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Activities
for
individuals or groups
Learning
from David
 Make
a list of situations in your life where you seem to face insurmountable
odds -
Now go to Bible
Top Ten Young People to see how David used lateral thinking to
find a solution. Can you use the same sort of strategy to solve your own
problems, focusing on your own particular strengths?
Focus
Questions for the story of David
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The face of Uriah in Rembrandt's painting of David and
Uriah: exhausted grief and perhaps awareness of impending death |
1. Go to Bible Text for David's story,
and choose one episode from David's life. Read the story in your Bible,
then spend some time thinking about it.
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they
want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends
with? Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell
you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before
and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator has chosen to tell some things and leave other
things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to
know?
6. Are these types of people still
present in the world? Does it remind you of some aspect of your own story?
Write
David's Biography
David
has one of the best documented lives of the ancient world. We know his
origins, his achievements, his family quarrels, his failings, and his
gradual lapse into senility.
Write
a short biography of David, or at least an outline of his life (see Bible
Text: David for help with this). 
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Collect
your data
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Organise
it into time sequence or subject matter
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Match
a Bible text to each time sequence or subject
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Read
these texts carefully, noting the nuances of the passage and jotting
down questions as you go
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Write
character outlines for each person
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Divide
David's life into separate sections
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Write
a list of questions for each section
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Answer
the questions, making each answer a paragraph or set of paragraphs
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Read
your responses from start to finish, to make sure you have the
correct sequence of events and to spot any important bits you might
have missed
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Polish
your material by editing out unnecessary words or phrases
Congratulations.
You've written David's biography.
I'm
Only Human...
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Da Vinci,
Head of a Warrior |
David is often presented as the great hero/king, but a reading of his
story shows he was anything but perfect. Choose one of the events where
the narrator presents him as less than perfect. What failing does this
story highlight? Why do David's actions disappoint us?
Now think about the following questions: why do we wish our leaders to be
perfect? how do we react when they are not?
Do we have the same high expectations of ourselves in our daily leadership
roles - for our children, our friends, our community?
Popular
Monarch Convicted
 Defense
Team Appeals to a Higher Court
'On
Thursday October 23, Rabbi Barkan's Tanach class convicted King David of
murder for killing an Amalekite youth, a lad who untruthfully took
responsibility for the death of King Saul. Lawyers on each side
presented witnesses from the first chapter of Samuel II...
The case was remanded to the class for sentencing, but no consensus was
reached; some called for the death penalty while others argued for a few
years in prison. Each member of the class is writing an appeal to the
court to uphold or to overturn the conviction.'
(Chicagoland Jewish High School, http://www.cjhs.org/e-news/200809/081107.htm)
Choose an
event in David's life where his actions are questionable, and hold a
simulated trial by jury where his motives and actions are examined in
detail.
In
Depth Study of an Event in David's Life
1. Pick one of the episodes in David's life. What were the most interesting moments in the story?
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they
want?
3.
If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends
with? Who would you want to avoid?
4. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell
you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image? Is it
yours?
5. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before
and after it? Is this important?
6. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other
things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to
know?
7. Are the elements of the story still
present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially
your own?
Extra Websites Bible
Archaeology: David Archaeological finds
linked to the story
of David
Bible
Archaeology: War
Bandit
leader, king, David was almost constantly at war
Bible
Architecture: Jerusalem
Jerusalem,
the city that became David's capital
Bible Top Ten Heroes
The saga of David is one of the ancient
world's great stories
Young
People in the Bible: David
See
how the boy David uses lateral thinking when he confronts Goliath
Bathsheba,
Bible Woman
David blots his copy-book with Bathsheba
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