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