The Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7 concerns God’s promise to raise up David’s ‘offspring’, thereby establishing the Davidic kingdom (verse 12). Remarkably Yahweh promises:
I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed before you (verses 14-15).
Greg Goswell helpfully shows that this focus on God as father involves sharp contrast with the other major father-son relationships depicted in 1-2 Samuel:
- Eli and his sons. The text contrasts Samuel with Eli’s wicked sons (“sons of Belial”) with Samuel becoming Eli’s ‘true’ son (“my son”, 3:6, 16). The text also emphasises Eli’s failure to discipline his sons.
- Samuel and his sons with Saul moving from being Kish’s son to becoming Samuel’s ‘son.’
- Saul and his sons.
- David and his sons.
Goswell comments on Eli’s failure to discipline his sons:
Eli failed in his fathering role, and it is this that brings down his house. He ‘kept hearing’ of his sons’ evil deeds (2:22), making him the recipient of a number of bad reports on which he did not effectively act. On the other hand, Eli only knew of his sons’ sins second-hand through reports brought to him (distancing Eli from their sins). The fact that ‘Eli was very old’ (2:22) explains why he has no direct involvement in sacrificing and might also seem to excuse his ineffective control of his sons. What most upsets Eli is that their behaviour has become the subject of public comment (alluded to twice in vv. 23-24) and he only speaks to his sons about their faults in generalities (“such things… your evil doings”), failing to mention the specific crimes of which he has been told (their improper taking of unboiled meat; their sexual escapades). Eli does not explicitly say that they are sinning against God (2:25a) and what God thinks of their misdemeanours is not the thrust of his speech. His sons refused to heed his words (2:25b), the terminology being drawn from Deuteronomy 21:18-21, and this implies also that Eli should have taken decisive action against them (10).
Samuel’s sons are likewise an embarrassment to him. Although Samuel’s personal conduct is exemplary his sons’ wickedness highlights the need for effective discipline with the text possibly implying inadequacies in Samuel’s own parenting.
Saul is introduced as the dutiful son of Kish but quickly enters a relationship with Samuel akin to that of a father to a son. While Samuel’s sons will not succeed him in office it is at least intended by the people that Saul should do so. But Saul too proves to be a wayward son, evoking stern responses from Samuel. Saul’s relationship with his own son Jonathan, and his daughter Michal, similarly illustrate a constant motif in 1-2 Samuel: how a failure in kingship detrimentally impacts fatherhood and vice versa. As Goswell observes: “The Books of Samuel show that a leader cannot (finally) separate his public and his private worlds” (18).
This becomes palpably clear in the life of David who conspicuously fails to discipline his sons leading to tragic consequences:
David’s failure to discipline his sons finds a telling example in 13:21, where he is ‘very angry’ but no action against Amnon follows, either rebuke or disciplinary punishment. As noted by James S. Ackerman, only at this point in the chapter is David designated ‘King David’, suggesting to Ackerman either that David the soft-hearted father is not able to effectively carry out his judicial role as king or that David is so preoccupied being king that he never gets around to sorting out this important family matter (18).
Goswell draws our attention to 1 Kings 1:6a where concerning Adonijah we read of David: “His father had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?‘” This typifies David’s failure to discipline his sons.
Goswell incorporates many other fine exegetical insights into his analysis of father-son relations in the books of Samuel. In particular, he shows how God’s commitment to disciplining his son, the promised David successor, serves to contrast the faithfulness of God as Father with the miserable examples of human fatherhood displayed in the books of Samuel.
Source: Gregory R. Goswell, “Fathers and Sons in the Books of Samuel” in An Everlasting Covenant. Biblical and Theological Essays in Honour of William J. Dumbrell (Reformed Theological Review Supplement 4; eds. John A. Davies & Allan M. Harman; Doncaster, Vic: Burning Bush Pty Ltd, 2010) 7-28
Posted May 24, 2011
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