Day 57 Reading Schedule:  2 Samuel 4-8

2 Samuel 4: The End of Saul's Dynasty 

[Summary]

This chapter records the process of the end of the long civil war between David and Saul's family due to Abner's betrayal and death. When King Ishbosheth of Israel learned of Abker's death in Hebron, he fell into a state of despair (verses 1-3). Meanwhile, this chapter introduces Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, providing a link to the scene where David later took care of Mephibosheth and maintained his friendship with Jonathan (verse 4). When the end of Saul's family was imminent, Rechab and Baanah, the commanders of Israel, killed Ishbosheth and surrendered to David (verses 5-8). However, David betrayed the king and killed the two men to save his own lives, and buried Ishbosheth's head in Abner's tomb in Hebron (verses 9-12). With this, David overcame the difficult times and finally laid the foundation for a new beginning as the king of Israel.

[Explanation]

The death of Abner, the military commander who had created the Ishbosheth regime and played a central role, further shook the foundation of Saul's royal family, which had been weakening. Taking advantage of this time, Rechab and Baanah, the military commanders, conspired to murder Ishbosheth, which led to the complete downfall of Saul's dynasty.

2 Samuel 5: David Becomes King of All Israel 

[Summary]

This chapter records David's victory in the long civil war with Saul's family and his eventual ascension to the throne as the king of a united Israel. All the tribes of Israel, which had come to an end with the death of Ishbosheth and the death of Saul's family, gathered in Hebron and swore allegiance to David as the king of a united Israel (verses 1-5). After being crowned king, David's first achievement was to destroy the Jebusites who had long tormented Israel, build a castle in their city of Jerusalem, and call it the City of David, making it the new capital of Israel (vv. 6-16). Meanwhile, the Philistines, who heard the news of David's accession to the throne, felt uneasy and attacked Israel, but instead were severely defeated by David (vv. 17-25). God clearly showed His presence by giving David victory in his first war. 

[Explanation] 

The deaths of Abrel and Ishbosheth eventually led to the complete downfall of the royal family of Saul. Thus, David naturally emerged as the ruler of Israel. This chapter introduces the scene where God's plan to build His kingdom through David was finally fulfilled. 

2 Samuel 6 : The Ark of the Covenant is placed in Jerusalem 

[Summary] 

This chapter introduces the incident where David, who became the king of Israel, brought the Ark of the Covenant, which had been neglected for a long time, to Jerusalem. David wanted to move the Ark of the Covenant, the center of the covenant community of Israel, to the new capital, Jerusalem. This was David’s religious act, recognizing that Israel’s survival fundamentally depended on God. However, when Uzza died while trying to transport the Ark on a cart, which was supposed to be carried by the priests, David feared God’s wrath and placed the Ark in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite (vv. 1-11). After hearing that God had blessed Obed-Edom’s house because of the Ark, David had the priests carry the Ark on their shoulders as instructed by the law and brought it to Jerusalem. David, filled with joy, offered peace offerings and burnt offerings and held a feast with the people of Michal (vv. 12-19). Meanwhile, Michal, who criticized David for dancing in joy at welcoming the Ark without realizing that her own clothes were being taken off, was punished by God to be childless (vv. 20-23). [Explanation]

The story of the Ark of the Covenant, which had been forgotten by the people since the days of Saul, suddenly appears in this chapter. David, who had been zealous in building a powerful theocratic state ruled by God, wanted to move the Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of God’s presence, to Jerusalem as part of such a plan. 

2 Samuel 7: David plans to build a temple 

[Summary]

This chapter introduces the covenant that God gave to David. Having established a unified kingdom on a stable foundation, David now wanted to build the temple of God, but God did not allow him to do so (verses 1-7). However, through a prophet who went out instead, God gave David a covenant of eternal blessing (verses 8-17). Through this covenant, God promised the prosperity that Solomon, David’s descendant, would receive, and in it, revealed Christ, who would come as the Messiah and Redeemer of mankind. David gave glory to God for the grace he had bestowed upon him and pledged to serve only God (verses 18-29).

 [Explanation]

This chapter is the core chapter of this book, introducing the Davidic Covenant regarding the construction of the temple and David's descendants. This covenant reveals the prosperity of David's son Solomon, and further prophesies Christ, the Redeemer and Messiah. Through this chapter, we discover how great is the grace of God given to those of faith and obedience. 

2 Samuel 8: David's Territorial Expansion 

[Summary]

After establishing a religious center by reconciling the northern tribes of Israel and Judah through the construction of a new city and bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, David now began to conquer neighboring countries in earnest. In this war of conquest, David conquered the most hostile Philistines, as well as Moab, Zobah, Aram, Ammon, Amalek, and Edom, and took their spoils and made them servants of Israel (vv. 1-14). In this way, the blessing of the land that God had promised to Abraham was being realized in history. Meanwhile, David reorganized the administrative organization to form a strong unified nation (vv. 15-18). In this sense, if Saul, the first king, had opened the era of monarchy, David was the one who firmly established the political, military, and institutional framework of a full-fledged monarchy. 

[Explanation]

This chapter briefly introduces the history of Israel's struggle to rise from a weak and oppressed nation to a great empire. When David's ruling base within Israel was firmly established, he began to conquer the surrounding nations. Since God was with David, David was able to conquer the surrounding nations without much difficulty.