Strange little chapter, isn’t it? It seems out of place from the rest of the Book of 2 Samuel, but I know in my heart of hearts it has a purpose. It is interesting that David seemingly had to “sacrifice” seven men in order to end a famine. I can hear the arguments against Christianity right now! Tales such as these get skewed and taken out of context these days, and they are used as excuses to blasphemy God and His ways. They also are hard to explain to new believers. Then the text skips to killing giants, which were supposed to be wiped out a long time ago. We have discussed in the past how the giants may have survived, and it’s mostly due to the fact that the Israelites didn’t kill them all off when God told them to. Now, years and years later, the giants are still wreaking havoc for the Israelites, and we are faced with deciphering chapters like this today. I bet God sometimes looks down on us and just shakes His head as He’s saying for the umpteenth time, “I told you that would come back to bite you.”
Writing prompt: odds and ends
Why do you think God threw this chapter in the middle of this book? Write your thoughts on the two main topics it covers and try to surmise why they are relevant to David’s story.
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