Through The Bible

Session #11 – 2^nd Samuel

March 6, 2002

Remember, we said 1^st & 2^nd Samuel really 1 book – divided by Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament).

Authorship – Samuel, Nathan, Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29).

Thing to remember about 1^st Samuel – Early Monarchy (story of Samuel & Saul).

Thing to remember about 2^nd Samuel – David.

An Outline of 2^nd Samuel

Transition of leadership from Saul to David (2 Samuel 1:1-8:18)

• Saul dies in battle, David mourns and kills the Amalekite who killed Saul but also brought word of Saul’s death (1:1-27)

• David reigns over Judah (2:1-4:12)

- The kingdom of David first established at Hebron (2:3)

- David’s reign not initially unified because Abner set up Ishbaal – Saul’s son – as king and he reigned for 2 years (2:8-11)

- David’s military leader – Joab – and Ishbaal’s military leader – Abner – met at pool of Gibeon. Joab’s men beat Abner’s (2:12-17)

- Asahel is killed by Abner (2:18-23)

- Abner takes Saul’s concubine, Rizpah, and Abner is insulted that Ishbaal questions him about it (3:1-11)

- Abner defects to David for the price of Michal (3:12-21) while Michal’s first husband laments that she is being given to David

- Joab is critical of David accepting Abner and kills him because Abner killed Joab’s brother Asahel (3:22-28)

- David curses Joab’s household (3:29)

- Ishbaal is assassinated by Rechab and Baanah and they bring Ishbaal’s head to David. David had them killed (4:1-12)

• David reigns over all Israel (5:1-8:18)

- David is anointed as king over all Israel at the age of 30. He reigned 40 years; 7 years at Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem (5:3)

- David makes Jerusalem the capital (5:6-16)

- David fights the Philistines twice and defeats them twice (5:17-25)

- David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (6:1-23) amid criticism from Michal and Uzzah’s death for touching the ark to steady it.

- David has international peace from enemies and looks to build a house for God (7:1-3)

- Nathan tells David it’s not for him to build the Temple (7:4-17)

- A prayer of David (7:18-29)

- David attacks various neighbors (8:1-14)

- Zadok served as priest for David – Pharisees trace their origin to Zadok (8:17)

The Succession Narrative (9:1-20:26)

• David’s kindness to Mephibosheth (9:1-13)
• David faces the Syrians and Ammonites (10:1-19)
• David and Bathsheba (11:1-12:31)
• Ammon rapes Tamar (13:1-22)
• Absalom avenges his sister’s rape (13:23-39)
• Absalom returns to court (14:1-33)
• Absalom steals the throne (15:1-18:33)
• David takes the throne back (19:1-40)
• Sheba leads an Israelite revolt (19:41-20:26)

David’s final chapters (21:1-24:25)

• Gibeonites execute Saul’s sons and their bones are brought back (21:1-14)
• Philistines renew the war (21:15-22)
• David gives thanks (22:1-51)
• David’s last words (23:1-7)
• David’s mighty men (23:8-39)
• David takes a census (24:1-17)
• David builds an altar (24:18-25)

What should we learn from David’s story?

There is an excellent book on David & 2^nd Samuel written by Eugene Peterson, Leap Over A Wall (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997).

The David stories are “earthy.” Peterson writes, “The David stories formed the basic groundplan for learning about and understanding what it meant to grow up human and Christian. In those stories, the two words – human and Christian – became synonyms” (p. 2).

Story as God’s revelation to us.

• Importance of story: There are other forms of writing in Scripture: liturgy, poetry, sermons, genealogy – but story holds it all together.
• David’s story is the most extensive we have – we know more about him than most any other person in Scripture.
• David’s story isn’t abstract. It’s full of the everyday triumph and tragedy we all experience.

What do the stories of David teach us?

• Dealing with God – being in relationship with God.
• Dealing with children, spouses, sickness, rejection, heartache, and sexuality. But primarily, we must come back in David’s story to his dealing with God.
• David’s story is not a polished ideal to which we aspire, it’s a rough-edged story about grown as a person in relationship to God.
• Hungering for God – we see in David’s story about his hungers: sex, power, security, and fame. But no matter how these other hungers are satisfied, his hunger for God is the fuel that keeps him going.