April 24

II Samuel 1-5 We are in the Nation Stream. David is now official king of Israel as we read through the International Standard Version today. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Streams Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis <blockquote> <div>Lord, these changes we see today were steps in the right direction. Yes, things were turbulent and messy but growth is rarely clean and neat and your hand was upon David in spite of all the intrigue and surprises that were not always pleasant. May our faith be equally as unshakable as we find David's to be - even when our days are stormy.  Amen</div> </blockquote> <div>The Book of II Samuel IS the reign of David</div> <p>Saul is gone and what's worse for David is that his dear friend Jonathan is dead.  The opening of II Sam. is grief for David.  Yes, Saul spent much of his years on the throne trying to kill David. But David had a character rooted in his walk with God and Israel was God's land and Saul was Israel's King and David respected authority.  So he had respect for Saul - odd as it may seem. David's reaction to someone who had 'finished off' Saul is another testament to the depth of honor that David had for the Lord's anointed. It is in order to mention that II Sam. 1-6 and I Chron. 11-16 is a different perspective on the same time- period. The two portions are worth reading concurrently so to get the full picture.</p> <div>He was now king of Israel, but needed to grieve a bit. His "farewell song" is a treasure.</div> <div> <div> <div>2 - David was rightful king now but some of Saul's men just couldn't accept the transfer of power though the time had come and there was no other way to perceive this development. The battles and skirmishes are gruesome and unnecessary but Saul's "groupies" who couldn't see the bigger picture nor the changing times were ebullient and there were needless deaths because of it. It never is wise to be committed to a dead cause. Nevertheless those loyal to Saul had installed Saul's son; Ish-Bosheth as king over Israel.  The move w