should not fight sin with another sin.
Has someone hurt you or made fun of you? Would you like to do
something bad to that person? Instead, what if you did something good
to that person? What do you think might happen?
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
ABSALOM IS DEFEATED
2 Samuel 14:26; 17:24 - 19:10
Absalom was not happy just to be the king. He also wanted to kill his
father. So he gathered all the soldiers that had not followed David. They
went out to fight David's soldiers.
David divided his army into three parts. Joab, Abishai, and Ittai were
the leaders.
"Be kind to Absalom," David told the soldiers as they left.
David's men
won the battle.
About 20,000 men
died that day. During
the battle Absalom
rode his mule under a
big oak tree.
Absalom's long hair
got caught in the
branches. So Joab
ran over to Absalom
with ten men, and
together they killed
him.
Two messengers brought word to David. One told him that his
soldiers had won. The other told him that Absalom had died. David began
to cry. He cried so much that his soldiers sneaked back into the city as if
they had done something wrong. Joab scolded David. "You are crying for
the one who tried to kill you. You are making the ones that saved you feel
ashamed," Joab said. "Get out there and praise the soldiers, or they will
all leave you." So David did what Joab said. Then the people said, "Let's
ask David to be our king again."
DISCUSSION:
What did Absalom want to do to David? How did David ask his soldiers to
treat Absalom? Was David happy that his soldiers won the battle? What
advice did Joab give to David?
When Absalom turned against his father, he hurt himself, his father, the
army, and the nation. Rebellion hurts everyone - no one wins.
If you ever feel rebellious against your parents, tell yourself not to be like
Absalom.
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
David's Men Are Heroes
2 Samuel 23:8-23
King David had some mighty men in his
army. There was a special group called "The Thirty." Then there were
three men who were especially brave. These three were true heroes.
One of these three heroes was a man with a strange name. He was
Josheb-Basshebeth.
He once killed 800 enemy soldiers in one battle
all by himself. He was the greatest.
The second greatest was Eleazar. He once stayed with David to
fight against the whole Philistine army. The rest of David's army had run
away. Eleazar killed Philistine soldiers until his hand grew too tired to hold
his sword. All of David's other soldiers came back only in time to get the
loot.
The third greatest warrior was Shammah. During one battle with
the Philistines, Shammah's soldiers all left him alone in a field to fight the
Philistines. But God gave him a great victory.
In the days when King Saul was still alive, David once hid in a cave
near Bethlehem. The three greatest warriors went to visit him. Perhaps
they talked about David's boyhood home in Bethlehem. David said, "Oh, I
wish I had a drink from the well in Bethlehem that's by the city gate." He
never thought it would happen, of course. But those brave men fought
their way to the city well and brought him water to drink. David knew that
his men had risked their lives to get the water, so he poured it out as an
offering to the Lord.
Abishai, Joab's brother, was the greatest of the Thirty, and he was
also their leader. Another of the Thirty was Benaiah. He wrestled a lion in
a pit on a snowy day and won.
DISCUSSION:
Who were the three great heroes? What did they do that showed how
brave they were? Why did David not drink the water the three great
soldiers got for him from Bethlehem?
Some gifts are special. David wanted to honor the Lord with his special
gift. Do you have a special gift that you can give to God? Let God use your
gift. Honor Him with it.
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
David Buys a Threshing Floor
2 Samuel 24
God was angry with the people of Israel. They had not been obeying
Him. Besides that, King David was thinking some proud thoughts. He
wanted to take a census and count all the fighting men of Israel even
though there was no war going on. David, who had become rich and
famous, may have wanted to brag about his military power. So he was
tempted by Satan to take the census. Because God was upset with Israel,
He let David do it.
Joab, the commander of the army, asked David. "Why do you want to
do this?" David didn't answer Joab. He ordered Joab to take the census
anyway. So the army commander took some officers and went all over the
land. After nine months they came back to tell David there were 800,000
men of fighting age in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.
After the census was done, David felt bad. "I have sinned," David told
the Lord. "Forgive my foolish sin."
The prophet Gad brought God's answer to David. "God is letting you
choose what must happen because of what you've done. You may choose
three years of famine during which no crops will grow for food. Or you may
choose to let your enemies chase you for three months. Or you may
choose three days of a terrible plague that will take many lives."
David chose the plague. "I would
rather be punished by God than people," he
said. The plague came that very morning.
During the three days, 70,000 people died.
Then the angel of death came to a farmer's
threshing floor, ready to destroy Jerusalem.
But the Lord told the angel to stop. When
David saw the angel, he asked the Lord not
to be angry with the people because of his
sin.
"Buy the threshing floor and build an
altar on it," the Lord said.
So David went to tell the farmer. "I
want to buy your threshing floor."
"I will give it to you," the farmer
answered.
"No," said David. "It must cost me
something." So David bought the threshing
floor. He built an altar there and gave
offerings to the Lord his God. So God answered David's prayer and stopped
the terrible plague.
DISCUSSION:
Who questioned David about counting the fighting men? How many men of
military age were there? What three punishments did God offer? Which
one did David accept?
David was proud of the size of his army. He forgot to depend on the Lord.
We must never be proud of our own strength, money, or abilities. God
wants us to depend on Him!
When David saw the
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____,
he asked the Lord not to be angry with the people
because of his sin.
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.
SOLOMON BECOMES KING
1 kINGS 1:5-53
David was an old man now and had to stay in bed most of the time. It
looked as if he would not live long. But he still had not crowned the next
king. One day David's son, Adonijah, decided to crown himself king. He
hired chariots and drivers. He had 50 men run down the street ahead of
him.
Nathan the prophet went to see Bathsheba. She was David's wife
and Solomon's mother. "Do you know that Adonijah has made hiimself
king?" he asked. King David doesn't know anything about this. You must
go to him at once and remind that he promised to make your son Solomon
king. While you are there I will come and tell David that this is true."
Bathsheba went to see David. She reminded him of his promise to
make Solomon king. She told David that Adonijah had just made himself
king. "He is celebrating right now," she said. While she was
talking, Nathan came and told David the same thing.
So David gave orders. "I want Solomon to ride my own mule.
Nathan will annoint him as king. Blow the trumpets and shout,
"Long live King Solomon." Then bring him back here and
put him on my throne." So Nathan and some other people
did as David had commanded. Of course the people of
Jerusalem made quite a celebration to honor their new king.
News went quickly to Adonijah. "David has made
Solomon the new king," a messenger said. "David is very happy."
Adonijah and his friends jumped up and ran away. Adonijah ran to the
Taberncle and held onto the horns of the altar. He was supposed to be
same there. He sent a messenger to Solomon, asking Solomon not to hurt
him.
"If he does what is right, he will not be hurt," Solomon answered.
"But if he does what is wrong, he will die."
Then Adonijah went to see Solomon and bowed down in front of him.
"Go home!" Solomon said.
DISCUSSION:
Who tried to make himself king? How did Nathan and Bathsheba stop this?
Who did become the next king? Why did Adonijah run to the Tabernacle?
What did Solomon say to Adonijah?
Is there something you want? Should you just go get it without talking
with your parents or God? That would be wrong, wouldn't it? When we try
to do things our way, we often get into trouble. Instead, ask God what he
wants. Then do things His way!
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
Beers; Some images obtained from the world wide web; other images by Lindy King, Co-Director for Adventurer Ministries, Texas
Conference of Seventh day Adventists, created for the Adventurer Read-Through-The Bible Project, 2011-2012.