Kingdom of David (2 Samuel 1-24)

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

   David, here is a man after God's own heart.  Is he sin free?  Certainly not, but God is number one in his life.  Does he slip and fall?  Yes, but still seeking God's guidance.  Let's look at David aka King David.

   I think of David as being king over Israel.  However, he was king of Judah for 7 1/2 years as there tended to be a civil war between the tribes of Israel.  To fully understand you will need to read 2 Samuel 2 to 2 Samuel 5. In these chapters you will find that Abner was a commander of Saul's army and with one of Saul's sons, Ish-Bosheth, they fought against David.  However during this course of fighting Saul's army became weaker while David's army became stronger.

   Ish-Bosheth served as king of the northern tribes, but in reality Abner, the commander of the Army, proved to be the power behind the throne.  When Ish-Bosheth displeased Abner, Abner volunteered to give the rest of the kingdom to David. Once he did this Joab killed him. And who is Joab? Joab was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of king David.  After this Ish-Bosheth's power was diminished and he was killed by men seeking their own gain.

   It was at this point that the other tribes of Israel came to David asking him to be their king.  David was thirty years old at this time and ruled for the next 33 years, total years as king about 40 years.

   Now all was not easy peasy for David to become king.  It took a while and what many people over look is the wives David had, and his children before the encounter with Bathsheba.  Look at this: David lived in Hebron and had 6 sons: 2 Samuel 3-

² Sons were born to David in Hebron:

His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

³ his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;

the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

⁴ the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

⁵ and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.

These were born to David in Hebron.

   We don't hear about them in our Sunday School lessons or from the pulpit. In 2 Samuel 5

5 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

³ When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
  Tomorrow we will talk about David reigning in Jerusalem and overcoming the Jebusites, who lived there.  Hope you enjoyed this part of the lesson. Love you all.
In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny