The death of Saul, even though he had been rejected, was a terrible disaster for Israel. It was 'of God' (1:12) - in a similar way the Assyrian invasion in the days of Hezekiah is so described.

Vs.8-10 It is clear that the Amalekite was an opportunist.
He thought that if he presented Saul's crown and bracelet to David that he would be rewarded.  It was common knowledge that Saul was the sworn enemy of David. The Amalekite lied when he took credit for the humane death of Saul (1 Sam. 31:4-6). His duplicity backfired on him and it cost him his life (v.15).

The lessons for us as believers are:
(1)That we should obey all authority (1 Pet. 2:17; Titus 3:1).
(2) We should tell the truth (Col. 3:9; Eph. 4:25).

1:14 David does not question whether the Amalakite did kill Saul. He focuses on the central issue. The Amalakite, by his comments, demonstrated that he had no regard for God’s anointed – so whether he killed him or not is not really relevant.

1:8 Israel were to blot out the remembrance of Amalek – Deut 25:19 – and here we have an Amalakite saying he had killed Saul – the king who had failed to keep God’s commandment in Deuteronomy 25

21:1     There is an interesting juxtaposition between the ‘slaughter of the Amalekites’ and the death of Saul. Saul, who was commanded to destroy Amalek - 1Sam 15:3  - is dead. David who was pursued by Saul has completed the work that Saul did not do.

V.18 Jasher means Upright One.  The Book of Jasher was probably a book of songs (poems) written to commemorate the fallen heroes of Israel, and great events in Israel's history.  Here, David remembers the deeds and qualities of Saul and Jonathan.  The only other mention of the book of Jasher, in the Bible, is in regard to Joshua's battle at Beth Horon (Josh 10:12,13).

1:20 ‘tell it not in Gath’ – because the Philistines were Israel’s enemy and had defied the God of Israel before David slew Goliath. This phrase forms the basis of Micah’s lament – Mic 1:10– over the overthrow of the Northern kingdom in the days of Hoshea.

The Second Book of Samuel is really the Second Book of Kings.  It follows on where the First book of Samuel left off, without a break.  The Second Book of Samuel spans a period of about forty years.

V.1 This shows that Ziklag was not completely burned to the ground by the Amalekites (1Sam 30:1).

V.2 Rending (tearing) one’s clothes signified the dividing and scattering of the people (1Kin 11:3). The application could be geographical; by death; or by a spiritual separation.

Interestingly, the High Priest’s robe was constructed of one piece so that it could not be torn (Exo 39:23). Compare this to the garment of Jesus (our High Priest) (John 19:23,24).  

The High Priest, under the Law, was forbidden to rend (any of) his clothes (Lev 21:10). But, ironically, that is exactly what the High Priest (Caiaphas) did while accusing Jesus (Matt 26:65).

Yahweh prefers circumcision of the heart to the physical circumcision under the law (Deut 10:16; 30:6; Col 2:11).  Likewise, He prefers the rending of one’s heart to that of a garment (Joel 2:13). 

Putting earth on one’s head was a sign of humility, as the covering of a person with earth meant the grave, burial, death (Psa 44:25).

Vs.19-27 David’s lamentation, recorded here, could easily appear as one of his psalms.  It does not appear in the Book of Psalms because it appears in the Book of Jasher, of which we have no copy.

1:2-10 Some might see the difference between the record of Saul’s death here and what is recorded in 1Sam 31:4-6 as an indication of a contradiction in the Bible. Others might wonder which account reflects the truth about what happened. Actually the resolution is quite clear. The record in 1Sam 31:4-6is a Divine comments – not a first person account. It was given by inspiration. The account here in 2Sam 1:2-10 records accurately what the Amalakite said. So we can safely conclude that the record in 1Sam 31is the correct one and that the Amalakite in 2 Samuel 1 was just hoping for some reward.

:33 Another quotation from Deuteronomy 28:26

V.18 Not merely isolated individuals practised idolatry, young and old, men and women, and whole families, contributed their joint efforts to promote it. Oh, that there was the same zeal for the worship of God as there is for error.Jer 44:17,19  Jer 19:13 

Vs.4, 9-11 The wayward believed that they could engage in all kinds of idolatrous abomination and yet still be sanctified by the temple.  The Lord Jesus chides the scribes and Pharisees for similar hypocrisy (Matt 23:16-22).

V.18 The idolatrous pagan practice of offering cakes to the Queen of Heaven was incorporated into apostate Christianity.  They took the form of hot cross buns which are still traditionally eaten on (what is commonly called) Good Friday. 

7:21-25  Of course God did command the offering of sacrifices. However they were not to be seen as an end in themselves. Sacrifices had to be offered because of sin and so there was no particular virtue in offering them. Their offering should have been an indication of the repentance of the offerer, However, it seems n the days of Jeremiah the nation made a virtue of the sacrifices and continued to enjoy their sinful life style.

Jer 7:11 - the Lord's house became a den of robbers but it will become a house of prayer for Jew and Gentile Matt 21:13;Mark 11:17;Luke 19:45-46;Isa 56:7.

Jer 7:25-26 - they didn't listen to the prophets, in fact, they even treated them shamefully as they did Jesus Matt 21:33-41.

Jer 7:31 - At times God wanted the Israelites to kill their idol worshipping neighbors who would lead them to death via the adoption of their beliefs (Num 25:1-5; Deut 7:1-4); here we have child sacrifices presumably to Molech.

The situation in Judah was getting quite desperate wasn't it? In v31 we read that the people were sacrificing their children by passing them through fire by the high places of Tophet. How could the people of God have degenerated to such an evil practice?

Several generations earlier Jerusalem had been surrounded by a massive Assyrian army intent on destroying it. God had promised through the prophet Isaiah that He would fight for Jerusalem if they turned to Him. This they did, or at least their king Hezekiah did, and God's angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in the camp in one night. Now we need to ask the question "what did they do with all the bodies?". The answer is in Isa 30:27-33 which is a prophecy of that destruction.

"Assyria will be beaten down... for Tophet was established of old, Yes for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large."

The answer is Tophet, the Valley of Hinnom. God had created it from "of old" for this day of destruction, and it was there that they dragged man after man of the Assyrian army and threw them onto pyres until they were all burned away. But now we need to ask the question "how long did that take?". I guess the answer is something similar to Eze 39:6-12, the burial of Gog's army which will take 7 months and the burning of their weapons 7 years. The question then arises "what effect did that have on the people of Judah and Jerusalem?". Well, let's put it in context a little. The people miraculously went from starvation and certain death to complete freedom in one day. They saw over the city walls corpses as far as the eye could see. Then for the next half a year they smelled the burning of corpses and saw the flames in the valley of Tophet, a real and constant reminder of their miraculous victory.

So do you think they attributed this victory to Yahweh, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob? No, of course not! Their superstition combined with the joy of victory and the visual symbol of that victory, the valley which burned the corpses of their enemy, and they attributed their salvation to idols instead! Come to 2 Kings 21 and see for yourself what the immediate heir to Hezekiah's throne did: 2Kin 21:4-7 "he worshipped all the host of heaven... he burned his sons in the fire". This exact list of abominations is listed in Jer 7:18, 30-31 and here we can see where it took place: the valley of Tophet.

So we can see that idolatry and every evil act can be traced back to some significant event. The most disturbing thing about this is that the people attributed God's victory to the sun. moon and stars, rather than to God, even though He had forecast the events exactly through the prophet Isaiah. This was utterly abhorrent to God who is a jealous God. His solution was to use that same valley and that same fire for their wretched bodies (v32-34).

7:9 The condemnation contained in this verse is similar to that in Zeph 1:5 who was a contemporary prophet with Jeremiah.

V.4 The temple of Yahweh was considered, by the Jews, to be indestructible.  Therefore, the Jews felt safe in knowing that Yahweh would not allow His temple (and, by extension, His city) to be destroyed.  People continued their abominable activities in the belief that they would be left untouched.  However, Yahweh, through Jeremiah, dispels any notion of safety (vs.11-14).  

7:16 Solomon Had prayed to God that he would hear when His people prayed –1Kin 8:30 – but now God says he will not hear even if a faithful prophet prays on their behalf. The chilling words of the Psalm have come to pass ‘I gave them up to their own hearts lusts’ –Psa 81:12

V.1 Jeremiah begins to prophesy again. This particular prophecy will last through Ch.9.

V.2 Jeremiah was told to stand in the gates of the temple to proclaim the prophecy.  The reason for that was to answer the foolishness of the Jews (Prov 26:5).  The Jews thought that God would never allow His house, the temple, to be destroyed.

V.4 Repeating something three times shows the intensity of conviction of the speaker (See Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29).  The wayward Jews were firm in their conviction that God’s house, the temple, would never be destroyed. 

The Jews in Jesus’ time also felt that their temple would never be destroyed.  They did not learn from history. It had already taken 46 years to build the current temple, and it was not yet finished (John 2:20). Like their ancient brethren, the Jews were swearing by the temple and everything in it (Matt 23:16-22).

But, Jesus predicted that this magnificent temple would be destroyed (Mark 13:1,2).  That, of course, happened in 70 AD, which established Jesus as a genuine prophet (Deut 18:15-22).  Therefore, everything else He said is also true.  And, one thing He commanded was not to swear by divine things (Matt 5:33-37).

V.10 Despite all the abominations the Jews had done, they felt covered by the, so-called, indestructible temple.

V.12 The tabernacle was first set up in Shiloh (Josh 18:1). Later, Israel defiled it (Judg 18:31).  Because of that transgression, Yahweh gave the ark to the Philistines (1Sam 5:1). And, because of Jerusalem’s transgressions, it would be cursed like Shiloh (v.14; Jer 26:6).

V.18 The original queen of heaven was Nimrod’s wife Semiramis, so ordained in Babylon. After the tower of Babel incident, people were scattered into all lands.  They carried the religion of Babylon with them. Many nations, today, have their own version of the Queen of Heaven. The Catholic Church has declared Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Queen of Heaven.

V.31 Israel offered its live children as burnt sacrifices to Molech.  Can you imagine listening to the plaintive screams of your children as they were consumed by flames?

God's glorious house had been turned over to idols (v30) as explained in 2Chron 33:4-7. And the people thought this was ok with God. But this was the culmination of Judah's evil against God. It's like you waiting for your husband to go away on business, bringing several men into your bed, allowing them to put all their belongings in the house, wear your husbands clothes and aftershave, and then when he returns, asking him what his problem is? More than that, when your husband comes home one of your lovers is roasting your children on a barbeque while you look on (v31) and because he's wearing your husband's clothes everyone blames your husband for it. How should your husband feel?

Putting Israel's history into a personal setting will help us to understand why He caused such dreadful judgements to come upon Israel and Judah. We can better grasp His anger, which on the face of it seems out of character. This is why time and time again He uses the picture of marriage (3:1-14).

The point for us is that God's love and forgiveness is far greater than any we could muster. We would never be able to forgive that woman, but God can (v3-7).

7:3 Another call from God to repentance so that He does not have to bring the captivity upon them. Whilst some might see Jeremiah as a prophet of doom he repeatedly presents repentance as the way to avoid disaster.

18:10 In saying ‘their angels’ Jesus reminded the disciples that God’s angels take care of His people – Psa 91:11

18:23  In using the word ‘therefore’ the parable that Jesus gives in verses :23-35 is to be seen as an application of the instruction that Jesus has just given to Peter.

Vs.15-17 Here, a formula is presented for the resolution of a moral error done privately to one brother by another brother.  There is a different resolution to a publicly made error.  Look how Paul handled Peter's public error (Gal 2:11-14).

V.11 Some manuscripts (five) have omitted this verse.

18:16 The mention of ‘two or three witnesses’ echoes the principle laid out in the law of Moses – Deut 19:15

V.3 Little children have no pride.  Furthermore, they are totally dependent on their parents in which they have complete faith. Therefore, Jesus expects His followers to become humble and have total faith in Yahweh.

Vs.5,6,10 The true brothers and sisters of Jesus should be gladly received, as if they were Him.  If anyone entices such a brother or sister to sin, then that person has signed his or her own death warrant.

Vs.5-9  When the words offend and offences are used in this chapter they refer to things that cause sin. They are not to be confused with the modern meaning of offence, which is displeasure with something or somebody.  The modern meaning of offence is preference based and not morally governed.  Our focus should always be on what offends God.

Vs.8,9 Jesus is not suggesting elective surgery.  Rather, He is advocating cutting off the impulses which provoke one to sin (1Cor 9:27).

Vs.11-14 Individuals and ecclesias should make every effort to re-gain members who have left the fold for whatever reason. Ecclesias should not be trigger-happy in disfellowshipping members.  In fact, the word disfellowship should not even be in the vocabulary. 

Sometimes it might be necessary to set aside an individual(s) for him/her/them to contemplate and re-evaluate the situation that caused the separation, always with the view to recovery.  It should be remembered that the separated one(s) still belongs to Jesus, and so handle with care.

Vs.15-17 The three-fold procedure of addressing the sin of a brother is clearly laid out.  Most problems should be cleared up in stage one. Does this three-fold procedure answer to the three-stage slide into sin (Psa 1:1)? 

V.20 There is nothing mysterious about this statement, nor is it hard to understand. But, do we really take it at face value?

Vs.21,22 Compare to Gen 4:24.  The same evaluation is given. Both 7 and 10 (or any multiple of them) convey completeness (fullness).  And so, the product of two complete numbers consolidates completeness to an endless degree.  As Yahweh can punish to infinity, man should forgive his brother to infinity.

Vs.23,28 Ten thousand and a hundred (multiples of ten) are used to illustrate complete sums.

18:23-35 It is so easy, when we have been wronged, to forget the degree to which we wrong God and receive His bountiful forgiveness.