2 Samuel 5,6

So I am delayed in posting this but better late than never. TT

2 Samuel 5

VERSE 3

As I read about David being informed by Samuel and God that he was to be king of Israel, I find it incredibly humble of David that it was not until Saul was dead and the whole tribe of Israel affirmed that he was wanted as king that he accepted this anointing for himself.  This was a TWENTY year wait!  How patient was David in waiting and respecting the king God anointed before he began his ministry?  He was not haughty, cocky, or even all that confident in what he was told was to be his fate as king.  He held out until the anointed Saul was dead and gone and the appointed Ishbosheth was dead and gone, THEN and only then did David finally accept this kingdom for all of Israel! 

³ All the leaders of Israel met with King David at Hebron, and the king made a treaty with them in the presence of God. And so they anointed David king over Israel.

VS 9,10

Humility and utter dependence on God's purpose and plan for our lives is the attitude that got David where he was at this point.  He literally, with God's lead, smashed the people who resided in Zion. The changed the name of the city and he rebuilt it.  All this success was because of David's reliance on God and his obedience to the Lord. This was the Lord's plan, not Davids.  "It was because the Lord was with David that he grew great. God will promote us if we humble ourselves and seek him." ~Andrew Wommack

1 Peter 5:6 (ESV)

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

^{Additionally, God was establishing David and Jerusalem in preparation for the coming Savior.  There are many Old Testament verses that talk about the coming Savior and these all are delivered and revealed in the New Testament.  If something was prophesied to happen hundreds of years earlier than it actually happened and it happened exactly as stated, how many fulfilled prophecies would it take you to believe that God is real, He has a plan, and that plan included a Savior who came to this earth to make a way for us to be in right relationship with the living God?} 

^{Check out this little website and see if it does not tickle your brain.}

^{Messianic Prophecies}

2 Samuel 5:13

Today we'd call someone with this many wives either a sex addict, a fool, an adulterer, a lucky guy or a polygamist (depending on your viewpoint).  God called it, and still calls it unrighteous and sin.

Note on 2 Samuel 5:13

David already had six wives prior to this. This is in direct conflict with Deuteronomy 17:17.  Sexual problems were David’s biggest weakness. It seems to have passed on to his children. Amnon committed incest with his half sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13), and Solomon had 1,000 wives and concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Solomon’s pagan wives eventually turned his heart away from serving God, and Solomon built temples and altars to other gods (1 Kings 11:5-8). This split the kingdom in two and eventually brought destruction and captivity to Israel. David could have nipped this problem in the bud and saved himself and many others much pain. ~Andrew Wommack

2 Samuel 5:14

Some interesting facts about a few of David's kids:

Shobab means rebellious. Who would name a baby 'Rebellious'? This was one of Bath-sheba and David's sons.

Solomon is derived from the Hebrew word, Shalom, meaning peace. His name was changed as seen in 2 Samuel 12:25 to Jedidiah.  He was the second son of Bath-sheba and David.

Nathan was likely named after David's friend and prophet, Nathan.

^{2 Samuel 5:25}  

David did exactly what God told him.

I love this verse. It means that David did not plan his own way, decide his own path, depend on his own strength, assume his powerful position would give him clout, think he knew the answer, or act without consulting with the Lord, listening to the Lord, obeying the Lord and acknowledging that the Lord's way was right.

Oh, to be like David (at least on this characteristic)!  Isn't is ironic how much this David is whom we should model after, yet we see his sinful choices and wonder why he did not ask God how to run that area of his life (ie. many wives)? If you don't ask God, He does not always just push His agenda on us; He allows us to mess up AND still uses us!  This is grace.

Before we head on to chapter 6, let's take a break.  I suggest creamy, chocolatey, sweet, delicious, home-made, fresh, Italian cannolis.

Perfect snack food.

2 Samuel 6

A refresher on the Ark of the Lord

From the New Bible Dictionary (abridged):
ARK OF THE COVENANT. Called also ‘ark of the Lord’, ‘ark of God’, ‘ark of the covenant of the Lord’ and ‘ark of the testimony’. The ark was a rectangular box made of acacia wood, and measured 4 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 feet. The whole was covered with gold and was carried on poles inserted in rings at the four lower corners. The lid, or ‘mercy-seat’, was a gold plate surrounded by two antithetically placed cherubs with outspread wings.

The ark served as receptacle for the two tablets of the Ten Commandments and also for the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod; as the meeting-place in the inner sanctuary where the Lord revealed his will to his servants. Thus it served as the symbol of the divine presence guiding his people.

David installed the ark in a tent at Jerusalem. It was placed in the Temple with great ceremony in the reign of Solomon, and re-sited in the sanctuary during Josiah’s reforms when Jeremiah anticipated an age without its presence. It was presumably lost during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 bc. There was no ark in the second Temple (Josephus, BJ 5. 219).

2 Samuel 6:7,8

Who is screaming in their heads, "Unfair! Unloving! Ridiculous!"? It is a hard pill to swallow (especially in our American 'cowboy up', 'do it yourself', 'me first' attitude culture). I think this is a good explanation and puts proper perspective on the word HOLY.  God is holy other (meaning, nothing like us), He is creator of all this and can call all the shots.  AND He has a purpose in what He does and how.  But remembering David's humility and obedience is important.  We must give God credit for making His point.  His way is so different that what we think is fair.  God is not about our American understanding of fair.  He is about establishing His holiness in order to bring about our salvation. This is the pill called Truth.

Note on 2 Samuel 6:7

This looks very harsh on God’s part. But we must remember that all the pieces of furniture in the tabernacle were symbolic. The ark was the holiest piece of all. It was imperative that the people of Israel realized that God was a holy God who could not be approached without the proper steps to atone for their defilement of sin.
This symbolism had to be followed to the letter to make the point. Otherwise, people would have thought that coming to God on His terms was a good idea but not an absolute necessity. They would have thought that surely God would make exceptions and accommodate them. But actions like this made the point very clear, that it’s God’s way or the highway. There was no other way to come to the Lord but the way He prescribed.
The N.T. counterpart to this is that Jesus is the ONLY way, truth, and life. There is no other way to come to the Father except through Jesus. No exceptions. ~Andrew Wommack

Note on 2 Samuel 6:8

All of David’s displeasure should have been directed toward himself. The Lord had made it clear how the ark was supposed to be handled (Exodus 25:14, Numbers 3:31, & Deuteronomy 10:8), and He had shown before that He didn’t tolerate disobedience (Leviticus 10:1-2). David violated God’s instructions, and the fault was David’s alone.~Andrew Wommack

2 Samuel 6:12

David did come to acknowledge why Uzzah was struck dead when David first had the ark brought into Jerusalem.  In a manner not required by God, David had it put on a new cart vs it being carried on poles between priests.   Now David decided to carry it God's way.  This is a concept that can be challenging to accept. We cannot assume we can come to God in our own way.  It's God's way.  To compromise costs.

1 Chronicles 15:13 (ESV)

¹³ Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.”

2 Samuel 6:16

 

 

Who is Michal again? Biography of Michal 

 2 Samuel 6:20

Naked David? Undoubtedly.

Maybe he was dancing wildly enough that he showed more undergarments or flesh than was thought appropriate.  Then again, if he took off his outer robe, this could have been viewed as imprudent. It states in 1 Chronicles that he indeed was robed, so perhaps Michal was meaning something entirely different. More than anything, she was bitter at her husband for how he treated her. This may have been the twisted response of a scorned woman.

1 Chronicles 15:27 (ESV)

²⁷ David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod.