Stone 10 - 2 Samuel

At the end of 1 Samuel we read that Saul, Israel's first king died. There is a seamless transition to 2 Samuel as David becomes informed of this event.

Beware the Message You Bring
In the first chapter a messenger comes to relay the news to David about Saul's death and the defeat of the Isrealites at the hand of the Philistines. What is interesting is that the messenger thought that he was bringing good news to David (2Sam 4:10). In fact, the messenger even delivered the armband and crown, knowing full well that David is the next anointed (2Sam 1:10).

I imagine that to the messenger's surprise, David is pained and tears his clothes over it and mourns (2Sam 1:11). David later had the messenger killed for having killed the Lord's anointed (2Sam 1:14-16). I am pretty sure that was not on the messenger's radar as a possibility.

Civil War
David becomes king over Judah (2Sam 2:4) but Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was king over the rest of Israel (2Sam 2:8-9). At a certain point they came together and it appears as though they were going to try and settle matters with minimal bloodshed by having a smaller group of 12 men from each side come out and fight in a sort of gang-style underground fighting ring or something but they all died anyway so the bigger battle ensued (2Sam 2:14-16).

Verse 17 tells us that David wins and they began pursuit of Abner, who is the commander of the Army, and we later learn that the war was long (2Sam 3:1). Something that appears to have been somewhat pivotal is when Ish-bosheth questions his commander Abner about sleeping with a concubine (2Sam 3:7). Abner is offended and seems to vow that he will now help David become king (2Sam 3:8-10). So Abner makes a covenant with David (2Sam 3:12) to hand over all of Israel to him. Unfortunately, Joab, who is David's commander, runs into Abner and kills him saying that he is an enemy (2Sam 3:24-25) but really taking vengeance on him for the death of his brother (2Sam 3:27).

Later, Ish-bosheth is also assassinated (2Sam 4:7) and his head is brought to David like some kind of gift (2Sam 4:8). I think of the cat that leaves the dead mouse on the doorstep as a gesture of love. As with the messenger in chapter 1, the assassins think they have done well and are bringing good news but what they have done was not God's way and David brings the same punishment on them as the messenger (2Sam 4:9-12). Finally, David becomes king over all of Israel (2Sam 5:3).

More Conflict
The Philistines now try to come in and take over (2Sam 5:17-18) to no avail as David listened to the Lord (2Sam 5:25).

Though not a battle, David wants to move the Ark from its current spot to Jerusalem with him and give it a better place (2Sam 7:2) but God tells David, through Nathan, that He has never commanded this (2Sam 7:7).
An interesting note in this part is during the move of the Ark when it begins to fall off of the cart (2Sam 6:6). A man named Uzzah tries to grab it to keep it from falling and dies (2Sam 6:7). It is worth noting that Uzzah is not slain because of his good intention but because he was not an authorized priest and touched the most holy object. This was a violation for which death was promised. Remember the sons of Aaron who came before the tent in an unauthorized way (Lev 10:1-2)?

The Ammonites later came on the scene when the king passed away and reign passed on to his son (2Sam 10:1). David tries to be nice to Hanun but the feeling was not mutual - or at least the counsel from leadership was flawed (2Sam 10:3-5). The battle ensues and Israel comes out as victor.

The Lasting Consequences of Sin
Now we come to the famous account of David and Bathsheba where David sees this married woman bathing from his roof and summons her to have sex (2Sam 11:2-5). **Personally, I cannot ignore the coincidence that she was bathing and her name was Bathsheba...** OK - OOPS - she gets pregnant and now David knows that he has a problem on his hands so he tries to be really slick and cover it up by bringing her husband in from battle to sleep with with her so that nine months later he would think it was his (2Sam 11:6-9). So that does not work and so they get Uriah drunk and even then he does not go home (2Sam 11:13). With his plans foiled, David arranges to get Uriah killed in battle (2Sam 11:14).

Now David may have thought that he finally got this covered up but God knew about it and was not pleased (2Sam 11:27). Some time later the prophet Nathan is sent to David with a story (2Sam 12:1-4) that gets David riled up and says the man deserves to die (v. 5) to which Nathan replies that David is the man in the story (v. 7). Due to this sin, God says that David's house will be filled with disaster (2Sam 12:10-12).

So the newborn dies and some time later David and Bathsheba are blessed with Solomon.

David has many wives and children. One of his sons, Absalom, has a sister named Tamar who is apparently so beautiful that another son Amnon cannot seem to get over her (2Sam 13:1-4). This plan gets devised to bring Tamar close to him and he rapes her and immediately hates her (2Sam 13:12-15). Obviously this brings just a little tension to the family and we eventually have one brother plotting to kill another a couple years down the road (2Sam 13:23,28). Absalom then runs away (v. 38).

Are we seeing the disaster God promised yet?

So Joab puts together this plan to reunite king David with his son Absalom which does work but David indicates that he can come back but not be allowed to see him (2Sam 14:24). A couple years later Absalom burns Joab's field to get his attention (v 30) so he could petition to see the king (2Sam 14:33).

Not long after - Absalom starts building himself a following by intercepting people coming in the city and telling them that the king did not have anyone to listen to them (2Sam 15:1-6). After four years of building some fame and notoriety throughout Isreal, Absalom goes to Hebron and plans to make himself king (2Sam 15:7) but does it in a decietful manner. Word finally gets back to David that people are starting to follow Absalom and so David flees (2Sam 15:14).

Some time later, Absalom moves into Jerusalem (2Sam 16:15). His advisors tell him to sleep with the concubines (2Sam 16:21-22) - this goes back to what God said would happen (2Sam 12:11-12). It is also my understanding politically at this time that the one who controls the harem holds the reigns. This, then, becomes a public symbol of who is in charge. Plans are then made to go out and attack David. **Imagine having your own son try to hunt you down and kill you...**

An insider, Hushai, gives advice and then sends messengers to inform David of the advice (2Sam 17:16). Battle later ensued through which David comes out victorious (2Sam 18:7). At some point Absalom got himself hung up in a tree by his massive hairdo (2Sam 18:9). While he was hanging there, Joab and his men came along and killed him. **What is interesting to note here is that king David specifically told the people in v. 5 not to harm Absalom. Joab has him killed anyway. From a military standpoint this seems a wise decision but it defies the king's orders nonetheless. Even though his own son was trying to kill him, he still loved him.

So David is now restored as king over Israel but there is a small dispute of sorts and Sheba pretty much walks off with most of Israel following him (2Sam 20:1-2). A party is sent out to take care of Sheba who clearly didn't have much of a support group because the city he was in simply handed over his head at the request of Joab (2Sam 20:20-22).

Something Doesn't Add Up
David calls to have his military counted but Joab hesitates and queries this as if knowing it should not be done (2Sam 24:2-3). It happens anyway, over the course of roughly ten months, and even David feels bad about it afterwards (2Sam 24:10). Perhaps it was the meotivation behind the counting as if to boast of his strength as opposed to the strength of the Lord.

David is given three options for punishment and goes with the plague from God rather than a punishment at the hands of men (2Sam 24:14). So the plague comes and 70,000 men die by the time David cries out to say that the punishment should be on him and his family since it was his sin. Now the text says that 70,000 men die - I wonder if that means there were many more women and children that dies as well...? Either way all this counting up ended in a net loss. **Despite the alluring intial potential benefits, sin does not have a payoff in the end.**

David was then instructed to build an altar to the Lord (2Sam 24:18). David obeys. **Another interesting note is that the owner of the property where the altar was to be built was willing to simply hand over all of it and David refused and insisted on buying it since he would not give offerings that had cost him nothing (2Sam 24:22-24)

Things seem to settle down for now - at least until David grows old and it is time for a new king. We will look at David's son Solomon next time in the book of 1 Kings.

Stone 9 - 1 Samuel

We finished the book of Ruth with a short genealogy that pointed to David. Remember that Ruth is David's great grandma. In 1 Samuel we get an opportunity to meet David.

Samuel Comes on the Scene
We will start by introducing Hannah, Samuel's mother. For some time Hannah was barren (1Sam 1:2,5). *Has anyone else noticed that many of the prominent figures came from some sort of barrenness or difficult situation? There is no question that God is part of these encounters.* The bad part for Hannah is that not only is she childless but her husband has a second wife who constantly goads her about it (1Sam 1:6). Hannah then pleads with God (1Sam 1:11) for a son and promises to dedicate the child to Him. We see that God granted Hannah's request (1 Sam 1:20) and she kept her promise (1Sam 1:27-28).

While the text simply covers this in a sort of "matter of fact" way, I imagine it being a more difficult time than the text would make it appear. I am a father of five myself and have dedicated all five of my own children to the Lord as well. However, that did not mean dropping them off at a church in a far off town as a toddler. How emotionally charged those moments must have been. Here is Hannah, just had her first child after being barren for a while and she just drops the kid off with Eli the priest. We also don't get any information on what Eli was thinking. Imagine a woman coming in to say "Hey, remember me? I am the lady that prayed here a couple years ago. Here is my son that I prayed for and am giving to the Lord. BAM - and like that Eli becomes a foster parent. We can know that Hannah did come and visit at least once a year (1Sam 2:19).

The Foster Family
OK - so now we learn that the family of the priest where Samuel is staying is not the exactly the best crowd to be hanging with (1Sam 2:12). Now Eli gets after them verbally (1Sam 2:23-24) but never enforces anything or puts an end to their antics (1Sam 3:13). This makes God angry and therefore Eli's ancestral line will be cut off (1Sam 2:30).

Samuel Gets Promoted
God calls to Samuel in such a way that Samuel thinks it is Eli calling for him (1Sam 3:4-5). This happens a couple more times until Eli figures out what is going on (1Sam 3:8). *Perhaps one day I might experience this audible type of speaking with God. That would be awesome.* Over time, Samuel developed a reputation (1Sam 3:20).

Segue now to some battles where Eli's sons are engaged. The Philistines were busy beating up the Israelites pretty good (1Sam 4:2) and so the Israelites thought they might bring out the big guns (1Sam 4:4) which is the ark. Now this had the effect they were looking for (1Sam 4:7-8) but unfortunately for the Israelites it did not help them win the battle since the Lord was not with them (1Sam 4:10-11). Eli's sons die in the battle and the ark is captured and when Eli hears the news and also dies (1Sam 4:18).

So the Philistines have the ark now - imagine the victory dance they were performing that night! Alright - so that would be short lived... (1Sam 5:6) So they move the ark and the plagues follow (1Sam 5:9) and they move it again to no avail (1Sam 5:10) - apparently they had heard about the other two cities and what happened to them and wanted nothing to do with the ark. Alas, the Philistines ended up giving their loot back to the Israelites (1Sam 6:1-2).

Some 20 years later, the Israelites began seeking the Lord again (1Sam 7:2). Samuel, of course, is well into his adult years by this point and he give them sound advice to get rid of all the false gods they have (1Sam 7:3) and to meet at Mizpah where Samuel prays and begins to lead as the judge (1Sam 7:5-6).

Keeping Up With The Jones'
I titled the section this way because I see some connections here with how Israel behaves. So Samuel, as good a man as he is, does not have sons who follow in his footsteps. It would appear that the position of power they were given had corrupted them (1Sam 8:1-3). So Isreal keeps asking for a king to rule over them because that is what the other nations have (1Sam 8:5). I can just imagine the whining now...

The sad part is that they had the best King already... God himself... but they rejected Him (1Sam 8:7) and (1Sam 10:19). Samuel tries to warn them about what the appointed king would do but the Israelites don't seem to care (1Sam 8:19-20). Notice in verse 20 where it states "Then we'll be like all the other nations..." - Isreal was supposed to Holy - set apart - not like the others... alas God gives them over to the desires of their hearts. They just wanted what everyone else had.

Surprise! You Are Now King
So what starts out as a simple search for a few donkeys (1Sam 9:3) ends up netting Saul with the highest position in the land (1Sam 10:1). Who would not be a little weirded out by that? Later on there is a public ceremony in Mizpah (1Sam 10:17-19) so that all would know Saul was the new king.

What I find interesting here is that I get this impression that Saul has some cold feet about this because it appears that he is hiding during the ceremony. Who would not be a little nervous? First king ever and was simply snatched up during a search for some donkeys - was not even planning on running a campaign for king... Whoa big load just dropped on shoulders... So in 1Sam 10:21-22 we read that they found him hidden among some supplies. LOL That is an interesting first impression for a new king to make.

So Saul does a pretty good job at first by winning a battle against the Ammonites and saving the people of Jabesh-gilead. The people are happy and they have a sort of party (1Sam 11:14-15). Samuel then gives a little speech to the people of Israel and reminds them of all the things that the Lord has done for them over the years (1Sam 12:1-25). *Reminds me of the speeches of Moses and Joshua*

Costly Decisions
If we look back a little to 1Sam 10:8, Samuel gives instructions to Saul to go to Gilgal and wait for him for seven days. Samuel says he will come and offer some sacrifices and tell Saul what to do. We read in 1Sam 13:9 that Saul gives the offering himself. Just then, Samuel shows up (v.10) and rebukes Saul for not listening. This was to be the beginning of the end for Saul (1Sam 13:13-14).

Later, Samuel comes to Saul and gives direction from the Lord (1Sam 15:3). Saul, however, does not carry out the instructions correctly (1Sam 15:9). We also see that Saul created a monument to himself in verse twelve.

Samuel confronts Saul (1Sam 15:14-19) and true to human form, Saul tries to justify his actions as being OK (1Sam 15:20-21). Notice that it takes the form of "...but I was going to do it for the Lord..."

The Next King
God now sends Samuel on a mission to go and anoint David as the next king (1Sam 16:1). So Samuel heads off to Bethlehem to meet up with Jesse - Ruth's Grandson (remember that David is the great grandson) - Samuel will be anointing one of the sons. So Jesse's sons start to come out before Samuel and Samuel notices one of the sons and figures that this must be the one (1Sam 16:6).

*Now this next verse has been one of my favorites over the years - 1Sam 16:7 - "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.'"*

Eventually David comes out and God tells Samuel that he is the one.

Interestingly, as David is anointed, Saul has evil thoughts and calls for someone to come and play the harp for him and calm him down. It just so happens that David is a pretty good harp player (1Sam 16:18). Fancy that.

David comes and does a good job and gets to stay and that brings us to the conflict with Goliath. This is a rather popular account so to keep it short, Goliath, this really big guy, pretty much comes out and taunts the Israelites to a one-on-one battle but no one wants to take him up on the challenge. So for 40 days Goliath is out there sending out a challenge that the Israelites do not respond to making them look like a bunch of wimps (1Sam 17:16). So David comes along and hears about all the commotion with this Goliath fellow and says I will do it and Saul says 'No' (1Sam 17:33). David convinces Saul that he has God on his side and will win so he goes out proclaiming the Lord and slings a stone right in Goliath's head and down he goes - David then cuts his head off (1Sam 17:45-51).

This became the beginning of David's success as well as Saul's jealousy towards him. Saul tries to kill David on more than one occasion when he comes to play the harp for him as he had done in the past (1Sam 18:10-11, 19:9-10). David flees to several places as Saul pursued (1Sam 21-26).

On at least two occasions, David had the opportunity to take out Saul but did not. Once in a cave (1Sam 24:8-11) and once in their camp (1Sam 26:9-12).

Saul says that he will not harm David (1Sam 26:21) but I don't think David believes that (1Sam 27:1). He ends up hanging out in Philistine territory for some time until another battle between the Israelites and the Philistines comes up. Saul consults with a medium (1Sam 28:7) to speak with Samuel who had passed away by this point. Samuel informs him that he will lose (1Sam 28:19). David and his crew were planning on fighting with the Philistines (1Sam 28:1-2) but they were discovered as being Israelites and asked to leave (1Sam 29:3-5).

So David left to go back and gather his family and posessions and discovered that the Amalekites had raided the territory and kidnapped his family (1Sam 30:3-5). David tracks down the Amalekites and recovers all his family (1Sam 30:18). Meanwhile, as the Philistines were attacking the Israelites in the battle that David was sent away from, Saul was killed (1Sam 31:2-6).

Thus 1 Samuel comes to a close with the death of its first king, Saul. Next we will see David become the new king of the Israelites.