Personalities in Contrast: I Samuel 21 – II Samuel 15

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You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

First and Second Samuel repeatedly show the contrast between David and those around him. Many times, but not always, David fares better in these comparisons. As readers, we always learn from these personality contrasts.

David’s battle with Goliath reveals his utter dependence on God. Goliath’s pride and boasting paper over hidden weaknesses that lead to his downfall.

In the conflict between David and Saul we see the contrast between a man who loves God with his whole heart and another who loves God halfheartedly at best. David honors God by refusing to kill Saul while Saul relentlessly pursues David to eliminate him. Even while on the run, David never fails to consult with God before he makes a decision. Saul loses his ability to communicate with God because of his disobedience, and in the end resorts to seeking a medium.

The encounter with Abigail shows us that wisdom wins out over emotion. David was ready to take matters into his own hands and seek vengeance, but Abigail left room for God to act. As a result both David and Abigail were blessed.

After David becomes king his general, Joab, takes on the role of avenger while David seeks peace. David descends into adultery and murder after success and idleness overtake him. In contrast, Uriah, the husband of his illicit lover, remains loyal, righteous, and devoted to his king.

Finally, the relationship between David and his son, Absalom, show us the sad workings of a dysfunctional family. David’s lack of discipline and aloofness alienate his son, and Absalom’s scheming leads to open rebellion that threatens to end David’s life and rule. At the center we still find David, the chief subject in both First and Second Samuel, and the one who teaches us the most through both his virtues and his failings.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered I Samuel 21 – II Samuel 15. Next week I will write about II Samuel 16 – I Kings 9. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering I Samuel 21 – II Samuel 15.

Life on the run: I Samuel 23

A woman’s wisdom: I Samuel 25

Hearing from God: I Samuel 28-31

Honesty and treachery: 2 Samuel 1-3

With his whole heart: 2 Samuel 6-7

The danger of success: 2 Samuel 11-12

The high price of neglect: 2 Samuel 13-15

The Rise of the House of David: Ruth – I Samuel 20

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

In the book of Ruth the Israelites have no king. It is the time of the Judges when every man does what is right in his own eyes. Yet in that time of repeated falling away from the Lord, He continues to shower His grace on His chosen people. The union of a Moabite woman and a man from Bethlehem produces a son, Obed, who will become the grandfather of David.

God is the only true king of his people, but the Israelites reject God in favor of the worldly pattern of human kings. God grants them their request but warns them of the unintended consequences their action will bring.

“He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” I Samuel 8:14-18

Israel’s first king is Saul, but he only serves God halfheartedly.  The prophet Samuel announces that God has taken the kingdom from Saul because of his disobedience, but it will be decades before the announcement becomes reality. In the meantime, God raises up a shepherd from Bethlehem who is a man after God’s own heart, and puts him on a path that will one day bring him to the throne. Best of all, God’s grace will work through this shepherd-king, as it worked through Ruth and Boaz, to continue a family line that will culminate in the Messiah.

What made the difference between Saul and David? How can you be a person after God’s own heart? Do what David did as he battled Goliath.

• He lifted up the LORD’s name
• He hungered for the LORD’s honor
• He believed God would empower him and acted accordingly
• He understood that the battle was spiritual and that God determined the outcome

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Ruth-I Samuel 20. Next week I will write about I Samuel 21-II Samuel 15. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Ruth-I Samuel 20.

The triumph of grace: Ruth 1-4

The good, the bad, and the church: I Samuel 2

Religion vs. Relationship: I Samuel 4

Who is the king? I Samuel 12

My timing or God’s? I Samuel 13

The Panic Button

Matters of the heart: I Samuel 15-17

Friendship greater than kinship: I Samuel 20

Coronavirus, and the Spirit of God: Judges 3-21

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Before taking up this week’s lesson from Judges, I wanted to share my views as a family doctor about the surging coronavirus pandemic. We must all act NOW to change our behavior in order to reduce the rapid increase in the spread of this virus. It may seem invisible in your community, or perhaps you live in an area where it is already touching your neighbors, but in two weeks we may be facing the same dire situation as Italy – if we don’t take drastic steps now. What will be overwhelming is the effect on hospitals, swamping the intensive care units with gravely ill patients who need more resources than are available. The individual risk is not great, unless you are elderly, but the risk to our health system is tremendous. Please keep yourself six feet away from those you meet and avoid groups of people. Work and shop in ways that you know will limit your exposure to groups or crowds. This will be necessary for at least the next 2 months.

The theme of Judges is the awful result of every man doing what is right in his own eyes. Please don’t do what pleases you, but do what is right for our country and your neighbors.

The story of Judges is the story of a cycle: not a circle of life but a downward spiral of tragedy. In this cycle Israel abandons God, leading to oppression by the surrounding pagan nations, followed by Israel’s cry for help, with God then answering Israel by raising up a deliverer. This judge delivers Israel by defeating the oppressor. Unfortunately, the cycle soon repeats as Israel abandons God again when the enemy is gone and the judge dies.

How could it be that these effective judges arose from such a derelict population? The answer is: God did it. God raised up these men and women and filled them with the spirit of God and empowered them to defeat the enemy. They were not great men or women as a whole. Most of them were flawed, yet God filled them and used them mightily.

When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. Judges 3:9-10

Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon (Israel’s oppressor). Judges 11:29

Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Judges 13:24

As you read this week’s chapters, think about these principles:

• God uses individuals to accomplish his will; your individual work for God is important.
• It takes preparation to be used by God, but preparation must lead to action.
• When we follow God, it changes those around us.
• It is a terrible thing to waste or misuse the position of leadership that God gives a person.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Judges 3-21. Next week I will write about Ruth-I Samuel 20. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Judges 3-21.

The individual difference: Judges 4

The battle before the battle: Judges 6

I want to make a difference

Missed opportunity: Judges 8

Rash words and their result: Judges 11

The angel of the LORD: Judges 13

Samson’s do-over: Judges 16

Might makes right? Judges 19-21

Image: Alone by JB London on Flickr, CC by-nc 2.0

Whose side are you on? Joshua 5 – Judges 2

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

As Joshua prepares to lead the Israelites against Jericho, he meets the Commander of the Lord’s army on the fields outside the city. Joshua asks the Lord, in essence, “Whose side are you on?” God declines to answer that question, but makes it clear that he is present. The relevant but unstated question is, “Whose side is Israel on?” The remainder of the book of Joshua and the beginning of the book of Judges demonstrate that when Israel chooses God’s side they will be victorious but when they reject God they are doomed to fail. 

Israel wins victories over Jericho, a confederation of five kingdoms, southern Canaan including Hebron, and a large confederation of many nations in northern Canaan – when Israel follows God. Israel loses in battle against tiny Ai when the disobedience of one man separates them from God. Israel is deceived by the Gibeonites when it fails to consider God’s plan. Joshua 13 describes all the land that remains to be conquered, and Joshua charges the people to complete the task in chapter 23.

^“So be very careful to love the Lord your God. But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.” Joshua 23:11-13

Joshua renews the covenant with Israel once again (how many times does this make?) and drives home the point with his famous command to “choose this day whom you will serve.” Yet not long after Joshua’s death we read this report:

But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo … Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer … Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol …Nor did Asher drive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob …Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath… Judges 1:27-33 

Why did Israel fail to complete the task? Were the remaining Canaanites fiercer warriors? Were the remaining tribes of Israel weaker ones? Judges 2 gives the answer.

“Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’” Judges 2:2-3

The lesson for us is that obedience matters. A secondary lesson is that we need to bring along the next generation of believers through discipleship, lest those who follow us do “not know the LORD or the work that he had done.” (Judges 2:10)

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Joshua 5 – Judges 2. Next week I will write about Judges 3-21. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Joshua 5 – Judges 2.

Perfect timing: Joshua 6

War and peace: Joshua 9-11

Promise and Providence: Joshua 14

Strongholds: Joshua 17

Smorgasbord: Joshua 19-21

Handling church conflict: Joshua 22

Failing to keep the covenant

The Circle of Loss: Judges 2

Image by garryknight on Flickr, CC by-sa 2.0

Obedience and Devotion: Deuteronomy 17 – Joshua 4

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

I may have erred last week in not discussing the Shema, the charge in Deuteronomy 6 that Israel should listen to the Lord (Hear, O Israel) and devote themselves to him (You shall love the Lord). But good news! The verses are full of implication for this week’s writing, for they speak of Israel’s need (and our need) to listen with an intent to obey, and to love God with a devotion that acts rather than an emotion that fades.

The implication has much to do with the charge Moses lays before the people as he teaches this younger generation the law and then renews the covenant with them. Before Moses dies and passes leadership to Joshua, he takes the people to two mountains in Moab just to the east of the Promised Land. He stations six of the tribes on Mt. Gerizim to represent God’s blessings, and six on Mt. Ebal to stand for God’s curses on them. Moses makes a list of the ways God will bless them if they obey the law, but then gives a much longer account of the curses they will endure for disobedience. The people pledge themselves to the covenant, but how are they to keep it? This is where the Shema comes in. If they listened to the law with an intent to keep it and not just hear it, and if they loved the Lord with acts of devotion rather than a passing emotion, their faithfulness could last.

God knew their heart, however, and in one of the greatest prophecies of the Old Testament he reveals the true nature of their commitment.

…this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods. Deuteronomy 31:16-18

Yet God remained faithful to the Israelites, even though they abandoned him. This was a covenant, after all, and not a mere contract which one could tear up and walk away from. God promised that after their captivity he would restore them to the land and then

…your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6

Though God’s plan for Israel has not yet been fulfilled, we can see and give thanks for the way he has circumcised the hearts of Christians through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We can say together with believers throughout history that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” By the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we can now confidently pledge to love the Lord “with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our might.” And God, who began this good work in us, will be faithful to complete it.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Deuteronomy 17-Joshua 4. Next week I will write about Joshua 5-Judges 2. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Deuteronomy 17-Joshua 4.

The King’s sins: Deuteronomy 17

What about astrology? Deuteronomy 18

Messy Lives: Deuteronomy 21-23

(No) Fear of the Lord: Deuteronomy 25

Deeper in debt: Deuteronomy 28

Grace in a pair of shoes: Deuteronomy 29

Predicting the future: Deuteronomy 31

The end of an era: Deuteronomy 34

Don’t be discouraged: Joshua 1-4

Image by PeteDz Photography on Flickr, CC by-nc-sa 2.0