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Flight 2SAM1
2 Samuel 1-24
Skip Heitzig

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2 Samuel 1 (NKJV™)
1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag,
2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
3 And David said to him, "Where have you come from?" So he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."
4 Then David said to him, "How did the matter go? Please tell me." And he answered, "The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."
5 So David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?"
6 Then the young man who told him said, "As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.
7 "Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, 'Here I am.'
8 "And he said to me, 'Who are you?' So I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'
9 "He said to me again, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.'
10 "So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord."
11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 Then David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" And he answered, "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite."
14 So David said to him, "How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?"
15 Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go near, and execute him!" And he struck him so that he died.
16 So David said to him, "Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD'S anointed.'"
17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son,
18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:
19 "The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon--Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain, From the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
23 "Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.
24 "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25 "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me; Your love to me was wonderful, Surpassing the love of women.
27 "How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"
2 Samuel 2 (NKJV™)
1 It happened after this that David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "Where shall I go up?" And He said, "To Hebron."
2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
3 And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, "The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul."
5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, "You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.
6 "And now may the LORD show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing.
7 "Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim;
9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.
11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
16 And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon.
17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
18 Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle.
19 So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.
20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Are you Asahel?" He answered, "I am."
21 And Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself." But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
22 So Abner said again to Asahel, "Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?"
23 However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.
24 Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon.
25 Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill.
26 Then Abner called to Joab and said, "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?"
27 And Joab said, "As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren."
28 So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore.
29 Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.
30 So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.
31 But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner's men, three hundred and sixty men who died.
32 Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.
2 Samuel 3 (NKJV™)
1 Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
3 his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;
4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
6 Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul.
7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?"
8 Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, "Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman?
9 "May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the LORD has sworn to him--
10 "to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba."
11 And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, "Whose is the land?" saying also, "Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you."
13 And David said, "Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face."
14 So David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines."
15 And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.
16 Then her husband went along with her to Bahurim, weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, "Go, return!" And he returned.
17 Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, "In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you.
18 "Now then, do it! For the LORD has spoken of David, saying, 'By the hand of My servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.'"
19 And Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
20 So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.
21 Then Abner said to David, "I will arise and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
22 At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.
23 When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
24 Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone?
25 "Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing."
26 And when Joab had gone from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it.
27 Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother.
28 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, "My kingdom and I are guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.
29 "Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father's house; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread."
30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner." And King David followed the coffin.
32 So they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.
33 And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: "Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound Nor your feet put into fetters; As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell." Then all the people wept over him again.
35 And when all the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, "God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!"
36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people.
37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's intent to kill Abner the son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?
39 "And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me. The LORD shall repay the evildoer according to his wickedness."
2 Samuel 4 (NKJV™)
1 When Saul's son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost heart, and all Israel was troubled.
2 Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was part of Benjamin,
3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.)
4 Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon.
6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain.
8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants."
9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity,
10 "when someone told me, saying, 'Look, Saul is dead,' thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag--the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news.
11 "How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?"
12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
2 Samuel 5 (NKJV™)
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, "Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.
2 "Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.'"
3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, "You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you," thinking, "David cannot come in here."
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).
8 Now David said on that day, "Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul), he shall be chief and captain." Therefore they say, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house."
9 Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
10 So David went on and became great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.
11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house.
12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.
14 Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,
16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.
18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.
19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand."
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.
23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, "You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.
24 "And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."
25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
2 Samuel 6 (NKJV™)
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
8 And David became angry because of the LORD'S outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"
10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.
12 Now it was told King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.
13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.
14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
17 So they brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
19 Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.
20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!"
21 So David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD.
22 "And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor."
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
2 Samuel 7 (NKJV™)
1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains."
3 Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."
4 But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?
6 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 "Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, 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?'"'
8 "Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.
9 "And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.
10 "Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,
11 "since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.
12 "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.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "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.
15 "But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."'"
17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
19 "And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?
20 "Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant.
21 "For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.
22 "Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 "And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name--and to do for Youself great and awesome deeds for Your land--before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods?
24 "For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.
25 "Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said.
26 "So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.' And let the house of Your servant David be established before You.
27 "For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.
28 "And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
29 "Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever."
2 Samuel 8 (NKJV™)
1 After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's servants, and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates.
4 David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians.
6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David's servants, and brought tribute. The LORD preserved David wherever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 Also from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,
10 then Toi sent Joram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze.
11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued--
12 from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt.
14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.
16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief ministers.
2 Samuel 9 (NKJV™)
1 Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "At your service!"
3 Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."
4 So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."
5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"
7 So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually."
8 Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?"
9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
10 "You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread at my table always." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do." "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons."
12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet.
2 Samuel 10 (NKJV™)
1 It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.
2 Then David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the people of Ammon.
3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"
4 Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return."
6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob twelve thousand men.
7 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.
8 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
9 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel's best and put them in battle array against the Syrians.
10 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon.
11 Then he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.
12 "Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight."
13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
14 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem.
15 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together.
16 Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam. And Shobach the commander of Hadadezer's army went before them.
17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him.
18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
19 And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.
2 Samuel 11 (NKJV™)
1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
8 And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?"
11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."
12 Then David said to Uriah, "Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die."
16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war,
19 and charged the messenger, saying, "When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king,
20 if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you: 'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21 'Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?'--then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'"
22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him.
23 And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate.
24 "The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also."
25 Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.' So encourage him."
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
2 Samuel 12 (NKJV™)
1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
2 "The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds.
3 "But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!
6 "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!
9 'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
10 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'
11 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 'For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'"
13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
14 "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."
15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.
16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!"
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead."
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food."
22 And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?'
23 "But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him,
25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's water supply.
28 "Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name."
29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.
30 Then he took their king's crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David's head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 13 (NKJV™)
1 After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
2 Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.
4 And he said to him, "Why are you, the king's son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 So Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.'"
6 Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand."
7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, "Now go to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him."
8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
9 And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, "Have everyone go out from me." And they all went out from him.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom.
11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister."
12 And she answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
13 "And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you."
14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, "Arise, be gone!"
16 So she said to him, "No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me." But he would not listen to her.
17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, "Here! Put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her."
18 Now she had on a robe of many colors, for the king's virgin daughters wore such apparel. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.
19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly.
20 And Absalom her brother said to her, "Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart." So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
21 But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.
22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king's sons.
24 Then Absalom came to the king and said, "Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant."
25 But the king said to Absalom, "No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you." Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.
26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us." And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?"
27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, "Watch now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, 'Strike Amnon!' then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant."
29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled.
30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, "Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and not one of them is left!"
31 So the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, "Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, for only Amnon is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
33 "Now therefore, let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead. For only Amnon is dead."
34 Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind him.
35 And Jonadab said to the king, "Look, the king's sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is."
36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king's sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
2 Samuel 14 (NKJV™)
1 So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was concerned about Absalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, "Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.
3 "Go to the king and speak to him in this manner." So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, "Help, O king!"
5 Then the king said to her, "What troubles you?" And she answered, "Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead.
6 "Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him.
7 "And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, 'Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.' So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth."
8 Then the king said to the woman, "Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you."
9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me and on my father's house, and the king and his throne be guiltless."
10 So the king said, "Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore."
11 Then she said, "Please let the king remember the LORD your God, and do not permit the avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son." And he said, "As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground."
12 Therefore the woman said, "Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king." And he said, "Say on."
13 So the woman said: "Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again.
14 "For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.
15 "Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, 'I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant.
16 'For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.'
17 "Your maidservant said, 'The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in discerning good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.'"
18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Please, let my lord the king speak."
19 So the king said, "Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?" And the woman answered and said, "As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.
20 "To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth."
21 And the king said to Joab, "All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom."
22 Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and thanked the king. And Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant."
23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 And the king said, "Let him return to his own house, but do not let him see my face." So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king's face.
25 Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26 And when he cut the hair of his head--at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him--when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king's standard.
27 To Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.
28 And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king's face.
29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
30 So he said to his servants, "See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire." And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom's house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?"
32 And Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent to you, saying, 'Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still."' Now therefore, let me see the king's face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me."
33 So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.
2 Samuel 15 (NKJV™)
1 After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
2 Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, "What city are you from?" And he would say, "Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel."
3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you."
4 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."
5 And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him.
6 In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 Now it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, "Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the LORD.
8 "For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, 'If the LORD indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'"
9 And the king said to him, "Go in peace." So he arose and went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, 'Absalom reigns in Hebron!'"
11 And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything.
12 Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city--from Giloh--while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number.
13 Now a messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."
14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, "Arise, and let us flee; or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword."
15 And the king's servants said to the king, "We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands."
16 Then the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house.
17 And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts.
18 Then all his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.
19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place.
20 "In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you."
21 And Ittai answered the king and said, "As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be."
22 So David said to Ittai, "Go, and cross over." Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over.
23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.
24 There was Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place.
26 "But if He says thus: 'I have no delight in you,' here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
28 "See, I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me."
29 Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.
30 So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up.
31 Then someone told David, saying, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." And David said, "O LORD, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!"
32 Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God--there was Hushai the Archite coming to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.
33 David said to him, "If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me.
34 "But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father's servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,' then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.
35 "And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king's house, you shall tell to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36 "Indeed they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear."
37 So Hushai, David's friend, went into the city. And Absalom came into Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 16 (NKJV™)
1 When David was a little past the top of the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
2 And the king said to Ziba, "What do you mean to do with these?" So Ziba said, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who are faint in the wilderness to drink."
3 Then the king said, "And where is your master's son?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.'"
4 So the king said to Ziba, "Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours." And Ziba said, "I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!"
5 Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came.
6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: "Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue!
8 "The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!"
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!"
10 But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David.' Who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'"
11 And David said to Abishai and all his servants, "See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him.
12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."
13 And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust.
14 Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.
15 Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him.
16 And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"
17 So Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?"
18 And Hushai said to Absalom, "No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain.
19 "Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so will I be in your presence."
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give counsel as to what we should do."
21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong."
22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
2 Samuel 17 (NKJV™)
1 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.
2 "I will come upon him while he is weary and weak, and make him afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will strike only the king.
3 "Then I will bring back all the people to you. When all return except the man whom you seek, all the people will be at peace."
4 And the saying pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5 Then Absalom said, "Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he says too."
6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, "Ahithophel has spoken in this manner. Shall we do as he says? If not, speak up."
7 So Hushai said to Absalom: "The advice that Ahithophel has given is not good at this time.
8 "For," said Hushai, "you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are enraged in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field; and your father is a man of war, and will not camp with the people.
9 "Surely by now he is hidden in some pit, or in some other place. And it will be, when some of them are overthrown at the first, that whoever hears it will say, 'There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.'
10 "And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt completely. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men.
11 "Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
12 "So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men who are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
13 "Moreover, if he has withdrawn into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city; and we will pull it into the river, until there is not one small stone found there."
14 So Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." For the LORD had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring disaster on Absalom.
15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, "Thus and so Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have advised.
16 "Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, 'Do not spend this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.'"
17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed at En Rogel, for they dared not be seen coming into the city; so a female servant would come and tell them, and they would go and tell King David.
18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom. But both of them went away quickly and came to a man's house in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down into it.
19 Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground grain on it; and the thing was not known.
20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" So the woman said to them, "They have gone over the water brook." And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21 Now it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David, and said to David, "Arise and cross over the water quickly. For thus has Ahithophel advised against you."
22 So David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By morning light not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan.
23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father's tomb.
24 Then David went to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. This Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jithra, an Israelite, who had gone in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.
26 So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27 Now it happened, when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the people of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,
28 brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds,
29 honey and curds, sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat. For they said, "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness."
2 Samuel 18 (NKJV™)
1 And David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, "I also will surely go out with you myself."
3 But the people answered, "You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city."
4 Then the king said to them, "Whatever seems best to you I will do." So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.
6 So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the woods of Ephraim.
7 The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day.
8 For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.
10 Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, "I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!"
11 So Joab said to the man who told him, "You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt."
12 But the man said to Joab, "Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!'
13 "Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me."
14 Then Joab said, "I cannot linger with you." And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree.
15 And ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.
16 So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people.
17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King's Valley. For he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance." He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies."
20 And Joab said to him, "You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king's son is dead."
21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran.
22 And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, "But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite." So Joab said, "Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?"
23 "But whatever happens," he said, "let me run." So he said to him, "Run." Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite.
24 Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone.
25 Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, "If he is alone, there is news in his mouth." And he came rapidly and drew near.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, "There is another man, running alone!" And the king said, "He also brings news."
27 So the watchman said, "I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok." And the king said, "He is a good man, and comes with good news."
28 And Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, "All is well!" Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, "Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!"
29 The king said, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about."
30 And the king said, "Turn aside and stand here." So he turned aside and stood still.
31 Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, "There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you."
32 And the king said to the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" So the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!"
33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: "O my son Absalom--my son, my son Absalom--if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!"
2 Samuel 19 (NKJV™)
1 And Joab was told, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom."
2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard it said that day, "The king is grieved for his son."
3 And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"
5 Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "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,
6 "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.
7 "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."
8 Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, "There is the king, sitting in the gate." So all the people came before the king. For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent.
9 Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
10 "But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?"
11 So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, 'Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house?
12 'You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?'
13 "And say to Amasa, 'Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.'"
14 So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: "Return, you and all your servants!"
15 Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.
16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king.
18 Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan.
19 Then he said to the king, "Do not let my lord impute iniquity to me, or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart.
20 "For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king."
21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, "Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed?"
22 And David said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?"
23 Therefore the king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." And the king swore to him.
24 Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.
25 So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"
26 And he answered, "My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, 'I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,' because your servant is lame.
27 "And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.
28 "For all my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?"
29 So the king said to him, "Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I have said, 'You and Ziba divide the land.'"
30 Then Mephibosheth said to the king, "Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house."
31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan.
32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man.
33 And the king said to Barzillai, "Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem."
34 But Barzillai said to the king, "How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
35 "I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?
36 "Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward?
37 "Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you."
38 And the king answered, "Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you."
39 Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.
40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
41 Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, "Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his household, and all David's men with him across the Jordan?"
42 So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift?"
43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, "We have ten shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us--were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?" Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
2 Samuel 20 (NKJV™)
1 And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: "We have no share in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!"
2 So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.
3 Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 And the king said to Amasa, "Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself."
5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities, and escape us."
7 So Joab's men, with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out.
9 Then Joab said to Amasa, "Are you in health, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 Meanwhile one of Joab's men stood near Amasa, and said, "Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David--follow Joab!"
12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted.
13 When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba.
15 Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman cried out from the city, "Hear, Hear! Please say to Joab, 'Come nearby, that I may speak with you.'"
17 When he had come near to her, the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your maidservant." And he answered, "I am listening."
18 So she spoke, saying, "They used to talk in former times, saying, 'They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,' and so they would end disputes.
19 "I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?"
20 And Joab answered and said, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy!
21 "That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city." So the woman said to Joab, "Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall."
22 Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 And Joab was over all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
24 Adoram was in charge of revenue; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
25 Sheva was scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;
26 and Ira the Jairite was a chief minister under David.
2 Samuel 21 (NKJV™)
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites."
2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?"
4 And the Gibeonites said to him, "We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us." So he said, "Whatever you say, I will do for you."
5 Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,
6 "let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose." And the king said, "I will give them."
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;
9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
10 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa.
13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged.
14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land.
15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.
16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."
18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant.
19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
2 Samuel 22 (NKJV™)
1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 And he said: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 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.
4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 'When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.
8 "Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew; And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness canopies around Him, Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled.
14 "The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered, At the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 "He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me; For they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.
20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
21 "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in His eyes.
26 "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.
29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.
30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
32 "For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You enlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip.
38 "I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.
40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against me.
41 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
43 Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trod them like dirt in the streets, And I spread them out.
44 "You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people; You have kept me as the head of the nations. A people I have not known shall serve me.
45 The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.
47 "The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!
48 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;
49 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.
51 He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore."
2 Samuel 23 (NKJV™)
1 Now these are the last words of David.Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God.
4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.'
5 "Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase?
6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands.
7 But the man who touches them Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place."
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time.
9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated.
10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder.
11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. Then the people fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. And the LORD brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David said with longing, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"
16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD.
17 And he said, "Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.
18 Now Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three.
19 Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.
20 Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.
21 And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.
22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men.
23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
29 Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash,
31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan,
33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah),
38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
39 and Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.
2 Samuel 24 (NKJV™)
1 Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah."
2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people."
3 And Joab said to the king, "Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?"
4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon;
7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly."
11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
12 "Go and tell David, 'Thus says the LORD: "I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you."'"
13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me."
14 And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."
15 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.
16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "It is enough; now restrain your hand." And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father's house."
18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Then Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" And David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people."
22 Now Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood.
23 "All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."
24 Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Bible from 30,000 Feet - 2018, The

David went from shepherding livestock to serving as God's sovereign king in Israel. His faith and obedience assured him military and political victory as one by one he defeated Israel's enemies. In this flight, we both celebrate David's successes and identify with his failures as we get to know this man whom God called, "a man after My own heart."

Take your knowledge of the full scope of Scripture to soaring heights with The Bible from 30,000 Feet. In this series, Skip Heitzig pilots you through all sixty-six books of the Bible, revealing major themes, principles, people, and events from Genesis to Revelation. Fasten your seatbelt and open your Bible for this sweeping panorama of Scripture that will increase your faith in God's plan for the world-and for you.

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Detailed Notes

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"Flight 2SAM1"
2 Samuel 1-24
  1. Introduction
    1. Three phrases can be used to outline 2 Samuel:
      1. David's triumphs
      2. David's transgressions
      3. David's troubles
    2. David's importance in biblical history cannot be underestimated
      1. Sixty-two chapters of the Bible are devoted to David
        1. There are 1,118 verses written about David
        2. David is mentioned more than any person in the Bible except one—Jesus Christ
          1. Fourteen chapters were devoted to Abraham
          2. Fourteen to Joseph
          3. Eleven to Jacob
          4. Less than ten to Elijah
      2. David's importance is reflected in these phrases: City of David, star of David, lineage of David, seed of David, house of David, tabernacle of David, offspring of David, root of David
    3. David was chosen by the Lord (see Psalm 78:67-72)
      1. God raised him up from shepherd to servant (of Saul) to sovereign
      2. Before he even came on the scene, David was overlooked; even his father didn't think he should meet Samuel (overlooked runt)
      3. Called twice in Scriptures a man after God's own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)
    4. He was not perfect—he was a regular Joe with lots of flaws, which are highlighted in this book
  2. David's triumphs (2 Samuel 1-10)
    1. Despite having been chased by Saul for over a decade, "David lamented" (1:17) at the news of Saul's death
      1. This passage marks the greatness of David: not seeking revenge and not rejoicing to see Saul dead, he wept over the very person who rejected him (prefigure of Jesus)
        1. "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44) looks good on paper, but revenge is a lot more fun
        2. A sign that you're growing in Christ is when you can love your enemies
      2. "How the mighty have fallen" (1:25) speaks of Jonathan
        1. David and Jonathan's souls were knit together (see 1 Samuel 18:1)
        2. "Your love…[surpasses] the love of women" (1:26)
          1. David was married to Jonathan's sister Michal
          2. Things were never good between them; Saul had planned to use Michal to ensnare David
          3. David had at least eight wives
          4. David was a success in his career; he was an abject failure at home
    2. Three coronations
      1. The first coronation was private: anointed by Samuel in front of his father and brothers
      2. The first public coronation: David crowned in Hebron—king over the house of Judah (see 2:4)
        1. However, not all of Saul's sons had died—Ishbosheth was still alive
        2. Abner crowned Ishbosheth king over the eleven tribes
          1. Joab was the commander of David's army; Abner was the commander of Saul's army
          2. After David was crowned in Hebron, a seven-year conflict followed—the first civil war in Israel—between David in the south and Ishbosheth in the north (see 3:1)
          3. Abner decided to negotiate a peaceful handover of the kingdom
      3. Then all the tribes came to David at Hebron and anointed David king over Israel (see 5:1-3)
    3. David was thirty years old when he began to reign over all Israel
      1. Next step was to secure a capital; he didn't want Hebron to be the capital
      2. Jebus—Jerusalem; also chosen by God (see Psalm 78:68)
        1. Controlled by Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe left over from the old days; Joshua never took it
        2. Jerusalem was strategically located: on a hill, valleys below on one side, hills on the other; metaphor of strength (see Psalm 125:1-2)
        3. In order to be viable, ancient cities had to have their own water source—Jerusalem had the Gihon spring
      3. David took the stronghold of Zion
        1. Because of the city's location, it's not hard to defend—the Jebusites said that the blind and the lame could defend the city against David (see 2 Samuel 5:6; 1 Chronicles 11:4-9)
        2. David told his men that whoever could find a way through the shaft would be his commander—Joab
    4. Chapter 6 is an example of doing the right thing the wrong way
      1. The ark of the covenant hadn't been in the tabernacle for forty years
      2. They set the ark on a new cart (emulated the Philistines when they captured the ark); Uzzah was struck down by the Lord
      3. David ignored God's commands with regards to moving the ark; the problem may have been that David was too goal-oriented
        1. Is being sincere enough to please God?
          1. Being sincere isn't all that matters to God
          2. Abraham and Sarah had the same idea, thinking that Hagar's baby could be the fulfillment of the promise
          3. A right thing done the wrong way is still wrong, no matter how sincere someone is
        2. Three months later, the ark got to Jerusalem
    5. Chapter 7 is one of the most important chapters of the Bible
      1. The message of the Bible from this point on rests on this chapter
        1. The first words of the New Testament are: "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1, NIV)
        2. The concept of Jesus as the greater Son of David comes from this chapter
        3. Mary understood this chapter when Gabriel appeared to her (see Luke 1:32)
        4. The promise found in Isaiah 9:6-7 is based on the covenant made in 2 Samuel 7:5-16
      2. God established an unconditional covenant: David will have a son who's going to build the temple, and the throne of David will be established forever (but not with Solomon)
        1. God often blends a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment into one
        2. He had two different things in mind, one immediate (Solomon) and one eventual (Jesus)
        3. David's dynasty came to an end with the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC
        4. God cursed the line of David and Solomon when Jeconiah was on the throne (see Jeremiah 22:24-30)
      3. David's line would be restored in the person of Jesus
        1. The first coming of Christ—Jesus conquered the sin of the world
        2. The second coming—He will conquer the world and rule with those for whom He conquered
      4. This explains the two genealogies of Christ:
        1. Matthew followed David's genealogical record down to Joseph
        2. Luke followed the genealogical record down to Mary
        3. Two different branches:
          1. Joseph's line goes through Solomon—the cursed branch (Jeconiah)
          2. Mary's line goes through another son of David—Nathan
        4. Because of Joseph's line, Jesus has the legal right to the throne
        5. God got around the cursed bloodline—Jesus was born of a virgin, whose genealogy goes all the way back to David, and not through the cursed bloodline
  3.  David's transgressions (2 Samuel 11-12)
    1. After twenty years, David started sliding
      1. The most vulnerable moment of David's life was 2 Samuel 11:1; when your life is at its most prosperous, you are at your most vulnerable
      2. "But David remained" (11:1); he had been a successful warrior, but those days were over
        1. If David had been in the battlefield with his troops, he wouldn't have been in the bed with Bathsheba
        2. David went out on the rooftop; the king's house is at the top of the city because Jerusalem was built on a series of hills/terraces
          1. Behold indicates a gaze; sometimes it can be impossible to avoid the first glance, but it's the double take that will get you every time
          2. "Sin: a thought, a form, a fascination, a fall" —St. Augustine
        3. David inquired after the woman
        4. David sent for her and lay with her, then she went back to her own house
          1. She conceived, so David brought Uriah home from the battle and tried to send him home, but Uriah was too honorable
          2. David sent him back to Joab with his own death warrant
    2. One sin left unchecked always leads to another: David's lust led to adultery, adultery to deception, deception to entrapment, and entrapment to murder
      1. David was burning with lust, and that led to his fall
      2. His fall led to his discontent
    3. David hid his sin for a year, although he was miserable (see Psalm 32:3-4)
      1. God was patient; since David wouldn't come to God, He went to David through the prophet Nathan
      2. Nathan told him a parable, and David, thinking it was a true story, got upset
      3. Why the indirect approach? David was blind to his own sin, so Nathan showed him his own sin in someone else's life
        1. David was given a good look at himself, and he got mad and overreacted
        2. Nathan turned the story on David
  4.  David's troubles (2 Samuel 12:15-24:25)
    1. Bathsheba's firstborn son died
    2. In chapter 13, David's daughter Tamar was raped by Amnon, the half-brother of Absalom
      1. The king was very angry, and Absalom hated Amnon
      2. David did nothing
        1. Maybe because he felt that he had no moral high ground to stand on because he did this with someone else's wife
        2. Some of us may be in a very similar category—Satan will come and say that you have no right to speak on this subject ever, especially if it's to your children
        3. But sometimes your experience of the consequences can be powerful
      3. Absalom planned to kill Amnon (two years later)
      4. At shearing time, Absalom invited all his brothers to Baal Hazor, killed Amnon, then fled
    3. David tried to reconcile with Absalom—he brought his son back but wouldn't see him for two years, which caused animosity and hatred between the two of them
      1. Absalom committed treason and stole the hearts of the men of Israel
      2. Absalom ruled for five years, sending David into exile
    4. Joab killed Absalom
      1. "The king was deeply moved" (18:33)
      2. David's great pain was caused by the lack of reconciliation before Absalom's death
        1. "This is the bitterest of all—to know that suffering need not have been; that it has resulted from indiscretion and inconsistency; that it is the harvest of one's own sowing; that the vulture which feeds on the vitals is a nestling of one's own rearing" —F.B. Meyer
        2. Years from now, it won't matter how successful your business was or what house you lived in; it will matter how you handled your relationships with your loved ones
    5. David's final days (chapters 23-24)
      1. "Although my house is not so with God, yet He has with me an everlasting covenant" (23:5)  
      2. The last chapter of 2 Samuel shows how that imperfect life which God chose, and used, ended
      3. David took a census, "That I may know the number of the people" (24:2)
        1. David did it out of pride
        2. Satan incited David to take the census (see 1 Chronicles 21:1)
        3. This is a perfect illustration of God's sovereignty—Satan tempted David and God allowed it to happen, then He restored and redeemed it
        4. David confessed to the Lord regarding his sinful intentions in taking the census
          1. Then he made a sacrifice to the Lord
          2. The Lord heeded David's prayers for the land
          3. Even though God forgave David, there were still consequences
  5. Conclusion
    1. Admit your sins
      1. 1 John 1:9
      2. Don't shift blame—own up to your mistakes
      3. Proverbs 28:13
    2. Leave your sin
      1. Make a clean break
      2. Don't return to it
    3. Replace it
      1. Romans 12:21
      2. Develop new activities, habits, and disciplines so that you don't have the time to go back to your sin
Figures referenced: St. Augustine, F.B. Meyer

Cross references: 1 Samuel 13:14; 18:1; 2 Samuel 5:6; 1 Chronicles 11:4-9; 21:1; Psalm 32:3-4; 78:67-72; 125:1-2; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 22:24-30; Matthew 1:1; 5:44; Luke 1:32; Acts 13:22; Romans 12:21; 1 John 1:9

Transcript

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2 Samuel 1-24 - The Bible from 30,000 Feet - Skip Heitzig - Flight 2SAM1

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The Bible From 30,000 Feet-- Soaring Through the Scripture From Genesis to Revelation.

Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for a time where we can gather together in the middle of our week. We can push thoughts aside. We have prepared our hearts to seek You. We have told You that we need You and that we love You through our worship.

Lord, our worship doesn't end. It continues. It continues as we hear Your voice like the young prophet Samuel, who said, "Speak, Lord, Your servant hears."

Speak to us that we might hear Your voice. Maybe it's a clear word of encouragement because some of us, Lord, have been discouraged by the events of the past few weeks. For others, Lord, it might be a word of admonition or instruction for others.

Still for some of us, Lord, it might be a firm rebuke, like a neon flashing sign, a warning sign perhaps in David's own life, for he wasn't perfect. Whatever it is, Lord, though we know many of these stories, I pray that beyond the stories we would hear You calling us to, as we just sang, know You deeper and better as Your children. For we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen.

I want to give you three words to begin tonight with-- triumphs, transgressions, troubles. Can you say those words with me?

Triumphs, transgressions, troubles.

Now, if you add one other word to those three words, and that is the word David's, now you have the entire outline of the book of 2 Samuel. David's triumphs, David's transgressions, David's troubles-- that is the message outline of this book. Chapters 1 through 10, all about David's triumphs, the expansion of the kingdom.

Beginning in chapter 11 on into chapter 12, we have David's transgressions. We know about those. Most of us have read the stories before.

Chapters 13 to the end of the book, chapter 24, are what happens after that, David's troubles. David's triumphs, transgressions, and troubles. That's the book of 2 Samuel. We can pray and go home now. No, we'll go a little bit deeper.

David's importance in biblical history cannot be underestimated. There are 62 chapters in the Bible devoted to David, or 1,118 verses ascribed to that single person. He is mentioned more often than any person except one. And that one person is whom? Jesus Christ. David is mentioned second to that.

So 62 chapters in the Bible devoted to one person. By way of comparison, Abraham is written about in 14 chapters, Joseph written about in 14 chapters, Jacob 11 chapters, Elijah the prophet less than 10 chapters. So we cannot underestimate the importance of David who was a shepherd and became a King.

His importance can be reflected in some of these phrases. Let me read them to you. City of David, star of David, lineage of David, seed of David, house of David, tabernacle of David, offspring of David, and root of David.

Now, I know we're in 2 Samuel. But if you don't mind, turn in your Bibles to begin in the book of Psalms. If you don't want to turn there, I've already done that for you. I'll read it to you.

But in Psalm 78, beginning in verse 67, it's a psalm not written by David. You'll see why that is important. It's written by Asaph.

In Psalm 67 of Psalm 78, he said, "Moreover, he rejected the tent of Joseph and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose that as the Lord chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth, which he established forever. He also chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes that had young. He brought him to shepherd Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands."

David was once a shepherd in a field. He then became a servant to the King. He then became the sovereign to the very nation itself, the King of Israel, Israel's second King.

Now, you know David's story. When David begins coming on the scene, he's overlooked because his father didn't even think he was important enough to add to the lineup of his sons from which the prophet Samuel could pick the next king. He said, bring all your boys in here. He brought them all in except one. And that was David, left him out in the sheep fields. So he was an overlooked runt to begin with.

But God set His affection on him. And he is called twice in scripture a man after God's own heart. That's how most of us know him from that simple phrase mentioned only twice. David, a man after God's own heart.

I don't want you to think by that phrase that that means perfect. He was not Superman. It wasn't kryptonite that could put him down. He was just a regular old guy with lots of flaws which are highlighted in this book. A man after God's own heart-- one translation simply says a man to fulfill God's purposes. That's what he was.

Well, as we open up to 2 Samuel chapter 1, to get our bearings-- and by the way, this is again 30,000 feet. So we're just going to be hovering over, noticing some things. I'm expecting you to glance down. I'll have you look at a verse here and a verse there. And we'll work our way through the book.

The story ended in 1 Samuel where King Saul, Israel's first King, had fallen in a battle on Mount Gilboa, slain by the enemy, not only Saul, but Saul's sons-- not all of them, but three of them on Mount Gilboa. A messenger goes all the way to the Camp of David to give David the news to announce that King Saul had died. When David hears the news, even though he had been hunted by Saul for over a decade, far from David going yippee, ding dong, the witch is dead, in chapter 1 verse 17, "then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son."

Now, this marks the greatness of David. Not seeking revenge, not rejoicing to see Saul dead even though Saul hated him and hunted him and tried to kill him over and over again, but he wept over the very one that had rejected him. Does that prefigure anybody that you know of? The greater son of David, Jesus will weep over the very city that seeks to crucify him many years later.

Jesus said-- it's one of the hardest things Jesus ever said, by the way. Love your enemies. That looks good on paper. But revenge is a lot more fun. And it's hard to love people when they are so unlovely toward us.

And wouldn't you probably agree that that is the mark of maturity? You know that you're really growing in Christ when you can love your enemies. David loved Saul.

Verse 25, he says, "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle." Speaking of his friend Jonathan, "Jonathan was slain in your high places," speaking of Mount Gilboa. Now, back in 1 Samuel chapter 18, there's a great little phrase that says Jonathan and David-- their soul was knit together. They were in unison. They were closely bound to each other as close friends.

Verse 26, he continues, "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women."

Now, I've heard this verse misused by a number of different people, a number of different groups, trying to twist it to make it mean a number of things that had no idea that somebody would even think it could mean. But what does he mean when he says that your love is like that which surpasses women? Well, keep in mind that David was married to Jonathan's sister, a girl by the name of Michal. Do you remember that? It was not a great relationship, first of all.

First of all, he won her in a contest. So you know things aren't really great at home. And they never were. She never really-- her soul never really knit to David's. She was always aloof and standoffish and spurned David's love later on.

So Saul had a plan to use his daughter Michal, the sister of Jonathan, to ensnare David. So for David to say that your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women, in that context, you get it. But I want to make note of something beyond that superficial. David was a success in his career, his professional life. He was an abject failure at home.

Where David failed was his family. And you can be the king of a nation but fail in your family. And the woe and misery that will fall after that is incalculable. It's not worth it. David probably would be the first to say that.

So the Bible, including this book-- and this book highlights David first and foremost-- shows you good and bad altogether, doesn't hide a thing. By the way, David had eight wives. Can I just say, one's enough. And one husband is enough. Amen, women?

Yes.

Right? You've got to put up with just one. That's a lifetime.

Eight wives-- let me rephrase that. David had eight wives that we know about, the ones that are recorded in the Bible. He had many women. And his son Solomon will take that to the nth degree later on.

Well, we get back to the story. And God instructs David to go to the Judean city of Hebron, a beautiful town. We don't take groups there anymore because it's quite dangerous nowadays. But back then it was beautiful. And it was one of the central areas in Judah.

So he goes there because there he is going to be coronated the King not of the nation right now, but the King of Judah. So in chapter 2 verse 4, "Then the men of Judah came. And there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, the men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul."

David has three annointings. You say, what? Wait a minute. I've read the Bible. He only has two.

No, read the fine print. First was a private coronation. That was that day he was almost overlooked by his father, when Samuel went to the house of Jesse and finally David came in. And there Samuel poured that horn of oil over David and anointed him as the next king.

It's not until now that he gets his first public coronation. So this is the second one. One was a private one. This is the first public one. He will have a third. And that will be ordained and crowned the king over all of Israel.

So he's in Hebron, the southern kingdom. Remember, that's down south of Judah. They recognized him as the king. But it's not a done deal yet.

Saul died. And three of his sons died with him. But not all of his sons died. And there is one who is left by the name of Ish-bosheth, Ish-bosheth He is still alive. And a guy by the name of Abner-- I'll get to him in a moment-- crowns him as king over the 11 tribes.

Now, there are a couple of people in this book we're not going to spend a lot of time on. But I'll mention them because they're important. One is named Joab. The other is named Abner. And you'll see them in conflict throughout this book.

Joab was the commander in chief of David's army. Abner was the commander in chief of Saul's army. And because Saul is dead, doesn't want to lose his job or his position, so he takes somebody from the house of Saul, that is Ish-bosheth, and said you're the next king.

Now a conflict begins, a 70-year conflict, the first civil war in Israel between David in the south and Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, in the north. In chapter 3 verse 1, now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But here's a key revelation. David grew stronger and stronger. And the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

So now Abner, commander in chief of Saul and Ish-bosheth-- Abner sees the handwriting on the wall, so to speak. He knows that this isn't going to work out, that all of Israel is not going to stand behind Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul. So he wants to negotiate with David a peaceful handover of the kingdom to him.

So now after seven years, after David has been seven years King in Judah, David manages to unite the nation north and south. And he is made King over all, chapter 5 verse 1. "Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, indeed, we are your bone and your flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was King over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in. And the Lord said to you, you shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over Israel."

So now the word is out. Now it's public knowledge that at one time Samuel the prophet went to the house of Jesse and chose David, a man after God's own heart, to lead the people, to shepherd the people. Now everybody knows that. They say that to him in Hebron.

"Therefore," verse 3, "all the elders of Israel came to the King at Hebron. And King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel."

David was 30 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for 40 years. Are you kidding me? 30 years old and he's ruling a nation? I mean, for some of us, that sounds absurd.

The youngest president in American history was Roosevelt, 42 years of age when he became president. The second was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was 43. 30 years old in charge of a nation. That's just a matter of perspective.

And he reigned, it says, for 40 years. Now, what David does next is secure a capital. He's been in Hebron. He does not want Hebron to be the capital. He wants Jerusalem to be the capital.

And come to find out, that is what God wanted as well. God always promised that He was going to have a special place. And He would make that place the banner place to issue forth His great name from. That is the city of Jerusalem.

Here's the problem. At this point, Jerusalem isn't called Jerusalem. It's called Jebus, J-E-B-U-S.

It's called Jebus because it's overrun by a group called Jebusites. It's a Jebusite stronghold. Jebusites were one of the Canaanite tribes leftover from the old days. It's an area that Joshua never took when they came in and conquered the land.

It happens to be strategically located. It's strategically located for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's got-- it's on a hill. And it's got valleys down below it and hills on the other side of it. So there's hills and valleys, which makes it natural for fortification.

If you're up on a hill, you put a wall around it. If an enemy comes, he has to go down the hill, through the valley, up your hill. And by that time, you're shooting down at him. You have a strategic vantage point.

This is why the Bible will often refer to Jerusalem as a metaphor of strength. One of my favorite psalms, Psalm 125, it's a song that we sometimes sing when we're in Israel. If you come, I'll teach you the tune.

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion." That's the central hill where the temple will later on be built and the city was originally built upon. "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth, even forever more."

So because it had this very unique location, a stronghold easily defensible, number one. Number two, ancient cities to be of any viable use, to be of any value had to have a water source. Jerusalem happened-- happens to have great water source. At the time it was called the Gihon Spring. If you come with us to Israel, I can take you to the Gihon Spring. It is still flowing and producing water.

So this water spout, this Gihon Spring was used. And one of the kings later on named Hezekiah is going to build a tunnel to bring the water from outside the wall to the inside of the wall. And it goes from the Gihon Spring, this tunnel-- you can walk the entire length of the tunnel that Hezekiah built in the Old Testament. And it will drop you off into what you know-- you know it from you reading your Bible-- a pool called the Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed a man. So the water was brought in in ancient times.

In verse 6, "And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, 'You shall not come in here. But the blind and the lame will repel you,'" thinking David cannot come in here. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion that is the City of David.

There are a couple of scriptural texts that speak of David overtaking Jerusalem. One is 1 Samuel. Another-- or 2 Samuel. The other is in 1 Chronicles.

But here's the deal. Because of the natural fortification-- so let's just picture I'm in the City of David. I'm in Jebus. I'm in Jerusalem. I've got walls up here.

You're down in the valley. You've got to come up the hill. It does not take much effort for me to keep my city safe from your attack. All I gotta do is throw a stone down at you, roll a rock, throw oil at you, right, because I'm up here.

In fact, I don't even need to be there. I can get blind people and land people. And somebody just says, OK. And they throw a rock down.

This is how prideful the Jebusites were. We are such a natural fortification, nobody can touch us. So David says to his men, listen, whoever can figure out a way into the city up the water shaft will be my Commander in Chief. Joab scurried up the water shaft and made entrance into the city and opened the gate for the rest of the crew.

Now here's what's fascinating-- to me it is. This water shaft is like a well, right, out of solid rock that went at one time way, way, way, way down and tapped into not the Gihon Spring directly, but a little reservoir next to it. We could visit that today. And you can look up and see the very water shaft, still intact today, that Joab got up into the city that you're reading about right now in 2 Samuel.

Because it's been preserved thousands of years-- it's in solid bedrock-- archaeologists a few years back discovered it, FYI. I'm probably plugging Israel maybe more than I should. But in chapter 6 we have a case of doing the right thing, but doing the right thing the wrong way. It's something that the Lord wanted done. But when you get a bunch of pragmatists involved in a holy work and they don't read the print that God revealed of how things are to be done, you can have this problem.

Here's the problem. The Ark of the Covenant has not been in the Tabernacle for 40 years. The Philistines back in 1 Samuel had captured the Ark of the Covenant-- you know that holy box. They captured it.

And for 40 years, it has been living out in the countryside in somebody's backyard, a guy by the name of Obed-Edom in Kiriath-Jearim. That's the town he lived in. 40 years it sat back there.

David wants to bring it to Jerusalem. Verse 3. "So they set the Ark of God on a new cart." That makes sense. Put it on a cart with wheels. Bring it up to Jerusalem-- it's several miles away-- "and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.

And Uzzah and Ahio"-- not the state of Ohio, but Ahio-- "the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart, the Ark of God. And Ahio went before the Ark." Verse 5, David brings all these musicians out there. They play music before the Lord, all kinds of instruments.

Now, there's a problem. Stop right there. They set it on a cart.

Now, they probably remembered the Philistines, who also put the Ark of God on a cart to send it back to the Israelites after they captured it. Nothing happened to them in transport back then. So they're thinking, put it on a cart. It's a good idea.

Verse 6. "And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah. And God struck him there for his error. And he died there by the Ark of God."

Now, all the poor dude did was put out his hand to steady the Ark so it wouldn't fall down and break to pieces. It's practical. It could get busted up.

Here's the problem. The Ark isn't just another box. It's not a toy box. It's not a storage-- you don't take it home and store blankets in it. It's something very holy. And God prescribed how the thing was to be moved.

There were four ringlets at the bottom. Two poles went through it. Had to be carried on one's shoulders. Not only that, a very specific tribe could only touch it, the tribe of Levi. Not only that, a very specific family from the tribe of Levi, the Kohathites, were the only ones who could take the Ark, lift it up, and transport it, walking it by foot from place to place.

What's going on here? Well, I think it's as simple as David being goal oriented. If the goal is to get it from point A to point B and we're walking nine miles uphill, pragmatics would say put the thing on a cart. Stick it in Joe's Ford pickup and make it to Jerusalem. It's easy.

I'm making a point. And I'm going to ask you a question. Is sincerity enough? Is being sincere all that is necessary for God to be pleased with an individual? Because they were sincere in what they did.

They wanted to get it from point A to point B. David's heart was to get it to Jerusalem. But it would seem like, as we read the account, that being sincere isn't all that matters to God.

God made a revelation, said do it this way. They said, well, let's change it up a little bit. Let's make it easier rather than do what is right.

So their philosophy is the end justifies the means. God told me here's the goal. It's up to me to figure out how to get the goal met. Somebody else had the same idea-- Abraham and Sarah.

She couldn't get pregnant. So she thought, Abe, forget this whole thing. I'm an old woman. You're an old man. Ain't going to happen. Take Hagar, have a baby. We'll call that the fulfillment.

So a right thing done the wrong way is still wrong, no matter how sincere a person may be. Well, three months later, the Ark finally makes it up to Jerusalem. No one dies. They're very slow.

They walk a few steps. They sing a few songs. They sacrifice some animals. They can make a few more steps, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat all the way up to Jerusalem, took a long time. But they did it the way God prescribed.

Chapter 7 brings us to one of the most important chapters in all the Bible. In fact, I'll say this. The message of the Bible from this point on rests upon this chapter.

The rest of the Bible will not make sense to you. Predictions will not make sense to you. Eschatology will not make sense to you. The ministry of Jesus Christ will not make sense to you unless you know this chapter, because as you open up the New Testament, the first words in the New Testament are, "This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David." And that language and that concept of Jesus as the greater son of David comes from this chapter.

Mary, when she was a teenager, understood this chapter. The angel Gabriel said, "You're going to have a son. You're going to call his name Jesus. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David."

She didn't go, huh? She got it. She understood her Old Testament. She understood the promise of the covenant made in 2 Samuel 7.

It was predicted. Isaiah chapter 9, "Unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government, there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it from this time forth, even forever more. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

That promise is based upon this covenant made in chapter 7. Well, as we get into it, David says, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to build got a big old house. He lives in a tent, the Tabernacle. I live in a beautiful palace. I'm going to make God a cool house.

God says, David, I never asked for a cool house. Simple is fine with me. I'm OK with that. I don't mind camping out. You're obsessed with this thing of building me a house. I never asked for it.

In fact, God turns it around, verse 10 in chapter 7. "Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously. Since that time, I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies."

Also, the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. Now we're dealing figuratively. Don't think that the Lord's going to be out there with hammers and nails and actually pounding an edifice for David. He means it figuratively. I'm going to build you a kingdom, a house.

Verse 12, "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. And he shall build a house for my name. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."

First of all, notice what I just read, the I wills. I will, I will, I will, I will. God is making a covenant with David. It's an unconditional covenant. This is what I'm going to do.

This covenant first means David is going to have a son, Solomon, who's going to build a temple. This covenant also means, second, that the throne of David will be established forever-- not Solomon this time, because that never happened. Solomon sinned, and it was an if-then proposition. If you do this, then I'll do that for your son. If he blows it, then I'll do this. But here is an unconditional covenant.

What do we see here? We see God blending two things. And I don't want you to skip over this. This is important for understanding all of scripture. God often blends a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment into one.

He has in mind two different things-- something that will happen immediately with Solomon, something that will happen eventually, not with Solomon, but with one of David's offspring, the greater son of David. So David's dynasty physically-- Solomon and the rest-- that whole dynastic succession will be interrupted in 586 BC by the Babylonian captivity. In fact, it will come to an end. In fact, God will curse the line of David and Solomon when Jeconiah, a King that's so wicked that God says he will have no descendants on the throne anymore after this-- the line of David through Solomon, the royal line, was cursed in the book of Jeremiah.

But it's going to be restored not by Solomon, but by the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ. How? He's going to come first and conquer the sin of the world when He dies. And He's, second, going to come again and conquer the world and rule and reign with those that He conquered sin for.

This is why, FYI, there are two genealogies-- one in Matthew, one in Luke. We believe Matthew's genealogy follows the record of David's genealogical record down to Joseph, whereas Luke follows David's genealogical record down to Mary. And there's two different branches.

One, Joseph's, is the one that is cursed. It goes through Solomon, Jeconiah-- the King that is cursed-- all the way down to Joseph. Mary traces all the way back to David, but not through Solomon, but through another son of David by the name of Nathan-- not the prophet Nathan, the son of David Nathan. Two different genealogical records.

Why is that important? Because now Jesus has the legal right because of Joseph-- Joseph wasn't Jesus' real father, right? It was His stepfather. He raised Jesus. Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, virgin born.

But Joseph has the genealogy back to the legal right to the throne. But God cursed that line. So God got around his curse. And there's only one way to get around that curse-- have the child born of a virgin and let his mother's genealogy go all the way back to David as well, but not through the cursed bloodline of Jeconiah up to Solomon, back to David, but this one through Nathan to David.

So God curses the bloodline, gets around His curse by giving Jesus a virgin birth. Problem is solved. So those are the first 10 chapters. First 10 chapters-- those are David's triumphs.

He unifies a nation. He secures a capital. He's never once defeated in battle. He expands the nation from 6,000 square miles to 60,000 square miles.

There is prosperity everywhere. There's a chicken in every pot. There's a car in every garage, or in this case a camel in every garage.

But David peaks out after 20 years. He peaks. And he starts sliding back down.

Now we have a study in contrast. All those triumphs, now we have introduced David's transgressions. Chapter 11 verse 1, the most vulnerable moment in his life. Can I tell you when that is for you as well? When you are most prosperous, when you are in greatest ease, when everything's going just the way you think it always should go-- I want it to just go so smoothly-- you are most vulnerable at times of prosperity and popularity.

Chapter 11 verse 1, "It happened in the spring of the year at the time when kings go to battle"-- that's an interesting statement-- --"that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel. And they destroyed the people of Amman and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem."

It's April, maybe beginning of May. The rains have ceased, the latter rains in Israel. And when that happens, its fighting season.

It's like baseball season. Mud's dry. Let's go kill somebody. That's when kings go out to battle.

David had been a warrior. He was a busy warrior. He was a successful warrior. But now he's older. And he's thinking, oh man, that's a young man's game, fighting.

I'm going to kick back and enjoy the palace. I've worked hard. I've earned it.

So he stays back from the battlefield. But if David would have been in the battlefield with his troops, he wouldn't have been in the bed with Bathsheba. Now he's enjoying the leisure a little too much. Now he can get diverted and distracted.

At the risk of sounding like your grandmother, beware of idleness. Remember your grandma used to say that? Idle minds are the devil's workshop. She's right, just as David the King.

Verse 2. "Then it happened one evening"-- that's all it takes, one evening-- --"that David arose from his bed and walked out on the roof of the King's house. And from the roof, he saw a woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful to behold."

Jerusalem is built on hills. Kings are where on the hill? Top of the hill, king of the hill.

So he's on top. And if you were standing in the City of David, I could show you. There's no place to look but downward. It slopes out from you. And you could see every house that would be built below you.

David was looking down, looking down at the terrorist homes below him. And he saw something. In fact, I want you to notice how it is written in verse 2. "He saw a woman that was beautiful to behold."

So look at the two words "he saw" and the word "behold." One suggests a glance-- he saw. Beautiful to behold means a gaze.

You and I cannot help the first look. It's not your fault if you're somewhere and somebody walks into your site like with David. But it's the double take that'll kill you. It's the what-- what? Now I'm not just seeing. I'm beholding.

[LAUGHTER]

St. Augustine defined sin's progression by saying, "A thought, a form, a fascination, a fall." He was fascinated by what he saw. Verse 3, "David sent and inquired about the woman." And somebody said, like reading his thoughts-- like, dude, I know what you're thinking-- "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" This is somebody's daughter and somebody's wife. Remember that.

David sent messengers and took her. "She came to him. And he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity. And she returned to her house. And the woman conceived. So she sent and told David and said, I am with child."

Just a one-night stand. And she says, I'm pregnant. Now David enters into his cover-up scheme. He sends for her husband, the heroic Uriah the Hittite, brings him off the field to the house and treats him really nicely and says go home with your wife, hang out with your wife, go to bed with your wife, hoping that will just cover up everything that has happened.

He won't do it. He goes, how can I go to the palace when my men are on the battlefield? Ooh, that must have struck an arrow in David's heart.

So David says, well, you won't listen to that, you got so filled with integrity, have a beer, have a little wine, have a little more wine, gets the guy drunk thinking in his drunken stupor he's going to go home and sleep with his wife. Didn't fall for it. Doesn't bite. Still, even soused, Uriah the Hittite says, I can't do it. I relate to my compadres on the battlefield.

So David it gives him a note and says give this to your commanding officer, Joab. The note was Uriah's death warrant. He didn't know he was carrying in his hand the very instruction to put him in the front of the battlefield in the heat of the battle and eventually get killed.

I want you to see the underpinning truth that one sin always leads to another. Left unchecked, it always leads to another. In this story, we have lust that leads to adultery, adultery that leads to deception, deception that leads to entrapment, and entrapment that leads to murder.

It's spring in the city. It's summer in David's thought life. He's burning with lust. That leads to a fall of sinful actions and the winter of his discontent. Things go south quickly after this.

Chapter 12, David sits on it. Uriah's dead. David doesn't mention he's done anything for a whole year. He gets by with it. I'm sure he felt miserable inside. In fact, I know he did.

Psalm 32, David wrote, "When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable. I groaned all day." He felt that way for a year.

So God is patient with him. Since he won't come to God, God's going to come to him. God's going to make a house call in the form of a prophet by the name of Nathan.

Nathan the prophet utters a parable to him in verses 2 through 4 of chapter 12. And there's a few people in the story. There's a rich man. There's a poor man. And there's a little lamb. The rich man is emblematic of David, the poor man emblematic of Uriah, and the little ewe lamb emblematic of Bathsheba.

So said, here's a story, David. There was this guy. He had a whole bunch of sheep. There was a poor guy who only had one little ewe lamb, little female lamb that he took care of, became like a family pet.

Rich man had a friend coming in from out of town, wanted to cook him a nice lamb kebab dinner. Instead of taking one of his own flocks, he stole the poor man's lamb, roasted him up, and gave him to his friend. David was livid when he heard this story. He thought it was a true story.

Now, here's a question. Why didn't Nathan come in and go, I know what you did, you scoundrel, you creep. You slept with Bathsheba. You stole a-- you committed adultery with another man's wife. Why the indirect approach?

The indirect approach is for this reason. David is blind to his own sin. And so his sin is seen on somebody else. And he can spot it right away. We're like that.

We are often blind to our own failures. But boy, we see it in somebody else. And we get all mad about it, hot and bothered David was that way. Took a good look at himself. He was mad.

Verse 5 of chapter 12, "David's anger was greatly aroused against the man. And he said to Nathan, 'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die.'" Whoa! Dude, you kill a guy for killing a lamb? What are you, Lambo? What's up?

The law of Moses required only one thing if somebody steals a lamb. You know what it was? Restitution, a fourfold restitution.

David pulls-- he goes to DEFCON 5. Kill him. Death to him. "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb because he did this thing and because he had no pity." Boy, his sin looks bad on somebody else.

Then Nathan said to David, you are the man. Took guts. Somebody once said secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven. It's all displayed before God. And God revealed it to Nathan.

Beginning in chapter 12 and 13 and the rest of the book, at the end of chapter 12, on into 13 to chapter 24 is that third word, troubles-- David's troubles. I'll sum a couple things up. In chapter 12, David's son dies. Bathsheba is pregnant, has the child. The child dies. That's trouble number one.

Trouble number two is in chapter 13. David's daughter by the name of Tamar gets raped by Amnon, the half-brother of Absalom. This is a wacky family. Verse 21, "But when the King-- when King David heard of these things"-- heard about what? That his daughter had been raped by a brother, by a stepbrother?

"When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." I don't know. That's just a little too understated for me, isn't it? That's it? Yeah, I'm kind of mad about that. That's all you got?

Your daughter's been raped? Yeah, I'm mad. I'm very angry. OK, thank you for the very.

"And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon, neither good or bad, for Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar." Now here's what I want to get at. David didn't do a thing. Oh, he got emotional. But he did nothing. Why?

Well, he probably thought, I have no moral high ground to stand on. I committed sexual sin myself. How am I going to rebuke somebody for doing this? I did it to somebody else's wife. So he probably felt he did not have moral authority to speak about sexual sin.

Let me say something about that. Some of us may be in a very similar category-- a background we committed adultery or had an abortion or sex out of marriage. And Satan will come. And he'll say, you have no right to speak on this subject to anybody ever, especially your children.

Actually, you do, because right is right and wrong is wrong. In fact, it can be more powerful as you tell your children, let me tell you what happened to me. Let me tell you the sorrow that I have experienced and the fallout because of certain choices that I've made. And because of that, let my life be the parable, the living example of what not to do. If you could get yourself that humble, it could be that powerful to a son or a daughter who would listen.

Well, now a plot develops. Absalom plans to kill Amnon. And so verse 23, "It came to pass after two full years that Absalom had sheep shearers in Baalhazor, which is near Ephraim. So Absalom invited all the King's sons."

Now just let me help you understand that sheep shearing for shepherds-- it's like Super Bowl weekend. For shepherds, it's Super Bowl. It's shearing time. And bring out the Budweisers for this. This was their Super Bowl.

So long and short of it, he kills Amnon, his half-brother, and becomes a refugee. He runs away. Verse 39, "King David longed to go to Absalom, for he had been comforted concerning Amnon because he was dead."

So all this happened. David's life is falling apart. His family life is in an uproar. But he wants to be with Absalom. Time has passed. And enough time has passed that he wants some kind of a reconciliation.

So he brings Absalom-- after a couple of years, brings him back to Jerusalem. But for two years, while he is in Jerusalem, David won't see him. Now, how frustrating would that be? Come back home, but I won't see you for two years.

This causes bitterness to grow in his son's heart, animosity to grow in his son's heart. And his son commits an act of treason. In chapter 15, it says Absalom, verse 6, stole the hearts of the men of Israel. He stands out by the gates. He says all the right things to get people to love him and not David, because David's hidden away in his palace and he's so aloof.

So for five horrible chapters, Absalom after an act of treason rules and sends his father David into exile. David is now deposed off the throne, out of the kingdom. Absalom, his son, is in charge until finally Joab-- who's Joab? Commander of whose army? David's army-- kills Absalom, his son.

I just want that to sink in. Think of what David, so far, the troubles he has seen, his tragedies-- the death of a baby, rape of his daughter Tamar, murder of his son Amnon, rebellion of his son Absalom, and now the murder of Absalom, his son. One trouble, one blow after another.

Chapter 18 verse 33, the King was deeply moved after he hears that his son is dead. The King was deeply moved. He's emotionally torn up. He's distraught, deeply moved.

And notice, as he went up to the chamber over the gate-- gee, I wonder if that's perhaps not the same room where it all started with Bathsheba, where from that perch he could look down at the commanding view over the city. And he wept. "And as he went, he said thus, oh my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I had died in your place, oh Absalom, my son, my son."

You know what this pain is? They never reconciled. All of that treason, all of that exile, finally saying, OK, you can come back, not seeing him for two years-- they never got together and were able to talk to each other and extend forgiveness, a hug, an embrace, something. And now Absalom is dead.

You know how many emergency rooms I've stood in and seen families in exactly the same situation? There has been unforgiveness. There has been foul words that have been shared. There's never been a reconciliation. Both parties are dug in, prideful, won't talk to the other, don't want anything to do with them.

Then there's a death. Too late. The bitterness that follows, the fallout that ruins life afterwards-- it's not worth it. FB Meyer, one of the greatest authors of biographies in scripture, said, "This is the bitterest of all, to know that suffering need not have been, that it has resulted from indiscretion and inconsistency, that it's the harvest of one's own sowing, that the vultures which feeds on the vitals is a nesting of one's own rearing. Ah me, this is pain."

Are you nurturing any vultures? Are you raising them and they're pecking away at your life because of pride and unforgiveness? And if you project 100 years from now, it won't matter how successful your business was. It won't matter in 100 years what a cool house you lived in. But it will matter what you did with your children. It will matter how you handled that relationship.

You will never die with a regret, man, I wish I had a bigger house. I've never seen anybody do that. Wish I had a better bank account. Wish my car was cooler. But I've seen a lot of regret over relationships unresolved. Not worth it.

We now come to the final days of David. Next couple chapters after 18, things get sorted out. He kind of gets back on track after all that misery. But I want to take you now to chapter 23, the final days of David and among his final words.

Chapter 23 verse 1, now these are the last words of David. "Thus says David, the son of Jesse, thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of God of Jacob and the sweet Psalmist of Israel." One sentence, a biographical sketch of David, how God took a kid and turned him into a King.

Verse 5, "Although my house is not so with God"-- in other words, David is saying, even though I haven't lived a perfect life and I'm aware of that-- "yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things insecure, for this is all my salvation and all my desire. Will He not make it increase?" It's part of a psalm that he writes.

The last chapter illustrates how that imperfect life that God chose and made a covenant with-- what happens to it? A final error, a final trouble. David takes a census in chapter 24, not unusual. Kings did it all the time.

You know why they did it? They wanted to see how many people could be in their army, number one, number two for taxation reasons. Chapter 2 of Luke, Caesar Augustus takes a registration census because he wants to get Rome funded. So he takes a census. That was not unusual.

But with David, it was different. This is God's King. This is a man after God's heart. And David does it for the motivation of pride so he can gloat over size.

In 1 Chronicles, we are told that Satan incited David to do it. In our text of 2 Samuel, it indicates the Lord was a part of it. How does that work? Is it a conflict? Not at all.

In fact, it's a perfect illustration of sovereignty. Satan tempted or incited David. God sovereignly allowed it to happen and then restored and redeemed it in David's situation.

Well, chapter 24 verse 10, "And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people." So David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly." Good on you, David. And you're right. It was foolish.

He owned it. He confessed it. Verse 25, "And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land," because even though God forgave David, there was a consequence of death.

Keep that in mind. God will forgive you all day long. Doesn't mean the consequence goes away. It's like when you cut yourself, you can-- that wound can heal. But the scar will remain. So there was a consequence.

But verse 25, "David built an altar to the Lord, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land. And the plague was withdrawn from Israel."

In the four minutes we have remaining, let me give you a 1, 2, 3. What do you do with sin? It's a refresher course. Most of us know this.

Number one, admit it. Admit it. The Bible talks about confessing your sin, right? "If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness."

So admit your sin. Take responsibility for it. Own it. Don't blame shift, which is as old as the hills and twice as dusty.

What did Adam say when he sinned? It's the woman you gave me. He blamed two people-- the woman, but more than that, You gave her to me. It's Your fault. It was Your idea. It's the woman You gave me.

Solomon, who will come the son of David, says, maybe thinking back to his own father's life, maybe his own life, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper. But whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." That takes us to our second thing. Admit it.

Number two, leave it. Leave it. That's repentance. Turn from it. Make a clean break from it.

When I was a kid growing up in the Catholic church, I sinned all week long because I could go to confession at the end of the week. That gave me a clean slate to sin the next week and go to confession at the end of the week. I'd just sort of keep doing it. No, admit it then leave it. Leave it.

By God's grace and God's power, make a clean break. Go in the opposite direction. So admit it, leave it, and number three, replace it. Replace it.

The book of Romans talks all about that. Don't be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good. Develop new activities, new habits, new disciplines. Add those things to your life so that you're so consumed with doing those things, you don't have time in the spring of the year to kick back, let the other people do it while you get distracted in your thought life. Admit it, leave it, replace it.

Father, we are people. And as people, we blow it. When we look at David, we could say, well, that's a male thing. No, it's a human thing. There's not a person here who is not dealt with temptation, even sexual temptation, from a member of the other sex or even the same sex where we get tempted.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

And Father, that's the fallen humanity. It's the humanity that you came to redeem. It's the humanity You understand. And so we are moved when we find out that God became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory even as He beheld our sin.

But he didn't just behold it. He did something about it. He came to wash it away, to forgive sin.

Lord, I pray for anybody who might be here tonight invited by a friend, even with somebody who's come maybe for weeks or months or even years. But there has never been a personal turning. Maybe there's been an admission, but there hasn't been a turning, a repentance, a leaving the past, making a clean break and giving Jesus charge as Lord of that life.

And so Father, I pray that if somebody is here broken by sin, broken by their past failures, not yet have turned to Christ or maybe somebody had some experience with You years ago, but turned away and is not today following Jesus Christ, not living in obedience to Christ, they need to come back home. I pray, Lord, that you would touch the heart even as you touched David's heart when he said, I have sinned gravely. And he made a monument right there to the Lord, I pray that there will be a monument made, a testimony made tonight in this place as people give their lives to you.

With your head bowed, if you've not given your life to Jesus or if you strayed away from Him and you need to come back to Him, if you are willing to do that and be forgiven by Him, to be refreshed and restored and God to pour joy into your life and love into your life along with forgiveness for your past-- if you want that, I want you to raise your hand up in the air. Just raise it up in the air and hold it up for a moment so I can acknowledge. Just raise it up. You're saying pray for me. God bless you in the back, right in the middle, in the back to my right, a couple of you, a couple of you right over here to my right, in the back on the left, on the left here, toward the front here, right there in the middle.

Father, thank You for all of these hands that have gone up and some I can't even see. But Lord, you see. You know. And You love.

And oh, it is your joy to restore. How You love to forgive. You get so excited when somebody says, I'm going to come to you broken with my sin, because you know that there can be a solution for that person. That person can be restored in a fullness of life. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.

Would you stand to your feet? As we sing this final song, those of you who raised your hands, in this family setting, I'm going to ask you to do one final thing and that is get up from where you're standing. Some of you were in the back. Some of you were in the middle of a row. Doesn't matter. People will make way for you. We're used to this.

You get up as we sing this final song. And you come, in effect making a monument of I'm leaving the past. I'm stepping into the future. I want to be forgiven.

After you come, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. It'll just take a few moments. As we sing, right now you come. And I'll meet you right here. I'll lead you in that prayer.

(SINGING) --is washing over me.

Come on up.

(SINGING) Your face is all I see. You are my everything. Jesus Christ, you are my one desire. Lord, hear my only cry to know you all my life.

Your love's so deep. It's washing over me. Your face is all I see. You are my everything. Jesus Christ, you are my one desire. Lord, hear my only cry to know you all my life.

I'm going to wait just another moment. Wait just another moment. Jesus called people publicly.

And there's something that happens, I believe-- no, I don't believe. I know. I've seen it. I've experienced it.

When you are willing to make a public decision to put Jesus first, it just makes every other time that you make a public stand for Jesus a whole lot easier. And I think it settles something in your own heart when you're willing to make a clean break from your past and say yes to Christ in the present and for the future. So really quickly, anybody else, if you haven't come yet, you're seeing those who have walked forward, you're thinking-- and you're right-- you need to be a part of this. Yes, you do.

If you're not certain about where you're going when you die, you need to be a part of this. It's why you were put on Earth, to be forgiven by God and to live the life God has for you. Anyone else, really quickly?

[APPLAUSE]

(SINGING) Your face is all I see. You are my everything.

Good choice. Good thinking.

(SINGING) Jesus Christ, you are my one desire. Lord hear my only cry to know you all my life. Your love so deep is washing over me. Lord, I see, you are my everything.

Jesus Christ, you are my one desire. Lord hear my only cry

There's a lot of you here.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

For some of you, that might sound really weird. It's like, we're in church. I'm standing up front. Everybody's clapping, shouting. And I kind of feel, like, broken up inside even. So why are they clapping?

The Bible says when one person does what you're doing, turns to Christ-- when one sinner, the Bible says, comes to Christ, that all the angels in Heaven rejoice. They rejoice.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

So I think if they're happy about it-- if there's a party in Heaven, why not join the party right now on Earth? That's why we're so excited. So real simple.

I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to ask you to say this prayer out loud after me, say these words from your heart, mean them as you say them. You say them to God. That's all prayer is, talking to God. And you're asking Jesus to come in and take control, OK?

Let's pray. After me, say this. Lord, I give you my life. I know that I'm a sinner. Forgive me.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He came from Heaven to Earth, that He died on a cross, that He shed His blood for me, and that He rose again. I turn from my sin. I leave my past. I turn to Jesus as my Savior.

Help me to follow Him as my Lord. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Let's rejoice!

[CHEERING]

We hope you enjoyed this message from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources, visit CalvaryNM.church. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from The Bible From 30,000 Feet.

Additional Messages in this Series

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8/8/2018
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Flight GEN01
Genesis 1-11
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
We're going back to the beginning in this first flight. Written by Moses and inspired by God Himself, Genesis means origin. From the formation of all created things and the fall of man to the flood and the fallout of man's rebellion, Genesis 1-11 chronicles the beginning of everything. It all starts here.
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8/15/2018
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Flight GEN02
Genesis 12-50
Skip Heitzig
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This flight takes us through the biographical part of Genesis and God's response to man's rebellion. Four men are prominent in the formation of the nation of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Through this lineage, God would fulfill His promise of salvation for humanity.
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8/22/2018
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Flight EXO01
Exodus 1-18
Skip Heitzig
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The central event in this flight through Exodus is the redemption of God's people, the Israelites, from their bondage in Egypt. We fly over Egypt and the wilderness where Israel wandered for forty years. The plight of the Israelites, their disobedience, and God's deliverance all foreshadow Jesus Christ.
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9/5/2018
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Flight EXO02
Exodus 19-40
Skip Heitzig
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The Sinai Peninsula is the backdrop for this flight to Exodus, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments along with detailed instructions for how He was to be worshiped. Miraculous signs of God's absolute power abound, along with the revelation from God that would define Israel's national identity.
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9/12/2018
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Flight LEV01
Leviticus 1-27
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Leviticus describes the worship life of the nation of Israel. We discover how the Israelites were instructed to make atonement for their sin through sacrifice. The overarching theme of this book can be summed up in one word: holiness. After centuries of captivity in Egypt, the Israelites needed a reminder of who God is, His absolute holiness, and how they were to live set apart for Him.
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10/10/2018
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Flight NUM01
Numbers 1-36
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Numbers contains two censuses of the Hebrew people. The first is of the generation that left Egypt, including how they were organized, their journey in the wilderness, and their refusal to enter the Promised Land. Due to their disobedience, the first generation of Israelites failed to enter the land God had promised; however, God remained faithful by leading a new generation into the Promised Land.
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10/17/2018
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Flight DEU01
Deuteronomy 1-34
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After forty years of wandering, the Israelites were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. The book of Deuteronomy can be organized around three messages Moses gave while the Israelites waited to enter the land. With the key word of this book being covenant, Deuteronomy speaks of the special relationship God established with His people.
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10/24/2018
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Flight JOS01
Joshua 1-24
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In this flight over the book of Joshua, we get to know its namesake, who shared in all the events since Exodus and held the place of military commander under Moses' leadership. We'll also get a tour of the Promised Land and follow Israel's conquest of Canaan, after which Joshua divided the land among the twelve tribes.
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11/7/2018
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Flight JUD01
Judges 1-21
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The Israelites experienced a period of victorious conquests in Canaan after Joshua's death. But as their obedience to God's laws and their faith in God's promises diminished, Israel became entrenched in the sin cycle. God divinely appointed Judges to provide leadership and deliverance during this chaotic time. Sadly, God's people repeatedly did what was right in their own eyes.
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11/28/2018
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Flight RUT01
Ruth 1-4
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In this flight, we'll see the godly love and courage of two very different women from very different backgrounds. And we'll meet Boaz, who became Ruth's kinsman-redeemer, a type of Christ. Although the book of Ruth is short, it is prophetically important in terms of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Ruth's story of romantic grace places love at the center of each of its four chapters.
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12/5/2018
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Flight 1SAM1
1 Samuel 1-31
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In this flight, we find the nation of Israel in desperate need of direction and leadership. We will meet the man whose good looks, physical stature, and success in war made him an obvious choice from a human perspective, but Israel's first king had a tragic flaw: pride. From the ashes of King Saul's calamitous reign, God raised up an unlikely man who would become Israel's next king, a man after His own heart.
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1/23/2019
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Flight 1KIN1
1 Kings 1-22
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After years of being a powerful unified nation under King David, Israel, because of their disobedience, became a divided nation under many different kings. This book reveals a story of good kings and bad kings, true prophets and false prophets, and faithfulness and disobedience to God.
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2/6/2019
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Flight 2KIN1
2 Kings 1-25
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Despite the many kings who took control of Israel, the nation still lacked true leadership. Second Kings continues the history of a divided Israel, and we see what happens when a nation passes from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.
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2/13/2019
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Flight 1CHR1
1 Chronicles 1-29
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The book of 1 Chronicles recounts the lineage of King David as well as God's promise that He would establish His reign on earth through this man after His own heart. As we see how God fulfilled His promises to David, we discover how that presents a witness of His faithfulness to us today.
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3/6/2019
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Flight 2CHR1
2 Chronicles 1-36
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After King Solomon's reign and death, the nation of Israel went on a spiritual roller coaster ride that ended with the division of the kingdom and the people's exile. From the temple's building to its decline and destruction, we see a parallel to 1 and 2 Kings from a spiritual viewpoint.
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3/27/2019
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Flight EZR01
Ezra 1-10
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The book of Ezra begins with King Cyrus' decree for the children of Israel to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Ezra tells of two different returns: the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, and the second by Ezra to bring reformation to the people. In this flight, we see God's faithfulness in keeping His promise to return His people to their homeland.
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4/3/2019
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Flight NEH01
Nehemiah 1-13
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At the end of Ezra, the temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt and dedicated, but the city walls were still in ruins. After gaining permission from the king of Persia, Nehemiah led a group to repair and rebuild the walls. Though he was met with hostility and conflict, we see how Nehemiah gathered his spiritual strength from God during trialing times.
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4/10/2019
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Flight EST01
Esther 1-10
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Esther reads almost like a fairy tale: A Jewish maiden becomes queen of Persia. The villain launches an attack to destroy the Jews. In the end, his plot is thwarted by the hero and the brave maiden, who risks her life to save her people. Though the name of God isn't mentioned once in this short book, we clearly see God's providence and faithfulness in dealing with His people.
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4/24/2019
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Flight JOB01
Job 1-42
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The book of Job opens in the throne room of heaven with a conversation between God and Satan regarding the faithfulness of a man named Job. God allowed Satan to test Job, and Satan caused Job to lose his health, wealth, and even his beloved family. But in the midst of Job's tragic circumstances, God revealed His sovereignty and faithfulness, and Job's steadfast faith prevailed.
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5/1/2019
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Flight PSA01
Psalms 1-150
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The book of Psalms is a collection of songs, prayers, and poetry that express the deepest of human emotions. These artistic masterpieces were compiled over a period of roughly 1,000 years from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra and the return from the Babylonian exile. As we fly over the Psalms, we'll see beautiful writings of gladness and grief, pleading and prayers, and reverence and worship—all with one overarching theme: a complete dependence on the love and power of God.
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5/8/2019
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Flight PRO01
Proverbs 1-31
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Known for the wisdom it contains, the book of Proverbs reveals how to deal with everyday situations. But more than just good advice, it is God's words of wisdom, which we need in order to live righteously. These proverbs are universal principles that apply to all people for all times, because they speak of the character of God and the nature of man—both of which remain constant.
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5/15/2019
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Flight ECC01
Ecclesiastes 1- 12
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The book of Ecclesiastes records King Solomon's intense search to find meaning and fulfillment in life. In this flight, we discover some significant truths—namely, that all worldly things are empty and that life's pursuits only lead to frustration. After tasting all that this world has to offer, Solomon ultimately concluded that life without God is meaningless.
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5/22/2019
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Flight SON01
Song of Solomon 1-8
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The Song of Solomon portrays a moving love story between King Solomon and a shepherdess. The story reveals the intimacy, love, and passion that a bridegroom and his bride share in a marriage relationship. Even more than the fulfillment found in the love between a husband and wife, we'll discover that the spiritual life finds its greatest joy in the love God has for His people and Christ has for His church.
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5/29/2019
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Flight ISA01
Isaiah 1-27
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The prophet Isaiah's ministry lasted around fifty years and spanned the reigns of four kings in Judah. His prophecies are quoted in the New Testament more often than any other prophet's. In this first flight over Isaiah, we focus on his prophecies of condemnation that pulled no punches and pointed out Israel's need for God.
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6/26/2019
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Flight ISA02
Isaiah 28-66
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Of all the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah is thought by many to be the greatest, in part because of his clear prophecies about the Messiah. In this second flight over his book, we see his continued work and how God used his prophecies of both condemnation and comfort to generate change in the individuals he encountered.
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7/3/2019
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Flight JER01
Jeremiah 1-20
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The book of Jeremiah is a series of oracles written in the southern kingdom of Judah over a period of fifty-plus years. It speaks of judgment, the promise of restoration, and the protective hand of God over those He loves. In this flight, we catch a glimpse of the man behind the prophecies as he allowed God to speak through him in unusual ways to open the eyes of the people of Israel.
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7/10/2019
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Flight JLA01
Jeremiah 21-52; Lamentations 1-5
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The prophet Jeremiah allowed God to speak through him in unusual ways to open the eyes of the people of Israel. As we complete our flight over his book, we find the prophet reinvigorated by God's promises as he continued to prophesy Babylon's impending invasions and, ultimately, Judah's captivity. Then our flight continues over the poetic book of Lamentations, which Jeremiah wrote as he wept and grieved over Jerusalem's destruction, ending the book with a prayer for Israel's restoration from captivity.
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7/17/2019
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Flight EZE01
Ezekiel 1-48
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Written by Ezekiel the priest, this book takes place during the second Babylonian captivity and documents the fulfillment of several prophecies from previous Old Testament books. In this flight, we see God continue to offer promises of restoration through Ezekiel, bringing the nation hope despite their tribulations.
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7/24/2019
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Flight DAN01
Daniel 1-8
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Chronologically, the book of Daniel links the time of the kings in 2 Chronicles to the restoration of Jerusalem in the book of Ezra. It begins with the first Babylonian captivity and ends with Daniel's vision of seventy weeks. In it, we witness both prophetic history and the four prophetic visions of Daniel, as well as powerful stories that reveal a faithful man of God who was unwilling to compromise his beliefs.
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7/31/2019
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Flight DAN02
Daniel 9-12
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Midway through the book of Daniel, the focus shifts from the historic to the prophetic. Daniel's four prophetic visions reveal the stunning accuracy of biblical prophecy, as well as Daniel's uncompromising faith in God's fulfillment. From the rise and fall of human kingdoms to the Messiah and the day of judgment, Daniel's visions drove him to his knees in fervent prayer for the people of Israel.
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8/7/2019
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Flight HOS01
Hosea 1-14
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Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II, and he had a clear message to deliver: Israel had rejected God, so they would be sent into exile and become wanderers in other nations. On this flight, we see a clear parallel between Hosea's adulterous wife—whom God had instructed Hosea to marry—and Israel's unfaithfulness. But even as Hosea endured a rocky marriage, he continued to share God's plan that He would bring His people back to Himself.
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8/14/2019
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Flight JAO01
Joel 1-3; Amos 1-9; Obadiah
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Through three ordinary men—Joel, Amos, and Obadiah—God delivered extraordinary messages to His people, warning them against greed, injustice, false worship, and self-righteousness. On this flight, we witness God's patience and love for Israel, and we see how He stands ready to forgive and restore all who turn away from their sin.
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8/21/2019
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Flight JON01
Jonah 1-4
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Rather than focusing on prophecy, the book of Jonah narrates a prophet's story. Jonah was blatantly disobedient to God's call, but despite his defiance, God redirected his path through a unique situation. The resulting revival in Nineveh shows us that God's grace reaches beyond the boundaries of Israel to embrace all nations.
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8/28/2019
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Flight MNH01
Micah 1-7; Nahum 1-3; Habakkuk 1-3
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God used three prophets—Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk—to criticize, comfort, and inspire: Micah encouraged social justice and the authentic worship of God. Nahum prophesied against the Assyrians for returning to their evil practices. And though Habakkuk didn't address Israel directly, his message assured them that evil does not endure forever. Through these prophets, God's people confessed their sins and grew confident in His salvation.
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9/4/2019
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Flight ZHA01
Zephaniah 1-3; Haggai 1-2
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The prophet Zephaniah addressed the social injustice and moral decay of Judah and her neighbors, proclaiming the coming day of the Lord and His wrath upon the nations—both an immediate judgment and a future end-times judgment. God sent Haggai the prophet to preach to the restored community of Jews in Jerusalem after their return from exile in Babylonia. Haggai encouraged the nation to set aside their selfishness and finish rebuilding the temple, an act of obedience that would align their desire with God's desire.
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9/18/2019
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Flight ZMA01
Zechariah 1-14; Malachi 1-4
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As we fly over the last books of the Old Testament, we first look at the expanded message of rebuilding the temple when Zechariah encouraged Israel to anticipate their ultimate deliverance and the Messiah's future reign. One hundred years after the temple was rebuilt, the book of Malachi revealed that God's chosen people had once again slid back into their sinful practices. Malachi declared God's promise of a coming messenger, John the Baptist, and a coming Messiah.
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10/2/2019
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Flight INT01
Intertestamental Period
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In between the Old and New Testaments lies 400 years of history. During this intertestamental period, God chose not to speak to His people through prophets as He orchestrated people, politics, and events in preparation of the coming Messiah. Scholars have come to call these four centuries the silent years. Remarkably, the silence would be broken by a newborn baby's cry in Bethlehem.
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10/9/2019
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Flight MML01
Matthew 1-28; Mark 1-16; Luke 1-24
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These three Synoptic Gospels give us our first glimpses of Jesus' life and death here on earth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke present Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, and the Son of Man, respectively. On this flight, we'll see the service, sermons, sacrifices, and sovereignty of Jesus as we witness the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies.
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10/16/2019
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Flight JOH01
John 1-21
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The spiritual depth of John sets it apart from the other Gospels, with one-third of its content dedicated to the last week of Jesus' life. Rather than focusing on what Jesus did, John focused on who Jesus is, presenting Him as God incarnate and highlighting His deity. On this flight, we'll see seven miraculous signs of Jesus, as well as seven statements that He used to identify Himself as God.
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10/23/2019
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Flight ACT01
Acts 1-28
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The book of Acts presents the history of a dynamic, growing community of believers that started in Jerusalem and went on to spread the gospel throughout the known world. In this book, the gospel writer Luke also recorded how the early church received the Holy Spirit, who enabled them to witness, love, and serve with boldness and courage, even when faced with persecution.
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10/30/2019
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Flight ROM01
Romans 1-16
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The book of Romans is the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, and it focuses on God's plan of salvation for all humankind. Romans is the most systematic of Paul's letters, reading more like an elaborate theological essay rather than a letter. On this flight, we look at Paul's strong emphasis on Christian doctrine as well as his concern for Israel.
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11/13/2019
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Flight 1COR1
1 Corinthians 1-16
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In 1 Corinthians, Paul confronted the problems that had infiltrated the influential church at Corinth and defended his position as an apostle of Christ. He later rejoiced over their repentance and acceptance of his God-given authority. On this flight, we discover the power of a new life in Jesus as we see how Paul shared the heart of the gospel with his fellow believers.
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11/20/2019
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Flight 2COR1
2 Corinthians 1-13
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After Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, false teachers began spreading opposition to him in the Corinthian church. Paul sent Titus as his representative to deal with them, and most of the church repented. Paul wrote this epistle to express his joy at the turnaround and to appeal to them to accept his authority, which was confirmed by the many hardships he suffered for the gospel. On this flight, we find beautiful truths to carry with us through our own times of suffering.
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12/4/2019
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Flight GAL01
Galatians 1-6
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Galatians is a firm statement of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. When Paul wrote this letter, the false doctrine of legalism and faith by works had infiltrated the church throughout Galatia. As a result, believers had traded their freedom in Christ for bondage to the old Jewish law that had been fulfilled by Jesus. On this flight, we discover the differences between law and grace as well as the practical application and results of the proper doctrine of grace.
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1/8/2020
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Flight EPH01
Ephesians 1-6
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Who are we in Christ? In Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, he answered that very question as he addressed a group of believers who were ignorant of their spiritual wealth in Jesus. He explained how the Christian is the bride of Christ, a temple in the Lord, and a soldier for the gospel. On this flight, we see how Paul also emphasized unity among believers, describing the church as a body that works together for a common goal.
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1/15/2020
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Flight PHI01
Philippians 1-4
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Referred to as the epistle of joy, Philippians contains the message that joy is possible in all of life's circumstances, including suffering. Paul wrote this very personal letter while in prison, and despite his trials, he rejoiced over the caring and generous church in Philippi and encouraged them in unity, humility, and prayer.
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1/22/2020
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Flight COL01
Colossians 1-4
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On this flight, we see how the young church in Colossae became the target of a heretical attack that included angel worship, the depreciation of Christ, and reliance on human wisdom. In Paul's letter to this church, he refuted the heresy by exalting Christ as the very image of God, the preexistent sustainer of all things, the head of the church, and the first to be resurrected.
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2/12/2020
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Flight THE01
1 Thessalonians 1-5; 2 Thessalonians 1-3
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The apostle Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians in response to a report that some errors and misunderstandings about his teaching had crept into the church at Thessalonica. But Paul also used the opportunity to encourage the believers there, exhorting them in the Word, warning them against pagan immorality, and urging them to remain steadfast in God's truth in the face of persecution.
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6/10/2020
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Flight TIM01
1 Timothy 1-6; 2 Timothy 1-4
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These loving letters to Timothy, a young pastor in Ephesus, reveal Paul's true love for his brother in Christ. Timothy was facing a heavy burden of responsibility, so Paul not only instructed him about the conduct of the church and its ministers but also encouraged him to stand strong for the faith against false teachings, to endure hardship, and to preach the Word.
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6/17/2020
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Flight TPH01
Titus 1-3; Philemon
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Paul's brief letter to Titus focuses on Titus' role and responsibility in the organization and supervision of the churches in Crete. Throughout the letter, Paul also stressed the importance of sound doctrine and church order. In Philemon, on the other hand, the apostle took a more personal approach and spoke on the application of the great principles of Christian brotherhood to social life.
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6/24/2020
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Flight HEB01
Hebrews 1-13
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Although this well-written book's author is unknown, it reveals a man with a great desire to encourage Jewish believers to live in the grace of Jesus, especially since many of them were slipping back into the rites and rituals of Judaism to escape persecution. The letter centers on the person and work of Christ, inspiring believers through all the ages to pursue Jesus in every area of life.
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7/1/2020
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Flight JAM01
James 1-5
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While it's vital for Christians to understand that salvation comes by faith, the book of James emphasizes an active faith, characterized by good deeds that flow from salvation. In this unmistakably Jewish epistle, the author encourages believers to live out and grow in their faith by embracing trials, carefully controlling their speech, and letting God's love flow through them to others.
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7/15/2020
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Flight PET01
1 Peter 1-5; 2 Peter 1-3
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The apostle Peter wrote these letters to encourage persecuted Christians and to defend the authenticity of God's Word against false teaching that had infiltrated the church. He called on believers to grow in their faith so they might detect and combat the spreading apostasy. On this flight, we see how these letters uniquely encourage us as we live in conflict with our culture, giving us incentive for holy living as we look forward to Jesus' second coming.
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7/22/2020
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Flight 1JOH1
1 John 1-5
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In this letter, John lived up to his nickname—the apostle of love—as he urged the church to continue living a life of faith in Christ. He defended the nature of Jesus against heretical teachings and warned his readers about those who taught such things. John not only addressed the preeminence of God's love for us but also emphasized our duty to love others in return. This flight shows you how God can transform your life when you follow Him wholeheartedly.
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7/29/2020
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Flight JJU01
2 John, 3 John; Jude
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These three epistles were written to encourage the church to keep a strong biblical foundation. The authors exhorted believers to walk in love but to be discerning in their expression of love, to have and enjoy fellowship with other Christians, and to stay strong in the faith. On this flight, you'll discover why it's so vital to balance love and truth to reach a lost world with the gospel of Jesus.
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8/5/2020
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Flight REV01
Revelation 1-11
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Considered to be one of the most powerful books in Scripture, Revelation is a direct vision from God to the apostle John. It's both a warning to the world of a coming tribulation and a source of hope for believers as we anticipate Jesus' return. The book is filled with prophecies of future judgment, but in it, we find a glimpse of heaven and the glories awaiting Jesus' bride, the church.
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8/12/2020
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Flight REV02
Revelation 12-22
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In the second half of Revelation, we read some of the most thrilling text in the entire Bible, getting a preview of a future judgment, Jesus' thousand-year reign on earth, the eventual fate of unbelievers, and the church's eternal destination in the new heaven and earth. As we conclude our journey at 30,000 feet over the Scriptures, we discover how the history of the world culminates as we look to Jesus in all His splendid glory.
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8/19/2020
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Visit to the Cockpit Q&A with Pastor Skip
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Our midweek series The Bible from 30,000 Feet came to a close with a final Visit to the Cockpit Q & A session. In the last message of our series, Pastor Skip answers questions from the congregation on topics throughout the Bible, from creation to the end times.
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There are 58 additional messages in this series.
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