Tag Archives: 2 Samuel 8-11

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2024 Bible Study — David’s Wars and Reconciliation with Saul’s House

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 8-11.

My first thought on reading today’s passage was, to ask why David went to war with the Moabites?  After all, he had placed his parents into the care of the king of Moab while he was on the run from King Saul.  Of course, We are not told what happened to David’s parents after he put them into the care of the king of Moab.  I came across a reference which says that there is a Jewish tradition that David’s parents were killed while they were in Moab.  If that were true it would explain David’s harsh treatment of the Moabites.  We also do not know why David went to war against Hadadezer, unless that war came after his war against he Ammonites, which is mentioned later in today’s passage.  Something I would not rule out as the writer(s) do not have the same concern with chronological order that we do today.  Which brings me to another interesting point about the accounts of David’s wars.  Nahash was the name of the king of the Ammonites whose attack on Jabesh-Gilead led to Saul establishing his kingship.  Some commentators think that Hanun, whom David went to war against, was the son of the Nahash whom Saul had warred against.  I think that this is unlikely.  I believe that the Nahash with whom David was friendly was the son or grandson of the man with whom Saul made war.

Usually I try to make a point about what the passage teaches us about how we should live our lives.  However, today I am going to write about what the passage tells us about what happened.  As I read about Mephibosheth in today’s passage I thought it supported my thoughts that David’s interaction with Abner would have peacefully brought the House of Saul under David’s kingship if Joab had not killed Abner.  It seems to me that while David was overjoyed that he was able to show grace to his friend Jonathan’s son, he was seeking any descendant of Saul through whom he could show that he held no animosity towards those who had remained loyal to King Saul.  Further, as I read the account here I cannot help but try to understand what happened between Mephibosheth, Ziba, and David when David fled from Absalom (and when he then returned to Jerusalem).  I am not sure that I understand what is going on relative to that, but reading this, knowing about that later incident makes it seem like there is some tension between what Ziba “owned” before Mephibosheth was brought before David and was then given into the ownership of Mephibosheth.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2022 Bible Study — Temptation Arises When We Forgo Doing That Which We Should Be Doing

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 8-11.

When I read about King David’s conquests of the surrounding kingdoms I debate in my head between two theories I have about what he was doing.  The one that came to me is that King David was protecting the merchant caravans, similar to the way he had protected Nabal’s shepherds when he was on the run from King Saul.  In that theory, the neighboring kingdoms profited from raiding merchant caravans.  My second theory is that, instead, David conquered the surrounding lands in order to seize control of the caravan routes as far as he could.  I think the first theory better explains why he did not attack the Ammonites until they provoked him.

Today was the first time that it occurred to me that the reason that King David did not lead his army against the Ammonites was that the war against the Ammonites was not part of the strategy that led him to conquer his other neighbors.  In any case, staying home while he sent the army out to fight was a mistake, perhaps even a sin.  I believe that the writer of this passage felt the same way.  He expresses his judgement on King David for not leading his army by writing, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out…”  The writer follows that up with recording Uriah’s reason for not going home to his wife.  All of this leads me to my main point on this: if King David had been doing what he ought to have been doing, leading his army in war, he would not have been tempted to do, and thus would not have done it, what he should not have done, sleeping with another man’s wife.  In the same way, if we fill our time with doing the things which we ought to be doing, the things which God desires us to do, we will not fall into temptation

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2021 Bible Study

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 8-11.

Early in the discussion here about David’s conquests the passage mentions that he conquered the Moabites and killed 2/3rds of them (the way the passage describes how he decided who to kill and who to let live seems odd and I may be misreading how it would have worked out).  The thing about this which strikes me is that David had taken his parents to the king of Moab for protection when he was fleeing from King Saul.  In addition, his great grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabite. Yet, here he is described as killing the majority of them.  I suspect we are missing this a part of the story here.

I find it interesting that when King David asked after a descendant of King Saul whom he could be kind to in honor of Jonathan, Jonathan’s son was described as living in a town whose name could be translated as “Nowhere”.  Which makes me wonder if the name given was intended to indicate the actual town name, or to indicate that King David took Jonathan’s son from Nowheresville (as we would express it today) to the royal palace. In fact, that is the point of this story, whether Lo Debar was an actual place, or just “Nowheresville”,  this story is here to tell us that King David took Jonathan’s son from the obscurity to which his crippled state condemned him to the heights of society, all out of David’s love for Jonathan.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2020 Bible Study — A Comparison of the Actions of King David and Uriah

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

As I read this today I was struck by a comparison between David and Uriah.  When David sent the Israelite army out to battle the Ammonites over the insult to his ambassadors, the key word is “sent”.  While his men went out to fight for his honor, King David remained behind in Jerusalem enjoying the luxuries of being king.  Meanwhile, when Uriah was sent to Jerusalem as a messenger, rather than going home to sleep in his home with his beautiful wife he spent the night in the barracks out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers who were on the battlefield.  But Uriah did not choose to forgo the comforts of home just out of solidarity with his comrades.  He also did so because the Ark of Covenant was on the battlefield.  He did so out of respect for God.  David was subject to the temptation of sinning with Bathsheba, and all that followed, because he did not do what he should have done.  If King David was going to send his men to war, he should have joined them.  Because he did not he fell prey to temptation and sinned grievously.  The same can apply to us.  If we do the things which we ought to do we will be less likely to be subject to temptation which we are unable to resist.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2019 Bible Study — What We Think Of As Small Sins Can Lead Us Into Much Larger Ones

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

I never noticed before that when David brings Mephibosheth into his court, he initiates this by looking for any of Saul’s family who might still be alive. It is in response to this that Ziba, who was a servant of King Saul tells him about Mephibosheth, who is Jonathan’s son and crippled. We know from later passages that Mephibosheth was not the only remaining descendant of King Saul, but David’s search ends with him. King David gives Mephibosheth all of Saul’s personal lands and property and orders Ziba to manage it for him. We later have reason to think this may not have been the wisest decision on King David’s part.

When King David started his war with the Ammonites he sent the army out under Joab’s command and did not lead them himself. As I read this passage, the writer did not approve of King David failing to lead the army. All of what went wrong followed from this one, seemingly minor, mistake. If David had led the army himself, he would not have committed adultery with Bathsheba, and thus would not have arranged the death of her innocent husband (who we later learn had been one of David’s most loyal servants). This provides us with an example of an important life lesson: “small” sins can lead us to commit bigger ones, which can lead to even bigger ones. If you would have suggested to King David the day after he sent the army out that in a few weeks he would be ordering Joab to arrange Uriah’s death, he would have insisted that he would never do such a thing to an adversary, let alone to a man who had served him loyally for so long. Yet, King David found himself doing something which would have horrified him just a short time before.

As an aside I want to make note of the role Joab played in King David arranging the death of Uriah. This is just another element in the complicated relationship between King David and Joab. Perhaps it also played a role in King David’s difficulty with removing Joab from being the commander of the army.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2018 Bible Study — Avoid Temptation By Doing What Is Right

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

    Once David had secured his throne by conquering most of the surrounding peoples, he remembered his promise to Jonathan and sought out any sons of Jonathan who remained alive. When he found Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, he brought him into his household and gave him the properties which had belonged to Saul. (What is it with the names Saul’s family gave their sons after Saul became king? Ishbosheth, Mephibosheth,…) There is not a lot here for us, but it shows that David was secure enough in his kingship to not feel threatened by the descendants of Saul. David was generous to Jonathan’s son in memory of his friendship with Jonathan.

    I was going to write an summary of what happened in the war against the Ammonites and then explain how that led to David’s sin with Bathsheba. However, I realized that what I really wanted to write about was how David’s decision to pass the hard work of leading the army off onto someone else led him into sin. If David had led the army of Israel out to war, as was his responsibility, he would not have been in Jerusalem to be tempted with the sins he committed. This is a lesson for all of us. Our failure to actively do the things we ought to be doing often places us in the path of temptation and placing ourselves in the path of temptation leads us to sin. Do that which God is calling you to do and you will be less likely to find temptation coming your way. If we follow Paul’s advice in Phillipians 4:8 Samuel 8-11 we will avoid situations like the one in which David found himself:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

It really is amazing how well that works to defeat temptation. I just wish I was better at doing it myself.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2017 Bible Study –Doing What We Ought Reduces The Opportunity For Temptation

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

    There are four story lines in today’s passage. The first story line is about David establishing dominance in the region. Previously I discussed how most of the nations in the region gained wealth by raiding their neighbors and general banditry. David appears to have put a stop to this. The second story line is about David remembering his promise to Jonathan and tracking down Jonathan’s son. By bringing Mephibosheth into his household, David eliminated the possibility of him being used as a rallying point for those opposing David’s rule. The third story line is about David’s war with the Ammonites. A war which started when David’s gesture of condolence was misinterpreted as a spying mission. The fourth story line, which grows out of the third one, is the story of David and Bathsheba.

    The writer starts the story of Bathsheba by subtly telling us that none of this would have happened if David had done what he should have done. The whole situation arose because David sent his army off to war, but did not go with them. If David had led the armies to war, he would not have been in Jerusalem to be tempted. On the other hand, if he had not sent the armies to ware without him, there would have been no opportunity to succumb to the temptation because Uriah would have been at home with his wife. The important lesson here is that if we do the things which God wishes for us to do we will face fewer temptations, and will find it easier to resist those we do face.
    I want to point out one other thing about this passage. We can neither absolve, nor convict Bathsheba on the the basis of this passage. We cannot tell from this passage if Bathsheba willingly joined David in his bed, or if she did so because she felt coerced by the fact that he was king. Bathsheba may have chosen to bath when she did in order to catch David’s eye, or, it may have just been that David happened to be on his roof at the time she bathed (or perhaps he even had an idea of when she bathed and chose to be on the roof to get a look at her). Bathsheba may have been an innocent victim, or she may have been a social climber seeking to use her body to gain power. The biblical account gives us no basis for judging because it is irrelevant to the lesson it wishes to teach us. No matter which is true of Bathsheba, David would not have ended up in that situation if he had done as he ought.

Daily Bible Study

April 10, 2016 Bible Study — Small Mistakes Can Lead to Large Sins

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

    The story of David and Bathsheba shows us how one small mistake can lead us to make ever greater mistakes. David’s first mistake was to send the army out to war without going with it. There are two places where the author expresses his unhappiness with David’s decision not to lead the army. In chapter 11, verse one the author writes

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight…

Then later the author expresses his dissatisfaction with David in the reason which Uriah gives for not going home to his wife. Having failed to do his duty, David was exposed to the temptation of seeing Bathsheba bathing. David succumbed to that temptation, then, to cover it up, he conspired to have her husband killed. It is worth noting that Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband was one of David’s most loyal followers.
    I want to make one last point. I have seen some people suggest that Bathsheba knew what she was doing when she went out to bathe that night when she caught David’s attention. While this is certainly possible I want to point out that nowhere in the Bible does any writer condemn Bathsheba for her affair with David. This is despite the supposedly misogynistic (anti-woman) characteristics of the Old Testament.