2 Samuel 12 -- The Paying

"Nathan had to perform spiritual surgery and confront the king about his sins ... It wasn't an easy task the Lord had given Nathan," my commentary began.

"In telling a story about the crime of another, Nathan prepared David for dealing with his own sins ... Nathan was catching David off guard and could study the king's response and better know what to do next."  Nathan's story evoked outrage in David.  "He didn't seem to realize that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen.  The traveler whom the rich man fed represents the temptations and lust that visited David on the roof and then controlled him.  If we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master."

"David passed judgment on the rich man without realizing he was passing judgment on himself.  Of all blindness, the worst kind is that which makes us blind to ourselves ...  Nathan said, 'You are the man!' and proceeded to hold up the mirror that revealed how dirty the king really was ... He had forgotten the goodness of the Lord ... he had despised God's commandments and acted as though he had the privilege of sinning."

"God repaid David in kind ... The sword did not depart from David's family and his wives were taken and violated, just as he had taken Bathsheba."

"David confessed, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'  Nathan assured David that the Lord had put away his sin ... But there was a 'however' in Nathan's reply, for though God in His grace had forgiven David's sins, God in His government had to permit David to experience the consequences of those sins, beginning with the death of Bathsheba's baby."

God chastened David, as told in verses 15-23, and comforted him in the next two verses.  Chastening is "difficulty permitted by a loving Father who wants HIs children to submit to His will and develop godly character.  Chastening is an expression of God's love ... No matter how devastated the chastening hand of our loving Father makes us feel, there is comfort available from the Lord."  God gave David another baby son -- Solomon.

Finally, Joab contacted David to come back to Rammah to finish off the city siege where Uriah had been killed.  Had David been there to begin with, the whole episode with Bathsheba might never have happened.  David led the army in the battle once more and took the city.

Father, I thank You for being a God of mercy and grace, and I understand better each day why You must also be a God of government, so that we experience the consequences of our sin, reminding us of the great cost of our disobedience -- the death of Your Son.  Thank You for Your chastening.  Please keep it as short as possible so that we can stand and not give up.  Help us to see Your love in all of it.  I'm glad that Your eye is on the clock and Your hand is on the thermostat when You have us in the fire, refining us.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 11 -- The Chapter I Really Dislike

This chapter always makes me sick.  I so hate watching a good man falling due to sin.

My commentary said, "These two chapters describe seven stages in David's experience.  As we study, let's remember Paul's admonition, 'Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.'"

The first stage was the conceiving.  "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." (James 1:14)  

Idleness was part of the problem.  "Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.  Idleness isn't just the absence of activity ... idleness is also activity to no purpose ... If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary, be not idle.  When David laid aside his armor, he took the first step toward moral defeat, and the same principle applies to believers today," with our spiritual armor.

Imagination didn't help either.  "A man can't be blamed if a beautiful woman comes into his line of vision, but if the man deliberately lingers for a second look in order to feed his lust, he's asking for trouble."

Information -- "When God forbids something and calls it sin, we shouldn't try to get more information about it.  David knew what the law said about adultery, so why did he send to inquire about the woman?"

The second stage was the committing, according to my commentary.  It puzzled over Bathsheba's willingness to go with the messengers and submit to David's desires.  "No Jewish citizen had to obey a king who himself was disobeying God's law, for the king covenanted with God and the people to subject himself to the divine law."

The third stage was the covering.  Bathsheba became pregnant and sent word to David.  Besides the messenger, there were also servants in David's palace who knew what had gone on, but David couldn't see that.  Ever the strategist, he schemed to get Uriah back home so there'd be a valid reason for Bathsheba to have become pregnant.  How ironic that Solomon, a child of David and Bathsheba, wrote in Proverbs 28;13, "He who covers his sins will not prosper."  Bathsheba's husband Uriah was faithful to David until the end, and his faithfulness got him killed, because he refused to enjoy his wife's affections while he was engaged in battle for the king.

The other stages will be discussed in the next chapter.

Father, thank You for this terrible reminder that we are all so susceptible to sin and must be constantly vigilant not to give it a foothold.  It's terrible that Satan uses the tough times in our lives to try to develop within us an entitlement mentality which makes us think we deserve to sin without consequences.  Keep me from falling for that lie, Father.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 10 -- Vindicating God's Honor

In chapters 7-9, my commentary said David was accepting God's will, fighting God's battles, and sharing God's kindness, and now in chapter 10, defending God's honor.

David had apparently become friends with Nahash, the Ammonite king, during his years of exile.  Nahash had been loyal to David, so David sent a delegation to comfort Nahash's son, Hanun.  Hanun's advisors, however, were immature and ignorant, and suspected the delegation of spying to plan an invasion.  They greatly insulted the Jewish men by shaving off on side of their lengthy beards and cutting off their clothing at their waists!  The public shame of the men in the delegation led David to tell them to wait in Jericho until their beards grew back before returning to Jerusalem.  The action amounted to a declaration of war, and the Ammonites knew it, so they hired 33,000 soldiers in two armies to help defend themselves.

Joab, leader of David's army, along with his brother Abishai, brought the army of Israel in response.  Outside the city, they soon found themselves caught in a pincer attack, with the hired Aramean and other armies on one side of them and the Ammonites on the other.  But God was in control, and the mercenaries became frightened and fled as the Israelite army began to attack.  This also caused the Ammonite army to retreat into their capital city.  A short while later, the Aramean mercenaries consolidated their forces and returned to fight.  This time, David brought additional troops from Israel and the Arameans were soundly defeated and became a vassal state in David's growing empire.

A warning in other parts of my commentary would be appropriate here:  "Be careful after the victory that you do not fall," for David's officers were concerned about his safety in battle after a giant almost killed him in a subsequent fight.  They urged him not to go into battle again, which would set up the turning point of 2 Samuel coming in chapter 11.

Father, please help me to learn from David's mistakes and not set myself up for failure through feelings of entitlement.  Keep me close, Father, comfort me, and work Your will in my life.  I need Your direction every day.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 9 -- A Picture Of God's Love For Us In Christ

King David's third important activity in these chapters was sharing God's kindness.  "The kindness of God ... means the mercy and favor of the Lord to undeserving people ... we see in David's dealings with Mephibosheth a picture of God's kindness to lost sinners ... David went above and beyond the call of duty ... He first had to find Mephibosheth ... and he did so not because Mephibosheth was crippled, but for Jonathan's sake ... David couldn't show any love or kindness to Jonathan (since he'd been killed in battle), so he looked for one of Jonathan's relatives ... So it is with God's children:  they are called and saved, not because they deserve anything from God, but for the sake of God's Son."

Mephibosheth was then called into David's presence ... "If he believed what his grandfather (Saul) said about David, he would have feared for his life, but if he had listened to what his father told him about David, he would have rejoiced ... David took him into his own family, provided for him, protected him, and let him eat at his own table ... we have a higher position than that which David gave Mephibosheth, for we sit on the throne with Jesus Christ and reign in life through Him.  God gives us the riches of His mercy and grace and unsearchable riches in Christ.  God supplies all our needs."

Father, I'm amazed that You've taken someone like me into Your own family, adopting me and allowing me to experience brotherhood with Christ!  Like Mephibosheth, I was totally undeserving of Your grace and mercy.  I know that sometimes I still fail to act like I'm part of Your family, and for that I'm sorry and ask Your forgiveness.  Thank You for loving me so!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 8 -- Fighting God's Battles

Again, my commentary said King David was involved in four important activities in chapters 7-10 and here it was fighting God's battles.

Under Saul, Israel had lost territory in various battles and skirmishes.  Also, the Israelites had not been able to defeat some of the inhabitants of the land when they first entered the Promised Land.  God used David to fulfill many of the promises in His covenants with Abraham and Moses as well as those He made with David.

"David recaptured lands Saul had lost and he also expanded Israel's borders and acquired land that hadn't been captured in Joshua's day ... A man of faith, David believed God's promises and acted upon them for the blessing of his people ... The church today doesn't use military weapons to fight God's battles, but we could use the faith and courage of David and his soldiers and reclaim lost territory for the Lord," my commentary said.

West of Israel were the Philistines, the traditional enemies of the Jews.  David defeated them, as well as the Moabites to the east of Israel.  Despite the fact that David's great grandmother Ruth was from Moab, David had to defeat them, for Moab had hired Balaam to curse Israel and the inhabitants had seduced the men of Israel, causing the Lord to declare war on them. 

In the north, the Arameans and Syrians were the problem.  "The whole area north to the Euphrates River came under David's authority.  This gave Israel important military installations and also control of the valuable caravan routes."

In the south, 1st Chronicles 18 named the Edomites as the enemy.  David defeated them as well as the Amalekites that Saul had failed to destroy per God's command.  "Just as the Lord had promised, David was victorious over his enemies," my commentary said.

David build a wise administration over Israel and the territories he'd conquered, ruling with justice and righteousness, and he had good men as his subordinates.  He had learned to stop waging war personally and was becoming the king God planned for him to be.

Father, I'd love for life to settle in as it once had for me -- for problems to be resolved and for Your name to be glorified as a result.  Please continue to rule over my life and the lives of those I love.  Be our King, and help us to submit to Your rule.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 7 -- Lord God, Who Am I?

Everyone has a picture of a king surrounded in luxury, with servants doing his bidding, with his every word being his way of getting what he wants, but that wasn't David.  I continue to marvel every time I read this at how humble before God David was at this time in his life.

"Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord.  David said, 'Lord God, who am I?  What is my family?  Why did You bring me to this point?  But even this is not enough for You, Lord God ... What more can I say to You, Lord God, since You know me, Your servant, so well! ... There is no one like You!.'"

What it must have been like to hear God say, "The Savior of the world will be called 'Son of David'"!  I could not imagine God saying that the Savior might be called 'the Son of Gary'.  How special David must have felt!  Yet how insignificant he knows he is compared to God.  My commentary said, "The way David responded to this great Word from God is a good example for us to follow today.  He humbled himself before the Lord and at least ten times called himself the servant of God ... he poured his heart out to the Lord."

David wanted to build a house for God, feeling ashamed that he was living in a cedar and stone palace while God was living in a tent.  But God told him he wouldn't be the one to build it.  "This announcement must have disappointed David, but he accepted it graciously and gave the Lord thanks for all His goodness to him ... God's servants must learn to accept the DISAPPOINTMENTS of life, for as A.T. Pierson used to say, 'Disappointments are His APPOINTMENTS.'"

Father, it seems to have been three years of disappointments for me,  But You've been showing me that during this time, I've had more appointments with You than ever before.  You've taught me to trust You more, to depend on You to rule my life in Your wisdom and love, and to not doubt the outcome will be Your will.  You've taught me to dwell (feel at home) with You, despite my circumstances.  In some small way I feel a kinship with what David must have been feeling here, leading me, like him, to ask, "Lord God, who am I?"

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

2 Samuel 6 -- David Learns About Doing Things God's Way

"For over 75 years, the ark of the covenant had been absent from the divine sanctuary at Shiloh.  The Philistines had captured the ark when Eli was judge, and then returned it to the Jews because the Lord sent judgment on the Philistines.  First the ark was sent to Beth-Shemesh and then was taken to Kiriath-Jearim and guarded in the house of Abinadab," my commentary began.

"Why did David want the ark in Jerusalem?  For one thing, he wanted to honor the Lord and give Him His rightful place as King of the nation.  But David also had a secret desire in his heart to build a sanctuary for the Lord and the first step would be to place the ark in the capital city... It was David's hope that past divisions and tribal differences would be forgotten as the people focused on the Lord.  The presence of the ark meant the presence of the Lord, and the presence of the Lord meant security and victory.  But one thing was missing:  there is no record that David sought the mind of the Lord in this matter.  Relocating the ark to Jerusalem seemed a wise idea and everybody was enthusiastic about doing it, but the king didn't follow his usual pattern of asking the Lord for His direction.  After all, what pleases the king and the people may not please God, and what doesn't please God will not have His blessing.  David's first attempt failed miserably because the Levites didn't carry the ark on their shoulders.  God had given specific directions through Moses ... when they used a new cart drawn by oxen, they were following the pattern of the pagan Philistines," my commentary added.  "The lesson here is obvious:  God's work must be done in God's way if it is to have God's blessing."

"At the beginning of new eras in biblical history, God sometimes manifested His power in judgment to remind the people that one thing had not changed:  God's people must obey God's Word ... The church today needs to heed this reminder and return to the Word of God for an understanding of the will of God.  No amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience.  When God's work is done in man's way and we imitate the world instead of obeying the Word, we can never expect the blessing of God."

The second attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem was successful, with the Levites carrying the ark on their shoulders as Moses had directed.  "David was now determined to do God's work in God's way."

Father, I pray that You will direct me to do Your work in Your way and not my own.  I pray for our church as well.  As I read today, "no amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience," and I pray that we as a congregation will obey Your directions for our church.  Show us Your directions, Father, and help us to follow them.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford