1-OT 13 2 Samuel

Lesson #13 - 2 Samuel 2019 Before starting this lesson, read at least 2 Samuel, chapters 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 24. If possible read the whole book. You may find it helpful to read just the minimum chapters, go thru the lesson and then read the whole book. You will discover what works best for you. In the previous lesson, we looked at a chart that helped us think thru the entire Old Testament, using just 4 dates and 4 names. The line begins with 2000 BC, just as it ends with 2000 AD, to correspond to the time in which we live. Remember, we are dealing in round numbers to see the bigger picture. 2000 BC Abra ham 1400 s Mose 400 0 chi Mala s Jesu 1000 d Davi 2000 AD us The date 2000 BC is connected with Abraham - the time in which he lived. The date 1400 BC is when Moses lived. The year 1000 BC is the time of David. And 400 BC is the date for the prophet, Malachi. Memorize these 4 names and 4 dates and as you study and learn, you will be able to fit all the Old Testament together in chronological order. In our overview series, we are still in the Books of History. Ten years after David’s death, in 960 BC, Levite scribes went thru 180 years of historical documents. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they took out small parts of that history and created the book of Samuel – one long book. Some 7-800 years later, when the Hebrew text was translated into Greek, it was divided into 2 books, 1 and 2 Samuel (the LXX (Septuagint) in 280-180 BC). Levite historians record events as they happen Samuel, Saul, David 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 Levite scribes put parts of it into sacred writings 400 300 BC Book divided into 2 books Greek Translation Book of Samuel First Samuel is about Samuel, Saul and David, before he is king. Second Samuel is only about David as king, from 1010 to 975 BC. Because this is Jewish writing, events are arranged by topics. These topics become the OUTLINE Achievements of David 1-10 Failures of David 11-20 Additional facts about David 21-24 Each topic or division covers all 40 years while David is king. The achievements are during the entire 40 years. The failures are during the entire same 40 years. This means events are not in chronological order. As the book opens, David is living to the west in Ziklag, outside of Jewish territory. He has had to run for his life because during the last 2 years, king Saul has been determined to kill him. At first he was in hiding, but now that he is out of the country, his location is well known. The book also begins with an account of Saul’s death in 1010 BC. However the story in chapter 1 is completely different than the story in the previous chapter. In 1 Samuel chapter 31, Saul is mortally wounded in battle in the northern part of the nation – in Gilboa. He knows he will die within hours. His biggest fear is that the enemy will find him and torture him while he is still alive. To prevent this, Saul hastens his death by falling on his own sword. This is not suicide since he only has a few hours to live. It is a war situation and enemy torture is the issue. Chapter 31 is the true, historical account of how king Saul dies. Gilboa Shiloh Gibeah Gilgal MEDITERRANEAN SEA Ziklag Bethlehem Second Samuel, chapter 1, is about a soldier who runs away from the battle. As he leaves the battlefield, he finds the dead body of Saul. This gives him an idea. Removing Saul’s armband and crown, he travels 80 miles south, to Ziklag, and gives them to David. He tells David he killed the king, assuming David will reward him for getting rid of Saul. This is a scam. David not only sees thru the story, but also sees the potential danger. If this man is lying about Saul’s death now, later on he could lie again, claiming David hired him to kill Saul. However, rather than accusing him of lying, David accuses him of treason and commands he be killed immediately. By this time, many of the Jewish people know David is to be the next king. They expect he will rejoice with the news that Saul is dead. But rather than gloating, David grieves. He leads the nation in mourning the death of their first king. David shows respect for Saul because God had appointed him to be their king. Because of this response, even those who supported Saul and his family eventually want David to be king. EA N AN IT ER R M ED By this time, in 1010 BC, the Jews have been in the land for almost 400 years. Yet there are still descendants of the Canaanites who control a city named Jebus. It is built on the crest of a mountain ridge protected by valleys around it. David conquers this city and renames it Jerusalem. It is here he sets up his capital and is king over all of Israel for the next 33 years. Both Jerusalem, his capital and Bethlehem, his hometown, become known as the city of David. Bethlehem was just 6 miles south of Jerusalem. SE A Chapter 5:4-5 give a summary of David’s political achievements. He is 30 years old when he becomes king. He begins as king over his own clan or tribe of Judah. He lives and rules from Hebron, some 14 miles southwest of Bethlehem, his hometown. He is king only in the south for 7½ years. But then, all the nation accepts him as king. Shiloh Jerusalem Jebus Hebron David's Kingdom Up to this time, Jerusalem has seldom been mentioned in Scripture. Originally it was called Salem, which means peace. Back in 2000 BC, the king was a godly man named Melchizedek. He met with Abraham and blessed him. Over the centuries it became known as Jeru-shalem, meaning foundation of the pagan god Shalem. It was controlled by the Canaanites. Then around 1390 BC it was conquered by Joshua. Both the tribes of Benjamin and Judah claimed it because it was on their boundary line. When they lost control, Judah burned it. By 1325 BC, Canaanite Jebusites rebuilt the city and this is when they named it Jebus. David finally conquers it in 1003 BC and names it Jerusalem, foundation of peace. Since then, the Jews have considered it their capital when they controlled all or part of the land. SYRIA A TI AMMON IS IL PH MOAB EDOM David’s political achievements explain how he becomes king over the nation of Israel. David’s military achievements explain how the Jews posses more of the land God had promised to them. He conquers the Syrians to the north, the Philistines to the west and the Ammonites to the northeast. Even Moab and Edom in the southeast pay tribute or tax to David. These achievements are wonderful, but the greatest are his spiritual achievements. One of them involves the tabernacle or moveable temple the Jews had built in the days of Moses. But to appreciate what David accomplished, we need to have the history of the tabernacle. When the Jews entered the Promised Land, they put the tabernacle in a town called Shiloh in the center of the land. It then became known as the house of the Lord or the Lord’s temple. The ark of the covenant was the most important part of it. It was a wooden chest, covered with gold, 4 x 2 feet and 2 feet high. It represented God’s presence. For 250 years, during the time of the judges, this place of worship was ignored by God’s people. They preferred to worship their own gods in their own ways in their own places. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. During the next 50 years, Eli was judge and the head priest at the Lord’s temple. Just before his death, the Jewish army went to war against the enemy. Being fearful, they took the ark out of the Lord’s temple and carried it with them into battle. Page 2 Because this was against God’s laws, God allowed the enemy to win the battle and capture the ark. The Philistine army took it to the temples in their land, thinking it would bring them power and good luck. Instead, God struck them with bubonic plague. The idols in their temples fell down and had to be picked up. They moved it to 3 different towns with always the same results. After 7 months, the Philistines had enough and returned the ark to the Jews, at the nearest border town. It stayed in the home of a Levite family for the next 70 years. (see note at end of lesson) Ark Shiloh Temple furniture Gibeon Jerusalem PH IL IS TI A Meanwhile, the rest of the furniture at the house of the Lord also gets moved. Several years after the ark was taken, the town of Shiloh was attacked. The priests took everything movable 20 miles to the south to a place called Nob and created a new house of the Lord. Later, when that town was attacked, everything moveable was taken 3 miles north to a place called Gibeon. Once again the house of the Lord was set up. Putting this history together we find the ark, representing God’s presence, is at the home of the Levite. According to Zondervan Encyclopedia, this ark has been separated from the house of the Lord where the Jews worship, for 70 years. That’s amazing. But even more amazing is that God’s people do not care. As long as they can have their ceremonies, it does not matter that God’s presence, represented by the ark, is no longer with them. David was different. Even tho God was speaking to him thru the prophets, he wanted God’s presence with him in the capital. So in the 3rd year of his kingship in Jerusalem, David builds a special tent for the ark. It would have 2 rooms like the one that Moses built. After this, David, the Levites, priests and people go to the home of the Levite, 9 miles north-west of Jerusalem to get the ark. But there is a problem. David and the Levites forget to read what God said about moving it. It could only be carried on the shoulders of 4 Levites using the 2 horizontal poles on the sides of the ark. Instead, David moves the ark in a brand new cart pulled by oxen. After going about 7 miles, the animals stumble. Because it looks like the ark will fall off the cart, a man reaches out to hold it. Just as he touches the ark, God kills him. To us, this does not seem fair, so let’s find out why God kills him. The ark has been in this man’s family home for over 70 years. In other words, it was there when he was born. Because he is a Levite, he had been taught from early childhood about its importance and holiness. The Levites could not touch the ark; they could only move it with the poles at the side. Now as an older man with life-long knowledge about the ark, he does not use that knowledge. First of all, he does not speak up to say the ark should be carried on the shoulders of the Levites. Then he actually touches the ark. Our Gentile, western culture sees his action as an automatic reflex. He thinks it is going to fall, so he puts out his hand to protect it. Why would God kill him for that? But this is not western culture; it is the Middle East and Jewish culture. Jews believe that which represents Yahweh has the power of Yahweh. This means God has power to take care of Himself. When the Levite reaches out to protect the ark, it shows his concept of God. He thinks God is powerless and needs to be protected from falling. He has come to think of Yahweh as being the same as the pagan gods. When they fell down, they had to be picked up. So now he thinks Yahweh God needs to be helped. When a spiritual leader thinks God is powerless or like all the other gods, he is no longer worthy to be leader. He is guilty of blasphemy and the punishment for blasphemy was death. That is why God takes his life prematurely. He is not killed for the touching itself, but for what the touch represented - I am saving God. That is blasphemy. David realizes it is his fault. He meant well, but for a holy God to accept his love and worship, he, David, must be holy. He must show his love and worship for God in God’s way. Even tho they are only 2 miles from Jerusalem, David leaves the ark in a nearby home of another Levite. He knows he must spiritually prepare himself and find out how God wants this done. After 3 months, when he hears God has blessed the Levite’s home, he again decides to move the ark. This time he follows God’s instructions and Levites carry it on their shoulders into Jerusalem and place it in the tent. The ark, representing God’s presence, is now in the capital where David is king. He wants it there to say, I am king in name, but God is our real king. David also wants the ark in Jerusalem so people can worship God together as a nation. Page 3 It is hard to imagine, but up to this time, music was never used in Jewish worship. So David invents and builds musical instruments. He writes music to be played on them. He chooses a Levite family clan and appoints them to permanently be responsible for Jewish music and worship. At first David writes the words and music for the Levites to sing as choirs. But as they develop in their ministry, they become the ones specifically chosen to write the music, play or sing for Jewish holy days, celebrations and worship. A Psalterion Question Answer Statement Refrain Statement Paraphrase CHOIR CHOIR David, being a musician, created a variety of choir music. Usually it was antiphonal music with 2 choirs facing each other. Sometimes he wrote a song or Psalm with one choir asking a question and the other gives the answer Who is the King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Psa. 24 Created responsorial Psalm & liturgy Sometimes one choir sang a series of statements and the other gave the response to each one. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good - - - His mercy endures forever Psa. 136 To Him who alone does great wonders - - - His mercy endures forever Other times David wrote Psalms with one choir singing a particular thought and the other repeats it with similar words. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psa. 27 David developed Jewish worship and music. He created the responsorial Psalm and liturgy. Three thousand years later, his ideas still affect our music and worship. The core of our church liturgy is from David. The words we say or sing in the responsorial psalm are the actual words of David. Bringing the ark to Jerusalem and developing Jewish worship and liturgy were part of David’s spiritual achievements. However, his greatest spiritual achievement was not what he did for God, but what God did for him. In chapter 7, David says he wants to build a house for God, meaning a big temple; but in verse 16, God says He will build David’s house, meaning his family line. God is speaking to David. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever. 7:16 God is making an unconditional promise. There will always be a line of David and there will be an eternal king. Jesus came the first time in human form from the line of David in order to continue the line of David. And it is Jesus who has the eternal throne. We have looked at David’s political, military and spiritual ACHIEVEMENTS. If we could stop here, it would be a perfect story. But 2 Samuel also tells of David’s FAILURES. The one we think of first is David’s sin with Bathsheba. It happens after he has been king for 17 years. God wanted this story in the Bible for 3 reasons. 1. To show human nature as it really is. Second Samuel is the biography of a deeply spiritual man; a man after God’s own heart. He has been good, kind and generous. If David had been told he would break 3 of God’s 10 commandments, he would have said, Impossible. I would never dream of doing those things. And yet he did! The story of David and Bathsheba is in the Bible to show how deceitful our human nature can be. Even godly people, when they desperately want something, can think, that wrong is okay, at least this time. God’s rules do not apply to me, in this case. We can disobey without any consequences because God will understand. After all, He wants us to be happy. This story is in the Bible to prove the deceitfulness of human nature. 2. To prove that God wrote the Bible. Many people think the Bible is myth and legend, written to glamorize Jewish history. If this were true, the story of David and Bathsheba would never have been included. The Jews would not want the world to know their greatest spiritual hero, broke 3 of the 10 commandments. The fact the story is in the Bible proves God is the final author of Scripture. He determined what should and should not be included. Page 4 3. To show God’s forgiveness and restoration. After David’s repentance, God continues to use and bless him. He is king for 23 more years. Augustine, back in 400 AD, puts it so beautifully when he writes, David’s fall should put on guard all who have not fallen and save from despair all who have fallen. Chapter 11 gives us the details of David’s sin. First are the steps that led to his disobedience. The chapter begins, In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 11:1 David should have been with the army. He is in the wrong place, which immediately makes him open to temptation. The chapter goes on to say he sees a woman bathing. He then inquires who she is, sends for her, takes her and sleeps with her. Next are the steps to hide the sin. A few weeks later, Bathsheba sends word she is pregnant. She does this because God’s laws for the Jews in the Old Testament said anyone guilty of adultery must be killed. Once people know she is pregnant, they will know she is guilty because her husband has been with the army all of this time. Bathsheba tells David so he will protect her. But David has a problem of his own. God’s law says that not only the woman, but also the man should be killed. If David protects her by claiming responsibility, he also should die. If he ignores her, she is apt to talk and cause a national scandal. Either way, David is in trouble. The deceitfulness of his human nature tells him to cover it up. So he brings her husband back and hopes he will go home and sleep with his wife. Everyone will then assume he is the father of the child. But the husband refuses to go home. This is not coincidence. God does this so David cannot get away with his sin. When David sees his first plan does not work, he goes to plan B. David sends him back to the army with a note. He tells the general to put him in the most dangerous spot on the front lines, so he will be killed. The general obeys and soon David gets the news Bathsheba’s husband has died in battle. While David does not personally murder this man, God holds him responsible for his death. After the required 7 days of mourning, David marries Bathsheba, hoping no one will know they committed adultery. During all the months of pregnancy, God says absolutely nothing to David. And David says nothing to God. Because David is a man after God’s own heart, David is miserable. His conscience is so troubled that he loses his health. David describes this time in his Psalms 32 and 38. After the baby is born, Nathan the prophet comes and with a parable, brings the sin out in the open. David responds, yes, I have sinned against God. By saying this, he admits he deserves to be put to death. This is why God says, You will not die, but there will be 3 consequences that can never be changed. • Because David was responsible for the bloodshed of Bathsheba’s husband, there will be constant bloodshed in his family during his lifetime. • David took Bathsheba in secret; his son will take his concubines publicly. In those days, when one king replaced another, he tried to get the wife or concubines of the previous king. This gave him legitimacy. So when David’s son Absalom leads a military coup, he takes David’s concubines and sleeps with them. He thinks it will give him the kingship. • The 3rd consequence of David’s sin is that while David will not die, the baby that has just been born will die. The baby dies in David’s place. God forgives and restores David, but He does not remove the consequences of his disobedience. David accepts the punishment and genuinely repents. Page 5 The word repent in the Bible means a change of mind that produces a change of direction. It has nothing to do with our emotions. It is a use of our mind and our will. A change of mind that produces a change of direction. As soon as the prophet leaves, David writes Psalm 51, his words of repentance. In summary he says, what I did was wrong, it was evil and it was sin. God was fair to send consequences. David then prays for purity and that he will be firm in his obedience. This is the kind of repentance that God desires. David also asks God not to take the Holy Spirit from him even tho he disobeyed. God answered his prayer because of his genuine repentance. The Holy Spirit continued over or on him the rest of his life. Because David saw the greatness of his sin, he realized the greatness of God’s forgiveness and mercy. In Psalm 32, when he told of his lost health, he also writes about the wonder of God’s forgiveness. He tells of the joy and relief he experienced. David’s most obvious failure was his sin with Bathsheba. But he also ignores the sins of his adult sons. His oldest son raped a half-sister. His third oldest led a military coup against him. David, as God’s leader of God’s people, was responsible to enforce God’s laws. The sins of his sons carried the death penalty. But David says and does nothing. He is afraid to deal with their sins because of his own sin. However, if he had confronted them and they had truly repented, there would have been mercy for them as there had been for David. But David did not confront them. The end of the book, chapters 21-24, tell about ADDITIONAL EVENTS during David’s reign. There is a puzzling statement in chapter 24:1. Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. He, God, incited David against them, saying, Go and count Israel and Judah. Remember, this is the Jewish style of writing. Putting it into the writing style of our culture, the verse would say, Again God responded to the disobedience of Israel. He allowed Satan to tempt David… To understand this verse, we need to understand the background. The northern part of the nation rebelled against David and followed Absalom his son. In doing this, the nation was rebelling against God, because David had been the one chosen by God. So the nation was at fault. But David was also at fault. His first reaction was to turn to his army rather than first turning to God It is to this situation that God is responding - to the nation’s rebellion and to David’s beginning pride. So God allows Satan to tempt David to reveal his pride and self sufficiency (see 1 Chron. 21:1) Satan suggests, Why not actually number the troops so you can be sure you have enough men? If David had been relying on God, he would have thought, Whether a lot of men or few, if God wants me to go to battle, He will give me the victory. But instead, David finds it appealing that he can handle the situation himself. As soon as he gets the number of the troops, David knows his motive for wanting that number was wrong. God’s prophet then comes and says there will be consequences. God sends 3 days of plague and 70,000 Jewish people die. This presents even more of a problem for us. How can God be fair to kill so many people? There is no chapter and verse that gives us the exact reason. David, however, assures us in Psalm 145:17, The Lord is right in all His ways…. Chapter 24:1 said God was going to judge the people who were rebelling, so it is reasonable to think the death of the 70,000 is His judgment on them. He knew who the rebellious were. He sent the plague and therefore could control that only the rebellious died by the plague. As the angel of death approaches Jerusalem, God stops the plague. Thru one of the prophets, David is instructed to buy the threshing floor, the piece of property where the plague stopped. David goes to the owner, buys the land and builds an altar. He offers sacrifices for the sins of the people and for his own sin. Later on, David tells Solomon he should build God’s temple on this exact spot. It becomes the location of Solomon’s temple as well as the temple in the New Testament. This same threshing floor today is part of the Temple mount in Jerusalem next to the Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock. Orthodox Jews believe that in some way God is going to intervene so one day they can rebuild their temple on that exact spot of the threshing floor. Page 6 While all of this is Jewish history, we can also learn so much about God and how He works In the last lesson we saw that God can never accept or enjoy our worship until first there is obedience. The same concept is also in this lesson. Because God is holy, He cannot accept or enjoy our worship until there is holiness in our lives. This is why churches who still use liturgy, do not start their service with worship but with confession of sin. It is called the penitential rite. Almighty and most merciful Father, I have erred and strayed from Your ways like a lost sheep. I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart. I have offended against Your holy laws, I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, And have done those things which I ought not to have done. But You, O Lord, have mercy upon me. Spare those who confess their faults, restore those who are penitent, according to Your promises which You declared in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake, that I may hereafter live a godly, righteous and self-controlled life, to the glory of Your holy name. This is confession of the congregation, so that then, they can worship in a way that honors God. On an individual basis, when we enter the church, the sanctuary, and sit or kneel down, we should ask God to forgive us and purify our life. Only then can our worship bring joy to God’s heart. David shows us God is holy. He also shows us God is fair and just. When we disobey, there will always be consequences. God is a God of grace and mercy. If we genuinely repent, there is forgiveness and restoration However this does not mean we can do what we want because there is always forgiveness. If we abuse God’s mercy and grace, God will forgive when we ask, but there will also be lasting wounds and scars. There will be things that can never be changed because of the wrong choices we deliberately made. Finally David teaches us an essential truth about ourselves No matter how godly we are or how much we love God, we are still capable of any sin in the book. Satan will tempt us at our weakest point. Our greatest protection is to know the weakness of human nature and how much we need God. We have to not only read His Word, but also listen with the intention of obeying. EXTRA INFORMATION FOR THE STUDIOUS AND INQUISITIVE The ark of the covenant was separated from the House of God for about 70 years – in the home of a priest. 20 years during the judgeship of Samuel 1070 - 1020 1 Sam. 7:2 40 years during the kingship of Saul 1050 – 1010 1 Chron. 13:3 7 ½ years – while David was king in Hebron 2 Sam. 5:5 2-3 years minimum – while David conquered and developed the city of Jebus into the capital of Jerusalem 2 Sam. 5:6-10 God promises to bless David’s son, who will become king after him. If the son goes astray, God will discipline him. Typical of Jewish prophecy, part of God’s promise is for that generation and part is for the distant future. The part about potential failure is about David’s son, Solomon. The part about an eternal king and family line is about Jesus. The question is often asked, could Bathsheba have refused? In this case I think the answer is yes. Both David and Bathsheba were very godly people. If Bathsheba had sent word with the messengers saying, Because you are king, I know this should be an honor. But both of us love God. We would dishonor Him by breaking His rules. Because of David’s godliness, it would have awakened his spiritual sensitivity. David would have realized her words were from God to keep him from doing wrong. (He had already experienced this with Abigail). Because she does not say anything, both David and Bathsheba are equally guilty. Page 7