I made an approach almost like these movie makers are doing with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and broke my FLASHDEVO into 2 parts, so here, finally is the conclusion to the story that is the Life of King David. This took me a few days, as my ADD kicks in most of the time and I find myself getting so very easily distracted.
I promise, this is the ending of 2nd Samuel...
Chapter 17
Absalom has been preparing an army to fight against his father David, and now David's advisers are warning him to take action and to save himself by running, but David still plans to face his son. David's advisor had been sent to Absalom to make him think he was being loyal to Absalom but was still loyal to David secretly. When Absalom shames him before the kingdom, he returns to his home, and hangs himself for fear of dishonor.
Chapter 18
Absalom's Finale (defeated and killed)
Even in the extreme fact that Absalom had rebelled against his father, David still loved his son, said he would love his son no matter what it was that he had done. He was found dangling in an oak tree, and David's men were afraid to kill Absalom. They thought that he wouldn't be able to deal with the blame for that death if the King had stopped them, but he was killed regardless. With a sword through the heart. David weeps bitterly over his son, saying "MY SON, MY SON!" that he was dead.
Chapter 19
The aftermath of Absalom's death, David is still struggling over his loss, and his servants approach him and say that they should celebrate the fact that David now sits once again on the throne of Israel, rather than mourn this loss. David manages to come back to Jerusalem and also gives much honor to the servant who had helped out Saul's grandson, Ziba and even offers redemption to the man who stoned David along the way out of Jerusalem. An argument begins to develop over how David is lacking in leadership over Israel, and people are saying that someone else should be their king.
Chapter 20
David is still trying to pick up the pieces of his broken kingdom at this point. There are still those in Israel who weren't faithful to David, and wanted to rise up against him. David takes precautions to protect his livelihood, by putting his 10 concubines under guard. The chapter says that they are widowed, and David never lies down with them again. A man named Sheba is the one who is making this revolt against David, and he finds his end from a group of women who cut off his head! Epic ending to his life.
Chapter 21
7 sons! That is what a group of people the Gibeonites wanted from David in response to their harsh treatment they received at the hand of Saul. Unbelievably in this chapter, despite thinking that things in Israel will stay silent, there are yet more battles against the Philistines. David of course defeats all of the Philistines, and walks away in victory, proving that God is still with him.
Chapter 22
You want a very clear depiction of what David thinks of God when he is worshiping, then read this. David was rejoicing that God had delivered him from the hands of his enemies and from Saul. I still to this day cannot understand that. Saul was a mad who was tormented by an evil spirit and felt jealous that God had anointed David instead of him. David chooses to weep when Saul is killed, and he also serves the descendants of Saul, faithfully. He didn't have to do all of this, but he was being faithful to the Lord, and chose to do it anyway.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the one who saves me from violence.
4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
5 “The waves of death overwhelmed me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
6 The grave[a] wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I cried to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.
8 “Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the heavens shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
9 Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
10 He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being,[b] he flew,
soaring[c] on the wings of the wind.
12 He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dense rain clouds.
13 A great brightness shone around him,
and burning coals[d] blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies;
his lightning flashed, and they were confused.
16 Then at the command of the Lord,
at the blast of his breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
2 Samuel 22:2-16 (NLT)
David understands this as vital to his existence, and even makes mention that his descendants will be anointed, showing that this was a sacred blessing that would be with Joseph, the husband of Mary, when Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. The Messiah will come from the Line of David!
Chapter 23
David's Last Words
It's interesting that this part of the chapter has this heading above it, because you'll see in Kings (if you are expecting me to hide the fact that he dies) David is old in the beginning of Kings and looks for a successor.
This chapter tells that David knows that his end is drawing to a close, so you hear more about the people that serve around David rather than the actual family. You hear of the great warriors known as "THE THIRTY" and then there are those that are among them. "The Three" the Three are the greatest of all of David's warriors. It talks about them defeating and killing hundreds of men from other regions and how they are all faithful to David.
Interestingly enough, "THE THIRTY" actually has 37 members in it.
Chapter 24 - THE END HAS COME
The Census
Wow, it's funny, since we took a census in our country this year, and how you read about how David does it...
In today's society, the Census is a piece of paper you mail back to Washington DC, our country's capitol, and it gets added into data which totals up official numbers, this is done in a matter of days!
In the time of David, it took 9 months and 20 days...
Israel had 800,000 capable warriors and Judah had 500,000. These would be men who would be able to fight.
David had sinned by making this count, because the anger of the Lord was stirring, and as a result, the Lord sends an angle to offer David a choice of 3 possible punishments! Wow, that's a scary thought for me. The penalty of our sin is bad enough, so why would we choose to pick a punishment. David does the census, and it causes the Lord to bring a plague that lasted 3 days and killed 70,000 people. He had built an alter to make burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord, who finally stopped the plague.
That's it!
This is the end of the road for David, and now you begin to hear the stories of his future, his descendants. You will learn about the end of David's life and how Solomon becomes king over Israel.
The lesson from 2nd Samuel, and from 1st Samuel is...
God seeks after those who are faithful to him. David was that man because he was righteous and because he was willing to follow what God wanted for his life, even in the midst of a horrific sin, God chose to act justly with David.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the Flashdevos for these chapters, and I will be working to start 1st Kings tonight...so please keep on reading.
GRACE AND PEACE!!!!!
And praise God for him using people like David to fulfill his purpose!
