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 23-24.

    The writer wraps up this book by listing who David’s core followers were. He gives us a few stories about the most renowned of them. It is here that we learn that Uriah, whose death David arranged to cover up his affair with Bathsheba, was a member of that core. From the perspective of the time of writing, this made David’s crime even worse: by arranging for Uriah’s death, David betrayed one of his most loyal followers.

    Then we have the story of David’s census. There is nothing about the story which tells us when it occurred although its placement in 1 Chronicles suggests that it occurred shortly after David’s married Bathsheba. One of the things which is not clear is what was wrong with taking a census. I did a little bit of searching to see if anyone gave a reason which I could understand. I found a couple of ideas suggested, but nothing clearly supported by the wording of the passage. However, I did find a couple of blogs which noted that the original Hebrew is ambiguous about WHO incited David to take this census. According to those blogs, the Hebrew merely states that David was incited to take a census. My understanding is that in other passages with similar construction in Hebrew there is a clear indication that the unnamed actor is God, which is what led the translators to say that it was God who got David to conduct the census. Take note that it was Joab who tried to convince David not to commit this sin.

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 20-22.

    At the end of yesterday’s passage we saw the beginning of the divide between the Northern Tribes and the Tribe of Judah which led to the splitting of Israel into two kingdoms under Rehoboam. Today’s passage begins with the outbreak of open revolt against David. The discontent found a focus in Sheba, who led his own clan in revolt, while the rest of the northern tribes seem to have taken a more neutral stance, withdrawing their troops from David’s army but unwilling to commit them to Sheba. David responds by sending his nephew and new army commander, Amasa, out to gather the warriors of Judah. David’s instructions include doing so quickly. Unfortunately, Amasa was unable to meet David’s deadline, so David ordered Abishai, Joab’s brother and another of David’s nephews, to take the warriors already gathered and pursue Sheba. Despite David giving the orders to Abishai, it is clear that Joab commanded this force (if you have been following along you realize that David had dismissed Joab and given his position as Army Commander to Amasa). When Amasa returned shortly after David issued this order, Joab greeted him and killed him in a similar manner to what he had done to Abner. Now, it may seem that Joab killed Amasa because David had made Amasa Army Commander in Joab’s place. That probably played a role in it. However, it is worth noting that Amasa had also accepted the position of Army Commander from Absalom and had just led troops in an attempt to overthrow David. It seems likely that Joab believed that his killing of Amasa was in David’s best interest.

    As a reader of fantasy novels and a player of fantasy roleplaying games, I love the imagery David used in his song of praise recorded here. I am not the word smith that David was. I am not even the equal of those who translated this song into English. Nevertheless, I am going to try to describe the imagery which this song evokes for me.

• David starts be describing God as a rock and a fortress. These are really two descriptions meant to complement each other to form the image. To me this evokes the image of a fortress on a mountain or cliff, where the defenders can pick off their enemies while the enemy attacks bounce uselessly off of the rocks of the fortress walls.

However, David tells us that God is not a passive fortress where we, by our own initiative go to defend ourselves. No, when our enemies attack us, we call out to God and He takes us to this fortress of safety.

• David describes the situation in which he, and most of us (perhaps even all of us), had found himself. He had been caught in a trap and bound up in ropes which are dragging us into the rising tide, or surging floodwaters. I don’t know why, but I always picture being bound up in a net made of rope, something like a deep sea fishing net, being dragged toward a wave of muddy water, which would overwhelm me even if I could keep from being dragged into it. Something which evokes a sense of complete helplessness in my mind.

From that place of complete despair, David cried out to God for help and God heard his cry, as He heard mine and will hear yours.

• God did not just hear David’s cry. God rose to come to David’s rescue. His anger at the evil being done caused the earth to tremble and quake. This is the moment in a good fantasy novel where the reader realizes that the bad guys have gone too far and called up against themselves a force more powerful than they can comprehend. It is the moment when fires burst forth and those who have been inspiring terror in others feel fear themselves.

• Now that God has entered the fray, everyone can see His mighty power coming. The bad guys see Him coming and realize they are doomed. God arrives on the scene smashing the enemy forces and scattering those who remain.

• Then in the midst of this devastation and destruction, God reaches out a gentle hand and lifts David up and carries him to a place of safety. From sure death God rescues us and calms our fears.

    This is getting loner than I like, but there is one more part of this song I want to look at. David tells us that if we are faithful, not just to God, but in everything we do, God will treat us faithfully. If we live our lives with integrity, we will experience God’s integrity. But, if we think we are clever and can find loopholes in God’s laws, we will discover that God is shrewd and the “loophole” is not what we thought it was.

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 16-17.

    As David was fleeing Jerusalem ahead of Absalom’s forces, several men came to join him. In yesterday’s passage, he sent Hushai, one of his advisers, back because he would have been a burden on the flight. Yet in today’s passage David questions Ziba, the man he had appointed to be Mephibosheth’s servant, why Mephibosheth had not come along as well. Remember, Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet. Ziba claimed that Mephibosheth stayed behind in Jerusalem because he thought this civil war would result in him gaining the throne his grandfather Saul had held. On that basis, David gave Ziba everything he had previously given to Mephibosheth. We will revisit this exchange when David returns to Jerusalem.

    I find the contrasting advice of Ahithophel and Hushai interesting. Ahithophel gave Absalom the advice which he believed would give Absalom the best chance at victory. Hushai gave Absalom advice which he believed would give Absalom the least chance at victory. Hushai was constrained by needing to give advice which would appeal to Absalom more than Ahithophel’s. I want to look at Hushai’s advice first.
    Hushai’s advice contained two elements which should set off warning bells. First, it played on Absalom’s fears and sense of inadequacy. Hushai emphasized the reputation of David and the men around him. Hushai cleverly used their reputation to offset the argument that David and his men were well past their prime (which they were). Then before anyone had time to make an argument against that, Hushai appealed to Absalom’s vanity. He recommended that Absalom gather the entire army of Israel and lead it out against his father himself. Here he was playing up the benefits to Absalom of being seen as a military leader. If Absalom defeated the mighty warrior David in battle, his reputation would be established. Basically, Hushai’s advice encouraged Absalom’s fears and his desire for personal glory.
    Ahithophel, on the other hand, knew that Absalom needed a quick victory. David had only a small force and had been caught off-guard. Absalom needed to finish him before he and his men could establish a base and make a plan of action. David had risen to power because of his, and Joab’s, strategic and tactical brilliance, not because of his great fighting ability. So, Ahithophel’s first advice was for Absalom to make it clear that he could not reconcile with his father by having sex with his father’s concubines. This advice Absalom was happy to take, but the more important advice, Absalom chose against. Hushai had phrased his advice to Absalom in a way which made it seem like sending Ahithophel after David was both dangerous and would give glory to Ahithophel that Absalom could have for himself.

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.

    I am not sure what the motives were of all of the people in this story. It is clear that once Absalom returned from exile that he began planning on becoming king. If not for the fact that Joab led David’s army against Absalom, I would suspect that Joab encouraged Absalom in his ambition. Perhaps Joab’s motives were only those presented here, that he could see that David wanted to bring his son back. In any case, once Absalom returned to Jerusalem, he sought reconciliation with his father, David, in order to begin positioning himself to become king. It seems likely that Joab wanted David to bring Absalom back from exile to be the heir apparent so that there would be a clear line of succession.

    For the most part, today’s passage gives us a greater understanding of people who played an important role in the history of Israel. However, when we look at what Absalom did between the time he was reconciled with David and when he started his rebellion we learn some things about being a leader and choosing what leaders to follow. Absalom did two things. First, he moved around in such a way as to make himself appear like a person of great importance. Second, he expressed sympathy for the problems the common man was experiencing and implied that the government was not treating their problems with the urgency which they deserved.
    So, what can we learn from this? First, those who wish to lead others need to present themselves as leaders. In addition, people will follow those who listen to and address their concerns, or, at least appear to do so. A good leader will listen to and seek to address the concerns of those whom they lead. There is also an important lesson for us when it comes to choosing leaders. Absalom presented himself as someone important who listened to people’s concerns and cared about them. However, since he had no power to do anything, he could tell people on both sides of a conflict that he would resolve the conflict in their favor if he had the power. We need to watch out for those who seek to recruit us to follow them who are merely telling us what they think we want to hear. When deciding whether to follow someone, look for where they have had the opportunity to do things and judge them based on that. Usually if someone has never done anything which allows us to judge how they will act if given authority it indicates that they will not use authority wisely.

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.

    While David’s illicit child with Bathsheba was sick, David fasted and prayed for God to heal the child. He did this for seven days. His servants and advisers were afraid of what he would do when the child died. However, when he learned that his child had died, David got up, cleaned himself up, and ate. David understood that death was not the end and that we will be rejoined with our loved ones after death. We should have a similar attitude. While our loved ones are alive, but sick and suffering, it is appropriate to fast and pray, seeking God’s healing power. But once they have died we need to put aside our grief and go on about serving the Lord. I do not mean that quite as it sounds. There is a place for mourning the loss of our loved ones, especially when they die suddenly. However, we need to recognize that while we will miss them, it is only for a short time until we will be rejoined with them in eternity (at least, those who have chosen to serve the Lord).

    The story of the rape of Tamar and its aftermath have always bothered me. There is Amnon raping his half-sister and David is reported as being angry about this, but David takes no action. There is Jonadab, David’s nephew, advising Amnon on how to arrange to rape his sister, then later in a position to report to King David that Amnon was the only one of his sons killed by Absalom. Then there is Absalom killing his older half-brother, Amnon, and only suffering a three year exile. The fact that Amnon, and Jonadab, could think that he could get away with raping Tamar reflects how poorly disciplined he had been his whole life. Further, the fact that Absalom began plotting immediately to kill Amnon when he learned what had happened to Tamar tells us that Absalom knew that David would impose no discipline on Amnon. In a way, David’s sin with Bathsheba resulted in Amnon raping Tamar, which resulted in Absalom killing Amnon, which later led to Absalom attempting to usurp David’s throne. Perhaps, if David had disciplined Amnon, he would not have needed to fight the civil war with Absalom later.

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.

    Once David had secured his throne by conquering most of the surrounding peoples, he remembered his promise to Jonathan and sought out any sons of Jonathan who remained alive. When he found Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, he brought him into his household and gave him the properties which had belonged to Saul. (What is it with the names Saul’s family gave their sons after Saul became king? Ishbosheth, Mephibosheth,…) There is not a lot here for us, but it shows that David was secure enough in his kingship to not feel threatened by the descendants of Saul. David was generous to Jonathan’s son in memory of his friendship with Jonathan.

    I was going to write an summary of what happened in the war against the Ammonites and then explain how that led to David’s sin with Bathsheba. However, I realized that what I really wanted to write about was how David’s decision to pass the hard work of leading the army off onto someone else led him into sin. If David had led the army of Israel out to war, as was his responsibility, he would not have been in Jerusalem to be tempted with the sins he committed. This is a lesson for all of us. Our failure to actively do the things we ought to be doing often places us in the path of temptation and placing ourselves in the path of temptation leads us to sin. Do that which God is calling you to do and you will be less likely to find temptation coming your way. If we follow Paul’s advice in Phillipians 4:8 Samuel 8-11 we will avoid situations like the one in which David found himself:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

It really is amazing how well that works to defeat temptation. I just wish I was better at doing it myself.

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.

    Ishbosheth’s reaction to Abner’s death suggests that perhaps he had been accepting of Abner’s plan to turn the kingship of Israel over to David. In yesterday’s passage, Ishbosheth had returned Saul’s daughter, Michal, to David as his wife, which would have given David a claim to the throne as Saul’s successor. However, Abner’s death both deprived Ishbosheth of his best army commander and removed the assurance that he would survive handing his throne over to David. Unfortunately for Ishbosheth two of his men decided that they could curry favor with David by killing Ishbosheth. Those two men discovered that David did not approve of their action. David had them killed for doing so. I feel bad for Ishbosheth. He was never trained to be king and he never sought to be king. Abner made him king because he needed a son of Saul to be figurehead. Then when Abner got himself killed, two of Ishbosheth’s captains killed him in a deluded effort to curry favor with David.

    We see in today’s passage two aspects of David’s leadership that allowed him to be successful. First, we see that he had a good eye for strategy. When he sought to conquer Jerusalem, he saw that it was vulnerable to attack through the tunnel carrying water into the city. Later, when the Philistines attacked him, as they had Saul, he sought advice. The passage tells us that David sought God’s guidance, but I am sure that he also sought the advice of his commanders. As a result of this advice, David did not fall prey to the most common problem for military commanders, fighting the current war according to the strategies which worked in the last war.

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 2 Samuel begins with the story of how David received the news of Saul’s death. It tells us of a messenger who brought the news to David, claiming to have committed the coup-de-gras to Saul. The messenger appears to have expected a reward from David for his actions. Instead, David has the messenger killed. This story establishes a pattern which David will follow throughout his life, David executed those who thought to curry favor with him by bringing him news that they had killed one of his enemies. Once David had finished mourning the death of Saul and Jonathan, he sought God’s guidance on returning to the land controlled by the tribe of Judah. As soon as he had established himself there, the leaders of Judah came to him and made him their king.

    About the same time that the leaders of Judah made David their king, Abner, Saul’s army commander, made Saul’s remaining son king over the rest of Israel. Abner then marched his army to Gibeon (despite the fact that Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, was king, it was Abner’s army). The city of Gibeon was a city of significant political importance in Israel, including Judah, and Joab, David’s army commander, would not allow Abner to claim it for Ishbosheth. So, with the two armies facing each other and neither willing to make the first move, Abner suggests to Joab that they have a battle of twelve champions (that number is significant, at least partially because of the twelve tribes). All twelve fights end in each fighter killing his opponent. While Joab’s forces won the day, I believe that battle of champions shows us that neither side could win the ensuing war militarily. Unfortunately, during the battle, Abner could not escape from Joab’s younger brother and was forced to kill him.

    During the ensuing war, we learn that Abner is the true power behind the throne of Saul’s son. When the two men have a falling out, Abner promises to turn Ishbosheth’s throne over to David. What I find interesting is that Ishbosheth cooperated with Abner’s negotiation with David. Joab did not believe that Abner was dealing honestly with David and killed Abner by trickery. The passage tells us that Joab killed Abner in revenge for Abner killing his own brother. Right after this we learn that David and Joab do not have the most cordial of relationships. Joab and David are cousins (as were Abner and Saul), which makes me wonder if some members of the tribe of Judah had greater loyalty to Joab than to David.