Sermons on 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 10 and 11 sit right next to each other – but they couldn’t be more different. In chapter 10, David is strong, decisive, victorious. In chapter 11, David is passive, compromised, and hiding. Same man. Same king. Just one chapter apart. And it forces us to ask a sobering question: How does a man go from spiritual victory to moral collapse? And so quickly? And can it happen to us?

As we go through the next couple of chapters tonight, we see God’s increasing blessing upon David. And it’s a reminder that every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights (James 1:17). Two times in chapter 8 we read that the Lord preserved David wherever he went (vv. 6, 14). You see this blessing that David is experiencing is not because David is so special or successful in and of himself, it’s…

In 2 Samuel 7, King David expresses his desire to build a permanent temple for God, noting that the Ark of the Covenant is housed in a tent. God redirects David, promising instead to build a “house” for David. This covenant promises that David’s descendants will rule, his son will build the temple, and his throne will be established eternally—a prophecy ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 4–6 details David’s consolidation of power, becoming king over all Israel, capturing Jerusalem as his capital, and bringing the Ark of the Covenant there. The chapters involve the assassination of his rival Ish-bosheth, victories over the Philistines, and the joyous, yet solemn, arrival of the Ark.

As we move into the book of 2 Samuel, we leave behind us the sad sordid saga of Saul. First Samuel was about the search for a king. The people wanted a king like the other nations had. So God gave them a king – Saul, and that turned out to be a bit of a sour point just like God had forewarned.