Week 17--2 Samuel 6-19, 1 Chronicles, a few scattered Psalms

The Ark of the Covenant returns to Jerusalem, just in case you were wondering. David then decides to build a temple for God. “I have a fabulous house, but God has to live in a tent. This does not seem fair.” But God said, “Your hands are too bloody to build me a house. You have a son who will do it for me, your son who will be king after you.” But which son? From which wife? We are getting to parts of the Bible that would be rated R if a movie was made of it.

Before we get to the bad stuff, God makes an important covenant with David. He promises an everlasting throne (which will eventually lead to Christ). David has many sons and the tracing of Jesus’ lineage through one son and not another is very important. We will get to that later. The important thing to remember is that God loved David in spite of all his sin and stupidity (just like He loves us in spite of the idiotic stunts we pull on a regular basis). David was a man after God’s own heart, despite his sins.

Oh look! More war with the Philistines! What a surprise...

David also keeps a promise he had made in an earlier covenant. David had promised Jonathan that he would look after his descendants. So when David hears that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was still alive, David takes him in and includes him as part of his own family.

Next we have the famous story of David and Bathsheba. Boy sees girl bathing. Boy takes girl. Girl gets pregnant. Boy has girl’s husband killed in battle. It’s an every-day story, yes? No, it’s not, and the prophet Nathan takes David to task for it. Four of David’s sons were to die as a result of this sin, three of them in battle and Bathsheba’s son shortly after he was born. During this time David writes Psalm 51, in which he shows his remorse for his sin and desires that God would give him a clean heart. Seeing David’s brokenness over his sin is painful, but it helps to round out the character of the man after God’s own heart. David then marries the widow Bathsheba and she has another son, Solomon. Remember that name--it will be really important later.

Things begin to get really complicated with the story of incest among David’s children. This could also be an argument against polygamy. Yes, they did it in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean God approved. Amnon loved his half sister, and “lay with her forcefully” (I’m using nice words--my 10-year old reads this). But after the act, “the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love which which he loved her.”  This is the worst part of the story--Amnon despised the person whom he had ruined with his own lust. When Absalom seeks revenge for his sister’s shame and kills his half-brother things begin to go downhill for David. 

Absalom flees to another part of the country. While he was gone, instead of seeking reconciliation, David and Absalom become angrier at each other and at the situation. Finally David sends word that Absalom can come home, but it is too late for reunion. Absalom has been gathering followers while he has been in exile, and they are ready to take Jerusalem; Absalom wants to take the throne from his father. David, who has been king for nearly 40 years now, flees the country and sends a spy into Absalom’s camp. There is a battle but David insists that Absalom be spared. These orders are not followed, and Absalom is killed. David is grief-stricken, but his general Joab talks sense into him. Yes, Absalom was David’s son, but he had become the enemy, and David needed to be grateful that his army had defeated the enemy. David is back on the throne of Israel and Judah, and all is well.

For a while, anyway.

Week 16-2 Samuel 22--2 Samuel 6, 1 Chronicles, Psalms 57, 142, 52, 54, 56

When we last left David, he was hiding from Saul in the city of Gath. Saul was so jealous and afraid of David that he was killing David’s supporters, including many priests. David went in pursuit of the Philistines, and Saul went in pursuit of David. More than once during this mad manhunt David had the chance to take Saul’s life, but did not. Two men, both anointed and chosen by God as King of Israel, stood toe-to-toe trying to decide whether or not to kill the other Lord’s anointed. Samuel died during this time, depriving both Saul and David of an advisor and mediator.

Four Psalms are tied to this period. In Psalm 57, David speaks mainly of rescue from persecutors. Psalms 142 and 54 are both cries for help in times of trouble. David takes a different turn in Psalm 52, though, boasting in God’s goodness. All these Psalms show David’s legitimate fear and despair over his situation, and also his assurance that God was his refuge and fortress.

Saul, seeking advice, visited the witch of Endor and asked her to call up Samuel’s spirit, which then confronted and scolded Saul. His reign was pretty much over by this point because of his disobedience and idolatry.

David was hiding in the camp of the Philistines when they went to war against Saul; they didn’t let David go with them, being unsure of what he would do in this situation. Psalm 56, written as David was hiding from Saul yet again, follows the same theme as the previous poems--recognition of those who could cause him harm, and of the stronger One who will keep him safe.

Then came Saul’s fateful last battle, against his old enemy the Philistines. All but one of Saul’s sons were killed, including David’s best friend Jonathan, and Saul is cut down by arrows. So that he won’t be killed by the Philistines, he falls on his own sword, taking his own life. First Chronicles states that God killed Saul, using the Philistines, because of his sins against the Lord. What an interesting difference in interpretation of events by different Bible writers. A sad end to a 40-year reign, though! “How have the mighty fallen...” David writes, not in Psalms but in 2 Samuel 1. 

David is then established as king over Judah (the split into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms has already begun) and Saul’s remaining son, Ish-bosheth, is king over Israel. Various people, trying to get on David’s good side, kill Saul’s advisors and eventually his son. However, this has the opposite effect and David had all the murderers put to death. After seven years, David is king over all Israel. 

We end this week’s reading with a lesson in how not to move the Ark of the Covenant. David wanted the Ark in Jerusalem, where he had taken up residence. So the Israelites went and retrieved the Ark, put in on a cart (despite the fact that God told them that the Levites were supposed to carry it) and began to bring it to David. There was a bump in the road, a man named Uzzah reached up and steadied the ark to keep it from falling over, and he died. “I told you never to touch the Ark,” was God’s reasoning. So the ark stopped its journey and stayed halfway between where it had been and Jerusalem.

Is that a cliffhanger or what? Tune in next time...it should be soon.

Week 15--1 Samuel 1-21, 1 Chronicles, Psalms 59 & 34

Some of the hardest parts of reading through the Bible are the genealogies in 1 and 2 Chronicles. Someone was the father of someone who was the father of zzzzzzzz... Reading the Bible chronologically helps break up 7 chapters in a row of these things. I appreciate that!

Today’s post covers the beginning of the history of the Nation of Israel, mainly the early lives of the prophet Samuel and Kings Saul and David.

Samuel’s story began with his mother’s fervent prayers for a child. Hannah prayed for years to be blessed with a son, and finally Samuel was born. She was so grateful that God gave her a son that she gave him back to God as soon as he was old enough to serve in the temple. Samuel served under Eli the priest until he was a young man. Then the Lord called Samuel to be a prophet, to speak God’s words to the people of Israel.

Shortly after this, Israel went to battle against the Philistines (they will do this a lot) and the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant. They thought it would guarantee them victory in battle. Didn’t work. In fact, when they placed the Ark in the temple of their false god Dagon, the statue of Dagon fell down on its face in front of the Ark and the glory of God. Twice. Finally the Ark was returned to Israel.

Samuel acted as a prophet and judge for many years. However, the people of Israel grew tired of having a judge and wanted a king because, well, all the other nations had one. Despite Samuel’s warnings of how unpleasant life with a king would be, Israel begged and God relented. God chose a man by the name of Saul, who would be a prophet and warrior as well as a ruler. Unfortunately, Saul did all the awful things Samuel said a king would do, taking the people’s crops and cattle in taxes and taking their sons for war. One of the longest wars was with the Philistines (remember them?) and one big guy in particular by the name of Goliath.  The unlikely hero of that particular battle was a scrappy young shepherd boy named--you guessed it--David. What Saul didn’t know was that David had already secretly been anointed king by Samuel.

Saul had made a habit of foolish, rash decisions and God no longer saw fit to have him serve as king. As Saul tried frantically to hold onto the power that was slipping into David’s hands, Saul’s son Jonathan became fast friends with David. Saul grew jealous of the younger man’s fame and skill in victory; jealousy turned to madness. More than once Saul tried to literally pin David to the wall with his spear.

Jonathan helped David elude King Saul’s attempts on his life, and David ran to the city of Gath seeking shelter. Political intrigue? In the Bible? Who knew!

Psalms 59 and 34, written by David during this time, show the fear in David’s heart, yet also show his faith that God would deliver him from his enemies. David’s faith would sustain him in this trial and the ones to come. You’ll read about that in the next post.

Week 14b: Ruth

Today’s post is on the little book of Ruth, which contains one of the Bible’s most beautiful love stories. It’s a book full of promises--promises made, promises kept, and the promise of a future, because here we first find the lineage of a king. The book of Ruth is also about Redemption. Centuries before this story takes place, God declared that the Moabites, because of their origin and their animosity towards Israel, would have no part with the nation of Israel. Yet one member of that race, because of her faith, was welcomed not only into the nation of Israel, but into the lineage of a king and the Messiah.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Ruth is also the story of a young widow and how she found a new life and a new home with her mother-in-law. That’s the thread we will follow--redemption and promise will find their way in.

Naomi and her husband left town with their sons because of a famine and settled in the land of Moab. The sons found wives in the new country, but then the man and his sons died. The three widows prepared to part in tears, but one of the girls refused to leave her mother-in-law.  Ruth made a vow, “Where you go, I will go...your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” That last phrase is the key. Ruth became a follower of YHWH, setting into motion a chain of events that would lead to the birth of a King.

When Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem, Ruth began work gleaning in the field, and Boaz found out about her. He had his servants treat her kindly, and then learned that he was a close relative and Ruth could be redeemed, or married again. This idea of redemption was very important because Ruth and Naomi had nothing except what they could glean, beg or receive. According to the Law, if a man died and left no children, the widow could be redeemed (married) by the nearest relative and their first son would carry on the original husband’s name. This provided for the woman and also insured that the line of the family would continue.

Naomi also knew that Boaz was a close relative, and because of her love for her daughter-in-law, she hatched a plot for the two of them to meet in a midnight tryst. (If you don’t believe me, read chapter 3 again. It would be a great movie.) Boaz overcame the obstacle of a closer relative in order to marry Ruth, and he took care of Naomi as well. 

Notice how Naomi was restored with the birth of Ruth and Boaz’s son. They put him on her lap, as her son. She had a family line again! Also, the last verses of Ruth’s story tell us that the line continues three more generations to the birth of the man who would be King--David.

I have recently learned of my family’s Christian heritage, which goes back four generations. David reaped the benefits of five generations of faith, as I pray my children and (eventually) grandchildren will. I hope this post will encourage you to pass on the story of your faith as well.