Journey Through 2 Samuel

2 Samuel centers on a man named David, the second king of Israel. When you think of David, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? For most people, it is one of two things: David and Goliath or David and Bathsheba. Interesting, isn’t it? People are remembered for their greatest successes and their greatest failures.

In 1 Samuel 17, you have the story of David and Goliath. That is David’s great success early in his life, the one he’s most famous for. But in 2 Samuel, you come to David’s greatest failure – his sin with Bathsheba.

Life is full of both victories and defeats, both triumphs and tragedies, and learning how to approach both is so very important. When you come to 2 Samuel, you come to what the old radio commentator Paul Harvey used to call “the rest of the story.” 1 Samuel ends with the death of Saul. 2 Samuel begins with David mourning over the death of Saul.

Listen to an Overview of 2 Samuel:

Author and Overview

1 Samuel concentrates primarily on the first king. It gives us a detailed story about King Saul. 2 Samuel details the second king, the man after God’s own heart, known as David, his entire 40-year reign, just as 1 Samuel outlined his early years. We believe that Samuel himself is used by God to record much of this, but also perhaps other men. Men like Nathan and Gad may have contributed to it. One thing we do know, whoever the human penman was, the Holy Spirit is the divine author. God has a message for us in this book of the Bible.

Key Verse

2 Samuel 5:12: “And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people, Israel’s sake.”

There’s a lot of truth in that one verse. The Bible says David perceived. May God give us spiritual perception today. Pray for discernment to see as God sees us, to think as God thinks.

Remember God “putteth down one, and setteth up another.” (Psalm 75:7) “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1) It doesn’t matter if Saul is on the throne, if David is on the throne, or if any other person is on the throne. It does not matter who the president is or who the Prime Minister is; there is a King who rules in the affairs of men. He rules the good, and he overrules the evil. David was a spiritual enough man to understand he didn’t get there on his own. Promotion came from God. God established him King.

And then the Bible says: “And that he had exalted his kingdom for his people, Israel’s sake.” I love that we see some of the humility of David that contrasts with King Saul. David realized it wasn’t just about him. It’s not about me, and it’s not about you. God is up to something in this world. The Lord’s work is bigger than any one of us. Aren’t you glad you get to be a part of it today?

Victories and Defeats

2 Samuel 1-10 – Victories

What do we learn from the life and reign of King David? We learn something about dealing with victories and defeats. You could divide the entire book by victories and defeats. As we begin the journey in 2 Samuel 1-10, we see David’s great victories. It begins with a political victory. There’s a civil war. God gives David the victory there.

And then there are spiritual victories. The Ark of the Covenant is recovered. What a wonderful thing! The presence of God is brought back. In 2 Samuel 7, there’s a revelation of God’s covenant with David, a covenant that God is going to fulfill perfectly. He makes definite promises to David. Notably, David wanted to build a house for God, but instead God built a house for David.

God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. The Davidic Covenant is one of the great covenants of the Bible. It is a reminder that God is not finished with Israel and that God always fulfills what He foretells. He gives military victories. David defeats all of his enemies.

Chapter ten ends with David basking in the glow of his victories. And at that moment, we must take the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” It is almost always after great victories that great defeat comes.

2 Samuel 11-24 – Defeats

When you continue the journey in 2 Samuel 11 through the rest of the book, ending with 2 Samuel 24, you have the story of David’s defeat. Notice that his defeat is not outward. It is inward. Isn’t that where the great battle lies for all of us? Bathsheba was the one battle that David did not have a battle plan for. When he went out to face Goliath, he had a plan. He was trusting the Lord. When he faced the Philistines, he had a battle plan. He was quite a military strategist led by God. But when he faced temptation at that moment, there was no plan. My friend, be ready for the temptation. Be ready for the struggle. Be ready for the battle. Sometimes the greatest battle comes right after a victory.

Of course, we know David’s great defeat. He sinned against the Lord. He committed adultery. Then he committed murder. He lied. And God sent a preacher by the name of Nathan to deliver this message – “Thou art the man” (2 Samuel 12:7). There were devastating consequences from the sins that came into David’s life. There are consequences for sin, but in the middle of it all, praise God, we have the record that David found fellowship with God again. He confessed his sin to the Lord. If you want to read his actual prayer, read Psalm 51. It is a great psalm of repentance. It is powerful. And then after you read Psalm 51, go back and read 2 Samuel 22. It is a psalm of praise. Once you confess your sin, then you can give God the glory, because God does forgive and God does cleanse.

Dealing with Victory and Defeat

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is not just David’s story; it is also our story. It’s a story of triumph and trouble in the life of a believer. How do you deal with victories, and how do you deal with defeat? Examine the root of each:

Victory comes when you live by faith. “…this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Defeat comes when you live in the flesh. Think of the contrast in David between, on one hand, a man after God’s own heart and, on the other hand, a man with a broken heart.

Which one do you want to be? Do you want to be the man after God’s own heart, or do you want to live with a broken heart? You must choose today if you will live by faith and obedience to God and keep your eyes on the Lord, or if you will permit your eyes to wander to the temptations around you and respond according to the flesh. Heed the warning today, my friend, triumph can turn to trouble in a single moment. Victory can turn to defeat in a second. Why? Because in a moment, with one decision, we can cease living by faith. That’s why the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Conclusion

More is said of David than of any other character in the Bible outside the Lord Jesus. While 2 Samuel reveals the story of David’s life, it does more than that. It provides the story of a principle. This divine record is not just for us to know David. It is for us to know God. It is for us to say to God, “I want to continue to be the man after your own heart. Even when I fail you and even when I am defeated, I want to be back in fellowship with you as quickly as possible, so that today I can walk in the victory that you desire for me to walk in.” May God help us all today to keep our eyes on Jesus, to be true and faithful to him, and to live in victory.