2 Samuel 5:13-16
Verse 13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
Having watched the beautiful palace being built got David to thinking about his family. With a home to bring them to it was important to move them to the new capital city. We don’t know for sure when he would have collected his parents from Moab where he had left them for safekeeping while running from King Saul. It could have been when he was anointed king of Judah in Hebron or it may have been when he was moving his family to Jerusalem. One thing we know is that he would have gathered them at some point.
His parents weren’t the only loved ones that he desired to have near. Though it went against God’s design for marriage and broke the guidelines God had set for the kings of His people, David married many women and had many concubines. Concubine isn’t a word we throw around much in our day although by definition it happens at times. It is a woman who lives with a man as a wife would but isn’t married to him and may even be thought of us of lower status than the man. Her worth would have seemed less than that of a wife and her children and she and her children may have less legal rights to an inheritance.
Though this practice of having concubines was not endorsed by God, it was common in Old Testament times. There are many examples throughout the Old Testament where family arguments originated due to the relational tensions that came with multiple families sharing common parentage. There were also various things which could cause distractions for a king from his royal duties and this is likely one reason that God commanded His kings to avoid the use of multiple women.
The wives that David had may have largely been comprised of daughters of foreign kings given to David as a reward of treaty with the other country. This was something God had warned His people about in the wilderness as it would be a way that worship of the false gods would become an issue for the nation of God. Whether the god of pleasure or the many statues that were dedicated to pleasure, David was bound to find out that amassing wives and concubines didn’t please God and would end up causing him much grief.
Making It Personal
Are there things you do which you know displease God but you like them too much to give them up? Why does it mean so much to you? What would it mean to your relationship with God to rid your life of it?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you do things you know Jesus wouldn’t like? Why do you do them? Do you love Jesus enough to stop doing them?
Closing Prayer
Father, there are so many things we do in life that go against Your commands, whether it is treating people badly, thinking things we shouldn’t or a number of other things, it proves You don’t hold our whole heart. Convict us strongly when we step outside Your will and give us the strength to obey Your leading. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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