If you are following The Plan, you should have completed the book of 2 Samuel, several of the Psalms, and have read through 1 Chronicles 25.

God has a plan - a plan to redeem His people, to rescue them from their sin.   In this plan, He chose a group of people who would be the family of Jesus.  This family began with a man named Abraham.   And King David is a central figure in that plan.  We are told that he is a man after God's own heart.  He thinks big, dreams big, prays big.   When blessings come, they come in a big way.  And when trouble comes, it comes BIG.

So where are we?

King David has established his capital in Jerusalem and brought the Ark of the Covenant to rest there.  Things have been going well for King David so far, and David seeks to honor God by building a temple for the Ark, saying  - "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”    David even inquires of the prophet Nathan (this is the first mention of Nathan in the Bible).   The Lord answers, saying "...have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’" 

Of course, the answer is no - he hasn't  But it is here that God establishes His covenant with David:

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”

I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.

I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.

I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.

Remember this, and remember the big picture.  This is about the family of Jesus. And Jesus is a direct descendant of David.   Funny how covenants work out. 

Remember this part too - If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men - because that is exactly what happens next.  After defeating more Philistines (yes, again), defeating more Ammonites (yes, again), and showing kindness to Saul's descendant Mephibosheth, David runs into trouble.  

And her name is Bathsheba.

We all know the story - David should be out in the battlefield at Rabbah leading the army, but he is in Jerusalem instead.   He spies Bathsheba bathing, is overcome with desire for her, sleeps with her (knowing she is another mans wife), and gets her pregnant.  David call's Bathsheba's husband home from battle - Uriah the Hittite, one of "the Thirty" - and encourages him to be with his wife. David even gets Uriah drunk.  But apparently you can't reason with a Hittite.  So David conspires with Joab to get Uriah killed in battle.

And the rest, as we say, is downhill....

• Nathan chastises David - “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”  Despite David's prayers and fasting, the child dies. 
• David's oldest son Amnon rapes Tamar in what is one of the most brutal stories in the Bible since Gibeah's crimes in the Book of Judges.
• Absalom, Tamar's brother, avenges Tamar's rape by killing Amnon.  Of course, this leaves Absalom as the oldest son of David and heir to the throne, so Amnon had a lot of things working against him.
• Absalom flees to Geshur and stays with the King of Geshur - Talmai (who is Absalom's grandfather, BTW), until King David forgives Absalom and Absalom returns to Jerusalem.
• Absalom returns the favor by conspiring against David, standing at the gate of the city, saying, "Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.” Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.”
• This kind of talk eventually leads to open rebellion against King David, who flees Jerusalem.
• After some intrigue among Absalom's advisors - Ahithophel and Hushai - a great battle is fought, Absalom's flowing locks get caught in tree and Joab kills him.
• David is grieved by the death of Absalom, when Joab sets him straight:

Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines, in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you well. Now therefore, arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.”

There is another rebellion, by Sheba, which is suppressed by Joab, some tension between the North (Israel) and South (Judah), which will become very important later, and you can already sense the jockeying for position - who will succeed David?  This will begin in earnest when we pick up the story in 1 Kings..

The end of 2 Samuel has a great prayer - David's prayer of deliverance.  It begins:

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
      My shield and the horn of my salvation,
      My stronghold and my refuge;
      My Savior, You save me from violence.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
      So shall I be saved from my enemies

Blessings.

Keep Reading.

Pray.