Day #112

Sermon - Audio
2 Samuel 1-4 - Daily Audio
2 Sameul 1-4 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

2 Samuel - as a chapter in the master story:

The story of redemptive history ascribes great importance to David. Jesus came from the line of David, and in the messianic prophecy of Ezekiel 34:22–23 Jesus is even called “my servant David.” Along with 1 Chronicles, 2 Samuel is the “official biography” of David. Of particular importance is the so-called Davidic covenant that God establishes with David in 2 Samuel 7:11–16, with God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom that is fulfilled in the kingship of Christ. We can also note an implied foil: Jesus is the perfect king who never meets the kind of tragic downfall that engulfed David as a result of his sins.

Theological Themes

(1) The covenant: the kingship of David was central to God’s plan to save the human race through a lineage that would culminate in the birth of Jesus.
(2) Godly leadership: this is a story of a king and nation, and in it we see what constitutes good and bad leadership in the eyes of God.
(3) Sin, repentance, and forgiveness: the central event of the story, David’s sin and its aftermath, is a case study in how sin operates and what can and cannot be done about it after it has been committed.
(4) Society: the social emphasis of 2 Samuel is on the inherently flawed nature and fragility of human institutions, including family and state.

Characters/Locations in 1-4

David - The presence of David as the engaging central character is the primary unifying focus of this collection of stories. The world of the story also unifies the book: it is a political and courtly world, a military world, a religious world, and a domestic world. Two threads of action make up the story of David’s heroic life—the public life of a king and the personal life of a family man.

Abner - of light. The commander of King Saul’s army.

Ish-Bosheth - man of shame. The son of Saul who became king of Israel after his father’s death. He was appointed king by Abner, the commander of his father’s army.

Zeruiah - David’s sister; these three men were therefore David’s relatives, his nephews (1Ch. 2:16). Another sister had a son, Amasa (1Ch. 2:16–17), whom Absalom made captain instead of Joab

the Arabah - Arabah is the transliteration of a Hebrew word. When used with the definite article only, it refers to the valley which runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. South of the Dead Sea the name is still retained (Wady el-Arabah).

Joab - the Lord is father. The commander of David’s army who fought against Saul and ended the rebellion led by Absalom.

Hebron - alliance. A town in the hill country of Judah where David reigned until the seat of government was moved to Jerusalem.

1

*1 & 2 Samuel were originally 1 book. Thus, 2 Samuel should be read as an instant continuation of the events in 1 Samuel.

v1-4 = King Saul is dead along with his 3 sons (1 Sam 31). Saul's life was a perfect example of what happens when someone at first believes, but that belief never really takes root. He fought vehimitely against God's story, and lost.....hmmmm, go figure.

v5-10 = Very weird exchange here with the Amalekite. He's definitely exaggerating now how "kind" he was to Saul, just to gain favor with David. Notice that David just killed most of the Amalekites. My assumption is this guy knows he's a goner if he doesn't get in good with David.

v11-27 = David's reaction is rather interesting for a few reasons. We can understand David being sad and upset over Jonathan being dead, for David loved Jonathan. However, is David really that upset that Saul (who's tried to kill him many times, and is not following after God) is now dead? I say no, and believe as one wise man told me, that David is playing the politics of the situation. The nation and people around him need to know that David is indeed sad over their king dying...an interesting thought. So the others around him that begin to mourn may be lobbyists? There is the other angle that states that David was actually sad about Saul dying. If you believe that, I'd like your theological or even rational reasoning behind that.

v13-16 - The Amalekite had it coming. David couldn't let the man that killed Saul go. Vengeance had to be taken.

v17-18 - Don't freak out, the book of Jasher is an ancient writing. There are many ancient writings not contained in the Bible.

2

Overall: Immediately after Saul’s death, a struggle for power ensued between David and Ish-bosheth (or Eshbaal), Saul’s youngest and only surviving son. David ruled over his native tribe of Judah from Hebron, while Ish-bosheth ruled over the rest of Israel from Mahanaim across the Jordan River, and they fought against each other for seven years. David’s power continued to grow, and eventually Ish-bosheth and his commander Abner were assassinated, leaving David as the sole ruler of all Israel.

Next 3 chapters - "David Becomes King. Judah makes David its king. Saul’s general Abner, however, seeks to restore Saul’s kingdom with Saul’s son Ish-bosheth as king. During the struggle between the two kingdoms, Abner, who has decided to go with David, is killed by David’s commander Joab. Later, Ish-bosheth is killed by two of his own men, but David executes them for murder. With no candidate for king in the house of Saul, all of Israel unites to anoint the hero David as king."

v1-7 - I'm sure you can imagine that some politics were now involved here. David didn't want to go up to soon and look eager to take the throne, like he deserved it. So he inquires of God over what to do.

v8 - On Saul's Son: "First Ch 10:6, which states that Saul’s “whole house died together” while doing battle with the Philistines, yet here Ish-bosheth is still living. The term “house” is used several ways in the Hebrew OT: it can refer to a human residence (Jdg 19:21), a sacred temple (Is 56:7), or a family line (1 Kg 12:19). Here it means the employees of a powerful individual. A comparison of 1 Ch 10:6 with its parallel passage in 1 Sm 31:6 makes it clear that the writer intended the phrase “and his whole house” (1 Ch 10:6) to refer to “his armor-bearer, and all his men” (1 Sm 31:6)—that is, men close to Saul who were under his authority." - ASB

v8-11 - David becomes King over Judah, the rest of Israel was under Ishbosheth.

v26 - I assume that they were on separate hills away from another, within shouting distance. Otherwise, they had cellphones back then.

v27 - The pursuit stops...for now.

3

v2-5 - David did not listen to God's command from Deut 17:17 about wives. We will see how he reaps what he sows later on.

v6-11 - Abner is accused of sleeping around with Saul's wives. Even when a king was dead the wives were still to be only theirs. This is a huge problem and offence of the greatest kind. Abner does not admit to it, but instead, believes that Ishbosheth is using this to get rid of him because Abner's power is a threat to him. Abner stated that he would now make sure David took the thrown.

12-16 - Weird, the whole story weird.

1st - Abner is going to help David, a complete 180.
2nd - David wants his wife (1 Sam 17:26-28) back that Saul took from him (1 Sam 25:44)
3rd - Ishbosheth aids in helping Abner leave, maybe unknowningly, by stealing his wife back who has remarried.
4th - The husband of this lady is weeping behind Abner as his wife is being stolen from him.
5th - Abner is mad at him and tells him to go home.

17-19 - Interesting to see that the promise of David being king doesn't come from David, but from Abner, who was just recently in opposition to Him. Also, I love the phrase "Then Do it!" Today, we'd say "get things done." Abner is the first David Allen (inside joke for productivity gurus).

20-21 - David is happy to have Abner.

22-39 - Joab uses David's power to kill Abner. David quickly claims his guiltless standing to the people and mourns the death of Abner. Also, he puts out a severe curse on Joab's lineage.

4

1-4 - Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, David's good friend, who died with his father on the field of battle. Mephibosheth was the last male descendant of Saul with a strong claim to the throne of Saul.

5-7 - The captain of the troops are upset over Abner's death, so they kill Ishbosheth and they try to escape.

8-12 - Once again David either plays the politic game or he actually feels bad here. Both people die.