Debt of Kindness (2 Samuel 9:7)

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

David: There’s no need to be frightened. I intend to treat you kindly for the sake of your father, Jonathan, who was my loyal friend. I will return to you all the territory that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table.

David’s enemies crushed those who sought his life. Despite David’s attempts to understand Saul’s hatred of him, he could not. He continued to try, sparing Saul’s life in several separate occasions when he could easily dispense of him and stop his running for his life. But David would not harm God’s anointed king even though he knew he had done no wrong. David would not lay a hand against Saul, even though Saul acted in evil ways.

David played the harp and sang songs to ease Saul’s troubled mind only to have him hurl spears at him. David fought Saul’s battles only to have him rage with jealousy and anger because of the victories David won against the Philistines. Saul even offered his daughter in marriage to David for a price sure to get the young warrior killed, but he brought back the price and won his bride, but had her taken away.

Saul betrayed his most loyal warrior and servant. He lied to his son who loved David like a brother. He set traps to kill this mighty soldier. Saul sent him to the toughest places, to the hottest battles, to the most likely places to die. Only David didn’t die. He came back victorious every time because God fought his battles for him.

Now after Saul and Jonathan die in battle, Davidmorns their death and remembers his oath to his friend Jonathan. He looks for any relative of Jonathan left that he can honor and care for in some way. Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, is found, brought before the king and no doubt fears for his life as never before. No doubt he heard the stories of David and no doubt he knew the way of kings in the nations around him. The best way to secure your place as king is to destroy all traces of the previous king. That meant killing his entire family.Mephibosheth was the very last vestige of Saul lineage. When he was gone, David could feel completely secure from Saul’s dominion.

David had other plans, though. Imagine Mephiboseth’s elation as David’s words begin to register in his mind. Instead of death, David invited him to his table. Instead of destitution, all his grandfather’s lands and possessions were his. Instead of his hopeless situation, he began to realize salvation at the hand of the one he presumed his enemy when brought to the palace.

We can feel like Mephibosheth when we bow before God. We know our sins. We know how desperate we are and how unworthy to fall prostrate before him. We know we deserve death at His hand. But as we bow before Him and accept Him as Lord, instead of death and destruction, we hear, “Welcome home. Sit and my table and feast with me… forever.”

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Rahab and the Spies-(Joshua 2:17-18)

Today’s Readings: Joshua 2:1-24; 6:25

Spies: We will keep the oath we have sworn to you, but only if you will follow these instructions: Gather all of your family here in this house, and tie this scarlet cord in the window where you let us down.

If you remember attended Sunday School as a kid, you probably remember the story of Rahab. They may not have talked much then about her being a prostitute, or what a prostitute did for a living, or the fact that the Israelite spies went to visit her on their exploits of the city, but you probably remember her name and how she hid the spies. Let’s take a moment to recall some of the highlights we don’t think about.

The spies went to a prostitute to spy out the city. Agreed that prostitutes probably find out a lot of secrets about places and have been used as spies by countries to root out secrets in the past, but quite frankly, I expect the Israelite spies didn’t go to Rahab’s house to ask questions about the city. Honestly, I think they did ask questions, but only after they satisfied some banal needs for themselves. The Bible is a pretty stark reality series, you know.

Rehab and the rest of the city truly feared the Israelites. They heard the stories of their destruction of cities and everything in them. So no doubt she feared for her life even then. But in unknowingly carrying out God’s plan she lied to protect the spies breaking one of God’s commandments. Hmmm! Is that okay? Had she not lied to the soldiers, the spies would die and Joshua would not know the layout of the city. That wouldn’t matter to God as He just flattened the walls anyway. But Rahab, would disappear from Jesus’ lineage. Hmmm! Good or bad?

Rahab makes a deal with the spies and helps them escape from the city in exchange for her life and the lives of her family. She lets them down on a rope through a window in the outer wall of the city and they promise to allow all in her house to live by marking her house with a scarlet fabric hanging from the same window. The spies and all the Israelites would remember the promise each time they circled the city those seventeen trips around the city they made with trumpets blowing and the golden ark leading the procession.

Rahab and her family were saved from destruction and we hear about her in the genealogy of Jesus. A prostitute makes into King David’s lineage and into Jesus’. But there is something else important about this story we should not miss.

The story is about salvation. We get that. But there is an if-clause in the salvation story. Rehab had to do something to gain her salvation. She had to put that scarlet rope in the window to ensure her safety. It doesn’t seem like much, but it meant life or death. Our salvation also comes with an if-clause. If we believe in Jesus as the son of God, we find salvation. If we let Him become Lord of our life, He saves us. That little word “if” is so important. When we fail in our part, just like in Rahab’s story, salvation would not occur. It is a little thing compared to the glorious thing God does for us, but we must satisfy our part of the bargain to receive God’s salvation.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

Hebron, not just another town. (1 Chronicles 6:54-55)

Today’s Readings: 1 Chronicles 4-6

These are their territories and the pasturelands in these settlements: To the descendants of Aaron of the Kohathite clan (the highest clan) 65 the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin gave 9 cities including Hebron in the territory of Judah and those cities’ surrounding pastures.

Did you ever wonder why David established his kingdom in Hebron for 7 1/2 years upon Saul’s death? Why he chose that city instead of going to Gibeah to claim the throne from Saul’s hometown? These verses help explain why.

David’s army didn’t meet the criteria as the nation’s finest. You’ll remember he gathered around him 600 men escaping the wrath of Saul just as he tried to escape. The king marked these men as outlaws, criminals, rebels, traitors to the king. All had prices on their heads. All banded together for mutual protection and their common good. But all also could easily find themselves subject to immediate imprisonment at the hands of any group of people loyal to Saul.

Except for one thing! The laws of Moses established twelve cities of refuge across the land to which criminals could escape to avoid the blood revenge of another until the high priest serving in that city made a judgment as to their guilt or innocence concerning the crime. Hebron was one of those cities. Each tribe designated a city within its territory as a city of refuge. Within the tribe of Judah, Hebron was that city. And it belonged to the highest clan within the tribe of Levi, Aaron’s tribe.

David, a descendant of Judah, would naturally go to that city to seek shelter and asylum from the wrath of Saul. He would escape the sword of Saul’s descendants in a city of refuge and gain judgment from the high priest for his innocence in the death of Saul and his son since he and his followers lived among the Philistines for several years just before the battle that took the king’s life.

The judgment of the priest gave final pronouncement to the people of Judah as to his innocence and declared the anointing of the prophet, Samuel as an act of God’s anointing and David as the legitimate king of Judah and Israel. Hebron, as a city of refuge, plays an important part in legitimizing the coronation of David because of its position as the theocratic head of the fledgling nation.

For 7 1/2 years, the throne remained in Hebron. Not until David conquered the ‘impenetrable’ city of Jerusalem did the capital move. Then all of Israel crowned him as king and the capital moved to the new city of Zion, Jerusalem, the City of God and His future temple.

We often look at the genealogies, long lists of cities, territories, and inheritances and don’t think much about them. It’s not until search back to the theocracy in place that we begin to understand the significance of the names and places chronicled in those long lists. Hebron wasn’t just another town or just another place. It held significance to all who lived in Judah and the surrounding tribes. The place of refuge for Judah. The seat of judgment for Aaron’s descendants. The throne for David.

Chronicles gives us tremendous insight into the story of God’s plan for His people when we stop and search it out.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Forgiveness takes more than words (2 Samuel 14:24)

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 14-15; 1 John 4

David: Take him to his own house. I won’t let him see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.

“I forgive you! Now, get out of my face! I never want to see you again!” Have you ever said those words? Or felt like that with someone? Sometimes people do things to us we just don’t think we can forgive. I know I’ve experienced those kinds of hurts in the past. Things that I would just as soon never see that person again. But that’s not forgiveness.

Because we are not like God, when we forgive, we don’t forget wrongs done, but we can treat those who wrong us well. Does that mean we put ourselves in a vulnerable position with them again? Not necessarily. God doesn’t expect us to be stupid, but He does expect us to forgive. And our forgiveness is more for us than it is for the person we forgive. We cannot carry the bitterness in our soul that comes from a lack of forgiveness without it affecting every other aspect of our life.

So we forgive. We treat the person well with something someone smarter than me once called smart trust. For instance, if a person stole money from me, I’ll forgive them, and include them on my guest list, but I probably won’t let them act as my accountant. If I’m working with a convicted pedophile, I will forgive them, but I won’t let them work alone around children.

Smart trust recognizes the weakness that might cause someone to stumble and helps keep them away from those temptations. At the same time, it embraces mercy and works toward restoration. Forgiveness remembers the grace God grants to us and extends it toward others. The grace and mercy we receive He expects us to share. In fact, in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He reminds us, “forgive us in the same measure we forgive others.”

David’s actions show he didn’t forgive his son Absolom for killing his brother Amnon. The truth is, David probably didn’t forgive himself for the sin he committed with Bathsheba as he saw the consequences of his sin carried out in his family. Amnon raping Absolom’s sister, Absolom killing Amnon in revenge for his sister Tamar. Then trying to win over the kingdom while his father still sat on the throne.

If David had truly forgiven his son, no doubt the whole history of Israel would turn out differently. The enmity that grew between the brothers and ultimately between the tribes might never have grown had David shown mercy and grace instead of sowing the seeds of the seeds of lust, jealousy, and greed in his household. But God used all the intrigue, jealousy, and so forth to set His plan in motion.

God can use the best and worst in us when we give ourselves to Him and turn those things for good when we commit to His lordship. The secret is to say yes to His will. Forgiveness from Him and extending forgiveness to others keeps life much more simple and allows us to live the life He wants for us.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Just do what you’re supposed to do! (2 Samuel 11:1)

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 9-11; 1 John 2

In the springtime of the year, the season when most kings took their soldiers out to fight, David stayed in Jerusalem and sent Joab out as general in charge of David’s men and the whole army of Israel.

One of the things I like about reading the scriptures is understanding the grace God gives us despite our shortcomings. The stories we read of men like David encourages us to know that God forgives when we return to Him repentantly. Chapter 11 recounts one of the most despicable acts of man’s nature. David sees a woman he wants, has an affair with her, gets her pregnant, lures her husband back from the war to try to cover his crime, has him killed when he doesn’t sleep with her, and quickly marries her to again cover his adulterous actions.

Talk about some evil intent and evil action. David tips the scale with his actions. But it starts with verse one of the account in the story. In the spring of the year, most kings took their soldiers out to fight. It was the best time of year to start a campaign against your enemies. You could get to the place you wanted to conquer and feed off the land without a problem. The weather cooperated during the campaign as the spring rains ended by the time the battles began so your campaign didn’t get bagged down by rain.

In the spring, the young men in the army tired of being cooped up in garrison camps and the training the captains drilled into them during the long winter months. They longed to get into the field and away from the confinement of the encampment. They wanted in the worst way to get to the fight and show their prowess on the field of battle.

But this king, David, stayed in Jerusalem. We don’t know what prompted him to stay. Maybe he decided he was too old to travel. Maybe he tired of living in tents and riding on donkeys and in chariots. Maybe he wanted to enjoy the plush life of the king he enjoyed in Jerusalem. Maybe he wanted to stay with all his wives. Maybe he tired of leaving his children behind not knowing if he would see them again. Maybe…

David could tell us dozens of reasons he stayed behind, but his place as king was with his men in the field. Instead he stayed in Jerusalem and his trouble began. He looked out over the roofs of the houses and saw Bathsheba bathing. Wanted her and sent his servants to bring her to him. They did, he slept with her, she became pregnant, he sent for Uriah. Uriah remained loyal to his duties, David saw that Uriah died in battle, and David took Bathsheba as his wife.

Still we know David as a man after God’s heart. We will learn more about him soon. But this incident happened, because David didn’t go where he should have gone. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do. David’s place in the springtime, as king, was with his soldiers on the campaigns to conquer his enemies and defend his kingdom. Instead, he left the job to his general, Joab, and stayed at home in his comfortable palace, almost losing everything as a consequence.

From David, we learn to persevere in the service God gives us to do. When we have a task to do, we must do it. Consequences come with every action, good or bad. We can choose our actions, but we cannot choose the consequences. David discovered this truth too late.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard