The Bible Book of 2 Samuel

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Study Outline (1 Sam 22:1-2 Sam 1:27)

Today’s study fulfills a joint purpose: on one hand it serves as the close out for 1 Samuel, while on the other, it serves as the introduction to 2 Samuel. Recall that 1 Samuel served as the transitional book to move us from the period of the Judges in Israel, a theocratic leadership to a monarchy where Israel was led by a king rather than God through His chosen representatives. Samuel, the writer of 1 and 2 Samuel, was the last judge and the first prophet of Israel. Israel rebelled against God’s leadership through a judge after they had the combined terrible experiences with Eli and his two ungodly sons, followed immediately by Samuel and his two unruly sons. Israel chose Saul to be their first king because he “stood head and shoulders above all other men” and because he was attractive to look at. As we finish 1 Samuel, we find Saul and his son, Jonathan as well as Samuel dead. Samuel died in last week’s study and Saul and his three sons, but most notiblly Jonathan, will die in battle in todays study (1 Sam 31:6). 

In the first of our three points for today, we see David worn weary of being chased by Saul under the threat of death. David will take the 600 soldiers and their families with him away from Israel into the land of the Philistines. 

The second of the three points actually transition into the first half o0f the first chapter of 2 Samuel. It begins with David hearing the grim news that Saul and Jonathan had met their ends in battle. The man delivering the horrible news seemed to be a little ragged from what he saw and the fact that he was actually a part of Saul’s demise. David remined us what it meant to “kill the messenger” as he had him killed for choosing to harm God’s anointed one. This was an action David was faced with twice as he refused to kill Saul specifically because he was God’s anointed one.

And last, we read the burial sonnet David wrote for Saul’s and Johnathan’s deaths. The words are very touching and match some of the supernatural words David gave us in the Psalms. 

David Flees to the Philistines (1 Samuel 27:1-12)  

1 Samuel 27:1 presents David’s realization that the life of running from Saul was not only frustrating but would eventually end with his death at the hands of the out-of-control one Saul had become. He said simply, “Now, I will perish one day by the hands of Saul.” This was an unusual demonstration of lack of faith by David because he was already anointed as king by God, and there was no way He would allow him to die before He was finished with him. Nevertheless, David thought it best to get out of Saul’s line of fire. Verse 2 shows that David decided for himself and the 600 men who followed him, plus their families, that the very best thing he could do was to escape from Saul into the land of the Philistines until Saul tired of chasing him. 

David had not been given a patch of land to occupy before he arrived in Philistia, but Achish, the King of Gath, gave him Ziklag that day and that same land held the tribe of Judah until David’s day. But David had need of more after a year and 4 months, so he invaded all the neighboring lands and utterly destroyed the people who occupied that land (vss. 8-9). He must have read the sermons of Moses in Deuteronomy warning Israel as they began to occupy the Promised Land that the nations had sinned and had to be “utterly destroyed” by Israel. He did not destroy the animals and other plunder, but rather, took the plunder for Israel. 

When confronted by Achish concerning what he did, he responded only that if he had not killed them, they would have told Saul where he could be found not only that day but all the days to come as long as he continued in the land of the Philistines. Achish accepted the statement of David and said that David had successfully cause Israel and all the people of the countries he occupied to completely abhor him and therefore, that would David his servant forever.

According to Moses’ words in Deuteronomy anything short of totally destruction the current inhabitants would allow Israel to take them as slaves or servants and engage in discussions which could lead Israel to follow after false gods and lose the blessings God had reserved for them. And the entire Old Testament stands in evidence that God’s words were true. Israel chased false gods.

David Learns of Saul’s Death (2 Samuel 1:1-16)  

The Bible reference for the first point is 1 Samuel 27:1-12. The actual ending of 1 Samuel occurred in Chapter 31 with the deaths of Saul and his three sons, including Jonathan, David’s best friend (vs. 31:6). David had another major scare in Chapter 30 where the Amalekites captured thousands of Israeli women and children along with David’s two wives (vss. 30:3-5). The rest of Chapter 30 has David destroying the Amalekites and taking back all that was taken.

Meantime, Saul and Israel confronted the Philistines and were beaten severely. This is where Saul and his three sons were killed in battle. Recall that David and his army were in the land of the Philistines, but not with the Philistines, so he was not in this defeat. Second Samuel 1:2 tells of a man staggering into David’s camp with hardly any strength left. David had him fed and rehydrated so he could hear the report the man came to bring. In verse 10, the messenger confesses that he killed the wounded Saul at his request and took his crown and bracelet to return to David. David immediately stood to his feet and ripped his robes because of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. All of the men who were with David did the same (vs. 11).  

Now, because the messenger confessed to killing Saul, he would have to pay the capital price. Again, David’s issue was not that the man had pity on Saul, recognized that he had a terminal wound and granted his request to die.  Rather, it was because the messenger had killed the Lord’s anointed. Recall that David had two opportunities to kill Saul and was encouraged to do so by others, but David refused to take the life of (harm) God’s anointed. But here, standing in front of David was a man who not only did not refused to harm the Lord’s anointed.  This man killed the Lord’s anointed and was confessing the crime before David.

I cannot help but think this history may have been the source of the a messenger of bad news begging that the receiver of the news “does not kill the messenger delivering the news.” Here, the messenger not only delivered the news of the king’s death but confessed to taking the king’s life with his own hand. This is capital crime, and David spoke the appropriate punishment.

David’s Dirge (2 Samuel 1:17-27)  

By this time in David’s life, he had already written about half of the Psalms for which he received credit. He is blessed of God with the capability to express his pain and anguish in songs and hymns with great skill and inspiration. Here we have a psalm of David which is not repeated the Book of Psalms. It is unlike Psalms 51 as it documents David’s pain and sorrow over his sins with Bathsheba and the pain of God’s punishment of them by taking their son who was born of those sins. Instead, notice also the depth of God’s forgiveness in His allowance of their second son, Solomon, to be anointed king after David’s death (1 Kings 1). 

David writes of his pain in losing Saul and Jonathan in different segments of this dirge. In verse 19 he talks of their deaths as the taking of the beauty of the Nation of Israel being displayed on its highest places. But he warns Israel not to openly show the pain of these losses because the daughters of the Philistine might find cause to rejoice in their deaths and the heathen might exalt them (vss. 19-20). He says that the shield of Saul shall not be anointed or lifted up because it nor anyone else can state that the bow of Jonathan ever turned back (that is, he was not a coward).

David mentions his great love and appreciation for Saul and Jonathan in the same verse while we know that his true feelings for them were far from equal (vs. 23). He calls them beloved and pleasant in this life when we know that Saul caused him grief on a daily basis while he called Jonathan’s love better than that of any woman. Saul tried to take David’s life while Jonathan risked his own life to save David’s life often, even against the will of his father and king. 

A partial explanation might be that David had dual responsibilities here. Saul’s sin against God and his failure to become God’s king, resulted in God removing His Holy Spirit and replacing it with an evil spirit (1 Sam 16:14). David may have been trying to maintain the holiness of the lofty position of the King of Israel, especially since he would soon to occupy that position. Whatever David’s reasons were, he sets an outstanding example in thinking of the impact of his behavior on the institution of the office rather than calling out Saul for the murderer he wished to be.

David Reigns Over Judah (2 Samuel 2:1-4:12)

Peter’s second letter wa 

David Establishes Court (2 Samuel 5:1-25)

Peter’s first comment is f 

Ark Brought to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-23)

So, Peter seems to ask at 

David Offers Thanks (2 Samuel 7:1-8:18)

Verse 15 begins this passa