The Book of Samuel continues into his 2nd book. In Israel's tradition, the scroll of Samuel might have been on continuous scroll but for our purposes, the book has been split into two, divided at the death of Saul. So 2 Samuel 1 begins in the same way 1 Samuel ends, with the telling of Saul's death.
David has returned from his foray against the Amalekites and in Ziklag he receives a messenger from Saul's camp. This messenger bears bad news; Saul is dead, Jonathan is dead and Israel defeated. David is despondent, and mourns the loss of God's anointed and his dear friend. Not exactly the response we might anticipate when a rival dies, but David seems to be cut of a different cloth.
David continues in his questioning of the messenger and finds out that the messenger, a Amalekite, claims to have struck down Saul and taken his royal accessories. First, this is inconsistent with the story told at the end of 1 Samuel, but David is not concerned with that. He is more concerned with the fact that one of Saul's and David's enemies, an Amalekite, has slain God's anointed. The very thing that David refused to do, this messenger did. To make matters worse, it seems that the Amalekite has calculated that he could turn this into a payday.
Well, David has other ideas. David knows that it is God who crowns kings and not some battlefield thief. Perhaps this man did not kill Saul, but just found the crown, perhaps he did kill Saul. It really does not matter, he claims to have killed the anointed of God, and so his life is forfeit. David has him slain.
Having resolved this issue, David launches into poetry, the kind of poetry that identifies David as the author Psalms. David expresses profound grief, not just for Saul or Jonathan, but for all of Israel. This loss is more than personal, this is collective in its nature, all must grieve even David and his band of desperadoes. This death is so powerful, that David hopes that the Philistines do not find out about the disgrace, the Philistines must not be allowed to rejoice in Israel's pain. So great is this death that Mount Gilboa is now seen as the enemy, the mountain as the source of pain. It is the depth of such emotions that let us see the power of David as a human being.
Now Israel, all twelve tribes are leaderless, what will they do? David wonders as well. he inquires of God, and God tells him to go up to Isreal. David responds, sure but where? Hebron is the answer. Hebron is the ancestral root of Judah. At Hebron Judah comes and asks David to be their king. Meanwhile, in the north, the Saulist camp is not defeated but rally around Saul's son, who is really a puppet that Abner, Saul's general controls.
David's first foray into politics comes as he lauds the actions of the people of Jabesh-Gilead, which is in the region controlled by Saulites, for their act in recovering Saul's body. The next step is Abner, who encourages some "play" between warriors which turns into a David victory. Joab, Asahel and Abishai seek to turn this victory into a rout and pursue Abner, Asahel at the forefront.
Abner is able to kill Asahel but cannot shake Joab and the rest of David's men. He calls out to Joab and basically seeks peace. Joab acquieses and the two parties go their own way. David has carried the day but the war between the north and south will continue to rage.
Psalm 50
The Psalm does not take the normal shape of thanksgiving, or plea for assistance, or rejoicing; instead it is a courtroom drama. The time of God's judgment has come and the arguments are laid out.
The opening verses introduce the stage, God Almighty, calls to heaven and to earth to come and declare God's righteousness and behold the divine judge.
At the center of God's judgment is what God finds wrong in the life of God's people. It would seem that God believes that Israel views God in the same way as another person, instead of understanding that God is, well, God.
Worship is at the heart of these concerns. God does not desire sacrifices that do not are without thanks or without an understanding that all that Israel possesses belongs to God anyway. At the heart of worship is thanksgiving, thanksgiving to God who has chosen Israel.
God levels judgment against the wicked; those who profess with their lips but not their hearts. They verbally assert the covenant yet fail to fulfill them.
The psalm closes with God re-asserting God's desire, a people who offer thanks and honor God!
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