Monthly Archives: April 2016

Daily Bible Study

April 21, 2016 Bible Study — Interceding On Behalf of Those Who Do Not Know God

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 8.

    When Muslims pray they kneel facing Mecca, which was command given them by Mohamed, who claimed that it came from Allah. However, it was Solomon who first proposed the idea of praying towards a particular place in order to show one’s dedication to God. In addition, it was not God who gave this as a command. No, this was a request from Solomon. Solomon requested that when people prayed facing towards the Temple that God would give their prayer special consideration. That was the wording of Solomon’s request. I do not think the meaning was so much about the particular direction we face when we pray. Rather the point is that God had said that His name would always be in the Temple. Therefore, if we take the effort to direct our prayers towards where God’s name is He will hear and answer our prayers.

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    The most meaningful part to me is when Solomon requests that God hear and accept the prayers from foreigners, those who have never known Him before. When they hear of God’s wondrous power, turn to Him, and ask His aid, Solomon requested that God hear them and give them His aid. We should always be ready to extend our hand on behalf of God to those who need His aid. No matter what difficulty or trouble has come our way, whether it is our own fault, or just the vagaries of this world that brought it about, if and when we turn to God and call out to Him, He will hear us and answer our prayers. God will come to our rescue if we turn to Him. As importantly, let us follow Solomon’s example and ask God to hear and help those who have never before turned to Him.

Daily Bible Study

April 20, 2016 Bible Study — Solomon’s Building Projects

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 7.

    After Solomon finished the Temple he used his forced labor brigades to build a palace for himself and several other grand buildings. If Solomon had begun his building projects with these other buildings, rather than the Temple, he would likely have had a revolution on his hands. However, despite these self-serving building projects, Solomon did continue to dedicate a significant amount of his resources to honoring God. I realized as I write this that today’s blog is going to be a bit disjointed. Solomon used the system he put in place to build God’s Temple to build buildings which glorified himself. This action led to the rebellion against his son which divided Israel. This shows us how even the wisest people sometimes behave foolishly.

Daily Bible Study

April 19, 2016 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 4-6.

    David had his mighty men, the Three and the Thirty. Solomon, on the other hand, had his advisers and his district governors. David had a strong military and used them to exert control over the various factions in Israel, but it was a balancing act that he had to constantly maintain. Solomon built an administrative government and subjected all of the factions to those administrators. By dividing up the country into twelve units and making each unit only responsible for supporting the government one month out of the year he was able to make the burden seem bearable. He followed a similar pattern when he instituted forced labor to build the Temple. In this manner Solomon was able to build a stable state which did not need war to maintain itself.

Daily Bible Study

April 18, 2016 Bible Study — Choose Wisdom

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 2-3.

    I had previously spoken of those who believe that Bathsheba was an ambitious woman who caught David’s eye on purpose in order to gain power. At that time I expressed my doubts about that scenario. Today’s passage is inconsistent with the idea of Bathsheba as someone who schemed to gain power. If Bathsheba had truly been the player of palace politics that some believe her to be she would have recognized Adonijah’s request to marry Abishag (David’s last concubine) for what it was. If Adonijah had been able to marry Abishag he would have had one more claim on the throne of Israel and would have been in a position to threaten Solomon’s rule. It is interesting that Solomon did not exile Abiathar or execute Joab for their support of Adonijah’s attempted usurpation of the throne, but he did so in response to this action by Adonijah even though neither seemed to be involved. It was also after this attempt by Adonijah that Solomon took action to neutralize Shimei. Perhaps Adonijah’s ploy caused Solomon to realize that he needed to eliminate those power bases which were controlled by people whose loyalty was not to him.

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    When Solomon was asked by God what he wanted most, Solomon replied by requesting wisdom. This should be our inspiration. We should desire wisdom, and to do what is wise, more than pleasure, more than wealth, even more than health and long life. Solomon received wealth and a healthy long life because he chose wisdom. However, God does not promise us that such will always be the case. Nevertheless, it is wisdom which we should desire above all else. Of course, the beginning of wisdom is fear of God.

Daily Bible Study

April 17, 2016 Bible Study — Adonijah vs Solomon

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 1.

    Once more we see an example of David being a poor father, he never disciplined Adonijah. In addition, David created this situation because he never officially designated one of his sons as his heir. It is worth noting that while there is a record of God promising David that his son Solomon would be king after him, there is no record of David promising Bathsheba the same thing. It is possible that Nathan and Bathsheba conspired to convince David of something to which he had never agreed. Personally, I do not think this was the case, although they may have manipulated David into making this decision.

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    However, I think that a close reading of the passage suggests that Solomon was indeed David’s favorite to succeed him. Otherwise, why did Adonijah invite all of his brothers to his “coronation”, except for Solomon? Further, it is clear that the majority of David’s chief advisors did not support Adonijah. Every time I read this story I wonder what led Joab and Abiathar to support Adonijah while the other advisers supported Solomon (or, at least, refused to support Adonijah). For that matter, I wonder why the other advisers refused to support Adonijah. I will say that I believe that Joab and Abiathar supported Adonijah in part because they believed that David was no longer able to govern effectively and a new, younger king was needed.

Daily Bible Study

April 16, 2016 Bible Study –Throwing Ourselves On God’s Mercy

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 23-24.

    I have never fully understood what David did wrong here. I have heard or read several explanations: David’s desire to take a census demonstrated a lack of faith, David failed to collect the census tax laid out in Exodus, etc.. However, whatever the sin was, as soon as David realized that he had sinned he acknowledged his sin and begged for God’s forgiveness. This is a model which we should seek to follow. Asking for forgiveness will not allow us to escape the consequences of our sin, but, if we are genuine in our repentance, it will allow us to avoid repeating the sin and suffering the even greater consequences.

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    When given a choice of consequences to suffer, David said, “…let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.” David was correct. God will have much more mercy for us than our fellow humans. If I am going to be punished for my sins, I would much rather the punishment which God chooses to give me than the punishment my fellow man would dish out.

Daily Bible Study

April 15, 2016 Bible Study — The Lord Lights Up My Darkness

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 20-22.

    I really needed David’s song of praise today. My wife and I need to find another place to live soon and we have been having trouble finding the right place. So, David’s words reinforced my faith at a time when I needed that reinforcement.

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I cried to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.

I needed that reminder that God has indeed heard my cry of desperation. The imagery which follows that quote portrays the power which God applies to answering our cries for help culminating in verse 17

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

and then in verse 20

He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.

That last truly struck me. God will lead my wife and I to a place of safety. The Lord does indeed light up my darkness. He is my Rock. I am so thankful for this passage today.

Daily Bible Study

April 14, 2016 Bible Study –Do Not Allow Grief To Make Us Selfish

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 18-19.

    David’s reaction to Absalom’s death was selfish. Until he was confronted by Joab all he thought about was his own grief. He gave no consideration to the feelings or thoughts of those who had risked their lives in order to save him from Absalom. Even worse, he gave no thought to those who were grieving for others lost in the war. David was not alone in being selfish in his grief. We all tend to think that OUR grief outweighs all other considerations. We all tend to forget that others may be suffering from a loss as great as our own, or greater. Sometimes we need someone to remind us that we need to be aware of the needs of others, even in the depths of justifiable grief. In addition, we need to remember, as Joab reminded David, that if we allow ourselves to be completely consumed by grief we are likely to experience even more grief as a result.

Daily Bible Study

April 13, 2016 Bible Study — Whose Advice Will You Follow?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 16-17.

    I find it educational to look at the advice Absalom accepted and the advice he rejected. When Ahithophel advised Absalom to sleep with David’s concubines where everyone would know he had done so, Absalom did not hesitate or question the advice. He immediately followed it. On the other hand, when Ahithophel advised Absalom to put 12,00 men under his command and send him out after David, Absalom chose to consult Hushai. Hushai advised Absalom to wait, gather the full army, and lead them himself.

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    Paying attention to why Absalom followed the advice he chose can give us insights which will help us choose what advice we follow as well. When Ahithophel advised Absalom to sleep with David’s concubines it appealed to Absalom’s pride and lust. Then when Hushai advised him to wait and gather the entire army, leading it himself, in order to pursue David, Hushai played to both Absalom’s insecurities and to his ego. In addition, Hushai’s advice was to “play it safe”. Good advice may sometimes tell us to reduce risk, but it never claims there are no risks.

Daily Bible Study

April 12, 2016 Bible Study — When A Father Fails To Discipline His Sons

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 14-15.

    I find it interesting that Joab conspired to bring Absalom back from exile. Perhaps he did this because he saw that David was suffering because his son was in exile. Or, perhaps he did it because he thought it bad for the kingdom for David’s now eldest son to be in another kingdom. However, despite the fact that David had Joab bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, neither David nor Joab talked to Absalom for two years after his return. I do not know what role David’s cold shoulder played in Absalom’s decision to attempt to overthrow his father, but it can’t have helped the situation. Every time I read these stories it strikes me that David was not a very good father. Three of his sons (Ammon, Absalom, and Adonijah) came to a bad end because David did not discipline them.