II Samuel 8-9

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we see two sides of David’s life – his military prowess and his compassion. First, his military victories: And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. (v. 8:6b, repeated verbatim in 14b) In chapter 8 we see the height of David’s geographic power, to the north, with victories and garrisons in Damascus (II Samuel 8:6) and to the east as far as the Euphrates River, with garrisons in Edom (II Samuel 8:14). We also see David’s recognition of the Lord’s hand in all this and his thankfulness for all that the Lord has done for him: And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued… (vv. 10b-11) Recall that we read yesterday of David’s desire to build a “house” for the Lord. Today we see him stockpiling precious silver and gold to adorn that later temple that Solomon will build.

Second, David’s compassion, reflected in his treatment of Mephibosheth. And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” And David said to him (Mephibosheth), “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” (vv. 9:3a, 7) Notice that initially David asks to show kindness to the “house of Saul”, then later accents that kindness with reference to his love for Jonathan. We see here that David never had enmity toward Saul – it was Saul’s pursuit of David that had David as Saul’s enemy. We will see in later chapters that David remains faithful to his promise to Mephibosheth, in spite of twists and turns in Mephibosheth’s behavior toward David.

Blessings!

II Samuel 7

Dear RTB’ers,

King David is living in his cedar house and he looks over and sees the Ark of God residing in a tent. So he resolves to build a “house” for a dwelling place for the Ark. A nice thought. He even has his prophet’s approval. However, God is not interested in a house for Himself. His “house” is all of creation, and more! He “resides” wherever He will! God is interested in His people and in David, their shepherd. So, we have this play on the word “house”. For David, it’s a building, a dwelling place for the Ark; for the Lord, the “house” is David’s familial lineage, his enduring line of succession – all the way down to Jesus, born some thousand years later.

When Nathan spoke God’s words to David, his reply acknowledged God’s plan: And Your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of Your servant David will be established before You. (v. 26) I like David’s dual perspective, that God is overseeing both Israel and his own “house”, his lineage. He shows full confidence in God’s ability to act accordingly: And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. (v. 28)

Would that we could see with David’s eyes, that God is true and the He has promised His good things to us – whatever they are!

Blessings!

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See also: April 3 (2023) / II Samuel 5-7.

II Samuel 5:17-6:23

For David’s bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and why the first attempt was fatally flawed but not the second, I refer you to the parallel passage in I Chronicles 13,15 and my corresponding commentary from April 5, 2023.

Today I’d like to briefly consider Michal and her relationship with David.

As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:16

Once upon a time, Michal had loved David. (I Samuel 18:20,27,28) In those days she had saved David’s life, helping him to escape from Saul. (I Samuel 19:11-17) Then Saul gave her as wife to another man, Palti (I Samuel 25:44), but David took her back. (II Samuel 3:13-16) Now, as David worships the LORD, Michal despises him. She claims that it is because David’s actions are vulgar, being half-dressed in front of other women:

And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

2 Samuel 6:20

But is that really the issue? I doubt it. I bet there is a lot more going on there, with deep emotional roots. Perhaps Michal sees David as a usurper, taking the throne first from her father, Saul, and then from her brother, Ish-bosheth. Or perhaps she prefers her “interim” husband, Palti, over David. Or perhaps she is jealous of David’s other wives who have already borne him children. Or perhaps she has a wide array of perceived grievances. We do not really know. But one thing is clear: Michal’s love for David has grown cold, and so she does not share his heart of worship for the LORD. And David’s response is also clear: the LORD takes precedence over Michal.

So how about us? Are we, like David, ready to worship the Lord with our whole heart, regardless of what others think? Or do we, like Michal, allow our love to grow cold and focus so much on grievances that we can no longer join in worship? If there is some relational conflict holding you back from the Lord, it’s time to deal with that problem. It’s time to let it go. It’s time to worship.

II Samuel 4:1-5:16

Remember the Amalekite that delivered the news of Saul’s death to David in II Samuel 1, which we looked at two days ago? It should not take much insight to see the parallels between that Amalekite and the two sons of Rimmon who assassinate Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son. Like the Amalekite, these two assassins misjudge David, thinking they can curry favor with him by handing him Ish-bosheth’s head. David himself even spells it out for us:

But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?”

2 Samuel 4:9–11

We can, of course, simply read these stories as basic history, a chronicle of the events leading up to David’s ascension to the throne of Israel. But we are meant to see more. We should see the difference between vice and virtue, between wickedness and righteousness, between disgrace and honor. We should see that David does not come to the throne by grasping for it or scheming for it. He ascends to the throne because the LORD brings him to it, even when the path is paved by wicked actors.

And, indeed, that is what we read:

And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. … And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

2 Samuel 5:10,12

Let’s learn from David here. Let’s not seek our own advantage by dishonorable means. Let’s trust the Lord to fulfill His purposes in His time and in His way. He is, after all, God Almighty. And He is good.

II Samuel 2-3

I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of Israel’s “United Monarchy” as passing from Saul to David and on to Solomon fairly smoothly, and that it is only with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, that the kingdom divides. I tend to forget this relatively brief period after Saul’s death when David rules over Judah but not yet over the whole house of Israel. Here also we have a divided kingdom, with the tribe of Judah by itself under David and the rest of Israel under Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth. The real power behind Ish-bosheth, though, is the military leader, Abner, who remains loyal to Saul’s house — until a rift develops between Abner and Ish-bosheth. But you don’t need me to retell the details; you have them all right there in Scripture. Let’s just say it isn’t all pretty.

Yet David is the LORD’s anointed king, right? (See I Samuel 16:1-13.) David, aware of his anointing (of course), has already been waiting to step into the fullness of that position as King of Israel for years and years, most of that time hounded by Saul. And now that Saul is out of the way, one might easily think that the throne would simply be handed to David straightaway. But it isn’t. It’s a mess. There’s conflict. It’s bloody. It’s brutal. And in the process a very capable and honorable leader, Abner, is murdered by David’s nephew, Joab.

Where is God in all of that? That’s a bit hard to say as we are not explicitly told. Yet — somehow — God is working out His purposes, not just for David, but for everyone.

And so it is for us today. We may face circumstances that are confusing, disappointing, painful, or otherwise difficult, but that does not mean that God’s plans are failing or going awry. God is still on His “Plan A.” There is no “Plan B.” He does not need one.

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See also: April 2 (2023) / II Samuel 2-4.

II Samuel 1

Today we return to our march through Old Testament history, picking up where we left off before we diverted into Job. Recall the history up to this point:

• The stories of the Patriarchs (Genesis)
• The Exodus, the giving of the Law through Moses, the Tabernacle, and the Wandering in the Wilderness (Exodus-Deuteronomy)
• The period of the Judges (Judges-Ruth), culminating in the last judge, Samuel (I Samuel 1-7)
• The initiation of the Monarchy under King Saul, but then the rejection of Saul, the anointing of David, and Saul’s chasing of David (I Samuel 8-27)
• Saul’s demise (I Samuel 28-31)

That is where we left off on June 25. So Saul is dead, along with his son, Jonathan, and David receives the news from an Amalekite, who expects David to consider all this to be good news. After all, Saul, the man responsible for making David’s life miserable for years is now permanently out of the way and no longer a threat to David’s life. The Amalekite is so confident of David’s positive response that he falsely claims to have killed Saul himself, probably hoping for a hefty reward. Well, he gets a reward, all right!

Some may object to David’s execution of the Amalekite, but it serves to illustrate the genuineness of David’s lament over Saul. David grieves over Saul. He does not rejoice over the death of this man who made himself David’s enemy, though David never treated Saul as such. As I said in my 2023 post on this passage, there is much to consider in David’s posture here, and much for us to think about in our own lives. How do we respond when our rivals or enemies fail? Or how do we present ourselves before others when their enemies fail? Are we like the Amalekite, seeking to win favor from the victor? Or do we follow David’s example?

Psalm 51

As the superscription for today’s psalm indicates, the backdrop for Psalm 51 is David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, and the subsequent confrontation of David by Nathan the prophet. You can find that story in II Samuel 11-12. You might also want to see our commentary on it from 2023.

I expect this psalm is somewhat familiar to many or most of us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t read it afresh. And read it afresh we must in order that we, too, might come before our Most Holy God in repentance, confessing our sin with a broken and contrite heart. No amount of sacrifice can substitute for repentance. So read Psalm 51 today in your own voice in true repentance, confessing your own sin, presenting your own contrite heart to the Lord, asking for His Holy Spirit and the cleansing that only He can provide.

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See also:

• April 12 (2023) / I Chronicles 17; II Samuel 8-12:15a; Psalm 51
• April 29 (2022) / Psalm 51:1-9
• April 30 (2022) / Psalm 51:10-19

Psalm 50

Dear RTB’ers,

God addressing the Israelis – first His people (vv. 7-15), then the wicked (vv. 16-22). To His people He talks of their sacrifices. Although not rejecting those sacrifices, He seems to be suggesting that their hearts may not be right, but that their devotion to Him would be more important to Him than their physical sacrifices (God speaking): Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. (vv. 14-15)

Then to the wicked His focus is on their speech (again, God speaking): What right have you to recite My statutes or take My covenant on your lips? You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. (vv. 16b, 19-20) I posted yesterday that I did not readily consider myself one of the “fools” (or the “foolish”) to whom God was speaking – then quickly reasoned how foolish I truly am. Today, however, again I quickly denied my association with the wicked – I do not condone thievery or adultery (Ps. 50:18). But with God’s focus on the speech of the wicked, I am right there again! The tongue…!! At this point it’s worth reading James 3:1-12.

I particularly like one of God’s closing lines to the wicked: …you thought that I was one like yourself. (v. 21b) It sounds almost like God is being sarcastic, but I think there is a lot of truth in that line, that we all too often “humanize” God, make Him like us, in His behaviors and in His decisions. In Freedom Road we often have to remind ourselves that “God is God and I am not”. Thankfully, He is not like me!

Finally, I have often lightheartedly cited verse 10, suggesting no shortage of wealth in my family, but that, in fact, “My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” Truly, I am quite wealthy!!

Blessings!

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See also:

• April 26 (2022) / Psalm 50:1-6
• April 27 (2022) / Psalm 50:7-15
• April 28 (2022) / Psalm 50:16-23

Psalms 49

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s Psalm 49 reads more like a Proverb than a Psalm: Let’s not fret over the wealthy, the powerful and what they can do to us; death awaits them, just like anyone else. Even the wise and the foolish die and leave their wealth to others. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away… (vv. 16-17a)

I have a sad tendency that whenever I see the words “fool” and “foolish”, my immediate reaction is a mental image of “them”, whoever they may be. That is, I do not number myself alongside “them”. Then, almost as quickly, I catch myself and realize that I am certainly among the foolish – maybe not as foolish today as I have been in the past, but clearly foolish – all too often trusting in my own efforts and not seeking God enough. In the end, when it’s all said and done, I number myself with the apostle Paul and his own confession: So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-25) Or, “Foolish man that I am…”! Sad.

Blessings!

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See also:

• April 24 (2022) / Psalm 49:1-9
• April 25 (2022) / Psalm 49:10-20