Second Samuel continues, without a break, the story begun in 1 Samuel - the two were originally one book. The difference is that David, who once sought only to survive, now seeks to unify a badly divided country. His greater responsibilities put extra stress on his leadership qualities. You can study his life with leadership in mind. You can also study chapters 11-20 to see the cancerous effects of a leader's private sins and poor family leadership.
Chapters 21-24 seem to be an appendix, bringing in other important events and facts of David's reign. Much of 2 Samuel's story is also told in 1 Chronicles 11-21, often word for word the same. |
