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A STUDY OF II SAMUEL

Introduction

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    The book of II Samuel picks up exactly where I Samuel leaves off.

1.        If we had been studying from the Jewish Bible, we would have still been in the same book.

2.       When the Hebrew Bible was translated into the Greek language, the books were divided and have been that way since.

 

B.      At the close of I Samuel, Saul and Jonathan die in battle. 

1.        Earlier in the book, Samuel the prophet had anointed another to be the king of Israel in a private session.

2.       However, as the life of Saul, Jonathan, and David were lived out, all knew that David was destined to become the King of Israel.

3.       This is the subject of the entire book of II Samuel.

 

C.     What will intrigue us is that in II Samuel we will see a different side of the shepherd boy turned warrior, then king.

 

D.    We will approach this study like we did the study of I Samuel.

1.        Each week a set of questions will be given out.

2.       You will answer them, bring them to class the next time, and we will use them to discuss the text.

 

E.      In this lesson, however, we want to give just a brief introduction to this book that highlights David’s reign as king.

 

I.             THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

 

A.    The book bears the name of Samuel, but he is not the author.  In fact, he was dead by the time David became king (I Sam. 25:1)

 

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah…

 

B.      Several authors have been suggested.

1.        Some believe that Abiathar the priest was the author of the book.

a.       “He served as a priest during David’s administration; so he may have had access to the royal records that provided the historical facts for these accounts” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Samuel, Books of,” Youngblood, ed., p. 1125).

b.      The problem:  From I Samuel 27:6, “it seems obvious that the books were not completed in their present form until sometime after the division of the kingdom” (An Introduction to the Old Testament, Edward J. Young, p. 177).

2.       “Tradition attributes it to Nathan and Gad (I Chron. 29:29)” (Know Your Bible, Frank J. Dunn, “The Second Book of Samuel,” p. 126).

3.       A prophet of Judaea.  “We may conclude, then, that the books of Samuel were composed under divine inspiration by a prophet, probably of Judaea, who lived shortly after the schism and who incorporated into his work earlier written material” (Young, p. 178).

 

C.     The book is really anonymous. 

1.        “Whoever the author was…” (Young, p. 177)

2.       However, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.  He is the real author of the book (II Pet. 1:20-21).

 

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

II.           THE DATE OF THE BOOK

 

A.    The reign of David began in 1010 B.C.  It lasted for 40 years, or, until 970 B. C. (See II Sam. 5:4).

 

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

 

B.      The kingdom, however, would not be divided until 80 years later, 890 B.C.  Thus, it had to be after that time.

 

III.         THE NAME OF THE BOOK

 

A.    Samuel’s life is recorded in I Samuel.  Why would a man who died in the previous book be the title of a second volume?

 

B.      Samuel was the link between the Period of the Judges to the Reign of the Kings.

1.        He was the last judge of Israel (I Sam. 7:16-16).

 

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.  And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

 

2.       He was the judge the people confronted when asking for a king (I Sam. 8:4-5).

 

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah.  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways:  now make us a king to judge us like the nations.

 

3.       It was he who anointed the first two kings of Israel.

a.       He anointed Saul (I Sam. 10:1).

b.      He anointed David (I Sam. 16:13).

 

C.     Because of the vital role he played during this pivotal time in the history of Israel, the book was name for Samuel.

 

IV.        THE STYLE OF THE BOOK

 

A.    “The essential unity of this section (i.e., 2 Samuel) is generally admitted.  These chapters are specimens of noble Hebrew prose, and from the literary standpoint alone may be regarded as incomparable masterpieces” (Young, p. 186).

 

B.      “The trustworthiness and historical character of the books of Samuel is seen from the fact that they are alluded to in other portions of the sacred Scripture” (Young, p. 187).

1.        II Samuel 5:2 & Matthew 2:6

2.       II Samuel 22:50 & Romans 15:9

 

V.          THE THEME OF THE BOOK

 

A.    David, A King after God’s Own Heart

 

B.      Saul was a good man when he was first anointed as the King of Israel.

1.        Pride filled his heart.  He ceased being little in his own eyes (I Sam. 15:17).

2.       He rebelled against plain instructions that God had given him.

3.       Thus, he was rejected (I Sam. 15:26-28).

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee:  for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.  And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.  And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.

 

C.     David will not prove to be a perfect man, but he will be the kind of king that will be the pattern for all the kings of Israel to follow.

 

VI.        THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK

 

A.    The purpose of the book is to reveal what God truly desires in a king who rules Israel.

 

B.      “…the king must be a good king, not a selfish autocrat, but a man who was after God’s heart, who in his faithful and just reign would point forward to the Great King to come” (Young, p. 179).

 

C.     NOTE:  David was not a perfect man, but a perfect man can never be found.  God sought for a man after His own heart.

1.        I Samuel 13:14

 

But now thy kingdom shall not continue:  the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.

 

2.       I Kings 14:8

 

…and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes.

 

3.       Acts 13:22

 

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

 

VII.      THE KEY VERSE OF THE BOOK

 

A.    II Samuel 7:12-16

 

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he shall be my son.  If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:  but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee:  thy throne shall be established forever.

 

B.      This is referred to as a dual prophecy.

1.        It found part of its fulfillment in David’s son, Solomon.

2.       It found its ultimate fulfillment in David’s son, Jesus Christ.

 

C.     We will look at this text in detail when we get to it in our study.

 

VIII.    MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK

 

A.    The book contains what some refer to as “The Psalm of the Bow” (II Sam. 1).

B.      When David first takes the kingdom, he ruled only over Judah for 7-1/2 years.  After this, he ruled over Israel and Judah 33 years (II Sam. 5:4-5).

 

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months:  and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

 

C.     The shepherd role of a king is revealed in II Samuel 5:2.

 

Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel:  and the Lord said to thee, thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel (emp. mine, vme).

 

D.    II Samuel 11 becomes a turning point in the life of David.  It involves David’s most notable sin, his adultery with Bathsheba.

 

E.      The book contains a well-known quote:  “Thou art the man” (II Sam. 12:7).

 

F.      The book of II Samuel contains two parables.

1.        The Parable of the Ewe Lamb (II Sam. 12:1-4)

2.       The Banished Son (II Sam. 14:5-7)

 

IX.        OUTLINES OF THE BOOK

 

i.                    The Triumphs of David (II Sam. 1-10)

ii.                  The Transgressions of David ( II Sam. 11)

iii.                The Troubles of David (II Sam. 12-24).

___________________________________________________

 

i.                    The Triumphs of David (II Sam. 1-10)

 

A.    The Political Triumphs (II Sam. 1-5)

B.      The Spiritual Triumphs (II Sam. 6-7)

C.     The Military Triumphs (II Sam. 8-10)

 

ii.                  The Transgressions of David (II Sam. 11)

 

A.    The Sin of Adultery (II Sam. 11:1-5)

B.      The Sin of Murder (II Sam. 11:6-27)

 

iii.                The Troubles of David (II Sam. 12-24)

 

A.    The Troubles in David’s House (II Sam. 12:1-13:36)

B.      The Troubles in David’s Kingdom (I Sam. 13:37-24:25)

 

(Taken from Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, Youngblood, ed., p. 1124)

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    In II Samuel we come to the awareness of what sin can do to a person’s life.

 

B.      We also learn that even though we are not perfect, God can use for great purposes, and we can please Him.

 

C.     “He (David) ranks with Abraham and Moses as one of the three ‘mountain peaks’ of the Old Testament.  He stands halfway between Abraham and Christ, about 1,000 years from each (Dunn, p. 128).

A STUDY OF II SAMUEL

 

The Report of Saul’s Death to David

II Samuel 1:1-16

Victor M. Eskew

 

1.     Outline the text:

 

i.                    II SAMUEL 1:1-5

ii.                  II SAMUEL 1:6-10

iii.                II SAMUEL 1:11-12

iv.                II SAMUEL 1:13-16

 

2.    Who does the text say David slaughtered? (II Sam. 1:1)

 

3.    Where did he abide for two days? (II Sam. 1:1)

 

4.    Who came to David on the third day? (II Sam. 1:2)

 

5.    What did the man look like? (II Sam. 1:2)

 

6.    T – F  This man fell to the earth and did obeisance to David. (II Sam. 1:2)

 

7.    What question did David ask the man? (II Sam. 1:3)

 

8.    What was the man’s answer? (II Sam. 1:3)

 

9.    What was David’s second question to the man? (II Sam. 1:4)

 

10.  What three things did the man tell David? (II Sam. 1:4)

 

A.

 

B.

 

C.

 

11.   What was David’s third question? (II Sam. 1:5)

 

12.  Where was the man when he saw Saul?  (II Sam. 1:6)

 

13.  In what position was Saul?  (II Sam. 1:6)

 

14.  Who was following hard after him?  (II Sam. 1:6)

 

15.  T – F  Saul called for the man.  (II Sam. 1:7)

 

16.  What question did Saul ask this man? (II Sam. 1:8)

 

17.  What was his answer? (II Sam. 1:8)

 

18.  What did Saul ask the man to do? (II Sam. 1:9)

 

19.  Why did he make such a request? (II Sam. 1:9)

 

20.  T – F  The Amalekite refused to kill Saul. (II Sam. 1:10)

21.  What two things did the Amalekite take from Saul? (II Sam. 1:10)

 

A.

 

B.

 

22.  What was David’s immediate reaction when he heard the news? (II Sam. 1:11)

 

23.  “And they __________________, and ______________, and ______________ unto even…” (II Sam. 1:12).

 

24.  What was David’s fourth question to this bearer of bad news? (II Sam. 1:13)

 

25.  What was his answer? (II Sam. 1:13)

 

26.  What was David’s fifth question to the Amalekite? (II Sam. 1:14)

 

27.  What was David’s instruction to one of the young man? (II Sam. 1:15)

 

28.  T – F  The young man refused to obey David (II Sam. 1:15)

 

29.  Before the Amalekite was slain, what did David explain to the man? (II Sam. 1:16)