People who fear the Lord avoid sin. However, the proverb writer tells us that the way to avoid sin is to fear the Lord. So, it is not just a matter of those who fear the Lord avoiding sin. Those who wish to avoid sin must learn to fear the Lord. The second proverb is similar. All too many people seek to live a life pleasing to God by being at peace with those around them. That is getting it backwards. The path to being at peace with those around you is living a life which pleases God. We cannot please God by seeking peace with those around us when that means compromising on what God asks of us. However, if we do what pleases God we will be at peace with those around us.
Even when we become exhausted waiting for God to rescue us from our distress let us remember, and keep, His commands. I will not abandon God’s instructions no matter what pressure my enemies bring to bear against me. I know that His word will sustain me with joy. God’s faithfulness will extend to each generation and His commands remain right and true, no matter what men may say to the contrary. Times may change, but God’s will does not.
I read this passage multiple times. Each time I did so it meant more to me than the last. I was hoping for something to hit me which gave me a theme. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The things that stuck out to me as I read this over and over were the following:
Jesus did not pray just for those who believed in Him then, He prayed for all of those who would ever believe in Him
Jesus prayed that those who believed in Him would have unity, as He and the Father had unity.
Jesus prayed that God would keep those who believed in Him safe from the evil one.
There were other things I saw, but those stuck out to me. It is interesting because number one struck me on the first read through (and again each subsequent read through), number two on the second read through, and number three the third time through. None of these were new to me when I read this passage today. They were just the thoughts which stood out.
This story is the beginning of what goes wrong when a father fails to discipline his sons. First, he failed to discipline Amnon for raping his step-sister. David’s failure to discipline Amnon led Absalom to plot his own vengeance. Absalom getting away with killing his brother led to his rebellion, as we will read about tomorrow. Of course the starting point for discipline should have been before Amnon raped Tamar. Then that tragedy could have been avoided as well as the tragedies which followed.
There has been debate in the last few days about the young man who had “everything” yet went on a killing spree. People have been trying to figure out why he committed this act. In a way, this proverb answers that question. No one ever taught him to fear the Lord. Those who fear the Lord avoid evil. This young man, rather than avoiding evil, chose evil.
It may seem like God is long-delayed in coming to our rescue when we experience difficult times, but if we continue to obey His commands, He will rescue us. Those who hate God’s commands will dig traps for those who are faithful, but we will avoid those traps by carefully keeping God’s commands. God’s word and His love are eternal. I will remember and follow God’s commands. As I do so, He will, in His time, deliver me from all troubles.
Here John recounts a prayer which Jesus prayed for His disciples, but not just those who were with Him at the time, but also for all who would believe in Him through the testimony of those who were present. Let us seek to be in perfect unity with all who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is sending us into the world in the same way in which the Father sent Him into the world. Let us not flinch from the blows the world will send our way in the same manner which it sent blows toward Jesus. Let us stand up to the world in service to God and His truth because following the truth of God’s message will bring us great joy. The world will hate us because we refuse to serve it. Let us take that hate as a sign of honour.
As I read this passage I see the problems described in this passage arising from two sources. First, David’s sons saw how their father behaved in the affair with Bathsheba. His power allowed him to have what he wanted, and while David knew the suffering he experienced as a consequence of his actions his sons were unlikely to see the connection. Second, David did not discipline his sons. He allowed them to believe that they could get away with whatever they wished. David had too many wives and too many children to be a good father to his sons. He failed to instill in his sons the same faith in God which he himself possessed.
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Today’s passage begins by telling the story of how David’s eldest son, Amnon. raped his half-sister, Tamar, who was the full sister of Absalom. Amnon desperately desired his half-sister, to the point that he became ill. His cousin, Jonadab, the son of David’s brother, came up with a plan that would get Amnon alone with Tamar. Amnon put Jonadab’s plan into practice. When Amnon grabbed Tamar and began his assault on her, she requested he let her go and then ask his father to give her to him as his wife. He rejected her plea and raped her, after which he had his servants throw her out of his quarters. Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. Absalom approached his sister and asked if Amnon had been with her. Then he told her to be quiet for now and not take it to heart. Absalom then took her into his household. Notice that Absalom did not ask her why she was upset, he asked her if her brother, and his, had been with her (by which he meant had Amnon had sex with her). He then advised her to be quiet and not make a fuss. I will come back to this later.
David, when he heard the news, was furious, but we are not told that he did anything. I have traditionally read that this is an indication of poor parenting, but based on something I read today about this passage, I am not so sure anymore. I will come back to this later. However, even if David’s response to the rape was not bad parenting, the fact that it happened in the first place seems to me to be indicative of poor parenting. Perhaps the reason that David did so little in response to Amnon’s rape of Tamar was because Tamar kept quiet and went into seclusion. Amnon was, after all, David’s eldest son and heir. As such he was likely rather popular and probably had a significant power base by this time. Without Tamar’s presence to bring witness to Amnon’s crime, perhaps David’s hands were tied.
Which brings us to Absalom. Absalom was David’s third son and the grandson of the king of Geshur. One of the resources I found when I looked for information on Jonadab suggested that Jonadab was part of a conspiracy to clear the path for Absalom to become king. The author suggested that Absalom knew of Jonadab’s suggestion to Amnon on how to get alone with Tamar and approved of it. That he had his sister set up to be raped to give him an excuse to kill his half-brother, who happened to stand between Absalom and the throne. Absalom waited two years before acting. Two years later at sheep shearing time, Absalom invited all of David’s sons, his brothers, to join him for a sheep shearing celebration distant from the capital. He also invited David and his retainers. David demurred on the basis that if he came with his retainers it would put too much of a strain on Absalom’s resources. Absalom then asked David to send Amnon. David wondered why Amnon, but Absalom kept pressing. I am sure that Absalom used an argument that was something along the line of, “Well, if you the king can’t come, at least send your heir to show that I am important to you.” In the end, David allowed/encouraged his sons, including Amnon, to go to Absalom’s sheep-shearing festival.
Absalom ordered his servants to wait until Amnon was drunk and then on Absalom’s orders to kill him. Absalom promised that they could claim that they were only acting on his orders to evade punishment for their action. When Absalom’s plan went into action, the rest of his brothers fled. Word came back to the capital that Absalom had killed all of the king’s sons, causing David and his attendants to tear their cloths in distress. Jonadab assured David that Absalom had slain only Amnon, something Jonadab said that he had been planning since Amnon raped Tamar. The author I read who suggested that Jonadab had conspired with Absalom to get rid of Amnon points out that the only way Jonadab could have known that Absalom had only killed Amnon was if he knew what the plan was before Amnon and David’s other sons went to Absalom’s sheep-shearing, since he made this statement before any messengers besides rumor had reached the capital. Meanwhile Absalom fled to the land of his mother’s father where he remained for three years. During that time David became reconciled to Amnon’s death and desired to be reunited with Absalom. The idea that Absalom set up Tamar to be raped to give him an excuse to kill Amnon suggests that this episode happened as a fulfillment of the prophecy that David’s own family would rebel against him. I would argue that this is an example of David’s sons, both Amnon and Absalom, following the example set for them by David in his involvement with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah.
Today’s passage is composed of a prayer by Jesus. First Jesus prays that God will glorify Him so that He can further glorify God. Jesus then prays that God protect His disciples by the power of God’s name. They needed this protection because they are still in the world but are not of the world. As a result the world would hate them, just as the world hated Jesus. Jesus did not pray that they be taken out of the world, only that they be protected from the world. Jesus was sending them out into the world just as God had sent Him into the world. Jesus then stated that He was praying not just for those who had been His disciples while He was on this world, but also for those who believed in Him because of the message brought by His disciples. Jesus prayed that all of those who believed in Him would have complete unity, that they would all be one. When those who believe in Jesus are one, then the world will believe that God sent Jesus and loved those who believed in His name. Division in the Church is the greatest sin that we, the followers of Jesus, can commit. However, that does not mean that we should fail to confront those who do not follow the commands which Jesus gave in order to preserve an illusion of unity. If we are not all following Jesus’ teachings, pretending that we are does not actually preserve our unity.
The psalmist expresses that he is experiencing despair as he waits for God’s deliverance, but he refuses to give up hope. He is confident that if he maintains his faith and his commitment to God’s commands, God will deliver him. I share the psalmist’s confidence. There have been times when I was at the end of my rope and crying out to God for deliverance from a struggle I was dealing with. When I was entering into despair because of circumstance that I could not control. When the time was right, God delivered me from that circumstance and brought joy into my life. I have learned that God’s unfailing love will preserve me so that I may obey His commands and praise His name.
The psalmist continues in today’s second stanza by reminding us that it is by His laws that God delivers us and brings us out of despair into joy. That it is remembering and obeying God’s commandments which preserves our lives and teaches us joy.
Fear of the Lord leads us to avoid evil. As we fear to show disrespect to God we avoid evil because to not do so is to be disrespectful of God. When we live our lives in such a way so as to please God, even those who desire us harm will find themselves unable to find cause to attack us.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
There are two examples here of David failing to discipline his sons, more importantly, both of these situations arose because David had failed to discipline his sons previously. The first part is where David’s son Amnon rapes his half-sister, Tamar. The account records that David was very angry when he heard of this, but it does not recount him disciplining Amnon in any way. Moreover, if David had taught his sons that they would suffer the consequences of their misbehavior it is unlikely that Amnon would have committed this horrible act. This first story leads to the second. Absalom was Tamar’s full brother and was infuriated at Amnon’s treatment of his sister. Because David failed to adequately discipline Amnon (and had previously failed to properly discipline Absalom, by my reading), Absalom felt that it was up to him to obtain justice for his sister. Absalom plots and arranges to have his half-brother Amnon killed. David further compounds the problem by failing to punish Absalom by forcing him to remain in exile after killing his brother. We can understand a father wishing to be reconciled with his son, even after that son had killed one of the father’s other sons, but nevertheless some sort of long term consequences were in order and David failed to levy them on his son. We will discover in later passages that this leads to further heartache. David failed to discipline his sons and to raise them to be godly men. He literally let them get away with murder.
Here Jesus prays for the disciples, but not just for the disciples. He says that His prayer is for those who will believe in Him because of the message that the disciples will preach. In this prayer Jesus asks God to grant those who believe in His name unity. Certainly the factions that we Christians often divide into goes against God’s will. Unfortunately, too many of those who strive to avoid conflict among Christians, also, fail to hold their brothers and sisters accountable for sin. There is a fine line we are called to tread. On the one hand, we are to be united in our faith and love of God. On the other hand, we are called to confront our brothers and sisters when they sin. There is no easy resolution to this dilemma since both are things which Jesus Himself taught. Too many Christians choose between Church discipline and Church unity. When we practice Church discipline we must remember to, also, work for Church unity. But when we strive for Church unity, we must remember to maintain Church discipline. There is no easy way to point out how to do this in practice, but if we each remember that first and foremost we are to love one another and strive for God’s guidance in our actions we can find our way through this.
Today’s reading contains two more stanzas of Psalm 119. Previously when I have read Psalm 119 (either the whole thing or parts) I have been overwhelmed by the length of this psalm and missed the beauty of it. I have never before noticed its emphasis on the importance and benefits of following God’s commands, although I am sure that it has been pointed out to me. Once again, the psalm in today’s reading fills me with joy.
“Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.”
The God who was faithful to those who believed His word in New Testament times and was faithful to my father’s generation, is faithful to my generation and will be faithful to the generations which will follow me.
The first proverb today has a pair of double meanings to me. It says that sin is atoned for through love and faithfulness. Primarily, my sin has been atoned for through the love and faithfulness of Jesus Christ, but there is a responsive element where God calls on us to love and be faithful to Him in order to claim that atonement. This is one of those things where it is difficult for me to express what this means to me without it sounding like somehow my actions lead to the atonement of my sin. That is not at all what I believe. I believe that my love and faithfulness comes as my response to God’s action in providing atonement for my sin. And as for my faithfulness, it is only possible for me to be faithful in as much as God provides me with the strength and grace to achieve that goal. The second half of the first proverb, like the first half, has a kind of double meaning. If we have appropriate fear of the Lord, we will avoid taking evil actions. But, in addition, if we live our lives with fear of the Lord, we will avoid entering into situations where we will experience evil.
