Group leader’s guide

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Rooting Path · Old Testament Survey · Lesson 4: Into Canaan, Asking for a King

This lesson in one sentence: Not one of God’s promises failed; yet the people wanted a king ‘like all the nations’—and God still promised David a throne forever.

Timing (about 60 minutes)

Opening5 min
Read Together10 min
Practice Together15 min
Discussion20 min
This Week5 min
Pray for One Another5 min

Opening

When did you last say ‘everyone does it’, and about what?

Read Together

⁴⁵Nothing failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Josh 21:45 · WEB

¹⁰After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who didn’t know the LORD, nor the work which he had done for Israel.
Judg 2:10 · WEB

¹²When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁶Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.”’”
2 Sam 7:12–13, 16 · WEB

Nothing failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Josh 21:45 · WEB

Practice Together

Write six names on slips of paper: Joshua, the judges, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon. Put them in order as a group, then check against the ‘Conquest and Judges’ and ‘United Kingdom’ sections of the timeline. For each, the group says one sentence: what was his relationship with God like? Following him, what did the people become?

Discussion

“Nothing failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel” (Josh 21:45)—which of God’s promises have you seen come true?
“another generation arose after them who didn’t know the LORD” (Judg 2:10)—how is faith passed from one generation to the next? From whom did you receive it? To whom will you pass it on?
David was a man after God’s heart, and he also committed great sin. The text honestly records the king’s sin and his repentance; what does that remind you of?

This Week

This week read 2 Samuel 7: David wants to build a house for God, and God instead promises to build a house for David. Afterward write one sentence: what did God promise David?

Each person names when they will read 2 Samuel 7 this week.

Closing

Read Josh 21:45 together, and the leader prays for the next generation of every family in the group.

Tips for the leader

The passages about fighting the peoples of Canaan are hard to read. Keep to the lesson’s measure: speak only of the reasons the text itself gives (Gen 15:16, Deut 9:5), without adding to them, and don’t open up a debate in the group.
When talking about David’s sin, don’t use it to compare with or comment on any leader today.

General principles for leaders

The leader is not a teacher but someone who walks alongside everyone.
Give everyone a chance to speak; with someone who talks a lot, you can gently say, ‘Let’s also hear from friends who haven’t spoken yet.’
Don’t rush to give answers. If someone is silent, wait a few more seconds.
For a question you can’t answer, you can say, ‘I don’t know either; let’s look it up together,’ and note it down for next time.
What is said in the group stays in the group.
At the opening, the leader can give their own answer first, showing that it can be simple and honest.

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