Book of 2 Samuel Quiz: David's Kingdom and Fall

1. How did David respond when he heard of Saul and Jonathan's deaths?

1. He immediately marched on Jerusalem to claim the throne — the death of Saul was the sign he had been waiting for
2. He punished the Amalekite who brought the news and who claimed to have killed Saul
3. He rejoiced privately but mourned publicly — recognising the political opportunity while maintaining the appearance of grief
4. He tore his clothes, mourned and fasted, and composed a lament: 'How the mighty have fallen!'

2. What was the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7, and what was its most significant promise?

1. David was promised a peaceful death and burial with his ancestors — no sword would come against him personally
2. God promised David an everlasting dynasty: 'Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever'
3. God promised David that his kingdom would never be invaded by foreign nations as long as he remained faithful
4. God promised to give David victory over every enemy — making Israel the most powerful nation on earth

3. How did David show kindness to Jonathan's family, and to whom specifically?

1. He found Jonathan's widow and provided for her in Jerusalem until her death
2. He gave all of Jonathan's servants their freedom and provided them with land in the Jordan Valley
3. He searched for any living descendant of Saul and gave them positions in his royal court as advisors
4. He sought out Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son, restored all of Saul's land to him, and gave him a permanent place at the king's table in Jerusalem

4. What was the sin of David with Bathsheba, and how did it escalate?

1. Bathsheba came to David and seduced him — but David was equally guilty for not sending her away immediately
2. David and Bathsheba fell in love over several months — David asked Uriah for a divorce and Uriah refused, leading to Uriah's death in a duel
3. David saw Bathsheba at the palace market, bought her as a concubine, and Uriah complained to Nathan the prophet
4. David saw Bathsheba bathing, sent for her, slept with her while her husband Uriah was at war, discovered she was pregnant, then arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle by placing him in the front line and withdrawing the troops

5. What parable did Nathan tell David, and how did David respond before and after the revelation?

1. Nathan told of a king who killed his own general in battle — David recognised himself and confessed before Nathan finished the parable
2. Nathan told of a rich man who stole from his poor neighbour. David was outraged saying 'The man deserves to die!' Nathan said 'You are the man' — David confessed
3. Nathan told of a rich man who took a poor man's only lamb for a feast. David was outraged: 'The man who did this deserves to die!' Nathan said: 'You are the man' — David immediately confessed
4. Nathan told the story of the Exodus — using the oppression of Israel to illustrate what David had done to Uriah

6. What four consequences did Nathan announce would follow David's sin?

1. 'The sword will never depart from your house... I will bring calamity on you from your own household... your neighbour will sleep with your wives in broad daylight... the son born to you will die'
2. David would lose three battles, his three oldest sons would die in war, his kingdom would be divided, and his name would be forgotten
3. Famine, plague, military defeat and the loss of the temple — all four came to pass within ten years
4. The loss of Jerusalem, the captivity of his sons, the breaking of the Davidic covenant, and David's own exile

7. What happened with Amnon and Tamar — the incident that began the family's unravelling?

1. Amnon accidentally killed Tamar during a domestic dispute — Absalom demanded justice, but David refused to punish his firstborn son
2. Amnon and Tamar fell in love and tried to marry — David refused because of their close kinship, and this rejection drove the family apart
3. Amnon became obsessed with his half-sister Tamar, lured her to his house and raped her. He then hated her more than he had loved her and had her thrown out. Absalom, Tamar's full brother, hated Amnon from that day
4. Amnon was killed by one of Tamar's servants after he had dishonoured her — the king's justice was satisfied but Absalom still harboured a grudge

8. How did Absalom win the hearts of the people of Israel before his rebellion?

1. He built roads and public buildings throughout Israel — winning popular support through visible infrastructure improvements
2. He distributed grain from the royal storehouses to the poor — buying the loyalty of the lower classes before his coup
3. He performed great military victories — single-handedly defeating Israel's enemies and distributing the spoils to the people
4. He stood at the city gate intercepting people who came for judgment, telling them their case was valid but the king had no deputy to hear it — 'If only I were appointed judge in the land... everyone who has a complaint could come to me'

9. When Absalom declared himself king and David fled Jerusalem, what did the counsellor Hushai do?

1. Hushai defected to Absalom — David's wisest counsellor now served his son, which convinced many to support Absalom's coup
2. Hushai followed David into exile — his presence showed that the real government had gone with the king
3. Hushai pretended to defect to Absalom but was actually David's double agent — he gave Absalom the wrong military advice and delayed the attack, giving David time to escape
4. Hushai remained in Jerusalem and refused to serve either side — as a respected elder he maintained neutrality

10. How did Absalom die, and what was David's lament?

1. Absalom fell from his horse while fleeing — David learned of his death and was silent for three days
2. Absalom was captured and executed by the elders of Israel — David was relieved but publicly mourned
3. Absalom's hair caught in an oak tree; hanging there, he was found by Joab who thrust three javelins through his heart despite David's command to deal gently with him. David wept: 'O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you'
4. He was killed in battle by one of David's elite warriors — David mourned but sent no lament to his army

11. Who was Joab, and what was his complex relationship with David?

1. Joab was a Hittite soldier who had proved himself under Saul and transferred his loyalty to David at Hebron
2. Joab was David's chief bodyguard — completely loyal and never acting without David's explicit command
3. Joab was David's chief priest who also served as military commander — combining spiritual and military authority in one office
4. Joab was David's nephew (son of his sister Zeruiah) and commander-in-chief — loyal militarily but a ruthless operator who killed Abner, Amasa and Absalom contrary to David's wishes

12. What was David's census and why was it sinful?

1. David counted Israel on the Sabbath — violating the rest command and treating the people as a resource to be surveyed rather than people to be served
2. David counted the foreign workers in Jerusalem — sinful because it treated resident aliens as part of Israel's permanent military force
3. David counted the Levites — forbidden because the Levites were God's servants and could not be counted with ordinary Israelites
4. David ordered a census of fighting men — this was sinful apparently because it reflected reliance on military numbers rather than trust in God; God offered David three punishment options

13. What is the theological significance of the site where David bought the threshing floor of Araunah to build an altar?

1. It was the geographical centre of the Promised Land — symbolically the ideal location for the meeting point between God and Israel
2. It was the same site as Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah — later the site of Solomon's temple
3. It was the site where Joshua had made the covenant with all Israel — sacred as a covenant renewal location
4. It was the traditional burial site of Adam — Israel believed the earth was most receptive to prayer at this primal location

14. David refused to use Araunah's gift of the threshing floor and oxen, saying what?

1. 'A king must not take gifts from his subjects — it creates an obligation that corrupts royal judgment'
2. 'God does not accept offerings from those who have received them as gifts — only what is earned by labour is acceptable'
3. 'I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing'
4. 'I will pay the full price — God deserves the best from those who have the means to give it'

15. What does 2 Samuel say about David's identity and destiny that is stated most concisely?

1. 'David was a man after God's own heart' — a description given both in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22
2. 'David was a man of war from his youth — skilled in battle and fearless before any enemy'
3. 'David was God's anointed — protected from harm throughout his life as a sign of divine favour'
4. 'David was Israel's greatest king — surpassing Moses in his knowledge of God and Saul in his military genius'

16. What does the 'Song of David' in 2 Samuel 22 (virtually identical to Psalm 18) celebrate?

1. David's coronation over all Israel — God's faithfulness in bringing him from shepherd to king
2. God's deliverance from all his enemies and from Saul — 'The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge'
3. The building of the Jerusalem palace — God's blessing on Israel's new capital city and permanent seat of government
4. The victory over Goliath — David's first great triumph and the moment God's hand on him was made known to all Israel

17. What were David's 'last words' in 2 Samuel 23:1-4?

1. A blessing on each of his sons and a designation of Solomon as his successor
2. A confession of his sins with Bathsheba — seeking God's forgiveness one final time
3. A Messianic prophecy and a reflection on righteous rule: 'When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise'
4. A military testament — advice to his commanders about how to defend Israel after his death

18. How does 2 Samuel as a whole illustrate the theme of sin and consequence?

1. 2 Samuel shows that David's sins were ultimately inconsequential — God's election of David meant his failures were absorbed by divine grace without lasting effects
2. 2 Samuel shows that military failure is the consequence of moral failure — every battle David lost can be traced to specific sins
3. David's sin with Bathsheba unleashed a cascade of family violence: Amnon-Tamar, Absalom-Amnon, Absalom's rebellion, Sheba's revolt — Nathan's prophecy was precisely fulfilled: 'the sword shall never depart from your house'
4. The book primarily shows God's faithfulness despite David's failures — the Davidic covenant remained intact proving grace is unconditional

19. Who was Shimei, and what did he do when David fled from Absalom?

1. Shimei was a man from Saul's clan who cursed David as he fled, throwing stones and dust at him saying 'Get out, you murderer!' David restrained his men from killing Shimei, saying 'Leave him alone; let him curse'
2. Shimei was a prophet from Benjamin who warned David that God had sent Absalom's rebellion as punishment for the death of Uriah
3. Shimei was Absalom's chief adviser who helped organise the coup in Jerusalem while David was at war with the Philistines
4. Shimei was one of David's loyal generals who defected to Absalom — his betrayal was the most painful of the rebellion

20. What is the structural significance of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7) within the larger biblical narrative?

1. It establishes that Israel's relationship with God would be mediated through the king rather than through the priesthood
2. It is primarily a political document — God's acknowledgment that the monarchy was an improvement on the judge system
3. It is the pivot of biblical history — extending the Abrahamic promises through the monarchy, pointing to the eternal King who would fulfil them, and standing behind every Messianic prophecy from Isaiah to Zechariah to the New Testament
4. It marks the end of the Mosaic period — the law given at Sinai is superseded by the royal covenant with David