2 Samuel 1–3

After Saul’s Death

In the last chapter of 1 Samuel we read that Saul tried to get his armourbearer to kill him. When the man wouldn’t, Saul fell upon his own sword and died. In 2 Samuel 1 the story is told of a man who thought he could gain David’s favor by claiming to be the one who killed Saul. This man also brought before David the crown and bracelet that signified that Saul was king. When David found out that Saul and Jonathan were dead, he mourned. He also had the man killed who took credit for Saul’s death. The last verses of 2 Samuel 1 are the words of a psalm, or song, that David wrote for the occasion.

David was then directed by the Lord to go to the land of Judah. There the people made him king of Judah. During that same time period, the captain of Saul’s army helped make Saul’s son Ishbosheth the king over the rest of Israel. Some fighting between David’s men and the men of Ishbosheth is explained in 2 Samuel 2–3. These chapters help us understand that David had no desire to act in a revengeful way against his enemies.