Samuel, Part 2 | by Tessa Hershberger

Themes: God’s character/nature, David’s character vs. Saul’s character, inquiring of/crying out to God

Note: Make sure you read 1 and 2 Samuel for yourself. Because of the length and depth of the books, I am unable to cover everything, and the story comes together much better when read in its entirety!

A couple nights ago when I managed to burn two grilled cheese sandwiches and let a third of a can of tomato soup boil over to create a black mess on the stove, I realized it’s probably a good thing I’m still single and not cooking dinner for a hungry man every night. And while I suppose I could be working more on my kitchen skills while I’m enjoying this season of singleness, what better interests me is determining the character of the hungry man I want to be feeding for the rest of my life.

Reading about the life of David in 1 and 2 Samuel has certainly helped me come to some conclusions. That is not to put David on a lofty pedestal—he managed to make some pretty awful mistakes in his life. Despite that, David was a man who ran hard after God’s heart (1 Sam. 13:14) until the day he died. He was man enough to face a giant and fight intense battles, yet humble and tenderhearted enough to dance before the Lord (2 Sam. 6) and compose beautiful poetry of worship to the intimate Lover of his soul (read Psalms!).

One of the first and most noted displays of David’s character is in 1 Samuel 17, when David goes up against the Philistine giant Goliath and knocks him down dead with a single stone. Look at what David says to this guy—“You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. ... This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head" (1 Sam. 17:45,46a). This is an amazing picture not of mere human bravery, but complete reliance upon and trust in God for a victory that was against all odds! David knew who his God was, and he lived like it. His godly character is a stark contrast to that of Saul’s, who we looked at last month in Part 1.

Remember how God became sorry that he had made Saul king? (1 Samuel 15:35) God decides to do something about it and tells the prophet Samuel to go and anoint David as king, who was only a teenager at the time. God had chosen David to take the place of Saul because Saul was not obeying God and leading the people in righteousness. However, David doesn’t get to take the throne instantly. Several years of pain and danger must pass before David is finally recognized as king.

After David triumphs over Goliath, “David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army” (1 Sam. 18:5). Again in verse 14, “David had success in all his undertakings; for the LORD was with him.” As David grows in military success after being promoted by Saul, Saul becomes jealous of his popularity and develops a heart of strong enmity towards David, so much that he wants to kill him. With the help of his best friend Jonathan (who also happened to be Saul’s son), David escapes the angry hand of Saul, and from chapter 18 to the end of 1 Samuel, he endures a drawn out period of fleeing from death.

Remember, this is awhile after Samuel had come to David and anointed him as king of Israel. What on earth must be going on in David’s mind? Back when Samuel anointed him as “king,” think about what David had envisioned his life to be like: honor, ease, wealth, respect, and power. None of those words describe the life of David at this point. When is God going to fulfill His promise to me and make me king? Why is He allowing me to be on a daily run for my life? I’m the one serving God here, not Saul!

It says in 1 Sam. 23:14, “David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness ... Saul sought him every day, but the LORD did not give him into his hand.” God was with David, and He was in the works of fulfilling His promise to David even if sometimes it didn’t appear that way. (There seems to be a pattern of situations like this in the Bible ... remember Joseph?) Fortunately, David was able to keep trusting God and doing good. Twice David finds himself in a situation in which he can easily put Saul to death and twice he spares Saul’s life. Look at David’s trust in the Lord after the second time he spares Saul’s life—“The LORD rewards everyone for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD gave you into my hand today, but I would not raise my hand against the LORD’s anointed. As your life was precious today in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may he rescue me from all tribulation” (1 Sam. 26:24,25). Wow!

At the end of 1 Samuel, Saul and his sons are killed by the Philistines in battle, marking the end of one season and the beginning of another—David’s kingship. After receiving direction from the Lord, David and his wives move to Hebron, and there the people of Judah anoint David as king.

I like to sum up David’s kingship with five “greats”—great victory, great promises, great sin, great conflict, and great restoration. I will cover each briefly.

Great Victory — Because of the way David trusted in God, Israel experienced great victory over its enemies. Unlike Saul, he doesn’t try to take matters into his own hands, but instead relies greatly on God’s direction in each battle. “David did just as the LORD had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer” (2 Sam. 5:25). Chapters 6, 8, 9 and 10 wonderfully illustrate the person of David as a leader who was strong and victorious while at the same time humble, kind, and loyal.

Great Promises — When David comes to the point where he is settled in his throne and the nation is at peace, he decides that he wants to build a beautiful temple for the Lord, a “home” for God’s presence, which was symbolized in the Ark of the Covenant. After David goes to the prophet Nathan with his idea, God gives Nathan a very important word for David, wherein lies a prophecy concerning Christ, the Messiah that would come hundreds of years later. God promises David in 2 Sam. 7:16, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” David doesn’t know it, but this “kingdom” God is promising is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one. One day the Messiah Jesus would be born into David’s line (see Matthew 1), and would establish his eternal heavenly kingdom on earth. (Read all of chapter 7 for the full effect, especially taking note of David’s response!)

Great Sin — Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel is a very dark spot in David’s life. While his army is away at battle, he sleeps with the woman living next door, gets her pregnant, and then has her husband killed. While it would be great to pretend it never happened, it must not be ignored even to the smallest extent. Though David was a victorious warrior after God’s heart, he was still a sinner, and this was probably what he held as the biggest mistake of his life. The following chapter is a display of both David’s deeply repentant heart and God’s incredible mercy towards David that allows him to continue on in an intimate relationship with God.

Great Conflict — Following this event, David enters into a great family conflict that was rooted in another of David’s mistakes. When David’s son Amnon rapes his sister Tamar, thus ruining her future, David does nothing to punish him. David’s son Absalom is enraged at Amnon and later murders him in revenge. He then takes off for three years, creating a great emotional barrier between him and his father that only leads to further conflict. Eventually he comes back and makes peace with David, but it doesn’t last long. Absalom goes as far as to rise up and attempt to take over the throne, causing David to have to flee for his life once again. In the end, God proves faithful to David and Absalom and his army are defeated.

Great Restoration — David’s life as a king was certainly not what he had once expected. He experienced many days of fear, danger, battle, and grief. His best friend was killed in battle. His infant son died because of his adultery. One daughter was raped. One son was murdered. Another son betrayed him. Nevertheless, if you read the heartfelt words of David in Psalms, it is clear that he had an unshakable trust in the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. In the midst of the pain, regret, and unexpected, David was able to stand upon his Fortress and Deliverer. His great conviction of God’s never-ending faithfulness proves true once again when God finally restores David’s kingship and brings peace to all of the conflict.

David’s song of thanksgiving in chapter 22 best sums up the heart of David. Because of David’s humble faithfulness to God, God used David as a great leader to lead many people in obedience to God’s commandments and trust in His saving power. Although I have only been able to capture a fraction of the big picture, I hope it encourages you all the more to dig deeper and seek God’s heart in these books.

Read 1 & 2 Samuel, Part 1—Give Us a King!