1Ki 15:10

GRANDMOTHER’S: Cp 2Sa 14:27; 2Ch 11:20,21.

1Ki 15:12

MALE SHRINE PROSTITUTES: “Sodomites” (AV). ” ‘Qadhesh’ denotes properly a male temple prostitute, one of the class attached to certain sanctuaries of heathen deities, and ‘consecrated’ [the Heb rt word means lit, and sarcastically, ‘holy’!] to the impure rites of their worship. Such gross and degrading practices in Yahweh’s land could only be construed as a flagrant outrage; and any association of these with His pure worship was abhorrent (Deu 23:17,18): The presence of Sodomites is noted as a mark of degeneracy in Rehoboam’s time (1Ki 14:24). Asa endeavored to get rid of them (1Ki 15:12), and Jehoshaphat routed them out (1Ki 22:46). Subsequent corruptions opened the way for their return, and Josiah had to break down their houses which were actually “in the house of the Lord” (2Ki 23:7). The feminine ‘qedheshah’ is translated ‘prostitute’ in Gen 38:21,22; Hos 4:14; Deu 23:17 (the KJV mg has ‘sodomitess’; the RV mg simply transliterates). The English word is, of course, derived from Sodom, the inhabitants of which were in evil repute for unnatural vice” (ISBE).

1Ki 15:13

A REPULSIVE ASHERAH POLE: See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 15:14

HE DID NOT REMOVE THE HIGH PLACES: Specific mention is made, several times, of the high places not being taken away: by Asa (1Ki 15:14); Jehoshaphat (1Ki 22:43); Jehoash (2Ki 12:3); Amaziah (2Ki 14:4); Azariah/Uzziah (2Ki 15:4); and Jotham (2Ki 15:35) — demonstrating the importance of this action in God’s sight. These kings did not make a full return to God. The high places (which had been used for idol worship) might have been out of use for the time being, but it seems they were not totally destroyed until the time of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:4; 2Ch 32:12); and even then their prohibition did not last beyond his reign (2Ch 33:3).

Do we have other shrines at which we worship? We must be sure that we remove the “high places” from our lives completely, even if they are currently “out of use”.

THE HIGH PLACES: Poss not associated with idolatrous worship, as were those in 2Ch 14:3,5.

1Ki 15:17

“We read of a very early king of Israel, Baasha, making his iron curtain. He fortified the border, ‘that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah’ (1Ki 15:17).

“Why did he do that? Other books of the Old Testament supply the answer. Like the builders of the Berlin wall he was not concerned about keeping an enemy out, but with keeping his own people in. All the God-fearing people in the idolatrous north wanted to emigrate to the south, where the Temple in Jerusalem kept true worship alive.

“Baasha’s iron curtain was inefficient. He lacked the barbed wire and minefields beloved of modern dictators. The Second Book of Chronicles tells us that when good king Asa purged all the idols out of the Kingdom of Judah, this was the result: ‘He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh and out of Simeon. For they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him’ (2Ch 15:9)” (GT).

1Ki 15:18

BEN-HADAD: There are 3 Ben-hadads: (1) here; 2Ch 16:1-6; (2) 1Ki 20:1-34; 22:1-36; 2Ki 5:2; 6:18-23; 7:20); murdered by Hazael (2Ki 8:7-15); and (3) son of Hazael (2Ki 13:3-13,22-25).

1Ki 15:27

GIBBETHON: A town in west central Palestine in the territory of Dan listed with Eltekeh and Baalath (Jos 19:44). It was assigned to the Kohathite Levites (Jos 21:23). In early days of the northern kingdom Gibbethon belonged to the Philistines. Nadab was slain by Baasha while besieging it (1Ki 15:27). Omri was besieging it when he was made king to succeed Zimri. It may possibly be identified with Kibbiah, which lies about 16 miles se of Joppa.

1Ki 16:1

1Ki 16: “The terrible apostasy of the northern nation is revealed in the history recorded of the house of Jeroboam. Intrigue and wickedness permeate the whole scene, and bring the wisdom of Yahweh into disrepute: [1] Jehu the prophet pronounces doom against the House of Baal: vv 1-4. [2] The Death of Baasha: vv 5-7. [3] Elah the drunkard is murdered by his servant Zimri: vv 8-10. [4] Zimri’s seven days’ reign of terror: vv 11-14. [5] The army revolts against Zimri. It champions the cause of Omri: vv 15-20. [6] Zimri commits suicide: vv 18-20. [7] Tibni challenges Omri: vv 21,22. [8] Omri: prince of evil men: vv 23-28. [9] Ahab’s vile reign (1Ki 16-22). & Notice the constant reference to the wickedness of the leaders of the nation: vv 2,13,19,26,30. The ch concludes with disaster at Jericho, and reflects on the circumstances that involved Joshua at the beginning of the nation’s occupation in the Land. A grim warning is given that the word of Yahweh should be heeded. The forgotten curse on Jericho claimed its victims, but in what way is not revealed” (GEM).

1Ki 16: “Next [in the line of Israel’s kings] came Elah, a drunkard, who in turn was a murderer (1Ki 16:8,9). His successor, Zimri, was guilty of ‘treason’ (1Ki 16:20). He was followed by a military adventurer of the name of Omri, and of him we are told, ‘but Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities’ (1Ki 16:25,26).

“The evil cycle was completed by Omri’s son, for he was even more vile than those who had preceded him. ‘And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him’ (1Ki 16:30,31).

“This marriage of Ahab to a heathen princess was, as might fully be expected (for we cannot trample God’s Law beneath our feet with impunity), fraught with the most frightful consequences. In a short time all trace of the pure worship of Jehovah vanished from the land and gross idolatry became rampant. The golden calves were worshipped at Dan and Bethel, a temple had been erected to Baal in Samaria, the ‘groves’ of Baal appeared on every side, and the priests of Baal took full charge of the religious life of Israel.

“It was openly declared that Baal lived and that Jehovah ceased to be. What a shocking state of things had come to pass is clear from, ‘And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him’ (1Ki 16:33).

“Defiance of the Lord God and blatant wickedness had now reached their culminating point. This is made still further evident by, ‘in his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho’ (v 34). Awful effrontery was this, for of old it had been recorded, ‘Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn and in his youngest son shall be set up the gates of it’ (Josh 6:26). The rebuilding of the accursed Jericho was open defiance of God. Now it was in the midst of this spiritual darkness and degradation that there appeared on the stage of public action, with dramatic suddenness, a solitary but striking witness to and for the living God” (Pink).

1Ki 16:23

THE THIRTY-FIRST YEAR: Cp vv 10,15: the first 5 years (Asa’s 27th through 31st) Omni was engaged in civil war with Tibni (v 21).

1Ki 16:31

Ahab seeks friendly alliance with Zidon by marrying daughter of king.

JEZEBEL: “She dwell not” (ie, with Yahweh). Those who follow other gods, or teach other gospel, are not my “spouse”, says Yahweh. Cp Rev 2:20n.

ETHBAAL: A “king” and a “priest”, per Josephus.

1Ki 16:32

HE SET UP AN ALTAR FOR BAAL: Baal worship implemented as state religion. The catalyst to an organized, state-wide persecution of worshipers of Yahweh (1Ki 18:4; 2Ki 9:7).

1Ki 16:33

ASHERAH: See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 9:2

HE HAD APPEARED TO HIM AT GIBEON: When Solomon had asked for knowledge (1Ki 3:5-9).

1Ki 9:11

TWENTY TOWNS IN GALILEE: It looks very much here as if Galilee, the land of Jesus, was looked down upon (Isa 9:1; cp Joh 1:46), and considered unimportant by King Solomon (who symbolizes the Jews); it was also called “good for nothing” or “dirty” by Hiram (who symbolizes the Gentiles).

1Ki 9:13

After inspecting these cities, Hiram gave them back to Solomon (2Ch 8:2). The despised, “good-for-nothing”, “dirty” Galilean cities were passed back and forth — from Jew to Gentile and back again. Thus they represent the despised Jesus of Nazareth — in Galilee — for, at the time of his trial, he was also passed back and forth between Herod the Jew and Pilate the Gentile!

1Ki 9:15

SUPPORTING TERRACES: “Millo” (NIV mg; AV). From rt “to fill”. Fortifications on the west side of Jerusalem, built by David (2Sa 5:9; 1Ch 11:8), Solomon (here), and Hezekiah (2Ch 32:5) (IBD).

1Ki 9:28

OPHIR: See Lesson, Ophir.

1Ki 8:1

1Ki 8: “The glorious day of Dedication (a token of the divine Day of Inauguration yet to come). It was the culmination of Solomon’s glory and an expression of a nation which rejoiced in the divine blessing. Nearly a year has passed since the temple was completed. Now in the 8th year (pointing to the time beyond the millennium) when flesh will be completely subdued, and in the 7th month (speaking of the millennium itself), the temple is dedicated for worship. It was a day on which Jews now look back upon as the culminating glory of their nation. Instead of two sanctuaries as before (one in the Gentile city of Gibeon, and one at Zion), there was to be but a united place, after the prophecy of Moses (Exo 15). The ark from Zion and the tabernacle from Gibeon were both removed and brought to the new site. A great gathering met to witness the ceremony. The two processions (figurative of Jew and Gentile believers at the future Day) converged at Mount Moriah, where Isaac was earlier offered, and where later the Lord Jesus would be offered in fulfilment of the sacrificial codes of the past. Special services attended the removal of the Ark. Sacrifices without number; incense arising; psalms of praise being uttered; joyful music, general excitement and happiness attended the occasion. Throughout the whole scene, the person of the great King is the one central object, compared with whom even priests and prophets are for the time being subordinate. Like David in the bringing up of the ark, Solomon appears in a liturgical character — blessing the congregation, offering up the solemn prayer, dedicating the temple, hallowing the court. And so it shall be again, but in a greater measure, when the Lord Jesus ascends the throne of the kingdom, the glorious House of Prayer for all Nations is built, and divine worship re-instituted. The prayer of Solomon on the day of Dedication is an expression of devotion, and his words can be found reiterated in the Lord’s prayer of Mat 6:9-13” (GEM).

1Ki 8:2

THE FESTIVAL IN THE MONTH OF ETHANIM, THE SEVENTH MONTH: The Feast of Tabernacles, in October.

1Ki 8:8

These staves, or carrying poles, were so long that the ends could be seen if one were to look into the Holy Place (in other words, the staves extended outside the Most Holy Place). The statement about the staves shows that Exo 25:15 was complied with, that is, that the staves were not to be removed from the ark.

Even though the ark was now in its permanent home, the staves remained in place, a reminder of its journeys at the head of God’s people. Though all the other furnishings of the Temple had been newly made, the ark, representing the ruling presence of God, was still the same as that made while Israel was encamped at Sinai. It provided an unbreakable link with all that had gone before.

It is good to have reminders of who we are and where we have come from. In our ecclesias, this role is often filled by the older ones, and by the history and stories which they can tell, of earlier generations. In the broader sense, the Bible fills this same role for all of us: its pages demonstrate how our faith, as individuals and as a community, is linked with the faith of others who have gone before. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” (Heb 12:1).

In Acts 1:3 and following, after the resurrection of Christ, the disciples who (being “priests”) stood in the holy place of the new “temple”, were able to infer by what they had witnessed in the previous forty days, that though they soon would not be able to physically see their Lord (as he was soon to ascend to the Most Holy Place in the heavens, to the side of his Father), they could accept that he would ever be in his Father’s presence, acting as their sacrifice, mediating for their forgiveness. And it was these disciples alone — and not the elite Sadducees and Pharisees — who could “see” their Lord in the “heavenly place”!

1Ki 8:9

THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE ARK EXCEPT THE TWO STONE TABLETS…: The other contents of the ark — the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded — seem to have been already lost in the time of Solomon (maybe when the ark was in the hands of the Philistines?). Other possibilities: Exo 16:33,34 and Num 17:10 seem to indicate that Aaron’s staff and the golden jar of manna may originally have been kept in front of the ark, rather than in it. How the golden jar and Aaron’s staff were stored may have differed over time. Therefore the description in Heb 9:4 on the one hand, and 1Ki 8:9 and 2Ch 5:10 on the other, may be referring to the ark at two different times of Israel’s history.

1Ki 8:20

Solomon’s zeal for the temple is almost purely a result of living out his father’s expectations about building a temple.

1Ki 8:56

Cp Melchizedek’s blessing of Abraham: Gen 14:18,19.

1Ki 8:65

LEBO HAMATH: Northern border of Israel.

WADI OF EGYPT: Southern border of Israel.

1Ki 4:1

1Ki 4.

See Lesson, Solomon, typical of Christ.

1Ki 4:12

BETH SHAN: In this area lies the 80 meter (263 feet) high tell of Beth-shean, one of the oldest cities in Bible Lands. The remains of 20 layers of settlement have been found going back more than three thousand years BC. The Israelites failed to conquer the city in Joshua’s time (Jos 17:16; Jdg 1:27), and the fortified town was still under Philistine control in the time of Saul, the first king of Israel. When Saul and his sons were slain in battle their bodies were hung on the walls of this city by the victors (1Sa 31:6-13). Beth-shean is included in the cities of Solomon’s kingdom (1Ki 4:12). When the Greek empire dominated the area the city was known as Scythopolis. Pliny, the Roman author (1st cent AD) mentions the city in his writings. It was one of the cities in the Roman province of Decapolis which was visited by Jesus (Mar 7:31). The city was further developed by the Romans and all around the ancient tell the archaeologists are busy uncovering this large city that was devastated by an earthquake. A recent find is a mosaic featuring the portrait of a zebra, an animal not found in Israel.

1Ki 4:20

THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL: One king, united nation — for last time until Christ (cp Eze 37:22).

THEY ATE, THEY DRANK…: Typ Israel powerful, and chief among the nations (Mic 4:7,8).

1Ki 4:21

THESE COUNTRIES BROUGHT TRIBUTE: Submissive nations (cp Psa 72:8).

1Ki 4:24

TIPHSAH: A town situated on the right bank of the Euphrates c 40 mi west of its confluence with the Balikh River and which constituted the extreme northeast boundary of the kingdom of Solomon. Later called Thapsacus, it guarded an important river crossing where Cyrus the Younger and Alexander forded the Euphrates with their armies (WyE).

1Ki 4:25

LIVED IN SAFETY: Security, peace: as in kingdom (Eze 34:28).

1Ki 4:28

AND OTHER HORSES: KJV has “dromedaries” — not likely. “Or rather mules, by comparing the passage with 2Ch 9:24; the particular kind of creatures meant is not agreed on; though all take them to be a swifter sort of creatures than horses; or the swifter of horses, as race horses” (Gill).

1Ki 4:31

THE SONS OF MAHOL: Or “the sons of the dance” (Heb idiom, cp Psa 87 subscr). Poss ref: the dancing of David in 2Sa 6:14-16, in which these Levites (cp 1Ch 6:33,34) play a part.

ALL THE SURROUNDING NATIONS: See Lesson, Nations “round about”.

1Ki 4:34

Jerusalem — center of wisdom: cp Isa 2:2.

1Ki 5:4

ADVERSARY: Heb “satan”. Cp “Satan bound” in Christ’s kingdom (Rev 20:2).

1Ki 5:17

DRESSED STONE: Or “hewed stone” (AV) — 8 cubits by 10 cubits (1Ki 7:9,10).

1Ki 6:7

NO HAMMER, CHISEL OR ANY OTHER IRON TOOL WAS HEARD AT THE TEMPLE SITE WHILE IT WAS BEING BUILT: “In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built” (1Ki 6:7).

All was brought perfectly ready for the exact spot it was to occupy — and so is it with the “temple” which Jesus is building today; the making ready is all being done now: we are the living stones being made ready now (1Pe 2:5-9), and after the return of Christ, and the judgment, we will be brought to our proper places in God’s “temple”.

When we reach the Kingdom, there will be no more need to sanctify us there, no more need to square our corners with affliction, no more “smoothing” of our surfaces with suffering. No, we must be made ready HERE AND NOW — Christ must do this work beforehand, even if it is painful (and it will be, in one way or another!).

But when he has finished that work, then we shall be brought by the angels to the heavenly Jerusalem, to abide as eternal pillars in the temple of our Lord: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name” (Rev 3:12).

As regards Jesus: an iron (Roman) hammer was instrumental in the final shaping, outside the city, of “the stone which the builders rejected” into “the headstone of the corner”. As a foundation cornerstone it was laid then, and as the head cornerstone it will, at his return, crown and complete the “living temple”.

1Ki 6:18

GOURDS AND OPEN FLOWERS: Buds and flowers — promise and fulfillment.

1Ki 6:29

Cp the concept of the Tabernacle. Cherubim appear round about on walls. The eye of faith see God’s purpose watching over all our services (Exo 26:15). Cp Rev 4:5,7,10; 7:4,15: cherubim visible in the heavenly sanctuary.

1Ki 7:1

Vv 1-12: The record of Solomon’s house is a parenthesis out of historical sequence; 1Ki 5:2 — 1Ki 6:38 and 1Ki 7:13 — 1Ki 9:9 are about the temple; the parenthesis suggests Solomon’s weakness: he simply ENJOYED building things!

1Ki 7:2

THE PALACE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON: Built of wood from the forest of Lebanon. Solomon’s “house of the forest of Lebanon” (1Ki 7:2) became the armory of Jerusalem. Cp also Jer 22:6,7,23; Isa 2:13; 10:34; 37:24; Eze 17:3.

1Ki 7:14

A woman of Dan married a man of Naphtali, and after he died, she then married a man of Tyre (2Ch 2:14).

1Ki 7:20

TWO HUNDRED POMEGRANATES IN ROWS: One hundred in each row: 2Ch 3:16n.

1Ki 7:21

PILLARS: Repr the apostles in Gal 2:9; the saints in Rev 3:12; the church in 1Ti 3:15; 1Pe 5:10 (strong, firm, steadfast); Phi 4:13 (strong).

1Ki 7:23

1Ki 7:23-26 states that the diameter of the temple laver was 10 cubits “from one brim to the other” and 30 cubits in circumference. This passage has long been a favorite of those who deny the Bible’s infallibility, since they point to the mathematical impossibility of such a ratio: a circle with a diameter of 10 units must have a circumference of 31.416 (10 times “pi”) units. There is, however, quite an easy solution to this apparent discrepancy. If, as the text implies, the brim of the laver was curved outward, then the diameter could have been measured from one extreme edge to the other, while the circumference could have been measured around the perpendicular wall of the main part of the laver — thus giving the required ratio between the two measurements.

1Ki 7:26

How to reconcile 1Ki 7:26 and 2Ch 4:5? The Jewish Targum specifies: “3,000 baths dry measure; 2,000 baths liquid measure.”

1Ki 7:42

FOUR HUNDRED POMEGRANATES: Possibly, 200 pomegranates on each row of 100 pillars (cp v 20); each pillar had 2 pomegranates — thus forming two long rows. Cp 2Ch 3:6n.

Four hundred brazen pomegranates complemented the two great pillars of Stability and Strength — Jachin and Boaz — at the entrance of the Temple. The pomegranate is a very special fruit in the divine imagery: it is the essence of all fruit. It was on the border of the High Priest’s robe (Exo 39:24), with the golden bells of salvation and praise. Cut through transversely, the pomegranate has twelve sections, arranged around the center like the camps of the twelve Tribes around the Tabernacle. It is full of white, pearl-like seeds in a red fluid, and seems to represent a multitudinous unity purified in the blood of the Lamb. In the Song of Songs, the Bride is said to have temples like the halves of a pomegranate (Song 4:3; 6:7); the eastern pomegranate is light golden brown with a tinge of pink, and the physical resemblance is striking. Also, the association of the multitudinous Bride with the pomegranate and the Temple is, in itself, a powerful and thought-provoking spiritual image.

1Ki 7:46

BETWEEN SUCCOTH AND ZARETHAN: In land of Manasseh, between Jezreel and Dead Sea.

2Sa 23:3

ONE RULES OVER MEN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS: Christ, the “just” one: Mat 27:19,24; Act 3:14; Jam 5:6; 1Pe 3:18.

2Sa 23:4

THE LIGHT OF MORNING: “The sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2), used of God (Psa 84:11) and the immortal saints (Mt 13:43; Dan 12:3). Christ’s reign as refreshing rain bringing new life to the earth: Psa 72:6; Act 3:19. A covenant of life: Isa 55:1-3; Act 13:34.

2Sa 23:5

DESIRE: Christ, “the desire of all nations” (Hab 2:7).

AND GRANT ME MY EVERY DESIRE?: “Stick with it! Keep the mind fixed. Do not let the flesh sidetrack or divert. Set the one great goal before you, and eliminate everything else from your interest or your attention. There will be plenty of scope within that goal for all necessary attention and diversity. Do not be concerned about how much you accomplish. Do not be concerned about how well you do. Our very most and best is nothing in God’s sight: it is the desire and effort that matters. Do be concerned — very concerned — about how great and strong your desire is: pray fervently that it be constantly increased. A fervent, singleminded desire for God is God’s greatest blessing: from it all other joys and blessings flow. Do be concerned about a wandering mind, a wavering attention, a weak and easily distracted persistence. These are warning signs of weak faith, weak love, weak comprehension of the beauties of God and the glories of eternity — childish signs that we are neglecting our homework. The only cure is much prayerful meditation devoted to the Word. If we are not prepared to shape our lives and affairs so that this is life’s central factor, then God and eternity are not for us” (GVG).

2Sa 23:6

Vv 6,7: At the very end of his life, David looks forward to the Messiah to come, and sees the vague outline… of thorns… a tool of iron (piercing flesh?)… and the shaft of a spear!

THORNS: Gen 3:17l,18. Jdg 8:16 (men of Succoth to Gideon).

“David saw that the Son of God would not be allowed by the kings of the earth and their partizans to enter peaceably upon the possession of his throne; in fact they would do their best to prevent it. In his last words he styles them ‘a thornbush to be thrust away and consumed’ (v 6); and though they should fill the Son of God with iron and the shaft of a spear, he should nevertheless smite them, and by the power of the Eternal Spirit, be established in Zion as King over the nations to the utmost bounds of the earth, as testified in the second Psalm” (Phan 74).

2Sa 23:7

THE SHAFT OF A SPEAR: Jesus pierced: Joh 19:34-37.

2Sa 23:8

Vv 8-39: David’s faithful men.

THESE ARE THE NAMES OF DAVID’S MIGHTY MEN: Cp the faithful of Heb 11. Also cp other list in 1Ch 11:10-47. These are the “building blocks” of Solomon’s reign of peace. David did not slay his tens of thousands ALONE! (Many of the LORD’s best servants are not well-known.)

The list of the redeemed, whom the king delights to honor. They had come to the Lord’s Anointed in the days of his rejection, both Jews and Gentiles. Some Levites had abandoned a service of rituals and offerings. Others had given up high standing elsewhere. Some (like Joab?) were blotted out of list. Others died in service, but are still remembered. Now, on the eve of kingdom and glory, they are remembered and confessed before men (WBS 60).

Note: Joab — the captain of David’s army — is “conspicuous by his absence” from the rolls of the mighty men. Joab performed many valiant deeds — he was strong, courageous, intelligent. Yet he performed treacherous acts for questionable (selfish) motives: ie, killing Abner and Amasa. He intrigued against even his master — David — in matter of Bathsheba and Uriah.

2Sa 23:10

Eleazar stood firm when his brethren all failed.

2Sa 23:12

SHAMMAH TOOK HIS STAND: Along with David: 1Ch 11:13,14.

2Sa 23:13

Vv 13-17: This prob happened at a much earlier date: cp 1Sa 22.

VALLEY OF REPHAIM: Consistently translated in NIV. AV has “valley of the giants” (Jos 15:18; 18:16; Isa 17:5) or “valley of the Rephaim” (2Sa 5:18,22; 23:13; 1Ch 11:15; 14:9; Isa 17:5).

2Sa 23:16

“There is something peculiarly touching and beautiful in the above scene, whether we contemplate the act of the three mighty men in procuring the water for David, or David’s act in pouring it out to the Lord. It is evident that David discerned, in an act of such uncommon devotedness, a sacrifice which none but the Lord Himself could duly appreciate. The odor of such a sacrifice was far too fragrant for him to interrupt it in its ascent to the throne of the God of Israel. Wherefore he, very properly and very graciously, allows it to pass him by, in order that it might go up to the One who alone was worthy to receive it, or able to appreciate it. All this reminds us, forcibly, of that beautiful compendium of Christian devotedness set forth in Phi 2:17,18: ‘Yea, and if I be poured out upon the sacrifice, and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all; for this cause ye also joy and rejoice with me.’ In this passage, the apostle represents the Philippian saints in their character as priests, presenting a sacrifice and performing a priestly ministration to God; and such was the intensity of his self-forgetting devotedness, that he could rejoice in his being poured out as a drink-offering upon their sacrifice, so that all might ascend, in fragrant odor to God” (CHM, cited by Pink).

There is, perhaps, a New Testament echo of this incident: the “three mighty men” of Christ were Peter, James, and John; like David’s mighty men, they desired the kingdom and glory for their master. But the apostles did not really understand that Jesus must first “pour out” his life (cp Mat 16:21-23; 17:4; 19:27; 20:20-23) before he could drink of the cup of joy in his Father’s kingdom. So Jesus, who turned water into wine (blood) at Cana (John 2:8), did in fact pour out the “water”, or blood, of his own body, on the cross — like David, he could not drink fully of the joy until he had first experienced the sorrow (Heb 12:2).

AND DREW WATER FROM THE WELL: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isa 12:3). Cp Joh 4:14; 7:37; Mat 10:42.

INSTEAD, HE POURED IT OUT BEFORE THE LORD: The real thirst of David: Psa 63:1-3.

2Sa 23:17

THE BLOOD OF THE MEN: Christ’s blood is the blood of all men: Christ the representative of all men: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2Co 5:14).

2Sa 23:18

CHIEF OF THE THREE: There were 2 different “threes” who were “captains over the 30” (cp v 13): the first “three” were Jashobeam (v 8), Eleazar (v 9), and Shammah (v 11). The second “three” were Abishai (v 18), Benaiah (v 20), and (perhaps) Amasa (1Ch 12:18).

2Sa 23:20

Prob nowhere else in the world would a lion and snow come together. This lion strayed up out of the Jordan river valley and was trapped by a sudden snowfall (HistGeo 63; WIH 18,19).

2Sa 23:35

CARMELITE: Of Judah, descendant of Caleb (cp 1Sa 25:2,3).

ARBITE: Perhaps Kiriath-arba, or Hebron (Jos 15:13).

2Sa 23:39

AND URIAH THE HITTITE: The man whom the natural David would most like to forget is remembered by the HSp.

2Sa 24:1

2Sa 24: “The final chapter of the book reveals David in a wonderful light. His character, moulded by the trials of life, is shown to be mindful of his people as a mediator in Israel’s time of trouble. The people had been guilty of rejecting Yahweh’s Anointed, and were deserving of punishment. David, too, was deserving of chastisement, for in numbering Israel he was putting confidence in the flesh. Yet, in those circumstances, he was put under trial and manifested a gracious and godly response. So the record sets out: (1) David unwisely numbers Israel: vv 1-4. (2) The route of the census: vv 5-8. Details provided show the importance of the counting. (3) The result of the census: v 9. It was not fully completed (1Ch 21:6). (4) David is rebuked; His choice of punishment: vv 10-14. David recognised his fault. It was a sin of the heart: pride or resting on flesh. Perhaps he wanted to find out how large a following he could command. If so he acted entirely out of character. It would constitute a deserting of Yahweh, and putting on flesh. Three choices were given to him. Had he chosen war, his own personal safety would have been in no danger, for he no longer went forth to battle. Had he chosen famine, his position and wealth would have guaranteed his own immunity, and that of his family. In choosing pestilence, he deliberately shared the risks that fell on the whole nation without respect of persons. (5) The plague: vv 15-17. (6) Purchase of the threshing floor: vv 18-25. The place became the site of the great altar of the temple, and on that account too this was a significant incident” (GEM).

AND HE INCITED: “One” — indefinite. Called “Satan” in 1Ch 21:1. Is it an angel of the LORD who acts as the “adversary” here?

2Sa 24:3

David was depending on fleshly power, not God: Note Jdg 7:2-7; 1Sa 14:6; 17:47; Lev 26:3,7; Jer 17:5. The census was not wrong in itself (cp Num 1:3). Therefore, sin must have been in motive. A census must have been accompanied by tax (Exo 20:12). Was money needed by David for building temple (1Ch 22)? Or, perhaps, military ambition (OP 23:322). See 1Ch 27:24n.

WHY DOES MY LORD THE KING WANT TO DO SUCH A THING?: ‘Why can’t you see that the strength and increase of the nation is of the LORD?’

2Sa 24:5

AROER: Sig “heath”: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush (sw ‘aroer’) in the wastelands…” (Jer 17:5-8).

2Sa 24:10

I HAVE SINNED: There is a radical distinction between natural regret and God-given repentance. The flesh can feel remorse, acknowledge its evil deeds, and be ashamed of itself. However, this sort of disgust with past actions can be quickly shrugged off, and the individual can soon go back to his old wicked ways. None of the marks of true repentance described in 2Co 7:11 are found in his behavior. Out of a list of 11 men in the Bible who said, “I have sinned,” poss only five actually repented. They were David (2Sa 12:13; 24:10; 1Ch 21:8; Psa 41:4), Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6), Job (Job 42:5,6), Micah (Mic 7:9), and the prodigal son (Luk 15:18). The other (poss less sincere) instances? Pharaoh in Exo 9:27; 10:16; Balaam in Num 22:34; Achan in Jos 7:20; Saul in 1Sa 15:24,30; 26:21; Shimei in 2Sa 19:20; Judas in Mat 27:4.

2Sa 24:13

THREE YEARS OF FAMINE: The Heb has “seven years”. Cp 2Sa 21:1: there had already been 3 years of famine; this is the 4th year; and the 3 more years of 1Ch 21:12 will make a total of 7 years (Dawn 59:6).

2Sa 24:14

David chooses the only one of the 3 possibilities that did not offer royal immunity: (a) even in a famine, the king’s house would have some food; (b) David no longer went out to battle.

2Sa 24:17

THESE ARE BUT SHEEP. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?: David does not point out that they have done WORSE! (Cp Moses in Exo 32:32.)

2Sa 24:24

I WILL NOT SACRIFICE TO THE LORD MY GOD BURNT OFFERINGS THAT COST ME NOTHING: Likewise, our service to God should not cost us nothing! “He who has a religion that costs him nothing, has a religion that is worth nothing” (Clarke).

“One of the greatest paradoxes in all of Scripture is that the greatest of all gifts in life, our salvation, comes as a FREE gift that costs us EVERYTHING. Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’ Perhaps time and familiarity deny us the full impact of this metaphor that Jesus uses. Jesus is telling us we must take up his mission. This is not a mission that costs nothing. Anyone who is carrying a cross off to his own brutal execution in the metaphorical manner of Christ is committed to the fullest extent possible. It is to this complete dedication which the Apostle Paul refers in Rom 12 when he says, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.’

“King David understood that had he accepted Ornan’s sacrifice, Ornan would have made a sacrifice, but David would not have given anything. David, a thousand years before his ‘greater son’, knew that he must take up his cross. Do we?” (KT).

FIFTY SHEKELS: A discrepancy between 2Sa 24:24 and 1Ch 21:25? The price of the threshing floor alone was 50 shekels of silver, while the price of the entire “site” or “place” (that is, the holy place or sanctuary) of mount Moriah was 600 shekels of gold.

Was David paying the atonement money for all the nation? A parable of redemption.