5: I am a little confused about verse 6 and 8 involving the lame and blind. Why were they mentioned as the obstacle David would have to go through. Then, it says "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." What is the water shaft? and why does David hate these people if he already took the land?
In Sunday school we see David as "A man after God's own heart," but the Bible does not exactly depict him this way. Taking concubines and multiple wives was directly against what God wanted.
Pigott shared information during class about the city that David took. The city was neutral; therefore, David showed no favoritism over the land and was able to being the tribes together under one king. He ends the Philistine problem and is hopeful for peace.
6: First, the ark was suppose to be carried on poles, not a cart. In verse 7, Uzzah is struck down after touching the ark. I find this not to be unreasonable. If the Lord said that you will be struck down if you touch the ark, then He must follow His word. Uzzah might have been doing a good thing, steadying the ark, but if he survived, others would try and venture out to touch the ark. It was suppose to be a sacred thing; therefore, no exceptions. David, I feel, over reacts a little. I think he's scared to be in the presence of God when he knows he did not follow protocol about the ark. In class we talked about guilt. Ironically, the house David places the ark in was blessed. Pigott told us that the Hebrew translation of verse 13 could be read as though every six steps he made an offering. This would support that he really really did not want to mess this up. Verse 14 and 16 lead to some controversy because many interpret David's dancing and clothing to be risque and showing of his private parts. This isn't true because the word "girded" in the Hebrew is uniform.
Michal had some reason to be upset with David. She did not feel he was being king-like, so she confronted him about it. Unfortunately, David got mad and the argument resulted in Michal having no children. This is significant because it represents the end of Saul's line.
7: The imagery God uses to describe David and the plans He has for David is really moving: the shepherd and his flock, seeds being planted, prince and king, father and son, the continuation of generations. I wonder why God went through Nathan and did not say this to David directly. God promises that even if David does injustice, He will never take away His love from David's heart.
I wonder why the people praise God with so many questions instead of declarative statements. Why is it significant that God build David a house? Does this represent generations or power?
In class Dr. Pigott said that God refused David's offer of a temple, but in verse 13 it states, "He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Oh, but reading below, it is David's son Solomon who will build the temple.
11: I did not have any previous thoughts about Bathsheba, so this story set the record straight on what others had previously thought. David was suppose to be in battle but stayed in Jerusalem. When David learns that the woman is married and related to two of his best men, he does not care. Many blame Bathsheba for lying with David, but if the king summoned you, you would answer his call, too. David tries to "clean up" what he had done by telling Bathsheba's husband to "wash his feet." And from past learning "feet" really means sex. David is not nice. He tries everything to cover his tracks and finally has to get rid of Uriah by sending Uriah off with his own death sentence! knowing Uriah is trustworthy and would never read the letter. David is down right dirty. Instead of mourning his loss, David is happy Uriah is dead and tells Joab to continue the siege. I feel bad for Bathsheba and do not think it is her fault that David fell for her. It does not say he loved her but only thought she was beautiful. She mourned greatly for her husband but had to go to David since she was pregnant with his son.
12: God is really mad, and He should be. David deserves God's wrath. Dr. Pigott shared with us that the more wives a man had, the greater his political power. Therefore, David only used Bathsheba for power. I think it's funny the parable God uses and how angry David gets when it is him God is talking about. I can understand how the child born to David dying is bad for him because his line will not continue, but I think it is sad for the mother, too. In honors we just wrote about suffering and I never thought about how one person's suffering could be just as bad in a different way to another person. Symbolism again that the child died on the seventh day. Was it on the eighth day that they were to be circumcised?
I wonder if David had had faith after the boy's death if God would have brought him back from the dead. God does miracles based on a person's faith, so if David had had enough faith to believe God could do anything, even raise the dead, I bet God would have done it.
So Solomon is actually Jedidiah? In the footnotes, his name has many significant meanings. I love when names have great meanings because alot of times in the bible, the baby names are out of situations instead of foreshadowing. I like the foreshadowing one s because it is a constant reminder to the father.
Does the Deuteronomy laws still apply? If so, shouldn't David have killed all of the Rabbah's and the people of the Ammonites instead of putting them to work for him?
13: This story is really sick. A brother should not fall in love with this sister and a brother should support his sister in any situation. Jonadab wasn't even in the family and he pokes his nose into their business. Tamar pleads with Amnon to ask king David, but Amnon refuses and rapes her. This is my worst fear and I could never imagine someone in my own family doing this. I wonder if it was a regular thing among commoners during this time to rape their women. Tamar was the pure one.
Verse 20 seems to suggest that Absalom knew of this terrible thing and did nothing to comfort Tamar. Verse 23- 29 is very unclear. What were Absalom's intentions? Why did the other sons flee? The text provides evidence that some stories were mistranslated during travel because Absalom did not kill ALL the sons only Amnon. I find it strange that David weeps for Amnon but then yearned for his killer, Absalom when he fled the city. All the motives are unclear because Dr. Pigott said the word yearn in the Hebrew text really means anger or exhaustion. The subtext tells us this is why he is so reluctant to let Absalom back in.
15: Though Absalom was trying to build followers, David still had loyal servants. His demeanor must have been great because of Ittai following him after only such a short while. I don't find cowardice in David fleeing the city because he is waiting to see how God reacts to Absalom's coming. David does not threaten Absalom's rule but sets in place spies to keep tabs on the new ruler.
I don't really have much to say about this chapter.
18: I think that is interesting yet humble that David takes the advice of his commanders. I feel he is overwhelmed and wants to stick with this followers, but they know better than to let him fight. Though David was tired of Absalom's reign, he still asks the commanders to treat him lightly. There is great skill by having the fight in the forest; David wants to protect his men.
All that happens to Absalom is symbolic. It makes me wonder how true all that happens to people really is since the writers are trying to emphasize a point. Poor Absalom only had a pillar to remember his name.
It is very peculiar that David weeps so much for Absalom. But I could see how Absalom only wanted acceptance and David caused this fighting because he did not accept Absalom, so he feels it is his fault.
24: The last chapter in 2 Samuel. A census is taken. This had to be for David's benefit, or to show him a lesson because I believe God already knew how many people there were. Why does David see this as a sin if God coaxed him to do so? God give him three choices to repent.
I never knew that there was an actual angel killing the people and that God had to stop him from destroying Jerusalem. What were the Hebrews thinking when they saw this? Was the angel an actual man? or was the killing so great that you could actually see the angel moving.
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