Bible

The Bible room today presents Part 2 of the summary of 2 Samuel, covering Chapters 9 through 16. 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­________________________________________

2 Samuel – Part 2

Chapter 9. Kindness

David intends to show God’s kindness to Saul’s family:

• He reaches out to Mephibosheth, Jonathon’s son;
• Injured in a fall as a young boy, he is crippled in his feet;
• A wealthy man named Ziba had been Saul’s servant;
• He is familiar with Mephibosheth, offers to help;
• David gives Mephibosheth all of Saul’s land and servants;
• He appoints Ziba to act as his guardian and steward;
• Mephibosheth will eat at David’s table the rest of his life.

Chapter 9. Rebuffed

David sends condolences to the Ammonites, he is rebuffed:

• The Ammonite king has died, his successor is named;
• David sends his men with condolences for the new king;
• He rebuffs David’s overture, accuses them of spying;
• They shave half of each Israelite’s beard, cut off their tunics;
• David gets word, tells his men to stay near at Jericho;
• Hearing of David’s wrath, the Ammonites hire some help;
• 33,000 soldiers come from Aramea, Rehob, Zobah, Tob;
• After an initial retreat, the armies east of Jordan regroup;
• David leads his entire army, crosses the Jordan in force;
• Over 40,000 soldiers perish before David’s onslaught;
• The Ammonites, Arameans, all make peace with David.

Chapter 11. Guilty

David suffers a massive moral failure:

• One warm Spring evening David walks along the palace roof;
• From there he can see a beautiful woman having a bath;
• Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, is summoned, agrees to see David;
• David and Bathsheba are guilty of sins punishable by death;
• A disastrous pregnancy results;
• Uriah, a commander under Joab, is off fighting for Israel;
• David orders him to come home, spend time with his wife;
• For two days and nights he will not go home to his wife;
• In panic, David orders Joab to put Uriah at the front line;
• In a fierce battle Uriah loses his life as David has planned;
• David marries Bathsheba, she moves in, births David’s son.

Chapter 12. Forgiven

David’s sins are egregious, but God forgives him:

• Nathan, prophet of the Lord, chastises David for his sins;
• The murder of Uriah will bring David lifelong calamity;
• However, the Lord has forgiven David, no death penalty;
• But he is punished with the loss of his son conceived in sin;
• Bathsheba will have another son, name him Solomon;
• On the battlefield, David’s army defeats the Ammonites;
• The towns of Ammon become slaves serving Israelites;
• The gold, jeweled crown of their king is given to David.

Chapter 13. Calamity

As Nathan had predicted, calamity visits David’s house:

• Amnon, David’s oldest son, rapes his half-sister, Tamar;
• Absalom, her full brother, vows revenge against Amnon;
• A few miles from Jerusalem, at a sheep shearing event,
• All David’s sons will meet on the farm;
• At a signal given by Absalom, his servants kill Amnon;
• Absalom and his men leave quickly, hide for three years;
• David mourns the loss of both Amnon and Absalom.

Chapter 14. Scheme

Joab devises a scheme to get Absalom back to Jerusalem:

• He disguises a woman who pretends to need David’s help;
• She says one of her sons has killed the other;
• She asks David to require safety for the one to come home;
• David grants her request, says her living son need not fear;
• She then asks David to protect Absalom so he can return;
• David gets it:  He knows Joab has devised this scheme;
• Absalom is allowed to return to his home;
• He is considered very handsome, has long, heavy hair;
• For two years he lives in Jerusalem, avoids seeing David;
• Joab will not agree to help him to see his father;
• Absalom gets Joab’s attention:  sets his grain field on fire;
• Joab sets up the reunion of David and his son.

Chapter 15. Cunning

A cunning individual, Absalom makes plans to seize power:

• Taking his time, he acquires a chariot, fifty-man force;
• Sets himself up as an aide to the king, mediates disputes;
• His looks, personality make him popular, influential;
• Lying to David, he wants to go to Hebron to fulfill a vow;
• David approves, lets two hundred men go with Absalom;
• They believe, erroneously, the trip has a sacred purpose;
• David’s personal counselor comes along in support;
• Absalom has sent messages to all the tribes of Israel;
• When the horns sound, people are to think Absalom is king;
• Word gets to David at Jerusalem what Absalom has done;
• Fear takes hold in Jerusalem, evacuate the city with David;
• He leaves his concubines at the palace, they should be safe;
• David and his people cross the valley toward the desert;
• Barefoot, head covered, David walks up the Mt. of Olives;
• On the mountain, David meets an old friend, Hushai;
• He asks Hushai to go back to Jerusalem and send him news;
• Absalom enters Jerusalem as Hushai arrives.

Chapter 16. Curses

On the road, David is accosted by an onslaught of curses:

• At a point, David meets Ziba, steward of Mephibosheth;
• He explains he is there to help David and his people;
• David notices Mephibosheth’s absence;
• Ziba says the crippled man is now part of the rebellion;
• He says Mephibosheth has turned against David as king;
• So, David gives to Ziba all of Mephibosheth’s possessions;
• Moving on, David encounters a man from Saul’s family;
• Shimei insults and curses David, throws stones, dirt at him;
• Tells him his trouble is because of his bad behavior;
• David holds his men back; this may be the Lord speaking;
• Meanwhile, at Jerusalem, Absalom is stabilizing his power;
• Asserting his authority, he rapes David’s concubines.

END OF 2 SAMUEL – PART 2