F-260 2 Samuel 12 Nathan Confronts David When was a time you were eventually thankful that someone didn’t grant a request of yours? To what extent do you believe public officials should be accountable for their private behavior? In Nathan’s story what was special about the ewe lamb belonging to the poor man? (12:1-3) What injustice was perpetrated by the rich man against the poor man in Nathan’s story? (12:4) How did David react to Nathan’s story? (12:5-6) How did Nathan use the story to convict David? (12:7-9) What judgment did God pronounce on David through Nathan? (12:10) How did God say He would bring David’s secret sin into the open? (12:11-12) What did David admit after Nathan had spoken? (12:13) According to Nathan, what would be the consequences of David’s sin? (12:13-14) What happened in David’s family after Nathan left the palace? (12:15) What did David do in response to his son’s illness? (12:16-17) Why were the servants afraid to tell David that David’s child had died? (12:18) How did David find out that his son was dead? (12:19) How did David act after he knew that God was not going to change His mind and allow the child to live? (12:20) How did David explain his sudden change of demeanor to the puzzled servants? (12:21-23) What was the name of the next child of David and Bathsheba? (12:24-25) How was Joab and the army of Israel faring in the war? (12:26-27) What message did Joab send from the front to his commander in chief? (12:28) What was the outcome of David’s battle against Rabbah? (12:29-31) Why was the parable Nathan told to David so effective? In what sense did David “despise” God by taking Uriah’s wife and having Uriah killed? In what sense can a definite “no” from God in response to our request actually be a relief? Why did God not strike David dead because of his sin? How did David’s fasting and prayer before the child died show the quality of his relationship with God? What did David mean when he said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me”? How can “getting on with our lives” after a crisis be an acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God? Why is our sense of outrage easily sparked against strangers but difficult to muster in relation to our own actions? Why does a good servant or employee let his or her superior take the credit for accomplishments he or she might have engineered? How can you develop an ear for parables so that you will recognize your situation when it is appropriate to do so? On what matter of concern can you plead for God’s mercy while there is still a chance that God might grant it?