Bible 101 - 2 Samuel Chapters 7-11

Presented November 29, 2004 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: David is now king over all of Israel having first been anointed by the men of Judah following Saul's death, and then, with Abner's help, Israel's leaders join Judah in making David king over the entire nation. For the third time, he's anointed, and he loses no time in getting to work. First he defeats the Jebusites and takes over Jerusalem, making it the capital city. And then he goes to Kiriath-jearim to get the ark. This isn't as simple an operation as David planned, but eventually, he gets the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle, and Jerusalem's awakening as the spiritual capital of the country is about to begin. (By looking at I Chron. 15, we can see how David solved the dilemma of ark transport, and on his second attempt, appointed Levites to carry it, as God had commanded Moses in Num. 4). On a personal note, we saw that David acquired many wives and children, first in Hebron, and then in Jerusalem. What will this mean to his life, and more importantly, to his life as a leader and man of God? It's a foreshadowing of trouble since God had explicitly forbidden a king to "take many wives or his heart will be led astray" (Deut. 17:17). Stay tuned.

II Samuel 7: Of all the chapters in the Old Testament, this is one of the most significant. In this chapter, God makes a promise to David, often called the Davidic Covenant (in keeping with the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant). God's promise is in response to David's desire to build God a permanent "home," though 30+ years later, Solomon acknowledges at the temple's dedication "the heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you [God]. How much less this temple I have built!" (I Kings 8:27). God tells David that it will be his son who builds the temple. But for David, the greater reward is that God will establish his kingdom forever. What does this mean?

The Messiah is David's son: David's human descendants do occupy the throne for another generation or two, but after Solomon's death, the kingdom divides and civil war follows. It's not a pretty picture. However, in scripture, Jesus is identified as David's son. In fact, frequently in the gospels someone calls Jesus "Son of David" as a term of respect and acknowledgment of Jesus as the possible Messiah (e.g. Matt. 9:27, Matt. 12:23, Matt 20:30, Matt. 21:9, etc.) Isaiah 9 gives the clearest prophecy on this connection between David and Jesus. This is the passage with all of Jesus' names: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (can you hear the Messiah's melodies?) and the statement "He will reign on David's throne." In Jeremiah 23:5-6 a similar prophecy is written: "The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness." Both Isaiah (c760-673 B.C.) and Jeremiah (c650-582 B.C.) were prophets AFTER the kingdom split. Yes, David's descendants did sit on the throne of Judah (Solomon was the last to be king of a united kingdom), but the prophecy to David is two-edged: in the immediate future, and in the distant future, it will be fulfilled.

In the NT, the connection between David and Jesus is clear. In Matt. 1:1, Matthew begins his gospel with the statement, "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Recall that Matthew, of all the gospel writers, wrote to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. Listen to Luke 1:31ff, the angel's words to Mary: "You will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end." It's clear in both the OT and the NT that Jesus, the Messiah, is David's son (in human terms, Mary and Joseph both descended from David; in divine terms, Jesus is God's son).

II Samuel 7: David, sitting in his fine palace, tells Nathan the prophet (and this is Nathan's first mention) that he wants to build a house for God. Nathan gives him the go-ahead. But that night, God speaks to Nathan and tells him that David will not build the Temple, but his son will. Later, in I Chron. 22:8 God says the reason David will not be the builder is because he's a man of blood: he shed blood in war, and he also murdered Uriah. But even though God rejects David's offer of a house, he gives David a promise that simply overwhelms David. What is David's response? He goes to "sit before the Lord," and he prays.

II Samuel 7:18: David humbly thanks God. He acknowledges God's greatness, and is filled with gratitude that God has made him king, and further, that his descendant will be on an everlasting throne. This thrills David, and he spills out his joy and thankfulness in a prayer. This is not the same joy as when he "danced before the Lord," but it is a quiet humility. We hear phrases from the Psalms here, too: "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord. There is no one like you, and there is no God but you" (v. 22). David thanks God for his having chosen Israel to be his people, and for his redemption of them from Egypt. And look at David's reason for asking that God will keep his promise: "That your name will be great forever, and men will say 'The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.'" This is what God had told Moses he was performing miracles in Egypt to show: that He God is God alone; both the Egyptians and Israel would KNOW it. David understands this. He asks God to bless him and his family and his nation in the future - mainly because he knows that the only blessings worth having come from God.

II Samuel 8 and 10: In these two chapters, David fights numerous battles. These are important campaigns and with God's help, David enlarges Israel's territory. He destroys enemies like the Moabites, and even as far as the Euphrates River, God allows him to subdue armies. We read that "David became famous after he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt" (8:13) and that "God gave David victory everywhere he went" (8:14b). In ch. 10 an unpleasant incident occurs when David sends ambassadors to the new king of the Ammonites; his father had died and David sent condolences and good wishes for his reign. This king decides that David is playing games, and rejects the message of sympathy by cutting off the robes of David's men and trimming their beards in half. What a disgrace! David gets word and tells the men to wait in Jericho while their beards grow out, and then to come home. David is angry and the Ammonites realize they've erred, so they hire Aramean troops, but Joab and the armies of David advance on them and they flee. They form new battle lines, and now David joins the forces, and they defeat them soundly leading to a peace treaty which brings new tribute to Israel. This is a time of great military success in David's reign.

II Samuel 9: In this chapter, David recalls his promise to Jonathan and asks whether there are any of Saul's descendants alive. Someone remember Mephibosheth whom we met in ch. 4. He is the crippled son of Jonathan. David has him brought to him, and makes him a member of his household. This is totally unexpected; Mephibosheth expected to be killed as one who might challenge David for the throne. But David is kind to him for the sake of his friendship with his father. David is not only a successful warrior but a gracious man who keeps his promises.

II Samuel 11: We may think that David is perfect, but this chapter dispels that notion. The first verse tells us something is wrong with him; he's won battle after battle, extended Israel's boundaries as far as they've ever been, and yet "In the spring, when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. . . but David remained in Jerusalem" (v. 1). David has been in the army as a soldier and officer since he was a kid; why is he not out there with the army now? Is he getting old? Is he losing his edge? We don't know, and the Bible doesn't tell us because the incident that is the turning point in David's life, is the focus of this chapter.

II Samuel 11:2: The setting is Jerusalem, as we discover in v. 1, and David's restless, and so goes up on the roof to get some fresh air and walk around. His roof, that of the palace, is probably the highest point in Jerusalem, and so he can look down on everything else. From this vantage point, he spots a beautiful woman bathing. Now if his concern over his troops, far out on the battle field, made him restless, why wasn't he looking "out" and beyond Jerusalem? Or better still, why not look UP in prayer? But he is a man; we know he has at least six wives by this time, and he's a man of passion. Bathsheba's beauty intrigues him and he sends for her. Notice that he's not very discreet: over and over in this chapter, servants and messengers are involved. He doesn't keep this a secret. He takes Bathsheba; there is no sense of love involved here. And according to Deut. 22:22, if a man sleeps with another man's wife, and they are discovered, both must die. David knows Bathsheba is Uriah's wife (v. 3). David ignores this fact. And because he's the king, and she's a woman, he is in control. We have to ask why Bathsheba came so quietly: why didn't she refuse the invitation? Why didn't she say "I've just taken a bath and I'm ready to retire for the night"? Or once she got to the palace and discovered that the king's intentions weren't honorable, why didn't she say "hey, I'm a married woman, and Uriah is one of your mighty men"? (I Chron. 11 lists David's "mighty men," the 600-800 men who were with David from the time he fled Saul and stayed with him as he was on the run. Now they form the core of his army, and in v. 41, Uriah the Hittite is mentioned. This suggests that Uriah has been with David for many years, and not only that, he's one of the best men David has in his forces. These facts make David's actions here and his subsequent dealings with Uriah even more puzzling.)

II Samuel 11:5: While Bathsheba remained silent (or at least the Bible records none of her words in their first encounter), it is David who has the power, but he is out of control here. He breaks most of the 10 commandments. Some time later, Bathsheba sends word that she's pregnant. What's David's solution? He sends for Uriah to give him some R & R, but Uriah will have none of it. The army is out in the field; why should he be eating and drinking and sleeping in comfort when his troops are sleeping in tents and eating hardtack? Instead of going to his wife, Uriah sleeps for two nights in the palace entry. He's making a statement, and in fact, he puts it into words to David: "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing." (v. 11). Uriah is clearly the man of integrity here; his refusal should embarrass David, but it does not.

II Samuel 11:14: Now David compounds his sin: he writes a letter to Joab telling him to put Uriah on the front line, and to have the troops fall back (no one to cover him), and to allow him to be killed. And to make things worse, David sends the message with Uriah. (Remember Hamlet? He's sent to England by Claudius, and with Hamlet are Rosencranz and Gildenstern with orders for Hamlet's execution. Hamlet, under cover of night, sneaks into their backpacks, takes out the order and rewrites it to order their deaths, and then he gets onto a pirate ship and goes back to Denmark; R and G go to their deaths, having taken the orders themselves.) Joab must wonder, reading the message in front of Uriah, how he can do this without arousing suspicion. So he puts Uriah and his men in danger, near the city wall (a very vulnerable spot) and they are all killed. Many Biblical commentators say this is why God does not allow David to build the Temple: he has a warrior's blood on his hands, of course, but worse, he now has a murderer's blood on his hands. Joab sends a message back to David saying "Uriah is dead" as a postscript to the account of the battle. David hears the news without flinching, and then tells the messenger to tell Joab: "Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another." (v. 25).

II Samuel 11:26: Uriah's death is mourned by his wife, but we see no evidence that David mourned it. After her mourning was over, David brought her to the palace to become his wife, and later, she gave birth to a son.

II Samuel 11:27b: the last sentence of the last verse of this chapter says volumes: "But the thing David had done displeased the Lord." And David will discover that the consequences of this sin will be both immediate and far-reaching.

Next week: we'll move on, seeing first hand the consequences of David's sin played out in his family. His sin with Bathsheba is the turning point in his reign; from here on, the years are often terribly sad, a contrast to his earlier victories and success.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.