Introduction to 2 Samuel

David’s life and reign is an example of how sin ruins lives and destroys potential.  If we were to compare the sins of Saul with the sins of David; we would surely come to the conclusion that David’s sins were far more serious.  However, the greatest difference between the two was how they responded to their sin when confronted.  When Samuel confronted Saul, he was full of excuses and tried to justify himself.  When Nathan confronted David, he was full of repentance and humbled himself before the Lord.  David’s life is also an example that sin, even though forgiven, still has consequences.  David repented of his sin and God forgave him but David’s life from that point forward was not the same.  He suffered great heartache and shame but he did continue to trust and worship the Lord through all of the twists and trials of his life.  The life of David should motivate us to avoid sin in our lives; but it should also encourage us to repent when we fall into sin instead of trying to justify our actions.  We may still suffer under the consequences of sin, but we will continue to enjoy fellowship with the Lord.

DAVID REIGNS AND EXPANDS THE KINGDOM: David’s early reign is marked by graciousness, humility and astounding success.  When David is informed of Saul’s death we would have expected for him to rejoice over the death of the man who had been trying to kill him.  However, just the opposite is true.  Instead of celebrating, David mourns the death of Israel’s king and his dear friend Jonathan and praises the men who bravely recovered and buried their bodies.  The southern tribes of Israel immediately recognize David as king while the northern tribes name Saul’s surviving son as king.  David is given victory over Ish-bosheth and ends up securing the kingdom other all of Israel but he mourns the death of his enemies in humility and graciousness.  These qualities are vital for leaders to display as they truly unite people behind their leaders.  Our image of leadership is often one of arrogance and confidence, but we all know that we would much rather follow a gracious and humble man.  God continues to bless David as his kingdom expands through numerous victories over thee Philistines and the surrounding nations.  David seems invincible and the nations truly begin to fear David and his mighty warriors.  David brings the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem and worships God for all his blessings.  David expresses a desire to build a temple but God reveals to him that his son would be the one to do this job and in the midst of this conversation God establishes a covenant with David that the right to reign over Israel would always remain with his family.  Ultimately this promise is and will be fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.  David continues to expand the kingdom and also shows one of the kindest acts recorded in Scripture by inviting Jonathan’s crippled son Mephibosheth to live with him and restores all of Saul’s land to him.  While most kings would have killed a potential threat to his kingdom, David shows kindness.  This type of character and kindness is why David was so well loved and so blessed by God in his reign and why his kingdom was expanded to its largest borders under his leadership.

DAVID REBELS AND EXPERIENCES THE CONSEQUENCES: Without a doubt, David is one of the heroes of Scripture.  However, Scripture is always faithful to tell the truth about men even though it may not be very flattering.  Instead of going out to war with the rest of the army, David decides to stay in the palace alone.  Idleness and solitude are a very dangerous combination.  He sees a beautiful woman bathing from his rooftop and his heart is filled with lust for her.  He acts upon that lust and commits adultery with her.  When he finds out she is pregnant he calls her husband back from the war in an attempt to have him go be with his wife so they won’t be discovered.  When Uriah refuses to go home while his comrades are in the field of battle, David has him killed so he can make her his wife.  When David is confronted by Nathan over his sin he immediately recognizes his rebellion, repents and asks for God’s forgiveness.  God does forgive him but there are many consequences that he suffers.  The first consequence was the death of the child who was born to Bathsheba.  David pleads with God for his son to be spared but God takes his life.  Then David’s sons demonstrate that a father’s sin will often open the door for his sons to sin even more.  Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar and then sends her away in hatred.  Absalom, Tamar’s full brother seethes with anger at what was done as well as at the fact that David did nothing to punish Amnon.  Eventually, Absalom takes matters into his own hands and kills his half-brother and then flees from his father.  David eventually brings him home but refuses to see him.  Absalom’s heart is full of bitterness and he begins to promote himself and attempts to take the kingdom from his father.  David flees for his life and Absalom violates his father’s concubines in public and the goes out to try to defeat David and his army.  David’s own family and the majority of the nation turns on David, but those who were loyal to him defeated Absalom and yet another one of David’s sons was killed.  We can choose to sin but we cannot choose what the consequences of our sin will be.  The consequences of sin will always outweigh any passing pleasure sin might afford.    

DAVID RETURNS AND EXPRESSES HIS GRATITUDE: David returns to Jerusalem and once again demonstrates great sorrow over the death of his enemy and great grace towards those who had been disloyal to him.  He does not seek for revenge and he does not question God’s judgment.  He recognizes that he was responsible for what had happened to him and did not try to shift the blame to others.  Instead of being vengeful and bitter; David expresses his gratitude to the Lord for all that He has done restore the kingdom.  David is faithful to worship the Lord even in the face of great hardship and discipline.  We often have a tendency to justify our sinful actions or make excuses for them and then we doubt and question God when we face circumstances that are not to our liking.  David did not fall into this trap of self-righteousness and doubting God.  This is the stark contrast between David and Saul.  Unfortunately, David’s sinfulness was not at an end and he forced Joab and his men to take a census of the nation.  This was clearly forbidden by God and Joab did his best to dissuade David but he insisted of counting the size of his army instead of simply trusting in God provision and protection.  David’s conscience is once again stricken and he repents but God makes it clear that there will be a price to pay.  David accepts his discipline and chooses to fall into the hands of God instead of the hands of his enemies when God gives him a choice of consequences.  Thousands of people are killed in a plague from God.  David’s only response was to plead with God to spare the people and take his own life.  David, once again, assumes his own guilt and submits to the Lord’s punishment.  Once the plague is over David offers a sacrifice to the Lord as an act of worship.  There is much we can learn from the life of David about what we should not do.  His sins were great and grievous.  However, we can learn a great deal from David’s life about true repentance.  It is greatly displeasing to the Lord when we try to excuse our sin or when we question God about the consequences of our sin.  Too often we allow self-righteousness, bitterness and a sense of entitlement to mark our hearts and lives and we end up walking away from God.  David is a great example of genuine repentance and a commitment to worship God in the face of discipline.  David had a keen recognition of his own sinful heart and a deep reverence for God’s holiness and sovereignty.