David's Second Anointing

INTRO

This is our first lesson in 2 Samuel, and it feels as though we could just roll into 2 Samuel as a continuing story from 1 Samuel. The reality is that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally written as one book. But since we are dealing with them separately, we need to treat this as both the continuation of 1 Samuel and as a separate book as well. The author of 2 Samuel was probably Samuel, but it was possibly written by three different people (Samuel, Nathan, and Gad) and named after Samuel (1 Chronicles 29:29). Samuel had already died at this point. Both books of Samuel cover a period of 135 years, with 2 Samuel covering about 35 years. Paul Van Gorder explains the book of 1 Samuel as one of transition: “It outlines the change from the theocracy established under Moses to the monarchy begun under [king] Saul. The book also marks the transition from priests to prophets as the central figure of God’s dealing with Israel.”¹Mindi has combined two paintings for these two books into one complete image (in art is called a diptych). The phrase for 1 Samuel was Anointed One. The phrase for 2 Samuel is Eternal Throne.

In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah was told she would give birth to a son, Samuel. "He will give power to His king, He will lift up the horn of His anointed" (1 Samuel 2:10b). In 2 Samuel there are four themes that you will see as we go through this book:

1. The Davidic Covenant and the coming King (2 Samuel 7:11-13, 16): The anointed one (David) will actually walk into the Eternal Throne (of Jesus). Consider Luke 1:30–33 which states that His throne will come through David, and His kingdom will have no end. Here we will begin to see this unfold.

Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5): David captured the city and made it his capital. The only references we have to Jerusalem up to this point are found in Genesis 14 and Judges 1:8, when the Jebusites were not yet conquered (Psalm 48:1–2). Jerusalem was also known at this point as the City of David.

The sin of David and its consequences (2 Samuel 11—18)

The future hope (2 Samuel 23:5): David repents and the story does not end like Saul who consulted a medium.

TEACHING

2 Samuel 1:1–10: After defeating the Amalekites, David returned and stayed at Ziklag (v. 1). On the third day in Ziklag, a man from Saul’s camp came and paid homage to David (v. 2). The man could have been a lone survivor who had traveled

ninety miles from Mount Gilboa to Ziklag to see David (v. 3). When David asked about the outcome of the battle, the man told him many of the troops, as well as Saul and Jonathan, were dead (v. 4). David demanded to know how the man knew that information (v. 5). The man had been an eye-witness of Saul’s death. He told how he saw Saul leaning on his own spear as the Philistine chariots and the cavalry closed in (vv. 6–8) Saul had asked him to kill him since he was mortally wounded “but his life still linger[ed],” meaning Saul was in agony of death (v. 9). The man told David he had killed Saul, taken his crown and arm band (Saul’s royal regalia), and then brought it to David (v. 10).

The man’s account seemed to contradict the record of Saul’s death in 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel 31:1–3, the Philistine archers severely wounded Saul, and in verses 4–6, Saul’s armor bearer refused to kill Saul and Saul fell on his own sword. Remember that the Amalekite man said Saul was leaning on his spear, so it could be—and this is possibly a stretch—the Amalekite came along at the just the right time to do for Saul what his armor bearer refused to do. Possibly, this shows a different perspective from the Amalekite.

2 Samuel 1:11–16: David tore his clothes in mourning and his men did the same (v. 11). They wept and fasted throughout the day for all those of Israel, not just Saul and Jonathan, who had died in battle (v. 12). This seems to me to be a sign of integrity on David’s part. David had three opportunities to kill Saul . . . none of which he took. He knew he was the anointed king, waiting on his time to take the throne. But he still loved Saul and respected the role of Saul’s office. He walked with integrity. David asked the man where he was from and found out he was an Amalekite (v. 13). In verse 14, David asked, “How is it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

David couldn’t understand how anyone could lift a hand to give the final blow against God’s anointed, Israel’s first king. David summoned a servant to execute the Amalekite (v. 15) because his blood was on his own head (v. 16). David had been guilty over just touching the hem of Saul’s robe, so his actions against the Amalekite weren’t unconceivable.

2 Samuel 1:17–27: David sang a lament for Saul and Jonathan and required that all in Judah learn the song, The Song of the Bow (vv. 17-18). Nelson’s Commentary describes the song as “highly poetic, intensely personal, and emotionally charged.”²The song represented a national tragedy with the death of the king. Those in Israel recognized their kings were chosen and anointed by God and that God pours out His blessing on them. David’s song is written in three stanzas.

The first stanza (vv. 19–24) described Saul and Jonathan as the splendor of Israel that had been slain. David didn’t want the information shared with other groups outside Israel because he didn’t want them to rejoice over Saul’s death. And even with the problems between them over David, Saul and Jonathan loved each other and would not be parted from each other.

The second stanza (vv. 25–26) shifted to David’s love for his brother and friend, Jonathan. The third stanza (v. 27) concluded a repetition of verses 19 and 25: “How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!”

2 Samuel 2:1–4: These four verses point out that David’s time had finally come. David sought out the Lord to know what to do next. He asked God if he should go to Kirjath Arba, or “Town of Four.”³This referenced the little towns in the area. God told David to go to Hebron (v. 1). Hebron was the key city in which God had moved among the patriarchs and was located 20 miles south of Jerusalem. David went with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail (v. 2). David also brought his men and their households who settled in the towns near Hebron (v. 3). There the men of Judah came and anointed David as king of Judah— the second time David was anointed as king. The first time David was anointed was by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:13). He would later be anointed a third time (2 Samuel 5:3), when all Israel would be a part of that anointing. David’s anointing as king of Judah came after he had honored Israel’s first king, Saul.

CLOSING

David knows what it means to wait on the Lord. Psalm 37:34 says, “Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.” This describes David's life. He waited on the Lord and in God's timing, not man's timing, it all unfolded. Psalm 21:7: “For the king relies on the LORD; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken.” This was David challenge. When you wait on the Lord, you will not be shaken. David's Eternal Throne will not be shaken.