In our
last study we saw in David’s family rape, murder, bitterness, unforgiveness,
death and also rebellion as Absalom tried to take the throne. Absalom was killed and David and the wholly
army mourned.
2 Samuel 19-20 – God Restores
David
mourned over the death of his son, Absalom.
The whole army mourned. They had
won the battle for Israel and for the glory of God, but they felt bad because
of David’s excessive weeping and mourning.
Actually excessive mourning is rooted in unbelief. David forgot that God was in control and that
He had showed him grace and mercy in the victory. Joab gave him a good talking to and told him
to snap out of it. He said that David
was being selfish and that it wasn’t all about him. He told him to go out and encourage the
people or he would lose most of them.
David didn’t feel like doing this, but he did.
When
have you be wise enough to accept the counsel or others?
David
encouraged the people, but he wouldn’t force his reign on Israel. He would only be king if the people who
rejected him for Absalom agreed to bring him back. David agreed to replace his commander, Joab
with Amasa, who was the captain of Absalom’s army. This was a gesture of reconciliation. Amasa helped David to win the people’s hearts. David probably took pleasure in replacing
Joab, because he was the one who was responsible for killing Absalom.
Like
David, God will not force His reign on us.
We have to welcome Him in our hearts.
We have the choice to reject Him or received Him as our Savior.
The
northern tribes were ready to accept David as king once more, but Judah showed
some hesitation. David forgave his
enemies like Shimei and rewarded those who were loyal to him like
Barzillai. Mephibosheth, who hadn’t cut
his beard or washed his clothes since David left, met David. Mephibosheth told him that Ziba had deceived
him and now Mephibosheth’s land was his.
To solve the problem David had them split the land, but Mephibosheth
said Ziba could have it all. Friction
between the northern tribes and Judah resulted in another revolt against David led
by Sheba, which ended without a battle.
Joab
was jealous of Amasa . When Amasa was
returning to Jerusalem, Joab pretended to greet him, but Joab caught him off
guard and kill him. Amasa and Joab were
cousins and David was their uncle so Nathan’s prophecy in 2 Samuel 12:10 happened again.
Joab became the leader of the army again. He removed Amasa’s body and didn’t bury it or
show him any honor. This showed Joab’s
cruel character again. He cared only
about himself. Remember he was the one
who helped David kill Uriah and he was the one who killed Absalom.
Do you
recognize “Joabs” in your workplace or church?
Joab
pursued Sheba, son of Bicri and took the city until a woman challenged
him. Her wisdom resulted in Sheba’s
death, but gave life and peace for her city and nation.
Principle: God alone can make new what sin has torn
apart.
2 Samuel 21-23 – God Rescues
Gibeonites Avenged
During
David’s reign there was a 3 year famine so David sought the Lord. He asked if the famine was because of what
Saul had done. Remember during the
conquest of Canaan, Israel committed to protect the Gibeonites who were living
in the land. But Saul tried to kill all
the Gibeonites. David wanted to right
this wrong so he summoned the Gibeonites and asked how he could make
amends. They wanted 7 of Saul’s male
descendants to be killed. David did as
they asked, but spared Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson and Jonathan’s son. Rizpah was Saul’s concubine who had a son
also named Mephibosheth. David gave the
Gibeonites Rizpah’s 2 sons Mephibosheth and Armoni. He also gave them 5 more sons of Saul’s
daughter. All 7 were killed. Rizpah covered their bodies to protect them
from the birds. David then brought the
bones of Saul and his son Jonathan and with the other bones buried them in
Saul’s tomb. After that , God answered
David’s prayer.
What do
you need to make right for God to answer your prayer?
David’s Song of Praise
David
sings a song of praise to the Lord. In
it he says that the Lord is his rock, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation,
stronghold, and savior. He is worthy of
praise. His enemies threatened
repeatedly, but he could always call upon the Lord and was rescued. David knew his sinfulness and God required
righteousness. None of us are
righteous. It’s only through faith in
Jesus on our behalf can we be made righteous.
God saves the humble. In other
words pride has no place in God’s kingdom.
Do you
recognize God’s blessings in your life and do you give Him the praise He
deserves?
David
was aware that God’s promise didn’t include every member of his family, but he
remembered the covenant that God promised that through him there would always
be a righteous ruler. Jesus would come
through the line of David.
Principle: Only God can make new what sin has ruined.
David
names his mighty men. Some were:
Josheb-Besshebeth
– killed 800 at one time
Eleazar
– fought until Lord brought victory over the Philistines
Shammah
– fought Philistines alone and Lord brought victory
Abishai
– killed 300
Benaiah
– commanded David’s bodyguard and defeated the strongest warriors and lions
Uriah
the Hittite – a loyal and committed warrior
Do you
recognize the efforts of others?
2 Samuel 24 – God Brings Repentance
The
Lord’s anger burned against David and “he” incited David to take a census. The “he” here can be confusing, but In 1 Chronicles 21:1 the “he” is
Satan. Satan prompted him to take a
census. God allowed this to happen. It was wrong to take a census because Israel
belonged to God and it was up to Him to command a counting.
David
was very powerful and his kingdom had grown.
He was tempted to take some of the glory for himself. By taking the count was a way to take credit
for himself.
David
commanded Joab and the army to do the census.
Joab spoke up and ask why, but he and the army did as their king
commanded. It took 9 months and 20 days to
do the count. 1 Chronicles 21 tells us there were 1,300,000 fighting men which
estimates as 6,000,000 total people in Israel.
After
the census was taken David’s conscience began to bother him and he saw that it
was his pride that caused him to do this foolish thing. He was not sinless, but he had a heart
sensitive to sin when it was committed. He
told the Lord he had sinned and asked Him to take away his guilt. The next morning the Lord sent the prophet
Gad to David and gave him 3 options to choose as his consequence – 7 years of
famine, flee for 3 months from his enemies, or 3 days of plague. David chose 3 days of plague.
When
has guilt caused you to repent and ask God for forgiveness?
A
devastating plague stuck the land and 70,000 people died. When David saw the people struck by the
plague, he said that he was the one who had sinned and asked the Lord to let
His hand fall upon him and this family. He acted like a true leader by taking the
responsibility and wanting the punishment to be on him and his household. God didn’t accept David’s offer.
Gad
went to David telling him that God said to build an altar to the Lord. David built the altar and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings. The Lord
withdrew the plague from Israel. Burnt
offerings were to atone for sin. Peace
offerings were to enjoy fellowship with God.
1 Chronicles 21:26 tell us
that God accepted David’s sacrifice by consuming it with fire from heaven.
Principle: Only God can rescue His people from sin and
give new life.
This
finishes the book of 2 Samuel. Our study next time will in 1 Kings. Hope to see you here.
__________________________________________
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