2 Samuel 1:1

The first book gave us Israel tired of their original relationship with God. It gave us the testing of the king they chose, and it ended in the destruction of Saul and his house. The second book contains the establishment of David as king, according to God. Yet David failed far more in ease and high position than he did under the oppression and persecution of Saul.

The beginning of the Second Book of Samuel presents David as the conqueror of Amalek. It shows how first Judah, and then all Israel, come step by step to recognize his rule. Yet that rule is not complete until Solomon's glorious throne stands in Jerusalem. So in this book we find David, the king of grace, established in power — a striking picture of the Messiah at the beginning of His reign.

Verse 1 shows us that David's slaughter of the Amalekites took place at about the same time as the Philistine defeat of Israel.

Two events mark the dawn of David's reign. The first is the judgment of Israel and of Israel's prince on the mountains of Gilboa. The second is the victory over Amalek, won by the man who will soon be king. Christ's reign will carry the same marks. It can only be set up by judgment on the Antichrist and on the Jews who have turned away from God, and by a victory that leaves powerless the great enemy of God, of His Anointed, and of men. Indeed, Satan will be bound for this very purpose: to bring in Christ's thousand-year reign (Rev. 19:19-20:3).

David heard the news of Saul's death at Ziklag, on the third day after his victory over the Amalekites (2 Sam. 1). What place could have been more fitting for him to hear it? Everything around him would remind him of his own sinful weakness and failure. It would also remind him of the abounding mercies of the Lord… His self-will had plunged him into great distress, but the grace of the Lord was wonderful. The Lord gave him strength in his soul. So he took in the news that told him the way to the throne was open at last, and he took it in without a selfish thought.

The charred ruins of Ziklag spoke of the discipline he had tasted so deeply and needed so much. At the same time, the gifts he was sending here and there announced the repayment and victory the Lord had granted him. The contrast between the two witnesses is striking. One told of his own failure. The other told, more widely and more plainly, of the goodness and favour of the Lord.

Amalek means "licking up," and speaks of the lusts of the flesh that threaten the people of God without a break. God gave Saul power to defeat that enemy. Yet Saul would not carry out God's judgment against Amalek in full. And later it was an Amalekite who told David that he had killed Saul.

This period ends with David's victory over Amalek, who stands for Satan in the Scriptures (Ex. 17:8-16). The king after God's mind strikes down the enemy Saul had spared. But the king after the flesh had once beaten the Philistines, and now he falls when they attack him. All the early successes of his career come to nothing.