“Take heed unto thyself; and unto the doctrine;” “that thy profiting may appear to all.”
Lesson XIII.—Sunday, September 27, 1896.
REVIEW.
Golden Text: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Prov. 18:10.
Lesson 1.—David King of Judah. 2 Sam. 2:1–11. Golden Text: “The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice.” Ps. 97:1. David, the son of Jesse, was born in Bethlehem in Judah about B.C. 1085. He was anointed to be the king of Israel when he was eighteen years old. After the death of Saul, David reigned seven and one-half years over Judah before the throne of all Israel came into his possession. Thus he was prepared for the greater responsibility by the faithful performance of the duties involved in the lesser.
Lesson 2.—David King over all Israel. 2 Sam. 5:1–12. Golden Text: “David went on and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.” 2 Sam. 5:10. The Israelites gathered to David at Hebron, and proclaimed their desire to have him rule over them. He was their bone and their flesh; he had led the people under Saul, and had been anointed king by the prophet of the Lord. David was thirty years old when he took the throne of all Israel. His entry into Jerusalem (formerly called Jebus) was accomplished by strategem, as the Jebusites held the strongly fortified citadel. David’s work in rebuilding and extending the city caused it to be called the city of David. He also had the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord had established him king over Israel.
Lesson 3.—The Ark Brought to Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 6:1–12. Golden Text: “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” Ps. 84:12. Ever since the Philistines had captured the ark from the sons of Eli, it had remained in partial neglect at Baale (or Kirjath-jearim); but David desired to inaugurate a revival of religion and religious institutions, which had been sadly neglected during the latter part of Saul’s reign. The representative men of the kingdom were gathered together, and the ark, contrary to God’s command for bearing it, was placed upon a cart. For this error, and the steadying of the ark by one not commissioned to touch it, Uzzah was slain, and the ark was left for three months in the house of Obed-edom, a Levite, from whence it was conveyed in triumphant procession to the city of David. The people had learned a lesson of reverence during this time.
Lesson 4.—God’s Promises to David. 2 Sam. 7:4–16. Golden Text: “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.” Ps. 71:1. David suggested to Nathan, the prophet, the advisability of building an appropriate house for the service of the Lord. God through the prophet reminded David of the humble position from which he had called him to be ruler over Israel and of his care over him in all his doings, but informed him that upon his son and not upon himself would be placed the responsibility of building the proposed temple. He also promised David that if his son should do wickedly, his punishment would not consist in having the throne taken from him and given to another house, as had been done with Saul, but that the kingship of the house of David should be forever. This finds its fulfilment in Christ.
Lesson 5.—David’s Kindness. 2 Sam. 9:1–13. Golden Text: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.” Rom. 12:10. David’s kingdom being now firmly established, he set about finding a descendant of Saul, that he might show him a kindness for Jonathan’s sake. Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, was found in the house of Machir, in Lo-debar. He was given the possessions of Saul, and honored by eating at the king’s table. This special kindness was due to the lasting love between David and Jonathan.
Lesson 6.—David’s Victories. 2 Sam. 10:8–19. Golden Text: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Ps. 27:1. Before David became king he was engaged in a battle with the Amalekites. His victory over them was soon followed by his accession to the kingship of Judah. The Philistines, jealous of his growing power, attacked him at two different times, and were defeated. His next victory was over the Moabites, who were made vassals. This victory was followed by his successful battles with the combined forces of the Ammonites and Syrians, and resulted in the tributary kings of Syria becoming subjects of Israel’s ruler.
Lesson 7.—David’s Confession and Forgiveness. Ps. 32:1–11. Golden Text: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Ps. 51:10. This psalm is supposed to have reference to David’s great sin and his forgiveness, an account of which is given in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, with the warning of Nathan and the death of Bathsheba’s child. David confessed his sin to God and published it to the world, and then, notwithstanding his punishment, praises God for the forgiveness which he received.
Lesson 8.—Absalom’s Rebellion. 2 Sam. 15:1–12. Golden Text: “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Ex. 20:12. Absalom’s mother, Maacah, was the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, a heathen king; and with his heathen grandfather Absalom lived after slaying his half-brother Amnon. Absalom’s enmity was stirred against his father for not sanctioning his course in killing Amnon, and for not summoning him into his presence for so long a time after returning to Jerusalem. By a crafty plan Absalom stole the hearts of the people, and finally instituted at Hebron the revolt which carried him to the throne of his father.
Lesson 9.—Absalom’s Defeat and Death. 2 Sam. 18:9–17, 32, 33. Golden Text: “The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Ps. 1:6. The lesson opens with the account of Absalom’s death at the hand of Joab, while suspended in the boughs of an oak, and the peculiar disposition of his body; and closes with that singularly pathetic lament of the heartbroken king for his wayward and lost child.
Lesson 10.—David’s Love for God’s House. 1 Chron. 22:6–16. Golden Text: “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee.” Ps. 84:4. As the end of David’s life drew near, he called his son Solomon, “The Peaceful,” and charged him to build the Lord’s house, an undertaking for which David had made ample provision, but in which he was not permitted to take part by reason of the blood which he had shed. He also cautioned the young king to keep the holy law of God if he would have prosperity and peace at his hands.
Lesson 11.—David’s Gratitude to God. 2 Sam. 22:40–51. Golden Text: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer.” 2 Sam. 22:2. In this hymn David praises God for subduing under him nations which had risen up against him and for delivering him from the strivings of his own people. David died at the age of seventy, “full of days, riches, and honor.” His last recorded words are found in 2 Sam. 23:1–7.
Lesson 12.—Destructive Vices. Prov. 16:22–33. Golden Text: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov. 16:25. This lesson is a practical one, and deals with many of the evils of daily life, showing the desirability of true understanding as opposed to folly and the instruction of fools. The work of the ungodly and the froward man are compared with the work of him who is slow to anger, and who speaks words which are “sweet to the soul and health to the bones,” showing the power of the one for evil and the other for good.
