Bible Study Lessons
This is the complete series of Bible study lessons on Second Samuel from Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Bluefield, West Virginia. The lessons are designed for the Tuesday evening Bible study but are written for anyone - whether you are in the room or reading on your own at a later time. Each lesson includes a session outline, reading assignment, discussion questions, a closing challenge, and a teaser pointing toward the next session. New lessons are added as the series progresses.
The series begins with a survey of the whole book and then moves through the text in sequence. Lessons 2 through 4 cover David's rise to power. Lessons 5 through 7 cover the Davidic Covenant in chapter 7 - the theological heart of the book - in three sessions. The series continues from there into the second half of the book, where the mood changes entirely.
How to Use These Lessons
Each lesson is self-contained and can be read independently, but they build on each other and reward sequential reading. If you are joining the series partway through, the survey lesson (Lesson 1) gives you the map of the whole book and is the best starting point regardless of where the Tuesday group currently is.
The discussion questions in each lesson do not have printed answers. They are worth genuine engagement - sitting with them alone before bringing them to a group, or reading them in conversation with someone else who has read the same material. The best questions are the ones that do not resolve quickly.
Each lesson points to relevant Learning Center pages for those who want to go deeper into the scholarship. Those pages are written for the same audience as the lessons - anyone willing to read carefully, regardless of prior training.
Current Lessons
A Survey of Second Samuel
Overview — The whole book at a glance - what it is, where it fits, why it matters. A one-session introduction for anyone coming to Second Samuel for the first time.
Begin lesson →The Lament and the Long Road
2 Samuel 1-2 — David's elegy for Saul and Jonathan, his anointing as king of Judah at Hebron, and the beginning of the long civil war with the house of Saul.
Begin lesson →Civil War and Consolidation
2 Samuel 3-4 — The war between the houses of David and Saul reaches its end. The defection and murder of Abner, the assassination of Ish-bosheth, and David's response to each.
Begin lesson →Jerusalem and the Ark
2 Samuel 5-6 — David captures Jerusalem, defeats the Philistines, and brings the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital in a chapter of exuberance, disaster, and domestic conflict.
Begin lesson →The Proposal and the Reversal
2 Samuel 7:1-11a — David proposes to build God a permanent house. God declines and reverses the language. The direction of generosity is turned around in one of the most significant moves in the Old Testament.
Begin lesson →The Content of the Covenant
2 Samuel 7:11b-17 — The specific promises of the Davidic Covenant examined carefully - what is unconditional, what is not, and what the word "forever" means when the dynasty eventually ended.
Begin lesson →David's Prayer
2 Samuel 7:18-29 — David's response to the covenant promise - one of the most unusual prayers in the Bible, in which he asks for nothing and only receives what has been offered.
Begin lesson →