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• CLICK HERE for a cheat sheet!  Too many names!  I found this on Quizlet…a who’s who in these books.

2 Samuel just might be your new favorite book of the Bible.  Before you committed to this read I may have asked you “Who is David?”.  You may have said a man after God’s heart, the first King (which he wasn’t), or the infamous “David and Goliath”.  I really hope we see why reading the whole Bible is so important, we are learning about ALL of David.  In the first half of 2 Samuel we will see the successes of David.  Unfortunately, in the second half, we will read about the failures of David.  But here is what we need to take away:

The message of 2 Samuel is that man’s attitude toward God creates an opportunity for God, and God’s attitude toward man creates an opportunity for man.   David had four convictions about God.

1. First, David believed that God was Israel’s supreme Ruler. He never doubted this or presumed to elevate himself to God’s place as Head of the Nation.
2. Second, David believed that God was consistently and completely righteous in His dealings. David confessed his sin when he was charged with it, rather than trying to deny it. We read this deeply in the Psalms.
3. Third, David believed that God was always merciful. He was willing to let God determine his punishment because he believed God would be merciful.
4. Fourth, David believed that God’s will was always best. His greatest desire was for God’s will in his own life and in Israel’s.

What do you really want? Be careful, because God will give you what you really want. Do you want to run your own life? God will let you do it, but He may let you run your life into a brick wall.

I am a little preachy today…too much coffee!

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Chapter 1: Liar Liar Pants on Fire!!👑  Something in this story does not add up!

Go back and read 1 Samuel 31 Click here

So this Amalekite (that’s important to the story) said he came upon Saul still alive on his sword?  Maybe the story is true.  Maybe he came upon him dead and just stole the crown.  Maybe he stole it from the Philistines when they stripped him of his armor.  The story doesn’t add up.  What does add up is that this Amalekite had the crown and brought it 80 miles to give to David thinking David would reward him. HOWEVER,  David knew that the Amalekites were to be totally destroyed, something Saul did not accomplish (we talked about this when he spared Agag in 1 Samuel 15).  So David killed him for several reasons:

• this Amalekite assumed David would be happy with Saul being killed.  NO, Saul was God’s anointed!
• David faithfully obeyed the Lord when He commanded the Israelites to destroy the Amalekites.
• Made an example of him: This is what happens when you kill one of God’s chosen.

David’s Lament

To Lament means to mourn, cry, grieve-an expression of loss (we have a whole book dedicated to this: Lamentations!….so clearly something HUGE happens)

It begins and ends with “How the Mighty Have Fallen”– a phrase I have used out of context my whole life-like when I am happy about someone powerful that I don’t like messes up”(ouch). It means the opposite!  Nowhere in this poem does David mention Saul’s weakness, failures, or jealousy.  (oh the life lesson on this one!).

David does pronounce a curse on the ones that attacked Saul in verse 1:21 BUT saves the greatest praise for Jonathan:

What is the chapter subtitle in your Bible?  Mine says “David anointed King over Judah”  Just Judah?

• David was anointed by Samuel “name of God”
• then by his people (Judah)
• then eventually by ALL.

Remind you of someone?? This is a good reminder that Jesus is in the details on every page!!

I know some of you roll your eyes when I post maps BUT let’s go back to one of the first ones since we entered the Promised Land and find Hebron.  Focus Szymanski…we don’t have all day!

Don’t roll your eyes again, BUT here is another visual that is important: (If you want a copy to write on click here) (Yes, my friend in Arkansas who never gave me her name…I will print this one too when I mail them ❤️)

Now it all comes together.  Ishbosheth was taken to Mahanaim and Abner (Saul’s commander) made him King of Israel.  Ummm who told him to do that? Although it does make sense to us humans. But the Lord chose David!

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By verse 8 we learn that the real player against David is not Saul’s son,  BUT with the commander that appoints Ish-Bosheth- his name is ABNER.  After a civil war-like battle,  Abner waives the white flag.  Only 19 of David’s men were killed compared to 360 on Abner’s side.

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Chapter 3

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

Another Family Tree: DEFINITELY worth Printing…We are going to write ALL over it.  One of his sons will kill his firstborn and lead a rebellion but we are also going to follow this to REHOBOAM!! So click here to print.  You won’t regret it.

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Chapter 3 continued.  David gets wife #1 back, but as you can see from the above, she does not give him children. (I felt really sad for her husband too when he was sent away)   If you study the above genealogy, you will see that Joab avenged his brother’s death by killing Abner.  Abner was legitimately making an alliance to make David King of ALL 12 tribes when this happens so David publically pronounces that he had NOTHING to do with it.  BUT his mistake was not disciplining  Joab…it will come back to him.

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Chapter 4 Finally!

(Put the inserted story about Mephibosheth in your pocket, we will talk about him soon)

Once again, someone came to David thinking they would be rewarded for killing someone for David.  And once again, David rebukes them for it.  Baanah and Rekab, just like the Amalekite who brought David the crown from Saul was made an example of,  David hung their bodies on a pole for all of Hebron to see.

LOL.  “I guess they weren’t being the hands and feet of Jesus”😂😂😂

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Chapter 25: Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah.

The prophet Samuel dies.  He is the one that anointed David as King so now it will be David’s word against Saul’s word.  This will deepen his fears when being pursued so it will intensify the Psalms.  In the meantime, David is protecting a huge piece of property for a rich man named Nabal.  It was customary that during the shearing season, the servants would feast in exchange for their labor.  Nabal’s wife Abigail, may not like her scoundrel of a husband that she calls “fool”, but she does save his life (long enough for God to get justice, not David).

This was important because it states in verse 3 that Nabal was a “Calebite” (remember Joshua and Caleb),  so he is from the tribe of Judah and she points out taking revenge on a man from Judah will only tarnish his reputation when he is king.  She’s a smart woman!

Chapter 26: David took a wife….wait! Didn’t he have a wife (Saul’s daughter)?  Oh, wait he took another wife….will 3 be his lucky number? Nope.8 Wives and 10 concubines will be his lucky number.

Does David NEED to kill Saul?  No.  What we learned from the Nabal story is that if God wants Saul dead, he can handle it Himself.  So David continues to trust that he is not the hand that would kill one of God’s anointed kings.  He trusts!

Chapter 27:

Now that we are reading the Psalms, take in the whole picture.  He is being pursued by his OWN people, and fleeing and taking refuge in ENEMY territory.  Scary!

So David flees to the land of the Philistines, knowing this is such a risk that Saul would not follow him and give up. He is given a piece of land called Ziklag (technically a town listed in Judah but was never conquered, so the Philistines control it.  He lives there a year and 4 months.  While living there he continues God’s plan of conquering the land.  When Achish asked who he raided that day he answered with “white lies” when really he was attacking the Geshurites, the Girzites,  and the Amalekites.

Have a great great day!  Back into Psalms tomorrow.  Feel free to read ahead.

Click here.

• Lots of visuals today
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• The post is really just a “recap” of the reading today.

The next several years David is a fugitive.  He heads to Nob, where the Tabernacle is located.  David deceitfully lies to the priest telling him he is on a secret mission. David asks for food, and the priest feeds him from the sacred Bread of Presence (which is normally set apart for the Priests)

This is the story Jesus speaks of in Mark 2:25-

²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?  In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

BUT one of Saul’s men is there, Doeg the Edomite, and overhears the lie as he takes the sword that has been set aside from killing Goliath.

Saul then travels about 12 miles to the Valley of Elah (very close to where he killed Goliath).  David knows that Saul is crazy and will eventually attack his family, so he asks the king of Moab to summon his family for safety.  In the meantime, David’s lie causes Saul to order the death of the priests since he assumed there was a conspiracy. The Benjaminites were smart enough to say “I’m not doing it…you do it”, BUT…. Doeg, the Edomite is willing to execute the priests.  His actions do not help relations between Edom and Israel and David will later remember this in 2 Samuel 8.  Not only does Saul order the death of 85 priests BUT the whole town of Nob is put to death, including women, children, and animals.  A “total destruction” usually reserved for Israel’s worst enemies.  BUT, ONE escapes, Abiathar.

Meanwhile,  even as a fugitive trying to save his own life, David still protects Keilah (in Judah)from the Philistines.

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Jonathon visits Saul and encourages him

Saul pursues David and they land in the same cave!  David cuts a piece of his cloak while he was “sitting on the throne”. 😷🚽🤮

 

David had the opportunity and received encouragement to cut off Saul’s life but chose to cut off only his robe hem. He ended up promising
not to spare Saul’s descendants and name.  The hem or edge of a person’s garment in the ancient Near East made a statement about his social standing. A king’s hem was especially ornate and identified him as the king. Almost immediately David realized that his clever trick was inappropriate. Since Saul was the king, David had no right to cut with his clothing. Furthermore, David realized that any attempt to take the kingdom from Saul, as he had taken the symbol of that kingdom, was contrary to God’s will.   (I have been there!  Well, not in the bathroom with someone, but taking action against God’s will). Since Saul was God’s anointed it was God’s place to remove him, not David’s.  David’s words and actions convicted Saul of his actions too, and the king wept tears of remorse.  Saul even called on the Lord to reward David with a blessing for his treatment of the king. ❤️

Finally,  Saul asked David not to cut off his descendants when he came to power. It was customary in the ancient Near East for a new king to kill all the descendants of the ruler whom he replaced. This prevented them from rising up and reestablishing the dead king’s dynasty. David had already promised Jonathan that he would not kill his descendants (20:14-17), and he now made the same promise to Saul. 

So is David in the clear?

I know I am weird, but I can’t help but think that Doeg looks like “The Hound” on G.O.T.