2 Samuel

The first book of Samuel details the history of what happened when the people demanded a man to rule over them. The people’s choice for king was Saul. King Saul was who God used to shine His light on the dark places of pride within the heart of man.

After king Saul failed miserably, God anointed a man after His own heart, an uneducated shepherd boy named David. Clearly God’s choice of David was to show us His faithfulness and strength in our times of weakness.

David makes legendary mistakes, but his heart for God is revealed in the transparent Psalms he penned in his times of great despair. With this insight we can better understand David’s important role in God’s story.

In Acts 14:23 God’s word makes a strong point that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was a descendant of David. This shepherd boy was why Christ was called the “Son of David” (Acts 13:22-23).

As God’s word makes it clear “David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.” (2 Sam 5:4-5)

David was faithful to call upon God, and trust in God to slay the giant Philistine, and to build the nation of Israel. He was a courageous warrior, patient, and loyal. He was a musician and a passionate poet.

David was trustworthy with a transparent and penitent heart. King Saul ordered David’s death and David hid in a cool cave in the midst of the desert in a place called Ein Gedi. Saul arrives at the same Oasis and when David had the chance to kill Saul, he ordered that Saul be spared as he was God’s anointed king.

The 2nd book of Samuel opens with David mourning for king Saul and his best friend Jonathan. David’s sweet spirit forgave and forgot all that Saul had done. When a soldier boasted that he had killed king Saul, David had him put to death. David was loyal as he respected who God had chosen.

As Jesus was being nailed to the cross, the same sweet Spirit voiced His call that God forgive all those who know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) All the tribes of Israel gathered at Hebron: “When all the elders of Israel had come to king David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.” (2 Sam 5)

The “House of David” was established by the shepherd boy who became king. The Ark of the Lord was brought back to the City of David. The entire house of Israel celebrated as David danced before the Lord.

After the king settled into his palace David said to the Prophet Nathan “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Later that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan and instructed him to tell David “I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed….I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But My love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, who I removed from before you.” (2 Sam 7)

That was the prophetic word that declared that David would have a son, who would build the Temple of Solomon! Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation and David responded in prayer and song.

“How great You are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You, and there is no God by You, as we have heard with our own ears.” (2 Sam 7:22) The young king David brought unity to the whole nation; he captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of Israel. By chapter 11 God shows us that even God’s anointed can fumble and be forgiven.

When his army left to war, David stayed behind, and in his idleness his flesh succumbed to the beauty of Bathsheba. He had her summoned, she got pregnant, and then David had her husband murdered.

David had his faults, he had a man murdered, but he kept his nation from going into idolatry. While his private sins were grave, his love and loyalty to God, kept him humbly confessing his sins. We can see his worship in the Psalms. Our God was faithful and cleansed him.

His great confession is recorded in Psalm 51. David took a chaotic nation and established a dynasty that lasted more than 450 years. In (2 Sam 24:18) we read about David purchasing Araunah’s threshing floor at full price. Later, this plot of land was where the Temple of Solomon was built, atop a threshing floor. *** It is the sacred spot today known as the “Dome of the Rock” It is one of the most important Islamic mosques in the world.

INTERESTING: To thresh is to separate the seed from the grain, by beating it, or delivering blows to it. As Christians we are called to separate ourselves from the world, and today Christians still take blows around the globe for their faith in God. In Matthew 3:12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” In Matthew 13:49 “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous.” In Philemon 1:15 “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—”.