Do you believe God can use you to avert a conflict? He can. We see this taking place in 2 Samuel 20:1-22 as God used an unnamed woman from the town of Abel to divert a conflict that would have destroyed her city and all the inhabitants because of one man's anger. This is the focus as you lead your group to study this passage.
I plan on beginning the discussion with my group by asking them to complete the following statement,
"I deal with conflict by . . ."
Word Pronunciations
(Click on each word to listen)
Videos
Optional videos could also be used to introduce the session. Here are a couple links to humorous video clips that could be used in order to begin the conversation about conflict:
2 Samuel 20:1-2
- Describe Sheba’s motivation for stirring this conflict.
- The Scriptures point out that Sheba was a Benjaminite. King Saul was also from the tribe of Benjamin. Do you suppose that Sheba harbored resentment because of what happened to Saul? Was Sheba’s response based on selfishness?
- Why would anyone want to destroy the new unity that was unfolding for God’s people?
2 Samuel 20:14-16
- What did she risk by speaking up? What would she have risked if she hadn’t spoken up?
- Do you agree or disagree with this statement? “If we desire to be used by God in order to divert conflicts we can’t stand at a distance.”
- If you are going to get close to the conflict in order to interject some wisdom, what must you do to prepare?
- What were the actions taken by Joab? (listens, answers her questions, asks for Sheba)
- What were the actions taken by the woman? (confirms she’s speaking to Joab, tells about Abel, questions Joab’s actions, agrees to Joab’s request)
- How do both Joab and the woman show wisdom? What can you appreciate about the ways this woman used wisdom? How can you apply these in your own life? (ETB Daily Discipleship Guide, p. 90)
