Samuel 11:1-27 - When Kings Go Out to Battle

2 Samuel 11:1-27

David, Bathsheba, and Uriah

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

11 And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

12 Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 23 And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”

25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.”

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

It was spring and the time for kings to go out to battle after the cold winter had passed and wars had to be won for their honor kingdom.  King David did something foolish, however, in that he stayed home in Jerusalem with too much time on his hands as he wandered about the king’s house while sending others out to fight for him.  He ambled to the roof where he looked down and observed a very beautiful woman bathing, and then went too far.  Instead of turning away, he fixated on her beauty and then began to desire her for himself to have a conquest of his own as general Joab and the army were making conquests over the Ammonites.  He misused his royal authority to find out who she was and the had the woman brought to his place to sleep with her, all the while knowing she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and not his to do this with.  She got pregnant and told David this.  Instead of confessing his sin (he was surely safe from retaliation because he was the king), David had Uriah sent to the front lines to die since he could not cover up the deed with the good soldier refusing to sleep with his wife when he felt obligated to be fighting in the battle with his fellow soldiers and not enjoying eating and drinking and lying with his wife as they were unable to do.  To add to the injustice of insult to injury, David wrote a letter to his general Joab and sent it by the very hand of Uriah whom he planned to be sent to the front and left to die unprotected.  When the man was killed by archers, David whitewashed the affair to Joab by telling him these things happen as “the sword devours one as well as another,” and told him to just take the city in battle as if this event was nothing to rattle his conscience for his part.  When Bathsheba finished mourning her husband, David sent for her and made her his wife and had a son by her.  Of course, this whole affair greatly displeased the LORD and consequences would follow.  We learn from this not to break up the marriage of another for your own desires, especially as a Christian who should be engaged in the good fight (2 Timothy 2:2, 3-4) instead of idly wandering into fleshly desires (1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Peter 2:11, 2 Timothy 2:21-22) that entice us and lead into (James 1:14-15) sin.  This temptation faces us all and we are to keep God’s word foremost in mind and continually be about our Father’s business to avoid the flesh and its consequences as we put others before our own desires and love the Lord with all we have instead of following the path that king David took.  Even so, there is forgiveness and reconciliation to be men and women after God’s own heart as he was called even after this epic failure.  There is hope in repentance and restoration, but there are also severe consequences for such actions.  May we remember that when kings go out to battle we should also be engaged and not allow idle hands lead us astray like the good king.

2 Samuel 10:1-19 - Meet Dishonor with Honor

2 Samuel 10:1-19

The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated (1 Chronicles 19:1–19)

1 It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob twelve thousand men. 7 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. 8 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

9 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 10 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. 11 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”

13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 14 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem.

15 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. 16 Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam. And Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. 17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. 18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. 19 And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.

King David sought an honorable peace with Ammon because he knew Nahash the father of Hanun and wanted to repay the father’s kindness shown to him in the past.  Unfortunately. The honor David extended was met with cynical rejection as if the king of Israel was spying on them to get some kind of advantage for attack.  This paranoid reaction led to dishonoring the servants David sent back in humility, dishonor and shame returned for sincere honor.  This dishonorable people of Ammon realized they had awakened vengeance on themselves by this dishonorable conduct and quickly hired over thirty thousand soldiers from Syria to supposedly gain the advantage for battle.  Joab led the army of David and soundly trounced the invading forces of Ammon with their Syrian mercenaries.  The Syrians saw their defeat and ran away and the Ammonite forces followed like cowards on their heels.  The Syrians then regathered to attack because they had been dishonored in running from battle but were soundly defeated by Israel once more and ended up becoming servants of God’s people after losing many in battle.  They did not help Ammon anymore after that, no matter the price offered, for their honor was compromised and Israel was shown to be honorable and therefore victorious over those who wronged them as Ammon did.  The lesson here is to submit in honor to one another (Psalm 34:14, Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:14, 18-19, 2 Corinthians 13:7, 1 Peter 3:11) and not be cynical or reject honorable offers of peace from others, whether at a national or personal level, and not act dishonorably.  We are to meet dishonor with godly honor to reflect the love, mercy, and grace of God shown us in Christ. 

Samuel 9:1-13 - Honoring Covenant Faithfulness

2 Samuel 9:1-13

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

1 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?”

And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

David acknowledged that Saul was once the anointed of God put on the throne by Him and who only lost that position due to disobedience and dishonoring to Him.  Because of his oath to the king’s son Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:42), he sought to find a survivor of the lineage of Saul to show God’s kindness towards.  This word kindness means “covenant faithfulness” as well, demonstrating David was keeping his covenant promise to Jonathan to provide for his descendants always after his death.  A servant of Saul named Ziba told david there was a lame  son of Jonathan called Mephibosheth still alive, and the king sent for him to live with him and be taken care of, even eating at the king’s table, a high honor indeed because it made him equal to one of the king’s own sons.  This son of his best friend may have been unable to walk on his own with two lame feet, but he walked tall in the presence of the king in such undeserved grace.  We also are totally undeserving of God’s grace and honor, yet He has adopted us as His own sons and daughters to sit with Him and dine in His divine presence both now at every Lord’s Supper and at the end of time at the table of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Luke 12:35-36, 37, John 14:23, Revelation 3:20, 19:7-8, 9) of God, His own Son who calls us who cannot walk on our own, crippled by sin, to stand and walk with Him in the kingdom to come.  What a privilege we can never earn nor deserve!  Such goodness of His covenant faithfulness in Jesus Christ our Savior God!  May we be honored in our crippled spiritual state to sit with thinking of kings as honored and undeserving children to dine with Him as we remember these things when we partake of the bread and wine in this new covenant faithfulness in which we are honored to be accepted fully in His blood to one day join with Him at that table in heaven as we now live daily in anticipation (Luke 22:19-20, Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 1:7, 11:24-25, 26) of that Day.  Come quickly, Lord!

2 Samuel 8:1-18 - Preserving Hand of the Lord

2 Samuel 8:1-18

David’s Further Conquests (1 Chronicles 18:1–13)

1 After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent Joram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

David’s Administration (1 Chronicles 18:14–17)

15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the scribe; 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

David went on in the confidence of humility in the preserving hand of the LORD to conquer their enemies all around to establish the kingdom of God for Israel.  He put down the Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, the Syrians, Edom, and others; he accepted riches of tribute which precious metals were dedicated to the LORD and would later be passed to his son Solomon to build God’s house of worship.  This phrase demonstrates the grace of God on David as His anointed servant, “the LORD preserved David wherever he went.”  He continues to watch over we who are His people in Christ, the ones made holy in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, to honor our humility in resting in His work (Hebrews 4:1-2, 3-4, 9-10) as we follow Him into battle (Ephesians 6:10-11, 12-13, 14-16, Hebrews 4:12, 13) against the bondage and oppression of sin with the truth of the word in the gospel.  Within the church we also are to administer judgment and justice to God’s people called out of the darkness of the ungodly world into His marvelous light of grace to worship Him together as David administered it to the earthly nation of Israel in this account.  We therefore remember these things and trust in the preserving hand of the Lord to fight the good fight till the end. 

Samuel 7:18-29 - Who am I, O Lord?

2 Samuel 7:18-29

David’s Thanksgiving to God (1 Chronicles 17:16–27)

18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 20 Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant. 21 For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. 22 Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 24 For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.

25 “Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 26 So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 27 For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

28 “And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 29 Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

Who am I, O Lord GOD?  This cry of David was sincere, deep, and an echo of his soul in response to the grace and goodness of God’s underserved calling and using him as king over his people to serve the LORD God (Adonai YHWH) in such ways over His enemies and for the good of the Kingdom of God.  He asked in awe of how He had brought him so far from a humble shepherd to ruler over all Israel, a small thing for the Lord to do but a grand one in the king’s eyes.  This is our example of a humble servant’s heart for us to emulate and imitate as Paul later (1 Corinthians 11:1) echoed in response to his own calling to serve in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We see the same tug on our hearts and minds in David’s cry to God for wisdom guiding humility that we may serve as called and gifted for service to Him and the body.  David realized all these things were not given because he earned them as a man after God’s own heart, but that all was of grace “according to Your own heart” as he expressed to God so eloquently for us to read now.  Because of grace, David lifted up the name of the LORD in praise as the one and only who is who He is.  He also lifted up His name in praise for redeeming His people from the bondage of Egypt and the oppression of the godless nations.  He named the great miraculous works of God that testified of Himself and His character to those nations as He showered grace on His chosen ones, a foretaste of our own eternal choosing before the world began (Ephesians 1:4, 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2) that we might also magnify His name in the Son of God through the redemption of the cross, baptism into Christ as our own deliverance from sin’s bondage (1 Corinthians 10:2) as our own Red Sea escape, and life of the resurrection in our daily walk of sanctifying grace we have received in Him.  He has become our God!  What more reason to praise Him and recount His wonderful work of salvation in becoming a man like us (John 1:1, 14) and suffering to the point of death to sacrifice Himself as a perfect offering to cover our sins forever and redeem is to Himself as His own special people (2 Samuel 7:23, Titus 2:13-14) out of the world around us (Galatians 1:4) set against Him and us?  God Himself has built the house for us to worship in, the body of Christ whose living building blocks we are (1 Peter 2:4-5, Ephesians 2:21-22, Hebrews 3:6) and as the house of the Seed is Christ Himself and not a building made by man’s hands.  Because His words are true and trustworthy, we also pray for continued blessings on this house of God for one another who are living building blocks of it, and praise Him for this grace (Romans 5:2, 17, 1 Peter 5:12) in which we stand, safe and secure for all time just as we have been called in grace before time to inhabit Him in our praises to be blessed forever.  Who am I, Lord, to be in your grace?  That question is answered in his love demonstrated in the Son for us. 

2 Samuel 7:1-17 - Do What God Puts in your Heart?

2 Samuel 7:1-17

God’s Covenant with David (1 Chronicles 17:1–15)

1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”

3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

4 But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’“‘ 

8 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 10 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’”

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David was uneasy with his palace while the house of God was still tents of the traveling tabernacle setup in Jerusalem.  What was hinted at here by the LORD was the tabernacle that would eventually come among us (John 1:14) as the true house of God in our midst.  After telling Nathan the prophet his desire to build God a royal house better than his own, the prophet initially told David to do all that was in his heart in this matter.  The LORD straightened him out in a waking dream that night to remind David that He never asked for a palace to replace the traveling tabernacle from the wilderness days.  He reminded the king how he was chosen out of the fields of humble beginnings as a shepherd to likewise shepherd His people Israel.  He gave David victory over his enemies, made his name and fame great among the nations, and planted His people (Isaiah 51:16, Jeremiah 1:10)  in their promised land and city where He would make David a house.  God would setup his Seed (Romans 1:3, Galatians 3:16) to build the house of God and establish an eternal kingdom, not just the temple by Solomon’s hands, but one far greater.  God would call this Seed of David His Son and He His Father!  This is the Messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ who would tabernacle among us as John 1:14 tells us plainly and setup an eternal house of God (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, Hebrews 9:11, Revelation 21:2-3) for ruling His eternal kingdom of the gospel as promised.  His throne has been established from before time began (1 Peter 1:20), forever and ever, amen.  Do we do what others may confirm because it is in our heart to do it for God, or do we allow His word to shape what His Spirit is leading us to really do to please Him, allowing the Lord to build and establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17, Isaiah 26:12, 3-4) as He does His house?  We are to be led by God to do His will, not just to attempt to lead His hand by our well-meaning desires to please Him.  This is the lesson of David’s desire shaped by God to be accomplished by the Seed of him who was God’s Son.  It means we let the Lord lead and guide our steps as we do not run ahead of Him whose His word and will set our feet in motion. 

2 Samuel 6:1-23 - Heartfelt Undignified Worship

2 Samuel 6:1-23

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 13:1–14; 15:25—16:3)

1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.

9 David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” 10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17 So they brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. 19 Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

David went to bring back the Ark of God’s covenant with His people from where it ended up after being captured and released by the Philistines (1 Samuel 6:1, 21, 7:1), resting at Kirjath Jearim for twenty years.  David led a spectacle of worship music but on the return trip Uzzah who should have known God’s word of warning not to touch the Ark, thought he would jeep it from falling when they hit a rough patch.  He was held immediately accountable for his sin by (Numbers 4:15) punishment of death, setting the shadowy stage for our own warning that sin results in the due and just penalty for disobedience to any of God’s word; only grace that takes our place on the cross of our curse (Galatians 3:13, Romans 6:23) under the sin inherited through Adam can keep us from the wages of our sin.  David was angry and afraid that this happened to Uzzah and kept the return of the Ark delayed for another three months.  When David heard of the blessings from God where it had remained for that short time, he found courage to try again and led another triumphant parade to bring the Ark to Jerusalem with sacrifices and exultant dancing and praise with accompaniment all along the way.  There was one who was angry with David’s display of joy in his dancing and leaping and whirling before the LORD, his wife Michal, Saul’s daughter.  She literally despised him in her heart.  She could not understand the joy in his worship style and judged him harshly for it.  Do we not sometimes do the same?  When David went to bless her and all his household, she berated him out loud by falsely and jealously accusing the king of shamelessly uncovering himself before other young women on the way into town.  David defended himself by telling her he was chosen king over her father by the LORD Himself, and he would continue to play music and be even more humanly and humbly undignified in future worship as well to please God and not man.  The young women he was accused by her of him flirting with would instead honor him for such true worship and not lust for him as her evil thoughts of a corrupt heart had insinuated.  The consequence of her hateful accusations was infertility for the rest of her life to keep her from having children to pass such judgmental suspicions on to.  David gave us an example of undignified and heartfelt worship that was done in a manner pleasing to God and not to the appearance and approval of manmade rules of propriety.  Certainly this does not allow us to take this too far by breaking other scriptural commands and principles of modesty, but the form of the music in our worship is not the focus; it is the way that we convey genuine heartfelt love and thanksgiving according to truth (John 7:24) that is honoring to Him. 

Samuel 5:1-25 - Expected Reign Fulfilled at Last

2 Samuel 5:1-25

David Reigns over All Israel (1 Chronicles 11:1–3)

1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’” 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

The Conquest of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 11:4–9; 14:1–7)

6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).

8 Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

9 Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. 10 So David went on and became great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. 12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated (1 Chronicles 14:8–17)

17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

David became king over all God’s people at last!  This is a foreshadowing of the anointed Seed of David (2 Timothy 2:8, Romans 1:2-3, 4-5), the Messiah Christ, who would be King of kings and Lord of lords over all God’s people of all nations and not just the symbolic anointed one over Israel on earth.  All the tribes of Israel acknowledged David as the chosen and anointed one put over them as the LORD had promised, to shepherd God’s people Israel and rule over Israel as their king.  Our Lord Jesus Christ shepherds us now (John 10:11, 14, Hebrews 13:20, 1 Peter 2:24-25) and into eternity because He is our Sovereign King and Lord and we who are His acknowledge Him as our King (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16) now and forevermore.  David ruled well as a man after God’s own heart, unlike Saul before him, and took Jerusalem to set up his kingdom there as his expected reign was fulfilled at last.  We likewise look forward in anticipation (Romans 8:23, Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 9:28) to the New Jerusalem to come down to earth (Revelation 21:1-2, 22-23) and dwell with our Lord face to face under His expected and long foretold reign at last!  Until then we fight the good fight of the gospel for the souls of men and women called by Him through our testimony of God’s forgiving grace in Jesus Christ.  As David conquered the enemy around him, we conquer the adversary set against the word of truth in His strength and mandate. 

2 Samuel 4:1-12 - Wicked Murderers of the Righteous

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Ishbosheth Is Murdered

1 When Saul’s son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost heart, and all Israel was troubled. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.)

4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.”

9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

There were two sons of Saul still alive when David became king over Judah, Ishbosheth and Mephibosheth.  The one took over as king over Israel and warred against David and Judah, while the lame one sought no throne or power.  Both were sons of a king chosen by the LORD, however, and so David honored God by not murdering them; unfortunately, two men who were captains of  the son’s troops took matters into their own hands and murdered Ishbosheth as he lay in his bed and then bragged to David as they brought his head to them.  David reminded them of Saul’s royal calling by God that extended to his children counted as righteous, even if they did unrighteous acts.  The only reward those murderers would receive for taking God’s vengeance into their own hands was holding those loves accountable for the others.  He had them killed and hanged for all to see as a warning of taking vengeance into their own hands and then David buried the head of Ishbosheth that had been put on unrighteous display as a ceremonial honor.  We likewise cannot take justice into our own hands and be executioners of supposed righteousness when none of us are righteous except as counted (Romans 4:3, 6:11, James 2:23) to be in the righteousness of Christ.  Hating our enemies is akin to murder and denies the value they have as the work of God’s hand.  He alone is able and worthy in righteousness to judge the wicked and the dead (Ecclesiastes 3:17) and show mercy to any and all He calls.  May we then not be murderers of anyone who may become righteous in Him, but submit to the Right Judge who will settle all in the end.