Day 73 – December 5, 2023: II Samuel 6-10 and Psalms 20 and 21

David begins his reign by bringing the Ark of the Covenant, which for all intents and purposes was the actual presence of God, into Jerusalem. There is a bit of a mishap as it makes its way to Jerusalem which makes David really angry, but not angry enough to leave the ark out of Jerusalem. As it makes its way into Jerusalem David is really, really excited. So much so that he embarrasses his wife. Not a good move.

Chapter 7 is key because it is here where we see God make his covenant with David and it is from this covenant that we know that Jesus was to come. It is from the house of David that deliverance is to come. You may not be able to see all of that in this chapter, but on this side of history we can see the significance of this covenant that God makes with David. It is a covenant that as Christians we hang our hats on. The Messiah, our Savior, the annointed one, the Christ is to come from the line of David, and we know that he did just that in Jesus.

A couple thoughts on the Psalms that we read. They are psalms of victory where the author, supposedly David, is extolling the presence of God in the defeat of his enemies. The remaining chapters of Samuel that we read account his battles and how God gave him detailed strategy that allowed him to overcome his enemies. These celebratory Psalms regale the presence of God and downplay the presence of the soldiers. This is a constant theme.