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We left off last time with David requiring the blood of the two assassins who slew Ishbosheth. So here David gives the order of execution. Let us keep in mind that this was 'court' back in those days. Kings were given that kind of power. So they killed them and cut off their hands and feet.

Why the hands and feet? Commentators seem to think it was because their feet were swift to do mischief and their hands to shed innocent blood (see Proverbs 6:16-19). David then respectfully buries the head these two brought him in its proper grave.

So the original plan with Abner did have a purpose, to get both sides to come together and recognize David as King, though the plan did not go as originally intended.

David in many ways is a type of Christ. We see him in rejection, in troubles, making war (as Christ will do just before he returns) and reigning. The path to the crown is not an easy one for those who are beloved of God and are to be of real use to him. Saul had it all handed to him on a silver platter and look how he messed things up and eventually turned on the Lord. David's path was different and was marked by many trials and tribulations. For we Christians, there is no crown without tribulation, troubles and suffering.

David, after making his mistakes and being tempered in the fires of affliction now becomes King. But there is still work to be done.

Then came all the tribes of Israel
to David unto Hebron, and spake,
saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
In times past, when Saul was king over us,
it was thou that leddest out
and broughtest in Israel:
and Jehovah said to thee,
Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel,
and thou shalt be prince over Israel.
So all the elders of Israel
came to the king to Hebron;
and king David made a covenant
with them in Hebron before Jehovah:
and they anointed David king over Israel.
(2 Samuel 5:1-3 - ASV)

After Ishbosheth's murder, the tribes come and pledge their loyalty to King David. Again, this seems to be pretty much the same arrangement that Abner had made, though that was done with some degree of disloyalty against his former master, Ishbosheth.

Now that one of the would-be kings is dead, David may now rule all of the people. So the elders come and offer them their loyalty. They remember that David that led the armies during wartime. They did not forget. Nor did they forget the Lord's promise to David and uttered this before the King. They then anoint him King. This was the secular 'confirmation' of what the Lord had already done many years before the battles and hardships via the prophet Samuel.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned forty years. In Hebron
he reigned over Judah seven years and six months;
and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty
and three years over all Israel and Judah.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem
against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land,
who spake unto David, saying,
Except thou take away the blind and the lame,
thou shalt not come in hither; thinking,
David cannot come in hither.
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion;
the same is the city of David.
And David said on that day,
Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites,
let him get up to the watercourse,
and smite the lame and the blind,
that are hated of David's soul.
Wherefore they say, There are the blind
and the lame; he cannot come into the house.
(2 Samuel 5:4-8 - ASV)

So now we see how long David reigned and we can also see from the text that it was probably written or complied after David's reign.

Let us never forget that David was God's choice to reign after the spiritual disaster of Saul. He had to do a lot of learning on the way and faced many a moment of discouragement and even panic, but David stayed the course and became King. He originally reigned in Hebron and just over the tribe of Judah and later he reigned in Jerusalem. Verse six begins to tell us how he came to eventually take the city of Jerusalem (Jebus, its earlier name).

David heads on to Jerusalem (Jebus) to fight the Jebusites. These were a people who still lived there that Israel was unable to fully conquer (see Joshua 15:63 and Judges 1:21). These were decedents of Canaan (see Genesis 10:15-16). David here was merely continuing something that Joshua had started in days long past. So now that he had all the tribes of Israel behind him, he could now muster a powerful military force to deal with them.

When he gets there, the Jebusites taunt David with one of those typical arrogant words men in war used in bygone days when they are getting ready to go to battle. The second part of verse six has puzzled many scholars over its meaning. This passage does not imply that David had some animosity to the lame or the blind but appears to be a taunt basically saying that they could defend the city with a host of the crippled. It may have been that they even put the blind and crippled on the city walls to taunt him saying something like it would be said today, 'my crippled, 100 year-old grandma is enough to defeat you and your host'.

Their boast was empty and David took the city. The stronghold mentioned in verse seven may have been a mount which in such times would have been a good fortification.

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After the city was taken, David almost certainly remembering the taunt's of the Jebusites basically issues a 'no quarter' order. This I suspect, indicates that it may have also the blind and the lame who came out to mock David when he came against the city. Apparently this is the source of some proverb that was popular in those times and this shows where it came from.

And David dwelt in the stronghold,
and called it the city of David.
And David built round about
from Millo and inward.
And David waxed greater and greater;
for Jehovah, the God of hosts,
was with him.
(2 Samuel 5:9-10 - ASV)

So David moves into the city which was also a military stronghold. Apparently he built a wall around the city. The word Millo is not clear, some think it means a ditch (or mote) others think it may have been some kind of Jebusite shrine.

God was with David and the author correctly ascribes this fact with David's growing success. David had been through the fires of trials and now could enjoy the presence, promise and gifts of God that come when one continues to stand with God, despite what comes.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David,
and cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons;
and they built David a house. And David perceived that
Jehovah had established him king over Israel,
and that he had exalted his kingdom
for his people Israel's sake.
And David took him more concubines
and wives out of Jerusalem,
after he was come from Hebron;
and there were yet sons
and daughters born to David.
(2 Samuel 5:11-13 - ASV)

Hiram was clearly positively disposed to David and later his son Solomon. After the war and the need to build the city, Hiram sent David the necessary materials and workmen to get the job done. This may have been because after years of war, many of those skilled in these things were killed in the previous wars and battles. So Hiram's men build David his palace.

David here realized something important. It's something that many rulers, particularly autocrats forget. That is that he was made King for the nation's sake, and not vice versa. A good King and ruler is a servant of his people and nation and uses his power to their benefit rather than just for his own power and to their detriment. But we also need to keep in mind that while God had given him the promise of kingship, David clearly had periods of depression and doubt. But now it seemed clear to him that God had indeed established him king, fully and unquestionably, king.

But David in verse 13 clearly departs and disobeys the commandment of God in taking multiple wives (Deuteronomy 17:17).

And these are the names of those
that were born unto him in Jerusalem:
Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan,
and Solomon, and Ibhar, and Elishua,
and Nepheg, and Japhia, and Elishama,
and Eliada, and Eliphelet.
(2 Samuel 5:14-16 - ASV)

This sin of David can cause significant problems from a purely practical/succession perspective. With this many sons coming out of his body, who will eventually reign when the King passes on? Such controversy often means civil war (think England's War of the Roses). The names above are just the sons born to David. You can get a more complete list of David's sons over in 1 Chronicles 3:1ff.

And when the Philistines heard
that they had anointed David king over Israel,
all the Philistines went up to seek David;
and David heard of it, and went down
to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come
and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying,
Shall I go up against the Philistines?
wilt thou deliver them into my hand?
And Jehovah said unto David, Go up;
for I will certainly deliver the Philistines
into thy hand.
(2 Samuel 5:17-19 - ASV)

The Philistines hear of David's enthronement and were ready to go to war. David's military exploits were well known to the five cities of Philistia and David was even used by them by King Achish. David had become powerful and his victories particularly over Jebus (Jerusalem) was probably very noteworthy to the Philistines. They were probably moved with fear that he might become stronger. As the Lord was with him, David would indeed grow in strength.

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This kind of military concern was not exclusive to those times. We see the same things today in our world. The US is concerned about China's rise to power as well as Russia's growing geopolitical prowess and seek to check that rise using the instruments of power for our times. In those days, there was only one real method of checking another power's rise and that was war.

Once this intelligence had reached David, he went into some kind of stronghold - perhaps a cave or fortified place. There we can extrapolate from the passage he sought the guidance of the Lord. The Philistines were in the valley of Rephaim or the Valley of the Giants. David seeks God's guidance and gets his answer and to summarize it was - yes, go and defeat them, for the Lord will deliver them into your hands.

Notice that it is God that brings the victory. As long as David walked the straight and narrow, God would be with him. We should note that David now inquires of the Lord before he makes a major move.

This is important both to David and to each of us as well. We should always seek God's guidance in any major decision in our life and yield humbly and gracefully to the guiding and powerful hand of God, who loves us and has not been taken by surprise by whatever it is we are facing.

Whatever it is he asks us to do, no matter how little sense it makes to us, we need to heed what the Lord tells us and not lean to our own understanding.

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24 Mar

2 Samuel Part 7

And Ish-bosheth, Saul's son,
had two men that were captains of bands:
the name of the one was Baanah,
and the name of the other Rechab,
the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite,
of the children of Benjamin
(for Beeroth also is reckoned to Benjamin:
and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim,
and have been sojourners there
until this day).
(2 Samuel 4:2-3 - ASV)

We left off last time with the death of Abner and the collective mourning after it and the trouble that news caused Israel.

Ishbosheth had two captains and the names are given above. Albert Barnes (1798-1870), in his commentary (Albert Barnes Notes On The Bible) surmises that they may have actually been Canaanite by blood, though reckoned with Benjamin. The author of 2 Samuel does seem to want to make some kind of distinction clear with his explanation.

You can read a little more about the Beerothites in Joshua 9:17ff.

The passage here seems to want to determine how both the city and men were reckoned among the tribe of Benjamin. Verse three talks about how many of them fled. This may have been the result of Saul's death as many had abandoned their cities (1 Samuel 31:7). They were sojourners or people without a permanent home-city to dwell, perhaps living in semi-permanent camps in the wilderness.

Now Jonathan, Saul's son,
had a son that was lame of his feet.
He was five years old when
the tidings came of Saul
and Jonathan out of Jezreel;
and his nurse took him up, and fled:
and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee,
that he fell, and became lame.
And his name was Mephibosheth.
And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite,
Rechab and Baanah, went, and came
about the heat of the day
to the house of Ish-bosheth,
as he took his rest at noon. And they came
thither into the midst of the house,
as though they would have fetched wheat;
and they smote him in the body:
and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
Now when they came into the house,
as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber,
they smote him, and slew him,
and beheaded him, and took his head,
and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
(2 Samuel 4:4-7 - ASV)

Here we learn of the murder of Ishbosheth and who did it. It's hard to get a sense as to why the writer here goes into such detail about these two men being from Beeroth, but it may be that there was some kind of lingering resentment towards Saul's house and this particular king as a result of their people not having a permanent place to live.

Another reason here is that with Ishbosheth out of the way, there was no one really to wear the crown, only Mephibosheth, who was handicapped. As there was such confusion after Abner's removal and the deal that he and David struck was now moot, these two may have seen an opportunity to be the key to deliver the Kingdom to David and thus ingratiate themselves with him.

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This is one of those really brutal murders we find so often in the days of Israel's kings. Reading of these kinds of things can often make us really recoil. But these were as I have said before, very brutal times and there was no such thing as a police force or Department of Justice. The king was the law and when the title of King was in dispute, well... people often made up their own law to suit their own purposes. Also remember this - this whole 'king' thing was not God's idea, it was the people who wanted it (see 1 Samuel 8:19) after being warned of just what it would mean.

But let me say this as well. We affluent westerners? Few of us understand what men are capable of when things are tough, hard and lawlessness abounds - I mean really understand. Certain ground warriors and foreign aid workers, they get it. But many westerners really just don't understand. Ask the Christians in Iraq when the Islamic State (Daesh) was running around loose. 'Understanding it' in a news clip or in a realistic movie is one thing, having to live it, day in and day out is quite another.

Hyper-sensitivity I think causes far too many modern westerners to recoil at even the most innocuous or uncomfortable truths leveled at them, sending some into an emotional tailspin. What in the world are these people going to do when things get really hard (see 2 Timothy 3:1ff)?

This is why I am not shocked by these kinds of things in the OT. I know what men are capable of. I am under no illusions - some men can be utterly depraved once the societal and legal curbs are taken off.

It is why I think so many Christians will fall away in the last days, when lawlessness abounds.

And because iniquity shall be multiplied,
the love of the many shall wax cold.
But he that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved.
(Matthew 24:12-13 - ASV)

Yes, there will be a period of time of lawlessness, perhaps general anarchy. This may be what happens just before the man of sin is revealed and the mark of the beast is instituted. The devil's man I suspect, will claim to have many of the answers to the world's problems and he will deceive a great many.

This is one reason I have said before and will say it again - we all need to toughen up, develop some thick skin, but never let our love of Christ or the brethren grow cold... remembering those who are in chains and are being persecuted or are having to make those tough decisions in their walk with Christ. Don't let the brutality and wickedness you may one day see around you send you into an emotional or spiritual tailspin.

And don't blame God if one day, some men begin to behave worse that the beasts of the field. He is not to blame. Men are responsible for their own actions and souls.

Back to the text.

And they brought the head
of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron,
and said to the king, Behold,
the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul,
thine enemy, who sought thy life;
and Jehovah hath avenged my lord
the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
And David answered Rechab
and Baanah his brother, the sons
of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them,
As Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed
my soul out of all adversity, when one told me,
saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking
to have brought good tidings,
I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag,
which was the reward I gave him for his tidings.
How much more, when wicked
men have slain a righteous person in his
own house upon his bed,
shall I not now require his blood of your hand,
and take you away from the earth?
(2 Samuel 4:8-11 - ASV)

This is all pretty self explanatory. These two murderers bring their gruesome prize to King David, thinking David would be pleased with it as this would make him undisputed King.

They were wrong.

David was most displeased. Here David recalls first how the God whom he served and who had delivered him out of all of his troubles, which we all have seen were many and significant; it is by this God he swears - that when faced with a similar situation at the death of Saul, David had the person who brought him the news killed.

If you remember this was in 2 Samuel 1:13ff. Weather or not these men knew of this, is not clear. What is clear is that David was consistent with those who slew God's anointed and it appears that Ishbosheth, while being a weak king, was not a wicked one; at least that is how David saw him (verse 11).

So what these men did was not going to get them on David's good side. Instead they wrote their own death warrant with the murder of Ishbosheth. So, yes, these two were going to get a reward - a hole in the ground, six feet deep.

This reminds of Caesar, when he was chasing after Pompey all the way to Egypt. The Egyptians thought that if they killed Pompey for Caesar, he would be pleased. He was not.

Any ruler with his salt would never accept such people into his service. If they could kill their former master, what do you think such men will do to in their service?

They had to go and go they shall and we will get to that soon, God willing!

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7 Mar

2 Samuel Part 6

And afterward, when David heard it,
he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless
before Jehovah for ever of the blood
of Abner the son of Ner:
let it fall upon the head of Joab,
and upon all his father's house;
and let there not fail from the
house of Joab one that hath an issue,
or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff,
or that falleth by the sword,
or that lacketh bread.
(2 Samuel 3:28-29 - ASV)

When we left off last time Joab had murdered Abner. David was innocent of this and here we find out what he does after he finds out what Joab had done. He was not happy about it and had to completely disassociate himself from this bloody act. David's words were probably in a public setting so that everyone of importance heard it and understood that there was no compact or conspiracy on his part in Abner's murder. Besides, he had nothing to gain and everything to lose by Abner's death for he was about to deliver up some of Israel's nobles to recognize him as King.

David had to nip this in the bud and let it be known that his reign is not going to be on based on assassinations and treachery.

He makes this clear by stating an oath that the recompense for this deed should fall upon Joab and his house. Now the phrases David uses here were strong. Quite strong. For example when it says 'let it fall' upon Abner the words here have the meaning of to writhe, to fall upon grievously or to be in pain. The word is 2342 in Strong's Hebrew Bible Dictionary (1890).

David's words were a horrible imprecation upon Abner and his whole house. It was basically a family curse that David laid upon Abner (and his house) for this act. The curse included leprosy, some kind of wasting disease (hath an issue, perhaps a sexual disease) or one that is crippled or blind (leaneth on a staff), dies in battle or is impoverished. This is a heavy curse. But this is the Old Covenant and such words were often spoken, usually by God's prophets or workmen. David, was acting as God's representative for he was the true, God anointed King and he was not at all pleased with this most foul revenge-murder.

The idea of these kinds of curses falling upon a bloodline is clearly marked out in the Old Covenant. If nothing else I think passages like this should remind us of one thing. Sin when unforgiven is never, ever forgotten by God. It will ever be before God unless he has forgiven that sin. Let no one ever make light of sin and evil - God really hates it. It is a measure of his love for us that he makes the offer of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner,
because he had killed their brother Asahel
at Gibeon in the battle. And David said to Joab,
and to all the people that were with him,
Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth,
and mourn before Abner.
And king David followed the bier.
And they buried Abner in Hebron:
and the king lifted up his voice,
and wept at the grave of Abner;
and all the people wept.
(2 Samuel 3:30-32 - ASV)

David here does not take any kind of vengeance on Joab. One would think this would have been proper given what he had done, murdered a man and made the king look like a traitor (David gave Abner a kind of 'safe conduct' when he left). David did not do that. It could have meant more bloodshed and even another civil war. Remember, Joab was to be David's chief warlord and to put it bluntly, Abner would probably have stood in the way of that.

But David commanded Joab to morn Abner with all the people as well. This I think was a small piece of 'humble pie' David made Joab consume for clearly Joab was not displeased with Abner's death. It may have also been a small test of Joab's submission to the King's will.

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Everyone was present at Abner's funeral as they buried him in Hebron, where the King's court currently was. David was there and makes his own eulogy over Abner which I will relate here without comment.

And the king lamented for Abner,
and said, Should Abner die as a fool dieth?
Thy hands were not bound,
nor thy feet put into fetters:
As a man falleth
before the children of iniquity,
so didst thou fall. And all the people
wept again over him.
(2 Samuel 3:33-34 - ASV)

So ends David's lament.

And all the people came to cause David
to eat bread while it was yet day;
but David sware, saying, God do so to me,
and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else,
till the sun be down. And all the people
took notice of it, and it pleased them;
as whatsoever the king did pleased
all the people. So all the people
and all Israel understood that day
that it was not of the king
to slay Abner the son of Ner.
(2 Samuel 3:35-37 - ASV)

David was in mourning and fasting and the people wanted him to end his fast. But he would not. Now it's easy to see this as 'theater', but I don't think it was. I think David was genuinely sorry for Abner's death, the two seemed to get a long quite well before he was murdered.

But this worked in regards to averting suspicion away from David. Whatever suspicions the people may have once had, they had no longer.

And the king said unto his servants,
Know ye not that there
is a prince and a great man
fallen this day in Israel?
And I am this day weak,
though anointed king;
and these men the sons of Zeruiah
are too hard for me:
Jehovah reward the evil-doer
according to his wickedness.
(2 Samuel 3:38-39 - ASV)

So here we get a glimpse into David's heart. First, he lets his servants know that he really did view Abner as a great man. He may have once been on opposite sides, but that did not diminish David's respect for him.

But David could not move against Joab and in verse 39 he explains why - 'the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me', those sons being Joab and Abishai. The word 'hard' is the word 7186 in Strong's Hebrew Bible Dictionary (1890). It can mean obstinate, stiff-necked or cruel. David was still a politically weak ruler and not everyone was behind him. He just could not afford to deal with those two in the manner that he may have been inclined. So he handed it over to the Lord, not in the New Testament way, but in the Old Testament way.

And when Ish-bosheth, Saul's son,
heard that Abner was dead in Hebron,
his hands became feeble,
and all the Israelites were troubled.
(2 Samuel 4:1 - ASV)

Now the other king, the descendant of Saul hears of Abner's death who was his key warlord. He was understandably and deeply concerned; panic stricken may be a better word. The passage says his hands were feeble, but what is really meant here may be two fold; both physically and now also politically. Additionally, all of his kingdom (Israel) was also troubled by Abner's death. Abner clearly was well respected, but the people may have also feared more war as a result.

Abner's death created a major problem for David, but an even bigger one for Ishbosheth.

We will continue our look at 2 Samuel soon, God willing.

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24 Feb

2 Samuel Part 5

And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth,
Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal,
whom I betrothed to me for a hundred foreskins
of the Philistines. And Ish-bosheth sent,
and took her from her husband,
even from Paltiel the son of Laish.
(2 Samuel 3:14-15 - ASV)

We left off last time and David wanted his wife Michal back as a precondition for a compact with Abner, who was putting himself in the position of Kingmaker.

What is interesting here is that David directly sends messengers to Ishbosheth and does not entrust it to Abner. This may have not been because of any distrust of Abner, but may have been more convincing coming right from David - besides Ishbosheth would probably have smelled a rat right away if Abner brought the request.

Once the king got the request, Abner then could support it to the King. Keep in mind that any compact between David and Abner probably had to be kept secret. The foreskins of Philistines was clearly some kind reference to his previous payment for her when Saul was king (1 Samuel 18:25). David lays out powerful arguments that Michal was his by marriage and by rights. In short, David is saying, 'give me what is mine'.

Ishbosheth complies and takes her from her other husband, Paltiel.

And her husband went with her,
weeping as he went,
and followed her to Bahurim.
Then said Abner unto him, Go,
return: and he returned.
(2 Samuel 3:16 - ASV)

Paltiel was clearly fond of his wife and was deeply moved when she was taken from him. Those of you who are divorced or in bad marriages know that such feelings of sadness accompanying the departure of a spouse are not universal (!). But Paltiel should have known better and that another man had rights to her when he married Michal. Matthew Henry (1662-1714) in his commentary implies that God in this episode, brought husband and wife back together again. Abner appears to be making sure things went ahead as planned and tells Paltiel to go on back home.

And Abner had communication
with the elders of Israel, saying,
In times past ye sought for David
to be king over you: now then do it;
for Jehovah hath spoken of David, saying,
By the hand of my servant David
I will save my people Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines,
and out of the hand of all their enemies.
(2 Samuel 3:17-18 - ASV)

Abner continues his little plot to create an insurrection against Ishbosheth the king, that he still at least in pretense, served. In short, he is calling on the elders to forsake his former master in favor of David. Abner now cleverly invokes the name of the Lord. Let us remember it was not from any respect for the Lord's word that made him go over to David, but an insult thrown at him by Ishbosheth. Abner is politicking; lobbying if you will now, for a change in dynasty.

And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin:
and Abner went also to speak in the ears
of David in Hebron all that seemed
good to Israel, and to the
whole house of Benjamin.
(2 Samuel 3:19 - ASV)

This was important because Benjamin was the tribe that Saul's house was from. Getting their support was crucial.

So Abner came to David to Hebron,
and twenty men with him.
And David made Abner and the men
that were with him a feast.
(2 Samuel 3:20 - ASV)

Abner does his part of the bargain, comes back to meet David and they celebrate Abner's efforts and almost certainly this new alliance.

And Abner said unto David,
I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel
unto my lord the king,
that they may make a covenant with thee,
and that thou mayest reign over all
that thy soul desireth.
And David sent Abner away;
and he went in peace.
(2 Samuel 3:21 - ASV)

Abner is getting ready to put the capstone on his plan and have all come and acknowledge David as King and heads out to do just that.

And, behold, the servants of David and Joab
came from a foray, and brought
in a great spoil with them:
but Abner was not with David in Hebron;
for he had sent him away,
and he was gone in peace.
When Joab and all the host that
was with him were come, they told Joab,
saying, Abner the son of Ner
came to the king,
and he hath sent him away,
and he is gone in peace.
(2 Samuel 3:22-23 - ASV)

Enter Joab, a man with a serious bone to pick with Abner. Remember, it was Abner who slew his brother, Asahel. Joab was a man who was not going to forget that. Joab was out on some kind of raid and had a lot of booty with him and just returned. David, may have arranged this task for Joab timed while Abner was coming, knowing Joab would not be pleased. He is told of Abner's arrival and departure in peace.... or so everyone thinks!

Then Joab came to the king, and said,
What hast thou done? behold,
Abner came unto thee;
why is it that thou hast sent him away,
and he is quite gone?
(2 Samuel 3:24 - ASV)

Joab is not pleased at all by this, 'so Abner was here... come and gone you say?', seems to be the gist of this.

Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner,
that he came to deceive thee,
and to know thy going out and thy coming in,
and to know all that thou doest.
(2 Samuel 3:25 - ASV)

Abner is clearly displeased with this and now gives David advice which appears to be wholly self-interested, implying that Abner really is a spy, wanting to know his defenses. There appears to be no truth to Joab's accusation, which seems based upon his own bitterness regarding the death of his brother.

And when Joab was come out from David,
he sent messengers after Abner,
and they brought him back from the well of Sirah:
but David knew it not. And when Abner
was returned to Hebron, Joab took him
aside into the midst of the gate to speak
with him quietly, and smote him there
in the body, so that he died,
for the blood of Asahel his brother.
(2 Samuel 3:26-27 - ASV)

Joab got his payback for the death of his brother, via a cold blooded murder. Revenge may have been the key part of this, but some have surmised that there may have been politics also involved here. That if Abner turned out to be useful to David as top warrior, he might displace Joab.

The whole thing appears to be deceitfully arranged. Abner probably figured David had a new message for him and it was delivered him by Abner and this is why he met with him as he did. Remember, David had let him depart in peace, so he had no reason to suspect treachery.

Joab was wrong on almost every count. First, his brother fell in battle and even then, Abner warned him to cease pursuing him. He refused. It was either Abner or Asahel's life and Abner merely acted in self defense. Such a death does not warrant revenge. The narrator here makes it clear that David had nothing to do with this foul deed. Clearly he did not, it was not in his interest to mess up the arrangements before they had been concluded.

These were brutal times. But royal politics throughout the ancient and even medieval world were no less violent. Even today, murder is often the weapon of choice in deep political intrigue. Men these days are just better at casting the blame on the innocent for their crimes and treachery (or create carefully choreographed 'accidents') and take great pains to arrange things to avoid any accountability. Men have been slaying one another since Cain slew Abel. It's the curse of sin and being held hostage, knowingly or unknowingly, to the devil.

We will look at how David reacts to this murder soon, God willing.

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7 Feb

2 Samuel Part 4

Now there was long war
between the house of Saul
and the house of David:
and David waxed stronger and stronger,
but the house of Saul waxed
weaker and weaker.
(2 Samuel 3:1 - ASV)

In the last section we saw how one battle turned out. But that was hardly the end of the affair. This was a civil war and one that lasted for some time. As I have said before, civil wars are the very worst and can often be the most brutal. Private quarrels and feud's between people and families can often be created or exacerbated in such wars. The author here, not wanting to dwell on all of the various effects of civil war reduces much of it to a few passages.

This was probably mostly 'low intensity' conflict/warfare rather than an all out war. But the long and short of it was, David was winning.

And unto David
were sons born in Hebron:
and his first-born was Amnon,
of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
and his second, Chileab, of Abigail
the wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah
the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;
and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife.
These were born to David
in Hebron.
(2 Samuel 3:2-5 - ASV)

In these passages, we get a look at David's wives, perhaps 'harem' would be a better word for it. He had at this point in time, six of them and listed above are the male children born of them. David's actions here were in clear contravention to the Mosaic law. Polygamy was forbidden for Israel's kings (see Deuteronomy 17:17). David's marital escapades will one day cause a lot of trouble in Israel and for himself, personally.

Of note here is that Absalom was the son of Maacah, who was the daughter of a King who was not an Israelite, but was of Geshur. Marrying foreign wives was frowned upon under the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 7:3-4; 23:3-4), though the specific prohibition may not have applied to Geshur. Yet we shall see much later in this book, her offspring will cause one of the biggest problems for David later in his reign.

Yet David here may have only been doing what Kings have done throughout the ages, using marriage as a bond between nations and/or key power centers to cement positive relations and bolster their authority. All of these things took place in David's first capital, Hebron.

And it came to pass,
while there was war between
the house of Saul and the
house of David, that Abner
made himself strong
in the house of Saul.
Now Saul had a concubine,
whose name was Rizpah,
the daughter of Aiah:
and Ish-bosheth said to Abner,
Wherefore hast thou gone
in unto my father's concubine?
(2 Samuel 3:6-7 - ASV)

The war continues, but during it we see a serious controversy is arising between David's rival nominal 'king' and his military commander who seems to be the real 'prop' holding up his kingdom.

Ishbosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine, Rizpah. We don't know if there was any truth to this or if someone had just whispered a rumor in the King's ear. But true or not, this was a very impolitic thing to do. It was like kicking a leg out from under a three-legged stool. Clearly Ishboseth was not 'king' material; one has to have strong sense of political survival and this, he clearly lacked.

Then was Abner very wroth
for the words of Ish-bosheth,
and said, Am I a dog's head
that belongeth to Judah?
This day do I show kindness
unto the house of Saul thy father,
to his brethren, and to his friends,
and have not delivered thee
into the hand of David;
and yet thou chargest me this day
with a fault concerning this woman.
God do so to Abner, and more also,
if, as Jehovah hath sworn to David,
I do not even so to him; to transfer
the kingdom from the house of Saul,
and to set up the throne of David
over Israel and over Judah,
from Dan even to Beer-sheba.
(2 Samuel 3:8-10 - ASV)

Abner is absolutely livid with this accusation and his words here and following actions I think mean that the charge was probably a false one. If it were true, his position within the kingdom would have probably withstood the accusation, but once this thing was charged at him I suspect he just kind of said (colorful paraphrasing)... You know what? I was doing all of this for your father sake, whom I served faithfully and wanted to see his bloodline keep the throne. I have worked tirelessly for you and your throne and now you going to accuse me and make an issue of this? Enough! I protected you from David and now, I am going over to his side and help make him King. King Ishboseth... you can take this job and put it with the part of the body that gets very little sunlight!

Yet some commentators think he may have been guilty because he did not deny the charge, but rather the idea was that this was a trivial matter, they were at war - it was not at time to concern oneself with such matters. I tend to disagree with this because Abner's retort about being a dog's head seems to indicate that only such a person would do that and that was not the kind of person he was. The charge was very offensive to him. My own view is that I think what really got him angry was the kings ingratitude.

In any event, Ishboseth had just committed political suicide and probably didn't realize it yet.

And he could not answer
Abner another word,
because he feared him.
(2 Samuel 3:11 - ASV)

The King was afraid of Abner and was speechless at Abner's words and anger. Abner had the military on his side and while he probably could remove him by force, that would almost certainly mean another war within the Saul faction, whose elders would probably not accept Abner as King after deposing Ishboseth.

And Abner sent messengers
to David on his behalf, saying
Whose is the land? saying also,
Make thy league with me,
and, behold, my hand shall be with thee,
to bring about all Israel unto thee.
And he said, Well; I will
make a league with thee;
but one thing I require of thee:
that is, thou shalt not see my face,
except thou first bring Michal,
Saul's daughter,
when thou comest
to see my face.
(2 Samuel 3:12-13 - ASV)

Abner was not just talking when he said he was going to switch sides to the king. He meant business and right away sets out to do exactly what his oath before the King entailed. Making a pact with David was a key part of that.

So he sends messengers to David, a kind of 'peace commission' to see how David reacts to an overture. Whose is the land? This phrase is not 100% clear as to its meaning. Some think it is Abner's confession that David is the rightful king, others seem to think it indicates that Abner was putting himself in the position of Kingmaker basically insinuating that he had the power to decide who would be King.

The two do make a league (an agreement) but David has one condition, that he brings his first wife Michal with him. David I think remembered his wife with real affection, for she had saved him once before, over the deep anger of her father, King Saul. That kind of loyalty is not always easy to find, particularly in Royal circles.

But David probably had other reasons as well. I think one key one was to put one of Saul's line as his wife and this might help bolster his claim to the throne and probably assuage some of the reservations those in Ishboseth's camp would have in accepting David. Moreover, being Saul's daughter, someone else might try and marry her and try to make a rival claim to the throne. Without Michal, there would be no pact.

I also suspect that David, while missing Michal, was also thinking ahead. Being King is not easy task. One has to always stay one step ahead of your enemies...

...and your friends.

We will continue our look at 2 Samuel soon, God willing.

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27 Jan

2 Samuel Part 3

And the three sons of Zeruiah were there,
Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel:
and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
And Asahel pursued after Abner;
and in going he turned not to the
right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
Then Abner looked behind him, and said,
Is it thou, Asahel? And he answered,
It is I. And Abner said to him,
Turn thee aside to thy right hand or
to thy left, and lay thee hold on one
of the young men, and take thee his armor.
But Asahel would not turn aside
from following him.
(2 Samuel 2:18-21 - ASV)

We left off last time as Abner's attempt to set up a new King was going badly as did the 'games' that had been set up apparently to influence/determine the outcome of the succession.

The above passage describes three men who were related to David. Asahel here is noted as being exceptionally fast on foot. This was a very important trait for a warrior in those times. Asahel was chasing Abner and was doing it rather relentlessly. The passage seems to indicate that others who were with Abner could have been captured by him, but he was focusing in on Abner. They exchange words and clearly Asahel isn't going to give up the chase.

The passage about the armor? Abner may have been asking him to settle for some other 'war trophy' than seeking his life. My read of this passage was that Abner was genuinely concerned that if the two really came face to face, Abner knew that Asahel was no match for him and that his death was certain.

And Abner said again to Asahel,
Turn thee aside from following me:
wherefore should I smite thee to the ground?
how then should I hold up
my face to Joab thy brother?
Howbeit he refused to turn aside:
wherefore Abner with the hinder end of
the spear smote him in the body, so that
the spear came out behind him;
and he fell down there,
and died in the same place:
and it came to pass,
that as many as came to the place
where Asahel fell down
and died stood still.
(2 Samuel 2:22-23 - ASV)

Abner warns Asahel about continuing and as we can see in continuing the pursuit, Abner kills him.

But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner:
and the sun went down when they were
come to the hill of Ammah,
that lieth before Giah
by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
And the children of Benjamin
gathered themselves together after Abner,
and became one band,
and stood on the top of a hill.
Then Abner called to Joab, and said,
Shall the sword devour for ever?
knowest thou not that it will be
bitterness in the latter end?
how long shall it be then, ere thou bid
the people return from
following their brethren?
And Joab said, As God liveth,
if thou hadst not spoken, surely then
in the morning the people had gone away,
nor followed every one his brother.
So Joab blew the trumpet;
and all the people stood still,
and pursued after Israel no more,
neither fought they any more. And Abner
and his men went all that night
through the Arabah;
and they passed over the Jordan,
and went through
all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
And Joab returned from following Abner:
and when he had gathered
all the people together,
there lacked of David's servants
nineteen men and Asahel.
But the servants of David had smitten
of Benjamin, and of Abner's men,
so that three hundred and threescore men died.
And they took up Asahel, and buried him
in the sepulchre of his father,
which was in Beth-lehem.
And Joab and his men went all night,
and the day brake upon them at Hebron.
(2 Samuel 2:24-32 - ASV)

This passage, like pretty much this whole chapter, is pretty self explanatory. Joab comes within communication distance of Abner and Abner basically says there has been enough bloodshed and any more of it and everyone will regret it.

This is so very true of civil wars, the people whose blood one must shed is often ones friends, former allies and even family. Joab in essence agrees to a kind of 'truce'. So Abner and his men withdraw. All told, David lost 20 men; Asahel included, whereas Abner lost many more, 360. The city that Abner retreated to Mahanaim, is known as Two Camps and was known from Patriarchal times (Genesis 32:1-2).

Civil wars are the worst. They really are. I am a bit of an American Civil War buff and the stories I have read really makes me shudder at the loss of life, destruction and suffering that civil conflict engendered. I believe that our tragedy today in this country, is that our nation seems to have forgotten that war and its causes; the obvious as well as other underlying, but that were just as important ones. We had two opposing visions for the future, one slave based and the other one based on freedom and it led to the greatest conflagration on this hemisphere, even to this day.

Many of the themes are different, but the hazy battle lines between freedom and a kind of technological control (some call it slavery) are already looming upon us today. You may wish to do a cursory internet search on the terms - technology social control and see what you find.

I hope and pray that we never see violence used as the method for settling these and other troubling and increasingly divisive visions for the future.

I really, really do. But looking around the nation and the things that have been going on in it, such a tragic potentiality is not outside of the realm of possibility.

We will continue our look at the book of 2 Samuel soon, God willing!

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17 Jan

2 Samuel Part 2

And it came to pass after this,
that David inquired of Jehovah, saying,
Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?
And Jehovah said unto him, Go up.
And David said, Whither shall I go up?
And he said, Unto Hebron.
2 Samuel 2:1 - ASV)

We left off last time with the death of Saul and Jonathan, with David's song remembering them.

After their tears and genuine sorrow where over, there was work to do. David seeks the Lord's council. What saith the Lord? This should always be what a saint says before he makes key decisions. David wants to know if he should go and to where. He gets positive answers in both instances. He was to go to Hebron. This was a city that was friendly disposed to David (1Samuel 30:31).

So David went up thither,
and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess,
and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
And his men that were with him did David bring up,
every man with his household:
and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
And the men of Judah came,
and there they anointed David king
over the house of Judah. And they told David,
saying, The men of Jabesh-gilead
were they that buried Saul.
(2 Samuel 2:2-4 - ASV)

So he gathered up his wives and his men and they went and lived in Hebron and this is key - according to the direction of the Lord. While there, he is anointed King. This is probably better seen as his crowning, not anointing because Samuel already anointed him back in 1Samuel 16:13. After his crowning/anointing he is informed of those who buried Saul.

And David sent messengers
unto the men of Jabesh-gilead,
and said unto them, Blessed be ye of Jehovah,
that ye have showed this kindness unto your lord,
even unto Saul, and have buried him.
And now Jehovah show lovingkindness
and truth unto you: and I also will requite
you this kindness, because ye have
done this thing. Now therefore let your
hands be strong, and be ye valiant;
for Saul your lord is dead,
and also the house of Judah
have anointed me king over them.
(2 Samuel 2:5-7 - ASV)

David is now acting like a king, he thanks those who buried Saul and does so in the name of the Lord but also reminds them of the facts. As they said in the olden days when the King died, 'The King is dead, long live the King!'. This is pretty much the gist of what David's message is, the old King is gone, I am king now... of Judah. But there is a problem and the following passages outline it.

Now Abner the son of Ner,
captain of Saul's host,
had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul,
and brought him over to Mahanaim;
and he made him king over Gilead,
and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel,
and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin,
and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul's son,
was forty years old when he began
to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years.
But the house of Judah followed David.
(2 Samuel 2:8-10 - ASV)

Abner was Saul's kin and thus it seems to me that what is happening is that Abner wanted to keep the royal line 'in the family', so to speak, so he chooses one of Saul's son to reign. His name gives us a hint as to where he was to take the nation.

The name bosheth (shame) was often used in place of the name Baal, which as you all know was an idol worshiped by many. His name as listed in Chronicles is Eshbaal (1Chronicles 8:33). That is right, his name means man of Baal or man of shame. How could a man name his son after such an idol? Let us never forget who it was who slaughtered all of the Lord's prophets.

Abner had considerable stature in the country and this looks like it was a kind of power grab in favor of Saul's house. Abner is going to be trouble. But power or the promise of it and wealth often reveals the true character of a person; that and the driving demons of personal ambition. Basically we have two kings, one ordained by God; the other, by Abner. Though it does seem clear that Judah was firmly behind David. Whenever God sets a person on high, the devil will always stir up opposition to him.

And the time that David
was king in Hebron over the
house of Judah was
seven years and six months.
And Abner the son of Ner,
and the servants of Ish-bosheth
the son of Saul, went out
from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
(2 Samuel 2:11-12 - ASV)

The dating here is a matter of some scholastic debate. I won't get into it here (see Adam Clarke's [1762-1832] Commentary on the Bible for comments on this). In verse 12 we see that Abner took Ish-bosheth's servants to Gibeon. This was seems to be a preparation for war and part of a struggle for the crown and to consolidate power under one king, Isbosheth.

And Joab the son of Zeruiah,
and the servants of David,
went out, and met them
by the pool of Gibeon;
and they sat down, the one
on the one side of the pool,
and the other
on the other side of the pool.
And Abner said to Joab,
Let the young men,
I pray thee, arise and play before us.
And Joab said, Let them arise.
Then they arose and went over by number:
twelve for Benjamin,
and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul,
and twelve of the servants of David.
And they caught every one
his fellow by the head,
and thrust his sword
in his fellow's side;
so they fell down together:
wherefore that place was
called Helkath-hazzurim,
which is in Gibeon.
(2 Samuel 2:13-16 - ASV)

Joab is basically David's war chief and he goes out to meet this host. They sit down by some pool at Gibeon and have a chat. The idea here seems to be that the contest between the two armies will be 'fought' by this tournament. It is not clear to me if this was meant for harmless fun or if this was to be a contest of champions and the winning team of the contest wins the battle. This is hardly unheard of in ancient times. This view makes some sense as each side probably were not really ready to do the whole 'civil war' thing.

Israel had already had wars and lost their first king. Starting another one was probably not on either side's 'list of things to do today'. But this also just may have been some kind of treachery using 'games' that turned out badly during what should have been merely competitive games; or perhaps some kind of blood sport (ie, gladiatorial).

And the battle was very sore that day:
and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel,
before the servants of David.
(2 Samuel 2:17 - ASV)

It is hard to get a real sense of what all of this, but perhaps since the 'games' did not decide anything substantive, it appears that a general battle ensued and as we see, it did not go well for Abner and his men.

Abner's power grab is going badly.

I think the lesson here for all of us is that even when we think we have 'arrived' at where God wants us to be, there are still going to be more 'dragons to slay', as the saying goes. Opposition does not mean we are outside of God's will, it can often mean were are right in the middle of it. This was God's will, David being king, but it was not a bed or roses for David. There were many problems that had to be dealt with and this rival claimant was one of them.

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8 Jan

2 Samuel Part 1

We begin this commentary on the Book of 2 Samuel...

And it came to pass after the death of Saul,
when David was returned
from the slaughter of the Amalekites,
and David had abode two days in Ziklag;
it came to pass on the third day, that,
behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul,
with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head:
and so it was, when he came to David,
that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
(2 Samuel 1:1-2 - ASV)

On to the book of 2 Samuel.

This book according to some commentators is not separated from the first book of Samuel in some copies of the Hebrew Bible. In other words, there was just one book of Samuel, not the first and second as it was passed down to us in our Bibles, so this is why I will just pretty much continue on and treat this as one book.

In the above passage we find David at the 'hangout' that the ruler of the Philistines, Achish gave him. I say hangout because the Amalekites had previously burned the place down and they probably had little more than makeshift and very rudimentary accommodations there.

While there, on the third day after their return from getting their families back, a man comes into the camp with news or perhaps better said, a story. He comes before David and does him homage.

And David said unto him,
From whence comest thou?
And he said unto him,
Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped
And David said unto him, How went the matter?
I pray thee, tell me. And he answered,
The people are fled from the battle,
and many of the people also are fallen and dead;
and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
(2 Samuel 1:3-4 - ASV)

David wants to know who this person is who comes into his camp, or more specifically, where he comes from. Given the general situation - Israel at war and all, David having just rescued his wives and the families of his men, David has every right to be somewhat suspicious. So this man relays his version of events and starts off with what appears to be the at least in part, the basic facts. The key was that Saul and his sons were dead.

And David said unto the young man
that told him, How knowest thou
that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?
And the young man that told him said,
As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa,
behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear; and, lo,
the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.
And when he looked behind him,
he saw me, and called unto me.
And I answered, Here am I.
And he said unto me,
Who art thou? And I answered him,
I am an Amalekite.
And he said unto me, Stand,
I pray thee, beside me, and slay me;
for anguish hath taken hold of me,
because my life is yet whole in me.
So I stood beside him, and slew him,
because I was sure that he could not live
after that he was fallen:
and I took the crown that was upon his head,
and the bracelet that was on his arm,
and have brought them hither unto my lord.
(2 Samuel 1:5-10 - ASV)

Here is where this Amalekite's story appears to veer off track. Saul took his own life (1 Sam 31:5).

These passages seems to indicate that this man who reports of Saul's death was fully aware that David was set to be King thereafter. This man was an Amalekite and his story, while having some elements of truth to it, does have some serious problems with it. But we will get to that in a minute.

Then David took hold on his clothes,
and rent them; and likewise
all the men that were with him:
and they mourned, and wept,
and fasted until even,
for Saul, and for Jonathan his son,
and for the people of Jehovah,
and for the house of Israel;
because they were fallen by the sword.
(2 Samuel 1:11-12 - ASV)

There appears to be genuine mourning here over the death of Saul. Outlaws and vagabonds some of them may have been, but they clearly had considerable 'patriotic' feelings for their fallen King and their nation. But there were others who were dead as well from the battle. Certainly brothers, fathers, other kin and friends as well had also fallen, for the battle appears to have been a rout.

And David said unto the young man that told him,
Whence art thou? And he answered,
I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.
And David said unto him,
How wast thou not afraid
to put forth thy hand
to destroy Jehovah's anointed?
And David called one of the young men,
and said, Go near, and fall upon him.
And he smote him, so that he died.
And David said unto him,
Thy blood be upon thy head;
for thy mouth hath testified against thee,
saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed.
(2 Samuel 1:13-16 - ASV)

So he hears the story from this man and now wants to know more about who he is. A wise man always considers the source of any news and information he hears. As a future King, David is wise to interrogate this man who brought him this news (in our times of fake news, propaganda and false narratives - let the wise man beware). 'Who are you and where do you come from?', is the basic question and David once again, I think behaves with unnecessary rashness and violence. In his state of outrage, he slays this news bearer for bringing him this news.

Now granted, he testified against himself that he slew Saul the King, but it was hardly murder since according to his story, Saul asked for it - it was an 'assisted suicide' according to his version of events. But as we know, his story does not line up with what really happened. Saul's armor-bearer was asked by Saul to end his life and refused, so Saul took his own life.

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Why did this Amalekite tell David such a tale? Who knows, but I suspect that he probably wanted to ingratiate himself with David, knowing he would be king (he did homage to him when he arrived), he probably figured that such a story would win him a reward with David in that he slew the obstacle to David's rise to the throne. David could not allow such a tale to gain weight with others, lest it be suspected that David had hired this man to do the deed and he was merely coming to David to get his blood money.

He would not want anyone thinking it was anything but the move of the God of Israel who put him on the throne. David as well had to ensure that others knew just what a serious matter it was to kill God's anointed. But David was clearly quite angry when this Amalekite did this deed or rather, told this tale.

His lie cost him his life. A lie or false report, particularly in a time of crisis or war can often have just that high a price tag.

And David lamented with this lamentation
over Saul and over Jonathan his son
(and he bade them teach the
children of Judah the song of the bow:
behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):
Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places!
How are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath,
Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
Ye mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
neither fields of offerings: For there the shield
of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul,
not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan turned not back,
And the sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided:
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet delicately,
Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.
I am distressed for thee,
my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant
hast thou been unto me:
Thy love to me was wonderful,
Passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!
(2 Samuel 1:17-27 - ASV)

David sings his Psalm to the fallen king and his son Jonathan, with whom David was the best of friends. Albert Barnes (1798-1870) notes in his commentary that the name of the song is 'The Bow' as in bow and arrow. The reference to the Book of Jasher may not be about a particular song, but may be regarding a request that the people of Israel learn the bow (Jasher 56:9). Those of you interested can easily find a copy of the book on the net.

This is a kind of war song, set to music for which we only have the poetry/lyrics. This is one that he does not want sung in Gath or Ashkelon for both of these were Philistine cities. Israel was lamenting the loss of her king, the Philistines were certainly rejoicing. Saul and Johnathan were both clearly well renowned warriors and respected for their abilities in battle, so this song praises those attributes. Then the song goes on to lament the fall of these two hero's of Israel's wars. David in particular is deeply moved by Johnathan's passing as the two were great friends.

Some believe this may have become a kind of national war song. Moses as well had commanded that a song be learned by Israel (Deuteronomy 31:19) and at the death of Israel's first King, David is now doing essentially the same thing.

We'll continue on with our look at 2 Samuel, soon, God willing!

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***2024***

16 Dec

1-2 Samuel - Transition

In the first book of Samuel we see how David became what he was, ready to be King. We saw how Samuel, the prophet/judge was basically rejected by the people because of the behavior of his sons and then we saw the anointing of Saul - over Samuel's objections and God's specific warnings to the people about what they could expect with this king they so earnestly desired. We saw how Saul who had a lot of promise turned out to be a disaster.

This can happen. People can get called and then get rejected. Rebellion, sin, dishonoring God... these are just some of the things that can get a man rejected of the Lord. Saul, soon after he became king ceased to listen to good advice. Then he and Samuel, God's prophet went separate ways. Then Saul went and killed a mass of God's servants. In short, Saul had gone off the rails. There comes a time when God stops listening to the rebellious when they pray and this is what happened to Saul. He had not only forsaken the Lord, but became his enemy, this after having been raised by God to the throne. In the end, he was a suicide.

Saul's life and death should be a warning to each of us. To never forsake the Lord, to do what he commands and to never take his forgiveness for granted.

Let it never, ever be said that God has not experienced betrayal. He has. We get betrayed and don't think God doesn't know exactly how we feel. He does. He has felt it many times before. So when you come to God and tell him of how someone betrayed your trust, sold you down the river, ripped you off, don't think for a second he does not fully and completely understand. Was not Christ betrayed by one of the disciples whom he trusted?

Saul betrayed his God and his calling. Samuel, I think however who was a great prophet and deeply beloved of God, nearly fell into the same trap as Eli, whose sons brought great dishonor on the House of the Lord. But Samuel was faithful to God all the days of his life and was well respected by God's people. When the people rebelled against Samuel, it was not because of him or his ways, but because of his sons.

One thing I take away from this book after many years since I took a serious study of it, is that David had to be tempered before he could rule effectively for the Lord. So he had to go through many trials and tribulations. He had to learn 'court politics' the hard way. Here was his first lesson - do right, be faithful to the King and you get rewarded with a spear thrown at you. Lesson? Politics is a treacherous and vicious business. Be it a monarchy, democracy or dictatorship. You walk into the corridors of real power and too often, you have just entered into a combination vipers nest, lions den and an asylum for the criminally insane.

David saw this first hand and with some of his experiences, he would never ever forget just what politics was really all about - the crazy, verses the greedy, versus the incompetent, versus those infected with the lust for more power; with the noble, honorable and good man framed, arrested and doing time for a crime that never even entered his mind.

Then the lust, when it hath conceived,
beareth sin: and the sin,
when it is fullgrown,
bringeth forth death.
(James 1:15 - ASV)

Many folks thought I should have gone into politics. Even when I was young they thought so. I never even considered it and now that I am older, I am glad I never did.

And politics does enter into this book and all the books of the Kings and Chronicles. These are stories of rebellions, murders, royal marriages, good kings and horrible ones and God's judgment of wicked rulers

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David remained faithful to God and God kept his word. He was about to become King and we will get to that as we start 2 Samuel, God willing. This book is key for the scriptures and the life of Israel because it tells us of a very important transition from the age of the Judges to the age of the Kings.

I hope you all got something out of that book. I think the key takeaway for me was that God did make a promise to David, but like Abraham, he had a long way to go, many battles to fight and many a trial to undergo before the promise was fulfilled.

We too have been given a promise and I know each of you here (referring to insiders at this site) knows that the road to eternal life is not strewn with lilies on a golden path with beautiful angels strumming harps as we traverse the rose fragranced highway. It's a hard life and for some of us, it may get a lot harder. Let us toughen up and listen most very carefully to what God (not some wannabe prophet or fake pastor or sold-out minister) has to say to each of us in these difficult times. We don't know what the future holds. But I suspect whatever it is in this twisted world, it's not going to be good.

Let us remember men like Samuel and David and their faithfulness. Let us remember how they too were tried and had a hard time of it but God still looked out for them, through the thick of it.

But let us also never forget the failures of men like Saul and Eli either. All of these are examples we need to heed in our walk with Christ.

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Most commentary these days is for a small select group of people.
Those who want access can email me (below) read it carefully
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Note: The Bible version usually quoted from on this site is now the American Standard Version, which according to Wikipedia, the Sword Project and various other Bible sites, was published in 1901 and is now in the Public Domain.

Additionally, Bible commentaries and dictionaries mentioned herein are almost always very old (usually published in the 1800's or before). I often reference them with both the common names of the work as well as the original publishing date or the birth and death years of the author. I gravitate to older, more conservative scholarship when studying the Bible.

Finally, at times you will find an 'ff' after a referenced verse, this merely means 'and forward' or 'follow forward' for the whole meaning of the text.

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Contents On This Page

Twenty-five In '25

2 Samuel Part 12

2 Samuel Part 11

2 Samuel Part 10

2 Samuel Part 9

2 Samuel Part 8

2 Samuel Part 7

2 Samuel Part 6

2 Samuel Part 5

2 Samuel Part 4

2 Samuel Part 3

2 Samuel Part 2

2 Samuel Part 1

1-2 Samuel - Transition

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