God's King
(2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles)
[a] Exploring 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles
During the latter years of Saul's reign, David attracted a large number of followers, many of them on the run from justice. He turned them into a disciplined task-force which roamed the countryside, making commando raids upon Israel's enemies, and protecting the lives and property of isolated communities from bandits. In this way he became a popular hero, and on the death of Saul, his own tribe of Judah made him their king. He reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.
Saul's supporters were still active, and they set up a rival king, Ishbosheth, on the east of the Jordan. Civil war broke out. David's attitude to Saul's followers was one of conciliation, consideration and courtesy. This drew most of the northern commanders to David's side, and the opposition collapsed. The northern leaders then asked David to rule over the whole nation.
At
this point, David's forces captured Jerusalem, which
up till then had remained in Canaanite hands. It was
situated in an ideal position between north and south,
and David transferred his capital to there from Hebron.
David reigned over Israel from Jerusalem for a further
thirty-three years. His reign ushered in the most glorious
period of the nation's history.
The Warrior King
Now established in Jerusalem, David launched a series of military campaigns. These resulted in the expulsion of various enemy forces that were harrying Israel. He removed a long-standing threat to the nation by finally breaking the Philistine hold on Israel. He extended his sphere of influence from the Egyptian border in the south to the Euphrates river in the north - far beyond the boundaries of Israel proper. He ordered the construction of roads and public buildings, he built up trade with surrounding nations, and he greatly enlarged Jerusalem. It was a time of great material prosperity.
But his main ambition was to honour God. Early in his reign he brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, and installed it in a special tent he had prepared for it. He longed to build a permanent building for Yahweh - a temple - but the Lord did not allow him. That privilege was to be his son's. But the worship arrangements he made for the tent were, after his death, used in the new temple.
Light and Shade
Although
David's ambitions for the temple were unfulfilled in
his lifetime, God gave him a special promise - that
his house would reign forever in Jerusalem, and that
his throne would never end. In his son Solomon's time,
God attached conditions to this promise.
At the height of his prosperity David committed a sin that was to curse the rest of his reign. It involved murder and adultery, and the consequences affected not only David himself, but also the whole kingdom. His son Absalom tried to wrest the crown from him by force, and David almost lost his life. Hatred was sown between other family members, again resulting in murder. The last days of David's reign were marked by unrest among the people. He took a national census, which so displeased God (probably pride was involved), that again both he and the nation suffered.
One of David's last acts was to purchase land for the future building of the temple.
Basic reading
Read 2 Samuel (in one sitting, if possible), 1 Chronicles 11-22, 28-29 (again, in one sitting, if possible), Psalm 2, Psalm 51.
Outline
Prepare an analysis for each of the two books (2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles). Use these analyses to compare the two accounts, noting their similarities and their differences. Can you see a different approach to David's life in 1 Chronicles? Refer to suggested outlines at the end of this study only after you have done your own.
Memorise
2 Samuel 7:11b-16. If you have time, also memorise 2 Samuel 7:18-29; 1 Chronicles 29:10-13; and Psalm 51. These three passages are not significant in the developing story of salvation, but they have much to teach us about praise, and confession of sin.
Background study
Using your Bible Handbook or Bible Dictionary:
(1) Read the introductions to 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.
(2) Look up David again, concentrating on the period
of his reign.
(3) Look up: Joab, Nathan, Mephibosheth, Bathsheba,
Absalom, Sheba, Asaph.
(4) Look up: Hebron, Jerusalem.
(5) List any obscure or difficult references or words,
and look them up. Any still unclear should be noted
for further study.
The Two Records
At this point we must look at the Books of Chronicles (originally one book), to appreciate their contribution to our understanding of God's revelation of himself in the OT.
They were written by an unknown person, towards the end of the OT period (about 400 BC), about 600 years after the time of David. In the meantime, Israel had been expelled from their Land, but after 70 years of God's discipline as exiles in Babylon, the nation was now re-established, although with a much reduced area of land. Struggling to restore the national life, Israel needed some solid encouragement - some reminder that Yahweh was still with her.
The need was met by the Chronicler recollecting the glories of David's reign, and in particular the promise of an everlasting throne. This last point was crucial, as Israel had had no king since the Exile. Thus they were encouraged to look forward to the time when God would again place a king, descended from David, on the throne of Israel. The reign of Solomon, David's son, is also treated at some length, as it was during his reign that Israel reached the peak of its material prosperity. At the time that the Chronicler wrote, Israel was looking for a divine king who would some day come to occupy David's throne, and restore the nation's glory. Obviously, the Chronicler saw David and Solomon as foreshadowing this eagerly looked-for deliverer.
The Royal Record
The first few chapters trace Israel's family trees. This was to reassure the nation of its place in history as God's instrument of salvation. Then follow accounts of the reigns of David and Solomon. After Solomon's death, the nation split into two states, and the record goes on to trace the history of the southern state (Judah), and her kings, who were David's descendants, ruling from Jerusalem. The record ends as the nation is taken into exile.
Because the Chronicler had a specific purpose in mind, he is very selective in what he records. His interest lies in the Davidic throne, and all that it means, and he concentrates on the religious, rather than the political aspects of the kingdom. Therefore he barely mentions the northern kingdom, which existed alongside Judah. He describes the temple and its worship and appointments in great detail. He omits David's great sin, and other incidents which reflect badly on David. These particular emphases would all help to restore the sense of divine destiny that Israel so badly needed at that time.
Chronicles therefore gives us a retrospect of Judah's history, bringing out the deeper significance of the events recorded in Samuel and Kings. 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles should therefore be studied side by side. Together, they give an inspired and therefore balanced view of both the political and the spiritual aspects of Israel's two great kings.
City of the Great King
To those who are aware of the tremendous importance of Jerusalem to Israel, and its deep significance in God's purposes, it comes as a surprise to realise that only at this stage does it enter the divine drama. It is briefly mentioned in Genesis 14 (as Salem), and is casually mentioned a few times in Joshua and Judges. Jerusalem played no part in Saul's life. Not until the eighth year of David's reign did it take centre stage, and thereafter it dominated the whole Bible story.
A fortress city since early times, it was situated high in the central hills, on a plateau surrounded on all sides except the north by deep ravines. A valley ran through the plateau from north to south. Militarily, the site was superb. It had been occupied for centuries by the Jebusites, who had fortified a long narrow section of about 12 acres (5 hectares) on the eastern brink of the plateau.
David was aware of Jerusalem's advantages as a capital for his kingdom. Besides its strategic military location, its position on the Judah-Benjamin boundary would help to ease the tension that had developed between those two tribes. Also, it would be more central for the northern tribes than Hebron was. In a surprise attack, David's forces captured the fortress and expelled the Jebusites.
The City of God
The small fortified area came to be called the City of David. In later years the built-up part of the city expanded, and additional city walls were built. Most Bible atlases have maps showing Jerusalem at various stages of its history.
David improved the fortifications and built himself a palace. This building was on a much smaller scale than palaces of our day, but was still vastly superior to the small houses of the common people.
The fortress hill was called Zion. In later times the name was also given to the hill to the north of the City of David, on which the temple was built, and eventually Zion became another name for the entire city.
Because the ark of the covenant was housed in Jerusalem, Israel regarded it as the city of God. The nation developed an intense love for Jerusalem. This is vividly brought out in some of the Psalms (e.g. Ps 46; 137).
The National Census
David's numbering of the people highlights a seeming contradiction between the account in 2 Samuel, and that in 1 Chronicles. Samuel says that God prompted David to take this step, but Chronicles blames Satan.
The OT sees all powers (including Satan) as under God's control, and therefore ultimately responsible for all their actions.
"It is also true, according to the Hebrew thinking, that whatever God permits he commits. By allowing this census-taking, God is viewed as having brought about the act. The Hebrews were not very concerned with determining secondary causes and properly attributing them to the exact cause. Under the divine providence everything ultimately was attributed to him; why not say he did it in the first place?"
We
may therefore trace the sequence of events: Satan tempted
David to act in a way that placed reliance upon his
own power, rather than on God. God did not prevent this
temptation. When David fell to the temptation, God justly
condemned and punished him. Notice that even before
God rebuked him, David was fully aware that he had done
wrong.
(2 Sam 24:10).
The large numbers of the OT
Did the Arameans really have 7000 chariots (1Chr 19:18)? Did Israel really bring 400,000 soldiers to fight against the little town of Gibeah (Judg 20:2)? How could 10,000 men possibly deploy themselves in ambush without being discovered (Judg 20:33,34)?
These are but a few of the many OT instances where numbers appear to be grossly overstated. They are completely out of keeping with what we know about ancient warfare, the small populations involved, and the small sizes of fighting forces in OT times. In some cases, the numbers mentioned are simply physically impossible. How can we explain them?
A Labour of love
Several possible solutions have been suggested. We must realise that the original Biblical manuscripts no longer exist, and that those we have today are the results of much laborious copying by hand, before printed books were known. There is good evidence that the high numbers are due either to copying errors, or through failure to correctly understand a word in the original. In the first instance given above, the parallel passage in 2 Samuel 10:18 gives the number of chariots as 700, a much more realistic figure. This is obviously a simple copying error.
In Hebrew the word for "professional soldier" is very similar to that for "thousand". Thus "50 captains" could easily be copied as "50,000 men". Such an error would account for the high numbers in Judges 20 (and in many other parts of the OT).
A reliable record
But does not all this throw doubt upon the divine inspiration of Scripture - which, of course, involves absolute accuracy in every detail? No, because it is only the originals, as they came from the writers' hand, that were inspired. Copying errors are possible. But the copiers, people with a very high regard for Scripture, took great pains to copy or to translate accurately. Scholars give us assurances, based on the oldest manuscripts that exist today, that very few errors exist in our modern translations, and affect only very unimportant matters. The main message of salvation is certainly unaffected, and we may have full confidence in the Bible that is in our hands today.
[b] Applying 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles
"I have installed my King on Zion"
Psalm 2 is a royal psalm, probably used at the coronation of each Davidic king. As each generation came together for the enthronement of a new king, these ringing words would remind the nation afresh that the king was placed there by God himself, and was to rule under God and in his behalf.
With the establishment of the Davidic throne in Jerusalem, a very large piece of God's picture of his salvation falls into place. In the earlier books of the Bible we have seen the principles of God's grace in forgiveness, his covenant relationship with his people, deliverance through the shed blood, a life of victory in God's presence - all shadows of the reality which is clearly revealed and taught in the NT.
But now we have something quite different. God introduces into the national life a king. Not a ruler according to man's ideas (as was Saul), but a man chosen by God, with a heart set to obey God, and to rule the nation under God.
From David's time onwards the nation held David and his memory in high regard. Future generations looked back to him (not Saul) as the founder of the kingdom. He was the example for the standard of character that God demanded of all kings (1 Kgs 9:4), and against which all following kings were measured (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:3). The prophets of later times frequently mentioned David: house of David; throne of David; tabernacle of David; city of David; sure mercies of David; God of David; righteous Branch of David; seed of David.
God himself had a special regard for David. He gave him as an example to Solomon (1 Kgs 3:6); he called himself "the God of David" (2 Kgs 20:5); and he called David "a man after my own heart" (1 Sam 13:14). He is listed with the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
The Everlasting Kingdom
God's message to David, through the prophet Nathan (2 Sam 7) opened up new horizons for God's purposes for his people. First, David's throne was God's gift to Israel (2 Sam 7:13). Then, the breathtaking promise that David's throne would last for ever (2 Sam 7:13,16; Ps 89:35-37). We shall see later how this promise was fulfilled in Israel's history, but at this stage we shall briefly note two examples:
2
Kings 11. Here God intervened to save the life of Joash,
the sole survivor of David's line, after a massacre.
2 Chronicles 23:3 states that Joash was made king on
the basis of God's promise to David.
2 Kings 19. God protected Jerusalem from the Assyrian
invaders, for David's sake (v.34).
These two attacks on the Davidic throne were attempts
by Satan to frustrate God's plan to one day place his
Son, Jesus Christ, on the throne of David.
When God repeated the promise of an everlasting throne to Solomon, he imposed conditions. The continuance of David's throne would depend on whether the kings who occupied it followed the Lord, as had David their ancestor. Under those conditions, Solomon himself forfeited his right to the throne, but for his father David's sake, the judgment on Solomon was both partial and delayed (1 Kgs 11:12). But as the nation fell more and more into sin under kings who for the most part ignored or flouted God, there came a time when the throne of David was overthrown, and the people of Israel were exiled to a foreign land.
God's word stands sure
What are we to make of all this? Did God's promise fail? What about David's throne being everlasting?
We have already seen that, while human failure to obey the terms of God's covenant results in human loss, it cannot cancel the covenant. The material blessings may be forfeited, but God will honour his promises on another level. Indeed, we can truthfully say that all of God's promises are intended to reach their ultimate fulfillment in the spiritual realm.
The Everlasting King
So the first thing we need to realise is that there is a King on the throne of David! (Lk 1:32,33). Jesus is David's heir (Rev 3:7). The shadow of the throne in Jerusalem is fulfilled in the reality of Jesus' spiritual kingship over his people. Psalm 2:6 looks forward to Jesus' reign. The OT anticipates the glorious reign of David's Son on David's throne (Ps 132:11; Is 9:6,7; Mic 5:2; Zech 6:13). The NT also presents Jesus as God's King. Jesus himself claimed kingship, and emphasised that his was a spiritual reign (Jn 18:36,37). Acts 2:29-36 clearly links the promise to David with Jesus. Jesus, right now, rules over the kingdom of God! He is our King! And as Satan attacked God's king in the days of Joash and Hezekiah, so he did his utmost to stop God's King Jesus from fulfilling his mission. He tried to kill the infant Jesus through Herod's brutal policy (Mt 2); he tried to have him thrown over a cliff (Lk 4).
Some believe that Jesus' terrible mental and spiritual anguish in Gethsemane a few hours before he died was probably Satan's last desperate attempt to kill him, thus preventing him going on to the cross for our salvation. All in vain! The day is coming when he shall be acknowledged openly by all creation as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Phil 2:9-11; Rev 19:16). Hallelujah!
Zion, the King's dwelling place
As king David foreshadows someone greater, so does Jerusalem speak of a more wonderful home for God's King - the "New Jerusalem" (Rev 21).
Every Israelite had a burning love for Jerusalem - because the temple and the king were there! It was called "the joy of the whole earth" (Psalm 48:2). The joy with which pilgrims came to Jerusalem for the set festivals is reflected in Psalms 84 and 120-134. These songs express the excitement of being able to visit the city where God dwelt. After the city was destroyed in 586 BC their grief was intense (Ps 137).
What is the City - the Jerusalem where Jesus reigns? It is the company of God's people of all places and of all times, and of which we are a part. Galatians 4:21-31 (esp. v.24- 26) states that we are children of the Jerusalem that "is above", that is, a spiritual Jerusalem. In these verses Paul specifically makes a distinction between the spiritual and the literal Jerusalems.
Hebrews 12:22-24 is a key passage in understanding this truth. The writer tells his Christian readers that they "have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God". Therefore, it is not only something in the future, as some believe, but it is with us here and now. The passage goes on to describe the wonderful company that we may enjoy fellowship with - to say nothing of God and our Saviour Jesus! Why should anybody want to put off to the future something that is gloriously ours to enjoy today?
Personal applications
This principle of seeing in the OT Jerusalem a picture of our life in God's community today, opens up a whole new field in the application of Scripture to our lives. For example, Psalm 132 celebrates David bringing the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. That seems to have nothing to do with our Christian experience today. But, applying the shadow/reality principle, the chapter comes alive. Verse15 is no longer confined to the OT Jerusalem. God will bless me, Bill Thompson, with abundant provisions, he will satisfy me (insert your own name) with food. He will clothe me with salvation - and I will ever sing for joy. Who wouldn't! Verse 13,14: The Lord desires to dwell with me (as a citizen of Zion).
But there is challenge, too. David was greatly concerned to put God first by "finding a place" for the ark, which represented God. He was determined not even to sleep until he had honoured God in this way (v.4,5). Now if we claim the blessings of this chapter, we must also face up to the challenges. Am I prepared to "make space" for God in my life, to put him first, as David was?
There are many OT passages that will really come alive to you, if you look for the reality beyond the shadow. This is not reading into Scripture what is not there. These truths are there! It is the way that God wants us to read the OT and to apply it practically.
Whenever you can, insert your own name, as I have done above. It will mean much more to you.
Try it for yourself
Look at Psalm 122, which concentrates entirely on Jerusalem. Take each verse, and ask "What does this tell me about my Jerusalem?" For instance, the command to pray for Jerusalem (v.6) will not be seen in a political light, as many see it today, but as an encouragement to pray for all our brothers and sisters in Christ (our Jerusalem).
For reflection
The Israelites were primarily an agricultural people, and many occupations required people to shift from place to place (e.g. Genesis 37, where Jacob's sons took the flocks to various pastures). Temporary shelters, tents, and caves were part of the daily routine. Therefore, to Israel, cities had great significance. The comparatively few city-dwellers were regarded as being highly privileged. Contrasted with their own simple and sometimes isolated existence, country people saw the following advantages of city life:
* Permanent residence
* Concentration of people
* Close fellowship
* Order and beauty
* Safety and security
Some of these sentiments are brought out in Psalms 46:5; 48:12-14; 125:1,2. The security aspect was underlined by the provision of Cities of Refuge (Num 35:6-34).
Take each of these five characteristics of city life, and relate them to your spiritual city - God's people. Think first of your own church, then of your wider circle of Christian friends and acquaintances. How can you better enjoy the advantages of "city life"?
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The divine pattern of salvation grows clearer as we proceed through the OT. But God's revelation did not come only through historical events. He used poetry, song, proverb and contemplative writings to reinforce and add to the picture. Our next study will take this up.
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Suggested outlines of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles
2 Samuel
1-4 David king over Judah
5-25 David king over all Israel
5 David's military victories - Jerusalem, Philistia
6 David brings the ark to Jerusalem
7 God promises David an everlasting throne
8 David's military victories - various
9 David's kindness to Mephibosheth
10-12 David's great sin13-14 The rape of Tamar
15-19 Absalom's revolt
20 Sheba's revolt
21 Famine and warfare
22-23:7 Two psalms of David
23:8-39 David's mighty men
24 The census and the temple site1 Chronicles 11-29 (after JK Howard)
11-12 The founding of the Davidic kingdom
13-16 David and the ark
17 David's desire to build the Temple
18-20 David's campaigns
21-22 David and the Temple
23-26:28 The Temple ministry
26:29-27 The administration of the kingdom
28-29 The end of David's reign and the accession of Solomon
Assignment 15
(1) In what ways was David, God's king, the divine pattern of God's greater King, Jesus? Answer as fully as you can, where possible giving Scripture for each point.
(2) Bible outline of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.