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Category Archives: 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 3

25 Jun

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2 Sons were born to David in Hebron:

His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;

the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.

These were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Goes Over to David

6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath 10 and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

13 “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

15 So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”

19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Joab Murders Abner

22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.

24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”

30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

33 The king sang this lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34     Your hands were not bound,
    your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”

And all the people wept over him again.

35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

2 Samuel 3

Dear God, I think I want to spend some time with Abner this morning. What an interesting man. Saul’s cousin. Promoted into power because of that relationship. I still don’t know where he was or how he survived the battle where Saul and his boys died. Going back to the second time David spared Saul’s life, David took that opportunity to mock Abner and suggest he wasn’t up to protecting the king.

But this was a family thing and Abner wanted to see his father’s brother’s family–his grandfather’s family–remain in power as kings of Israel so he saw to it that Saul’s throne passed to his next living son Ishbosheth. But as happens in nepotism, Ishbosheth wasn’t up to the job. He was an insecure child who, for whatever reason, accused Joab of sleeping with Saul’s concubine. I don’t know what all the implications of that were. Had she become Ishbosheth’s concubine? Was he simply accusing Abner of betraying his father posthumously? Whatever the implications were, Abner was incredibly offended and decided that it was time to follow your will for Israel and encourage the other 11 tribes to join Judah in naming David king. It strikes me that he admits up to that point he was willfully going against your will (verse 18). Or maybe he was hoping that somehow he could stay in power and David would still take care of the Philistines. It’s hard to be sure. But Abner had a lot to lose, up to and including his life, by transferring the kingdom to David. It’s interesting that this offense by Ishbosheth was the straw that broke the camels back.

Father, I heard someone say that it is hard to get someone to change their mind when their paycheck is dependent upon them believing what they believe. In Abner’s case, there was no way he was going to willingly yield his power to Joab. And Joab certainly had a grudge against Abner. There was no way the two would willingly coexist. Joab was presumably part of David’s 600 who were being chased by Saul and Abner. And then Abner killed Joab’s brother (although he tried not to). But Abner was beloved by the Israelites, and they watched David closely and how he reacted to his death. David adequately convinced them of his innocence in Abner’s death and his respect for Abner through the way he mourned, and that brought him credibility and respect in their eyes. And, of course, Joab’s crime against Abner will come up later (2 Kings 2:5-6). David never forgot. I guess my point is, help me to be willing to do the right thing under you even if it costs me money, influence, or standing. I want to be willing to do anything you call me to do to bring your glory, regardless of what it costs me. I consider my life worth nothing to me, Father. Help me to believe and live those words.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 2

24 Jun

2 It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”

And the Lord said to him, “Go up.”

David said, “Where shall I go up?”

And He said, “To Hebron.”

2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. 6 And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. 7 Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ishbosheth Made King of Israel

8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Israel and Judah at War

12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.”

And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. 17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle. 19 So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?”

He answered, “I am.”

21 And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” 23 However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.

24 Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon. 25 Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?”

27 And Joab said, “As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” 28 So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. 29 Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.

30 So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. 32 Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.

2 Samuel 2

Dear God, what was that all about? What was the point of that? I guess, in the end, it delineated the territory and turf of David’s kingdom against Ishbosheth’s. If David’s men had lost that day then Judah might have been absorbed back into the other 11 tribes of Israel. But this certainly helped establish the beginning of David’s kingdom. But why did so many people need to die? What a waste!

Oh, Father, how we ae so cruel to each other. I am fatigued by it. Even now, I look at the people around the world fighting each other and killing each other. I hear about a man who showed up at a church in Michigan Sunday ready to shoot the place up (thankfully, he was stopped). Even in our community, there are some people who are bent on exerting their will over other people instead of persuading and loving. We want power. And what does that “power” give us that we are missing? I suppose a sense of importance. And it also feeds our selfishness. To be sure, sometimes power is necessary to stop a crime, but most of the time we decide to exercise power it is usually to simply subdue others to our will. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus never subdued people to his will. He called us to submit to his will, but he never subdued us.

Father, thank you. Right now, you are really growing me through the teaching of this class for Christian Men’s Life Skills. I am only doing the Bible study part for one night out of three, but it’s stretching me. They’ve asked me to, in essence, do an altar call the last two weeks. That is totally out of my normal realm, but it’s also important. We will have just a weeks left with these men before they resume their normal evenings. Will this make a difference? I’ll tell you, I cannot be the man they need me to be. I cannot be the man you need me to be for them. But I can do it if you are with me. If you do it through me. So prepare my heart to “go there” in a couple of weeks. Prepare their hearts to “go there” as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 24, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 1

23 Jun

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

4 Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon—
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

21 “O mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.

24 “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.

27 “How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”

2 Samuel 1

Dear God, I want to talk about other things from this passage, but I just noticed something about David’s psalm here. It doesn’t mention you. It’s about his lament over Saul, Jonathan, and the suffering of the Israelites, but he doesn’t invoke your name or reference you at all. Is that perhaps an acknowledgment that you had left Saul and were now with David? Did David start to understand how you were laying this out? Maybe David wrote a lot of poems/psalms/songs that didn’t mention you, but it’s interesting that this one didn’t.

Next, somehow this Amalekite knew David was next, knew where David’s home was, and went to him. Did he lie about killing Saul or did Saul’s armor bearer kill himself prematurely before Saul was actually dead? Did he think he could become someone important to David by telling him the news that he himself had finished Saul off? First, he must not have known about how David felt about Amalekites. If nothing else, it was probably very easy for David to kill another Amalekite after having just come back from getting his wives and possessions back from them. But then to be able to once again reiterate how strongly he felt about harming your anointed king. This was an important moment for David.

Another thing is his public lament put him above reproach. He will do this again one day when Joab kills Abner. He will use the opportunity of public lament for diplomacy. He will use it to communicate his noble inner feelings.

Finally, there is a real moment of mourning for Jonathan. David’s lament for Saul and the Israelites were probably real and legitimate, but he must have really mourned to learn of Jonathan’s death. “Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.” No, they didn’t have a homosexual love, but Jonathan met David on an emotional level he had not experienced with anyone else.

Father, when it comes to lessons out of this story, I think for me the big one is that there are times of real lament and when things are going terribly wrong, but you are still using them to bring about your will. I also see that David did a lot of teaching in this chapter. He taught people how to treat your anointed. He taught people how to mourn, even those who saw you as an enemy. He taught people how to not covet what others have–in this case, David did not covet Saul’s kingship but mourned Saul’s loss of it. I don’t know how much the idea of harming your anointed comes into play for me, but certainly to mourn for others and to turn loose of coveting is a huge thing. You are my God. I am your child. Help me to experience every moment today through your eyes and with your heart.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David

09 May

1 Samuel – 2 Samuel 7

Dear God, I want to map out what I’m planning for the 10 weeks of Bible study for the Christian Men’s Life Skills class I’m helping with. I’m 90% sure I want to do a cohesive arc of Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David, although I think Samuel will only be there as the thread between the the other three, so we will really start with him recruiting Saul. First, however, I want to look at the themes for each of the 10 weeks as determined by the overall class leader for Monday nights:

  • Self-Esteem
  • Values
  • Vision
  • Ego
  • Motivation
  • Leadership Attributes
  • Work Place Survey
  • There is No More Time
  • Work Ethic
  • Work Ethic

With out there, I want to see how I would break up 10 weeks of 1 Samuel and see if there is a way the Venn Diagram matches up when I lay them over each other:

  • Samuel Recruits and Coronates Saul
  • Saul and Jonathan (Jonathan’s curse)
  • Saul’s Failure
  • David and Goliath
  • Saul’s Jealousy of David Part 1, Jonathan’s (humility and friendship)
  • Saul’s Jealousy of David Part 2, David’s Response (Mercy)
  • David in Exile
  • Saul’s and Jonathan’s Deaths and David’s Ascent
  • David Consolidates the Kingdom
  • David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem & God’s Promise to David

This might actually work. Here they are laid over each other:

  • Self-Esteem: Samuel Recruits and Coronates Saul
  • Values: Saul and Jonathan (Jonathan’s curse)
  • Vision: Saul’s Failure
  • Ego: David and Goliath
  • Motivation: Saul’s Jealousy of David Part 1, Jonathan’s (humility and friendship)
  • Leadership Attributes: Saul’s Jealousy of David Part 2, David’s Response (Mercy)
  • Workplace Survey: David in Exile
  • There is no more Time: Saul’s and Jonathan’s Deaths and David’s Ascent
  • Work Ethic: David Consolidates the Kingdom
  • Work Ethic: David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem & God’s Promise to David

Father, thank you for walking me through this over the last 24 hours. I’m feeling better. I still have a lot of work to do for each lesson, but at least now I feel like I have an idea of where I’m going. Now be with me as I prayerfully visit with the teaching leader today. Help me to hear him and his counsel. He has done this a lot more than me, and he might have legitimate problems with what I’ve done here. Help me to not be stubborn or defensive, but to be teachable. This isn’t about my ego. This is about blessing these men…being your blessing to these men. Being your hands and feet. Being your voice. Oh, Lord, be glorified in all of this so that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven through this work and these men.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2025 in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel

 

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Five Old Testament Books

22 Aug

Dear God, I heard a question right before I came in here to pray. on the Russell Moore Show Podcast, the question was asked, “If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only have five books from the Hebrew Bible, which would they be?” The guest, Yuval Levin, chose Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job. He took Nehemiah as a bonus book.

As I thought about that question myself, I wondered how I would answer that question. Could I come up with five? But the more I thought about it, the more trouble I had whittling it down to five. So here are the five I would take and why I would take them.

Exodus: I’m holding out on Genesis to see if I have room for it later, but I think it is important to have Exodus because is has great narrative about your power and faithfulness, but it also has quite a bit about your laws and guidance for us. It shows your anger at Israel and your love and mercy for them. It gives a pretty complete picture, I think, of your character.

1 & 2 Samuel: Frankly, I think these are simply the best narratives in the Bible. For me, they are page-turners. You start with Hanna, Peninah, and Elkanah. You get Samuel and Eli. The Ark is lost in battle and then returned. Samuel anoints Saul. Then David and Goliath followed by David, his relationship with Jonathan, running from Saul, and eventually Saul’s and Jonathan’s death. Then you get David’s reign and king and all of the good and bad. From Bathsheba, to Absalom, to David’s death. 1 & 2 Kings covers many more generations of kings, but there is so much humanity in 1 & 2 Samuel.

Ecclesiastes: I haven’t spent enough time in Ecclesiastes, but I probably should. It’s a great book with great wisdom. I prefer it to the fortune-cookie style of Proverbs. Yes, I’ll take Ecclesiastes because I know I need it.

1 & 2 Kings: I guess I’ll polish it off with 1 & 2 Kings (this tips me over to 6, so I’ll just take 1 Kings if I have to choose just one. These stories are amazing. from Solomon and his ascension to the throne to Elijah, Hezekiah, and all of the way to the collapse and exile. Tragic.

Books that I’ll miss: I’ll miss Judges and Ruth. I know the Ruth story pretty well, so I think I’m okay there. Judges has great stories, but can also be very frustrating. I still know that I would have never accepted your choice of Samson as leader had I been a Jewish elder at the time. And Genesis has great stories, but, again, I know them fairly well and I get so frustrated with the heroes. I never quite understand why you decide to choose Abram, Isaac, Jacob, et. al. I guess the good news out of those stories is that I don’t have to be a particularly good man for you to choose me.

Father, you picked an awfully unique way to reveal yourself to your people. My wife said recently that she knows the Bible wasn’t written by a committee of influential and powerful people because it is so messy and doesn’t sterilize the stories of the heroes. For me, I am just glad to know I’m not alone in my confusion, failures, duplicity, and love for you–all at once. Thank you for loving me as much as you love Abram and the rest.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 22, 2024 in 1 Kings, 1 Samuel, 2 Kings, 2 Samuel, Ecclesiastes, Exodus, Genesis, Judges, Ruth

 

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1 Samuel 18:19-33

30 Jan

Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.” “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today.” Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off. But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.” “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian. While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them. He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”As the messenger came closer, the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!”The king replied, “He also will have news.” “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said.“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied. Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.” “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.” “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside. Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.” “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!” The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
2 Samuel 18:19-33

Dear God, oh how they will never know how much we love them until they have children of their own. It’s an unreasonable love. I wonder if Absalom had any inkling how much pain his death would bring his father. I doubt he knew it at all. I guess that’s the thing about being the kid in the relationship. We don’t understand what our parents do. Sometimes parents do the right thing. Sometimes we do the wrong thing. David certainly made a ton of mistakes, both in fidelity to his wives and then how he handled his children (I’m thinking of what made Absalom angry in the first place regarding Amnon and Tamar). And I don’t know if David could even express why he made the decisions he made. I imagine it was because he felt he had lost any moral high ground because of his taking of Bathsheba. How could he punish his son for something he himself had done? Yes, he should have punished Amnon, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it for whatever reason. And Absalom never forgave him for it.

Forgiveness. Repentance. I was listening to a discussion on a podcast today about the Holy Spirit being part of relationships, and the speaker was talking about a time he had to repent to someone he had offended. He had to go into the conversation ready to repent. I’ve tried to repent, apologize, explain, etc. I’ve tried to describe my perspective and explain some of the decisions I’ve made. I’ve asked for mercy for when I’ve been wrong. And I’ve extended forgiveness when no repentance was made. But I’ve also held grudges. I’ve had times when I was slow to repent or, at least from the other person’s perspective, repented of the wrong thing.

Father, I don’t know where I’m going with this except that I can appreciate every aspect of David in this story. I can appreciate the sinner. I can appreciate the inner conflict. I can appreciate the sorrow. I can appreciate the guilt. I have felt it all. Heck, I’ve felt it all as recently as today. So I ask that you please help me to know what to do with it. Use it to break me, melt me, mold me, and then fill me. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Please, don’t let it be wasted.

I pray this in Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 30, 2024 in 2 Samuel

 

David’s Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan – 2 Samuel 1:17-27

20 Jan

17 Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, 18 and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.

19 Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills!
    Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
20 Don’t announce the news in Gath,
    don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice
    and the pagans will laugh in triumph.

21 O mountains of Gilboa,
    let there be no dew or rain upon you,
    nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain.
For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled;
    the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.
22 The bow of Jonathan was powerful,
    and the sword of Saul did its mighty work.
They shed the blood of their enemies
    and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes.

23 How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan!
    They were together in life and in death.
They were swifter than eagles,
    stronger than lions.
24 O women of Israel, weep for Saul,
for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing,
    in garments decorated with gold.

25 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle!
    Jonathan lies dead on the hills.
26 How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan!
    Oh, how much I loved you!
And your love for me was deep,
    deeper than the love of women!

27 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
    Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

2 Samuel 1:17-27

Dear God, I’ll be the first to admit I do not understand ancient Israelite song structure, so what I’m going to say will likely sound ignorant to you and to any scholar. With that said, this is fascinating.

First, the fact that David took the time to compose a song when hearing this tragic news. Poetry, song writing, and psalm writing (is there a difference between the three) were obviously a huge part of his nature and identity. He knew he had to write down his emotional response to this in a song. Then, interestingly, he had the authority to get others to sing it with him, even the personal parts about Jonathan.

Second, and this is where song structure might come into play and I can’t tell, his first thoughts are to not let the enemies know because they will delight in the news. They might laugh and celebrate. The thought of their joy in the midst of this personal loss for David and national loss for Israel made him sick. Of course, they would know. Of course, there was no hiding it from them. But he included this part of his emotion in his song.

I would also say that, as the presumptive leader, his first act wasn’t to reassure everyone and tell them it would be okay. It was to kill the man who polished Saul off (even though this seems cruel to me because I think the guy did Saul a favor) and then write this song of mourning. This would be a pattern for David. As your anointed he was good about setting precedent that that anointing was to be respected, both in the stories in 1 Samuel when he had a chance to kill Saul and didn’t do it because of Saul’s anointing, and later with Absolom when he was on the run and depending upon you to restore him to the throne.

Of course, there is the middle of the song that calls on everyone, especially the women, to mourn Saul’s death. He was their king and had done good things. He should be remembered with honor.

The personal part is with Jonathan: “26 How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women!” What a personal thing to say! And to have everyone sing along with himself.

And then the classic line, “How the mighty have fallen.” I don’t think I realized this is where it came from. Usually, this is line is more of a criticism and almost a victorious phrase as we look at a hubristic person who has been taken down a few pegs. In fact, this is so different than that, I Googled it to see if this is the origin of the phrase, and, as far as I can tell, it is. But where David sings this as a lament, we have changed it to mockery.

As far as what I would take from this, I see that there is a place for mourning. There is also a place for me to be myself. This part of 2 Samuel 1 is very true to who David was. He was very consistent, including his vulnerability in poetry. So help me to be true to who I am. Help me to bring all of myself to you. Help me to submit all of myself to you. Help me to authentically share who I am with others so that your strength might be made perfect in my weakness. Oh, God, guide me in every moment.

I pray this through the precious, forgiving, redemptive blood of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 20, 2024 in 2 Samuel

 

Matthew 17:24-27

08 Aug

24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

Matthew 17:24-27

Dear God. I just realized something I’ve never seen before. I think Peter straight out lied to the temple tax collectors. Instead of calling him out on it, Jesus had a nice interaction with Peter about it. I think there are two interesting things about this:

  • Jesus obviously knew Peter felt like he was in a no-win situation if he told the truth.
  • Jesus decided this battle with the temple tax collectors was not worth fighting.

I’ve puzzled over this for a few minutes trying to find an application of this story to my life. I think what I’ve finally come to is that there is a line between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. There were two laws being broken in this story (at least in my interpretation, which could be wrong): Peter lying and Jesus and his disciples not paying the temple tax. Jesus seems to have given Peter a pass on the first one (at least directly, although he did passive-aggressively indicate to Peter that he saw what Peter did). On the second one, he explained why he didn’t feel the need to pay the temple tax.

For me, there are all kinds of things that are the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. I see it all of the time at the nonprofit where I work. One of the things we have to do is determine if patients are eligible for our services. There is the letter of the law that sets limits. But then there is the spirit of the law that goes back and asks why the limit was set where it is and if that person or family doesn’t qualify regardless of the actual rules.

My wife and I have some friends who are gay and in same-sex marriages. We were having dinner with one of the couples the other night. I have to admit, Father, that I do not know how you feel about this. I can justify it either way. But as we sat there at dinner, I looked at the two people, two humans, sitting across from me who seemed to be meeting needs–filling gaps–in each other’s lives. Does their love for each other grieve you? It was committed. It was monogamous. Honestly, as I sat there, I thought you were more concerned about their rejection of you as their God than you were about their relationship. So I just tried to represent you in that time and make you as appealing to them as I could without ever addressing sexual orientation. If they can get to a point where they will embrace you then I will let the Holy Spirit take it from there. After all, I have probably grieved you as much sexually throughout my life as they have, if they, indeed, are grieving you through their relationship.

Father, Holy Spirit, I pray for my friends–all of them–who are not your disciples. Show me how to love them. Show me how to draw them closer to yourself. Give them your peace. Give them your love. Use me in whatever way you see fit so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done in this world. Use me today as I get to know the strangers on this trip as well.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2022 in 2 Samuel, Matthew

 

2 Samuel 7:22

15 Oct

22 “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!

2 Samuel 7:22

Dear God, really, who has ever heard of another God like you? I mean, there are a lot of similarities between your nature and who Muslims see you to be, but don’t we all go back to you, the God of Abraham?

So what makes you different? Well, you are one God (although I would add that you have three natures that make up the Trinity). You have demands for us, but you also offer a path to redemption. You don’t promise us greatness, but you promise us peace through selflessness. You take an active role in the world, and yet you give us our free will. And when I step back and wonder changes I would want to make to the God I worship, I can’t think of any. you are exactly who I need you to be. You are exactly who we all need you to be. Is there seemingly needless suffering that happens that I don’t understand? Yes. The biggest one is human trafficking–especially sex trafficking. I don’t understand. But I also don’t know what it would mean to have you do what would need to be done to eliminate it in your own power without us doing the work. And that leads to the question, why don’t we do the work?

Father, thank you. I worship you. I love you. I will sacrifice for you. I will work for you. But I will do my best to wait on you and do it through your inspiration, provision and blessing, and not out of my own strength.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 15, 2020 in 2 Samuel

 

Ahithophel

13 Jun

2 Samuel 15-17

Dear God, Fred Smith taught me something I didn’t know this week in his blog post “A Friend’s Revenge.” He taught me that Ahithoophel was likely Bathsheba’s grandfather, and the fact that Ahithophel aligned himself with Absalom in the attempted overthrow of David was possibly motivated by revenge for what David had done to Bathsheba and Uriah. What?!? How have I read that story so many times and not figured that out? I did a little research in Wikipedia (so it must be true) and it indicated that 2 Samuel 23:34 says Ahithophel was Eliam’s father, and 2 Samuel 11:3 tells us that Bathsheba’s father was named Eliam. This could have been a coincidence, but it would be an interesting vagueness for the author to leave us if the connection isn’t there.

That being said, and working from the assumption that this is true, I have a couple of thoughts.

  1. How did Ahithophel think this would end for Bathsheba and his great grandson Solomon? Absalom would certainly have killed Solomon, and Bathsheba would either have been killed or become Absalom’s wife/concubine. Given her age by that point, I doubt she would have been first choice for wife/concubine. So he was putting her in even more danger.
  2. Did he really think a kingdom run by Absalom would be better than a kingdom run by David. At that point, maybe he did. David seems to be  abdicating a lot of responsibility and lying down on the job. In fact, he was in a downward spiral ever since he decided not to go go and join the troops back when he hooked up with Bathsheba. I would imagine that succession planning was so unofficial back then that he might have been just trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing and go with it.
  3. Again, if this is true, then it was obviously an open secret what David had done to both Bathsheba and Uriah. That means that everyone knew including Solomon, which would help to explain why he treated women the way he did as an adult. Isn’t that what kings do?

But let me spend some time on this aspect of revenge as motivation. The most remarkable people in the world are those who do not seek revenge. Dr. Martin Luther King is regarded with more reverence by most people because he was forceful in his demands for justice and equality without being vengeful. The same is true for Nelson Mandela. In fact, in the midst of all of the racial tensions right now in this country, I wonder how much we have to learn from South Africa. I literally don’t know enough to know the answer to that question, but it is certainly remarkable that when Nelson Mandela came to power, as I understand it, he did not seek revenge on those who persecuted him.

I’ve wondered a lot this week about how Jesus would be responding right now if he were here in the flesh. Would he be attending protests? Would he be posting on social media? Would he be giving interviews or making public speeches? Would he just be talking to those in his sphere of influence and loving on them? Would he be seeking out regional and national leaders to give them counsel? Would he be participating on racial equality panels? Would he be vandalizing statues and destroying businesses and burning churches? Would he be taking photos of himself with a Bible? Some of these are obvious “yes’s” and some are obvious “no’s,” but many are vague and I don’t know what he would do. But I do know that revenge would not be part of the motivating factor. After all, even as he died, he asked that you would forgive those that were killing him.

Father, help me to be an instrument of your peace. Help me to know how to forcefully join a peaceful call for action that is not laden with revenge. And please raise up leaders who will lead in this spirit. The spirit of revenge that is flowing through our country right now is painful to watch. Let mercy lead.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2020 in 2 Samuel, Matthew

 

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