2Sa 3:2 | KingComments | STEP | These verses are between two verses about the war between the house of Saul and the house of David ( ). While David waits quietly, our attention is focused on his family. This develops in a way which is not after God’s mind. The seed has been laid, from which later many troubles for David will come forth. This suggests that we can quietly wait for God’s time, but which it is not intended that we should be dealing with wrong things. Not that starting a family is wrong, but the way David does do this, is. David is not only a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is in his weakness and sins also a picture of us. We find in these verses that he has taken even more wives next to Abigail and Ahinoam. In doing so, he has not only gone even further against the order of God’s creation, but also against God’s explicit law for kingship, in which it is forbidden to take more than one wife ( ). From his several wives, he has sons who have caused major problems. In Hebron David has six sons. They are not boys who have given him much pleasure. In particular Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah will break David’s heart as father. Hebron means ‘fellowship’, but to be in a place that speaks of fellowship is not yet a guarantee that everything that happens there is also a consequence of fellowship with God. What later becomes the fall of Solomon, his many wives, is unfortunately not strange to David either. Having ’only’ one wife is not a guarantee for a good marriage, nor is it a guarantee that children born in this marriage only cause joy. Having more than one wife, however, is completely against the will of God and is guaranteed to cause problems. How much troubles and worries David would have spared himself if he had limited himself to Abigail. His first son is Amnon, the son of Ahinoam. David possible has taken Ahinoam after he has taken Abigail as his wife ( ). Amnon rapes his half-sister ( ). Through Abigail he receives his second son, Chileab, also called Daniel ( ). From him we hear nothing else. He may have died young. The third son, Absalom, is born from his relationship with “Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur”. How he got to her is not known. It may have been a political marriage. Maybe she was taken prisoner by him ( ). Geshur is located in Syria ( ), a neighboring people. David had a particular weakness for this son. This could not prevent and possibly even led Absalom to revolt against his father and to kick him off the throne to take place there himself (2 Samuel 14-18). Adonijah, the fourth son, is also someone who wants to kick his father off the throne to become a king himself ( ). This is after Absalom died. Of the fifth and sixth son we only know their names.

‏ 2 Samuel 3:2

The Sons of David

These verses are between two verses about the war between the house of Saul and the house of David (2Sam 3:1 ; 6). While David waits quietly, our attention is focused on his family. This develops in a way which is not after God’s mind. The seed has been laid, from which later many troubles for David will come forth. This suggests that we can quietly wait for God’s time, but which it is not intended that we should be dealing with wrong things. Not that starting a family is wrong, but the way David does do this, is.

David is not only a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is in his weakness and sins also a picture of us. We find in these verses that he has taken even more wives next to Abigail and Ahinoam. In doing so, he has not only gone even further against the order of God’s creation, but also against God’s explicit law for kingship, in which it is forbidden to take more than one wife (Deu 17:17a). From his several wives, he has sons who have caused major problems.

In Hebron David has six sons. They are not boys who have given him much pleasure. In particular Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah will break David’s heart as father. Hebron means ‘fellowship’, but to be in a place that speaks of fellowship is not yet a guarantee that everything that happens there is also a consequence of fellowship with God. What later becomes the fall of Solomon, his many wives, is unfortunately not strange to David either.

Having ’only’ one wife is not a guarantee for a good marriage, nor is it a guarantee that children born in this marriage only cause joy. Having more than one wife, however, is completely against the will of God and is guaranteed to cause problems. How much troubles and worries David would have spared himself if he had limited himself to Abigail.

His first son is Amnon, the son of Ahinoam. David possible has taken Ahinoam after he has taken Abigail as his wife (1Sam 25:43). Amnon rapes his half-sister (2Sam 13:11-14).

Through Abigail he receives his second son, Chileab, also called Daniel (1Chr 3:1). From him we hear nothing else. He may have died young.

The third son, Absalom, is born from his relationship with “Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur”. How he got to her is not known. It may have been a political marriage. Maybe she was taken prisoner by him (1Sam 27:8). Geshur is located in Syria (2Sam 15:8), a neighboring people. David had a particular weakness for this son. This could not prevent and possibly even led Absalom to revolt against his father and to kick him off the throne to take place there himself (2 Samuel 14-18).

Adonijah, the fourth son, is also someone who wants to kick his father off the throne to become a king himself (1Kgs 1:5-10 ; 41-53). This is after Absalom died.

Of the fifth and sixth son we only know their names.