Joab

I have been reading about the life of David and one character who stuck out to me was Joab. So close to David. An advisor to the King. A smart strategic man. But a man who was a little too invested in himself. When David made decisions he didn't agree with, sometimes the person it involved died at the hand of Joab. Joab didn't stay loyal at the end. Maybe David wasn't such an inspirational figure anymore. So when David made Soloman King, he told him that Joab had to die. While he figured he could handle Joab's loose cannoness, he wasn't ok to pass that on to his son.

Judas was a person like this. While things were good, he was loyal. But when things weren't, he jumped ship. We all know people like this. People who could stay loyal but see it in their best interest to leave. Sometimes things that we think are our best interest really are not.

undignified

When I read 2 Samuel 6, the word that struck me was "undignified". David the king was willing to be undignified for God. So should we.

Today reading 2 Samuel 7, David feels that if he has a nice comfortable house, then God should as well. I am sure that God appreciated the sentiment, but you can't box in God. Not in a house, not in a church. He needs to flow- go where you go. Walk where you walk. Don't try to contain him.

Not the reaction you were expecting

At the start of 2 Samuel, David gets news of Saul's death.
Looking back to 1 Samuel the Philistines were going to war with Saul and as David was allied with the Philistines at that point he was supposed to go with them but the Philistines decided that they couldn't 100% trust David and his men so they sent him back. Thus saving him from the dilemma of fighting Saul himself.
What a lot had changed from when David went out to fight the Philistines- now they are his allies.

Anyway, the one who comes to tell David about Saul's passing is an Amelkite. But he clearly knows that David is destined to be king. This must have been obvious to everyone. He said he saw Saul on the battleground when he had run onto his sword but he hadn't died- he was suffering. So Saul asked this Amelkite to put him out of his misery and kill him. Which he does and then he takes the crown and bracelets and brings them to David.
The Amelkite didn't need to get involved. He could have walked away. He could have kept the trinkets.
I think he thought that David would welcome him as this fellow clearly knew he was destined to be king. Maybe he would get a place in the kingdom.
Instead he was killed as David did not appreciate him killing Saul.

1 Samuel 19- Spiritual fullness

In this chapter again Jonathan and Michal both have to support David and protect him. God protected him one way or another throughout the chapter.

The interesting spiritual aspects-
David resumes playing music to try to keep the 'distressing spirit' off Saul. However, this is growing less effective as one again Saul tries to spear him. After the first time, I certainly wouldn't be so keen to play again. But David either forgives or is forced to play again. But the annointing that worked to calm the distressing spirit isn't working anymore. Like antibiotics taken too often, can the Lord's presence become dull to a person so that they no longer sense His calming touch? If you put too much hate in does that put up barriers to the Lord?

The second interesting spiritual angle is that David flees to Samuel and everyone who is sent to pursue him end up prophesying. The presence of God with Samuel and David and the group of prophets overcomes Saul's servants and Saul himself. So while the hate may have been able to block God in some aspects, it is not able to in others.

complicated family

In 1 Samuel 18 we read about the complicated family dynamic that David find himself in. Taking care of the sheep probably seemed like a dream job after this.

David is good friends with Saul's son Jonathan and falls in love with Saul's daughter Michal. But his father in law hates him and tries to kill him. Not a good house to be living in for David!

Goliath

Today I read the passage about the battle between David and Goliath. David had taken a break from serving Saul to feed his father's sheep.

David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. (1 Samuel 17:15)

Then his father sends him to bring provisions to the battle line and he hears Goliath boasting and he stands up to it, Saul sends him off and and David kills Goliath. After this there is a puzzling discussion. Still in 1 Samuel:

⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
⁵⁸ “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

It is puzzling that Saul doesn't know who David is. David works for him on a regular basis playing the harp to make the evil spirit go off Saul. Saul was the one who tried to suit up David to face Goliath. How can he not know who David is?

Before Goliath

I  was reading the story of David this morning and I realized something that I had not seen before. For some reason when I thought of the story of David and Goliath I thought he was a nobody who was wandering around carrying the lunches for his brothers and then just happened on the battle line because his brothers were there. And that Saul had no idea who this guy was but he was happy someone had stepped up. Happy that anyone had stepped up.

But the background actually has David far more prepared than I think the telling of the story normally goes. Before he faced Goliath, he was already anointed king by Samuel. He had already been chosen by Saul to play the harp for him. So David already had a good idea of where his destiny should be going. And he had also spent time worshiping God in the palace of Saul. Saul knew very well who he was. David was more prepared than the story generally lets on.

You are unique

In Numbers 7, the offering of each tribe is carefully listed even though it is exactly the same as all the other tribes. You matter to God even if you thing there is nothing unique about what you are doing. It all matters.

The Donkey and the Lamb

Exodus 34:20 I think God is laughing at us: Now the firstling of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. I think we are the donkeys :)

On the mountain

I have been moving through the readings, though for a couple of weeks the essays derailed me. I'm not planning on taking that job again next year. So today was in Exodus when Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets. There were a couple of things that I missed before. Not only does Moses destroy the golden calf but he sprinkles the power on the water and makes them drink it. They drink the fruit of their sin. The other thing I hadn't notices is that while Moses pleads for the life of Israel as God wants to destroy them, later he has those of God's side kill some of those who presumably were not on God's side. So while Moses prevents total annihilation, he then causes some destruction.

some puzzles

From yesterday's reading in Genesis 6 this part didn't seem to fit: When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. Afterwards it goes on to talk about how the heart of man is full of evil, but these 2 passages don't seem to indicate it was the human fault, that it was external sources that were the evil ones. So that was a bit puzzling. From today's reading my puzzle is when Ham (apparently) sins against Noah, Noah curses his son Canaan. Why Canaan, who was only one of Ham's children. My ponderings for today!

Lamech

Today's reading was Genesis 4:1-5:32. I got stuck at Lamech's speech in chapter 4: 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. This wraps up the story of Cain and Abel with this Lamech being a descendant of Cain (not the same Lamech who was the father of Noah) and having this odd speech. It seems oddly boastful as if he is proud of killing a man like his forefather did. And instead of God decreeing the punishment, Lamech decrees the punishment. An unrepentant heart will breed unrepentant hearts. Without any comment on the speech the text then switches over to the "good" line that comes through Seth. The geneology of Adam in Chapter 5 does not even list the Cain line in the lineage any more.

Firmament

In reading Gen 1:1-2:3 the verses that caught my attention were about the second day 1:6-8. I think when I read it previously I thought it was referring to the earth's waters but I read it a number of times and this seems to be before God made dry land. So he is separating water below Heaven and water above Heaven. There is an interesting discussion on this here: http://www.kjvbible.org/firmament.html though I'm not sure it addresses how the waters are above the Heaven it does give a good interpretation of a lot of things.

Year One Week One

I bought a new devotional study bible and it has a 2 year reading plan. I'm planning on tracking my reading here. Day 1 looks fairly light: Read Genesis Introduction and Key Verse. The reading suggests that to know where we are going, we need to know our origins and heritage. The key verse is Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Those who walk in pride

Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Nebu was a great and powerful king and God showed him some amazing things but one day 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” And then it all fell apart. He spent time living humbly- a great king. Until he could see the pride. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Do we see all the pride we have? Are we looking? Are we dealing with it before God has to?

unity

Nehemiah, in the book of the same name, is rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. He has God's favor. He rallied the people and work began. But was there unity? Neh 3:5 gives us a glimpse of that "The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, buttheir nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors". I am glad that they show that even when moving under God's direction everything is not unicorns and rainbows.

The stump

Isaiah 6:13 "The holy seed will be the stump in the land".
This phrase has been going through my head for the last few days.
I see people who have a background with Christ but have turned away. I see that the holy seed is the stump in their land.
I see the Christian background of the country as a stump in the land.
A stump is always there- unless you take real effort to remove the stump and the roots, it's going to stay. It will always be there as a reminder.

Jehu

One of my favorite Bible characters is Jehu.
In 2 Kings 9, he is anointed king by a prophet in a closed room.
When his buddies as him about it, he's just like - you know the guy and the sort of things he says.
His friends don't buy it and he tells them about the anointing.
I like that he's a jokester even when something super serious happened to him.

I also like his determination to do what was right by God. Eliminating Jezebel. Tricking the prophets of Baal by pretending to be one of them but instead to kill them all.

He must have been quite a character!

Seeing with God's eyes

2 Kings 8: 7 Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” 8 he said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’ Nevertheless,the LORD has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.

12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”

13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”

“The LORD has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
Elisha is seeing with God's eyes what will happen with Hazael. And he was right. Was it destined to be that way when he saw it - que sera sera- or was there still option to change. Or was Elisha seeing the character of Hazael and that could not be changed. Knowing that if he told him he would be king would result in him killing the current king? Are some human choices predestined by who we are?

Daily provisions

1 Kings 4:22 Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.

That is a lot of meat! He must have been providing for a lot of people. And had a lot of cooks! Interesting that it differentiates between stall-fed and pasture-fed cattle.