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The second book of Samuel
describes the enthronement of God’s king, David, and the establishment of the “House
of David” through which the Messiah, Jesus Christ, should later come. When Christ
comes again, He will sit upon the throne of David (
Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:32). This book is occupied with the history of
David as king (
2 Samuel 5:3). In
1 Samuel we saw the testing days of
David. He was called from the sheepfold (
1
Samuel 16:11-13), he had victory over Goliath (
1 Samuel 17) and he was persecuted by Saul (
1 Samuel 18). After the results of Gilboa when both Saul the king
and Jonathan his beloved friend lay dead, David naturally desire to know what
was to be the next step. So David sought guidance of God (
2 Samuel 2:1). This is an important principle we need to implement
in our life. When tough decisions come in our way, we need to bow down before
God and seek his guidance.
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David inquired of God where he
should set up his kingdom, and God told him in Hebron. No sooner had David gone
up to the city, than the men of Judah came and anointed him king over the house
of Judah. The men of Judah who came to meet David were probably the elders of
his own tribe. They came to elect him as king, and although he had been
anointed privately by Samuel to indicate that God had chosen him, it was natural
and necessary to repeat the anointing in public as the outward and visible inauguration
of his reign. However, David’s kingship was not acknowledged by all of the
people. Abner, the captain of Saul’s army, at once took steps to appoint Saul’s
son to take his place. Civil war followed, but finally everything turned to
David and he was made king of all Israel. He reigned 40 years in all, including
7.5 years in Hebron over Judah and 33 years in Jerusalem over the whole land.
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The war between the house of Saul and the
house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the
house of Saul grew weaker and weaker (
2
Samuel 3:1). The cause of its weakness was that God was against it. The first
concern of David when he settled in Jerusalem was bringing up the Ark of Covenant
(
2 Samuel 6). He called Nathan the prophet
and consulted him about building a temple for Jehovah. At first it seemed as
though God would let him do this, but God had a different purpose for David (
2 Samuel 7:4-17). Under David’s rule
Israel reached its high mark. It had been called Israel’s golden age. When Israel
was right with God, it was invincible against all odds.
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In all of God’s word no chapter
is more tragic or fuller of warning for the child of God than
2 Samuel 11. It tells the story of
David’s fall. God forgave him but the word says, “
The sword will never depart from your house”
2 Samuel 12:10. He reaped just what he had sown. Look over the
steps in David’s fall. First, he was idle (
2
Samuel 11:1-2). It was the time for a king to go to war, but he was not
there. He remained in Jerusalem in the place of temptation. When we don’t do
our respective job, there is a chance of sin to come over us. Next, “
David sent someone to find out about her”
(
2 Samuel 11:3). He makes inquiry
about this woman and then he took her (
2
Samuel 11:4). He brings her to his house. He forgets what is due to the
faithful soldier whose wife she is. But the next step is far worse – his sin
against Uriah, one of the bravest of his soldiers. He must get rid of him. He makes
Joab his confidant in sin, his partner in murder.
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Never neglect watching and
praying. An hour’s sleep left Samson at the mercy of Delilah. Don’t fool with
one sin even in thought. Nathan visited David and charged him with the sin. We
read of David’s sincere repentance (
Psalm
51). God told David that his child should die because of his sin (
2 Samuel 12: 13-32). The death of his
child was a grievous sorrow to David, but the living sorrow he endured through
his beloved son Absalom is unimaginable. Through a spy system, Absalom did
fraud and stole the kingdom from his father. When David left Jerusalem, Absalom
gathered his army in Hebron and marched triumphantly into the city. Finally David
prepared for battle with Absalom. During the fray, Absalom was caught by his
ling hair in the trees of the forest.
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After the rebellion was crushed, King
David returned to his kingdom. We see yet another sin by David in numbering the
people, because God had not told him to. The land was punished with a 3 day
pestilence. He gathered great provisions for building the temple and directed
his son Solomon to build it. David was only 70 years old when he died.
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His great spirit is revealed to
us in the psalms that he wrote. But he sinned. The story does not end here,
because he repented (
Psalm 51). David
took a chaotic nation and established a dynasty that was to last to the time of
the captivity, a period of more than 450 years. The last verses of
2 Samuel 24:18-25 tell of king David’s
buying Araunah’s threshing floor. He erected an alter there. This has special
significance, for on this site the great temple of Solomon was later built. On this
sacred spot today stands the Dome of the Rock, one of the most important
Islamic mosques in the world.
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The greatness of your spiritual
power is the measure of your surrender. David was a man after God’s own heart –
not because of boasted perfection, but because of confessed imperfections. He hid
himself in God. May the Spirit of God help you to confess your sins and guide
you to live carefully a life of holiness to glorify Christ Jesus.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” – 1 John 1:9.