We turn from 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel and pick up the narrative as we continue our look through the Scriptures. 1 Samuel left us on a bit of a down note: Saul and Jonathan are gone, and the transition to a new king will not come easily. After the craziness in the book of Judges, the hope portrayed to us in Ruth, and the beginnings of this shepherd that would one day be king that is introduced to us in 1 Samuel, we cannot help but long and hope that soon this shepherd will be on the throne as Israel’s rightful king and that the land would at last have peace. The same hope and longing floods our souls as Christians. Our world and our hearts have hurt, there has been spoken of a King of Kings long ago, and He is the Shepherd of our souls. Jesus is that rightful King who is reigning now and will continue until all things are accomplished and the earth will at last have peace.
2 Samuel continues the tale and opens up with David being anointed king over one of the twelve tribes, his home tribe Judah, but the questions hangs in the air if the rest of Israel will accept his kingship. This is made more complicated in the fact the rest of Israel has one of Saul’s sons who is competing for the throne. Eventually, Israel is united under King David and the situation for God’s people finally start looking up. Jerusalem is chosen as the legitimate location for worship and the ark is brought there.
Sadly, as so often happens when someone gains power, David has his struggles and his moral failings too. 2 Samuel does not shy away from this and at his lowest, even the great King David is shown to be a sinner and a human being just like everyone else. Yet, even in this we see valuable lessons that we can glean from the text as well as signs pointing us to our great King Jesus
As great as David was, he cannot replace God as the ultimate King-Often we too are tempted to place our trust in what is right in front of us rather than in what is secure and true: we must never forget who our rightful King is.
The Ark parallels Jesus-The Ark of the Covenant was a chest containing the Ten Commandments, and it was believed the presence of God dwelt between the two angels that sat atop its lid. The ark was brought to Jerusalem for the people to worship and they rejoiced. Yet, the presence of God would also visit Jerusalem much later on in history, but sadly this time, He would be met with jubilation only temporarily. Once He did what the presence of God always does: purifies what it touches (in this case the Temple when He threw out the money-changers), He was rejected and crucified outside Jerusalem’s walls.
David’s life parallels Jesus-David struggled in taking his rightful place as king, yet he trusted God and was eventually crowned. Jesus was the true King of Kings his whole life, yet struggled not because of His own shortcomings, but because He chose to identify with us in our struggles. Yet, He too trusted His Father, and as such was given the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Hallelujah
Your Brother,
Craig