Week 12 2 Samuel
So far I’ve only read about David’s Hebron Years: he had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-tree years. Something I noticed is that other than the Lord specifically telling David to go to Hebron at the beginning of chapter two there isn’t much said about the Lord for the next 86-verses. I counted about twenty-two events that happened during the Hebron Years – Ishbosheth Abner Joab Asahel & like that – but almost nothing said about the Lord being part of that mix.
I’m not sure why the writer wrote it that way but he really keeps the Lord under wraps.
It’s way more useful for a reader when the bible says something like: David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him. Then I know.
Still…even though 2 Samuel two-three-four don’t spell out that the Lord helped David it doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t.
I read the bible and I find things left unsaid. I can just keep reading. Or I can try filling in the blanks – which can be a bit of a risky game. But one pretty fair place to begin is to ask myself: if the original writer had filled in that gap what would he likely have said?
Note: quotes from 1 Samuel 5:4-5, 10 (NLT)