Category: 2 Samuel

The end of chapter 19 ended with a face-off and fierce words between Judah and the northern tribes over who would lead David home to Jerusalem. David thought he had patched things up in the kingdom, but he was mistaken. There were still grudges and wounds held which would rip open again.

Absalom was dead and the rebellion all but over, but David still needed to heal over the wounds. While he could paper over cracks to stabilise his reign, the whole situation had created divisions which would only cause further problems later. Because David was not the Messiah, and a better rule and reign was still…

David as king was more than a father, he was a symbol. The Davidic king demonstrated God’s provision of godly leadership to his people, pointing forward to an even greater leader to come. That greater leader would decisively defeat sin, and one day will decisively crush all rebellion under his feet (Rev. 19).

This is the ultimate end of all those who seek to overturn God’s Anointed One. The self-appointment which seizes the throne of our own hearts, erects monuments to ourselves in our lives, and seeks to kill God’s righteous king. After all, what is sin but rebellion against God and his reign?

In the closing verses of 2 Samuel 17, we read of Supporters who stuck by David in his hour of need. We also see a supporter of Absalom desert his cause, in a very final and definitive way, perhaps recognising that the gig was up. It reminds us of our need to stick close to…

While the big picture parts are clear, the broad sweep of God’s sovereignty and his working out of events is often unclear. But if you look, there are signs of God’s providence and care for us everywhere. Hushai and David operated with the same constraint; knowing God’s sovereignty, but not knowing how it would play…

With David gone, David’s supporters would no longer have a focus or a purpose in resisting Absalom’s reign, and the conflict would be over (v.3). Absalom and the elders of Israel were impressed with Ahithophel’s argument. Let’s be honest, it makes good sense, even for those of us whose military “expertise” is limited to video…

Ahithophel was a betrayer of God’s Anointed King, King David. But he was also at the same time doing God’ bidding, fulfilling the very thing God promised would fall upon David for his sinful adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. This was judgement on the Covenant King, David, at the hand of God.

David’s exodus from Jerusalem brought him encouragement from faithful servants, but also encounters with manipulators and a man who took delight in David’s apparent downfall. While these examples certainly point us away from behaving like that to those we know in hard times, they also remind us of the true king who suffered curses and…

When Absalom rebelled, David took the wise course and left Jerusalem. But his faith in God shone through in his actions, and was encouraged by many who flocked to his cause. David’s flight reminds us of the world’s abandonment of Christ, the true king. It also reminds us that we find encouragement, and give encouragement,…