I have mixed feelings about the second book of Samuel. I quite enjoyed reading the first half, although it threw up some interesting questions for me.

For example, in chapter 3, there’s the sad little love triangle between David, Michal and her husband Paltiel. Paltiel goes along weeping after Michal as she’s taken away from him to go to David. How did she feel though, I wonder? It doesn’t say. But in Chapter 6, Michal sees David leaping and dancing and she ‘despised him in her heart’. I wonder if this was because he’d taken her from her husband in the first place?

Reading more about David, I was moved by his pain and mourning for Saul and Abner. He was clearly a sensitive man.

But then the story takes a dive after David looked twice at Bathsheba. Although The Bible Project warns that things would go south for David in the second half of the book, I didn’t expect to find it so difficult to read.

There seemed to be so many names and places to keep track of, plus random little details which I couldn’t tell if they were important or not. The second half of 2 Samuel was definitely a slog.

In Chapter 15, I was struck by one particular contrast between David and Jesus. David went up the mount of olives when he had to leave Jerusalem because an attack was coming. The scene of many people weeping, walking with him is very different to Jesus’ time up the mount of olives on Maundy Thursday. Jesus was alone up there, with the disciples falling asleep. David, although also miserable, had a big following.

So, overall, not my favourite. I chose the picture with the clouds because I felt it was a book of contrasts. There’s sun and success at the beginning to be followed by some pretty dark clouds.

Sophia fell asleep twice while listening to me read this book aloud.

My favourite verse was: 2 Samuel 7.18: Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

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L