Mighty warriors were in high demand in Israel’s formative years. Both David and his predecessor Saul prioritised the recruitment of not just able-bodied men in their army but valiant men whose gallant acts would have fueled the urban legends in Israel. The author closes out the book by paying homage to David’s Mighty Thirty and recounts their triumphs on the battlefield and their extraordinary accomplishments. However, David’s over-dependence on his valiant warriors becomes a stumbling block in his journey with God as his foolishness causes the death of multitudes in his country.
Tag: David
Looking Back at the Life of David – 2 Samuel 22
The book of Samuel is bookended by two completely different people and their respective songs of praise. While their lives served a distinct purpose in furthering the plan of God, their song of praise was similar in its content as the God of Hannah is the same as the God of David. King David had…
A Brutal End to a Long-Standing Feud – 2 Samuel 21
The Author Seems to believe that God was waiting for the blood of Saul’s descendants and for them to be buried before blessing the harvest of the Israelites. God’s grace is often mistaken for the cause of one’s blessing or more often the end of one’s suffering.
Do Not Be Provoked – Psalm 36
While Bible scholars consider Psalm 18 as the Psalm during the old age of the Psalmist, scholars attribute Psalm 36 to the young David. David was introduced as “the servant of God” in these Psalms. Because in both of these Psalms, David stopped listening to the provoking noises and started listening to the soothing voice…
A Revolt Quashed – 2 Samuel 20
On the road from Jordan to Jerusalem, the tribes of Judah and Israel clashed over their respective claims over David as their king. The other tribes had taken offence when their king yet again sided with his own tribe. Among them was Sheba, son of Bikri, who was the most vocal in expressing his disdain…
The Road Back Home – 2 Samuel 19
Now that Absalom had died, the growing consensus among the tribes of Israel was to bring back David to Jerusalem as their king. They recounted the great feats of David and the countless times he had rescued them in battle. They had a rosy memory of his time as king and remembered the days of…
A Bittersweet Victory – 2 Samuel 17:24 – 19:8
After crossing the Jordan, David finds shelter in the town of Mahanaim. This is the same place where Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s remaining heir, found a safe haven from David after the death of his father and brothers on the battlefield. And now David was looking at the same town to provide him refuge against his own…
The Noise Drowning The Voice – 2 Samuel 16 & 17
On his road to his exile, David was met with many familiar faces. People he had helped had seen his sudden downfall as their opportunity to do something in return for their king. Ziba, the loyal servant of Saul also came out with supplies for the king and his men. He had a string of…
The Rise Of Absalom – 2 Samuel 15
Only a short time after his return from his exile in Geshur, Absalom had assembled a small army of men for himself. Chariots and men would run ahead of him as he travelled throughout the land. To the onlookers, Absalom seemed to have an impressive security detail provided to him by the king like the…
The Parable of the Ewe Lamb
This Parable was part of Nathan’s message that the Lord had sent for king David. Not only did he covet and forcefully took another man’s wife he even had Bathsheba’s husband killed off on the pretence of war (1 Samuel 11). Uriah was not just any other man, but part of David’s thirty, he was…
The Prodigal Son Returns – 2 Samuel 14
After exacting his revenge on his elder brother Amnon, Absalom went into a self-imposed exile in the neighbouring kingdom of Geshur. Even after the heinous murder of his elder son, David still longed for Absalom, and Joab who was the closest confidant of the king knew about it. He concocted a story which was reminiscent…
Revenge Has No Expiration – 2 Samuel 13
As punishment for his sins of rape and murder, David had already lost a son but soon, the crimes he was guilty of would befall his children. Amnon was David’s eldest son, who was born to him through Ahinoam. He would have been next in line to succeed after his father as the king of…
An Encouragement To The Desperate – Psalm 34
The title of this Psalm suggests that David wrote this Psalm after he pretended to be insane and escaped from the kingdom of Achish (Abimelek). Whenever we face critical situations, we lie instead of facing the truth. God expresses His displeasure about our lies in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 28:15, 18&19) and speaks about…
The Sword Will Never Depart From David’s House – 2 Samuel 12
The Lord sent Nathan to deliver his rebuke to David as the latter had gone away from the fold of God. God does not send the prophet to David immediately after his grievous sin, but after some time had passed and the child had been born to Bathsheba. David would have least expected this visit…
David Displeased the Lord – 2 Samuel 11
During the Spring time, when the farmers of the land would neither sow nor harvest their crops, the kings would utilise this downtime and go off to wars to invade new territories. This was the war season for Israel and their neighbouring countries, as the conflict with the Ammonites was escalating rapidly. The Israelites had…
A Seat at the Table – 2 Samuel 9 & 10
David’s kindness to the sons of his allies proves almost detrimental to his own ambitions. While the one who was lame, subdued himself to David for a seat at his table but the one who had an army of his own looked at David’s offer of peace with suspicion. The latter’s arrogance resulted in a…
The Victories of King David – 2 Samuel 8
This chapter focuses on David’s victories over the neighbouring territories and subsequent extension of the borders of his kingdom. The author’s intent does not seem to be to record the military conquests of David and his army in chronological order but is to evidence the overarching theme of the entire book that God was with…
House of David – 2 Samuel 7
Chronologically this chapter would have been best suited to read after the next chapter’s events which recounts David’s victory over the neighbouring countries. After David had secured his capital, brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem and built himself a luxurious palace with the choicest wood, he wanted to build a House for God to…
The Missing Piece – 2 Samuel 6
David had garnered the support of all the tribes of Israel, had Michal (his first wife and Saul’s daughter) back in his corner and had even seized the fortified hill city of Jerusalem. The next logical step for him was to retrieve the Ark of God from Kiriath Jearim and secure, both his political and…
The Fortress of a Socialite – 2 Samuel 5
After the death of Abner and Ish-Bosheth, the elders of the tribes of Israel came to meet David at Hebron to ask him to be the ruler of their land. David was thirty-seven years old at this time and had been serving as the king of Judah for seven years by now. But now the…
A Blood Soaked Transition – 2 Samuel 3&4
As the war between the respective camps of David and Saul waged on, the house of David grew stronger day by day. By this time, David had been married seven times and had an heir through each of his six wives who were currently with him (2 Samuel 3:2-5). On the other side, Saul had…
The Mighty Have Fallen – 2 Samuel 1&2
After defeating the Amalekites, David and his men returned to the city of Ziklag which was burned to the ground. Two days later, while they were plotting their next move and possible place of relocation, a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. It is obvious that this…
Extolling God – Psalm 30
Our church services begin with the Praise and Worship session wherein we enthusiastically praise God with meaningful songs and vibrant music. The worship team motivates others to worship actively. People also are inspired by the worship team and look for churches where worship is active and attractive. People believe that worshipping creates an atmosphere to…
A Tale of Two Kings – 1 Samuel 30 & 31
In the finale of the first part of the book of Samuel, David and Saul are involved in two distinct wars that are running in parallel. While David and his men were trying to retrieve their belongings from the Amalekite raiders, Sauls’s army was taking their last stand against the fearsome Philistine forces at Mount…
The Philistine Forces Assemble – 1 Samuel 27&29
David knew that Saul would not give up chasing him till he had caught and killed him. So he fled to the Philistine territory and took shelter with Achish, the king of Gath. When Saul found out, he gave up searching for David and turned his attention to the growing forces of the Philistine army…
A Partridge in the Mountains – 1 Samuel 26
After a brief moment of respite, Saul resumed his hunt to capture and kill his predecessor David. As David was traversing through the desert of Ziph, the natives were informing Saul about his every move. Saul went down to the desert, with three thousand of his troops and made his camp on the hill of…
Fool, Foil and Follies – 1 Samuel 25
Sandwiched between the two assassination opportunities of Saul that were presented to David, his encounter with Nabal and Abigail shows us a different side of him. Samuel was the one true ally that David had by his side as it was he who had anointed him as the king of Israel. After his death, David…
From Evildoers Come Evil Deeds – 1 Samuel 23 & 24
David and his men were hiding in Judah when word came to them that the Philistines were raiding the threshing floors of Keilah. Even though strategically Keilah was part of Judah, its close proximity to Philistine territory made it a frequent target for looters who would raid the town during the harvest season. When David…
A Not So Holy Mission – 1 Samuel 21 & 22
David was now officially on the run as Saul had placed an open bounty on his head. He went to Nob, a town just a few miles northeast of Jerusalem to meet Ahimelek, the priest. After the destruction of Shiloh, the town of Nob had taken its place as the religious capital of Israel, housing…
A Sworn Friendship – 1 Samuel 20
After evading Saul and his men at Naioth, David returned to Jerusalem to meet Jonathan. He narrated all that he had been through over the last few days and how Saul tried to kill him. While Samuel believed David when he told him the same account, Jonathan found it hard to believe that his father…
The Plot to Kill David – 1 Samuel 18 & 19
The tales of David’s conquest of the giant spread throughout the land, garnering the love and respect of all the people of Israel. Even the soldiers in Saul’s army respected David as he led them in countless battles, and with God by his side, they would always come out victorious. The admiration for David was…
The Stone Is Mightier Than The Sword – 1 Samuel 17
One of the most popular narratives in the Bible, the battle between David and Goliath has made its way into pop culture and is often referred to in sports when an underdog beats the defending champion. But what the world does not realize, something that Goliath and the Philistines learned the hard way, David was…
Time To Move On – 1 Samuel 16
After the fallout with Saul, Samuel had shut himself in his hometown of Ramah and spent his days mourning for the king of Israel. Though their relationship was going through a rocky patch, Samuel had played an important part in Saul’s life and in the transformation of his heart. Saul even started prophesying soon after…
The King of Glory – Psalm 24
We are aware of the truth that the glory belongs to the Lord. Even after knowing this, do we attribute the glory to God or give it to something else that dominates our lives. In the days of David, Kings were the glorious people on the earth, and David was also one of them. Despite…
From The Author’s Desk – Psalm 21
The author captures the responses to the prayers that people had lifted up in the previous Psalm for their King. Are we aware of the changes that God made in the lives of the people for whom we prayed? Often, we do not even remember what we prayed and for whom we prayed. Even if…
The Contentment – Psalm 16
This idiom, “a contented mind is a perpetual feast”, tells us the benefit of contentment. King Solomon recorded a similar theme in a different way saying that the cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15). The cheerfulness of our heart depends on the fulfilment of our heart’s desires. If our cheerfulness is the outcome…
The Survival – Psalm 15
While reading this Psalm, we should go back to the Old Testament times where people were afraid of God, and they did not even pronounce the word Yahweh, but only wrote it down to express His name. When the chief priests entered into the inner room with the blood he offered for himself and for…
Restoration
In the Old Testament, we see many occasions of restorations such as restoration of hope, of families, and even of kingdoms. We need hope for restoring the things we have lost, especially hope in God. Once, David had lost his family and the families of his warriors, which resulted in hostility from his supporters. Even…
Thank You Lord – Psalm 9
Thanking each other is the best etiquette in our society, and it encourages a person to give their best. It is an act of showing the person who helped us that we have identified or realized their kindness.
Our Refuge – Psalm 7
Taking refuge in God is a unique experience. In a worldly context, taking refuge is about staying in the refugee camps or a rehabilitation centre. People staying at a rehabilitation centre do not need to carry a shield, but the people at the battlefield need to have a shield.
Listen to my Words – Psalm 5
The opening words of this Psalm highlights the confidence that David has in his relationship with God. To attract the attention of a person who is listening to many, we say “Listen to me.” Children use the technique of crying to attract their parent’s attention. The opening words of this Psalm also resemble the action of an adamant grown-up child persistently irritating his parent by repeatedly asking them to grant permission.
Led By The Spirit
As soon as Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God led him to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The primary temptations are that the devil wants us to prove to him that we are the children of God. This precious relationship is personal between us and our God. Repeatedly. the devil asked Jesus to prove his relationship with His Father, but Jesus firmly denied to prove it to the devil.
Kiss the Son – Psalm 2
The Psalmist asks the offenders to take refuge in God and says that if the rulers of the earth will turn faithful to the incredible love of God, then righteousness will come upon them from heaven.
The Wicked And The Righteous – Psalms 1
Our society has both wicked and righteous people. Both of them share the same arena to earn their livelihood. The wicked will always be with us in the form of our neighbours, colleagues, friends and relatives who distort us from fulfilling the purpose of God in our lives.
Solomon – The Dum-Best King
Even the wisest man in the world was fooled by satan and lured away from God. Is there any hope for us?
The One Greater than Jonah, Solomon & David – Matthew 12
The Messiah was amongst us and no one wanted to believe in His existence, neither the pharisees nor the teachers of the law and not even Jesus’ own family.
God is in Control
We are couple of weeks into the New Year and have seen God satisfying our needs and repeatedly experience it in our lives. However, the blessings of the years passed have limited our relationship with God. For this reason, as a new year begins, anxiety engulfs us and we forget God’s enormous power.
What do we Believe
Our christian lives are sometimes influenced by the people around us. There are so many theological schools of thought that we sometimes find it hard to know what we believe.
Glorifying God
We are called to bear witness for Christ Jesus but many believers misunderstand this in their lives and struggle to bear witness. Most of the time we expect miracles to happen in our lives to bear testimony. It is easy to do so when miracles happen but if nothing works out then bearing testimony to Christ Jesus seems difficult.
Truth and Mercy
David says in Psalm 31: 21-22 that he became fearful and was afraid that he had gone far from Him. Similarly we also face this fear many times in our lives and become worrisome and don’t get justice hence, all our work gets spoiled. David says that he was not of any use but still God showed His mercy and gave him victory. God, whether we believe in Him or not, whether we love Him or go far from Him, will be with us and never leave us alone.
Abigail – A Discerning Woman
Abigail was a woman, beautiful and with understanding (1 Samuel 25: 3), She was the wife of Nabal who was a rich man and who sheared his sheep at Carmel (1 Samuel 25: 3). Knowing that Nabal was shearing his sheep, David sent some young men to talk to Nabal and tell him how well his shepherds were treated when they were with him and that now when they have come on a feast day and be given ..
The Prodigal Sons
Rivalry among brothers is quite common even in the Bible. Brotherly rivalries such as Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, Solomon and Adonijah and so on, all in some way related to their inheritance share. In the parable of the Prodigal son Jesus illustrates a similar rivalry so that…
Seek the Lord and You will be Blessed
This verse directs us to seek God for obtaining good things adequately. We seek God for various reasons. Among the many who seek God there are two sect of people who seek God. One sect comprises of those who have received blessings in some form be it good education, a lucrative job offer, family, house or…
Patience
One of the most confusing passage and yet it has been cited as the beginning of the end of Saul’s reign, due to his ‘Impatience’. The Philistines had all their soldiers and chariots, “numerous as the sands of the seashore”, and the Israelites were running scared ….
The Jordan Valley 