Gordon Keddie draws out the lessons of 2 Samuel in this Welwyn Commentary, and encourages us to look expectantly for the blessing of God in our day since the story of David is a picture of David’s royal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As the author says in the introduction, ‘May your study of 2 Samuel bring you closer to the only Redeemer of God’s elect, the Lord Jesus Christ’.
The history of David – the unfolding drama of 2 Samuel – gives us a slice of life in the real world. We see people in their true colours: the petty, selfish, murderous, yet fiercely loyal, Joab; the war-lord Abner, honourable, perhaps, but only when it suited him; the sad, incompetent Ish-Bosheth, ‘alone and palely loitering’ through his hundrum colourless life; and the miserable and vicious sons of Rimmon, who murdered Ish-Bosheth in his sleep. And there is David, the man after God’s own heart, borne along by his regal calling on the tide of God’s mighty providential acts.
The history of David – the unfolding drama of 2 Samuel – gives us a slice of life in the real world. We see people in their true colours: the petty, selfish, murderous, yet fiercely loyal, Joab; the war-lord Abner, honourable, perhaps, but only when it suited him; the sad, incompetent Ish-Bosheth, ‘alone and palely loitering’ through his hundrum colourless life; and the miserable and vicious sons of Rimmon, who murdered Ish-Bosheth in his sleep. And there is David, the man after God’s own heart, borne along by his regal calling on the tide of God’s mighty providential acts.