2 Kings 11: The two King Ahaziahs; Ahaziah to Joash, Kings of Judah

I didn’t realize, at this point in the story, we have two different kings named Ahaziah. At the end of 1 Kings, Ahaziah the son of Ahab becomes king of Israel. He dies in 2 Kings 1 (noted that I found it very odd he was childless.) In 2 Kings 8, Ahaziah the son of Joram becomes king of Judah and he dies in 2 Kings 10.

This (plus coronavirus related chaos) is one of the reasons why I had to stop posting on a nearly daily basis. I thought I got the Ahaziahs mixed up so I had to rewind to the end of 1 Kings AND start devising a list of the kings of Judah and Israel, which I will eventually post after Chronicles.

So we get to the point of the story where Ahaziah (of Judah) mother finds out her son is dead. So what does she do? Continues the process and begins to kill off the royal “seed”. At first I thought this might be mentioning something else, but in the next verse we come across Joash, son of Ahaziah, who was rescued from the massacre of Ahaziah’s sons, and who was hid in the house of Jehovah.

Question is, why did she kill her own children? Were they from other wives? Was she doing it to spare them from being killed by Jehu, who killed their father, the king?

Jehoida, a priest, then gathers the “rulers over hundreds” and begins to delegate roles in protection of the king and his house. Apparently David’s spears and shields are still in existence, and they were given to the captains.

2 Kings 11:12 – And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, “God” save the king.

I put quotation marks around “God” because, it should be noted that in the original Hebrew, there is no mention of Yahweh or Elohim, in fact, it literally translates as “Long Live the King” which is in a much different context than including a deity in the verse. Another example of man’s manipulation of the text?

Apparently Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, hears all the noise and goes and sees what is happening. Joash (her son?) is being crowned king, and her response is to yell out “Treason, Treason.” Treason against who?

As commanded by the priest Jehoiada, she is taken out of the house of Jehovah and killed by the spot where the horses entered the house of Jehovah.

Jehoiada makes a covenant between the new king, the people, and Jehovah (where have we heard this before and how does it end). Much like Jehu, the people then remove the Baal system from their land, including killing Mattan, a priest of Baal.

Lastly, Joash seems to become Jehoash after becoming king of Judah. He is 7 years old.

2 Kings 9: The New King of Israel; Prophecy from 1 Kings 21

As we learned from the last chapter: king of Israel – Joram; king of Judah – Ahaziah

Kingdom of Israel Civil War

Elisha calls one of the “children of the prophets” (why not the sons of the prophets, is this a female prophet?) and tells them to seek out Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi and take a flask of oil with him.

2 Kings 9:3 – Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

This concept of “anointing with oil” I find interesting with this culture. Apparently this was a custom well known in contemporary Egypt, and, of course, will prove very important with the concept of Christos, or “the anointed one.”

The young-man (now we are told) prophet goes to Ramoth-gilead and does as he is instructed: he finds Jehu and anoints him as king over the people of Jehovah, even the king of Israel.

9:7 – And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel.

WHY! WHY WAIT? Why couldn’t he exact this revenge on Ahab? Remember why? Because he humbled himself. That’s right, despite him being the one that did the most evil, Jehovah promised to punish his children, who had NOTHING to do with his evil acts (even if they eventually carried them on. Jehovah himself is saying it’s all about Ahab.)

So now we are set up for many more of Jehovah’s people to be slaughtered.

Jehu is anointed, and vows to wipe out the house of Ahab, and those of Ahab who “piss against the wall”, and make his house like the house of Jeroboam and Baasha. Jehu tells his servants what has happened. They doubt at first, but then undergo the process of making him their king.

So now we have Jehu king of Israel vs. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah to contend with.

Jehu conspires against Joram, who is in Jezreel being healed from battle. Jehu doesn’t want the information of him being anointed king going in or coming out of Jezreel, and he heads there himself to meet Joram. A messenger from Jezreel goes out to Jehu to ask “is there peace” and Jehu tells him basically to get out of his sight “turn thee behind me”. Apparently he does so because he didn’t return to the watchman who sent him.

9:20 – And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

How could the watchman possibly know it was Jehu coming based on the “driving” or marching of his army? Apparently “furiously” can also mean “crazy” so not sure why this type of driving was attributed to Jehu only so that the watchman was able to recognize it.

So buddies Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah go out to meet Jehu. Once again Jehu asks if he comes in peace, and he declines.

9:22 – And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

Joram turns and flees, and Jehu kills him with an arrow through the heart. Jehu instructs his followers to dump Joram in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, instructing them that it is part of the prophecy passed down to Ahab’s house by Jehovah.

Joram the king of Israel is dead. Ahaziah the king of Judah flees and Jehu instructs his followers to chase him down and smite him at Gur, which is by Ibleam. Ahaziah makes his way to Megiddo, where he dies. His body is taken to Jerusalem, capital of Judah where he is buried.

The Death of Jezebel

Jezebel hears that Jehu is coming to Jezreel, so she “paints her face” and “tired” (fixed) her head (her hair?)..

9:31 – And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?

Now, Zimri goes all the way back to 1 Kings 16, where Zimri’s master aka king Elah was killed by one of his chariot men. If this is the same Jezebel, she is a Zidonian that married Ahab. It’s hard to distinguish what she means by “Had Zimri peace.”

One possible meaning from Strong’s Concordance “shalom” can also mean completeness. Is she saying now that the house of Ahab is head, did Zimri have peace/completeness aka “revenge” for the slaying of Elah his master?

Jehu doesn’t respond and is able to recruit some eunuchs to go to her:

9:33 – And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses, and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter.

You know, the more I read these stories, the more I think of the Game of Thrones. Houses, royalty, kings, “the gods”, royalty, etc. and just as bloody in its descriptions.

So those who were given the task to bury her only found her skull, feet, and palms of her hands…. mention of palms reminds me a bit of the description of Dagon the god of the Philistines.

So the prophecies of 1 Kings 21 have been fulfilled in 2 Kings 9. What’s interesting is that we still hear of “Jezebel” in the New Testament.

Final Result of 2 Kings 9: King of Israel – Jehu. King of Judah – ?

1 Kings 15: Judah – Abijam to Asa; Israel – Bashaa

The Status of Abijam, king of Judah

Abijam reigned for 3 years over Judah but “walked” in the sins of his father against Jehovah. However, because of Jehovah’s promise to David, he kept Abijam in power:

1 Kings 15:6 – Because David did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

It’s kind of funny that NOW the author has to throw in that side note regarding Uriah the Hittite. David did some pretty awful things, as I have listed in previous posts, but the ONE thing that separates David from his son Solomon: David didn’t go after the other gods. That seems to be the underlying issue here, and not necessarily one of good deeds vs evil deeds.

We are told we will find more info about Abijam in Chronicles. Abijam dies, and his reign over the kingdom of Judah is passed on to his son Asa.

The Status of Asa, king of Judah

Asa, who reigned for 41 years, seems to do a bit better than his father, and is somewhat compared to his ancestor David, by being right with Jehovah. He removed the sodomites, idols, and asherah from the land. He even removed his own mother from being queen because she also made an idol, which he burnt by the brook Kidron. He brought precious metal vessels into the house of Jehovah and dedicated them there.

Asa of Judah versus Bashaa of Israel

Asa’s adversary in Israel was Bashaa, who had built “Ramah” to keep people from going in and out to see Asa. Now, Ramah seems to be the name of a city, but it seems more like a “wall” being that the word is defined as “height”, so maybe a tall wall?

So what does Asa do? Remember those vessels he dedicated to Jehovah? Well he gathers them up, and sends them and his servants to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria in Damascus. Apparently there was a “league” between their fathers, so Asa asks that the league continue, and that Ben-Hadad break his league with his enemy Bashaa.

Seems the bribe helped, because Ben-Hadad then goes and “smites” 4 cities within the land of Naphtali. This causes Bashaa to stop building his “height” and Bashaa returns to Tirzah. Asa then tears Ramah the “height” and uses the materials to build Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

This must have been one GIANT “height” that the materials were then used to build two ENTIRE cities!

Asa, who was “diseased in his feet” (guess Jehovah didn’t want to heal him?) dies and the reign is passed on to his son: Jehoshaphat.

The Status of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah

Jehoshaphat, unlike his father Asa, did “evil” in the sight of Jehovah. Baasha, king of Israel, is still around at the time, and he goes after Jehoshaphat with the house of Issachar. They smite Jehoshaphat at Gibbethon and then Bashaa takes over Judah and destroys the remnants of Jeroboam as Ahijah the prophet had explained.

The Status of Bashaa, king of Israel

Bashaa reigned over Israel for 24 years and did evil as well.

1 Kings 2: David Dies; Solomon & Unfinished Family Business

A dying David gives a final speech to his newly anointed son, the king. It’s the usual “obey Jehovah” flower speech, akin to an about to die Moses (who, reminder, the authors say was perfectly healthy and of full mind when he “died” after Jehovah kept him from entering the new lands.)

1 Kings 2:4 – That Jehovah may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

So despite knowing that people have been unfaithful to Jehovah multiple times, does he now know it’s just about IMPOSSIBLE for them to be 100 percent faithful? I look forward to seeing a) How many more times they will prove unfaithful to Jehovah b) How many “men on the throne” will fail because of disobedience.

David asks Solomon to punish Joab not only for his recent revolt, but for blood he spilled earlier on in a time of peace. He also asks for kindness for Barzillai who helped him when David fled from his other son, Absalom. How’s this for KEEPING AN OATH, however:

2:8 – And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in a day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware by him to Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

David asks that Shimei also be slain, basically not breaking the oath because David only swore not to kill him.

David reigned for 40 years, 7 years in Hebron, and 33 (numerology!) in Jerusalem, dies, and was buried in the city of David.

In an odd twist in the story, Adonijah, the man (who I now realize was a son of David) who claimed himself king but then bowed allegiance to Solomon, goes to Bath-sheba, asking to given a wife: Abishag the Shunammite, the “young virgin” given to David to “keep warm”.

Bath-sheba goes to king Solomon with his request. Solomon becomes angry with her and his brother, saying, if he is asking for Abishag, why not also ask for the kingdom, and Solomon’s men?

Solomon then sentences his brother to death, and Benaiah kills Adonijah. He spares the priest Abiathar, who betrayed his father, because Abiathar was a bearer of the ark, and because of how he served his father David, and sends him home.

2:28 – Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of Jehovah, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

Another flee to safety? Solomon sends his assassin Benaiah to also kill Joab, but Joab finds him clinging to the horns, refusing to leave with Joab. Joab returns to Solomon and Solomon lays down his verdict: kill Joab on sight (so the horns of the altar really isn’t a safe zone). Something tells me this is the last time someone will catching hold on the horns as a safety measure.

2:33 – Their (victims of Joab) blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed *for ever*: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace *for ever* from Jehovah.

For ever? Can we already conclude that “for ever” as it is used so far in the bible does not mean “eternity”. Just like “all the people” doesn’t really mean everyone in the city or the world? Problem is, modern Christians are taking these phrases as if they were spoken in 2019, as opposed to 2,000 B.C.

And of course, the children of Joab get a bad rap for what their father did. Joab then follows orders and kills Joab, who is hanging on the horns of the altar, possibly breaking some rules, but it doesn’t really matter because that seems to be the norm.

Shimei, a man of Benjamin, who David also told Solomon to kill, is cursed with death, but sent him with the caveat that he is not to cross the river Jordan. Of course, 3 years later, he does so seeking out some of his servants. He reports to David, who reminds Shimei of his promise, and Benaiah the assassin kills Shimei.

2:45 – And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah forever.

Solomon’s words. How “wise” and factually true will they be?

Also, this story completely reminded me of a more current story, when Michael (Micha-el) settles all the “unfinished family business”, including killing his own brother in law in the “Godfather” series.

Shimei, go home, you are dead to me and are out of the family and the business.

2 Samuel 13: Incest/Rape Normal? Chaos with David’s Sons

We jump to a timeline where David has other children, and in this story they are Absalom and Amnon (sons) and Tamar (daughter.) In what is not a surprising turn of events, we find that Amnon is in love with his sister Tamar to the point of being lovesick.

Amnon’s friend Jonadab noticed and got Amnon to admit to him he loved his sister. How is Jonadab going to reply? To slap some sense into Amnon because it is wrong for him to be like this? Ask Amnon to see a priest and cleanse himself?

Jonadab does nothing of the sort, instead, he helps Amnon devise a plan where Amnon can then do who knows what! Amnon goes through with his plan, tells his father David that he is sick, and to send Tamar to his house to feed and care for him. David does so, and we find Amnon playing sick in bed with his sister Tamar alone with and caring for him, after Amnon threw out all the men that were with him.

2 Samuel 13:11 – And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

Tamar is not strong enough to protect herself, and Amnon forces himself on her. After he rapes her, he then begins to hate her and tells her to leave. Another interesting look at the culture, because, apparently the fact that he is throwing her out, is a worse thing than the rape that took place:

13:16 – And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me.

I’m assuming at this point he has some obligation to keep her there. For what however? To take her in as a wife? The fact that being thrown out is worse than rape, tells me we are missing some cultural context here. I could only guess that raping a woman is normal, as long as the man marries her, which I had already discussed was a possibility back when the Law of Moses was being dictated.

Could you imagine that today? Forcing girls/women to marry their rapists? In this culture, it seems to be normal. This is why many people see the Abrahamic religions as barbaric, because deep in the roots of the culture we find barbaric practices like this, which are frowned upon today by believers and non believers. It doesn’t take religion to know that this is just wrong.

13:19 – And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

Not only did Amnon rape his own sister, she was likely a CHILD, being that she was in virgin apparel!

Tamar shreds her colored clothing, put ashes on her head, and fled crying. She meets with her other brother Absalom, who somehow knew what had happened. Let’s take another look at how this culture and people treated women. Will Absalom take up the sword and defend the honor of his sister, the way the sons of Jacob did when their sister was raped?

13:20 – And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.

So, Amnon rapes his sister, and her other brother tells her not to worry about it because “it is your brother.” What if it had been a foreigner, say, an Ammonite? Flashback to Genesis 34, the story of Dinah and Shechem: Shechem raped Dinah, the sister of the sons of Jacob, but afterwards asked for her hand in marriage (as if it was a normal thing to do, as I stated earlier.) A peaceful (but painful, requiring circumcision) covenant was made, but the sons of Jacob broke the covenant and slaughtered Hivites for the rape of their sister. In this story, was the rape ok because it was her brother who did it?

Back to the story: David finds out about it and is very angry. But does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! We find that Amnon hates his brother for raping Tamar, but TWO years pass before anything happens. What about Tamar in this story? The shame of rape, no justice for two long years? Did she become pregnant? Will we find out? Or is it all a non-issue to the authors of the bible, the status of the victim of incest rape, not being as important among tales of war and Jehovah?

Amnon devises a plan, and we MIGHT assume it was to get revenge for the rape, but we don’t really know for sure. He is able to get King David to gather all his sons at Absalom’s home. Absalom commands his servants to get Amnon drunk, at which point they slay him. The other sons fled the scene (on mules) knowing they were in danger as well. This almost sounds like a power play, killing off kingly competition disguised as meting out justice for rape. Will we find out?

Word gets back to David that ALL his sons had been killed, and he goes into mourning. David’s nephew Jonadab then explains to David that it was only Amnon that was killed, at the hands of Absalom, for the rape of Tamar.

The sons return to King David, weeping, while we are told Absalom has fled to Geshur, to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur for 3 years.

David, however, still wanted to see his son Absalom, despite the fact he killed Amnon. Again, David’s odd reaction to the death of one of his sons.

2 Samuel 12: David Punished; David Dismembers Ammonites

Rather than speak directly to David (I guess David does not have his “ephod” communication device present), Jehovah speaks to the prophet Nathan. He gives Nathan a parable about two men, one rich, one poor, in one city.

The story: The poor man had one little lamb, which he raised as if it was his own daughter. A traveler visited the rich man, who, instead of reaching into his wealth of flock, decides to take the only lamb the poor man owned, and killed it to make a meal for his traveler.

David becomes angry at this story, and demands the death of the rich man, noting that the rich man should repay the lamb four fold, and is also shocked at the lack of pity from the rich man. Nathan then goes on to explain: “David, you are the rich man”

It’s interesting how the prophets are given direct messages as well as parables. It reminds me, of, how even today, people have dreams and then have them interpreted. They are not direct messages and usually they feel there is a message behind the literal.

Nathan then speaks on behalf of Jehovah:

2 Samuel 12:8 – And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

Today, we’d have an issue with man taking another man’s wife (wives) just because that first man was faulty. Here, we have a deity doing such a thing. Interesting look at Jehovah’s idea of how to treat women.

Jehovah is angry that David has broken his commandment, cursing him that “the sword will never depart from your house.” It gets worse:

12:11 – Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

WOW! A brutal, humiliating punishment! HOWEVER, I would say this is more memory worthy than what David did with Goliath… so why does the Christian church NOT show this side of David? He is glorified constantly, not only in the church but in New Testament verse! I see nothing to glorify here, especially from the point of view of Uriah the now dead Hittite, who had his wife and life, stolen by David!

I can honestly say, after returning to the bible as an adult, are no longer the heroes I was taught they were. Jacob, Moses, Samson, and David were all wicked and conniving. It gets worse for David however.

12:14 – Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. And Nathan departed unto his house. And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and was very sick.

It almost sounds like David has embarrassed Jehovah with his actions, where Jehovah’s enemies would blaspheme David/Jehovah because said actions. David goes into a deep depression, beseeching elohim, fasted, and lay on the ground. 7 days pass and the child dies. David gets wind of his child’s death by his servants behavior. He then basically dusts himself off, cleans up, worships Jehovah, then sits down to eat.

His astonished servants were puzzled by his behavior and I believe the moral of this story lies with David’s explanation:

12:22 – And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether elohim will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

David sees no more reason to fast or lie on the ground waiting to find out what will happen to his baby. A sort of morbid reaction, knowing that his once healthy baby was stricken ill by his god. True though, what’s he going to do? Speak out against Jehovah and face death as well?

Should also be noted: Jehovah has killed an innocent child for the sins of the father. Why not just kill David as the Law of Moses demands? Kill a baby instead?

In another stunning turn of events:

12:24 – And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and Jehovah loved him.

Is this David’s second born? Was the unnamed child killed by Jehovah the first born? If so, we have another case where Jehovah unjustly punishes or kills the first born, and favors the second. We also get another name: Jedidiah (Jedid-iah) “Beloved of the Lord”.

Joab has taken the royal city of the children of Ammon, but instead of completely conquering it, he calls for David to finish up the work, otherwise the glory of capturing the city would be given to Joab, and people would name the city after Joab instead of David.

So David gather’s up his armies, finishes the job, and they place the Ammonite king’s crown on David’s head, a crown of gold with precious stones on it.

This reminds me of the “chest plate” that the Levite priests were to wear, complete with inlaid precious stones to protect the priest so that “they do not die” in the presence of the Ark. So this chest plate was a safety measure against the energy of the Ark. Now, we hear about this “crown” made of gold, also inlaid with stones. Do crowns have a functional trait beyond symbolizing the reign of a king? Do these stones protect the head of the king the way they protected the chest of the priest? Interesting rabbit hole to go down another time.

12:31 – And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.

David has the Ammonites from that city dismembered with saws and chopped up with harrows and axes. He then burns the dismembered bodies in a brick kiln. A very gory detail left out about David’s treatment of other human beings as he serves under his deity Jehovah. What does this say about both? Honestly, nothing good.

2 Samuel 11: David Lusts for Bath-Sheba; Kills Her Husband Uriah the Hittite

An interesting look at time, calendar, and war:

2 Samuel 11:1 – And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the Children of Ammon, and beseiged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

Interesting that there is a “time when kings go forth to battle” which coincides with the end of a year (or calendar year). In many cultures, calendars are designed not just to track days, but to also notate when to plant crops, harvest, and in this case “go to war.”

It is at this time we find David “upon the roof” of his house. He spots Bath-sheba, a beautiful daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Which is odd because usually the culture speech is to describe someone as “son/daughter of <insert father’s name>”. So either this is “daughter of <insert mother’s name>” or the wife of Uriah the Hittite is actually Bath-sheba. We will soon find out…

David is on top of his house, watching Bath-sheba bathe. This, today, would be considered perverted and shameful. Is David going to redeem himself with his actions? Is David a peeping-Tom?

11:4 – And David sent messengers, and took her; and she in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned to her house.

Ok, never mind the fact that she was likely already married, being a victim of David’s lust makes this a violation of the Law of Moses. However, the author want’s us to note “Well, she WAS purified from her uncleanness!” completely disregarding the Law.

David sends his captain Joab, to retrieve Uriah. He commands Uriah to return to his house, however Uriah stays in the gates. David, angered, asks Uriah why. Uriah explains to David that there is a war going on, the ark is nearby, so why should he return to his home when the other men are not at home?

David devises a nefarious plan: He writes to his captain Joab, telling him to place Uriah in the front lines of the hottest battle, increasing the chances of him dying.

11:16 – And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

Was this an Israelite city? If it wasn’t, why would Joab assign Uriah to an enemies army? HE WOULDN’T! It really sounds like a total set up. He assigns Uriah to an Israelite city, and somehow the men of this city end up fighting with other Israelites, under Joab and in the process, Uriah falls dead. Did Joab instigate a battle among Israelites for the mere purpose of having Uriah killed?

Ok, David is a completely wicked person at this point. And we are told that the son of David (possibly Christ) is to descend from this wicked man?

Joab sends a messenger to inform David of what has happened, and explains to him to tell David regardless of the time of day. If David becomes angry because it’s a bad time, the messenger is to instantly tell David that Uriah the Hittite is dead. Now we get some context to what actually happened:

11:23 – And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto entering the gate. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

Shooters? Not “archers”? It should be noted that the Hebrew word used here is not the same as used for previous instances of “archer”. In fact, the word used here is actually Strong’s 3372 which means “affright” or to “make afraid”. A very different translation than “archers”. So what were these shooters ACTUALLY shooting?

So, not only did Uriah die because David wanted it set up to be, we have other servants of David dead, all because he raped a married woman and wanted her husband out of the picture. That is the plain of it right there.

Wicked people placed in power by a wicked god? Protected by a wicked god? Is Jehovah going to punish David for this with “a rod and stripes”? This is a serious affront to the Law of Moses. Not only that, Uriah the Hittite seemed a devoted follower and respecter of David, Jehovah, the Ark, and the entire scene taking place. A worthy servant, and look what David did to him!

BUT WAIT! IS IT? Uriah was NOT an Israelite, but a Hittite! So does this make it okay according to the law of Moses and Jehovah? I hope we find out.

Bath-sheba finds out about her husbands death, goes into the prescribed cultural “mourning”.

11:27 – And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased Jehovah.

Uh oh.

2 Samuel 4: King Ishbosheth Assassinated

Word gets back to king Ish-bosheth that Abner, his father’s captain, had been slain. The king and the Israelites were troubled. We are introduced to two other captains of Saul: Baanah and Rachab, sons of Rimmon, being Beerothites of Benjamin. Beerothites being fled to Gittaim.

We are also introduced to a son of Jonathan: Mephi-bosheth (KJV says also: Merib-baal). Mephibosheth was lame/crippled in his feet, due to his nurse dropping him after she got word of what happened to his father and grandfather Jonathan and Saul.

SOMEHOW! Baanah and Rachab were able to make their way to king Ish-bosheth’s room, where the king was napping at noon. They smite him under the “fifth rib” and then behead, them, somehow escaping through the night.

The brothers take the head of the king to David, who was not happy at all:

2 Samuel 4:9 – And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity…

I stop here because David is basically saying his fate in the face of diversity is all in the hands of Jehovah, who by all means, seems to be completely distant unless reached through and ephod or urim.

4:10 – When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings. How much worse, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in hi owns house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

So the brothers, thinking they have done a good deed, are then killed for their actions. Not only that, their hands and feet were cut off, and their carcass was hanged up over a pool in Hebron. Ish-bosheth’s head was buried in the sepulchre of Abner also in Hebron.

So, without a rival king to David, will he be able to reunite the nations under his rule?

Observation: Ok, so who was the RIGHTFUL king in this story? The son of the first anointed Saul, or David the second anointed? This is starting to sound like a story line in the Game of Thrones! One would assume it is David but obviously some thought it was Ish-bosheth. The Divine Right of Kings suddenly becomes washed out as a clear law. Who was divinely chosen? It looks like it’s David for the win, as we don’t hear of Ish-bosheth ever reaching out to Jehovah. And what about Meph-bosheth, son of Jonathan? Why was he mentioned and will he return? The author thought it was important to bring him up.

2 Samuel 3: Abner Leaves Isreal, Joins David & Judah; Abner Dies

The kingdoms/houses of Saul and David are officially in civil war. However we are told that David’s kingdom grows stronger while Saul’s grows weaker.

We are told of six sons of David born to (from his multiple wives) while in Hebron. (Will note the names later)

Abner, strong for the house of Saul, takes a concubine:

2 Samuel 3:7 – And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?

Abner was angered at king Ish-bosheth, considering all the work he did for the kings father Saul. Abner then lashes out at Ish-bosheth, telling him he will now work to legitimize king David over Israel AND Judah.

Abner eventually reaches out to David, to make a league. David agrees, on one condition: Bring David his old wife Michal, and then Abner will meet him face to face. David sends messengers to Ish-bosheth requesting his wife be returned to him, and Ish-bosheth takes her from her current husband and sends her to David.

Is the Israelite nation going to be reunited again? Abner speaks to the elders of Israel and to the Benjaminites to convince them to make David their king. David receives Abner with a feast, and sends him on his way, with Abner’s promise that he will reunite the nations under David.

Joab, brother of Asahel (who Abner killed) was not present at the time, and returned from a battle. He becomes angered when he finds out that David made an agreement with Abner, so he sends after Abner who returns to Hebron (without David’s knowledge.)

3:27 – And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

Interesting to note that both Asahel and Abner died by being stabbed through the fifth rib, which, seems to be a direct stab to the heart, as opposed to a less lethal stab through other ribs. The precise work of an assassin it seems.

David lays all the guilt upon Joab and his family, and demands that they mourn for Abner. David also mourns and then decides to fast until sundown.

3:36 – And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people.

What about Jehovah, did all the things that pleased Jehovah please the people? Here we see a people infatuated with their king, but not their god.

David is extremely troubled at the loss of Abner, after all, Abner promised to reunite the nations under David, only to have Joab kill him. Does this mean the end of the reunification?

2 Samuel 2: The Israel/Judah Split

Apparently, Jehovah’s absence is still apparent, because chaos overtakes the Israelites. David speaks to Jehovah, who instructs him to go to Hebron in Judah. While in Judah, David is anointed king of the House of Judah. David praises the people of Jabesh-gilead, for what they did in retrieving and interring the bodies of king Saul and his sons.

However, Abner, Saul’s captain, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel.

It’s official: the kingdom is split in two. Is this what Jehovah planned? Is this why Jehovah is absent, his vision of his people and his reign over them as their god has fallen apart? Is it beyond repair. Not only did Jehovah not want to place a king, but now there are TWO among his people. Two kings instead of Jehovah. I can almost see why he is nowhere to be found.

So we have a situation where Abner and the servants of king Ish-bosheth go to Gibeon. Joab and the servants of king David also go to Gibeon, and both groups find themselves on opposite sides of a pool.

2 Samuel 2:14 – And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then there arose and went over by number 12 of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and 12 of the servants of David. And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

Jehovah’s plan has really fallen apart now. No longer is there loyalty of the Israelites among their own brethren under one god, but now they kill based on the kings they serve. Wasn’t it a commandment not to kill? (implying don’t kill your own, but ok to kill the enemy). Now they are killing their own.

The “play” turns into a battle that Abner/Israel loses. In an odd story, we find Abner being chased by a man of “light foot as a wild roe.” Abner couldn’t shake the man, and he finds out the mans name is Asahel, son of Zeruiah. Abner tells him to stop chasing him otherwise he will knock him to the ground. Asahel refuses and eventually Abner runs a spear through him, killing him.

Asahel’s other brothers, Joab and Abishai also go after Abner. Abner eventually makes it to the hill of Ammah where the children of Benjamin gather as well as one group. Abner calls out to Joab telling him to stop the chase. Joab affirms, also acknowledging that if Abner hadn’t called for a halt, by the next morning a multitude of people would also be following.

2:28 – So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they anymore.

So with the sound of a trumpet, the chase and fight is halted. Joab returns to David. After the battle, we are told David lost 20 men, including Asahel. Abner and the Benjaminites lost 300 and 3 score men. Asahel was buried in Beth-lehem, and Joab ends up in Hebron.