The Bible Book of 2 Samuel

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Understand Context (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 & Ishbosheth Are Kings (2 Sam 2:3) 

In our previous study, we saw David frustrated with his seemingly endless running from King Saul. He finally acknowledged that he would eventually get caught by Saul and lose his life as a result. He elected to leave Israel and take up residence among the enemies in the land of the Philistines. Meanwhile, Saul and his three sons went into war against the Philistines and were killed. In 2 Samuel 1, David received word that Saul and David’s best friend, Jonathan were dead. David was devastated and wrote of their greatness in prose and psalm as well. Now, we find the men of Judah coming to David and anointing him King of Judah (2 Sam 2:4). Israel would not divide into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah until after King Solomon’s reign, so David must have become king of the tribal area of Judah here. Note that 2 Samuel 2:4 calls it “the house of Judah.” Nevertheless, David sent a kind word to the men of Jabesh-Gileab for taking the effort to give King Saul a proper burial (vs. 5).

But in the northern eleven provinces of Israel, Ishbosheth, one of Saul’s sons, assumed his father’s throne. He was forty years old when he became King of Israel. Verse 10 continues that he reigned for two years while Judah continued to follow David. As can be imagined, this led to a fairly significant civil war, but David’s side continued to strengthen while Isbosheth’s much larger kingdom became weaker and weaker. 

Chapter 3 documents a cultural norm of the time which was used to measure the power of various monarchs. Verses 2-5 list the six sons that were born to David while he was at Hebron. The number of international alliances David made through these sons enhanced the strength of his kingdom. Meanwhile in Israel, a man named Abner would take one of Saul concubines signifying that he was claiming the kingdom over Ishbosheth, and he made an offer to deliver Israel to David instead of Ishbosheth, and thereby, unite all Israel under David. David told Ishbosheth that he wanted his wife, Michal back, and Abner helped make that happen. But Abner was killed by Joab. 

Ishbosheth Killed; David King (2 Samuel 4-5)   

Chapter 4 sets up more of the uniting of the Judah and Israel under David. First, we are introduced to a pair of brothers, Rechab and Baanah. Who were commanders of bands of warriors under Ishbosheth, Saul’s son and King of Israel. The brothers went to his home and caught him in his mid-morning nap. They killed him and took his head (vss.6-7).  They brought the head to David, and he reacted to them the same way he reacted to the man who killed Saul. He killed them for killing the innocent king. 

Chapter 5 opens with all the tribal leaders of Israel coming to King David to reestablish Israel the way it should have been and at verse 3, David made a covenant with them and they anointed him King of all Israel. The Scriptures document that David was thirty years old when he became king and reigned for 40 years; 7 years over Judah from Hebron and 33 years over all Israel from Jerusalem. Now, before reigning from Jerusalem, David had to clean it and then build it up from the Citadel and inward (vs. 9). 

Verses 6 – 10 record David’s overtaking the Jebusites to take control of Jerusalem which he certainly did in short order, but those verses introduce the idea that David would be turned away because of “the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul” (vs. 8). One only need read 2 Samuel 9:6-13 regarding David’s personal treatment of Jonathan’s lame son to see that the reference in 2 Samuel 5:8 needs a better explanation. David restored much of Saul’s property to Mephibosheth and had him sit at the King’s Table in Jerusalem daily. Not like a hater of the lame.

Chapter 5 finishes with the challenges of war, and yes, it is the Philistines again. This time, David asked God directly if he should go up against them (vs. 19).  God said yes, and He promised to give David victory over them. David went against them at Baal-Perazim and defeated them there. The Philistines came again against David in the Valley of Rephaim. This time God told David to attack from behind them (vs. 23). David did what God instructed, and he was able to completely strike them down from Gibeon to Gezer, that is, from the mountains to the plains.

Peril in Ark Move (2 Samuel 6) 

King David put together 30,000 chosen men to go after the Ark of the Covenants, specifically, “The Ark of God” (vss. 1-2). He took the people to Baale-Judah (Kiriath-Jearim) where the Ark had been stored at the home of Abinadab for 20 years since its return to Israel from the Philistines. The Ark had a significant role in the unity of Israel in that it was the centerpiece of the annual Day of Atonement ceremony where God receives a special sacrifice, blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat of the Ark and God visits with the High Priest to share instructions for the year (Leviticus 16). Reuniting Israel could not be complete without reuniting Israel with the presence of their God. 

So, two sons of Abinadab accompanied the Ark from Baale-Judah to Jerusalem. As the Ark tilted during the trip, Uzziah reached out and touched the Ark to stabilize it. Verse 7 says God stuck him down for touching the Holy Thing. David was angry at God and fearful of the Ark. He decided to leave it at the home of Obed-Edom, the Gittite for three months and he was blessed along with his entire household. When David heard of the blessings, he decided to try moving it to Jerusalem again. David sacrificed before starting the journey and danced along the entire path of its return. Michal, his wife and Saul’s youngest daughter saw him and was angry with him (vs. 16). 

When David ushered the Ark into Jerusalem, the Script says he “set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts (vs. 18). When he returned to bless the household, however, Michal said he acted the fool and uncovered himself in front of his people. David said it was before the Lord he did those things. He said he will be humbled before the Lord also, but before his maids, he will be distinguished. 

Verse 23 states that Michal was never allowed to conceive a child after that discussion. So, David did all that was necessary to get her back with him, but he never really succeeded.

David’s Temple & War (2 Samuel 7-8) 

Chapter 7 begins with David observing that he found peace and tranquility in his house but the Lord lives in a tent (the Tabernacle of the Congregation). David told Nathan, the Prophet, that he lived in a house of cedar, but his God lives in curtains (vss. 1-2). Nathan responds that David should go and do all he desires for the Lord is with him. God responded with a question for Nathan, “Did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?” The Lord tells David that when your days are over, and you lie down with your fathers, “I will raise up a descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish a throne of his kingdom forever” (vs. 12).  David acquiesces to God’s command and asks only His blessing forever (vs. 29).

Now, the fact that David was not allowed to build the Temple was because he had blood on his hands from being the great warrior under God. And the immense collections of precious metals and stones and artworks were all going to be a part of the wealth required for Solomon to build the Temple for God.

Chapter 8 begins with a listing of all the victories David won under God’s leadership. God started with the Philistines and listed Moab, Zobah, Arameans, Berothai, Hamath and many others. David listed the many times God sent him home with large amounts of gold, silver and bronze. So, David was the warrior king who honored the Lord while his son, Solomon would build the Temple.

The Lord summarizes David’s greatness in all the feats God gave him to complete. He says, “15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder. 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary. 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers” (vss. 15-18).

Understand the Context (2 Sam 9:1-13)  

This study goes to the heart of the kind of man King David was. As King, he now has all the power in the world. He could be anything or act in anyway he wished, but the content of Chapter 9 shows the character of the man who so impressed God that He called him “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam 13:14). 

Saul had not been King of Israel very long before he decided to offer sacrifice to the Lord for the soldiers rather than waiting for Samuel to offer properly. When Samuel arrived he told Saul he had done a very foolish thing and the Lord would not tolerate it. God told Samuel to tell Saul, “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee” (2 Sam 13:14).  So ended the legitimate reign of King Saul. God then commissioned Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to replace Saul as king.

Here we see David finally becoming King of Israel and taking his rightful place. He has full authority to remove anything or anyone from King Saul’s reign. But the new king’s heart remembered the covenant he had made with the old king’s son, Jonathan. So, David begins to inquire if there is any person in Jonathan’s line that he might provide a blessings from God for the sake of Jonathan.

Chapter 9 starts out with David’s objective for finding, recognizing and ministering to any member of Saul’s family remaining. He finds a servant man named Ziba who starts his personal research to find whomever was left in Saul’s family (vs. 2). Ziba comes straight to the point and tells David there is a son who was born to Jonathan, the son of Saul and close friend of David. The man was dropped as a small child and broke both his feet. His name was Mephibosheth. 

So, the study centers on David’s search and his heart for forgiveness and support for whomever might be left of Saul’s family. It will start with Mephibosheth and Ziba.

Any Left of Saul’s Line (2 Samuel 9:1-3)  

The first three verses of Chapter 9 goes directly to the point of how King David began the search for answers to the question, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (vs. 1). He makes the goal clear and concise. The King wanted to show kindness to a person in Jonathan’s line because of the relationship he had with Jonathan. David knew that Saul and Jonathan had died in war, but he wanted to bless someone for the sake of the strong relationship he once had with Jonathan. It was to be a token of that relationship and in the name of it. David must have felt he needed a tangible reminder of that relationship and the great value it had for him. If he could find an heir to Jonathan, that would be a person he could bless by bringing him or her to the palace and allowing him to dine at the King’s Table as a representative of that sweet relationship he once had.

Verse 2 reports the success David has in finding a man who was a servant in the house of Saul and might have some information as to relatives or others in the House of Saul who might still be available. The servant’s name was Ziba and David’s men were able to call him to the palace where David could talk with him and hopefully get an answer for his search. Ziba was brought before the king and he asked him about the family. King David asks him, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” (vs. 3).

Ziba thinks back over the many years he served Saul and recalls there is one who fits the new King’s description. He must have hesitated at least a few seconds because the one who came to his mind was a cripple. The customs of Israel usually passed over people who were lame or diseased because religious leadership associated these imperfections with some sin the person must have committed that caused the damage.  Further, it might be contagious to some extent. But Ziba evidently reasoned that whatever the King thought about those circumstances, it was the King’s business and not his as a mere servant in the house. He tells David, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet” (vs. 3).

Mephibosheth at King’s Table (2 Samuel 9:4-8)  

Verse 4 eliminates Ziba’s concern as David responds favorably by asking where that son might be. Ziba responded with the information he had, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.” So, King David sent some of his men to the place Ziba described and had the person brought to him. David learned the man’s name was Mephibosheth and he was the son of Jonathan the son of Saul. This seemed to fit perfectly with David’s intentions to bless a descendant of Jonathan for the sake of that sweet relationship they once enjoyed.

Mephibosheth came before David and immediately fell on his face before him. The King called his name and Mephibosheth replied, “Here is your servant!” (vs. 6). David could see the man was scared beyond reason, so he responded to ease his mind very quickly. He said, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly” (vs. 7).

Mephibosheth responded in total disbelief saying, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?” He was so used to abuse and rejection, he expected more of the same from David. After all, in the culture of those times, a cripple barely had permission to stay alive. Had Mephibosheth been born to a commoner family instead of the son of the king, he would have been relegated to holding out a cup, begging for enough money to buy food for another day. But, thanks to David’s kind heart and generous spirit, he now has all the land his grandfather Saul lost in wars against David. David had restored it all to Mephibosheth in addition to the promised seat at the King’s Table for the rest of his life.

David also informs Mephibosheth that he is assigning Ziba and all her relatives and servants under him. So, in addition to caring for Mephibosheth in elegance for the rest of his life, he was assigning Ziba and her whole crowd of people with him to serve Mephibosheth. David will certainly accomplish his objective of blessing these people and all of those under them with a full blessing from the Lord for life. It was David, the man after God’s own heart>

Ziba Works Mephibosheth’s Land (2 Samuel 9:9-13)  

David was not yet finished with his demonstration of the King’s generosity. He called Ziba the servant of Saul’s house to stand before him. Ziba presented himself to David as he requested saying, “Here is your servant!” David wanted to deliver the rest of the blessing he had for Ziba. He said, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.  You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless, Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall eat at my table regularly.” 

Verse 10 informs us on how big of a crowd Ziba is bringing with him. It says, “Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.”  He assures David that everything he has said concerning him and all who are with him will be done (vs. 11). So, Ziba and all his were assigned the Mephibosheth, and Mephibosheth was assigned to eat at the King’s Table as one of the King’s sons. 

Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. No additional information is given for him, but this introduces a short summary of what we learned in Chapter 9. The Scripture continues, “And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.  So, Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.”

Chapter 9 is obviously different from all the chapters of war and struggles dealing with Israel’s choice to leave the theocratic government model for a monarchy, the failure of their first selected king (Saul) and the great successes of God’s chosen king, the man after God’s own heart (David). It is a time when the new King can show some of the reasons why God chose him and ended Saul’s reign. We will see in the next few chapters, however, that even God’s choses for leadership are subject to attack from the evil enemy. But for now, we get to see David rescue a physically broken man who was condemned because he was dropped by a caregiver, and a man who served a king who tried to kill his own servants. He cared for those who could not care for themselves.

Kindness for New King (2 Sam 10:1-5)

Chapter 10 begins with the death of the Ammonite king, and the ascension of his son, Hanun. Verse 2 shows that David intended to send ambassadors to visit the new king and show kindness to him just as his father showed to him. A problem of interpretation arose when David’s representatives arrived to console Hanun at his loss. Verse 3 says that Hanun’s princes told him that David’s servants did not come to console him, but rather, they came to spy out the area for future attack (vss. 2-3). There is no way to determine whether Hanun’s princes misunderstood David’s intentions or purposely wanted to start a war, but their advice to him was clear. They told Hanun that David’s men came “to spy it out and overthrow it” (vs. 3). Hanun decided to humiliate David’s men rather than killing them and began by shaving off half their beards, cutting off their garments in the middle down to their hips and sending them away (vs. 4)

Of course, Hanun’s response was geared to fully humiliate David’s servants who thought they were coming to the Ammonites on a mission of consolation for the passing of Hanun’s father, the previous king. The old saying goes that “no good deed will go unpunished,” and this situation certainly fits that description. David probably selected his very best dignitaries for this mission. They were likely very senior men fully intent on delivering the King’s message of sorrow for the passing of Hanun’s father and David’s very best wishes for the success of the new king. The caliber of these men would be such that they were highly esteemed gentlemen who were accustomed to being treated like statesmen representing their king. Instead, they were completely humiliated by the Ammonites. The message this treatment sent to David was one of total rejection of David’s intended message as well as those he chose to deliver it. Hanun was not impressed.

When King David heard about this foul treatment of his servants, he took care of making sure they were not even more humiliated by returning home in that condition. Instead, he told them to stay in Jericho until their beard grew out, and they could restore their dignity (vs. 5). 

Ammon Hires Syrians for War (2 Samuel 10:6-8)  

Verse 6 seems to imply that the sons of Ammon were somewhat surprised that their treatment of King David’s diplomats resulted in his completely loathsome attitude toward them. Somehow the Ammonite servants of the king did not understand the chessboard of battleground behavior. That is, each side of the war must completely analyze their proposed actions in light of the potential response it might cause. One must never take an action in battle for which they are not fully prepared to feel the enemy’s response. King David and the Israeli army were far to fierce to be under-estimated. 

When Ammon reconsidered what they had done, they finally understood they, like the team trying to catch Jaws, would “need a bigger boat!” They had to go outside their own country to find the size of armed force to battle against the likes of Israel. They went to Syria to hire 20,000 foot soldiers, the King of Maacah for 1,000 men and the men of Tob to get 12,000 more men (vs. 6). Now, this fighting force was a supplement for their own army. It looks like Ammon was finally thinking about the size of the enemy they had enraged. Recall Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor would reportedly write in his diary after the attack, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve.”

King David heard the rumors of the forces Ammon was putting together and responded by notifying Joab to prepare the army, the mighty men, for battle. Ammon’s plan of attack was to come out in full battle dress. They would array against the city while the Syrians’ Zobah, Rehob, Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field (vs, 8). 

As a military man, I can see a terrible flaw in this deployment. The 33,000 soldiers who were not Ammonites were not accompanied by any of the leaders from the soldiers who were motivated to win this battle. Regardless of their training, armament and skill, the leadership from those who have the focus of the war in their hearts are not with them. They might be the most powerful army in the world but without the involvement of those motivated to win, they were only hired hands.

Joab Adjusts Army for Two Fronts (2 Samuel 10:9-14)  

When Joab approached the battlefield, he assessed the situation and saw there were two sets of divided soldiers before him. He decided he would take command of the best and largest group to do battle against the largest force of soldiers, the Syrians. He mustered together the best of Israel soldiers stood them against the Syrians. Joab knew the history of these men and knew they numbered beyond 33,000 troops. He would lead his soldiers against them. He assigned his son, Abishai against the Ammonites attacking from the rear (vs. 10). His instructions to Abishai were that whoever had the easiest fight can come to the aid of the other. 

After Joab lined up all the soldiers and told them of their assignments, he did that one thing that made the Israeli solder the mightiest in the world: he prayed to the Lord God of Israel. He said, “Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight” (vs. 12). Joab knew that the best training and preparation were useless without the hand of the Lord upon your hearts and minds, and to have His hand on the righteousness of the battle. Look below and see if you do not fully agree.

Verse 13 says Joab and those assigned with him drew near to the battle against the Syrians. Joab was prepared, his soldiers knew him and what he was capable of. He was fully confident in the righteousness of this battle and the purposes of God to protect Israel and win this fight. He gave the order to attack, and they moved forward to destroy the enemies of Israel. But look how verse 13 ends, “and they fled before him.” There were no heroic individual pursuits of valor or mighty one-on-one victories. The Syrians saw Joab and his forces of mighty men of Israel and ran the other way!

The sons of Ammon rallied against Abishai and prepared for the battle for the city. But a messenger from Syria’s forces reached them and they heard that Joab was so fierce the 33,000 soldiers of Syria ran before the fight started. Ammon fled from the face of Abishai!  

Reinforced Syrians Try Again (2 Samuel 10:15-19)  

The Arameans (Syrians) had been purchased by the Ammonites to supplement their armies to fight this war against the armies of Israel as led by their King, David. But whether it was the Syrians or the Ammonites, they lost to Isreal under very embarrassing and humiliating circumstances. When the Ammonites saw Israel arrayed for war against the Syrians or against themselves, they saw the mighty men of Israel coming against them and simply fled. Now we are at the conclusion of this war. The Syrians saw they were soundly defeated.  They evidently brought together the defeated soldiers in Israel plus those held in reserve on the other side of Jordan to stop Israel’s exit after it was defeated and took them to Helam (vss. 15-16).

Of course, when David saw they were coming together, he amassed his armies as well. He marched them across the Jordan River to meet Shobach and Hadarezer at Helam (also known as Peniel, about 10 miles east of the Jordan River) (vs. 17). Verse 17 says the Syrians fought against David there.

But the fight finished just had in several of the other fights between the Syrians and Israel; the Syrians fled as David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen. He also killed Shoback the supreme commander of the combined Ammonian and Syrian armies. When all the kings and the servants of Hadadezer saw the defeat by Israel, they made peace with Israel, that is, they surrendered and became their servants (vs. 19). Samuel also adds that the Syrians were afraid to help the sons of Ammon ever again.

King David was known as a mighty warrior as gifted by God. The Israelis recognized that very early on when they said in one of King Saul’s mighty victories, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Sam 18:7). Recall that was the statement that caused Saul to be enraged at David and led to his first attempted murder of him. Now David is the commander of all the forces of Israel, and his reputation is such that mighty armies like the Ammonites put together using Syrian soldiers would surrender rather than fight them. David was blessed of God!!

When Kings go to Battle (2 Sam 11:1-5)  

Recall how God anointed Saul when he was made king of Israel, but when he failed, God removed His Spirit (1 Sam 10:6 & 16:14). The power for him to lead Israel did not come from his own power but from the power of God’s Holy Spirit. David received that same Spirit and its power in 1 Sam 16:13. Saul lost the Spirit when he was disobedient. Now, David was gifted by God not only as a great leader but a great warrior. In 2 Samuel 11, we find David making the decision to stay in the palace at Jerusalem as Spring approached while he sent Joab and his servants to fight Ammon (vs. 1). As evening approached one day, David got up from his bed and walked around the roof of the king’s house (vs. 2). He looked down upon the neighboring houses and saw a very beautiful woman bathing herself. David inquired about who the woman might be and one of his servants said it was Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s generals (vs. 3). So, David was tempted by the view he saw for the roof of the king’s house and discovered this woman was married to one of his faithful generals who was on the battlefield where he should have been.  If what happened that night ended at this point, everyone’s honor would have been intact and sin would not have entered into the picture.

But it did not end there because verse 4 sees David sending messengers to the woman’s house and taking her, when she came to the king, he laid with her and when she purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her home. So now the king has committed adultery with the wife of one of his generals. This was a sin against God and a blemish on honor of David’s reign, but no one need find out. 

But all sin has consequences even if it is secret sin, and the Scripture say, “Surely your sin will find you out (Numb 32:23). So, in due time, Bathsheba finds out she is pregnant (vs. 5). She sends word to David and both of them know her husband is out on the battlefield and had been there for some time. Uriah could not be the father of the child, or could he?

What about Her Husband (2 Samuel 11:6-27)  

David decides it might be a good time for Uriah to visit home. He sends word to Joab and asks him to send Uriah to him (vs. 6). But Uriah was a man of honor, and he would not enjoy the comforts of his home while his fellow soldiers were in the field fighting. So, Uriah slept on the door mat of the king’s house (vs. 9). He told David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my Lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife?  By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing” (vs. 11). It sounds like David may have met a man who had the kind of character a king should have had. So, David would not give up on his idea of having Uriah spend the night with his wife so he and Bathsheba could claim her child as Uriah’s. Verse 13 has David calling Uriah to the palace for a night of too much food and wine, while Uriah was quite drunk, he slept with David’s servants instead of sleeping with his wife. 

In frustration, David decides there is still another way to “honorably” solve the problem. If Uriah dies in battle, the king could play the hero and claim his widow to care for the rest of her life. Taking care of widows was a large part of Jewish Law. So, David wrote a letter to Joab to be delivered by Uriah’s hand. The letter would instruct Joab to place Uriah on the front lines against the enemy and have all the soldiers withdraw and leave Uriah to die at the enemy’s hands. 

Joab did as he was instructed by the king, but it was never as clean as David planned it. In the process of having Urial killed, the enemy killed several of David’s servants and the servants of Joab. There is no number listed, but many people died that day including Uriah. Nevertheless, Uriah died an honorable death as he gave his life for his country. David has successfully added murder to adultery in his relationship with the general’s wife. 

When Bathsheba heard that her husband was killed in battle, she immediately entered into mourning. When the customary mourning period had ended, David sent for her, and she became his wife and bore his child. But what David did displeased the Lord! (vs. 27).

Nathan Rebukes David (2 Samuel 12:1-14)  

So, the Lord sends Nathan to speak with David. He begins with a story about two men in a city, one was rich, and one was poor (vs. 1). The rich man had very large flocks and herds. The poor man, however, had nothing but one little ewe lamb which he bought and had her grow up together with his own children. The little lamb would eat at the poor man’s table and was like a daughter to the poor man and his family. Verse 4 says that a traveler came to town to visit the rich man, but he was not willing to take from his large herd a lamb for the visitor. Instead, he went next door and took the poor man’s little ewe lamb and dressed it for the guest.

David was absolutely enraged by the story and was angry at the rich man. He told Nathan the rich man will have to die for this decision and repay the poor man fourfold for that little ewe lamb for he had no compassion for the poor man nor his family. At this point, Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

The Lord reminds David of all the things he gave to him (vss. 7-8). He assures David that if that would not have been enough, He would have given him much more. He specifies that He gave David’s his master’s wives, all the houses of Israel of Judah. 

The Lord asks David why he has despised Him in such a way. He recounted for David that he had cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, had taken his wife to be your wife and you have killed Uriah with the sword of the Ammonites. 

He says these shall be David’s punishments. The sword shall never depart from his house. He says He will take his wives from him and give them to his companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did what you did in secret, but I will do this publicly. 

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” (vs. 13). But there was much more behind these words. David wrote Psalms 51 showing his complete acknowledgement and repentance of his sin. He prayed God would allow his son to live, but it was too late. Recall Solomon was next.

Next King is Born (2 Samuel 12:15-31)  

Samuel ties this bullet to the last by saying that Nathan went to his own house. The Lord keeps his promise to take David and Bathsheba’s first child that was conceived in the sins of adultery and murder. The child became very ill and David fasted and prostrated himself on the ground all night. This looks like another way of saying that David ripped his clothes, dressed in sackcloth, fasted and threw ashes on himself. This was the epidemy of demonstrating the utmost in personal pain and anguish for an event taking place. He maintained this ritual for several days: praying and crying to the Lord. But despite David’s efforts, the child died because of his sins. He got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, came into the house of the Lord and worshiped him. He left there and went to console Bathsheba. During the ministry to one another, they laid together, Bathsheba conceived her second son and gave birth to Solomon. 

The Lord loved Solomon and decided to give him another name: Jedidiah, meaning beloved of the Lord. This renaming of Solomon was a point of departure between God’s just punishments and God’s awesome love. He had just taken David’s son as born by David and Bathsheba, but the immediate departure from the just taking of David and Bathsheba’s first borne and the miraculous love He had and wanted to demonstrate for Solomon. God had just levied the most severe punishments He had given to most short of death. But the tender love He had for David had to be encouraged after the tremendously painful discouragement associated with the death of his son. 

Now God seems to be establishing a kind of new beginning and encouraging David to get out of where he was and turn to the new way of being. He does not remove the punishments He listed for David and Bathsheba nor does He reverse the warnings of trouble for David’s future. Warnings like “the sword will never depart from you house” and “your wives will be given to others publicly.” God’s strong love for Solomon and His belief that David is the man after God’s own heart, provide the evidence of God’s love transcending our failures.