2 Samuel 13-18
Two years after Absalom’s half-brother Amnon assaulted his sister, Absalom took revenge. He invited Amnon to attend the shearing of his sheep, and there he directed all his men to kill Amnon. Absalom fled to Geshur, where his mother’s father was king (2 Samuel 3:3). After three years David’s commander Joab arranged for a woman from Tekoa to persuade David to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem with the assurance that he would not be harmed for killing Amnon. David agreed, but after Absalom returned he began a conspiracy against David in which he ingratiated himself to the people and orchestrated a coup. He arranged to travel to Hebron, where his followers declared him king, and he headed for Jerusalem to overthrow David. When David was informed of Absalom’s actions in Hebron, David and those loyal to him fled across the Jordan River to Mahanaim. Absalom mustered an army and traveled to Mahanaim to attack David, and they engaged David’s forces in the forest of Ephraim. David’s men thoroughly defeated Absalom’s army, and Absalom himself was killed after his mule rode under and oak tree and left him dangling in mid-air by his long hair.
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Josiah Battles Neco
2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35
As the Assyrian Empire was collapsing and losing territory to the advancing Medes and Babylonians, King Josiah of Judah seized the opportunity to expand his domain to include much of Israel’s former territory. Then in 609 B.C., Pharaoh Neco of Egypt advanced to Carchemish to assist the Assyrians, and Josiah tried to stop him at Megiddo. Neco killed Josiah and continued on to Carchemish, but apparently the delay caused by Josiah’s forces prevented Neco from arriving in time to save Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2). Not long after this the rest of Assyria fell to the Medes and the Babylonians.
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The Ministries of Philip and Peter
When a dispute arose in the early church regarding the daily distribution of food, the Twelve apostles appointed seven men to ensure that this ministry was being done effectively and fairly. Philip, traditionally called “the Evangelist,” was one of the seven men chosen for this role (Acts 6:1-7). When persecution of believers first broke out in Jerusalem, Philip traveled to Samaria and conducted a powerful ministry there, and many Samaritans became believers (Acts 8:1-9). Later the angel of the Lord told Philip to take the road to Gaza, and along the way Philip met an Ethiopian royal official who was returning home after worshiping at the Temple. Philip helped him understand a passage in Isaiah 53 regarding the Messiah (Acts 8:26-38), and the official became a believer. Immediately after the Ethiopian official was baptized, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip to Azotus, and then Philip preached in various towns as he traveled to Caesarea (Acts 8:39-40). The apostle Peter traveled to Lydda and healed a believer named Aeneas, and then he traveled to Joppa and raised a believer named Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:32-43). After this Peter traveled to Caesarea to meet with a Gentile named Cornelius, who also became a believer (Acts 10).
The Conquest of Canaan: The Southern Campaign
Joshua 9-10
As news spread that mighty Jericho had fallen to the Israelites and that their intention was to conquer all of Canaan, fear grew among the Canaanites. To avoid being wiped out by the Israelites, the people of Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim deceived the Israelites into thinking they lived far away, and they made a peace treaty with them (Joshua 9). Soon after this, several Amorite cities in southern Canaan joined together to attack the Gibeonites, so the Gibeonites appealed to the Israelites for help. Joshua led the Israelites on an all night march from Gilgal to Gibeon and defeated the Amorites. The Israelites continued to pursue the Amorites and eventually captured the cities of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, and Debir (Joshua 10), and likely Jarmuth and Hebron as well (see Joshua 10:23).
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The Ark of the Covenant Is Captured and Returned
1 Samuel 6:1-7:2
After the Israelites were defeated in battle by the Philistines between Aphek and Ebenezer, the elders of Israel chose to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh to the battle to ensure victory. But the Philistines defeated them again and captured the Ark. They carried it to Ashdod and placed it in the temple of Dagon. But while the Ark was there, the Lord destroyed the idol of Dagon and afflicted the people with tumors, so they sent the Ark to Gath. Again the Lord afflicted the people of Gath with tumors, so they sent the Ark to Ekron, where the same thing happened again. After seven months with the Ark, the Philistines returned the Ark along with a guilt offering of five gold tumors and five gold rats in the hopes that the afflictions would cease. They placed the Ark on a new cart hitched to two milk cows, which pulled the cart to the town of Beth-shemesh. Then Israelites came and took the Ark to Kiriath-jearim, where the Ark stayed for twenty years.
