I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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

This passage contains elements which have always confused me.  In particular, Joab works to get David to bring Absalom back, but then does not join Absalom in Absalom’s attempt to seize the throne.  Yet some years later, Joab joined with the attempt by Absalom’s brother to do the same thing.  I have a theory that Joab recognized that David was getting older and wanted to ensure an orderly succession by bringing Absalom back as heir to the throne.  However, Joab did not support a violent overthrow of King David.  Later, when King David was no longer able to rule, but had refused to name an heir, Joab supported David’s oldest living son taking the throne.

That being said the rest of this passage shows us why David was a successful king.  First, we have the men from Gath who want to join David in going into exile.  David tries to convince them to stay out of this dynastic dispute, but they insist, out of loyalty to David, on joining him (it would be interesting to know why these Philistines became so loyal to David).  So, we have the loyalty which David inspired in others.  Second, we have the plans which David made to keep himself informed of Absalom’s actions and to sow disruption among his advisers.  David sent the priests who chose to join him back to spy on Absalom’s councils with instructions on how they could get word to him of Absalom’s plans without anyone noticing.  Then, when one of his civilian advisers came to join him, David sent him back to offer his services to Absalom in order to give Absalom bad advice.  So, we see that King David inspired loyalty in others and knew how to use the abilities of his supporters to undermine the success of his enemies.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

King David’s actions with Bathsheba and Uriah led directly to his son Amnon raping David’s daughter Tamar and to Absalom killing Amnon for doing so.  Which eventually led to Absalom’s revolt against King David.  However, the most interesting thing is David’s reaction to the sickness, then death, of his first son with Bathsheba.  While the boy was sick, David fasted, prayed, and mourned, begging God to restore the boy to health.  But once the boy had died, David returned to a normal life, accepting God’s actions.  We should approach life in a similar fashion, praying and fasting for the health and well-being of those who suffer, but accepting when God chooses not to grant our request.  I know that I do too much of the latter and not enough of the former.  That is, I do not spend enough time praying for healing for those around me who suffer, not that I am too accepting of God’s will (as their is no such thing as the latter).  In this trying time we are going through right now, we should be praying that God lift this from us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 8-11.

As I read this today I was struck by a comparison between David and Uriah.  When David sent the Israelite army out to battle the Ammonites over the insult to his ambassadors, the key word is “sent”.  While his men went out to fight for his honor, King David remained behind in Jerusalem enjoying the luxuries of being king.  Meanwhile, when Uriah was sent to Jerusalem as a messenger, rather than going home to sleep in his home with his beautiful wife he spent the night in the barracks out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers who were on the battlefield.  But Uriah did not choose to forgo the comforts of home just out of solidarity with his comrades.  He also did so because the Ark of Covenant was on the battlefield.  He did so out of respect for God.  David was subject to the temptation of sinning with Bathsheba, and all that followed, because he did not do what he should have done.  If King David was going to send his men to war, he should have joined them.  Because he did not he fell prey to temptation and sinned grievously.  The same can apply to us.  If we do the things which we ought to do we will be less likely to be subject to temptation which we are unable to resist.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 4-7.

This isn’t where I want to focus, but as I gathered my thoughts on that I was struck by the fact that the Philistines appear to have left Israel alone while David and Ishbosheth were fighting over who would be king after Saul (well technically, it was Joab and Abner who were fighting).  However, once King David consolidated power and used that power to finally conquer Jerusalem for Israel, the Philistines attacked.  This tells us that the Philistines did not want control over the land Israel controlled.  They just did not want a unified country controlling that territory.

Having said that part, what I really wanted to talk about was David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  Now, I have come to the conclusion that the Ark was moved about from time to time between the time it was returned by the Philistines until David brought it to Jerusalem.  David was enthusiastic about moving it to Jerusalem, which probably explains why he did things wrong the first time he tried.  As part of the process of moving the Ark, David wanted to take part in making the offerings.  So, he dressed as a priest was supposed to and made offerings along the way.  In a way, what King David did here was similar to what King Saul did that got him into trouble with Samuel and God before Saul’s first battle against the Philistines.  There is an important difference here.  King Saul offered the sacrifice in order to consolidate his power.  King David offered sacrifices in order to express his joy at being in the presence of God.  While both King David and King Saul broke the letter of God’s law, King David kept the spirit of the law.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t have to follow God’s laws, look at what happened to Uzzah when David first tried to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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

The book of 1 Samuel relates the great love which David had for Jonathan.  However, the song David composed upon learning of the death and King Saul and Jonathan suggests that David held Saul dear as well.  David felt this way about King Saul despite Saul’s repeated attempts to kill him.  The deep-seated affection which David apparently felt for Saul helps explain why he twice refused to take Saul’s life when presented with the opportunity.  Perhaps David’s love for Saul was partially a result of the reason David gave at the time for not killing Saul.  David may have felt love for Saul in part because Saul was God’s anointed king over Israel.  This should guide our feelings towards those whom God has given political authority over us, even when we dislike their policies.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 28-31.

In this passage we see examples of both King Saul and David seeking God’s guidance as to what to do.  However King Saul received no such guidance, while David did receive guidance from God.  The record we have here in 1 Samuel suggests that King Saul frequently sought God’s guidance and even generally sought to enforce God’s laws.  David also frequently sought God’s guidance and seems to have generally sought to enforce God’s laws.  Both King Saul and David after him violated God’s commands.  However, I noticed one difference, when David asked for God’s guidance he followed through completely.  Saul, on the other hand, followed through until his objective was met, then, if he felt there was advantage in not following the rest of God’s instructions, he would fail to follow through.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

We think of the society in which David lived as being a patriarchy where women had limited rights, and we are not wrong.  But the story told in this passage reveals that women were not as powerless in that society as we assume.  When Nabal insulted David’s men, one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail about it.  Clearly that servant believed that Abigail could do something, and he was right.  On her own authority, Abigail gathered supplies and sent them to David, following behind to make amends for her husband’s rudeness..  After Nabal’s death, Abigail married David in what appears to me to be a negotiated alliance.  At about the same time, David married Ahinoam from Jezreel and King Saul gave his daughter Michal, who had been married to David, to another man as that man’s wife.  Up until this point, David’s power as a national figure came from being King Saul’s son-in-law.  Even on the run from King Saul, David would still have had a certain cache as his son-in-law.  When Saul gave Michal to be the wife of another man, that ended.  By marrying these two women, David gained a new power base.  This is important because in a totalitarian system, the ruler makes sure that everyone’s power derives from their relationship to him.  King Saul worked to eliminate any power base which did not derive its power from him.  Here David is seeking to gain the support of such power bases.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 21-24.

I think that I have commented on this previously, but I always find it interesting that when David was fleeing King Saul and went to see the priest Ahimelech, the priest was frightened to see that David was by himself.  This suggests two things.  First, it suggests that King Saul sent men out to kill people he had decided were a threat to his power, and second that Ahimelech thought that David was one of those King Saul sometimes sent.  I am pretty confident that the first part of that was true: King Saul sent out men to kill those he had decided were a threat to his power.  Further, it seems likely that Ahimelech believed that some of those killed in that manner had no idea why King Saul wanted them dead.  I always find it enlightening to realize that such totalitarian behaviors go so far back into history.  We even have an informant who rats out Ahimelech to the king for aiding David when he thought David was still a trusted aid to King Saul.  Finally, we see Saul turning to a foreign mercenary to carry out orders his native supporters were unwilling to follow.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 18-20.

Once again we can be thrown off by our modern way of writing biographies.  The compiler of 1 Samuel takes a story about how David came into favor with Saul and then fell out of favor and weaves it into his account as if it was just a continuation from chapter 17.  Having written that, it does not really connect with the lesson I think we should take from the passage.  As David became more successful serving King Saul, King Saul became more and more jealous of him and sure that David would one day usurp the throne.  Despite this, King Saul arranged for David to marry his daughter.  I would like to note that if David had married King Saul’s older daughter that would have been a clear political move.  Instead, David later agreed to marry Michal, who the passage tells us had fallen in love with him.  This suggests that David married Michal because he was attracted to  her, not because of the political power which came with marrying the king’s daughter.  That is important because it tells us something about David: the people around King Saul who cared for Saul also loved David.  Despite how badly King Saul mistreated him, David never became disloyal.  David only left King Saul’s court when it became obvious that if he stayed, King Saul would have him killed.  This does not necessarily mean that we should stay in situations where we are mistreated.  It does, however, teach us that we should not strike back at those who have authority over us and treat us badly.  If we continue to faithfully serve God in such trying circumstances, others will see and be inspired to serve Him as well.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 16-17.

If you read today’s passage as a single narrative told in chronological order (which is how we would do this today) there seems to be a contradiction about David’s introduction to King Saul’s court.  However, if you read these thinking of chapter 16 as an account about David from one person and chapter 17 as an account from another person.  The first person is telling about how David was anointed by Samuel and entered into King Saul’s court.  The second person is telling about how David defeated Goliath and thus became a warrior in King Saul’s army.

Each of these stories contain a valuable lesson for us.  In the account of Samuel anointing David when Samuel first saw David’s oldest brother Eliab, he thought him the very image of what a king should be, much as Saul had been the very image of what a king should be.  Eliab almost certainly had the command presence that many oldest sons have.  He expected people to do as he said, and as a result they usually did.  But God looks for more than that, and after King Saul Israel needed more than that.  In the second story we see what God saw in David.  In David’s confrontation with Goliath, Goliath began by trying to intimidate David.  Goliath was arrogant and sure of himself.  David was confident and sure of God.  In his reply to Goliath, David says, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies…” which is a precursor to what the prophet Zechariah says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by force, nor by strength, buy by My Spirit says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  David recognized two important truths.  First, Goliath was defying God, not merely David.  Second, David knew he would not defeat Goliath by his own strength or skill.  Let us also face our enemies in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and trust Him to defeat them.