We’re diving back into the history of God’s people this morning, to continue to get a good picture of the entire Old Testament. Today, we’ll be starting the book of 2 Samuel, and we’re going to start this morning with a video that covers 2 Samuel so we can see what we’ll be looking at in the Bible over the next few weeks.
VIDEO
As the video said, our section of Scripture today covers a time period of blessings and successes for David. He becomes King officially following Saul’s death, and because of David’s humility and love for the Lord, he’s set up to be a great king and for a while he does indeed enjoy God’s blessings and success. Let’s look at this time in David’s life.
We’ll start in 2 Samuel 5 today. The first five verses open by telling us that the people came to David and asked him to be their king. They anointed him and he began to lead them, and we’re told that David’s reign would be a forty-year long reign.
He conquered Jerusalem, and moved the capital of Israel from Hebron to Jerusalem and named it Zion. David built up the city and it became a mighty place to rule from, and 2 Samuel 5:10 says, “And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.”
I’ve previously pointed out through Scripture that David loved the Lord and that God was faithful to David. This is part of why David experienced the rich blessings and success that he did. If he had not loved the Lord, things likely would have gone very differently for David. Without David’s love for the Lord, it’s likely that David’s reign would have looked a lot more like Saul’s.
David knew this, too. He knew that apart from God, he would have nothing and be no one. 2 Samuel 5:12 says, “Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.”
If you want to follow along in your bulletins this morning and take notes, your first blank is ESTABLISHED. The Lord was the one who established David as king. David acknowledging this important fact is going to be one of the reasons that David continued to experience success.
Proverbs 16:9 says that it is the Lord who puts our steps before us. Daniel 2:21 tells us that it is the Lord who causes kings to rise and fall. Whatever success we have, whatever success David had or even the small successes Saul had, all came because the Lord allowed it. We would be foolish not to accept this fact. David accepted this, and if we read his Psalms, the songs he wrote, we will often find David praising the Lord for His great blessings upon David, including entrusting David with the throne of Israel. We would be wise to follow David’s example and to thank the Lord for every blessing He gives us.
David was further blessed with many children, and then the final half of 2 Samuel 5 talks about a success in battle that David had against the Philistines. Now, if you think back to the end of Saul’s reign as king, you might remember that it happened at the hand of the Philistines. They killed Saul’s sons and they overran cities, they plundered the cities and killed many people. David had his work cut out for him.
The Philistines heard that David had become king and they went in search of him, likely to kill him too before he could gain power and amass an army to defeat them. David was in a precarious position where he would have needed to act quickly in order to put down the Philistines who were rising against him. But he didn’t rush into battle.
2 Samuel 5:19, “so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
Your next bulletin blank is INQUIRED. David went to the Lord and asked the Lord what David should do. We see the same phrase, the same question repeated in verse 23. Shall I go? He questioned. He needed to. The Philistines were hunting for him and if he didn’t do something it was possible that they would find him and kill him. It was a problem that needed to be addressed. But David asked God first.
This was another thing that marked David’s time as king as great, and marked David as a great king. He went to the Lord. Now, we’ll see over the next few weeks, this wasn’t always the case, but I believe from reading David’s history and David’s songs that he himself wrote, that David was the kind of man who tried to bring everything to the Lord. He wasn’t always consistent in that, but it was his desire to only do what the Lord had asked and to be within the Lord’s will. He desired to always be seeking and chasing after God.
2 Samuel 5:25 gives us another look at what made David’s reign full of blessings and successes. “So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.” Your next blank in your bulletin is DID, David did as the Lord commanded him. Again, not always, but that was David’s desire, to do as the Lord asked. It was one of the things that marked David as a man after God’s own heart.
This is why he was blessed. This is why his reign was mostly a successful one. David recognized that everything he had was because of the Lord. David went to the Lord for guidance. David did what the Lord asked. And for the most part, we remember David as the greatest king Israel had, well, except for the King of Kings.
But trouble was brewing for David, even in those days of great blessing and success. I want us to look at 2 Samuel 5:13, “After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.” David had a weakness that led him into sin more than once.
It’s this same weakness that would lead to David’s greatest sin which would lead to him fleeing for his life and would bring the death of sons and a grief that was heavy to bear. David had a weakness for women. That’s your next blank, WOMEN. It’s not an unusual or uncommon weakness. In fact, I would say it’s probably pretty common and pretty usual. And as long as it’s just a temptation, it’s not sin. Temptation can be overcome, especially with the help of the Lord.
But David allowed his temptation to master him, and we’re told that he had many concubines and wives. This was a violation of God’s law stated in Deuteronomy 17:17 that says that a man must not take many wives or his heart will be lead astray. David, in this case, went against what God had said, in favor of seeing his temptation through to action. Trouble was brewing for David, despite his heart, he couldn’t master his lust.
2 Samuel 6 has David in a moment of what seems like great triumph, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the capital, Jerusalem. He’s successful in this endeavor, despite not asking the Lord first. As David entered the city with the Ark, he danced in view of the whole city, half-naked. One of his wives, Saul’s daughter Michal, shamed him for the event. She called him vulgar and chided him for what he had done.
His response to her was this, 2 Samuel 6:21-22, “David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
These two verses hold your next two blanks: It was before the LORD that David danced, for Him and Him alone, and in the pursuit of praising God, David would become even more UNDIGNIFIED than dancing half-naked.
Like I said, I fully believe that it was David’s sole desire to seek the Lord with all his heart. It was David’s intention to always do as God asked, to always be within His will. David’s intentions were in the best place, completely, whole-heartedly.
But trouble was brewing. See, it was a noble thing to want to bring the Ark to the capital city of Israel. It was a noble thing to want to keep it safe from Israel’s enemies. But David didn’t ask God if He wanted David to do this noble thing. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to do it, and David’s heart was certainly in the right place as seen by what he told Michal. But, he didn’t ask God. In this case, he didn’t inquire of the Lord.
Despite his best intentions, David again went against God’s law. Your last blank is ARK. Numbers 4:15 tells us that only the priests may move the Ark. David had it moved, but not by priests. It wasn’t meant to be touched either, not even by priests. David ignored all of this, and a man lost his life because David, even in his best intentions, didn’t do as the Lord had asked. David loved the Lord, yes; David usually did as the Lord asked, yes; David usually asked the Lord for guidance, yes; David had the best intentions as well.
I think most of us are like David. We love the Lord, we try to do what He asks, we try to ask Him what He wants, we have the best intentions. But there are always temptations that arise. There are always things that will come up that threaten to distract us from our love for the Lord. There will be things that seem better than obeying Him. There will be times that we think our own wisdom is better than His, that we can do things our own way, just this once. There will be times our intentions may be well-placed, but we must check them against God’s Word. We must always be on guard, and never allow ourselves to get complacent, because trouble is always brewing.
Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” God told Cain this before Cain killed Abel, but it is just as true for us. Sin is crouching, waiting. Temptation is there. We must be on guard and not give in. We must master temptation.
Fortunately for us, God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us in that, because apart from His Spirit, it would be an impossible task. As we submit to the Spirit, as we pray, as we seek God’s face and we read His Word, He changes us and gives us the power to say no to sin and yes to the things of God.
1. What temptations are crouching at your door? Be specific. Confess your temptations to the Lord and maybe a close accountability mentor.
2. David wrote Psalm 51 after his sins were made known to him. Read Psalm 51:1, 3-4. What was David’s prayer? Did God restore his heart?
3. David had a repentant heart and God was quick to forgive him…but David still had to suffer consequences for the sins he had committed. Think of a time you repented of a sin. Were there still consequences for that sin?