Book 10 The Book of 2nd Samuel
The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel were originally one manuscript. Therefore, the author and date of writing of 2nd Samuel are the same as it is for 1st Samuel.
Why was it written: Records the events of the reign of King David
The book of 2nd Samuel is a historical account of the reign of King David following King Saul’s death. It is a book filled with action, adventure, family drama, victories, and defeats.
The book also gives us an uncensored look into the life of the man who was described by God himself as being “A man after God’s own heart”—even when the heart of David was marred with sins most of us never deal with in our own lives. So beyond the historical value of the book of 2nd Samuel, the book overflows with the truth of God’s redemptive love.
The fact that God is ready, willing, and able to forgive and redeem us back into his loving arms cannot be missed in the 2nd Samuel. Time and time again we see
David falls victim to temptation followed by remorse, regret, repentance, and thanksgiving for God’s forgiving nature.
One of the most valuable lessons we should take from the life of David in regards to sin is this: David sinned on more than one occasion and his sins were not ‘trivial’ (no sin is).
But David did not live a sinful lifestyle. He learned from his mistakes and did not allow himself to fall into a pattern of repeating the same sins over again. He was by no means perfect, but he truly desired to be God’s servant and do God’s will in his life.
To try to cover all the details of David’s reign over Israel in one chapter of a book is unrealistic. I simply could not do it justice. Instead, I will simply provide you with a list of the highlights and a few major details and let you read the rest for yourself.
2 Samuel Bible study guide and overview
David’s Reign Over Israel
- David grieved the deaths of Saul and Saul’s son, Jonathan (his best friend)
- David didn’t automatically assume the role of king but rather waited for God to tell him when to go, where to go, and who to appoint as his advisors
David’s humility and obedience are clearly seen in these events.
- David encounters animosity and conflict with Saul’s loyal advisors, but God’s will wins out and David takes the throne
Battles are fought and won; giving Israel justifiable reasons to honor and respect their new king
- David establishes his home in Jerusalem, “The City of David” and brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem
- David very much wanted to build a Temple for God in Jerusalem, but God said no. Through the prophet, Nathan, God told David that because he was a man of war (who had taken human lives) he could not build the temple. God did promise, however, that David’s son who would come after him, would build a Temple worthy of being a dwelling place for the LORD
- God promises David his family will sit on the throne of Israel as long as Israel is a kingdom (NOTE: this is somewhat prophetic in nature since God knew Israel would not ‘live’ to be the kingdom he desired it to be)
- David commits the sins of adultery, fornication, conspiracy, and even murder
Spiritual lessons from King David’s reign
David committed adultery and fornication with Bathsheba; resulting in a pregnancy
To try to cover up or hide his sins, David brings Bathsheba’s husband, a trusted army officer, home to spend time with his wife so that she can simply say the child is his. Things don’t go according to plan (because of Uriah’s loyalty to David and the men he is leading) so David has him killed, but makes it look as if it was an act of war.
Nathan is once again called upon by God to guide and reprimand David. David doesn’t try to deny anything, shift the blame, or justify his actions. He admitted his sins, asked forgiveness, and repented by never doing those things again, and most poignantly portrayed in the book of 2nd Samuel is David’s acceptance of his discipline by God for his actions.
The disciplinary action taken by God for David and Bathsheba’s sins was to take the life of the child they conceived during their act of adultery. David prayed that God would spare the child’s life, but when God did not do so, David did not become angry at or resentful toward God. He accepted God’s will and moved on.
As a result of David and Bathsheba’s repentance and faith, God granted them other children born because of their love in marriage. One of them was Solomon—the successor to the throne of Israel.
- David struggles against his son, Absalom. It is a struggle that eventually leads to Absalom’s death, which causes deep agony and grief in David’s heart.
- David once again disobeys God by counting the members of his army.
- God had expressly told David not to count the members of his army. God wanted David to know and believe that their
success was not the result of numbers but of God’s divine intervention. - David’s sin of disobedience had far-reaching effects—-just like ours often does. Because of his sin, God brought a plague on Israel for a period of three days, killing seventy thousand people.
- God’s heart was heavy with grief (2nd Samuel 24:16). In fact, he was so grief-stricken that he ordered the angel of death to stop before the people in the city of Jerusalem were stricken by the death plague.
- After God stopped the plague, he instructed David to build an altar at the place where the death angel had been when God ordered the plague to end.
- God had expressly told David not to count the members of his army. God wanted David to know and believe that their
The final event to take place in the book of 2nd Samuel is David’s altar-building and sacrifice as an act of repentance for his disobedience. It isn’t the act itself that shows the true heart of the man whose lineage is that of our Savior.
Verse by verse meaning of 2 Samuel chapters
It is the heart with which he makes the sacrifice that reveals to us why David was ‘labeled’ by God to be a man after his (God’s) own heart.
David’s words to the owner of the wine press where God has instructed David to make his sacrifice are an excellent summation of what our constant mindset and attitude toward God should be: “But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it, I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”…. 2nd Samuel 24:24a