The Lesson opens at Chapter 17 verse sixteen at the beginning of David’s prayer. David had sought to honor God but it turns out that for some reason, God has decided to honor David. God establishes this eternal dynasty in David’s name and with this covenant David has no responsibilities or obligations that he has to fulfill. God is just good to David and God has decided to bless David. David’s prayer is that God’s promise will be established forever.

In verse sixteen David sits down before the Ark of the Covenant, probably in awe of what he is realizing. He is probably in awe of what it means for God to establish an eternal dynasty that would bear his name. When David says “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far” David knows he isn’t worthy of this great blessing. He knows that this is God’s doing and this admission of “who am I” at least demonstrates some humility on David’s part.

In verse seventeen when David says “even this was a small thing in your sight O God” he’s talking about all that God had already done for him. David knows where God has brought him from. He had to wait about 15 years from the time he was first anointed by Samuel to the time he became king over Judah. And then it was another seven years before David was anointed king over all Israel. So this journey to King over all Israel and establishing his throne in Jerusalem has been well over 20 years. This wasn’t an overnight success for David. He has worked long and hard to get where he is. When David says “You regard me as someone of high rank, O Lord God!”. I feel like he is saying God, you treat me so good. David appreciates what God is doing in his life.

In verse eighteen when David says “you know your servant” he knows that God has been with him down through the years. God was there in the heat of the day and in the cold dark nights. David gives thanks that God has honored him by blessing him with this dynasty.

In verse nineteen when David says “all these great deeds and all these great things” he is acknowledging the greatness of this dynasty God has blessed him with. He knows God has been and is a great God and does great things. Keep in mind that this is David’s prayer. In his prayer he tells God how great God is. I think that’s a good example for us today. Not that God needs to know how great God is, but more so to help us keep our own lives in perspective.

Verse twenty begins with “There is no one like you O Lord”. All I can really say about that is ain’t that the truth! There is no one like our God. David continues by saying “according to all that we have heard with our ears.” In other words, David is essentially saying I’ve never heard of anybody as good as my God is.

In verse twenty-one as David sits before the Ark of the Covenant praying his prayer, he remembers the past of the nation of Israel and how God delivered Israel. He remembers how God brought him from a small shepherd boy, and how God has brought this people from 12 brothers to this great nation that is now unified under him as their king.

In verse twenty-two David declares God made Israel God’s people. He praises God that since Israel is God’s people, God will be their God forever and if God is the God of Israel forever, David’s dynasty will last forever.

In verse twenty-three David continues to give thanks. In the previous verses David gave thanks for things in the present and things in the past; now in these last verses David looks to the future. In this twenty-third verse he essentially says as far as what you have said about me and my house, do it Lord, just like you said you would. David knows that if his name will be a great name, it will be great because God made it great.

In verse 24 David looks again to the future. He calls God the Lord of Hosts which is a title for God that emphasizes God’s sovereignty over all creation and all creatures as well as God’s rule in history. In other words, God is the God who rules over heaven and earth and has done these great things through Israel’s past. God has brought them to this present and God will see them through the future.

In verse twenty-five as David says he has “found it possible to pray before God” he is essentially saying God, this is why I’m here. David went in and sat down before the Lord. Today we might say something like “I’ve come with my head bowed and heart turned to you oh God.”

Verses twenty six and twenty seven close the lesson with David closing his prayer essentially saying to God that it was God’s idea to give him this good thing. He closes by essentially saying “I pray God that it pleases you, to bless me like this. And I pray that it will forever please you because you have blessed me and you are blessed forever.

Context:

You treat me so good!

I think everybody wants somebody to treat them good. When someone treats you good, it’s only right to at least try to show your appreciation. Sometimes mere words don’t seem to be enough. And when somebody is really, I mean really, good to you, all you can do, at least all I can do is thank God for them. I hope somebody has been good to you.

When David walked into the tent to pray his prayer it was with the full knowledge of how good God had been to him and to his people. I can imagine David sat in awe of the goodness of God. I can imagine him thinking how good God had been to him down through the years. At this point, all he could really do was thank God and give God praise.

Directions

1. Decorate several pieces of paper to represent Old Testament Covenants. Options for shapes include a cross, a star, and a crown as seen in the pictures.

2. Add descriptions and Scripture references to each shape. "Covenant with Abraham, Genesis" for the star, "Covenant with David, 2 Samuel", "Jesus" on the cross.

3. Cut out the shapes and punch holes in them for the string.

4. Slide string or ribbon through each shape, taping it to secure. Display in a prominent setting to recall the fulfillment of God’s Covenant promises.

Directions:

• You will play a version of Doggie, Doggie Who Has Your Bone but with a crown. Have all of the kids sit in a straight line. Call one child to the front and have them close their eyes or look the other way. Give one child a small crown (can be cut out of yellow paper) to hide. The child in front will then try to guess who has the crown by going up to one child and saying, Are You the King? They may keep guessing until they get it right. Make sure each child has a turn at being the guesser.

• Say, Samuel expected God to pick the biggest and strongest man to be king but instead He picked David, a small Shepherd boy. God looks at what’s on the inside not what’s on the outside

Directions:

• Tear the light blue cardstock into about .5″- 1″ pieces and place in a bowl

• Next, using the permanent marker or pencil, draw a large, simple snowflake on the white cardstock.

• Prepare the glue stick and light blue torn pieces for the child to glue.

Directions:

• Divide the kids into groups of 3 and give each group 14 popsicle sticks and a Bible.

• Have the groups write down one book of the Bible on each stick. They should do the first 14 books of the Bible (Genesis - 2 Chronicles) since that is what we have covered so far.

• Give them 5 min to do that! If they get finished early before the 5 minutes is up they can practice learning the order of those books.

• When all groups are done, have each team make a pile of their sticks at one end of the room and then line up at the other end of the room. When you say go, the teams race one at a time down to the pile of sticks, PICK UP ONE STICK ONLY, bring it back down to their team, and tag their next partner. When all the sticks are retrieved ONLY THEN can the team as a whole begin ordering the books in order. The first team that gets them in order "wins".