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Bible Study: July 7, 2019


NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.

This week’s Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum.

Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 7:8-16

Discussion Questions:
— How can we be at rest physically but still spiritually restless?
— What are some ways we attempt to work for eternal salvation as if Christ’s work on the cross were incomplete?
— Do you tend to see yourself at rest with God or still struggling against Him? Why?

Food for Thought:

Read 2 Samuel 7:8-11a. When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt centuries before, God promised that He would take them out of a land of slavery to a land that had rest on every side. Now generations later, the Lord brought rest to the battle-scarred, blood-soaked land through King David (v. 1). But as we see in God’s promise to David, God had something much more profound in mind for His people. The rest that they were experiencing was incomplete. It was a shadow of the substance that was yet to come.

Taking God’s promises to David here as a whole, otherwise known as the Davidic covenant, we see that rest would come through someone in David’s lineage. This rest would begin in this life and reverberate into the next (2 Samuel 7:13). We know that the descendant who would provide this rest is Jesus Christ, the son of David (Matthew 1:1). And we know that Jesus did not come just to provide this rest for the nation of Israel, but for all who trust in Him as Savior and King.

The covenant God made with David contains a mixture of what could be called “near” and “far,” or “short-term” and “long-term” prophecies. We see this duality especially in verse 11, where God promises rest. This promise has to be read in light of verse 1, where we are told that David had rest from his enemies. While God could have been speaking of continued rest from the pagan nations around them, it seems better to see a deeper promise in mind here — a greater rest that would sustain all military and political rest.

Ultimately, this would be the rest provided through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus — the rest that comes from trusting in His victory over our greatest enemies of sin and death.

The Gospel Project
The Gospel Project is a chronological, Christ-centered study for kids, students and adults. The Bible is not a collection of stories. It is one story of God’s plan to rescue His people from sin and death. It is the story of redemption, the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. More information can be found at LifeWay.com/gospelproject.

Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool or ordered at LifeWay Christian Stores.

    About the Author

  • Staff/Lifeway Christian Resources