Judges 3:31-6:40
Such a sad state of
affairs when a man is not found with sufficient courage to stand alone for
God. [Forgive and strengthen me O’
Lord.] But God is not hindered. God can and does use women. Let no man exclude who God calls. We should not use words in one part of the
Bible to justify excluding the rest of the Bible. When faced with Scriptures that seem
contradictory, the only reconciliation that is acceptable is the one that
honors the whole Bible (without fancy dancin’).
Barak was strong
enough – just not faithful enough. But
Deborah, although not strong enough, was faithful enough. And God gave her a song of victory and
praise. Thank God for women who are
totally sold out to God.
I couldn’t help but
catch the irony of the Kishon River catching the blood of Sisera’s troops. This is the same river that will catch the
blood of the enemies of the Lord when He returns to the valley of Megiddo. There is also much irony in Gideon. Will check out tomorrow.
Judges 7:1-9:21
This section is rich
with, victory and sadness, faith and unbelief, wisdom and foolishness, greed
and charity, cunning and ignorance, and kindness and cruelty.
Yesterday, we left
off with Gideon “fleecing” the Lord.
Apparently, the Lord did not speak to him in an audible voice or if he
did, Gideon thought he might be hearing things.
His faith did not seem too strong, but I suppose the Lord’s gracious
indulgence with Gideon encouraged him and he seemed quite willing to fight the
Midianites, even when he was down to 300 men.
Of course, he still had some uncertainty, the Lord knew it, and provided
another scenario for encouragement.
The results of
Gideon’s ephod and Abimelech’s lust for power led to a very sad corruption of
the foolish, forgetful, idolatrous Israelites.
Jotham’s parable is actually surprising literature for this context, and
worthy of closer study.
Judges 9:22-11:28
This section gives
us the evidence of the accuracy of Jotham’s prophecy. Everything happened exactly as he said it
would, because his prophecy was inspired by God. After Abimelech took over, God gave him 3
years and then “sent a disturbing spirit” to stir up trouble between Abimelech
and the people of Shechem. We should never
become complacent about sin just because considerable time has passed without
repercussion. Sin has consequences
whether delayed or instant. This is
always true. One need look no further
than the Cross to see the ultimate damage that sin causes. The people of Shechem met a terrifying end
and the town that Jacob first built a building in became nothing more than a
desolate salt plain. And the miserable
Abimelech was overcome by a woman who dropped a mill stone on him and crushed
his skull. Even though he had his armor
bearer kill him so it would not be said that he died at the hands of a woman,
we all know that a woman assured his death.
April 4
Judges 11:29-15:20
I have heard it said
that the story of Jepthah is one of the saddest, most tragic stories in the
whole Bible. Well, it certainly is
tragic, but I’ve wondered why no one mentions the idiocy of a vow like
this! In fact, forget tragedy – this is
plain crazy to me! What kind of deal is
this to make with God?
“I will offer the first thing that comes out my door to greet me, as a
burnt sacrifice.”
Did he expect an
animal to come out the door and greet him?
I don’t think so. This just seems
too crazy to me. It is no wonder that
Jesus taught His listeners to avoid making vows.
I wonder if the more
rapid succession of judges indicates the people are becoming harder and less
repentant. It seems the sin cycle is
snowballing.
Apparently the One
appearing to Manoah and his wife was a Christophany (a pre-incarnate appearance
of Jesus). Samson was an amazing
warrior, but he appears to be about the most naive man alive at the time. [He must have been related to Jepthah!]
Judges 16:1-18:31
Samson is like some
character on television that drives you crazy because he acts so clueless; but
honestly, if we considered him more reflectively we might realize an
uncomfortable truth. We all have our
little niche of naivety [well, some not so little] – our little areas of weakness
where we seem to fail repeatedly and should know better. With Samson, I think he had raging hormones
and low self-esteem, but lest I get slapped with the label of Dr. Phil,
Samson’s biggest problem was his lack of reverence for the Lord. When one is that gifted and neglects to use
it for God’s glory, he is a miserable specimen indeed. But of course God had a purpose all
along. Samson killed so many Philistines
at his death and weakened them so much that Samuel was able to finish them off
with a “Remember the Alamo”-type campaign.
(Remember Samson – Remember Gaza!).
It is correct to
criticize Dan and Micah for their wretched behavior, but we had better take
care to use this account for personal reflection.
Judges 19:1-21:25
This section is
wholly about the Levite and his concubine, the resulting war with the tribe of
Benjamin, the near extinction of Benjamin and how it was preserved.
It is a pathetic
situation that shows what can happen in a community when immorality is accepted
as normal. It winds up overtaking all
who prefer true normalcy, even if by force.
The Levite throwing his concubine out the door to face the perverts
presents a very pathetic picture – a very sad story. The Levite employs a dramatic and gruesome
procedure to alert and assemble all of Israel for war. Normally done by cutting up an animal and
sending its parts to the 12 tribes, this time it is a human body that is
sent! The nation is shocked and responds
urgently.
It seems that God
not only intended the most dramatic discipline for Benjamin but he also
intended discipline for Israel. Also
noted, the slick way Israel circumvented their vow to the Lord to withhold
wives from Benjamin.
Ruth 1:1-4:12
The book and person
of Ruth - I never tire of its beauty and poetry.
The irony of Ruth
becoming part of the lineage of our Lord is striking. Ruth was the descendant
of Lot and his oldest daughter who had an incestuous relationship. Moab had a history of conflict with Israel.
Ruth could not
understand why she had found such favor with Boaz. Christians tend to be bewildered but pleased
that God loves and shows them such favor.
Another note: Even
at Noami’s lowest moment she acknowledged the sovereignty of God. But she could not see that her rewards were
still yet to come. We should always
consider suffering as an ultimate blessing from which greater goods will flow
as God wills according to His good purpose for those who love Him.
Ruth 4:13-22
1 Chronicles 2:9-55
1 Chronicles 4:1-23
1 Samuel 1:1-8
We go immediately
into the marriage and lineage of Ruth, who became the great grandmother of King
David. It still amazes me that she was a
Moabitess. God uses anyone He wants. He tells the Israelites not to intermarry
with non-Israelites because if they do they will be led into idolatry (which
they do and are), but Ruth is apparently an exception to the rule. She was interested in one God only.
We also have the
prayer of Jabez in this reading (1 Chr 4).
What a beautiful prayer of a man who loved God. This prayer has been cleverly and shamefully
maligned for profit. Jabez’s whole
desire was for God’s hand – God’s presence to be so powerful in his life that
he might never cause pain to anyone.
What a wonderfully holy reaction to the regretful action of his mother. His mother was so overwhelmed by the pain of
birthing Jabez that she cruelly perpetuates her blame on Jabez by identifying
him as one who causes pain. Another
wonderful thing that is recorded here is God’s answer to the prayer of Jabez,
“Yes.” Jabez quite simply wanted to
share compassion, not pain. He knew
about pain, just as our Lord Jesus did.
And He knew about sacrifice, just as our Lord Jesus did. Jabez was a minister of the great
commandments to love God and to love one another. He indeed prayed for treasure but it was
nothing like the treasure that some have made from misrepresenting him. His treasure was in heaven and his treasure
was in his heart. Would to God that we
would all pray such a prayer; not as a chant, not as a mantra, but as a simple
way of life. Living within God’s Word,
as we reach out to others.
1 Samuel 1:9-4:11
So much gladness and
sadness. When one considers Hannah’s
story carefully, it is one of the most moving stories of faith ever. We see mighty examples in God’s Word of the
giving of one’s only, unique son. All of
these serve well to point us powerfully to our Holy Father giving Jesus. Like Abraham offering Isaac. But this is as powerful as any and I wonder
how often it is considered that it involves a mother rather than a father. But regardless of gender, Hannah gave her
only son back to God. She acknowledged
the glory of God in His gracious gift to her, by giving all in return. And we also should give everything in
gratitude and acknowledgment of God’s gracious Gift – the Gift of His Son,
Jesus.
There isn’t enough
room to comment on Samuel, Eli, and Eli’s sons.
I just want to mention 2:26.
Somehow God is perfectly holy, separate from His creation, and yet
somehow He cooperates with it. Otherwise
verses like this one would have no meaning: a human progressively gaining favor
with God.
1 Samuel 4:12-8:22
It appears Eli was
not shocked by his sons’ deaths. It was
prophesied and he acknowledged and apparently expected it, even though he was
given time to repent and correct the problem.
But the loss of the Ark was not prophesied specifically and Eli was
shocked by that. It represented the
presence of the Lord and its loss was to Eli the loss of his very identity.
It is almost
humorous – the way the Philistines shuffled the Ark around like a hot potato,
but I was surprised when the Israelites looked like they would too; all because
some foolish men at Beth-Shemesh violated God’s holiness – His separateness -
by looking into the Ark.
The Israelites
became determined to obey the Lord and destroyed their idols. God gave them victory over the Philistines
and peace with other nations around them.
But as time past, they became complacent and began to envy the countries
around them – countries with kings and impressive kingdoms. Some things never change.
1 Samuel 9:1-12:25
We end with a
sobering warning, but a joyous reminder!
First, “…if you continue to sin, you and your king will be
destroyed.” Second, “The Lord will not
abandon His chosen people, for that would dishonor His great Name.”
We have become
intimately acquainted with the repeated disobedience of the people and the just
discipline of their loving God. While
this should cause a holy fear or reverence toward our heavenly Father, because
of our repeated disobedience, we are
also consoled that “God will not abandon His chosen people.” And this statement is made when the people
are still holding to idolatrous, rebellious practices.
Saul’s “conversion”
is one of the most controversial things in the Bible. Verses 10:9-10 are often explained to mean
other than what they say, by those desperate advocates of poorly supported
traditions (disguised as doctrines). It
may be unpopular to oppose some traditions, but I believe studying to
contextually reconcile difficult Scriptures is better than dismissing them.
1 Chronicles 9:35-39
1 Samuel 13:1-5,
19-23, 6-18
1 Samuel 14:1-52
Saul’s foolish
behavior goes into full swing. He
assembled an army against the Philistines, but with only axes and sickles as
weapons their courage failed; and most of them ran and hid or defected. Saul impatiently offers a burnt offering,
which is a priestly duty – Samuel’s duty.
This is Saul’s first big goof against God and Samuel the Priest; and it
is here that his dynasty is cursed.
Jonathan is either
foolish in his aggressive behavior or he is insightful and trusting of the
Lord. Judging from his later behavior in
his friendship to David, I think he may be faithful to God and insightful
concerning the Lord’s ways. He proceeds
on what we would call a suicide mission, but God takes over and defeats the
Philistine army.
Saul makes a foolish
oath, leaving his fighting men hungry all day and ultimately (but unwittingly)
cursing his own son to die; but the people rescue Jonathan from death. It is here that we are introduced to Abner,
Saul’s cousin.
1 Samuel 15:1-17:31
Things start getting
really pitiful now in regards to Saul.
He is told to completely destroy the Amalekites including all their
livestock, but he disobeys. He always
has an answer but finally admits that he sinned. I have thought some about the difference
between Saul and David when each was king.
What’s the difference? Both
sinned more than once, but how they reacted is very different.
I suppose it is a
little premature to compare Saul and David, since we have not read about
David’s kingship yet; but future readings will test my comparison. When Saul sinned, he seemed to thrive on it;
while David wasted away from a torn conscience.
The most significant difference was the heart. One became darker – the other became
broken. David’s heart was tender toward
the Lord. Both believed in God, but one
became prideful and hardened and unrepentant.
[O Lord, please
discipline me in Your love to never rise up in pridefulness. Grant me brokenness before You and make me as
You will.]
The only other thing
I feel compelled to note is God’s repeated statement that He was sorry He had
ever made Saul king. This opens a big
“can” of debate concerning the definition of God’s omniscience and how it
applies in time and space. Definitely
not a debate for this particular time and space. J
1 Samuel 17:32-19:17
Psalm 59
1 Samuel 19:18-24
Whole section mind-blowing! There are seeming inconsistencies, but are
fairly easily reconcilable. For
instance, David is taken into Saul’s home and not allowed to go home. David plays the harp to calm Saul’s
nerves. Earlier, we were told that he
was called from his home simply because he played music. This does not seem to square well with David
being unknown (apparently) when arriving to kill Goliath. This could be a simple chronology problem, or
it may be more likely that even though Saul could have known of the boy who
played the harp, he may not have known particulars; and probably had long since
forgotten what little he may have known.
I suspect he cared very little for personal data on a musician. Saul probably remained oblivious to the
guitar-playing shepherd, until the day that the people sang the song that
favored David over Saul.
The lessons to be
drawn typologically are many and rich, but the one that strikes me the most is
how David trusts God to effect victory over his enemies (physical and spiritual)
even when David is on the run and things appear hopeless.
1 Samuel 20:1-21:15
Psalm 34
This amazing true
tale of a mad ruler and the two bewildered subjects continues. The bond between David and Jonathan is
powerful and the Divine source is quickly thought of, for without it David’s
situation would have been even more precarious and less tolerant. Their covenant will last.
I am always a little
startled by the celebration of pagan holidays; in this case, the new moon
festival. But I suppose I should not be,
because God’s people do the same thing today.
Most of our holidays employ pagan elements or even have pagan
origins. I don’t know that we can blame
it all on the evil Saul either, because Michal, David’s wife seemed to have a
human-sized idol immediately ready to put into David’s bed as a decoy, while he
escaped. The implications are sobering,
except when we consider God’s amazing grace.
David becoming “a man after God’s heart” must have been a process. We must learn to give grace to those around
us who may not be as spiritually advanced as others.
1 Samuel 22:1-2
Psalm 57
Psalm 142
1 Chronicles 12:8-18
1 Samuel 22:3-23
Psalm 52
1 Samuel 23:1-12
The varied amounts
of men that joined David are often used by critics and skeptics to cast doubt
on the accuracy of Scripture, but this section explains all very well.
David put his
parents under the protection of a king in Moab.
I wonder what his brothers were doing.
He had at least 7, assuming they were all still alive. I also think they would be either serving
with David or hiding out somewhere else because they surely must be in danger.
The tragedy at Nob
was unimaginable, and it kind of makes David look like a man of compromising
integrity (we see more of this later).
But of course, we see Doeg as one of the most heartless men that ever
lived. He appeared to be cold,
calculating, without conscience, and absolutely bloodthirsty.
Finally, when I
consider David’s faults in the light of these Psalms, it compels me to my knees
in tears to pray earnestly through these wonders of inspiration in regards to
my own spiritual condition.
1 Samuel 23:13-29
Psalm 54
1 Samuel 24:1-25:44
Without the Lord’s
protection, it is only a matter of time before Saul catches David and kills
him. But the Lord constantly attends all
that is happening in David’s life. If
one wanted to, it would be easy to rationalize some of the circumstances
regarding David’s narrow escapes. But
this one obviously is the hand of the Lord.
Saul came very close to catching and killing David but God caused an
emergency to arise that forced Saul to abandon his hunt and return home.
David sparing Saul’s
life - wonderfully illustrates the difference between David and Saul. It is a difference in the desire for
integrity.
Possibly the most
delightful story in this section is the one about the courage and ingenuity
that Abigail demonstrated in saving her husband and his staff from destruction
at the hands of David.
1 Samuel 26:1-27:7
1 Chronicles 12:1-7
1 Samuel 27:8-29:11
1 Chronicles 12:19
Psalm 56
David spared Saul’s
life in a similarly mischievous way as the last time. Apparently, he wants the people (his troops
and Saul’s troops) to be aware of his honorable intentions. Why else would he repeat this act? It certainly wasn’t to convince Saul, because
he didn’t trust Saul; and no amount of public repentance on the part of Saul
was going to change his mind. Been there
– done that! Saul had repeatedly proven
himself unstable and unpredictable.
Verse 27:1 indicates
a valley in David’s faith and it also reminds us of God’s grace and loving care
during our weaknesses. Either David was a
good con artist or Achish was just stupid, but David sure did play him. David was a survivor and the hand of the Lord
was protecting him.
Achish’s commanders
were not quite as gullible as he was.
They persisted and prevailed to send David away from the
battlefield. And of course, “good ole”
Saul sins yet again and learns his fate.
1 Samuel 30:1-31
1 Chronicles
12:20-22
1 Samuel 31:1-13
1 Chronicles 10:1-14
1 Chronicles 9:40-44
2 Samuel 4:4
2 Samuel 1:1-27
I suppose the
Amalekites that attacked Ziklag figured David and his army would be occupied
with the Philistines fighting the Israelites; but surprise, he came home
early! At times, David has been so
passionate about justice that he has moved without consulting the Lord. It is interesting, this time when his wives
are captured, his men’s families, and all their possessions are gone; he
doesn’t take immediate action, other than to call on the Lord.
While the
Philistines handled the bodies of Saul and his son shamefully, it is very
touching to read of the warriors of Jabesh-gilead, and their rescue of the
bodies.
This Amalekite who
reported the battle to David was not very bright at all. Just doesn’t pay to stick one’s nose into
places it doesn’t belong. David’s song
of mourning for Saul and Jonathan should give us all pause for its grandeur.
2 Samuel 2:1-3:5
1 Chronicles 3:1-4a
2 Samuel 23:8-17
1 Chronicles
11:10-19
2 Samuel 23:18-39
1 Chronicles
11:20-47
The conversation
that David had with the Lord is interesting, because David is not asking the
typical “yes or no” questions, which is usually done when using the ephod. Perhaps he did use the ephod with “yes and
no” questions, but we just have the record of the points established.
David’s integrity regarding
Saul’s descendants, his promise, and God’s sovereignty seems unmatched to
me. Other kings would have immediately
seized the entire kingdom but David’s patience was based on his submission to
God’s will.
The death of Asahel
is a tragic story that speaks poorly of Abner.
The battle of Gibeon was weird to say the least. It reminded me of some scene in a Quentin
Tarantino movie. [Trust me, that is not
a recommendation!]
The account of the
Three and the Thirty is too pronounced to pass over quickly and I think is
recorded to inspire readers to similar aspirations.
2 Samuel 3:6-4:12
Wow, the egos sure
fly around like crazy in this section!
And some of these characters sure lack wisdom. [But who am I to criticize someone who lacks
wisdom? J]
There’s Ishbosheth
who should have recognized Abner’s power and his own limitations. There is Abner who should have recognized the
potential of his rival Joab. And of
course there is Recob and Baanah – these jokers should not have quit their day
job, in order to kill Ishbosheth and play power-broker with David. At least, they should have made themselves
more familiar with David’s history, specifically, how David handled the dude
who brought him word about Saul’s death.
Not to mention the common knowledge of David’s continual insistence of
not killing Saul and his promise to Saul to not kill his family.
The only one who
seems to have done a pretty good job in this section is David. Go figure!
2 Samuel 5:1-3
1 Chronicles 11:1-3
1 Chronicles
12:23-40
2 Samuel 5:17-25
1 Chronicles 14:8-17
2 Samuel 5:6-10
1 Chronicles 11:4-9
1 Chronicles 3:4b
2 Samuel 5:13, 4-5,
11-12
1 Chronicles 14:1-2
1 Chronicles 13:1-5
2 Samuel 6:1-11
1 Chronicles 13:6-14
These fellows who came
to Hebron to recognize David as king, tickle me. The way they said, “Hey, we were with you all
the time in our hearts! Back when we
were running with Saul and Ishbosheth, mostly against you; we were just
kidding!” I wonder if David grinned a
little at that. I think I would have
laughed out loud.
Hiram, king of Tyre,
was very smart to ally himself with David early on. Too bad the Philistines did not have that
much good sense.
David continues to
check with the Lord before going into battle.
He knows humans must be employed, but it is all meaningless without the
Lord’s intervention. His inquiries to
the Lord seem to be especially intimate during this time.
David became feisty
with the Lord about the death of Uzzah, but he eventually learns it is futile
to be stubborn about wrong-doing and the Lord’s discipline.
2 Samuel 6:12a
1 Chronicles 15:1-28
2 Samuel 6:12b-16
2 Samuel 6:17-19a
1 Chronicles 16:1-43
2 Samuel 6:19b-23
I wonder at what
point David wised up about procedures in carrying the Ark. At first he was angry but reverent. Then he heard about the missed blessings and
he became desirous but still reverent.
Somewhere around that time he either had an epiphany or he hit the
books, or both. The way he talks, it
sounds like he hit the books not only concerning the Ark, but about all of the
procedures and assignments concerning sacred things. Not a bad idea.
This is the first
indication of a change in priesthood as Zadok emerges and Abiathar seems to
fade.
David seemed to have
such a keen sense of all that God had done and he just could not let it
pass. He had a sense that God was in
their midst and in their actions; and therefore should be worshipped joyously,
properly, and aggressively. He shows
that music and dance are gifts to men to be presented back to God. Amidst it all, Michal’s bitterness sadly
stands out.
2 Samuel 7:1-17
1 Chronicles 17:1-15
2 Samuel 7:18-29
1 Chronicles
17:16-27
2 Samuel 8:1-14
1 Chronicles 18:1-13
Psalm 60
There is a lesson to
be learned from the way Nathan advised David before consulting God, and his
correction after God spoke with him. I
think Nathan was correct that if “the Lord is with you” then you can “go ahead
and do what you have in mind.” But I
also believe that you better be flexible because this passage is proof that
even when the Lord is with you, God’s mind and your mind may differ on a given
issue. However, if the Lord is with you,
He will show you His mind on the issue at some point. Just be flexible.
This section gives
us the Davidic Covenant and David is blown away by God’s grace. David never seems to lose sight of his
sinfulness. Even after all that has
happened he still has brokenness. This
is seen in my favorite statement (2 Sam. 7:20): “You know what I am really
like, Sovereign Lord.”
David showed both
mercy and ruthlessness to his conquered enemies and it kept them humble.
2 Samuel 8:15-18
1 Chronicles
18:14-17
1 Chronicles
6:16-30, 50-53, 31-48
2 Samuel 9:1-10:19
1 Chronicles 19:1-19
This section is
mostly genealogies. They are not
complete but reflect highlights. There
seems to be contradictions, but they are easily explained by recognizing that
we often name our children from our ancestry.
Possibly the most
notable controversy is the inclusion of 2 priests, Zadok and Ahimelech, instead
of just the one. I can only assume that
we are being prepared for a changing of the priesthood lineage because of the
impending fulfillment of the prophecy against Eli.
David had a heart
for worship and was an experienced musician and songwriter. This, as much as anything else, caused the
designation, “man after God’s own heart.”
[Because God inspired the careful recording of those involved in music
ministry.]
King Hanun reminds
me of Rehoboam in his poor ability to discern good and bad advice.
1 Chronicles 20:1
2 Samuel 11:1-12:14
Psalm 51
2 Samuel 12:15-25
2 Samuel 5:14-16
1 Chronicles 14:3-7
1 Chronicles 3:5-9
Uriah had
integrity. He was a man who had honor
and a conscience. David had been that
kind of man, but it seems at this time he was not. He had to pierce Uriah’s integrity to cover
his sin of adultery, but he found Uriah’s principles to be impregnable. What an example for all of us, Uriah
was! His armor of honor was too strong
for David, and so David killed him, not by his own hand, but just as
surely. I suppose David considered his
kingship would be in jeopardy so instead of facing his sin, he added to it. If Bathsheba had not become pregnant, nothing
more would have happened, except that David’s returning conscience may have
tormented him for the rest of his life.
He may have never acknowledged his sin or repented. But David became broken. Psalm 51 is a prayer for errant
Christians. It refers to
restoration. It is about returning to
God in brokenness. Our sinful character
is present, not only at birth, but at conception. This should be sobering to abortion
advocates. The other day, a person I
know marveled at the beating heart within an 8-week pregnant womb. But this same person had aborted a child of
the same age with seemingly little regard for the sanctity of that beating
heart. This is wrong, just as secret
sins are wrong. Oh God, restore us and
make us willing to obey you. Amen.
2 Samuel 12:26-31
1 Chronicles 20:2-3
2 Samuel 13:1-14:33
David now begins to
reap what he has sown as his family begins to fall apart. Amnon rapes his sister, Tamar. Absalom kills Amnon and is banished; and
while David and Absalom eventually reconcile, we will later see it is a hollow
reconciliation.
I wonder how David
felt as he claimed the victory over Rabbah.
I wonder if he thought of Uriah at all as he claimed the crown of its
king. His writing indicates he was very
sensitive and convicted in his heart so he must have felt a strong sense of
shame as he rode in the victor’s parade.
David seems foolish
when he is duped by Absalom in sending all his sons to Absalom’s feast at
Baal-hazor. But he seems wise when he
deals with the woman whom Joab sent to deceive David into bringing Absalom
back. The section ends with a
description of Absalom that reminds me of the description given of Saul before
he was anointed king.
2 Samuel 15:1-17:14
Absalom is an
amazing con artist but what I don’t understand is how David could not have been
informed of Absalom’s actions. It
boggles my mind that he is apparently surprised by everything. But if he knows anything, he knows how to run
and so he does. He seems very savvy
about the nature of coups. He seems to
know immediately what Absalom will do next.
I would have launched an immediate counter-propaganda campaign to undo
as much as possible of the harm that Absalom had done so that he could not
amass a large army. And then I would
remain in Jerusalem and form a covert plan to capture Absalom and crush his
rebellion. But David probably was unsure
how advanced Absalom’s hold on Israel was and he decided to take no
chances. [It’s so easy to be an armchair
quarterback.]
Regarding Shimei’s
cursing, David seems sure that the hand of God is against him but he also seems
to trust that God still loves him. God
uses Hushai to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
2 Samuel 17:15-29
Psalm 3
Psalm 63
2 Samuel 18:1-19:30
Ahithophel seems like
such a tragedy, because rather than bow to the will of God and acknowledge his
error in true repentance and recognition of God’s mercy, he simply chooses to
escape (or so he thinks) by suicide. His
remorse is real but foolish because it is selfish rather than broken.
We see David
performing publicly in 2 Samuel 18, but we see David performing privately in
Psalm 3 as he places his trust in God and calls out to Him for intervention.
Joab has shown many
honorable characteristics in the past but these chapters reveal his true
character. He has his own agenda and
does not bother to communicate it to David.
He is disobedient, arrogant, and eventually, openly rebellious. I wonder why David did not punish him
immediately. I suppose he knew that such
vengeance belongs to God, and he just wanted to have a heart of tolerance as
God had tolerated him.
2 Samuel 19:31-20:26
Psalm 7
2 Samuel 21:1-22
1 Chronicles 20:4-8
David was clearly
not perfect. He made several very
unwise, very costly mistakes – willful mistakes. But his heart was tender and he could not
remain in rebellion against God’s will.
He always sought to show kindness to others. The only people he treated harshly (but
justly) were those who would harm his friends or allies. He was even kind to his personal
enemies. We should have this same heart
in us.
The wise woman of
Abel-beth-maacah was impressive. It
seems there are many women in Scripture who showed they could get a man’s job
done. Joab spared the city, but was
still not trustworthy.
The account of the
Gibeonites and the descendants of Saul is a very tragic account of reaping what
is sown.
And just like David,
we all experience weakness at times in our battles with the enemy.
Ó
2004 C. E. Briggs