Category Archives: 2 Samuel

⁵ As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family.⁶ He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. ⁷ “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. ⁸ “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”

⁹ “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”

¹⁰ “No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul^b]”>[b] have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. ¹² And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged^c]”>[c] and will bless me because of these curses today.” ¹³ So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
2 Samuel 16:5-13

Dear God, maybe sometimes we need to be broken down a bit. When I read this whole section of 2 Samuel, starting with chapter 11 and Bathsheba, I see a pattern of David just not doing it right. Was he corrupted? Yeah, probably. Was he maybe a little depressed after Nathan rebuked him in chapter 12 and he lost the baby? Maybe. Either way, the people were obviously not impressed with him, and his son was angry to the point of executing a coup d’etat and trying to humiliate, kill and overthrow him.

But 2 Samuel 16:10-12 is what makes David different–the ability to receive rebuke. The willingness to examine himself and submit to judgment. He also had a certain level of empathy for the descendants of Saul. There was probably always a part of him that felt awkward about having ascended to the throne, even though it was your will.

Father, help me to embrace the part of David I find here in verses 10-12. Help me to welcome correction and respond to it humbly and constructively. Help me to also be willing to humbly approach others with empathy. Love through me and help me to not return evil for evil.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

2 Samuel 13 & 14 – Amnon, Absalom, and David

Dear God, this story isn’t as much about sin as it is about how we handle our anger. There are people making mistakes all over the place here.

1. Amnon raped his sister and destroyed her life.
2. David, for whatever reason, did nothing about it.
3. Absalom, for whatever reason (perhaps he knew David wouldn’t allow it), never called out Amnon for what he did, but instead spent two years planning his murder.
4. David had no idea how to handle any of this and only made things worse at every turn.

One of the lessons for me, I believe, is that there needs to be an acknowledgment of sin when I commit it, a wise, appropriate confrontation of sin when I witness it, and an emotional letting go of my anger after the sin is confronted. That doesn’t mean that something like what Amnon did shouldn’t be punished. It means that what everyone did here was the absolute worst thing they could have done.

My wife and I were talking this morning about someone with whom we are both angry. She is having a harder time with her anger than I am, but that is just in this case. I have a harder time than she does with others. But what will either of us do with our anger? Will it consume us until we plot revenge, or will be confront and release?

Father, there are some huge lessons in here for us. This story will continue with Absalom’s rebellion and attempt to overthrow David. More pain is in all of their futures, including Israel’s. Help my wife and me to not let these cancers of anger and hatred grow. Remove them through the power of your blood and your grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

2 Samuel 7:18-29 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord ? “What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant. “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way. You made Israel your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. “And now, O Lord God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever. “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer to you because you have revealed all this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings!’ For you are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant. And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”

Dear God, I think it’s important to know the context of this prayer. David is established as king, living in the palace and at peace with the world around him. Then he gets an idea about building a temple for you, he tells Nathan about it, and Nathan’s response out of his humanly wisdom is, “Great idea. Go for it.” Of course, as a prophet, Nathan might personally benefit from having a temple, but I think all of their motives are good. They want to worship you through the building of the temple. But that’s not what you want. You tell David, through Nathan (not directly), that his offspring will build the temple. You have other plans for him. The result of this news is a humble prayer of worship. 

So here is a little word from me to tell you how grateful I am. Even doing this prayer to you this morning, I have felt like I hear your still small voice speaking to me. “Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?” (I love that line from David’s prayer). This makes me think that before I go back to work I need to sit down and read through 1 & 2 Samuel again. There is so much wisdom and so much of you there. 

Father, as I go through this day and the next few, traveling with a good friend, help us to be iron for each other. Sharpen him through me and sharpen me through him. Be glorified in us so that others around us and our family and friends might be touched by you trough our lives. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen