2 Samuel

Overview

Second Samuel is the reign of David, and it turns on one night. The first ten chapters are rise: Jerusalem taken, the ark brought home, enemies subdued, and a covenant promising his house a throne for ever.

Then comes Bathsheba, and everything after is consequence — a dead child, a raped daughter, a murdered son, a rebellion led by another son, and a king weeping at a gate. The book neither excuses David nor abandons him.

Background

Saul’s death left a divided nation: David ruled Judah from Hebron for seven years while Saul’s son held the north. Only after a long war did all Israel come to him.

Jerusalem was a Jebusite stronghold nobody had taken, which made it a capital belonging to no tribe. Bringing the ark there tied worship to the throne — and gave rise to many of the psalms.

Key themes

• God establishes David’s house for ever, by covenant and not by merit.
• Sin forgiven still leaves consequences that run through a family.
• Repentance is real, and God receives it — see Psalm 51.
• Power is dangerous to the man who holds it.
• God keeps His promise through a flawed and failing line.

Outline

1. King at lastChapters 1–5

   Lament for Saul and Jonathan, seven years at Hebron, then all Israel and Jerusalem taken.

2. The ark and the covenantChapters 6–7

   Uzzah struck down, David dancing before the LORD, and a house promised for ever.

3. Victories and kindnessChapters 8–10

   Enemies subdued, and Mephibosheth brought to the king’s table.

4. Bathsheba and NathanChapters 11–12

   A rooftop, a letter that killed a man, and a prophet with a story about a lamb.

5. The sword in the houseChapters 13–18

   Amnon and Tamar, Absalom’s revenge and rebellion, and a death in an oak.

6. Last yearsChapters 19–24

   The kingdom recovered, David’s song, mighty men listed, and a census that cost a plague.

Key passages

• 2 Samuel 5:6-7 David takes the stronghold of Zion.
• 2 Samuel 6:14-15 David danced before the LORD with all his might.
• 2 Samuel 7:12-16 Thy throne shall be established for ever.
• 2 Samuel 9:7 Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
• 2 Samuel 12:7 Thou art the man.
• 2 Samuel 12:13 I have sinned against the LORD.
• 2 Samuel 18:33 O my son Absalom — would God I had died for thee.
• 2 Samuel 24:24 Neither will I offer that which doth cost me nothing.

Christ in 2 Samuel

The covenant of chapter 7 is the spine of the rest of the Bible: a son of David whose kingdom will have no end. Israel’s kings never met that description, which is why the prophets kept looking forward and why Gabriel told Mary that God would give her son the throne of his father David.

Reading it

• Read Psalm 51 after chapter 12; it is David’s side of that confrontation.
• Chapter 7 repays slow reading — note what David wanted to build and what God builds instead.
• Notice how the writer reports the king’s sins without softening them.