Lamenting the death of A1-King Saul

1:1-16

• After David returns from defeating the Amalekites [in 1 Sam ch. 30], an Amalekite man arrives & tells David, ‘Saul & Jonathan (Saul’s son) are dead; Saul was wounded, so I killed him!’
• David weeps, then sentences the man to death

[for murdering Yahweh’s anointed king, but Saul had killed himself (1 Sam 31:4); the man had lied, hoping that David would reward him (cf. 2 Sam 4:10)]

1:17-27

• David composes a Lament for Saul & Jonathan [with the refrain]: ‘How the mighty have fallen’

B1-King David of Judah versus A2-King Ish-Bosheth of Israel

David is anointed as king of Judah [the southern kingdom]

2:1-7

• God tells David, ‘Go to Hebron!’; In Hebron, David is anointed as King of Judah
• David is told, ‘The men of Jabesh-Gilead buried Saul’ [in 1 Sam 31:11-13]; he blesses them

Ish-Bosheth is made king of Israel [the northern kingdom]

2:8-11

• Abner takes Ish-Bosheth (Saul’s son) to Mahanaim [east of the Jordan river] & Ish-Bosheth becomes the king of Israel

[Abner was Saul’s army commander & cousin (1 Sam 14:50)]

Abner (& Ish-Bosheth’s army) versus Joab (& David’s army)

2:12-23

• In Gibeon [west of the Jordan]: Abner & Joab gather their armies

[Joab is David’s army commander (1 Chr 11:6) & nephew (1 Chr 2:13-16)]

• Abner wants 24 young men to fight; the men kill each other & a battle begins
• Abner is chased by Asahel (Joab’s brother), so Abner kills him

2:24-29

• Abner pleads with Joab to stop the battle; Joab agrees, saying that if Abner had not spoken [asking the young men to fight in 2:14] then the men would have gone [home with no fighting]

[Alternate reading: if Abner had not spoken for a cessation, the men would have gone on to destroy him]

2:30-32

• Joab lost 19 men PLUS Asahel, who is taken home & buried [=20 men dead];
• Abner lost 360 men

3:1

• During a long war, David becomes more powerful [as king] while Ish-Bosheth grows weaker

3:2-5

• List: David’s sons, born in Hebron (including Amnon & Absalom, see ch. 13) [cf. 1 Chron 3:1-3]

3:6-16

• Ish-Bosheth accuses Abner of adultery with Rizpah (Saul’s concubine), so Abner says he will switch sides to support David
• David will only accept Abner if Michal is returned to him

[Michal was David’s wife (see 1 Sam 18:27) whom Saul had given away to another man (see 1 Sam 25:44)]

3:17-21

• Abner tells the elders of Israel, ‘Make David your king!’ then he visits Hebron to tell David

3:22-39

• Joab kills Abner [because of 2:23];
• David curses Joab & then mourns for Abner with a Lament

ch. 4

• King Ish-Bosheth is assassinated by 2 men; David sentences the killers to death (cf. 1:10-16)
• v4, Jonathan (Saul’s son) had a son called Mephibosheth who became lame (see ch. 9)

B1-King David of United Israel

David is anointed as king of Israel [the northern kingdom]

5:1-5

• The tribes of Israel anoint David as king (7½ years after he became king of Judah, cf. 2:4);
• David was king of Israel for 33 years, and reigned as king for a total of 40 years

David’s kingdom is established by God

5:6-9

• David captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites; he names it ‘City of David’

[the city had been captured only once before (see Jdg 1:8) but it was soon repopulated by Jebusites (see Jdg 1:21)]

5:10-12

• David becomes great because God is with him
• King Hiram (of Tyre) [volunteers &] builds a palace for David; [then] David realises that God has established him as king of Israel

[King Hiram also helped King Solomon (David’s son) with the task of building the temple, see 1 Kings ch. 5]

5:13-16

• List: David’s children born in Jerusalem (including Solomon, see 12:24-25) [cf. 1 Chron 3:5-9]

5:17-25

• The Philistines fight against David, but God helps David win the battles [cf. 1 Sam 17:45-47]

6:1-11

• David goes to Abinadab’s house to collect the Ark of the Covenant [cf. 1 Sam 6:19 – 7:1];
• it is placed on a cart [it should be carried by hand, Ex 25:13-14]; Uzzah touches the Ark [when it almost falls off the cart]; God is angry; Uzzah dies;
• the Ark is taken aside to Obed-Edom’s house

6:12-23

• David is told, ‘God is blessing Obed-Edom’ [in contrast to 6:7-9], so David brings the Ark to Jerusalem;
• Michal despises David for dancing before God; she is rebuked & made barren

ch. 7

• David decides to build a temple for God; God speaks to Prophet Nathan, who tells David, ‘God promises to build you a house: you will have a son [Solomon] who will build God’s temple; your throne will be established forever’ [see Jesus in Lk 1:31-33]; David thanks God

8:1-14

• David defeated the Philistines, Moabites, King Hadadezer of Zobah, Arameans & Edomites

8:15-18

• David administered justice [in his role as Judge, cf. Jdg 2:14-18, Dt 17:8-13]
• List: David’s officials

ch. 9

• David is kind to Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s lame son), and gives all of Saul’s land to him

[because of his covenant with Jonathan (1 Sam 20:14-17); also see his promise to Saul (1 Sam 24:20-22)]

War with the Ammonites / David & Bathsheba

10:1-5

• King Nahash of the Ammonites dies [the king in 1 Sam 11:1-11? or another king with the same name?];
• David sends condolences to Hanun (Nahash’s son);
• Hanun humiliates David’s messengers

10:6-14

• When the Ammonites realise they have offended David they hire warriors [including Arameans] to fight Israel; Joab & his brother Abishai fight back; the Ammonites & Arameans flee

10:15-19

• The Arameans bring reinforcements; David fights back & wins; the Arameans make a truce

11:1-5

• David sends Joab to fight the Ammonites, but David stays at home;
• he sees Bathsheba & commits adultery with her [her husband is away fighting the Ammonites]; she becomes pregnant

11:6-25

• David brings Uriah [Bathsheba’s husband] back from war [hoping Uriah will visit Bathsheba so they can pretend the child is Uriah’s];
• Uriah refuses to go home while his friends are at war;
• David sends Uriah back to war & asks Joab to arrange for Uriah to be killed;
• Uriah dies in battle

11:26 – 12:14

• Bathsheba laments for Uriah, then marries David
• Prophet Nathan rebukes David: David’s wives will be taken from him (see 16:21-22);
• God forgives David, but the child will die

[Foreshadowing the gospel of Jesus: the innocent son of David dies; guilty ones are forgiven] 

12:15-25

• David prays & fasts; his son dies
• Solomon is born; God names him Jedidiah [‘Loved-by-Yah’]

12:26-31

• The Ammonites are defeated by Joab (& defeated by David), and are forced to become David’s labourer

Ruth / 1-Sam / 2-SAM / 1-Kgs / 2-Kgs