#21 The Saga of David: David Burying Enemies

In the last episode we were in 2 Samuel 20, now we are in 2 Samuel 21 and something interesting happens.  We get a rather large time flashback. In fact the events we discuss in this episode may have occurred more than 30 years before chapter 20.  There are many reasons why this may have happened and why the ancient historians wrote it this way. One might be that we have had quite enough of David and all of his weaknesses. Another reason may be that given all of Davids’ different flaws, it now could be time to see a few things that he got right, and why he is referred to as a man after God’s own heart.

David was a compassionate man, he was a loving man, and in this teaching we will see that in his handling of a certain ethnic group associated with the Nation of israel. We must be aware that although certain old testament events do not specifically apply to all aspects of Chirstian life, not matter what community we are in or wherever we are we must always be kind and compassionate to all those who are in need. We see that in David’s handling of this situation discussed in this teaching of this specific ethnic group that he comes in contact with. 

As a king, even against his own personal prejudices, David had to ensure full justice to all of his subjects.  Above all, promises made to minorities had to be kept, especially when those promises concerned the rights of some of those that we might call second class citizens, even if some first class citizens had to suffer for it.