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2 Samuel 24:1-17

04 Feb

24 Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.

2 So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”

3 But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”

4 But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel. 5 First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer, 6 then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. 7 Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah as far as Beersheba.

8 Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem. 9 Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah.

10 But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”

11 The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12 “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

13 So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

14 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. 16 But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”

18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20 When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 “Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked.

David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”

22 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23 I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

25 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

2 Samuel 24

Dear God, some of these stories are so weird. I’ll confess that I don’t like them. It’s mainly the first sentence: Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. Why? Why would you set David up like this? Is this just the phrasing the author of 2 Samuel used instead of laying all of the blame on David? Did you really cause David to take the census?

What is the equivalent of “taking a census” in my life? I assume that “taking a census” was akin to putting his faith in numbers and not in you. Do I do that when I look at the size of my bank account and balance my checkbook? Do I do it when I check out the stats on this blog or my Substack for Parents of the Bible? Do I do it when I look at political polling and try to determine if “my side” will have more or less power and influence? Do I do it when I look to our military to be my protection instead of to you?

Father, the answer to all of those questions I just asked is probably, “Yes.” Yes, I sin whenever my put my hope, trust, and peace on the line against any of these things. Whenever I stop looking to you for my hope, trust, and peace, and I look to any of these things I am letting a piece of myself be torn from you. I’m sorry for that. Help me, Lord, to turn my life and my hope to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 4, 2026 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 18

03 Feb

18 David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them. 2 He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.”

3 But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run—and even if half of us die—it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us, and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.”

4 “If you think that’s the best plan, I’ll do it,” the king answered. So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands.

5 And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.

6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.

9 During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. 10 One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”

11 “What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero’s belt!”

12 “I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ 13 And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son—and the king would certainly find out who did it—you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”

14 “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. 15 Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.

16 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17 They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.

18 During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to this day.

19 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.”

20 “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.”

21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.

22 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.”

23 “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.

24 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. 25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”

As the messenger came closer, 26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!”

The king replied, “He also will have news.”

27 “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.

28 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.”

29 “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.”

30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.

31 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.”

32 “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!”

33 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

Dear God, I wonder how much, through this entire episode with Absalom, David repented for what he did with Bathsheba way back when. The dominoes of that sin, in my mind, led to this situation. David lost the moral high ground with his children, so one of his sons, Amnon, raped one of his daughters, Tamar. David did nothing in response to this heinous act, so Tamar’s full brother Absalom killed his half brother, Amnon. Then David was forced to act and Absalom was exiled until Joab convinced David to bring him back. Then Absalom decides to lead a revolt against his father, his father flees, and all of it ultimately results in this moment when Joab kills Absalom in the midst of the revolt, and David mourns. Would it have been different if David had had some moral authority way back with Amnon and dealt with the situation appropriately then.

It just made me think of the movie Unforgiven. If the sheriff had just dealt with the cowboys appropriately at the very beginning of the movie, it would have prevented a lot of pain, suffering, and death down the road.

I can relate to David’s love for his son and his mourning over the tragedy. Our children will never know how much we love them until they have children of their own. Our decisions will sometimes be mysterious to them. The other thing about being a parent is that it gives me a glimpse into how much you love me. It is so incredibly easy to forgive me children when they hurt me. I know it’s harder for them to forgive me, just as it is harder for me to forgive my parents. But the forgiveness from me to them is very easy. If we are made in your image, and we love our children this much, then how much more do you love us? How much more do you mourn when we walk away from you?

Father, I’ve done my share of repenting as a father. I’ve repented to you. I’ve repented to my children. I’ve repented to my wife. I’m sorry for how I failed them and failed you. Not that I was a bad dad. I tried. You know I tried. But that didn’t keep me from making mistakes. That didn’t keep me from hurting them and you. And I’m sorry for that. Please don’t let my mistakes lead to tragedy. In my family, let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 3, 2026 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 11 and Psalm 51

31 Jan

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”

“Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”

So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”

So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”

“Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
2 Samuel 11

—-

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say,and your judgment against me is just.

For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.

Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.

Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Psalm 51

Dear God, these were the Old Testament and Psalm readings for the Catholic church yesterday. I started this yesterday, but I never came back to it. I’m sorry for not making my time with you in your scripture not a higher priority yesterday. I hope I didn’t miss a message you had for me yesterday and I’m just now getting it today.

Yesterday, as I looked at these scriptures, I was initially surprised that the Catholic church paired the Bathsheba and Uriah part of the story with Psalm 51. I would have thought they’d have paired the Nathan part of the story (the part where David was confronted with his sin and repented). Then I looked today and saw that they put the second half of Psalm 51 with today’s story of Nathan’s confrontation of David. But for this passage, I suppose, we are just going to marinade in David’s sin. He’s doing awful things here.

  • He’s showing slothfulness by not being productive and going out with Joab and the army.
  • He’s lustful and greedy (how many wives and concubines are in his house and ready to sleep with him at that moment?).
  • He uses servants to help him carry out his sin, thereby making them unwilling accomplices.
  • I hate to use the “r” word, but that’s seemingly what he does to an unsuspecting, helpless Bathsheba.
  • He kicks her to the curb after he uses her.
  • He tries to deceive her husband by making him think the baby she’s carrying is his.
    • He leaves her with the shame of the truth that, even if this plan works, she will have to live with.
  • He ultimately signs her husband’s death warrant and orders his execution, all the while making it look like an accident.
  • He gets Joab involved in his scheme and makes him an accomplice in Uriah’s murder
  • He sleeps with Uriah’s wife, tries to deceive Uriah, and then kills him.
  • He takes away Bathsheba’s husband and leaves her with zero options.
  • Let’s not forget the other servants who are messengers for Bathsheba and how they have to participate in all of this now.

I underlined different sections in the 2 Samuel 11 passage because they are, curiously, the verses the Catholic church decided to omit from the readings. I don’t know why they left out the part of Bathsheba’s period or Uriah’s words of nobility. I think they are an important part of the story.

Regardless, David is in a cesspool of his own making, and he’s drug some other people with him. And, as with most scandals, it’s the coverup that takes it to a new level. It’s not enough that he “r”-worded Bathsheba and got her pregnant. He killed to cover it up! Was his plan after he married Bathsheba and moved her into the palace just to go on with life as normal. How many other times, I wonder, did David do this with a woman and just not get caught?

This is a reminder that confession in the midst of mistakes is important. I’ve been in an office environment long enough to know that people talk. If there is anything going on that is inappropriate, it’s foolish of me to think that no one knows. In the case of David, this was obviously an open secret. The servants who retrieved Bathsheba for David and then took her home knew. The messengers for Bathsheba to David knew. Joab knew. Is it any wonder that word got to Nathan and he was forced to confront the king? But that’s tomorrow’s story. For today, it’s important for me to remember that I must stay above reproach in my life, and humbly confess to you when I don’t. There are no secrets when it comes to sin. And if a secret is successfully kept, it becomes a cancer that grows.

Father, I’m not perfect. I’m not even close. I sin. Maybe it’s not at the level of David here, but I’m certainly capable of grave sins. And if I had the power he had in that moment, I might have been capable of everything he did. That scares me. So help me to avoid temptation. Deliver me from evil–the evil in my own heart and the evil that comes at me from the outside. And when I sin, help me to repent quickly and not do more damage by trying to save myself instead of depending upon the blood of Jesus to redeem me in your eyes and guide me through whatever earthly consequences there are for my sin on this side of life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2026 in 2 Samuel, Psalms

 

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2 Samuel 6:12-23

27 Jan

12 Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.

16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

17 They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 18 When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19 Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes.

20 When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

21 David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” 23 So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.

2 Samuel 6:12-23

Dear God, this story has so many parts that are interesting. I think what I want to focus on today is David’s desire for the blessing that comes from having the Ark around. Now, I don’t know why Obed-edom experienced good fortune while he had the Ark. Maybe it was because the Ark was there and maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was because how he behaved while he had the Ark. Maybe it was so that you could inspire David to get the Ark all the way back to Jerusalem. Or maybe it was for another reason altogether. I think there’s enough evidence to show that having the Ark in one’s presence doesn’t guarantee success. It was lost to the Philistines, after all, with the sin of Eli’s sons. Later, David will still get run out of Jerusalem by Absalom even though the Ark is there. It’s easy and even tempting to think of the Ark as this little prosperity-gospel trinket that we can use for our own goals, wants, and desires, but that would be a fallacy.

Are there any Arks in my life? Is there anything I look at and think, “Oh, I’ll get what I want if I do this or that”? I know there used to be some. I used to have some expectations of you that were unreasonable. I used to think I would be guaranteed some of the outcomes I wanted with my marriage, children, job/career, etc. if I did the right things. But you’ve ground that out of me over the last 16 years. I don’t really feel that way anymore. Now, I just look at the resources you’ve given me to steward and I ask that you help me to be a good steward of them. Whether it’s the wife and children you’ve given me to love, the job you’ve given me to work, or the friends and community you’ve given me to serve, I just want to rise to what you need me to be for them.

Father, I give you what I have. I’m not looking for what David was looking for. But David was in a different position than I’m in. He was leading a nation. I’m just serving a family and a community. My life is much smaller than his. Much, much smaller. We all know who he is thousands of years later. My own family will forget about me within three generations. And that’s okay. I don’t need to be remembered. I just want to live a life that knocked over a domino that you eventually used to bring about your kingdom and will being done on this earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2026 in 2 Samuel

 

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Leadership

18 Oct

Dear God, I am supposed to be helping teach a class on leadership this coming Tuesday. I’m puzzling over it a little. As I think about the definition of leadership and examples of leadership (both good and bad) in the Bible, I wonder how I should really approach this with the men in the class on Tuesday.

Here are the Bible stories that have disjointedly occurred to me:

  • David and Goliath: Young David setting the example for the older soldiers and Saul.
  • David and the two opportunities he had to kill Saul.
  • David leading his men with the intent to kill Nabal (example of bad leadership).
  • David honoring Israel’s anointed king (both Saul and then Ishbosheth).
  • David not dealing with Amnon’s rape of Tamar (example of bad leadership).
  • Naomi leading her daughters-in-law after their husbands die.

I could go on and on with Old Testament examples, but David is a nice mix of good and bad. When it comes to the New Testament, the gospels give several examples:

  • Herod’s killing of the innocents (example of bad leadership).
  • Joseph caring for Mary and Jesus regardless of what it cost him.
  • James and John wanting to sit at Jesus’s right and left hand in heaven (example of bad leadership).
  • Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.
  • Jesus telling James and John not to cast down fire on the Samaritans.
  • Jesus helping Martha understand what’s important.

Again, I could go on and on–especially about Jesus. Yeah, there are zero examples of bad leadership from Jesus. How could there be?

Father, help me to prepare to teach this class, and teach me through this. I’ve been struggling with my own leadership at work lately, and I feel like I could use these lessons as much as anyone. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see. Be glorified through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Luke 12:1-7; Romans 4:1-8

17 Oct

12 Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. 2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!

4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.

6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Luke 12:1-7

Dear God, duplicity is such an interesting thing. Being on thing behind closed doors and another thing in public. Hypocrisy. It’s so easy. We want so badly for people to think well of us because we want to be liked and admired. I still have that in me although I’ve tried to wrangle it out of myself. But the more I look to you as my source of self-worth the more I let go of my public image and make my private life reflect who you want me to be because you are with me all the time. So the more I figure out how to find my worth in you the more my hypocrisy shrinks.

I want to also take a moment to look at the other New Testament reading for the church today. It is Romans 4:1-8:

4 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

7 “Oh, what joy for those
    whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those
    whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”

It’s all about faith over obedience. Love for you over achievement for ourselves. Abraham did some terrible things. So did Jacob. So did David. But here they are, pillars of your people’s history? Why? Not their works. It was their faith. Honestly, I still don’t quite get Jacob, but that’s up to you, not me.

Father, help me to lean into my faith in you today. You know I’m still working through some tricky things at work. Help me to know how to be a blessing to each person who needs me there. Help me to be a blessing to those whom you love (which is everyone). Help me to worship you well. Help me to love my wife and children well. Help me to be the man you need me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 17, 2025 in Luke, Romans

 

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Psalm 19

02 Oct

Psalm 19

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.

7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
    bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
    giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
    lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
    each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
    even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
    a great reward for those who obey them.

12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
    Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
    Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
    and innocent of great sin.

14 May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Dear God, so verses 8-11 are the psalm for the day for the Catholic church. I don’t normally pay attention to the psalm of the day too much, but they caught my eye today. Seeing the stuff about your laws I immediately wondered if they were from Psalm 119. Then I saw they were actually from Psalm 19, which David wrote.

I just stopped to read this psalm out loud, and it was, frankly, beautiful. The poetry is beautiful. The way he runs the theme “this gives this” in verses 7-11 is artful. The description of your glory through describing the audible silence of your creation in verses 1-6 moved me. And the idea of not sinning intentionally so I can have a clear heart and cleansing me of my hidden sins hit home. David had some game when it came to poetry and psalm writing. I wonder what his poetry scroll looked like. I can’t imagine how many were never published.

I guess I need to talk about this really quick. I had a dream last night about which I can’t remember the details, but I know at one point someone was trying to sell me a pill that would cause me to hate. They were literally selling hate and they told me I’d love it. Appalled, I woke up soon after that and as I thought about it I wondered if that isn’t what I’m sold by a lot of media and politicians every day. It might not be in pill form, but it’s right there. So many people want me to hate something or someone. And then they want me to stew on that hate so I will become addicted to it. And hate is addictive. It makes you feel so good and superior in the moment, but like a drug it leaves you feeling empty afterward. And you feel a little guilty about having hated, just like you feel a little guilty about having done the drug. So you go to the first thing you can think of. No, it’s not repentance and creating a clean heart with me. It’s to hate again. To stoke the fire. The fire drowns out the guilt, just like the drug does. And then the cycle repeats.

Father, I guess this does tie back to this psalm. The sins I commit intentionally and the unknown sins that are cluttering my heart must be stopped. I must love my neighbor. I must worship you. I must love my enemies. I must care as much or more about them as I do my own family and friends. I’ll confess that I am overwhelmed and tired right now. It’s been a hectic few weeks, and I don’t see a break on the horizon. Help me, Father, to get my feet under me, worship you and love others, keep sin far from me through being so busy worshipping you and loving others that I don’t have time to purposely or accidentally sin, and then accomplish exactly what you need me to accomplish. Do it all through me, but not for me. Do it for you and your glory, not mine. May I decrease and you increase.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2025 in Psalms

 

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2 Samuel 11 – Uriah the Hittite

19 Sep

11 In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

2 Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. 5 Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”

12 “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

David Arranges for Uriah’s Death

14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”

22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”

25 “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

2 Samuel 11

Dear God, I want to spend some time with Uriah the Hittite this morning. I normally think of him as just Uriah, but I think 2 Samuel 11 is careful to point out to us that he isn’t Jewish. He’s a Hittite. An outsider who grafted into Israel and served in the king’s army.

The narrative also goes out of its way to tell us what a good, noble, and honorable man Uriah was. I can also make assumptions. Since he and Bathsheba did not yet have any children, I assume he as on the younger side. He had a beautiful wife and a full life ahead of him. Then it was gone. Taken because another man was trying to hide his sin. It’s true that it’s almost always the coverup that is worse than the actual crime. In fact, if Uriah had been less conscientious he would have gone home to Bathsheba that night, slept with her, and been allowed to live with the idea that he had fathered David’s child, although the timing of the child’s birth would have been off by a number of weeks. Seemingly, it was that last level of conscientiousness that cost him everything.

But here’s the thing that none of them could see at the time. The thing Uriah couldn’t see as he was recklessly attacking the city, as he had been ordered to do by Joab. That David couldn’t see as he tried to hide his sin. That Bathsheba couldn’t see as she mourned her young husband and carried the king’s baby in shame. You would redeem this path in life. Uriah’s name would be remembered forever with nothing but high honor. Bathsheba would have a son who would become King of Israel. And this woman who was a pawn in all of this would become part of the lineage for Jesus.

I wonder what it looked like from heaven as Uriah watched all of this unfold (assuming for a moment that in the timelessness of your existence, he was with you). Did anger give way to elation as he realized the sacrifice of his earthly life gave the path to Jesus? The butterfly effect of his death cleared the way for you to do what you wanted to do all along, including redeem him from Satan’s grasp?

I don’t often look at my Facebook feed, but I took a peek this morning, and I saw a number of people still mourning Charlie Kirk’s assassination by a murderer who committed an act of treachery. That person created a widow and orphans that day, along with leaving chaotic pain and mourning among a large part of our population and a fear of political violence for everyone. I thought about Charlie and his desire to live out his faith. I didn’t know who he was nine days ago and I don’t think I would have agreed with everything he did, but I do believe he loved you and was doing his best to live out that faith in the world. So his death made me think of Uriah. I know Uriah had flaws we aren’t privy to, but he was a good man. I know Charlie had flaws, but I believe he was a good man. What will you do to redeem his death and not let this pain be wasted? How will you take this pain and make it count for your good? How will you teach us to love in the face of our anger?

Father, all of us have a duty to respond to the stimulus around us. How will we honor you in it? And are we willing to sacrifice our small lives for you? Jesus told us to be grateful when people persecute us for our faith. At some level, Charlie was persecuted for his faith. Help us to find the redemption in that. But let us also not forget to offer mercy and grace. To forgive others as you forgave David. As we forgive David. I don’t know of anyone who walks around holding Uriah’s death against David. Help us to love. Help us to love. Help us to love. Help us to offer mercy. Help us to be peacemakers. Help your people to show the world what it looks like to be a Jesus follower in the midst of pain, anger, and mourning. It’s times like this that Jesus taught us a way that is foreign to the world. Help us to live up to that.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 19, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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Luke 6:1-5

06 Sep

6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:1-5

Dear God, so this is an interesting example for Jesus to use when he refers to David and his men eating the sacred loaves when he was on the run from Saul. I say it’s interesting because I was always uncomfortable with that David story. He lied to the priest (which eventually led to Saul killing that priest and all but one of the others). And frankly it’s not even clear from the way the story is told (1 Samuel 21) that he actually had any companions with him at that point. From the way I read it, he only said he had companions waiting for him. But in Luke’s telling of this story, Jesus affirms that David told the truth about the companions and he was justified in getting the sacred bread. In any disagreement between my biblical interpretation and Jesus’s interpretation, I will yield and say that I am wrong, but this is curious to me. It’s the lying in the story that bothers me the most. I can see where taking the bread was justified. But the way he did it was deceptive and set Ahimelech up to be brutally murdered (1 Samuel 22).

Not to harp on this too much, but it reminds me of my feelings on Lance Armstrong’s performance-enhancing drug (PED) use. It doesn’t bother me that he did the PEDs. I truly believe everyone was doing it and the only way to compete was to do it. What bothers me is the lies he told when others told the truth. He ruthlessly destroyed people’s reputations and ability to make a living to protect his lie. That is reprehensible to me. It’s one thing to do something wrong and take responsibility for it. It’s another thing to make others pay for what you did, and he (and David with Ahimelech) made others pay.

Okay, that’s enough of that soap box. Back to Jesus dealing with the Sabbath and the teaching of the day. I’ve sometimes ruminated on the idea of moving to a more Godless area and living as light in the middle of darkness, but then I remember that the area where Jesus lived and taught was actually more like where I live now. What I mean by that is I live in a very conservative area of Texas where calling yourself a Christian is the politically correct thing to do. People are culturally Christian, but many are not actually pursuing relationship with you and working out their faith with fear and trembling. It’s a lot like the Israel of Jesus’s day. There were a lot of philosophies about what it meant to be Jewish and hold to your law, but there wasn’t a lot of deep introspection of how they might be missing you in the process.

So Jesus, in this story, is teaching them that there is a line between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. By the letter of the law, the disciples were wrong. And the Pharisees only cared about the letter of the law. But what was the spirit of the law? What was the why behind the commandment for us to observe the Sabbath? That’s what I think Jesus was trying to get them to consider in this story.

Father, teach me your whys. I want your law written on my heart, but I don’t want it so that I can just follow your rules so you’ll be happy with me. I want to understand the why behind the commands. I want to fall deeper and deeper into knowing you and letting my knowledge of you and the love and mercy you have for me extend to the world through me. So teach me today. Show me the why in everything you have for me to learn. I want to be able to, in turn, show it to others so we will be the most effective worshippers and followers of you we can all be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2025 in Luke

 

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Psalm 16

20 Aug

Psalm 16

A psalm of David.

1 Keep me safe, O God,
    for I have come to you for refuge.

2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
    Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 The godly people in the land
    are my true heroes!
    I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.
    I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood
    or even speak the names of their gods.

5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
    You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
    What a wonderful inheritance!

7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
    My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
    or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
    granting me the joy of your presence
    and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Dear God, I might need to come back to this tomorrow and approach it from a different angle because I just realized Peter references the last part of this psalm in his sermon in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit falls on the disciples. I will spend some time with David today as he wrote it, but tomorrow I want to see what Peter was leaning into in his message.

With that said, I want to see what David has to say this morning. First, this is so worshipful. I can almost feel the state of David’s heart as he wrote this psalm. Focused on you. Worshipping you. Appreciating those who worship and love you. And I feel those things.

Next, thinking of verse 3, I have some people I know in our community whose faith I admire. I delight in them every time I see them or think of them. I had lunch with a man yesterday I admire. He loves you. He loves his wife and children. He serves his community. His life isn’t perfect. It’s stressful. It’s hard. He has challenges every day. But he faces them with earnestness, honor, and humility. He inspires me. Knowing him makes me better.

The rest of this psalm is just worshipping you, and I’m hear for it. It’s such a great joy to be able to sit here this morning and still my heart before you. And maybe typing this prayer to you isn’t quite making my heart still, but it keeps me focused on this moment with you. It keeps my mind from wandering off. It keeps me present in the present.

Father, I am about to participate in a discussion for a community forum about healthcare. I need your words for it. There might be one or two people in the room who can actually put their thumb on the scale from a national perspective. If there are words you can give me this morning that will move the needle in the direction you want it to move, please give them to me. I want to only bring glory to you this morning. I want to make this moment count for you and your love for others. I want to be used by you no matter what it costs me. You are God. I am just 1/7 billionth of the earth’s population. Use this little life however you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 20, 2025 in Psalms

 

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