About this Series

Can God Use Flawed Human Beings? Yes he can. Just read 2 Samuel. King David is no knight in shining armour and Israel is no Garden of Eden. The pages of 2 Samuel are full of murder, intrigue, jealousy, death, revenge, war, insurrection, hubris and pain. David is only Israel's second king and he is bedeviled by enemies within, enemies beyond and his own very mixed motives. How can God's kingdom be established in such a dangerous situation when not only the people but even the king is so flawed? How can God use such unlikely people to achieve his purposes? Welcome to "David and Kingdom of God" our preaching series in 2 Samuel. This will be a great series to see not only how God's big plan of redemption unfolds with the choice of David and Jerusalem but also how he continues to work through flawed human beings even today.

2 Samuel Resources For anyone preparing Bible studies or interested in understanding 2 Samuel better I recommend either of the following two paperback commentaries:

  • Dale Ralph Davis - 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity 287 pp; written by a great preacher and scholar; study guide at back ; good solid exposition of every chapter.
  • Andrew Reid - 1 and 2 Samuel: Hope for the Helpless 267 pp; great exposition and theological reflections; good on structure; covers both 1 & 2 Sam and so of necessity has to be succinct. Andrew is a former lecturer at Ridley  Melbourne and is the senior minister nearby of Holy Trinity, Doncaster. 

14 April, 2013 ()

Bible Text: 2 Samuel 24 |

Series:

2 Samuel 24 | Jordon Hitchcock |

2 Samuel: The End

Today we finish the series in 2 Samuel with the troubling incident of David counting the number of fighting men. It is also recorded (with some variations) in 1 Chronicles 21. It is clear from both accounts that David has somehow sinned by ordering this military census. David becomes aware of this and repents but not before God punishes the nation with a plague. It is a strange way to finish the books of 1 & 2 Samuel.

For those of us raised on movies and tv programs that resolve all the issues by the end of the show we are left slightly confused by all the loose ends in 2 Sam 24. In fact it is hardly an ending at all as David does not die for another two chapters (in 1 Kings 2). Regardless of these loose ends we leave 2 Sam 24 knowing that God is in charge, God is just and merciful and God accepts the repentance and worship of faithful human beings. If we also leave slightly troubled that people are not totally safe under David’s kingship then we will not be surprised such security is not provided by any other Old Testament kings and is only achieved by the ultimate king born in Nazareth a thousand years after David.

 

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