1 & 2 Samuel Part Three Dive
TELEVISION HAS NOTHING ON 2 SAMUEL!
How are you going reading 1 & 2 Samuel – how full on are they? I mean let’s be honest when we read the Bible we expect it to be a little conservative, loving, slightly challenging; this is a holy book, a holy text. And then you read 1 Samuel, it has some intrigue, Saul gets a little out of control but nothing too serious. Next, we are introduced to David, this sweet little shepherd boy, singing to the Lord in the field lures us into a false sense of purity. Because WOW it begins in 1 Samuel 26 and then as you turn the page to 2 Samuel the drama is in full swing.
I mean I feel like I’m reading a Games of Thrones script, even though I have never watched it as it seems a little too gory for me, I can imagine it would be like this, we have adultery, betrayal, incest, sons killing each other, sons trying to overtake the Fathers Kingdom. What a book!
So hold onto your seats and get ready for 2 Samuel; I can’t believe that God stays faithful to his covenant after all of this.
No Matter What.
As your journey through these texts remember that God is still speaking, in amongst the mess, in amongst the wars, killing and incest God still speaks. Hold onto the scriptures that point you back to God.
2 Samuel shows us that God is with David no matter what he faces.
2S 5:10 And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
2S 5:12 Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
Notice how David keeps enquiring of the Lord–no matter what happens. Check out 2 Samuel 5:19, 5:23, 7:18, 8:11; even in repentance 12:13, 12:20, 22:1-23:7. And God continues to speak through His prophets throughout the book, see 2 Samuel 7, 12:1, 24:11.
The Pinnacle
The pinnacle chapter in all of this mess is found in 2 Samuel 6 & 7 when the Ark of the Covenant is established in the midst of all that is happening. God establishes his promises to the people of Israel. Just like the moment in a movie when the ultimate hero arrives in the situation and you know that no matter what everything is going to work out, this resounds in me, as I read the rest of the book, that God is still in control no matter how evil and out of control these people get.
2S 6:17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.
2S 7:24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
In the midst of all this mess, we find the promise of the coming temple and the Messiah!
2S 7:11-14 The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son.
This is not by human hands that this throne will be established this will be through God himself coming to earth in his son Jesus Christ that will establish David’s throne forever. So as you ride this roller coaster ride of intrigue, don’t forget God is still on the throne, still in control and has a plan that will work all of this out.
The book finishes with God rescuing His people. And don't forget, this is only the second book of a four book series, there is still so much more to come when we look at 1 & 2 Kings. Happy adventuring into this wild ride of a book!
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1&2 Samuel part three
Next Book: 1&2 Timothy
Coming Soon!