1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 3-4

These are corresponding chapters concerning the construction of the palace and the metal furnishings of the temple.

Solomon's palace was huge and made of stone and cedar. There was so much cedar that it was nicknamed the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. We can tell Solomon was wise because his wife (Pharaoh's daughter) had her own room.

Solomon brought in Huram from Tyre to make all the metal objects for the temple. He made a lot of decorative objects for use in the temple including 10 bronze water carts that were ornamented with lions, palm trees, and cherubim. Huram cast 2 massive bronze pillars with 200 pomegranates hanging from chains .

King David would have been proud.

1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3

Solomon asks Hiram, king of Tyre, for help to build the temple. Hiram was a friend of his father King David. Hiram is delighted about this and sends timber and artisans to build the temple. A massive public works project begins employing thousands of people.

The temple's frame outside was made of stone and the inside was lined with cedar planks. This was in turn overlaid with gold. Numerous cherubim adorned the walls and two particular ones were in the holy of Holies, in parallel to the inner sanctum of the tent.

All the stone work was done at the quarry so no chisels were used at the temple sight. This stands out to me as incredible. That means each individual piece was designed well in advanced off-sight. Why do this? I'm not sure, but it does remind me of several anecdotes where God wanted an altar made from uncut stones.

The temple's construction began in the 4th year of Solomon's reign and was finished in the 11th.

God again speaks to King Solomon. God is happy to reside in this new temple so long as Solomon follows God.

1 Kings 3

Solomon marries the daughter to the pharaoh of Egypt and solidifies an alliance. So, the slavery and Exodus from Egypt has been turned on its head and now Egypt sees Israel as having some political importance.

Solomon is still young. He worships God, but he still worships in the high places.

God appears to him in a dream and asks him what he wants. His reply - a discerning heart to know right from wrong. It is commonly assumed that he has asked for wisdom. I'm not sure if this is the exact same thing. God's response implies that it is not. God will grant him this discerning heart, but also wisdom, riches, and glory and will also extend his life if he follow God.

Immediately after in the test comes the famous example of Solomon's wisdom. I picture this probably happening relatively soon after this dream/promise from God. In other words, my hunch is Solomon is a teenager when he deals with this problem.

Two women who live in the same home gave birth to children at around the same time. One rolls over while sleeping and accidentally kills her child. The mother of the deceased then swapped out the dead child with the living one from the bed of the other woman. Then, she D

denies this happened. This comes before Solomon. He hears the story and both women claim the living child as her own.

Solomon asks for a sword so that the living child can be cut in two and both women will get a piece of the living child. The child's real mother asks for the child to be given to the other woman while the other woman agrees with Solomon's sentence. Solomon then hands the living child to the woman who protested its killing.

Like I said, I think this happened relatively early in Solomon's reign when he was still young. Hearing a pronouncement like this from a teenager would have been very powerful and increased his fame as a wise ruler, which the text does state is what happened.

It also provides credibility for a young king who had a contested ascension to the throne.

1 Kings 2

Solomon seems inclined to let Adonia and his co-conspirators live. He had gotten a promise from Adonia behave.

Adonia tries again. He gets Bathsheba to ask Solomon if Adonia could marry Abishag (the young girl that tended to David). This sets Solomon off and he thinks that Adonia is after the throne. During the initial exchange between Adonia and Bathsheba, he even states that the throne was his, but then God gave it to Solomon.

How much of what Adonia says he believes himself is open for debate, but it makes you wonder how arrogant he is that he is plotting for the throne again. To his credit though, he was the oldest living son of David and in many other monarchies, that would make him the heir.

Not here.

Solomon is angered and has Adonia immediately put to death. He does not do the killing himself, but has his hit man Benaiah do it. Afterwards, Solomon orders the execution of Joab. The stated reason is because Joab killed two innocent people - Abner and Amassa. Although Joab is guilty of their murders, i think that Solomon was predisposed to let Joab live. Then, Adonia's plotting changed things and now Solomon wants to knock those who sided with Adonia.

With their deaths, he does cool off a bit still takes care of the plotters.

Joab allows Abiathar (the head priest who sided with Adonia) to live, but he is removed from his role as priest. This fulfills the prophecy way back with Eli (remember Samuel's mentor) to remove Eli's household as priests.

He has Shimei to remove forever Jerusalem. If he ever leaves Jerusalem, he will die. OK, not a bad deal. Solomon does not want to kill people. He gives them second chances, but that's it. Three years later, Shimei's slaves escape and Shimei leaves Jerusalem to find them. Solomon has him killed.

Psalms 79-83

Psalm 79 - Asaph calls on God to rise up and smack down Israel's enemies. The psalm has a sense of desperation as if Israel has had to endure invasion for some time.

Psalm 80 - this is similar to psalm 79, but Asaph calls on God to return to Israel. The psalm has an overall theme of being abandoned by God and as result, the enemies mock Israel.

Psalm 81 - this one seems to answer to the question raised in psalms 79 and 80- why has God abandoned Israel? In psalm 81, the question is answered. The psalm is written by Asaph but narratively taking the perspective of God, it says that God told Israel not to follow other gods, but God let them go according to their own hearts.

Psalm 82 - another by Asaph. It begins with an interesting imagery, in particular God is presiding over a heavenly assembly. It quickly turns to a focus on protecting and helping the needy and poor.

Psalm 83 - this might be the last by Asaph. In it, he asks God to rise up against the concerted plotting by Israel's enemies. It specifically names a number of enemies, many of whom we saw in the wars of David: Philistines, Edom, and Ammon.

Psalms 75-78

Psalm 75 - another one by Asaph. God is judge. No one can exalt oneself, but it is God who exalts a person.

Psalm 76 - another by Asaph. God provides victory and is to be feared.

Psalm 77 - another by Asaph. This one praises God for redeeming the Israelites and God's work at the hands of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78 - another by Asaph. This one is very unique in that it recounts the history of the Israelites from their time in Egypt. It recounts a good portion of the plagues individually and even suggests that it was a "band of angels" not a single individual one, that was responsible for slaying the firstborn. It also recounts some of the events of the Exodus, including the Red Sea, water from rock, and then calls manna the "bread of angels". It jumps from the Exodus to generally touching the conquest to end with praising David as God's chosen shepherd for Israel.

Psalms 50, 73-74

Psalm 50 - this was written by Asaph and is very different than any other psalm thus far. After an intro, the psalm is written from God's perspective. God has no need of bulls, but rather wants thankfulness and the fulfillment of vows. Then in the days of trouble, God will come.

Psalm 73 - another psalm by Asaph. This is more similar to the many of the ones by David in that it contrasts wickedness from God. Asaph outlines the importance of having God to be the center, despite that "my flesh and my heart may fail".

Psalm 74 - this is also written by Asaph. Here, Asaph calls for intervention from God against the wicked. It reminds me of the psalms of David in which it sounds like David's enemies have run amuck in Israel. Asaph calls on God and reminds God that God is creator of all the universe and hence, how foolish it is to mock God.

It also mentions by name the "Leviathan". We'll see a lot more about the Leviathan in Job, but verse 14 gives a clue the Leviathan is not a literal, tangible creature - the Leviathan has multiple heads. There is a debate whether the Leviathan is a physical creature and some people suggest that it is a crocodile. There is a similar debate about the other creature mentioned in Job, the Behemoth, for instance if it was a dinosaur or hippopotamus. If all you read was Job, then that idea would have more traction. But if the Leviathan has multiple heads, then i don't think so. Personally, I think the Leviathan is a spiritual creature and actually has a probable new testament reference as the multi-headed dragon that appears from the ocean in Revelation.

But more on that when I get to Job.

Psalms 144-145, 88-89

Psalm 144 - this hits on many of the familiar themes from other psalms but without an over-arching one. David praises God for military victories, the wicked will be punished, and God will bless the faithful with provisions and will their offspring. An interesting analogy - daughters will be like carved adornments for a palace.

Psalm 145 - this is a longer praise song and it is rich in attributes about God. It almost seems like a companion piece to Psalm 103 as they contain at least one commonality - the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Psalm 88 - this is by another writer besides David, Herman. Herman is obviously depressed and blames the wrath of God for his misfortunes. The psalm concludes by saying that darkness is his closest friend.

Psalm 89 - this psalm is by Ethan. The first half of it is a praise song, similar in tone to the ones that David wrote. Ethan praises God for a number of things, including God's covenant with David. This sets the tone for the second half where Ethan points out that the enemies of David are winning and God is exalting them. The tone and subject matter suggest to me it was written during Absalom's rebellion, but the marginalia of the psalm does not say this, so it officially remains undated.

Psalms 131, 133, 138-141, 143

Psalm 131 - an extremely short psalm. David quiets himself before the Lord.

Psalm 133 - another very short psalm. David praises people of God living together in unity. It is like oil running down Aaron's beard.

Psalm 138 - David praises God for God's faithfulness to David.

Psalm 139 - David praises God for creating him. It speaks of being formed in the womb and David says that he is "fearfully and wonderfully made". It transitions to discussing the wicked at the end, in that they do despite God. It ends with David saying he hates those that hate God.

Psalm 140 - David asks God for intervention against those that plot against him.

Psalm 141 - David prays to God to put a guard over his lips to protect his words. He asks God to protect his heart from being drawn to evil.

Psalm 143 - David calls to God for help, but we get a greater sense of David's anguish or fatigue. Interestingly, David says that those that died long ago are dwelling in darkness.

Psalms 103, 108-110, 122, 124

Psalm 103 - this is a beautiful psalm and is rich in attributes about God. David calls people, creation, angels, heavenly hosts (probably the same thing), and his own soul to praise God. There are a lot of good nuggets in here if you want to know attributes about God. A few examples include slow to anger, has removed our transgressions, and that God does not treat us the way we should treated according to our own sins.

Psalm 108 - this psalm feels like a military banner cry. To me it sounds like something David sang marching off to war. It references God as victorious and mentions by name some of the enemies that David fought against - Philistia, Edom, and Moab.

Psalm 109 - this psalm feels more like a long curse. David again complains about people plotting agains him and telling lies behind his back. This time, however, his reaction is to pray to God for God to curse these people. He even says things like "may the sin of his mother never blotted out". It has a long string of similar curses, but then ends in the more familiar territory of David confessing to God how weak he is. He even claims to say that his knees are weak from fasting. If anything, this shows some of the range of emotions that David felt.

Psalm 110 - another military banner sort of psalm. It focuses on God's ability to win battles.

Psalm 122 - this is a prayer for Jerusalem. It describes Jerusalem both politically ("thrones of the house of David", peace within its walls) and spiritually (the tribes go there to seek God).

Psalm 124 - David praises God for victory in an unspecified battle.

Psalms 103, 108-110, 122, 124

Psalm 103 - this is a beautiful psalm and is rich in attributes about God. David calls people, creation, angels, heavenly hosts (probably the same thing), and his own soul to praise God. There are a lot of good nuggets in here if you want to know attributes about God. A few examples include slow to anger, has removed our transgressions, and that God does not treat us the way we should treated according to our own sins.

Psalm 108 - this psalm feels like a military banner cry. To me it sounds like something David sang marching off to war. It references God as victorious and mentions by name some of the enemies that David fought against - Philistia, Edom, and Moab.

Psalm 109 - this psalm feels more like a long curse. David again complains about people plotting agains him and telling lies behind his back. This time, however, his reaction is to pray to God for God to curse these people. He even says things like "may the sin of his mother never blotted out". It has a long string of similar curses, but then ends in the more familiar territory of David confessing to God how weak he is. He even claims to say that his knees are weak from fasting. If anything, this shows some of the range of emotions that David felt.

Psalm 110 - another military banner sort of psalm. It focuses on God's ability to win battles.

Psalm 122 - this is a prayer for Jerusalem. It describes Jerusalem both politically ("thrones of the house of David", peace within its walls) and spiritually (the tribes go there to seek God).

Psalm 124 - David praises God for victory in an unspecified battle.

Psalms 68-70, 86, and 101

Psalm 68 - this relatively longer psalm of praise with a particular focus on God as a warrior general. It praises God as a military leader and makes the statement that God has thousands and thousands of chariots.

Psalm 69 - David has sinned and acknowledges it, but asks God to help him out of this pit. In particular, David feels shame from those close to him (family) and that drunk people make songs about him.

Psalm 70 - David prays for God's protection against people plotting his ruin. We don't get much detail from the psalm about what they're doing.

Psalm 86 - I would call this a "compilation psalm". It seems to have a lot of the themes and focus from other psalms, just on a smaller scale. David makes the statement about God delivering him from the "realm of the dead". David makes a statement like that in a lot of his psalms. I wonder if David is referring to literal death (I.e., God saved him from being killed) or if David is trying to make a theological point about the afterlife.

Psalm 101 - David again links slander and deceit with wickedness. It ends with the curious statement that every morning, David will kick evil doers out of the city, presumably Jerusalem.

Psalms 61, 62, 64-67

Psalm 61 - David asks God for help remembers what God has done for him in the past.

Psalm 62 - David praises God and recommends "you people" to honor God. It sounds like he is speaking as king wishing his subjects had the same connection to God that he has.

Psalm 64 - David calls on God for protection from people plotting against him. I don't think all the imagery ("arrows" and "snares") should be taken literally, but rather it reminds of bad office politics.

Psalm 65 - this is an upbeat praise psalm. David praises God for the blessings of the nation. The imagery sort of reminds me of "America the Beautiful", for talks of grain, hills, etc..

Psalm 66 - this is another upbeat praise psalm. In it, David encourages others to praise God ("Shout for joy to God, all the earth"). It focuses on some of the miracles of God (parting the Red Sea). David also says he wants to tell other people what God has done for him.

Psalm 67 - this feels more like a prayer than a song. David gives prayers to God for that others to praise God. The end asks for God's blessing on us (Israel?) so that people around the world would fear God.

Psalms 39-41, 53, 55, and 58

Psalm 39 - this seems more philosophical than others. David seems depressed and feels God's punishment. It concludes by saying "look away from me" so that he might be happy.

Psalm 40 - this psalm waxes between praising God and calling on God to deliver him. It makes the curious statement that both his troubles and sins are numerous and "they" (not sure which) are more numerous than the hairs on his head.

Psalm 41 - David believes that God heals those that have mercy on the poor. Here, David seems to be stricken by a disease that people ("his enemies"?) seem to think that he will not recover from. Taken literally, he associates those that think he will die from the sickness as "his enemies", which seems melodramatic.

Psalm 53 - David seems to be waiting on God to strike his wicked enemies. I get the picture that his country has been overrun by enemies, but it might be a spiritual reference. For instance, maybe he is railing against priests of other gods leading his people astray.

Psalm 55 - David seems afraid of something and complains about lies running through the country. There is one possibility from the text - he seems to talk directly to someone other than God in the psalm and it sounds like he feels betrayed by this person. He had a lot of close people betray him after the Bathsheba incident.

Psalm 58 - David again seems to be waiting on God to strike the wicked. This time, he analogizes the wicked as an out of control cobra. He also gives interesting examples of what he wants God will do to them - knock out the teeth of the lions, let them be like a stillborn child, and a melting slug.

Psalms 35-38

Psalm 35 - a relatively longer psalm where David cries out to God for salvation from his enemies. It focuses a bit longer on his enemies than other psalms but does wind back at the end and say that God will win. In the middle, it has a few verses where God's angel fights David's enemies.

Psalm 36 - this one's them is to contrast the wicked people with the righteous ones. The righteous ones commune with God while the wicked ones plot evil.

Psalm 37 - similar to 36, this contrasts wicked people with righteous ones. In this one, the focus is on the blessing of the righteous (receiving pastures, inheriting land) and that the wicked will be forgotten. The language focuses on a present day blessing, but I'm not sure if this is supposed to be coded language for an afterlife blessing or punishment (ex. "all sinners will be destroyed" v. 38). Regardless of how literal or symbolic it is supposed to be, it does showcase David's confidence in God to do other things besides slay his enemies.

Psalm 38 - David begs God to come help him, but in an unusual twist for the psalms, there is no uplift at the end. It also seems that David feels that he is being punished by God ("your arrows have pierced me", v. 2). He uses physical ailments to describe how bad he feels, but it is unclear if these are literal or symbolic. It sounds like he is on his deathbed, but we have seen David be melodramatic in the past.

Psalms 27-32

Psalm 27 - in the first half, David is confident that God will win his battles. The middle transitions to calls to God to not forsake him and then returns to David's confidence in God at the end.

Psalm 28 - almost the reverse of Psalm 27. David asks God not to forsake him or treat him the way the wicked are to be treated ("like those going down to the pit"). The middle transitions to confidence in God.

Psalm 29 - the "voice of the Lord" psalm. Examples of attributes of the "voice of the lord" are given in 7 verses of this psalm.

Psalm 30 - this is a praise psalm of remembrance by David of God's rescue from situations, including "the pit", "realm of the dead", and turning "weeping into dancing" .

Psalm 31 - David seeks emotional rescue from God. It contains the phrase "into your hands I commit my spirit".

Psalm 32 - It begins with discussing the blessings of God. In the middle, David acknowledges God's punishment before he confessed a sin and then feels release. It ends with a call to rejoicing.

Psalms 22-26

Psalm 22 - this follows the general pattern: doubt at being abandoned by God, recognition that God has through before, complaining about his situation (people mock him, he seems physically injured, his enemies surround him), and ending with optimism that God will come through for him and the generations to come.

This psalm is the one that Jesus quotes in part on the cross: My God, why have you forsaken me?

Psalm 23 - the Lord is my shepherd

I think this Is probably the most famous of all the psalms. It is remarkably simple and short. The imagery is simple - a shepherd, sheep, green pastures, rods, and staff. Despite the simplicity, the opening is rich with themes of protection (rod and staff), provision (I lack nothing/ shall not want), surrender to God (he makes me down to lie), peace and tranquility (green pastures), humility to God (sheep are stupid creatures in contrast to the shepherd), and many others.

It quickly transitions to discussing another famous line - walk through the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. This is a marked contrast to the tranquil images in the first verses. But they have the same overarching theme of protection by God.

It is easy to see how David would write given his background in being a shepherd.

It also hits on many of themes throughout the Bible - sheep and shepherd. For instance, this theme is also seen in Passover, Christ's sacrifice, and the Nativity (shepherds in the field when Christ was born).

Psalm 24 - a short psalm praising God. It make the statement that the earth and all its inhabitants belong to God. It also discusses God as the "king of glory."

Psalm 25 - another praise psalm. A few things stand out to me - David asks God to forgive him for the mistakes of his youth. It also states that the Lord resides in those that fear him. I think is a very remarkable perspective for someone in the Old Testament. At this time, God's presence (the ark) was in a tent, which inspired David to desire a temple for God. Here, David is associating God's presence with human hearts.

Psalm 26 - David asks God for vindication because he feels he has led a "blameless" life.

Psalms 12-17, 19-21

Psalm 12 - David waxes a bit melodramatic in my opinion and complains that the entire human race is a bunch of liars and he cannot trust anyone. He contrasts humanity with God and likens God silver in a crucible and gold that is refined 7 times. It also emphasizes the need for protection of the poor.

Psalm 13 - David feels abandoned or at least neglected by God because his enemies are winning. It ends with David saying he will continue to have faith in God.

Psalm 14 - David complains that corrupt atheistic evil doers are harassing his people. It makes the interesting statement that these people are filled with dread in their hearts.

Psalm 15 - David asks the question - who can dwell in God's tent? The answer is one who is blameless and then gives examples of attributes of one who would be blameless with a particular emphasis on being truthful. That seems to be a pattern throughout the psalms - David really hates liars.

Psalm 16 - this psalm is about David's loyalty to God. He makes an interesting statement that he will not offer blood sacrifices to other Gods. He also mentions that God will not abandon him to the realm of the dead.

Psalm 17 - David likes his enemies to lions and wolves surrounding him. This psalm seems similar to the ones he wrote while on the road with Saul chasing after him.

Psalm 19 - this begins as praise to God with a few interesting analogies to the sun, then honey. It ends with David asking God to help him from sinning. This is one of the more upbeat and happier psalms so far.

Psalm 20 - it begins as a blessing/benediction for other people to be blessed by God. The middle transitions to a praise of God (emphasis on protection) and ends with asking God to do the things that he praised God ("answer us when we call"). The last line could just generally mean that David expects answers from God.

Psalm 21 - this is similar to psalm 20, but just a little longer. It is a longer praise of God with a particular emphasis on personal things God has done for David - winning battles, setting him up as king, extending his life

Psalms 4-6, 8, 9, 11

Psalm 4 - David calls on God for his relief, but also chastises "you people" (the nation of Israel?) for seeking false God's.

Psalm 5 - this one has a theme of God's blessing on the righteous while God punishes the unrighteous

Psalm 6 - David is in pain and cries out to God. Some images he uses are that his bed is wet from tears and that his throat is sore from moaning.

Psalm 8 - David is in awe and in wonder at creation. The psalm praises God for the creation of humanity. It also describes human status - rulers of the earth, yet "a little lower than angels".

Psalm 9 - David praises God for giving victory for the righteous. David calls on God in a few times in the psalm, but the overall theme seems to be reminiscing of times that God rescued David. It also makes the curious statement that "the wicked go to the realm of the dead".

Psalm 11 - the theme is literal judgment by God and the consequence of how God sees individual people. The wicked get fiery coals but the righteous will "see his face".

The final words and death of David

2 Samuel 23:1-7, 1 kings 2:10-12, and 1 chronicles 29:26-30 cover the final words and death of David.

1 kings

David wants Solomon to do something about Joab. David is mad that Joab killed Abner and Amassa in peacetime as if it were in battle. David does not mention Absalom's death, which was during a battle, but we think David would have mentioned it here if he knew. It is interesting that David never did anything about with the exception of replacing him by Amassa (which prompted Joab to kill Amassa).

David also gives several other people that Solomon should be nice to or be wary of.

2 Samuel

The last words are recorded as a praise to God. It fits the particular chapter better because the next segment of the chapter discusses David's warriors.

1 Chronicles

This account briefly summarizes David's reign and defers the reader to other books - the acts of Samuel the seer (which I think is 1-2 Samuel in our Bible) and two books that are not in our bible - the acts of Nathan the prophet and the acts of Gad the seer.

1 Chronicles 29; 1 Kings 1

The text is not clear which of these accounts happen first and which second. The chronological Bible has the 1 Chronicles account before 1 Kings. That may be so, but they do not speak of corresponding events, so I don't think it necessarily is.

1 chronicles 29

David solicits offerings from the whole assembly of people for gifts for the temple. The people respond with an outpouring of precious metals and stones.

David also publicly acknowledges that Solomon will be the next king. They also sacrifice many animals in a big party for Solomon's anointing by David to be the next king. They even out Solomon on David's throne. I picture Solomon as a tween/early teenage boy at this time.

David dies at the end of this chapter. So, if the foregoing events happened before what happens in 1 Kings 1, then we have a full-on rebellion on our hands. If not, then I think the actions are somewhat understandable, but still somewhat rebellious.

1 kings 1

Adonijah is David's eldest living son. David had made a few statements that Solomon will succeed him as king, but I always got the impression they were to his inner circle. It was not until 1 Chronicles 29 that we saw public announcement and semi-coronation of Solomon. Still though, Joab would at least know that David wants Solomon as king.

Adonijah declares himself as the next king and starts having a coronation party. It actually is similar to what Solomon get in 1 Chronicles 29, but just on a smaller scale. That actually makes me think that this happened before what happens in 1 Chronicles 29 because David would have wanted to outdo this party by Adonijah. Otherwise, Adonijah would have wanted to outdo Solomon's party, which he does nor do.

Adonijah gets the support of some of David's inner circle, including Joab. Joab should know that David has selected Solomon, so this at least is a rebellion among David's inner circle. The public knowledge of this is unclear.

Meanwhile, David is nearly dead is being tended to by a beautiful virgin girl named Abichag. However, they don't have sex. Why not? Now, this is not in the Bible, but I wonder if David is impotent. The context seems to suggest that everyone expected David to have sex with Abichag.

Nathan and Bathsheba go to David's bed and complain that Adonijah is acting like king. David says to put Solomon on his personal mule, have a royal procession, and publicly declare Solomon as the next king.

This works and Adonijah and his party guests start worrying for their lives. Adonijah clings to an altar in a desperate move for his life. Solomon says that he will conditionally let Adonijah live if he stays honorable. In other words, Adonijah is on parole. If he stays quiet and accepts his much younger half- brother as king, he will live. If he causes any more trouble, he will die.

1 chronicles 26-28

These chapters continue the organizational theme from the prior chapters. Chapter 26 covers the Levites and chapter 27 covers David's military organization. In particular, army divisions of 24,000 men took turn being on duty each month throughout the year.

Chapter 27 also mentions something interesting - there was an entire book called the "Acts of King David". The marginalia of my Bible says this book is lost.

In chapter 28, David makes a pseudo-public announcement that Solomon will follow him as king. God has selected Solomon as his heir among all of David's sons. When Solomon was born (back during the Bathsheba chapters), it said that God was pleased with Solomen.

Chapter 28 also mentions that God relayed a lot of the plans for the temple to David. So, he had an important role in its construction, beyond that of assembling supplies.

Also, the covering of the ark is likened to a "chariot".

1 Chronicles 23-25

These are organizational chapters. David is getting old and organizes the Levites. I don't have much say about what he does. I do note a few things:

1. It begins with a census of the Levites. Again, census taking is not wrong. Here, David takes a census of them as part of planning for the temple.

2. I get a sense of David's excitement about the construction of the temple. Here he is planning personnel for a temple that is not yet even built. In my speculation, I think he may have been a little disappointed about not getting to build the temple, so he does everything he can to plan for the temple in his lifetime. He already assembled supplies for and here he is delegating personnel for the temple that his son will build.

3. From a kingdom administration perspective, David seems to wants to ensure that Solomon has everything perfect for when David dies.

2 Samuel 24; 1 chronicles 21-22

These chapters cover the "census" incident. Basically, David wants to number all the fighting men of Israel. David tells this to Joab who questions the order and suggests that David rely on God. David overrules him and Joab has the census done.

Later, David regrets his decision and begs God for mercy. God sends Gad, David's seer, to explain that David has 3 options for punishment - several years of famine, 3 months of military invasion, or 3 days of disease. David picks the disease.

The angel of God ravishes the land for several days. It is about to enter Jerusalem when God says to withdraw it's hand. The angel is at the threshing floor of Aranuah.

David decides to build an altar at this location, so he buys the land from Aranuah.

There are several discrepancies between the account in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. The biggest one is that in 2 Samuel, the whole thing is initiated by God. God is angry at Israel and plants the idea in David's brain. In 1 Chronicles, these actions are attributed to Satan. There might be a Job-esque kind of spiritual discussion going on where God wanted to punish Israel and then left the dirty work to Satan. I think something similar happened with Saul and the evil spirit that troubled him.

There are also discrepancies in the count itself. 1 Samuel reports 800,000 total men and 500,000 men of Judah while 1 Chronicles reports 1,100,000 total men and 470,000 men of Judah.

What's going on? It is possible this whole incident happened twice, hence two different numbers. But then the text reports that David bought the land from Aranuah, which only needed to happen once.

Other possibilities - (1) the numbers are estimates and intended to be so or (2) the numbers are intentionally wrong. This second option would fit the story itself because the 1 Chronicles account says that Joab did not count the men of Benjamin or Levy because he was repelled by David's request. So, the story itself incorporates a lie on behalf of Joab and it is interesting we have a discrepancy. I don't think we can say that the 2 Samuel numbers include Benjamin and that answers the discrepancy because the 2 Samuel numbers are lower than the 1 Chronicles numbers.

So, if we allow for Joab's lie, then another possibility exists - Joab reported both sets of numbers that come from 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. David gets a confusing and inaccurate set of numbers and this may have prompted what immediately follows in the text - David's repentance.

Also in 1 Chronicles, the angel tells David, through Gad, to put the altar where the threshing floor was.

It also leaves unanswered - why was this bad when the book of numbers covers 2 separate military censuses? I think the answer is because the censuses of Numbers were in preparation for a specific war. Here, David is counting the fighting men during peacetime and the implicit reason is for his own security. There is no planning going on - David is finding security in the strength of his army and not in God.

Moving on to 1 Chronicles 22, David says that this altar spot is where the house of he Lord will be. This suggests that the temple was built where this threshing floor/altar was. The rest of the chapter covers preparations by David for Solomon to build the temple. David had a reign with lots of warfare and was unfit to build the temple. Solomon will have a peaceful reign it would be more appropriate for him to build a temple. It also explains in footnotes or parentheticals that the word Solomon sounds like "peace" in Hebrew.

2 Samuel 22; Psalm 18

I think these are the same things. If there are differences, they are minor.

Basically, both cover a hymn of praise for David being rescued by God (from Saul?). A few things stand out:

David speaks of refraining from sin to be blessed by God for his righteousness.

God is described as riding a cherubim like a horse and shooting arrows at David's enemies.

David feels that God will bless his descendants forever. The text states that David wrote this prayer about Saul, yet it seems to discuss a key element of the Davidic covenant. So, either David wrote this after the Davidic covenant while reminiscing about the days he fled from Saul, or David's faith in God foreshadowed the Davidic covenant.

The words used seem to suggest it was past-tense rescue by God. The other psalms associated with fleeing Saul seem to convey an immediate sense of fear and uncertainty. The text here does seem like it is a reminiscing.

2 Samuel 21

This is one of the really strange stories of the Bible.

Basically, at a unstated time during David's reign, there is a 3 year drought. The reason for the drought was because Saul killed the Gibeonites after the people of Israel had sworn not to kill them. (remember the people who tricked Joshua into sparing their cities? They said they were from far away, but they were Canaanites)

David asks them what they want for justice. They want to execute 7 of Saul's descendants. David hands over 7 of Saul's descendants, but not Mephibosheth. They execute all 7 and the drought lifts.

This story is disturbing for several reasons. First, the Mosaic code prohibited punishing children for the sins of their parents. Second, David swore an oath to Saul to protect Saul's children when David became king. Third, God seems to implicitly honor these executed people by lifting the drought, which has some implication of human sacrifice.

I am not entirely sure how to balance all this. The story has political undercurrents because David's legitimacy is secured by removing Saul's bloodline. It also seems odd because we do not live in a vengeance culture. Further, since there is no statement by God after the initial one about the drought, we should be cautious and not speculate too much about God's role in this. The story unfolds with David and the Gibeonites making decisions on their own, however bizarre they are.

That said, we should definitely take away that God was displeased that Saul dishonored the peace treaty with the Gibeonites.

The rest of the chapter has a few anecdotes about wars with the Philistines and the giants of Gath being slain, including the brother of Goliath. This is interesting because David lived in Gath while running from Saul and he also had some Gath allies within his army when he fought with Absalom. So, it is interesting that here we have people of Gath fighting David again. The same stories are also covered in 1 chronicles 20:4-8.

2 Samuel 19-20; Psalm 7

2 Samuel 19

David is crying and mourning for the death of Absalom. He even says things like he would rather have died than have Absalom die. We can understand his emotional dilemma, but he is not acting like the king he needs to be.

Joab brings David back to earth. Joab says that David's mourning for Absalom has demoralized the soldiers that remained loyal to him. Also, if he does not go out and congratulate them, they will not stay loyal to him.

It is words like this that give me a lot of respect for Joab. He is not a great politician, for after all he killed Abner at a politically bad time, but Joab understands the army. It is also possible that Joab is speaking for himself at the moment, but I think the sentiment would be applicable to the rest of the army.

David stops mourning Absalom and goes to congratulate his troops. The people talk about reinstating David as king. David uses the opportunity to replace Joab as general with Amassa. Why? I'm not sure, but I can think of two possible reasons. First, David did not handle the rebuke by Joab well. I think this would have been out of character for David actually. Second, David is starting to speculate that Joab killed Absalom. This would make more sense, but we must speculate to arrive at that conclusion since no one seems to have told David exactly how Absalom died.

David moves around the countryside and encounters Shimei and a thousand Benjamites who beg forgiveness for their part of the rebellion against the king. David spares their lives, although Abichai (Joab's brother) counsels David that they should die. David actually sort of snaps at Abichai and calls him "you sons of Zeruiah.". Joab was also a son of Zeruiah, so I think this implicates his anger towards Joab as well.

Yeah, he knows Joab did something to kill Absalom.

David encounters Jonathan's son Mephibosheth and gives his side of the story. He said that Ziba lied and that he did want to go, but could not because Ziba did not prepare him a donkey. David's response seems to suggest he did not know who to believe, so he says that Ziba and Mephibosheth will split their land.

All the men of Judah and some soldiers from other tribes escort the king around the country. The other tribes start complaining about this and think it is a special favor from the king. My guess is that the political tension has not really settled down yet and the people are afraid of retribution by king David now that he is restored on the throne. That is probably what Saul would have done.

2 Samuel 20
The tension boils over into a secondary revolt. Sheba, a Benjamite, claims that David should not be king.

Meanwhile David arrives back in Jerusalem and dismisses the ten concubines that slept with Absalom.

His attention returns to Sheba. He tells Amassa to muster the men of Judah in 3 days to go after Sheba. It takes him longer than 3 days to assemble the army. So he tells Abichai to go after Sheba, which he does along with Joab.

Joab and Abichai first go to Amasa and the army he was mustering. Joab goes up to kiss Amasa, but then stabs him in the stomach.

A little jealousy for being replaced Joab? That's probably what is going on here. Meanwhile the army that Amasa was mustering then follows Joab after Sheba.

They trap Sheba in the walled city of Abel-beth-maacah. Joab is laying siege to the city when he convinces the inhabitants to throw over the head of Sheba. They do this and Joab withdraws the siege.

Second revolt is over.

Psalm 7 - seems to be associated with this time. It has the common themes of David seeking protection from God when his enemies prowl after him. David also seems to stress his innocence in the psalm and questions whether he did anything to make these people his enemies.

2 Samuel 17-18; Psalm 3 and 63

2 Samuel 17

Ahihotel and Hushai give Absalom opposite advice on what to do next. Ahihote's advice is to chase after David immediately and capture/kill. Hushai tells him to stay and mobilize the entire Israelite army before fighting David.

Absalom chooses Hushai's advice. Hushai then has messengers secretly tell David about this and that he must cross the Jordan river immediately.

The text says that God wanted Absalom to follow Hushai's advice, but I think it fit into Absalom's pride as well. He pictured himself leading the entire Israelite army against his father's army and that appealed to his pride.

Ahihotel then commits suicide when he finds out that his advice was not followed. It seemed a little abrupt but I suppose he felt that either Absalom's action would lead to their collective downfall or that it would be a matter of time before Hushai tells Absalom to kill Ahihotel.

Meanwhile, David escapes and gets supplies from people loyal to him.

Psalm 3 gives some insight into how David feels at the time. It is similar to the psalms that David wrote while fleeing Saul. It has the familiar themes of running from his enemies but finding security in God.

Psalm 63 is another associated with this time. It focuses on worship and praise while in the desert.


2 Samuel 18
It is time to fight it out. David's men tell him that he must stay behind out of the battle. He tells them not to harm Absalom.

Guess what happens?

Absalom's army is defeated and David's men chase them. During all this, Absalom's hair (5 pounds of growth a year) gets caught in a tree and he dangles from it.

David's men find Absalom, but will not kill him out of respect for David's order. Joab has other ideas and stabs Absalom. They then hide Absalom's body in an unmarked grave.

One one hand, I actually respect Joab for this. It is clearly against David's orders, but David's orders may have not been the best for the kingdom. I respect Joab for ending this rebellion once and for all, even if it meant clearly disobeying orders.

This has some parallels to the whole Abner incident. Joab killed Abner out of revenge, although David thought Abner was building a peace for the kingdom. Here, Absalom staying alive would always threaten the peace of the kingdom and I don't think David appreciates it.

Regardless of whether or not it was a good idea to kill Absalom, I think this event may be why David has Joab killed when David is on his death-bed.

2 messengers run off to tell David. The first mentions the victory but nothing about Absalom. The second to arrive mentions the victory but also says that Absalom is dead.

David begins to wildly and loudly mourn about Absalom.

2 Samuel 16

David is leaving Jerusalem when he meets with Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth (son of Jonathon and grandson of Saul). Ziba gives David's men food supplies (they managed Saul's household farm). Ziba tells David that Mephibosheth stayed in Jerusalem to try to regain the kingdom and reestablish Saul's dynasty. It seems that this makes David mad because he gives to Ziba all that Mephibosheth owns.

They encounter another relative of Saul who throws stones at David's caravan and curses him. David's men want to kill him but David allows this man to follow them and continue it. David's reasoning is that God told this man to curse David, so he has no right to stop it. Plus, as a relative of Saul, he has a bonafide reason to curse David.

Meanwhile, Absalom enters Jerusalem with the army. Hushai greets him as king, but Absalom is skeptical of his loyalties. Rather, Absalom listens to Ahithothel's advice to have sex with the 10 concubines that David left behind. We saw this with Abner having sex with Saul's concubines, but it is a move for power. The advisor says this move will be an insult beyond reconciliation and all Israel will support Absalom. It is also the fulfillment of Nathan's prediction that it will happen publicly because Absalom does it on the rooftop of the palace (I.e., where David first saw Bathsheba).

2 Samuel 15

Absalom ingratiates himself with the people of Jerusalem. For four years, he sits at the gates and intercepts people going to the king to judge matters. Absalom tells them their cases are strong and he would rule in their favor if he were king. He then kisses them instead of letting them bow to him.

He goes to Hebron (David's first capital) and turns it into a full-on conspiracy. He sends people around the country who are to wait until they hear a ram's horn and then tell everyone that Absalom is now king.

Meanwhile, word gets back to David that the entire country has joined with Absalom in a rebellion against him. David turns to a panic that we have not seen out of him yet. Maybe because there was no promise from God that he would survive an insurrection by his own son. He flees Jerusalem along with over 600 loyal soldiers from Gath. He tried to dismiss them since they are guests in Israel, but they decided to stay.

David hears that one of his advisors, Ahihothel, has joined Absalom. David also sends a trusted friend Hushai to go back to Jerusalem to be an inside man and give Absalom bad advice. David took his entire entourage, except for 10 concubines to watch the palace.

2 Samuel 14

David has mixed feelings for Absalom. He longs to see his son, but does not really want to be in his presence either.

Joab decides to act to bring Absalom back from exile.

Joab gets a woman to pretend to be mourning for the death of her son, killed by another son. She just wants peace and reconciliation, and for the cycle of vengeance to stop. David promises it to her and she turns it back on him and asks he do the same for the nation of Israel. David asks her if Joab put her up to this, which she says yes.

David talks to Joab agrees for Absalom to be sent for. However, David decrees that Absalom cannot be in David's presence either. So, Absalom hangs out in Jerusalem and has a daughter, which he names Tamar (I assume after his sister). Absalom also has his hair cut once a year and it weighs 5 pounds.

Absalom gets bored of waiting around, so he twice sends for Joab to request a meeting with David. Joab does not come either time. Finally, Absalom sets Joab's crop fields on fire. This gets Joab's attention and he meets with Absalom. Joab wants to know why this happened and Absalom explains that it is because Joab did not come when Absalom asked him to.

I'm curious why Joab did not want to meet with Absalom after it was Joab's initiative to bring him back from Geshur. My guess is because he did not want to cross David on this since it was obvious David had mixed feelings with Absalom.

2 Samuel 13

The problems that God through Nathan told David that he will have begin to take shape. The saga that unfolds reminds me of Jacob's children. Flashing back to them, there was the vengeance on the rape of a sister (Dinah) and the shame of a woman, Tamar (that involved Judah and his 3 sons). Also, both Jacob and David had many children with many wives and the children were completely out of control.

Flash forward to David, David has a daughter named Tamar. She has a handsome brother named Absalom. Their maternal grandfather is the king of Geshur.

They have a half-brother named Amnon. Amnon becomes completely obsessed with Tamar. Amnon seems to have no interest in marrying her, rather he just wants to have sex with her. He cannot because she is a virgin. Or maybe he does want to marry her, but falls to his own impulses instead because he is a spoiled out of control prince.

He lays out an elaborate trap to have sex with Tamar. He feigns sickness and has David send Tamar to make him food. When she does this, he rapes her. She begged for him to just get David's permission to have them married, but continues on anyway. Afterwards, he despises her and sends her away.

Absalom sees his sisters, hears her story, and takes her in. He plots his own revenge of Amnon. Two years later, Absalom has a party for all of David's kids. Amnon gets drunk and Absalom orders him killed. There is a big frenzy and it gets reported to David that Absalom killed all his other brothers. Nope, just Amnon.

Meanwhile, Absalom runs off and lives in exile with his grandfather in Gehur.

What a mess.

At this point, I am more sympathetic to Absalom. Amnon was a crazy, spoiled selfish idiot. That probably speaks to the whole family dynamic that a rich powerful king like David had with all these children from multiple wives.

2 Samuel 11-12

The war with the Ammonites is not over. They had dishonored David's emissaries by shaving their beards. How dare they do that. The Arameans, the allies of the Ammonites, were defeated, but the Ammonites remain. In the spring time, Joab leads the army to lay siege to Rabbah, the capital city.

Many of David's warriors had left, but David stays behind in Jerusalem. One evening, he is walking on the palace rooftop when he sees a hot woman taking a bath. She is actually doing the post-moon blood purification ritual. Why it is in public view is not explained. She is Bathsheba and the wife of one of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was one of the thirty-seven soldiers who formed the "Thirty" and was off the fighting the Ammonites.

All of David's victories and power let it go to his head. He sends for the woman, sleeps with her, and gets her pregnant. Uh oh. An unintended pregnancy. Soon there will be public proof of their affair. Plus, Uriah is off fighting the Ammonites so he will know that is not his child. That is, unless Uriah thinks it is his.

David sends for Uriah and tries to get him to sleep with his wife. But, following the longtime custom of David's military of no sex, Uriah sleeps with the palace guard. David tries again and gets Uriah drunk first. Uriah again sleeps with the palace guard and does go back to his wife.

The custom may go back at least to when fled Saul Nob because David ate the holy bread because he did not recently have sex. Side note - I think this custom still goes on to some extent. I think the NFL encourages its players too sleep alone the night before game day.

Back to Uriah, it seems like he did not even want to go to see his wife even to to say hi. Maybe if he did that, everyone would assume he had sex with her and he would be accused of violating the military tradition.

David is now desperate. He gets Uriah to carry a letter to Joab which instructs Joab to put Uriah in an area where the fighting is fiercest, and then to pull back and leave Uriah alone. This way will ensure Uriah dies. Joab does this and Uriah is killed. Bathsheba mourns the death of her husband and David takes her as his wife.

Phew - all is well now no one will suspect anything, right? Thats probably what David thought at this time, but God is not pleased.

God sends Nathan with a parable. A rich man with many sheep took the sole sheep of a poor man and gave it as food to the guests of the rich man. David is angered by this and demands the man should die as well as pay back 4 sheep to the one. The 4x sheep payback is actually part of the Mosaic code, but the death for the theft of the sheep was totally David's idea. David's background in being a shepherd may have made this parable a perfect fit.

Nathan explains that he is the rich man and the story symbolizes the Uriah incident. He goes on explain God's punishment - David's house will know civil war and David's wives will sleep with another man. What David did in private will be done publicly against him. David repents and Nathan says that he will not die because God has forgiven him. However, the child will die.

Why will the child die? I have been pondering this and it seems like there is a pattern where children die out of the consequences of their parents sin. We saw it numerous times in the conquest and here is another one. There is an upcoming disturbing story about Saul's remaining sons getting killed for Saul's sins.

David pleas to God to spare the life of the child. He mourns and abstains from eating. However, the child dies anyway.

Psalm 51 covers some of David's prayers during this time. I think it may have been some of the prayers he said while begging for the child's life. In the psalm, David makes the curious that the sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit, which I think David has reached at this point.

After the child dies, David and Bathsheba have another child - Solomon. Joab also captures the water supply of Rabbah. Joab offers David a chance to get credit for taking the city. David joins Joab, conquers the, city and enslaves the people.

More details from Chronicles

Other interesting facts from the corresponding portions of Chronicles

David burned the Philistine idols after a battle.

Jerusalem was prior known was as Jebus and the inhabitants were Jebusites.

Levites did not carry the ark the first attempt. I am curious why David overlooked this. He ensured Levites did carry it during the second attempt.

God told Nathan that one of David's sons will build the temple and not David. This happened during the same night that God outlined the Davidic covenant.

David conquered Gath during his military campaigns.

Psalm 60 - David feels that God is angry at him or Israel because he is losing battles.

Chronicles and Psalms (142, 52, 54, 56)

Psalm 142

David complains that no one helps him in the cave, but ends with saying that he trusts God, not people.

Psalm 52

David chastises a "great warrior" (Doeg the Edomite?) for not trusting in God. This Psalm seems like a curse, more than a prayer of worship.

1 chronicles 12:8-18 - brave warriors from Gad joined David when he was in the wilderness. They were skilled in spear and shield

Psalm 54 - David calls upon God after the Ziphites betrayed his location to Saul. In contrast to Psalm 52, David does not chastise them for not trusting in God.

1 chronicles 12:1-7 - expert archers from Benjamin (relatives of Saul) joined David in Ziklag.

1 chronicles 12:19 - men of Manasseh defected from Saul's army to join David when David mustered along with the Philistines. Also, the stated reason for the Philistines dismissing David was that the commands thought they would be executed if David switched sides during the battle with Saul's army.

In 1 chronicles 12:20-22, David squires huge numbers of them (groups of 1,000) while "returning to Ziklag". So, was this before or after Saul's death? If after, it sounds like the Israelite army is disbanding and joining David. If before, then David did not set out with these when he went after the Amalekites that took Ziklag when he was away, because David only had 600 men at the time.

Psalm 56 - I think the chronological reading has this one out of order. David complains about being alone when the Philistines seize him in Gath.

1 chronicles 10 - this recounts the last battle and death of Saul. The heads of him and his son were mounted on the wall of the temple of Dagon.

2 Samuel 23/ 1 chronicles 11 - these recount many of the heroics of David's soldiers. A number of them single-handedly won battles and killed 100s of enemy soldiers at once. David had a group of "Thirty" close soldiers. There actually 37 of them, one of whom was Uriah the Hittite.

Corresponding Psalms (59, 34, 57)

So, I'm going to backtrack a little and cover some of the Psalms that are associated with David's life according to the chronological Bible readings

For all the psalms, I will be using English translations as my French vocabulary cannot handle all the obscure words used in the psalms.

Psalm 59

Date - Saul sent soldiers to David's house (likely 1 Samuel 19)

In the story, God turned Saul or his men into prophets on multiple occasions. In the psalm, we get a sense of David's fear. The men are like wolves in the night. Perhaps they came at night to ambush him. David calls on God to save him and then rejoices.

David also says that people will know that God reigns in Israel. This stands out to me because David is being pursued by Saul in Israel at this time.

Psalm 34

Date - after David's first visit to Gath and he pretended to be crazy

The Psalm focuses on God saving those that fear God. It also mentions that those that fear God will lack no good thing and that the angel of the Lord is a guard who fights off bad things.

I find it odd that this Psalm is associated with David pretending to be crazy because it seemed like David was relying on himself and not God by pretending to be crazy. That said, the Philistines did not kill him, which we can accredit to God.

Psalm 57

Date - after David has fled to the cave

The Psalm reminds is another one of refuge in God. David mentions how weary he is. He has been on the run for a while now and has resorted to living in saves. That would suck.

It mentions something about the enemies setting a trap for David, but they themselves falling it. I wonder if this is a veiled reference to Saul going into the same cave with David. If not, the psalm seems to have no indication about the incident where Saul entered the cave. Thus, I would think it was written before Saul came into it and David is writing about how weary he is.