After God made a covenant with David in chapter 7, in turn, David remembered the covenant he had earlier made with Saul to never wipe out Saul’s descendants. In a lovely part of the unfolding tapestry of God’s grace, 2 Samuel 9:1-13 records how David showed loving kindness (Hebrew: chesed) to one of Jonathon’s sons, Mephiboseth. To many people this may come as a surprise as the Old Testament is often characterised as being all about law or war. But in the story of David’s kindness to this cripple, the heart of the gospel can be seen.

After God established his covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7, the next chapter, 2 Samuel 8:1-18, tells of the evident blessing that came upon David’s kingdom. It not only grew in size, reaching out in all the directions of the campass as a fulfillment of the promises given to Abraham, but it also grew in wealth as God continued to give David’s army much success. But more than that, the nature of David’s kingdom reflected the righteous rule of God. His laws were honoured and it was a good place to be…but not a patch on what it’s going to be like when Jesus comes back as King of Kings.  He is the King we need!

All chapters of Scripture are important, but some are more important than others! 2 Samuel 7:1-29 is one of those chapters. After David had settled the ark of the covenant in a tent in Jerusalem, he expressed a desire to God that he would like build something more permanent. Was he concerned about the fact that he lived in a palace while the ark remained in a tent? We really don’t know, but what we do know is that God said ‘no’ to David while also promising David his own ‘house’ – his very own royal line. How did David respond to such a promise? And what does this promise have to do with the fulfillment of God’s plans for His people through David’s greater Son, Jesus?

When King David set out to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jeusalem, he had no way of knowing what would eventuate and what fallout there would be from such a move. 2 Samuel 6:1-23 tells us that the first attempt at moving the Ark ended in disaster when Uzzah stretched out his hand to stop the Ark from falling. As a result, David grew angry. Three months later, after David had done some careful research, the second attempt ended in criticism as his wife, Michal, gave him a very frosty reception when he came home. In the midst of all these events there are lessons to learn from Uzzah, Michal and David as well as a timely reminder that there were still even greater things in store for God’s people.

Soon after David’s coronation as king and the conquest and establishment of Jerusalem as his capital, the old enemy, the Philistines, returned. David’s life up to this point had been one of continual conflict with this enemy and this return match would show what kind of king David would be. The text of 2 Samuel 5:17-25 tells us that David sought the Lord for His help and guidance and that God answered his requests, providing a decisive victory over the enemy. God’s people often find themselves in the heat of a battle, but our enemy is not ‘flesh and blood’. David’s experiences form a good basis for our response to the spiritual battle that we as God’s people know on a daily basis.