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.
Once David had clearly established himself as king, he sought out any remaining descendants of King Saul. He received word that Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth was still alive, although crippled. David had Mephibosheth brought to Jerusalem and gave him back all of his grandfather’s properties. In addition, David arranged for Mephibosheth to eat at the royal table, even as David’s own sons did. In this way David fulfilled his vow of friendship to Jonathan.
After this, Nahash, who had been king of the Ammonites and a friend to David, died. David sent ambassadors to express sympathy and extend a hand of friendship to Nahash’ son, Hanun. However, Hanun’s advisers convinced him that David’s ambassadors were really spies looking to gather information for a coming attack by David. Based on his advisers advice, Hanun had David’s ambassadors seized. He had half of their beards shaved, cut off their robes embarrassingly short and sent them back to David. When David heard what had happened, he was furious. But the first thing he did was tell his ambassadors to stay in Jericho until their beards grew in once more. By shaming his ambassadors, Hanun had shamed David.
David sent his army under the command of Joab to exact revenge. Meanwhile the Ammonites hired Aramean mercenaries to help defend themselves. Joab and his brother split command of the Israelite army and defeated the combined forces of the Arameans and the Ammonites. The Arameans sent for reinforcements. When David heard that the Arameans had sent for reinforcements, he mobilized all of Israel and led the forces into battle himself. David defeated all of the Aramean forces and extracted tribute from their kings. That was the end of that fighting season.
The following spring David sent Joab and the army back against the Ammonites. They quickly defeated the Ammonite army in the field and laid siege to the Ammonite capital. Meanwhile David had remained in Jerusalem. It appears to me that the author suggests that failing to lead his army himself is what set David up for the temptation and sin which followed. One day while his army was in the field, David was on the roof of his palace and observed a woman bathing. The woman was Bathsheba and she was married to one of David’s Mighty Men, Uriah the Hittite. David had her brought to him and slept with her. When she discovered that she was pregnant, David sent word to Joab to send Uriah to him. David asked Uriah for a report on the battle and then told him to spend the night at home. Uriah, however, refused to go home and spent the night with David’s palace guards. When David asked him why he had not gone home, Uriah told him that he could not sleep at home while the Ark of God was in a tent and his fellow warriors were in the field at war. David attempted to get him drunk so as to convince him to go home, but this also failed. David then sent a letter to Joab telling him to station Uriah near the wall in battle and then pull back the other troops. Joab did as David ordered and Uriah was killed. Joab sent word to David about the losses that day with explicit mention that Uriah was among those killed. When Bathsheba’s period of mourning was over, David made her his wife. Today’s passage ends by telling us that God was displeased with David’s actions in this case.
I have felt for some time that David’s first mistake was to not follow his duty to lead his army in battle. First we have what reads like slight disapproval when the passage points out that in the spring, when king’s normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the army out to war while remaining in Jerusalem. Then we have the comment that Uriah made that he could not in good conscience go home to his wife while his fellow soldiers were camped out in the field of battle. Often times we get into trouble because we have not done what we should have in the first place. If we are doing what we should be doing, we will face less temptation.
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We receive life by remaining connected to Him, just as the branch of a vine only remains alive as it remains connected to the root system. The only way that we can be fruitful is if we remain in Him, and Him in us. If we fail to bear fruit, God will cut us off from Jesus, and thus from life. However, even if we are fruitful, God will prune us so that we may be more fruitful.
If we obey Jesus’ commandments in the same way that He obeyed the Father’s commandments we will remain in His love. If we remain in His love by obeying His commandments we will be filled with joy. After telling us that if we keep His commandments we will remain in His love, Jesus said that His commandment was that we love each other the same way that He loved us. He loved us by laying down His life for us. He goes on to say that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Then He tells us that we are no longer merely His servants, but are His friends. The final point of this part of Jesus’ speech is that we did not choose Him, He chose us.
Jesus then goes on to warn us that the only way the world will love us is if we are one of its own. If on the other hand we accept Jesus call to come out of the world and become His, the world will hate us in the same way that it hated Him. Those who reject Jesus will reject us. Those who would persecute Jesus will persecute us. They saw the miraculous signs which Jesus did and rejected Him anyway. We must remember that no matter how good of an argument we make, or what miracles God performs through us, there are those who will reject God’s message and us for accepting it. But the Holy Spirit will live within us and testify about God to us. We then must testify about Jesus and God to those around us.
Once more today’s psalm aligns with Jesus’ teachings from today’s New Testament passage. I will use this from the NIV to illustrate:
but I do not turn from your law.
This psalm reminds of the joy to be had from dedicating our lives to following God’s commands. It also reminds us that the wicked will attempt by whatever means they can find to turn us away from those commands. But this from the New Living Translation will be my refrain:
to obey your commands.
I will strive to do as that says and hurry to obey God’s commands as I understand them.
Today’s proverbs tell us how to make plans that will succeed. That is to make plans that are designed to bring glory to God and that bring about God’s will on this earth.