Psalm 145 - Great is the Lord

This is a Psalm of unadulterated praise to the Lord. We will praise and exalt the name of the Lord forever. After Christ's return we will do this forever, and this is a part of eternity that we can, and should, start now.

There no limits to the extent of God's greatness. Sometimes people may wonder "won't we get bored praising God for ever". There are two answers to this. One is that eternity is much more than things simply going on forever. Time will be different than it is now, along with almost everything else. The second is that there are no limits to the wonder and depths of God's greatness, there will always be new things to discover, so boredom will not be a problem!

As well as His greatness, God is good to all that He has made. And His creation, including us, will sing of His greatness. 

Despite the greatness of God, He has concern for the lowly and helps us when we fall. God is truly great because He helps the weak. If we call upon the Lord He is near to us, but He will destroy the wicked. For those who reject God there is only judgement.

Psalm 144 - Train my hands for war

This is a psalm that contains many themes. The psalmist starts by blessing the Lord who trains his hands for battle. We need to realise that part of God's purpose in our lives is to train us for battle. We often think that God has got it in for us, when the truth is that He is stretching us, seeking to make us stronger.

Then we see that God is our steadfast love. We need to know that God loves us. We should ask God to make this a living reality in our life. We are in a relationship with God. And He is our shield and subdued enemies under us. We are in a good place!

This then causes the Psalmist to marvel that God will do this for us. We are the focus of God's creation.

In the light of this he asks God to come down and rescue him from his enemies. The truths that we have just read about should have a real effect in our lives. Our relationship with God should define our lives.

Then we will sing a new song for our lives will be radically different. It will also lead us to expect blessings from the Lord in every area of our lives. Now all this is not a cheap prosperity, but if we look at the life of Jesus it was radically different. So should ours be.

Psalm 143 - The God who saves real people

David prays to the Lord, looking for mercy. It is a normal part of life for us to need the mercy of the Lord in our lives. And we can be confident that the Lord will supply that mercy, for we can depend upon His faithfulness and righteousness. 

David then calls on God not to bring him to judgement, for he knows that on his own merit there is no way that he can stand before the Lord. 

David was pursued by the enemy. Again this is normal, the enemy will pursue us, destruction is his raison d'etre. At times this will cause us to feel utterly weak and crushed. David responds to this by meditating on the works of the Lord. So when we feel crushed and defeated we should not dwell on our weakness, but focus instead on the Lord's strength.

David calls on God to answer him quickly. So we see here a mixture of feeling the torment of defeat and struggling, and of faith in God. The Bible is not afraid of the way that we truly feel, of the difficulties that we go through, for the Lord can cope with us as we really are.

The answer will come through David learning to walk in God's ways, to be led by the Spirit. The Lord will preserve his life and defeat his enemies.

Titus 3:1-15 - Get a grip

In a situation like that in Crete respect for government is likely to be low. Now the government might not exactly be a paragon of virtue, nevertheless we are to be subject to rulers and authorities. Paul then clarifies this with the instruction to be "obedient, ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate and gentle to everyone". These qualities are the exact opposite of what rebellious groups do.

Once we too were enslaved by all kinds of passions, and were foolish. The evil behaviour in society is good for no-one, least of all those who perpetrate the behaviour. If we sin, we become slaves to sin.

The gospel is a message of repentance and as such is an act of kindness on God's part for He is saving us from our sins. This is not a cause for pride on our part, for it is purely an act of grace and mercy on God's part. We are cleansed by new birth, ie through faith in what Jesus did on the cross, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness and renewal go together. 

We are justified by His grace and have the hope of eternal life, a glorious inheritance. So we are to devote ourselves to doing good. We are to take a grip of our lives because God has taken a grip of us. We are to live as wise, not as foolish (Eph 5:15).  The converse of this are people who are divisive, all they do is cause trouble.
Paul had several people who helped him in his missionary work, and Titus is to work with them.
Verse 14 describes a lifestyle that was very contrary to that which the Cretans were apparently used to. Likewise there are segments of our society where people have a dependency culture and always expect things to be done for them. The gospel runs counter to that. God created all of us to be useful, to be a benefit and a blessing to others. Part of the fruit of the gospel is that we learn to fulfil this goal.

Titus 2:1-15 - How to live

Paul has just described those who are rebellious against God as "detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good". Titus is to stand out as a stark contrast to this, both in what he teaches and how he lives his life. He is to teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. He is also to teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, sound in faith, love and endurance. So he is to teach others to live a godly life, not a Cretan life.

The women are to be taught likewise. One shudders to think what life was like in Crete at that time. Perhaps one of our city centres on a Saturday night would give a rough picture. The women were to be taught to teach what is good. The younger women were to be urged to be good wives and to submit to their husbands. Now this no doubt causes the hackles of some to rise, but this is because we have a distorted view of what submission means. It does not mean that the husband is domineering or gets all his own way. Rather the husband is meant to be like Christ, sacrificing his life for the good of his wife (Ephesian 5:21:33).

Young men are to be self-controlled. Self-control is one of the key fruits of the Holy Spirit,, and stands in stark contrast to the way that society is going. Then Titus is urged to be a living example of all that he teaches.

Slaves are to be good workers. Now we need to remember that being a slave was quite normal in those days, and this is not supporting "human trafficking" or similar exercises as some seem to claim.  Slaves are to be an example of a Christlike life.

This chapter closes with a summing up of the motivation for all this. Christ has appeared to offer salvation to all. And this salvation teaches us to say no to ungodly passions. We do not have to go the way of the world. And Christ is the supreme example of how we go about presenting this good news to the world.

Titus 1:5-15 - Elders and False Teachers

There is no mention in Acts of Paul going to Crete, but verse 5 implies that Paul and Titus had visited there, presumably in the latter stages of Paul's life. Paul had started a work there, but Titus needed to finish it, and this involved appointing elders in each town, implying churches had been established in several places on the island. The church in the NT is never seen as something that is imposed upon a people from outside. Apostles did come and establish a church, for there is no other way that the church could grow, but the goal was that the church became independent and self-sustaining, though remaining linked to, and supporting, other churches. 

The requirements of an elder are similar to those outlined in the letters to Timothy. A man's family life was a vital element of the qualifications. Indeed, in some ways, our everyday lives are the best indicator of our maturity, or otherwise, in Christ. 

Having listed a number of qualities that we must not have, Paul goes on to the positive. Leaders are to be hospitable, lovers of what is good, self-controlled, godly and disciplined. He must also have a sincere faith, and be able to teach the faith, and able to recognise and rebuke erroneous teaching.

This ability to teach the truth and to oppose falsehood is vital. It is vital now and was vital then. Just as then, there are many who are "rebellious and full on meaningless talk".  In Paul's day it was members of the circumcision group who were the major problem. There false teachings were not just a matter of one opinion against another, but had a destructive effect. Likewise today, those who teach unbiblical stuff on sexual morality are not just offering another opinion, another way of looking at things, but are pedalling poison.

Verse 12sums up the state that Crete was in and was known for! Paul sees the role of the gospel to come directly against the attitudes and ways of life on Crete. Similarly today, the gospel should present a challenge to society, we are not meant to go with the flow, for society is flowing in the wrong direction.

Paul does not mince his words about the false teachers. They might claim to know God, but in reality they know nothing.

Titus 1:1-4 Introduction

We will now do the last of the so-called Pastoral Epistles. Titus had been with Paul a long time. When Paul left Antioch to go to Jerusalem, Titus went with him (Gal 2:1-3). Titus was also a Gentile, and in Galatians Paul notes that the Jerusalem leaders did not insist on Titus being circumcised. Interestingly enough, Titus is not actually mentioned in Acts, but does get mention in the rest of the NT (2 Corinthians as well as here and Galatians).

Titus was based on Crete. Now while Crete is a holiday destination now, in those days it was a moral cesspit, being infamous for its dishonesty, gluttony and laziness (see 1:12). It is interesting that Titus is leading a church there. This sort of place is precisely where the church is meant to be, for Jesus came to save sinners.

Paul starts his letter in typical fashion, reminding Titus of his apostleship and servanthood. His purpose is to further the faith of God's people, or more precisely "God's elect". Now we can get into silly debates about predestination if you want to, but let's instead take the positive and usefulness out of this verse. God has chosen to save some people. So even in the moral cesspit that was Crete at the time, God has people whom He has chosen to save. So we may look at our own society and at times despair, instead God's sovereignty should encourage us, for there are people in this society whom God has chosen to save. In Muslim communities and lands there are people whom God has chosen to save. 

So God's sovereignty is a motivation to evangelism, and a motivation to building up the church. For though the people are referred to as the "elect", this does not mean that what we do does not matter. Precisely the opposite is true. It means that Paul and Titus had work to do.

God decided all this before time began. Again, this is a motivation to even more effort on our behalf.

2 Samuel 24 - David's biggest mistake

This was probably David's greatest mistake. The Lord was angry with Israel. Now it is very interesting that here it implies God incited David to take the census, whereas in 1 Chronicles 21:1 it says Satan incited David. This gives us insight into interpreting the Bible. God is Lord of all and is ultimately in control of everything, nothing happens that is beyond His control. This is the aspect represented here. At the same time men (and devils) are responsible for their own actions, and that is the aspect represented in Chronicles.

We now read how the incident unfolded. David told Joab to count all the fighting men. Joab advised against doing this, given his previous behaviour, this is one of the few times when David would have done well to follow Joab's leanings.
However, the process went ahead and it took just under ten months to complete. Only after he had completed the exercise did David realise how foolish and wrong he had been. God spoke to the prophet Gad, and Gad gave David three options. David chose the plague option, for he knew that God was more merciful than men. So the angel brought death upon much of Israel, but spared Jerusalem. David was ful of remorse and called down judgement upon himself.

David went up to the temple and made a sacrifice, a sacrifice he insisted on paying for himself despite the urgings of Araunah. The sacrifice stopped the plague. There are obvious allusions here to the sacrifice of Christ.
Why did David insist on taking this census? Maybe at the end of his life he was glorying in his "achievements". However, in judging David God actually had mercy upon him, for it drove David back to his true source of security, God Himself.

2 Samuel 23 - David's mighty men

These are the last words of David. We all see here that his words were inspired. Note that in the Bible inspiration does not mean that God simply dictates the words. There are a few occasions where this happens (eg the ten commandments), but for the most part this is not the way that God works. Yet, the words are still inspired. David's worship was also inspired.

David was a type of Christ. Ie he represented some of the characteristics of Christ and His rule, though clearly he was not perfect, as most of 2 Samuel makes clear! Yet some of the time to some extent he ruled as a godly man. When he did so he brought light to the nation. A godly ruler is a blessing to a nation, a church, or indeed any organisation. Jesus is the perfect king, and His salvation will last forever. Note the element of judgement as well in v7,8. The Bible does not teach a soppy view of godly love.

David was not alone and did not accomplish what he did alone. He had many mighty warriors and these men are recognised in their own right. So in our life in the church it matters not whether we have a prominent or a hidden role. All that matters is that we do God's will. He sees everything, and rewards all obedience (Matt 24:46).

Notice that Uriah the Hittite is mentioned at the end. This is the man that David treated so badly, yet Uriah remained a man of honour. Zelek, an Ammonite, is also mentioned. These men were from tribes not part of Israel, yet they received honour.

2 Samuel 22 - A Psalm of victory

These verses are also contained in Psalm 18. It was written towards the end of his life, and is a Psalm of praise to the God who rescued him from all his enemies and Saul. The God whom we serve is the God who rescues us. So when we face difficulties we should rejoice, for we can be certain that God will rescue us. This does not mean things will necessarily be easy, for many of David's Psalms involve him crying out for help and telling of his anguish, but the result is certain.

The first 3 verses sum up what David has learnt about God during his life. He loves God, and God is his strength. He is a source of strength and protection in all circumstances. David has called upon the Lord many times, and each time the Lord has saved him.

David called out of his distress, and God heard him. Often when we cry out to God we may not feel full of faith, but even so God hears us. The key point is that we call out to the Lord, that in itself is an act of faith.

When God heard David He acted, and His action affected the heavens and the earth. When we call out to God things change. When He hears us He does things that change the world. We need to meditate on the wonder of this, and the implications for our life. We can often feel so small and think we are at the mercy of forces and events beyond our control. But we worship the God who created all things, and He makes decisions and takes action on our behalf.

The Lord reached down to help David. The most almighty God is willing and able to help us, whatever situation we find ourselves in. 

David was not in a little bit of trouble, but in deep waters. He was facing a powerful enemy, foes who were too strong for him to deal with by himself. We should take heart from this when we face circumstances that are overwhelming us, for our God is a God who rescues us from enemies that are too strong for us. Indeed, when He took the Israelites into the promised land, it was a land occupied by people stronger than they, but God was with them, so they could overcome. The enemies confronted David in the day of his disaster, ie at the worst possible time, but God rescued him. We need not fear any circumstance.

Then we have a section where David declares that the Lord has dealt with him according to his righteousness and his uprightness. How are we to apply this to ourselves? In two ways. On the one hand we rely on the righteousness of Jesus, His perfect life, perfect sacrifice and resurrection are the basis for our confidence. On the other hand we are to seek to live lives of integrity, life will go better, and we will be stronger, if we do so. There is no conflict in the Bible between relying only on Christ's righteousness and striving to live upright lives.

People like to complain about God, but the way God appears is dependent upon the condition of our heart. If we are faithful and pure we will find God to be faithful and pure. But if we are devious we will find that God can outwit us quite easily. The Lord favours the humble over the proud. This is a fundamental tenant of the Bible.

The Lord keeps our lamps burning. In the midst of a struggle He supplies us with strength, and gives us light in dark times. So no matter what the circumstances we can have confidence that in Christ we are able to overcome.

David then continues with further attributes of God. His way is perfect and His word flawless. There is no one like our God. The Lord equips us with His attributes. Here David talks about being trained for war. Now the through the Holy Spirit we are sanctified and made more and more like Christ.

So David was able to pursue and defeat his enemies, and David reigned victorious. David endured many difficulties, and at times defeat seemed certain, but in the end it was his enemies who were defeated, because of the saving power of the Lord.

2 Samuel 21 - Gibeonites reprised - righting past wrongs

David now addresses another issue left over from the Saul regime. The most important one had been the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Now we come to the Gibeonites. Many years ago the Gibeonites had deceived Israel into giving her protection. By deception or not, God expected Israel to honour the agreement they made with them. However, Saul had not done so. 

A famine came upon the land and the Lord told David that this was a result of Saul's blood-stained reign, and in particular his killing of the Gibeonites. This raises a number of interesting points. First here it says "he put the Gibenonites to death". Now clearly not all of them were put to death or they would not have been any Gibeonites left to deal with here. So we must be careful about over-literal reading of the Bible. In fact to be too literal it to be illiterate! This is relevant in some of the discussion of Joshua (see Paul Copan's book). However, at the same time many actually were killed.

The second point is the relationship between "natural" disasters and God's judgement. Our attitude today is that they are never an indication of God's judgement. we do this in the understandable reaction against people who seemingly delight in other's sufffering (by the way, Proverbs warns against gloating over other's misfortune) and a Christian concern for those who suffer. This contains a lot of truth, but it is unbiblical to say that there is never any connection between judgement and behaviour, for here there clearly was, and there are other examples in Scripture as well, including several in the Book of Acts. However, here we come to the key point. If I hear of someone else suffering some great disaster my first reaction (unless God has appointed me as a prophet to those people!) should be "what can I do to help", not "what have they done wrong". If something happens to me, then I might be right to ask the question "what have I done wrong". At the same time I should beware of getting obsessed with this. Sometimes I suffer for my own sin, sometimes I suffer because of other people's sin, and sometimes I suffer just because I live in a fallen world.

David offers to appease the Gibeonites, and they respond in a (given the social norms of the time) reasonable way. David continues to spare Jonathan's son. 

There continued to be wars with the Philistines. At first David went to fight with the army, but then his men told him not to as he was now more of a liability than a help. Israel continued to have various victories.

2 Samuel 20 - More bloodshed

While most were rallying around David there was one troublemaker, Sheba, a Benjamite. All the men of Israel followed Sheba, but the men of Judah stuck with David. This is the precursor to the split of Israel into two kingdoms that would happen a couple of generations later.

David took his ten remaining concubines to look after the palace, but had no sexual relations with them. It is not clear why this little detail is mentioned here. 

David's reign seems to be in decline an he is now having to act defensively. He sends men to chase after Sheba before he does more damage.On the way to do this Joab murders Amasa. Joab did this to ensure that he had command of the army. Joab was a man who proclaimed loyalty, did some good, but at heart was only after his own ends. Sadly there are often people like this in the church.

Joab continues the chase and ends up besieging Sheba. Rather than seeing the city destroyed, a woman of the city spoke to Joab offering to have Sheba killed for him. This is what happened, and in a somewhat bloodthirsty manner.

So Joab was the undisputed commander of the army, and the kingdom was secure.

2 Samuel 19 - David restored, but division arises

Although David had won he was full of mourning for his son Absalom who had died. This was affecting the whole city. Joab goes and rebukes David, for his men had committed themselves to the battle which they had won, they had risked their lives. They had won, but were having to act as if they had lost because of David. David agrees to Joab's instruction to go out to meet the people. It seems that David was unaware of Joab's actions in killing Absalom. 
Although the battle had been won, there was now confusion in the nation. And all this was part of the outcome of David's sin. Today we often talk of things being a private matter, particularly when leading politicians are found to have been involved in affairs. Our private life does affect our public life, for it demonstrates the true nature of our character.
David gives the people the opportunity to restore him as king, and so wins over the hearts of the people.
David then meets Shimei, he of the stone throwing tendency. Abishai wanted Shimei put to death, but David says otherwise.
Next Mephibosheth meets David, and David inquires as to why he did not go with David. Mephibosheth spins a tale, implicating Ziba, so the land given to Ziba is split between the two of them.
There is now argument betweent he various tribes over who should have the places of honour in restoring David. All this is very unseemly, but the seeds of division have been sown in the land. This is the fruit of sin.

2 Samuel 18 - Absalom dies

David's army prepare to attack. David wants to lead the army, perhaps remembering how his problems had all started when he had stayed at the palace. However, his men insist that he does not go out with them as he is clearly the main target. 

So David remains behind, but tells his commanders to be gentle with Absalom. Although Absalom is his enemy, he is also his son. David's men win convincingly and many people are killed. Absalom gets caught in a tree. Joab questions the man who saw Absalom why he didn't kill him. The man says it is because of David's command.  Joab was impetuous and showed no concern for the king's command. So he went out and killed Absalom. This is not the first time he done this sort of thing, e.g. the murder of Abner.

Joab knows what David's reaction will be, so he sends a Cushite to tell David the news. However, Ahimaaz insists that he be the one to tell David the news. Verse 29 seems to indicate that Ahimaaz does not know what has happened to Absalom. The Cushite then arrives and gives David the news about Absalom. 

David goes into mourning.

2 Samuel 17 - Absalom's downfall nears

Ahithophel then gives Absalom advice of a more military nature! This is basically to attack David now while he is at his weakest. Moreover, he advises to attack only David himself, so that the people with him can be won over.

If Absalom had followed this advice it would probably have worked, but Absalom turns to Hushai. Hushai counters Ahithophel's advice. His advice is given cleverly, and also involves attacking David, but this time with an all-out assault.

Absalom and his men all found the advice of Hushai to be more acceptable. So the Lord's will prevails. Again we see how the will of the Lord works out. The advice and the decisions made were real, but it is the Lord's will that prevails.

Hushai then gets word back to David about what is going to happen.

Ahithophel committed suicide on seeing that his advice had been rejected.

So the battle began along the lines that Hushai had engineered.

2 Samuel 16 - Opportunists

The dispute between the houses of David and Saul had clearly not ended. There were still those who had belonged to Saul who continued to hold a grudge against David and the present crisis seemed to provide an opportunity for them to get their own back. Ziba, a steward of Mephibosheth, seems to remain loyal to David, bringing out goods to him. As a result he gains Mephibosheth's property.

Mephibosheth's actions seem despicable. David had earlier shown great favour to him, but here he turns against David.

Shimei is another odd character, and from Saul's clan. This guy seemed to take delight in throwing stones at David and his men. David seems to take a rather fatalistic attitude to events. However, David is also looking to the Lord to restore his fortunes. Perhaps this is an example of leaving vengeance to the Lord (Romans 12:19). Shimei continued with his ridiculous behaviour.

Meanwhile things were happening at the court of Absalom. Hushai was David's insider, but Hushai pretended to be loyal to Absalom. Ahithophel now gives his advice to Absalom. He told Absalom to sleep with David's concubines and to let the people know this was happening. This is a further fulfilment of the judgement that God pronounced upon David (2 Sam 12:11).

2 Samuel 14,15 - Absalom

Joab is scheming and gets the woman of Tekoa to act on his behalf. David was mourning for Absalom and Joab seemed to want to do something about it. So he gets the woman of Tekoa to give this long tale to David. David sees through what is happening. However, David gives the command for Absalom to be brought back to Jerusalem. Absalom, however, was not allowed to see the face of David.

Absalom was apparently a fine looking man and took care of his appearance. So there is nothing new under the sun!

Absalom was disgruntled at not being able to see David, and so set fire to Joab's field in order to get attention. Finally he gets to see David.
Absalom bowed down to David, seemingly in homage, but it is all a deception.  In the next chapter we read of Absalom gaining favour with people by offering to solve their problems and complaints. Again, there is nothing new under the sun, for this is why many of our politicians act.
After several years of doing this Absalom asks the king if he can go to Hebron, supposedly to worship the Lord. In fact it was all part of a plot to become king.
David gets word of the conspiracy and his reaction is to flee. David is man living under judgement, he is no longer the bold warrior. Sin can have a terrible effect on our lives.
However, there are still those who are loyal to David. Ittai was given the chance to leave David but refused. David also had the ark returned to Jerusalem.
God, however, had not abandoned David. Ahithophel was working with Absalom, so David prayed that his advice would be useless. Hushai also returned to Jerusalem to act as an insider working on David's behalf.

2 Samuel 13 - Amnon and Tamar

The judgement immediately starts to take effect. Now some may ask does this mean that Amnon sinned only because of God's judgement on David, and so it wasn't really his fault. (Paul considers similar questions in Romans 9). I believe we need to hold two concepts in tension. One is the sovereignty of God, the other is human responsibility. With our limited minds we can devise a theory that gives full weight to one or the other, but only at the expense of the other. Calvinists tend to emphasise the sovereignty of God in such a way that seems to negate human responsibility. Those who emphasise free will and responsibility tend to negate God's sovereignty. My approach is to accept that with my limited mind I cannot work everything out. Perhaps this is a cop-out, but so be it.

The upshot of the sorry tale of this chapter is that Amnon slept with his sister, or half-sister to be more precise. His adviser Jonadab was not very helpful as he merely advised Amnon how to fulfil his desires, rather than advising him that his desires were wrong. So Tamar was lured to Amnon's bedroom and he raped her. After the act Amnon hated Tamar. This is typical of sin. It promises all sorts of things, but then produces only poison.

Absalom heard about this, as did David. David was furious and Absalom hated his brother. Absalom harboured this hatred in his heart and two years it gave fruit to the murdering of Amnon. Absalom then fled, and David mourned for his two sons.

The most important message of all this is that our sins have consequences way beyond what we imagine. Moreover, the goal of life is not to meet our desires. Some desires should be positively resisted.

2 Samuel 12 - You're the man - accept your guilt

Uriah was a man of integrity, we now see the integrity of another man. The working out of God's plans depend upon the faithfulness of all sorts of people, not just the prominent ones.

Nathan presumably knew what had happened and the Lord sent him to confront David. He doesn't do this directly, but does it by means of a parable. This isn't because he is afraid of confronting him directly, but to make David realise the awfulness of what he has done.

Nathan tells him a story of a rich man who took from a poor man. David reacts with indignation and gave his judgement on the rich man. Nathan then tells him that "you are the man". The Lord reminds David of all that He had done for him, and that He would have done even more. Instead David despised the word of the Lord. 

Then the Lord pronounces judgement. The sword would not leave the house, and calamity would come from his own household. Both of these things happened. He would be publicly humiliated. Our sins have consequences and affect the lives of others.

Instead of reacting with anger, complaining that this is "unfair", David admits his sin. Nathan then says that the son born to Bathsheeba will die. The son became ill, and David pleaded with the Lord.

God did not answer and after a few days the child died. The servants were afraid to tell David, but eventually David got the truth out of them. Now instead of reacting with weeping and fasting, David pulls himself together and gets on with life. This reaction amazes his servants. David says it is because there is nothing to be done to change the situation.

David and Bathsheeba then have another child, Solomon. Joab beseiged Rabbah and David went and captured the city, and people were conscripted into slave labour.

So what are we to make of all this? We see that sin has consequences, and that sin brings judgement. David accepts the reality and the judgement upon his sin.

2 Samuel 11 - David's Downfall

We now come to the most infamous episode in David's life. This shows that David was far from perfect, he was a sinner just like you and me. It also shows that Israel needed a Messiah who was much greater than David.

Note the amount of time devoted to this episode. Two chapters here are directly concerned with the matter, and the consequences coloured the rest of his reign. Moreover, there is no hiding of David's guilt, and this is about one of the great heroes of Israel. To my mind this is one of the strongest arguments demonstrating the inspiration of scripture. Some say it is a human book, but if this book was written from a purely human perspective it would not be so forthcoming about human failures. This book is inspired by God, and it is about God's dealings with man.

Joab was out with the army fighting and winning battles. In the spring the weather made it possible to fight wars. Meanwhile David was on his rooftop and saw a beautiful woman bathing. We need to be very careful what we look at, for it can have disastrous effects on us. It can pollute our minds and it can arouse sin that is in us. That is why pornography is so dangerous, and things were no different in David's time.

So David had the woman brought to him and he slept with her. As king he had the power (though not the right) to do that. However, she became pregnant. So David has to pile sin upon sin, as so often happens. First he invites Uriah back, wanting him to sleep with his wife so he will think the child is his. But he did not reckon with Uriah's integrity and dedication. So he sent Bathseeba's husband to the frontline so that he 

would be killed in battle. David was murdering him.

This plan did "work" and Uriah died. David had Bathseeba brought to his palace and she became one of his wives. So we see here that Uriah was a much more honourable man than David.

The chapter closes with the words that this displeased the Lord. All of us live our lives under the Lord's eyes. We need to live in fear of the Lord, knowing that He knows all that we do.

2 Samuel 10 - Fighting Ammonites & Arameans

Seems a little odd to refer to Nahash as showing kindness as this "kindness" had involved sparing the Israelites if they let them gouge their eyes out (1 Samuel 11), and Saul had in the end defeated the Ammonites. Nevertheless, David seeks to show kindness to the Ammonites.

The Ammonite commanders were distrustful of David's intentions, perhaps not surprising given the events of 1 Samuel 11, so they sought to turn Hanun's mind against David. So David's envoys were captured and humiliated .

The ammonites then hired mercenaries, expecting to be attacked at some point by David. Joab did indeed lead the army against Ammon. The mercenaries hired by Ammon feld, and so the Ammonies themselves fled back to the city. This included the Arameans regrouped against David, and saw Israel engaged in battle against them. So David defeated them and the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

2 Samuel 9 - Mephibosheth

David still had concern for the house of Saul, and for any remaining relatives of Jonathan in particular. There was one son, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet, this had happened as a result of Saul's sin (2 Sam 4:4). So we see here the mercy of David. 

David invited Mephibosheth to his palace and promised to restore to him. He would get back land and be allowed to eat at David's table. Mephibosheth adopted a very "humble" attitude.

Ziba, Saul's steward, was summoned by David and instructed to work the land on Mephibosheth's behalf, so  Mephibosheth was provided for and he ate at David's table.

This is a picture of the mercy of God, and He restores us in the same way. Just as David looked for ways to bless Saul's offspring, so Christ looks for ways to bless us.

2 Samuel 8 - David starts to reign

Although chapter 8 obviously comes after chapter 7, chronologically the events may well have happened before. For at the start of chapter 7 it says God had given David rest from his enemies, and here we read of David attacking the Philistines and others. However, it reads as simple victories and David is on the offensive, so maybe this counts as having rest, also it says "in the course of time". 

The Moabites get treated rather badly, with rather summary and random execution of a number of them. What are we to make of these sorts of passages? Well the Moabites were receiving judgement for their sins, and the Bible reports but does not commend what David did (though it isn't condemned either).

Various others were involved in battles with David, but all lost and David extended his rule. David also took gold and bronze as part of the plunder.

Tou heard about all this and decided that trying to make peace with David was a wiser option than going to war and losing. So he sought peace and offered gold, silver and bronze as gifts. David accepted these gifts and dedicated them to the Lord.

The Edomites were less wise and suffered a massive defeat and became subject to David. 

So David ruled, and did so with justice and righteousness. David is a type of the messiah, and indeed we see here a picture of what God intended in Genesis when He told us to fill the earth and subdue it. We were created to rule with righteousness. We will see more of this, but we should also remember (and will see) that David is only a type, only a dim picture of Christ.

2 Samuel 7:18-29 David Response

Nathan gave God's word to David, and David now responds. God has told David he is asking for the wrong thing. Instead of reacting with a grump, he accepts the word and responds with humility  praise and thankfulness. 

Why did God do this for David? "For the sake of your word and according to your will". That is why God acts in our life as well. 

David glories also in the uniqueness of God and the unique way He deals with His people. We need to realise that God deals with us in a unique way, and everything flows from God. 

David then calls on the Lord to keep His promise. David is not doubting that God will do this, but rather he is affirming his agreement and submission to God's promise.

2 Samuel 7:1-17 - God's plans and ours

The Lord gave David rest. So far David has had many long years of battling and being on the run from enemies. Now God gives him rest. There are times in life when we have to fight, but the Lord also gives us times of rest. When He does this we should enjoy it!

David had a palace, but there was no temple for God, the ark remained in a tent. Nathan was the prophet, and he told David to do whatever was on his heart. However, that night the Lord spoke to Nathan. The key points of the word are:

• The Lord had not dwelt in a house since He brought them up out of Egypt. Nor had He commanded them to build one. Building a temple was not a priority for the Lord! Often there can be things that we want to do for God, but the Lord is not actually that desperate for us to do for Him! Perhaps this is another example of David wanting to emulate other nations.
• God then tells David that He took him from the pasture, made him ruler and had been with him throughout the journey. So clearly God did not need a temple in order to be with David and protect and guide him.
• God declares that He will make David's name great and provide a place for the people of Israel. See how God's priorities are different than ours. Note also that He wants to make David's name great. When we honour God He will honour us.
• Finally God says that He will raise someone up after David who will build the temple. Now these verses are a mixture of immediate and long term prophecy. The ultimate fulfilment is Jesus, but obviously the bits on discipline do not apply as Jesus did not sin. Also, Solomon would build a temple.

2 Samuel 6:8-23 - The Ark successfully returned

"David was angry because the Lord's wrath had broken out against Uzzah". Why did this make David angry? Was it because he felt sorry for Uzzah? Was it because the Lord seemed to be working against his plan to bring the ark to Jerusalem? Or was it because he knew deep down that he had gone about things in the wrong way and had not done them God's way (see previous post)? 

The next verse says that David was not afraid of the Lord and thought that the ark (representing the presence of God) could now never be brought to Jerusalem. There are echoes here of Adam and Eve's reaction after sinning against God, they hid from Him in the garden. So David sidelined the issue, this had the side-effect of being very beneficial for Obed-Edom and his family.

David heard about this and so went up to get the ark. Why the change of mind? When the Philistines had taken the ark it had a habit of leading to tumours breaking out wherever it went. So maybe David thought that the ark was somehow cursed, or brought a curse with it. Now he sees that this is not the case. This time he brings the ark to Jerusalem following the Levitical laws (1 Chronicles 15 gives the details of this). David danced before the Lord, and sacrifices were offered. David also gave gifts to all the people. A sign that we are worshipping God aright is that we will be generous towards others.

Michal, the daughter of Saul whom David had asked to be brought back, saw David and despised him. Michal thought David had disgraced himself. She also probably thought that he had disgraced her by his "antics".

David declares that he will always worship the Lord. Michal remained childless, and the implication here is that this was a judgement of God upon her.

2 Samuel 6:1-7 - The Ark

David now gathered all the young men of the land, thirty thousand in all. His goal was to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.  Note the names given to God: the Name, Lord Almighty, enthroned between the cherubim. This is emphasising the greatness and holiness of God.

Note that David is following a similar pattern to that of the Philistines (1 Sam 6:7) in getting a new cart, rather than the Levitical commands (Ex 25:12-15; Numbers 4:5,6,15). David's actions seemed good and were well intentioned, but he was following the way of the world, rather than the way of God. This, and the later incidents, are a warning to the church in the way we act. 

David and the whole of Israel were celebrating before the Lord. All seemed to be going well when disaster struck. The oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. The anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah and He struck him down dead!

This is one of the periodic incidents in the Bible where our natural tendency is to react against it. We think this is not fair, this is not the act of a just God. There are a couple of things to say about this. First is that God is God and He is holy. We are made in His image, not He in ours. We do not have the right to tell God how He should or should not act. Secondly, the root of the problem was not the oxen stumbling, but the failure to follow the Levitical way of handling the ark (carried by priests), rather than the worldly way (carried on a cart). If they had followed this way the problem would not have arisen. 

So often something goes wrong and we complain, but if only we had followed God's plan from the beginning we would have avoided much trouble.

2 Samuel 5 - David becomes king

David was now recognised as king over all Israel, and all the tribes ascribed allegiance to him. They knew that David had been the really successful leader in the military campaigns, and that God had chosen him.
David made a covenant with the people. So in David's reign there are various key elements. First, God anointed him long before anyone knew who he was or recognised him. He acted faithfully, the Lord acts on his behalf, and then he is recognised by the people. Then David makes a covenant with the people. There are obvious parallels here with Jesus Himself, though clearly only a shadow. Interestingly he became king at the age of thirty, this is approximately the age of Jesus when He died and rose again.
The next task was to take Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who occupied the city, told him he had no chance. Yet David did capture it. There will always be those who tell us that we cannot succeed. If God had told us to do something we should do it. David then fortified the city and it became known as the City of David. A palace was then built for David.
The Philistines heard what had happened and sought to undo the work. David inquired of the Lord. David was constantly inquiring of the Lord, and this is one of the reasons why he was so successful. Notice that the tactics used in the battle were normal military tactics. Sometimes the Lord's answers are quite normal and sensible! We sometimes seem to have the notion that the more weird the answer the more likely it is to be from God!

2 Samuel 4 - Let God do the judging

Ish-Bosheth is the next for the chop. Two of his men were leaders of raiding parties, and they came and murdered Ish-Bosheth while he was sleeping. All this was in judgement upon Saul and his family. Now this does not mean that the two men were right to murder Ish-Bosheth. 

Rekab and Baanah, the two murdered, chopped off Ish-Bosheth's head and brought it to David. No doubt they expected David to be pleased to see his "enemies" head (since Ish-Bosheth was a child of Saul).

They were in for a rude awakening, for David was not pleased and had them put to death. This was more justifiable than the servant who had earlier been killed.

So we see here in example of not taking vengeance, for it belongs to the Lord. Throughout his life David had refused to kill Saul, even when he had chances, and would have had some justification. He left vengeance to the Lord.

2 Samuel 3:22-39 - Joab murders Abner

Joab is displeased with David's response to Abner. David had accepted Abner's change of allegiance, but Joab was against this. Now Joab had quite a powerful position, and there will be times when people in such positions disagree with what the leader does. This in itself is not a problem, what can be a problem is the way the person reacts, and Joab causes a major problem here. 
So Joab took matters into his own hands and, without David's knowledge, had Abner killed. When David hears about this he is angry and pronounces a curse on Joab's household. 
Now note the aside in v30. Joab was making out that his distrust of Abner was out of concern for the kingdom, for concern that Abner was acting deceitfully. The real reason was that he wanted revenge for Abner having killed his brother Asahel. There can often be motives at work that are not immediately obvious to us.
David then made it abundantly clear that he had had nothing to do with Abner's death. All Joab's men approved of this, so Joab had been acting alone. 
We need to realise that the fact that we disagree with a leader is not in itself a problem. We have not been called to agree with everyone. But our reactions when we disagree can be a problem. We need to respect the position of leadership.