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Study the Word. Meditate on it and let it be your delight and holy guide.
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2 Samuel 5-7
2 Samuel 5: The Shepherd-King and Jerusalem - the City of David
You may remember that David, as a young boy, was out in his father’s fields when Samuel came to call looking for the new king. The metaphor of a shepherd king became foundational to our theological understanding of leadership and servanthood. Compare 2 Samuel 5 with 1 Samuel 16:11, Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34. (It won’t be accidental that Nathan will use the shepherd image to indict David in Chapter 12 when he has Uriah killed in order to gain Bathsheba. One can be a good shepherd or a bad shepherd!)
By the fifth chapter of 2 Samuel, Jerusalem becomes the city of David, and will remain so forevermore. But in this city, David begins to waffle. What is the price of power? We no longer see David asking God what he should do at every step. We do see him grasping for greater power, moving away from simple faith in God. Read Isaiah 56:7 and 65:17-25 for a fuller vision of Jerusalem - a place where while the leaders may seek to exclude, inclusiveness will remain the dream, where violence will threaten, peace will remain the goal.
2 Samuel 6 - 7 The Ark,theTemple and the House of David
For generations the ark has embodied God’s holy rule in Israel and stood as the symbol of holy war. Now David uses it to legitimize his regime. The ark must not be presumed upon, however, nor taken too casually. To touch it is much like to utter God’s name - it is to presume too much. Thus, to touch it is to die. Uzzah’s death served as a wake up call for all of Israel, as well as for David. One cannot “use” God and expect to escape lightly.
David’s desire to build a temple was in part a desire to create a new symbol. Instead of an ark, which denotes the freedom and mobility of God, David wanted to build a temple -announcing God is here with him in Jerusalem and nailing God down in one place. Of course, the risk would be that God would refuse to remain there.
God was not interested in having David build him a temple. Instead, a holy reversal was in order, communicated through the word play on the term “house.” A house could be a structure (like a temple) or a people (like a dynasty). God didn’t want David to build him a house (temple), but would build David a house (dynasty). Clearly we see Who is in control here. We also see God enlarging the peoples’ understanding of Presence and election. Instead of going ahead of Israel through the ark, or being presumed upon in a temple, God declares:
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, [15] but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.' " 2 Samuel 7:14-16 (ESV)
This is the bedrock unconditional promise establishing the house and lineage of David. It is an enormous mistake to read this promise and forget that embedded within it God declares, “when he commits iniquity, I will discipline…” This discipline is part and parcel of the steadfast love of God. The next section will recall how David forgot the expansive meaning of that steadfast love.
2 Samuel 8-12; 2 Samuel 13-15, 2 Samuel 16-24
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