2 Samuel 4 Death of Ishbosheth. It gets worse! 2 of Ishbosheth’s men stabbed him to death while on his bed resting. They brought his head to David, expecting a reward. Would you care to guess what David did? Do you remember what he did to the man who brought the crown of Saul to David, claiming to have killed Saul? Yes, he killed them, cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron. David had Ishbosheth’s head buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. Mephibosheth was Jonathon’s son who was lame in both feet due to a fall when his nurse fled with him from Jezreel when he was 5 years old.

2 Samuel 5 David anointed king over all 12 tribes. So all 12 tribes come to David at Hebron and made a covenant with David and anointed him king over all 12 tribes. 5:⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.” David conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital. The city was built on a naturally fortified ridge surrounded by deep valleys and steep slopes, making it very difficult for enemies to attack. Fresh Water Access: Jerusalem had a dependable, year-round water supply from the Gihon Spring located just outside the eastern wall of the City of David. David’s general, Joab, led an elite force that sneaked into the city by climbing through an underground water channel or shaft connected to the Gihon Spring. David “inquired of the Lord twice and defeated the Philistines both time.

2 Samuel 6: David brings the ark to Jerusalem. The next two slides tell the journey of the ark from Shloh to Jerusalem. Thie first slide reviews how the ark ended up at Kiriath-Yearim for 20 years.The 2nd slide tells how David brought the ark from Kiriath-Yearim to Jerusalem. They are carrying the ark on a cart instead of with poles as God commanded. The oxen stumbled and Uzzah grabbed the ark to keep it falling and God struck him dead for his “irreverent act”. That’s one of those hard to explain events. It seems innocent enough that Uzzah would try to keep the ark from falling to the ground even though they were carrying it improperly. God knows the hearts and maybe Uzzah was a bad person who deserved what he got. Maybe God just wanted to make an example to others about following his commands more closely. Then there is David dancing in a linen ephod when the ark gets to Jerusalem. Michal despised him for that because she felt his uninhibited, public dancing before the Ark of the Covenant was a shameful and vulgar breach of royal dignity. 6:20 Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” God made her barren b/c of her criticism of David.

2 Samuel 7 God’s promise to David. 2 Samuel 7 has one of the most important predictions in the Old Testament. David felt bad b/c he had a nice cedar house but the ark of the covenant was in a tent (the tabernacle). He wanted to build a temple for God. God basically said, “Have I ever asked the Israelites to build me a temple? If I wanted one, I would have told you so.” But then he said that he would allow Solomon to build the temple. That’s kinda weird:”I don’t want a temple but I am going to let Solomon build one anyway!” Kinda like giving Israel a king: “I don’t want a king but I’m giving you one anyway!” Is God thinking that a permanent structure temple might be a better way of trying to keep Israel worshipping the one true God? If so, that worked sometimes but many other times the Israelites are building pagan altars in the temple of God! We know that Solomon is a main part of the fulfillment of this prediction b/c it says, “if he commit iniquity” I will punish him. That could not refer to Jesus who was sinless. The Jesus part of this prophecy is this:7:¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Luke 1 confirms this to be a Messianic prophecy: Luke 1:³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Peter confirmed this to be Messianic of Jesus in Acts 2:
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” So Peter is telling the Jews that the promise in 2 Samuel 7 was fulfilled when Jesus arose and ascended to the right hand of the Father and that he began sitting on the throne of David when he ascended. It was spiritual throne in heaven and not an earthly throne over an earthly kingdom which is what the Jews were expecting. Jesus would be king forever over his spiritual kingdom, the church. Psalm 89:“I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, ⁴ I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.” David, after being told this by Nathan, prayed a very. humble, grateful prayer praising God for all that He had done for Israel and David and asking God to bless David’s house forever as promised.

2 Samuel 8:David’s victories. 1 Chronicles 22:8: David tells Solomon that God said to him, “You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.” When you read 2 Samuel 8, you see what God was talking about. An agnostic might struggle with all this killing, but times were different back then. God had chosen Israel as his holy nation. He need to keep Israel strong until the Messiah Jesus would come through the Jewish nation. That meant defeating the enemies of Israel back then. Also remember that these nations that David killed so many of were some of the same nations that God had told Israel to completely destroy when they entered Canaan (like the Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines)but they did not do that. So these nations are still there and they want to destroy Israel. Some of Israel’s enemies at the time of David were Edomites, Moabites, Arameans who wanted to destroy Israel. David is killing those enemies who wanted to destroy God’s holy nation, so remember that as you read about all the bloodshed.