David moves the Ark of the Testimony to Yerushalayim. Along the way, a priest is killed when he tries to “help” God in keeping the Ark from falling from a cart.
Author: Daniel
David begins to establish himself in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). He builds a home and continues to establish his household. The Philistines find out about David’s promotion and attacks him but God helps David prevail against his enemies. After David pushes the Philistines back to their historic borders, David starts to bring the Ark of the Testimony from its place of exile back to Yerushalayim but the endeavor runs into trouble and the Ark’s trip to Yerushalayim stalls.
David finally brings all the tribes of Israel under one ruler and starts considering Yerushalayim as the center for the nation.
Saul is dead but David is not yet king over all of Israel. As the chapter begins “Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually” (2nd Sam. 3:1). Most of Saul’s sons are dead but David’s family is growing.
David is anointed king of Yehudah (Judah), but he must now fight the house of Saul for control of all the tribes.
David discovers the result of the war between Saul and the Philistines. The 2nd Samuel 1 starts with David’s revealing his utter heartbreak at hearing of the death of his best friend, Yahunatan (Jonathan).
What do Yonatan/Yahunatan (Jonathan), Eliyahu (Elijah) and Yokhanan the Mikvatizer (John the Baptist) have in common? The pattern of the preparer and the anointed one repeats throughout Scripture and is evident in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel.