1 Kings 11 Solomon ruled over a powerful kingdom that brought him great wealth, but he allowed his many wives to lead his heart astray to worship the gods of other nations. Many of these wives were likely given to him by foreign rulers to seal political alliances (e.g., 1 Kings 3:1). Because of Solomon’s […]
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The Route of David’s Census Takers
2 Samuel 24:1-10; 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 After David had secured his reign over all Israel and greatly expanded his rule over neighboring nations, he commissioned Joab, the commander of his army, to “count the people of Israel and Judah.” Though Scripture does not explicitly state the reason for this order, the report that Joab provided […]
David Defeats the Ammonites and the Arameans
2 Samuel 8:1-8; 10:1-19; 12:21-31; 1 Chronicles 18:2-11; 19:1-19; 20:1-3 The accounts of David’s greatest military victories stand like bookends around the record of David’s most grievous sins. Sometime after David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and the Lord promised to establish his dynasty over Israel, David achieved a series of victories […]
Does Bible Geography Matter?
If you are reading this post, chances are you already understand the importance of understanding context–particularly Bible geography–when reading the Bible. But the value of knowing Bible geography is often difficult to convey to others, because they are not yet aware of all that they are missing when they read the Bible without a sense […]
David Transports the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem
2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13 Perhaps no other event in David’s life demonstrates his zealous love for God than his efforts to move the Ark from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem. The story takes place about twenty years after the Ark had been captured by the Philistines but was later returned to Israel, where it was […]