In 2012, our Sunday school class, The Kehila Class, studied 1 and 2 Samuel verse by verse. We started in January, took a couple of breaks for other studies and for some time off in June, and finally concluded in October. Which is to say, it was a slow and deliberate study.
What a luxury to be able to work through a book of the Bible in such a careful way. I was aided by an excellent commentary, authored by Tony Cartledge and published by Smyth & Helwys.
1 & 2 Samuel cover the stories of Samuel the prophet, Saul the first king of Israel, and David, Saul's successor. It could be subtitled "The Rise and Fall of Saul, then of David," or something like that. Our class chose the study because we were interested in the character of David. We all knew that he started out so well, "The man after God's heart," but ended so badly. We wanted to see what happened.
I also was interested in piecing together all the characters, places, and events of the David cycle. For example, I had heard of Abner or Joab, but wasn't sure who they were.
So I (we, I hope) ended up with a much clearer understanding of Saul and David and their respective rise and fall.
As for insight into what happened to David, I guess we decided his demise was pretty much the same thing that happens to so many of us. He started as simple and obscure and was tapped to play a part in God's plans for war against the Philistines and, later, for leading Israel. As long as he realized his humble state before God and relied on God for guidance, David thrived. When he started depending on his own wisdom and abilities, he started to fail. It's very telling that up to about chapter 7 of 2 Samuel, David continuously consults the LORD through personal prayer or through what was probably the Urim and Thummim. As a result, he has success in every undertaking. But somewhere after chapter 7 or 8, David sort of quits doing that.
The rest of 2 Samuel is dominated by David's downfall. His disastrous affair with the wife of Uriah, and David's assassination of Uriah, are just the first fallout of David's straying from his walk with Yahweh. The horrible story about Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom followed by the story of Absalom's attempted coup d'etat are chilling and horrifying. It's instructive to observe David's weak parenting skills. No doubt if he'd continued to consult Yahweh he would have been a better father. (It's true for most parents.)
Once again, I'm amazed that there has not been a fabulous movie made of the life of David. I suppose it's just too "larger than life." There was something a few years ago with Richard Gere, and a TV show called "Kings," but even they couldn't pull off the scope of the David cycle.
And, once again, the Bible has a hit in one of the most exciting narratives known to literature. As always, the Book is better than a movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment