II Samuel 8-9 Dear RTB’ers, Today we see two sides of David’s life – his military prowess and his compassion. First, his military victories: And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. (v. 8:6b, repeated verbatim in 14b) In chapter 8 we see the height of David’s geographic power, to the north, with …
Category Archives: RTB 2025 – Search the Scriptures, Part 2
August 4 / II Samuel 7
II Samuel 7 Dear RTB’ers, King David is living in his cedar house and he looks over and sees the Ark of God residing in a tent. So he resolves to build a “house” for a dwelling place for the Ark. A nice thought. He even has his prophet’s approval. However, God is not interested …
August 3 / II Samuel 5:17-6:23
II Samuel 5:17-6:23 For David’s bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and why the first attempt was fatally flawed but not the second, I refer you to the parallel passage in I Chronicles 13,15 and my corresponding commentary from April 5, 2023. Today I’d like to briefly consider Michal and her relationship …
August 2 / II Samuel 4:1-5:16
II Samuel 4:1-5:16 Remember the Amalekite that delivered the news of Saul’s death to David in II Samuel 1, which we looked at two days ago? It should not take much insight to see the parallels between that Amalekite and the two sons of Rimmon who assassinate Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son. Like the Amalekite, these two …
August 1 / II Samuel 2-3
II Samuel 2-3 I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of Israel’s “United Monarchy” as passing from Saul to David and on to Solomon fairly smoothly, and that it is only with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, that the kingdom divides. I tend to forget this relatively brief period after Saul’s death when David …
July 31 / II Samuel 1
II Samuel 1 Today we return to our march through Old Testament history, picking up where we left off before we diverted into Job. Recall the history up to this point: That is where we left off on June 25. So Saul is dead, along with his son, Jonathan, and David receives the news from …
August 2025 Readings
Date Readings Verses 01-Aug II Samuel 2-3 71 02-Aug II Samuel 4:1-5:16 28 03-Aug II Samuel 5:17-6:23 32 04-Aug II Samuel 7 29 05-Aug II Samuel 8-9 31 06-Aug II Samuel 10-11 46 07-Aug II Samuel 12:1-13:37 68 08-Aug II Samuel 13:38-14:33 35 09-Aug II Samuel 15:1-16:14 51 10-Aug II Samuel 16:15-17:29 38 11-Aug II …
July 30 / Psalm 51
Psalm 51 As the superscription for today’s psalm indicates, the backdrop for Psalm 51 is David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, and the subsequent confrontation of David by Nathan the prophet. You can find that story in II Samuel 11-12. You might also want to see our commentary on …
July 29 / Psalm 50
Psalm 50 Dear RTB’ers, God addressing the Israelis – first His people (vv. 7-15), then the wicked (vv. 16-22). To His people He talks of their sacrifices. Although not rejecting those sacrifices, He seems to be suggesting that their hearts may not be right, but that their devotion to Him would be more important to …
July 28 / Psalm 49
Psalms 49 Dear RTB’ers, Today’s Psalm 49 reads more like a Proverb than a Psalm: Let’s not fret over the wealthy, the powerful and what they can do to us; death awaits them, just like anyone else. Even the wise and the foolish die and leave their wealth to others. Be not afraid when a …