2 Samuel
Think about a time in your life when you felt like you were on top of the world. Perhaps you've successfully completed a big project at work, or have gotten a promotion. Once you've reached a peak, though, there is often a time when you come back down to earth.
King David soared to great heights of military and political accomplishment in ancient Israel. He wrote exquisite poetry and played the harp. He was the most popular ruler Israel ever had. Then David committed adultery and tried to conceal it with murder. His personal life, his family relationships, and his kingdom never recovered completely. God freely forgave David, but he still experienced the consequences of his sin.
Everyone wants peace and harmony in their lives. It's good to know that God wants us to have peace and harmony. At the birth of Jesus, the angels announced, "Peace on earth everyone who pleases God" (Luke 2.14). Second Samuel reminds us that we can enjoy this peace and harmony when we live to please God.
Second
Samuel is actually the second half of a single book that was divided
into two part, 1 and 2 Samuel because together they were too long to
fit on one scroll. Most of 2 Samuel is a history of the rule of King
David.
After the death of King Saul, the people of the Judah
tribe chose David to be their king. And for the next seven years,
David was at war with Saul's son, King Ishbosheth of Israel. Then
David became king of the entire nation.
David conquered the
enemies of Israel and became the ruler of a small empire. But he also
had an affair with Bathsheba, the wife of an army officer who was
away at war. As a result, the Lord allowed David to have serious
troubles later on, and many of those troubles came from within his
own family. For example, one of David's sons, Ammon, raped David's
daughter Tamar. Ammon was then killed by David's son Absalom, who
later led a rebellion against David.
David wasn't perfect, but
he was loyal to the Lord and worshiped only him. And for as long as
Judah continued as a nation, the Lord kept the promise he made to
David:
Now I promise that you and your descendants will be kings. I'll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I'll make him a strong ruler, and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him... I will be his father, and he will be my son. (7.11-14)
ONE - Reward for Faithfulness - 2 Samuel 1:1-16
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 1:1-16 (NLT)
1 After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. 2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked.
“I escaped from the Israelite camp,” the man replied.
4 “What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.”
The man replied, “Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
5 “How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man.
6 The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. 7 When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him.
8 “He responded, ‘Who are you?’
“‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.
9 “Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’
10 “So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”
11 David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.
13 Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?”
And he replied, “I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land.”
14 “Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed one?” David asked.
15 Then David said to one of his men, “Kill him!” So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. 16 “You have condemned yourself,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed the Lord’s anointed one.”
🔎 CONSIDER
David's faith in God was strong. Rather than taking things into his own hands, David waited for God's promises to be fulfilled. Several times he ignored the opportunity to kill King Saul when these moments presented themselves.
When the man came bearing the news of Saul's death, David was not excited-he was quite sad. It may have been that the man had hoped he would be rewarded for delivering this message, but this was not the case.
Second Samuel describes how David was later rewarded for his faithfulness to God, and his refusal to kill Saul. Today, God still rewards his people when they are faithful to him.
Putting
all the events concerning the death of Saul in the correct order:
•
Saul is wounded in battle and then kills himself by falling on his
own sword.
• An Amalekite comes across Saul’s dead body and
takes his crown and armlet.
• The next day, the Philistines
find Saul’s body, behead him, strip him of his armor, send the
report, and fasten his body to the wall of Beth Shan (1
Samuel 31:8–10).
• Men of Jabesh Gilead travel overnight
and take Saul’s body and those of his sons and burn them at Jabesh
(1
Samuel 31:11–12).
• The men of Jabesh Gilead bury Saul’s
bones under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and the men of that city fast
for seven days (1
Samuel 31:13).
• The Amalekite arrives at David’s camp
on the third day with the crown and armlet, reporting his fictional
story.
• David and his men fast and mourn until evening.
•
David has the Amalekite executed.
• David becomes king and
honors the brave men who buried Saul’s body (2
Samuel 2:4–7).
🔎 THINK
When a leader dies, people commonly maneuver to try to attain some benefit from his passing. Whether the person was the leader of an organization or a head of state, individuals who are left behind will jockey for position or otherwise seek to exploit the leader’s death for their advantage. In today’s passage, we read about one man who attempted to advance himself after the death of Saul.
As readers of 1 Samuel 31, we know that Saul committed suicide after being mortally wounded in battle with the Amalekites. David, however, did not know the circumstances of Saul’s death, and we see in 2 Samuel 1:1–10 that an Amalekite came to David, claiming to have finished off Saul at the king’s request and bringing with him the king’s crown and armlet. Clearly this Amalekite was seeking a reward from David, for the distance from Mount Gilboa to Ziklag was some eighty miles and would have taken several days to travel. No doubt the Amalekite knew that David was the logical successor to Saul and believed that David would rejoice in the death of his enemy.
There is much irony in the scene. After all, David had just returned from striking down the Amalekites who had kidnapped the women and children of Ziklag (v. 1; see 1 Sam. 30). So, he would hardly be disposed to look kindly on the Amalekite bearing the news. Also, we have to understand that David probably would have seen through the Amalekite’s story. It would be highly unlikely for Saul to be so isolated in battle that his armor bearer or another Israelite would not be present to end Saul’s life if the king requested it.
The Amalekite gravely misunderstood David’s feelings toward Saul. David, after all, had not held any animosity toward Israel’s first king; the hatred came entirely from Saul. David knew that it was not up to him or any other man to remove Saul from the throne; that was God’s prerogative alone (1 Sam. 24:1–7; 26:1–11). Had the Amalekite actually killed Saul, he would have overstepped his authority, and to lie about it revealed a heart darkened by sin. So, David executed him based on his own testimony of regicide.
Matthew Henry writes that among other things, this episode proves that “to give assistance to any in murdering themselves, directly or indirectly, if done wittingly, incurs the guilt of blood.” David exacted justice in making the Amalekite pay for his professed crime.
🔎 SIMILAR
1 Samuel 31:1-13 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ...
2 Samuel 4:10 When one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
1 Chronicles 10:4-6 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together.
Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Judges 9:54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
Numbers 24:20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.”
Exodus 17:8-16 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Judges 9:54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Proverbs 24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
Psalm 35:13-14 But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
2 Corinthians 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
TWO - Jerusalem-The City of David - 2 Samuel 5:1-10
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 5:1-10 (NLT)
David Becomes King of All Israel
1 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’”
3 So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. 5 He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
6 David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. 7 But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.
8 On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”
9 So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward. 10 And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.
🔎 CONSIDER
When David was crowned king of all Israel, one of his first goals was to capture the fortress on Mount Zion. This area was perched high on a mountainous ridge and provided a strategic advantage against any would-be attackers.
Jerusalem was controlled by the Jebusites, who thought it was impossible for anyone to mount a successful attack against their fortress. But David proved the Jebusites wrong. He sent his men into the city by way of the water tunnel, surprised the Jebusites, and defeated them.
The city became known as Jerusalem, the capital of the nation of Israel. David's victory reminds us that no matter how strong or well armed the enemy is when we follow God's direction he will make a way for us.
Sometimes the Lord's plan may not seem to be working. But as we continue to follow God's plan, step-by-step, we see his plan unfold. Wait for him.
🔎 THINK
David, the young shepherd boy who is destined to become Israel’s greatest king. With his introduction, the focus of the book of 1 Samuel is beginning to shift once again, from Saul to David, just as it already has shifted from Samuel to Saul.
In the ancient world, one of the most celebrated figures was a young student of Aristotle, the son of King Philip of Macedonia—Alexander. He is known to history as Alexander the Great because of his perhaps unprecedented level of achievement. He made great military conquests, aided scientific advancement, and promoted cultural unity. But as great as Alexander was, David may deserve the title “the Great” even more. David is seen as the king of Israel, whose reign was so exemplary that the very kingdom of God is associated with it and Christ’s kingdom is seen as its consummation. David actually ushered in the golden age of Israel. He was distinguished as a warrior, defeating the giant Goliath as a youth and expanding Israel’s borders to their widest point as a man. David was also Israel’s “poet laureate”; if only for his psalms, he would justly be famous. And David was a musician, a harpist and composer—his psalms were designed for choral use. Of all Israel’s kings, David was most scrupulous in obeying God. And yet, he fell spectacularly. When he did sin, however, he was great in repentance, as Psalm 51 shows. David seemed to do everything in great proportions.
The one thing that surely set David apart from Alexander and other great men, however, is that God was with him. His spectacular gifts and talents were endowments from the God of Israel, who raised David from obscurity to the heights of achievement. David was great because God made him so.
🔎 SIMILAR
2 Samuel 5:1-5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
1 Chronicles 11:1-3 Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.
2 Samuel 2:4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,”
2 Samuel 3:1 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.
2 Samuel 3:17-21 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’” Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do. When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
2 Samuel 5:6-10 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David's soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
1 Chronicles 12:23-40 These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the Lord. The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. Of the Levites 4,600. The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ...
Psalm 78:70-72 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance. With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.
2 Samuel 7:8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
1 Kings 2:11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Proverbs 14:22 Do they not go astray who devise evil? Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.
Exodus 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Philemon 1:18-19 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
2 Timothy 1:16-18 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Psalm 57:3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
THREE - When God Says No - 2 Samuel 7:1-17
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 7:1-17 (NLT)
The Lord’s Covenant Promise to David
7 When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, 2 the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that same night the Lord said to Nathan,
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? 6 I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. 7 Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’
8 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! 10 And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, 11 starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. 15 But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”
17 So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision.
🔎 CONSIDER
God said no to David' request to build a temple to house the sacred chest. David thought he was doing the right thing, he wanted to please and honor God, but God had other plans in mind for him.
The Lord promised David that someone from his family would always be Israel's king. This promise must have overwhelmed David!
Has God ever said no to your prayers? Even when you prayed with pure motives for something you thought would please God, he still said no. We need to remember that when God refuses our requests, he is not rejecting us. He has a better plan in mind for our lives.
🔎 THINK
God’s covenant of grace, the solution to our having violated His covenant of works with Adam, is progressively unfolded in Scripture through a number of subcovenants that reveal different aspects of the Lord’s gracious dealings with His people. The final subcovenant before the consummation of the covenant of grace in the new covenant is the Davidic covenant, which is first described in 2 Samuel 7:1–17.
Divine grace is revealed in God’s covenant with David both in His establishment and in His maintenance of David’s kingly line. First, 2 Samuel 7:8 refers to how our Creator chose David to be king, taking him from being a simple shepherd and making him the ruler over Israel. The reference here is to the history recounted in 1 Samuel 16:1–13, wherein we read of Samuel’s anointing David to succeed Saul as Israel’s king. We see God’s grace operating in this account, for David was chosen not for any outward kingly qualities or political expertise, but because his heart was devoted to the Lord (v. 7). Of course, in the final analysis, that David had a heart for God was the Lord’s doing. No less than any other sinner, David was born with a deceitful heart and had a heart to serve the Creator only because God gave David a new heart to love Him (Jer. 17:9; Ezek. 36:25–27).
We also see divine grace in operation in God’s kingly covenant with David in the Lord’s pledge to maintain the Davidic throne. God did not persist in loving Saul in a manner that would have kept Israel’s throne in Saul’s family, but the Lord pledged in the Davidic covenant never to remove His love from David’s line (2 Sam. 7:15–16). This is an act of grace, for no ordinary descendant of David could merit the continuation of kingship. After all, in making a kingly covenant with David, the Lord told David that He would discipline David’s sons for their sin (v. 14). David’s line would suffer the consequences for its failures, but God would preserve the throne in David’s family nonetheless.
In ancient Israel, the king represented his people before God in a special way. When the king was obedient, Israel was blessed, but when he was disobedient, the nation suffered (Isa. 36–39). Ultimately, this paved the way for a unique son of David to bear the consequences of His people’s sins so that they could enjoy the blessings associated with His perfect obedience. This final Son of David is also the Son of God—Jesus Christ—who atoned for the sins of His people so that they could become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
🔎 SIMILAR
1 Chronicles 17:11-14 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’”
Psalm 89:3-4 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
Psalm 89:28-29 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
Psalm 89:34-37 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
Acts 2:29-31 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Ezekiel 37:24-25 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
FOUR - An Undeserved Favor - 2 Samuel 9:1-13
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 9:1-13 (NLT)
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.
“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied.
3 The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”
Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.”
4 “Where is he?” the king asked.
“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”
5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6 His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”
Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.”
7 “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”
8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11 Ziba replied, “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the king’s own sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.
🔎 CONSIDER
In David's time, a new king who came to power usually made an effort to kill the family members of the former ruler to keep them from trying to regain the throne. But David didn't do this. Instead, he asked if there were any of Saul's family members still alive so he could help them.
When King David called for lame Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, the king showed him kindness rather than killing him. David didn't treat Mephibosheth kindly because he deserved it, but because David had promised Jonathan that he would be kind to all of his relatives.
this is a wonderful example of what we know as "grace". Although we were helpless and hopeless - like Mephibosheth - God found us and welcomed us into his family. We have done nothing to deserve this favor; it is God's gift to us. Like Mephibosheth, all we can do is gratefully accept God's wonderful gift of love and kindness.
🔎 THINK
David was a praying man. He also was a man of constant action: hiding, surviving, fighting, negotiating, conquering, building, marrying, and ruling as king.
Then something happened that arrested him completely. It compelled him to stop and sit down, in awed stillness. The promise David had heard through Nathan the prophet was staggering; it was as if a windfall of blessing had just been poured all over him.
The promise was so grand that David could only ask, in effect, “Is this your usual way of dealing with us, O Lord?” The more he reflected on it, the more David saw that this glorious promise not only spilled over to his descendants for endless generations but also extended to the whole nation of Israel, through whom God had chosen to bless the whole world. Now we know that this promise pointed to Jesus, through whom the nations would be reconciled to God.
The staggering scope of God’s awesome promise stopped David in his tracks and moved him to awe and wonder at the unequaled greatness of God.
David had long been a follower of God, but this opened his eyes to God’s greatness with a wonder he had never known before.
When life is just too good, God is calling us to come into his presence with thanksgiving, wonder, and joy.
🔎 SIMILAR
2 Samuel 21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
1 Samuel 20:14-17 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
1 Samuel 20:42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
2 Samuel 4:4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
1 Samuel 18:3-4 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
1 Samuel 23:16-18 And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
2 Samuel 16:1-4 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” And the king said, “And where is your master's son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”
2 Samuel 19:24-30 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” ...
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Colossians 3:12-13 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
FIVE - A Useless Cover-Up - 2 Samuel 11:6-27
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 11:6-27 (NLT)
6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”
11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
12 “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
David Arranges for Uriah’s Death
14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.
18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”
22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”
25 “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
🔎 CONSIDER
When Bathsheba found out she was pregnant, David called her husband, Uriah, home from the front. David hoped that Uriah would sleep with his wife and everyone would assume the baby belonged to him. But Uriah's loyalty to David and the country stood in stark contrast to David's attempted deception.
After two failed attempts at getting Uriah to go home, David resorted to having the brave soldier intentionally killed in battle. Then, after a suitable period of mourning, David took Bathsheba as his wife.
We all do things that are wrong - things we wish we could just cover up and make them disappear. But it is foolish to do this. Our sins have a way of surfacing when we least expect them to. Instead of covering our sins, we can confess them to God. He will forgive us and help us deal with the effects of our sin.
🔎 THINK
Most addiction problems seem to start pretty small. Before long, though, they catch us by surprise, leading us to wonder how we could have missed all the warning signs.
That was certainly true with David. His affair with Bathsheba triggered an epic-scale disaster for him, but it didn’t start out that way. It started small, with a stroll on the palace roof, a wandering eye, and a desire to “find out about” Bathsheba.
It was the spring of the year. For David, the king that God had anointed to expand and establish his nation Israel, this was his time for leadership. The kings of other nations would surely try to invade, so Israel’s king and his armies had to protect their borders.
But as David grew comfortable, it began to seem less urgent for him to head out with the troops. He had other people who could do that. He could stay back at the palace and— well, do whatever he wished.
David didn’t wake up one morning and impulsively decide to have a big problem. It started with a little thing, and it built up from there.
Are there little things in your life that have the potential to become big temptations, which could lead to big sins? What is the Lord asking you to do to head them off?
🔎 SIMILAR
2 Samuel 12:9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
2 Samuel 12:7-10 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
2 Samuel 11:1-27 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” ...
1 Kings 15:5 Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Psalm 51:1-19 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ...
2 Samuel 12:13-14 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
2 Samuel 12:1-6 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, ...
2 Samuel 12:15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick.
2 Samuel 12:24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him
SIX - Hero at Work, Failure at Home - 2 Samuel 14:1-23
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 14:1-23 (NLT)
Joab Arranges for Absalom’s Return
14 Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2 So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3 Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4 When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”
5 “What’s the trouble?” the king asked.
“Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead. 6 My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. 7 Now the rest of the family is demanding, ‘Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”
8 “Leave it to me,” the king told her. “Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”
9 “Oh, thank you, my lord the king,” the woman from Tekoa replied. “If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father’s house, and let the king and his throne be innocent.”
10 “If anyone objects,” the king said, “bring him to me. I can assure you he will never harm you again!”
11 Then she said, “Please swear to me by the Lord your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.”
“As surely as the Lord lives,” he replied, “not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”
12 “Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king,” she said.
“Go ahead and speak,” he responded.
13 She replied, “Why don’t you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. 14 All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.
15 “I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me 16 and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance God has given us. 17 Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the Lord your God be with you.”
18 “I must know one thing,” the king replied, “and tell me the truth.”
“Yes, my lord the king,” she responded.
19 “Did Joab put you up to this?”
And the woman replied, “My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. 20 He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!”
21 So the king sent for Joab and told him, “All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab bowed with his face to the ground in deep respect and said, “At last I know that I have gained your approval, my lord the king, for you have granted me this request!”
23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
🔎 CONSIDER
For all of David's many great qualities as a leader of God's people, he did not manage his own family matters well. David never punished Ammon for his sin, nor did David address Absalom's murder of Ammon. Although David's permitting his son to come home was noble and gracious, he again only went part way - David did not speak to Absalom for two whole years. By not letting Absalom come to see him, David caused even more resentment and rebellion to develop in his son.
Two lessons can be learned from this: First, when sin is swept under the carpet, it always causes more misery than if it is dealt with and forgiven. Second, when forgiveness is only partial or conditional, the problem will only get worse, "I forgive you, but keep your distance from me," is not forgiveness. When we forgive someone for hurting us, our forgiveness must be complete.
🔎 THINK
Sin makes us foolish, or at least oblivious, as David’s life illustrates. After David committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11), his discernment suffered a marked decline, particularly with respect to his family. David did not notice the lust of Amnon for his sister Tamar. David did not punish Amnon for raping Tamar. He did not see the hatred of his other son Absalom for Amnon, and he was tricked into sending Amnon to his death. David mourned for Amnon but not for his negligence or for Tamar’s suffering. Then, David lost Absalom to his son’s self-imposed exile, and he did not go after him even after he longed to see him again (ch. 13).
The discord between David and Absalom threatened the stability of the royal dynasty, so Joab sought to reconcile father and son. As we see in today’s passage, Joab enlisted the help of a woman from Tekoa, a village about ten miles from Jerusalem. She told David a story about how one of her sons killed his brother, prompting the avenger of blood to seek the killer’s life. She pleaded for David to declare that her son’s life not be taken lest she suffer and her husband’s name die out (14:1–11). Ordinarily, the individual who committed manslaughter could find safety in a city of refuge, and it appears that the killing in the woman’s story was accidental (Num. 35:9–34). She was asking for an exception to the manslaughter law so that her son could remain with her outside one of these refuges and not be killed.
David agreed to this request, and when the woman applied it to David’s own situation with Absalom, the king relented and had his son brought back to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 14:11–23). Absalom, of course, was guilty of premeditated murder, so it is questionable whether David’s act was lawful. In any case, David and Absalom did not enjoy a full reconciliation. David did not see Absalom for two more years, forcing him to live away from the palace. Absalom had to burn a field to get Joab to secure his restoration to the royal household (vv. 24–33).
This failure to reconcile fully with David doubtless meant that Absalom would continue to nurture bitterness toward his father. Given what we see in 2 Samuel 15:1–6, we are not speculating much to say that Absalom certainly had thoughts that went something like this: “My father does not care about justice for my sister, justice with respect to Amnon, or justice with respect to me, the only one who acted to vindicate my sister. Something has to be done.” And sadly, what Absalom would do was a cure worse than the disease.
🔎 SIMILAR
2 Samuel 13:37-39 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day. So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, because he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.
2 Samuel 18:5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
2 Samuel 18:33-19:8 And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” ...
2 Samuel 15:1-12 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ...
2 Samuel 16:22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
2 Samuel 17:1-4 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.” And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
2 Samuel 17:14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.
2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
SEVEN - Friends in Low Places - 2 Samuel 17:27-29
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 17:27-29 (NLT)
27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. 28 They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”
🔎 CONSIDER
As King, David probably had many friends in high positions throughout Israel. But the three friends in this account - all of them unlikely helpers - proved their loyalty to David when he was at a very low point. They helped him in a practical way by bringing food for David and his followers when David was in the town of Mahanaim. These men helped David without being asked and at great risk to themselves.
Our friends need our help the most when they are going through the low places of life. Often our help can take a practical form, such as supplying food, clothing, or money. At other times "just being there" with a hurting friend is all we need to do. We don't have to be trained counselors; we don't need to know all the answers. We just need to be there when our friends are going through their low places.
🔎 THINK
On the InterVarsity Press Online Pulpit, Gerry Koning shared a story about Jesse, a 13-year-old who has Down Syndrome. Jesse went out for breakfast with his father and grandparents one day, and he would have loved to wander through the restaurant meeting people, so his dad put his arm around Jesse while they sat and ate. Then, when the four of them stood up to leave, Jesse dashed to the table across the aisle to meet two well-dressed businessmen. They had spent their time at breakfast with their PDAs and spreadsheets. Jesse greeted one and offered his hand. The man took Jesse's hand and even gave him his name. Jesse went in for a hug, which the man returned warmly. Sensing the man's affection, Jesse went for it all. He put the businessman in a headlock and gave him a noogy (vigorously rubbing his scalp with his knuckles). Jesse's father apologized to the man; then he told Jesse firmly that the man did not deserve a noogy. But the man responded that he did deserve one?and probably more. He explained that he had not treated his wife kindly that morning. Then he said, “Sometimes God speaks to us loudly through a burning bush, and at other times through a young child.” Jesus, too, reminded people that God often speaks through children. Whom is God using to speak to you today?
🔎 SIMILAR
Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2 Corinthians 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Philippians 4:21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.
3 John 1:15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.
Acts 20:1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia.
Acts 21:17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.
Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
EIGHT - A Woman of Courage – 2 Samuel 20:16-22
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 20:16-22 (NLT)
16 But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.” 17 As he approached, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he replied.
So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
18 Then she continued, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.’ 19 I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel. Why do you want to devour what belongs to the Lord?”
20 And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town! 21 That’s not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace.”
“All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
🔎 CONSIDER
Though the Bible does not even mention her name, this woman had the courage to stand on the top of a wall in the middle of a siege, and ask to speak with the person leading the attack on their city. As a result, she saved her city from destruction.
It is always the person whose name is in the headlines who changes the course of history. Often it is the unsung hero - the person who dares to stand up and speak out for what is right - who makes the real difference. The world may never take note of your courage, but God will not miss it.
🔎 THINK
With the aid of her walker, a woman at the nursing home was out enjoying a brief stroll on a pleasant summer evening. I admired her courage in being out there, but what she said was even more admirable. With all her heart she said, “God is so good! God is so good!”
Decades earlier, at age 40, she had suffered a major stroke. In a moment, the mother of three active youngsters went from a demanding, busy life to a bed in the hospital’s stroke unit. Half of her body was paralyzed. Acute hospital care transitioned to months of demanding rehabilitation before she returned to her young family—and then with only a fraction of her former strength.
And now, four decades later, what does she say? “God is so good!”
How could she say this? Well, she was not happy to have had the stroke. Like all of us, she longed to be healthy and strong all her years. But in and through all that she experienced—weakness, demanding therapy, struggles, disappointments—she tasted and saw what the psalmist had discovered: that the Lord is good. Over the decades, whatever the experiences, she saw and savored the Lord’s goodness. Because she trusted wholeheartedly in God, her Savior, she knew blessedness—the blessedness of all who take refuge in him.
She convinced me anew: God is so good!
🔎 SIMILAR
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Psalm 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!
1 Chronicles 28:20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Revelation 11:1-19 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ...
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Joshua 10:25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
Joshua 1:18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
Numbers 13:20 And whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
NINE - God Takes Promises Seriously - 2 Samuel 21:1-14
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 21:1-14 (NLT)
1 There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. 3 David asked them, “What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord’s people again?”
4 “Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.”
“What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.”
5 Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. 6 So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.”
“All right,” the king said, “I will do it.” 7 The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord. 8 But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah. 9 The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night. 11 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them.) 13 So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed.
14 Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.
🔎 CONSIDER
When David asked the Lord why Israel was having such a hard time growing food, the answer may have been surprising. God reminded David that Saul had broken Israel's promise to the Gibeonites.
Long ago, when God's people first crossed into Canaan, they had been tricked into making a promise not to harm the Gibeonites. It seems that Saul had ignored this promise and had tried to kill off the Gibeonites. The Bible does not record Saul's attack against the Gibeonites, but it was a big mistake.
While other people may not have noticed Saul's actions, God did. Once David made things right with the Gibeonites, God's blessing upon the land returned. God does not take promises lightly. Never make a promise you do not intend to keep, and always keep the promises you make.
🔎 THINK
Today’s passage first shows us David’s commitment to righteousness. After a famine of three years, David sought the Lord (21:1), likely because prolonged famine was a covenant curse for persistent disobedience (Lev. 26:26). David wanted to know the sin causing the lack of food. God told him there was bloodguilt on the house of Saul because he put the Gibeonites to death (2 Sam. 21:1), an episode otherwise not mentioned in the Old Testament. You will remember that in the day of Joshua, the Israelites made a covenant never to destroy the Gibeonites (Josh. 9). Saul violated this covenant when he slaughtered the Gibeonites, and since his being the king made him the representative of Israel, the nation was suffering as a consequence of his sin.
According to Numbers 35:33, only blood atonement could cleanse the land of Saul’s sin and reverse the famine. Saul was dead, so his blood could not provide atonement. So, the Gibeonites asked for the death of Saul’s grandsons (2 Sam. 21:2–9). Ordinarily, children were not put to death for the sins of their fathers (Deut. 24:16), but this was no ordinary case. Saul represented Israel, and he had violated a national covenant with Gibeon made through Joshua and the nation’s leaders. The nation, thus, was collectively responsible for the sin. Instead of the nation’s dying, legitimate representatives of Saul and the nation—Saul’s grandsons—died. That David granted the Gibeonites’ request shows his commitment to covenant fidelity and to righteousness. Moreover, this helps us understand the atonement of Jesus. David and his descendants sinned, and Israel suffered as a result. Jesus, one of David’s descendants, atoned for the sins of David’s line and thereby turned away the curse on those whom David represented—all who trust in the God of Israel (Gal. 3:10–14).
Today’s passage also describes a successful war against the Philistines during David’s reign (2 Sam. 21:15–22). This demonstrates that David was faithful to God’s call on the monarchy to rescue Israel from the Philistines (1 Sam. 9:16).
🔎 SIMILAR
Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Psalm 89:34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
Joshua 21:45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Romans 4:21 Fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
TEN - God Is Our Shelter - 2 Samuel 22:1-30
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 22:1-30 (NLT)
1 David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. 2 He sang:
“The Lord is
my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
3 my
God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the
power that saves me,
and my place of
safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the
one who saves me from violence.
4 I called on the Lord,
who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me
from my enemies.
5 “The
waves of death overwhelmed me;
floods of
destruction swept over me.
6 The grave wrapped its
ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my
path.
7 But in my distress I cried out to
the Lord;
yes, I cried to my God
for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my
cry reached his ears.
8 “Then
the earth quaked and trembled.
The
foundations of the heavens shook;
they
quaked because of his anger.
9 Smoke poured from his
nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his
mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from
him.
10 He opened the heavens and came down;
dark
storm clouds were beneath his feet.
11 Mounted on a mighty
angelic being, he flew,
soaring on
the wings of the wind.
12 He shrouded himself in
darkness,
veiling his approach with
dense rain clouds.
13 A great brightness shone around
him,
and burning coals blazed
forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the
voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and
scattered his enemies;
his lightning
flashed, and they were confused.
16 Then at the command of
the Lord,
at the blast of his
breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and
the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
17 “He
reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he
drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my
powerful enemies,
from those who hated
me and were too strong for me.
19 They attacked me at a
moment when I was in distress,
but
the Lord supported me.
20 He led me to a place of
safety;
he rescued me because he
delights in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me for doing
right;
he restored me because of my
innocence.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I
have not turned from my God to follow evil.
23 I have
followed all his regulations;
I have
never abandoned his decrees.
24 I am blameless before
God;
I have kept myself from
sin.
25 The Lord rewarded me for doing
right.
He has seen my innocence.
26 “To
the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to
those with integrity you show integrity.
27 To the pure you
show yourself pure,
but to the crooked
you show yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue the humble,
but
your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.
29 O Lord,
you are my lamp.
The Lord lights
up my darkness.
30 In your strength I can crush an
army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
🔎 CONSIDER
David sang this song of praise to God for bringing him through some tough times in his life. As we read through this section, we notice how many ways David describes God's great care for him.
God rescued David many times not only from physical enemies, but also from enemies of loneliness, discouragement, despair, and emotional pain. When times are tough in our lives, we can take heart from these words of David that remind us of God's wonderful love and care for us. God, you are "always loyal to your loyal people, and you are faithful to the faithful" (v.26)
🔎 THINK
Continuing his concluding section regarding the life and reign of David, the author of 2 Samuel features in chapter 22 what the ESV calls “David’s Song of Deliverance.” Found also in Psalm 18, this song celebrates David’s deliverance “from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul” (2 Sam. 22:1). This indicates that it may have been written early in David’s reign, just after Saul’s death, or perhaps even earlier after one of the many occasions that David escaped Saul. Yet, given that David escaped from many enemies over the course of his life—Absalom, Saul, Sheba, the Philistines, and more—the author appropriately puts the song here. Indeed, God’s deliverance of His anointed king David is one theme that characterizes the life of the son of Jesse.
In this song, David poetically describes how the Lord rescued him, emphasizing the Lord’s power. Note verses 8–16, where David refers to earthquakes, thunder, arrows of lightning, the laying bare of the earth’s foundation, and other acts of God. Interestingly, we have seen little if any of this in 1–2 Samuel. The Lord rescued David, but often it was in a less spectacular fashion than what 2 Samuel 22 describes. The Lord used such means as a slingshot, a deep sleep, a Philistine army, and a friend to rescue David, not an earthquake, a lightning storm, or other such natural events (1 Sam. 17; 23:24–29; 26; 2 Sam. 15:32–37; 17:1–18:18).
Why, then, does David speak of God’s deliverance in such an exalted way? We may suggest at least two reasons. First, David clearly wants us to see God in all His glory. The Lord who rescued him is the same Almighty God who controls the forces of nature even if He did not rescue David by those forces. Second, David wants us to know that the God who controls the weather, the land, and the sea does not have to use such means to rescue His servants. He can—and more often than not does—rescue His people in ordinary ways.
Let us conclude today by noting that David’s deliverance is a type of the deliverance everyone who trusts in David’s greatest Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will enjoy. God will ultimately rescue His people from all their enemies by appointing them as kings and queens over His new creation (2 Tim. 2:12). Matthew Henry comments, “We shall never be delivered from all our enemies till we get to heaven; and to that heavenly kingdom God will preserve all that are his.”
🔎 SIMILAR
Psalm 32:7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Psalm 107:6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
Psalm 40:17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
Psalm 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
2 Samuel 22:1-51 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; ...
2 Peter 2:9 Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
ELEVEN - The Future Belongs to God - 2 Samuel 22:50-51
🔎 TEXT - 2 Samuel 22:50-51 (NLT)
For
this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I
will sing praises to your name.
51 You give great victories
to your king;
you show unfailing love to
your anointed,
to David and all his
descendants forever.”
🔎 CONSIDER
Throughout this song, David honored God as his place of safety, his security, his light, and the source of his strength. As he closes his song, he expresses his hope in God for a great future. David knows his own days are numbered - her is now old and losing his strength.
But David believed that God would keep his promises and that he would continue to bless David's descendants down through the ages. When we truly trust the Lord and obey his Word, we can trust that he will follow through with his plans for our lives.
🔎 THINK
Francois de Fenelon, a great Christian leader in seventeenth-century France, wrote in a letter to an unknown recipient, “The future is not yet yours; it may never be. Live in the present moment. Tomorrow’s grace is not given to you today. The present moment is the only place where you can touch the eternal realm.”
Ask yourself whether you’re living in the future or trying to get there early. What does God want you to do in the present? When we worry about the future, we fail to truly trust God, to realize that he is already there. To God there is no future, no time, no constraints. He is not limited in the ways we are limited, and he can see everything we can’t.
Does this mean we shouldn’t plan for the future, dream about what is to come or prepare for possibilities? Of course not—worry is not the same as planning or preparation. Unlike making reasonable plans and preparations, trying to control the future or worrying over possibilities is completely unproductive. It accomplishes nothing, and it tries to take what only God has in exchange for what he has given us: the here and now.
🔎 SIMILAR
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...
Revelation 1:1-20 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
For Consideration
What Character traits made David a great and fascinating person?
Why do moral failures have such long-lasting effects?
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