2 Samuel 9-10

2 Samuel 9-10

If you can remember back to some of closing chapters of 1 Samuel you might remember a conversation that David and Jonathan had about their future. David and Jonathan had been best friends, and Jonathan knew that David would one day be king of Israel, even though he was the son of the current king. Although Jonathan was Saul’s son, he knew that his father had made several mistakes and that God had pulled the kingdom away from them. But Jonathan was not bitter. In fact, he was very supportive of David. Jonathan fully expected to still be alive when David took the throne, and so he asked David to not forget him and his family when that time came. David promised to do so and was determined to not leave his friend Jonathan to suffer. But Jonathan was killed unexpectedly in the battle that also killed his father.


Now, several years later, David remembered the promise that he had made to Jonathan and began to inquire about Saul and Jonathan’s descendants. He asked around to see if there was anyone still alive that fell in their line. That is how he found Jonathan’s son Mephilbosheth. This young man was a cripple who was lame in both feet. Most people might have even viewed him as the enemy, knowing that he was the grandson of Saul. To David, however, Mephilbosheth was his best friend’s son, and he wanted to look out for and take care of him. So David allowed him to eat at the king’s table and gave him a group of servants so that all his needs would be taken care of as long as he lived. So once again, we see the good heart of David. He could have easily forgotten the promise he made to Jonathan, since no one but Jonathan knew about it. He could have kept it all to himself and not worried about figuring out how to take care of a crippled man. But that is not how David lived. He knew that God still loved Mephilbosheth. As God had provided for David in 2 Samuel 7, David provided for Mephilbosheth in 2 Samuel 9.

David then continued to add victories to his name, but in 2 Samuel 10 he was not looking for a battle. The king of the Ammonites had died, and David sent them help in their time of grief. The Ammonites had never been any trouble, and Israel had gotten along with the Ammonites under David’s rule. But when David sent some of his men to help them, some of the new king’s servants became suspicious. They thought that David was sending spies into their land so that he could take over. So they dealt harshly with David’s men and then went to Syria to recruit some help, knowing that David would most definitely retaliate.

David waited them out for a time, giving his men time to heal. He then put together an army under the leadership of Joab and sent them to fight against the Ammonites and the Syrians. These two groups of people soon learned how powerful David and his men were, and those that did not flee the battle were killed. After the battle was over, not only had David successfully defeated these two nations, but he also caused the Ammonites and Syrians to break ties. The Syrians vowed to never return to the aid of the Ammonites again. So God gave David the victory again, and all was going well in the nation of Israel.

But as mentioned yesterday, things would soon turn for the worse. So far we have seen all the positive aspects of David’s character. Even in times of temptation, he has been able to overcome it and move on. There were times when it seemed like he would falter, but always came out victorious. But we must remember that David was indeed human, and like us, he had his moments of sin. That is the next part of David’s story.

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