Lessons from the Jewelers Bench...

Grace, that's the name I chose for this piece of jewelry when she was about 90% complete (or I thought she was about 90% complete).  My intention was to name her after Grace Kelly, also known as Her Serene Highness Princess Grace.  I wanted to name her this because she is "blonde", lovely, and graceful… like Princess Grace.  It was a bonus that I considered this to be a "serene" piece, and that Princess Grace was known as "Her Serene Highness".

And then… when I had finished all the sanding, buffing, polishing, and stone setting… and all I had left to do was attach her chain (99.9% complete)… disaster struck…  You see the little rings on the top that connect the chain, one of the original rings had a faulty solder joint - it had looked & felt strong, but when I went to twist the ring slightly to straighten it out the joint failed… Argh!!  I tried to repair while leaving the stone in place (I have a couple tricks that I tried), but the thickness of the metal she's made of prevented me from being able to get the solder to flow without heating the whole piece… so…  I had to remove the stone, solder a new ring on, etc...

Those who don't know the processes & time involved with making handmade jewelry may not appreciate the work involved… lets just say that I was set back several hours…

Then, when I was reworking it (2nd attempt) I again got to about 85% complete, had done quite a bit of prep buffing/polishing, was placing the stone in… and that same little ring fell off again… ARGH!!

On the 3rd attempt to finish her I had an equipment failure… my torch nozzle suddenly wasn't behaving… switched nozzles & the new one tried to work, then failed… changed tanks… finally some sticky yellow "goop" came out of the torch handle when I tried opening up the valve without a nozzle attached… that explained a lot… so I had to clean & dry my torch tips (drying involved leaving them setting in uncooked rice for a couple days)…  But… I finally got that ring attached… and I decided to set her aside for a while…

The first failure occurred on April 3rd, I had started her a couple days earlier on April 1st, and I finally finished her on April 24th.

Pardon me while I get a bit wistful…

When this piece broke the first time it was heartbreaking, and I cried out to God.  I begged & pleaded for His help to keep from having to do so many extra hours of work - after all I wanted the hours of work already invested to pay off.  That was when God got my attention, He reminded me what His Grace is about, His Grace is not earned by any work - it is a gift, plain & simple.

Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

The timing of the struggle was also telling, it was as I was trying to finish the piece before getting to Church for Choir practice (I was running a bit late), it was just before I got a call from my husband telling me he had been injured in a hockey game (not serious), and it was the evening before my one day of the week (Thursday) that I devote to preparing my Bible Lesson for the Young Adults; this provided me with ample opportunity to reflect on how God has blessed me, and how I shouldn't let a "thing" cause me so much anguish.

Like that solder joint that looked & felt strong, but failed more than once, I also had (to others) looked & seemed strong, but fell apart when a little pressure was applied - ugh.  But what a beautiful reminder that God's Grace means I don't have to be strong, I don't have to be perfect, I'm accepted and loved just how I am.

Romans 5:1-11 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

So this is "Grace", a solid piece that reminds me of Grace Kelly but is also a solid reminder of God's Grace.

On Summer Break...

This blog will probably see little action until Fall… just saying…

Life of David - Lesson 24

The Davidic Covenant - 2 Samuel 7

Prayer: God you are amazing, you have done amazing things in the lives of your people throughout all time, and you continue to do amazing things in our lives today.  Prepare us Lord for the things you have planned for us, prepare our hearts to be soft to your will, and prepare our minds to be free from deceit and filled with your truths.  Keep our lives free from the detours and distractions that come as a result of our fast-paced world, and protect us from spiritual forces of evil that may try to trip us or draw us away from You.

Quickly Form Groups:

1.  Briefly have each person share about how they plan to honor God this Summer, say a brief prayer for each.

In last week's lesson David brought the Ark to Jerusalem.  While bringing the Ark David boldly danced before the Lord, he had a heart that was willing to look the fool in order to honor the God he loved.  We should all be so "foolish".

2 Samuel 7:1-3 - David wants to make a building to hold the Ark.  David doesn't like that his own dwelling is nicer than the dwelling for God's Ark, and he mentions this to Nathan - a prophet of God at that time.  Nathan responds (without first consulting God) that David should go ahead... after all God has demonstrated that He is with David.

2 Samuel 7:4-7 - Nathan is gently corrected & not rebuked; however, God is not going to automatically approve anything David thinks is a good idea.  This is a reminder to us that just because we think what we're doing is what God would want, just because we think our actions honor God, if we haven't gone to Him about it first we're really just doing what we want to do & trying to call it serving God.

God clarifies that He hasn't asked for a house, this isn't God's priority.  God's priority was to have His dwelling be wherever His people were.  Today that continues to be God's priority - His church is His people, not the buildings that His people call "church".

2 Samuel 7:8-11a - God has a message for David, God reminds David of what He has already done for him: picked him when he was a young shepherd boy & made him into Israel's king, gone with him along the way, gave him victory over his enemies.  God tells David what He's going to do next: He's going to make David's name great (famous), He's providing the lands of Israel (they will be expanded under David), He will protect the people of Israel and give the nation rest from their enemies.

2 Samuel 7:11b-17 - God declares that instead of David establishing a house for God, God will establish a house for David - this is of course speaking of a legacy or of David's Spiritual "house".  God speaks about David's offspring, and the immediate fulfillment of this came through Solomon - who succeeded David & built the first temple, and who was immensely blessed by God & yet needed correction by God.  The more important fulfillment comes by Christ, who was the one who built a true house for God's name (the church), and who's throne is eternal.  

This passage, verses 8-16, is the Davidic covenant.  This covenant isn't based on what David or David's descendants do, but rather on God's promise.  These promises find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ, but there may yet be a future greater fulfillment as well - either in the millennial kingdom to come or in heaven (or both).  It is my firm belief that God is not finished with Israel yet.

2 Samuel 7:18-21 - David responds to the message from God by spending time in prayer.  In these first few verses I sense that David is flabbergasted by what God is saying He's going to do, David seems to be overwhelmed that God has chosen to bless his family in such a magnificent way.

2 Samuel 7:22-24 - David praises & glorifies God, proclaims God's greatness and that there is no other God.  David acknowledges that God has done amazing things for the people that He has chosen, to establish them as a people for His name's sake - a people who's purpose is to bring God glory.

2 Samuel 7:25-26 - David speaks of God's promise, asking God to keep this promise forever so that God's name will be praised and so that the world will know that the Lord Almighty is God over Israel.

2 Samuel 7:27-29 - Finally, David's prayer lays claim to the promises God has made, embracing the promised blessings for himself and his descendants.  David's house would be blessed forever, not just in this world but in eternity.

Closing Prayer:  Lord as we go our separate ways for the Summer, and as some move on from this fellowship, we pray and thank you that we are a part of your family.  We thank you that you established your family through the various covenants with your people Israel, and through the new covenant instituted by Jesus.  We thank you that we are a part of the legacy you established with David, that when we were adopted into your family we received the blessings of being a part of your eternal kingdom.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  How might you know when you are in God's will?  Is there something you're doing for God that you're assuming is His will?  What will you do about it?

3.  What sorts of things are always in God's will for you to do?  (some verses to help you get started - 1 Timothy 2:1; Matthew 28:19; Romans 15:11; Romans 12:9-21)

Life of David - Lesson 23

David Dances for the Lord - 2 Samuel 6:12 - 23

Prayer: Lord help us to come to Your Word today with hearts and minds that are ready to respond to You.  Remove the distractions of the day-to-day, help us to focus instead on You, making this a time of worship that brings you Glory.

Quickly Form Groups:

1.   Briefly have each person share about something spiritually significant for which they need to be prepared (think single sentence), say a brief (think single sentence) prayer for each. (share, pray, share, pray, ....)

In last week's lesson we saw how being spiritually ignorant/unprepared had dire consequences, and the result was that the work God wanted David to do had to come to a halt.  A few months pass, and David has learned a few things, finally David is prepared to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

Preparation - 1 Chronicles 15:1-2 - David has done his homework!!  David had prepared a place, a tabernacle (tent) - whether this was with the original tabernacle items we can't be completely certain, but what is clear is that David has taken the time to find out what had been done wrong.  We can presume that if he took the time to learn the passages about how the Ark was to be transported he'd also taken the time to learn how the Ark was to be housed.

1 Chronicles 15:3-15 - David calls together the Israelites to start the preparation, making certain to bring the Levites in, and from the Levites calls the priests together to correct and instruct them regarding the handling of the Ark.  David points out that it was because of the failure of the Levites in the handling of the Ark that God was angered and struck down Uzzah.  The Levites should have known what to do, that was their God-given assignment, but they had not been prepared.  David is making certain they will be prepared this time, and instructs them to consecrate themselves before taking on this endeavor.

1 Chronicles 15:16-24 - David further instructs the Levites, this time letting them know precisely what he'd like done in the process of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem.  David is making certain that all are prepared for their particular jobs - some to carry, some to guard, some to sing, some to play instruments, etc.  David is focused on the details, making certain that all goes without a hitch - this time David is prepared, and making certain others are prepared as well.

The Journey's Start - 2 Samuel 6: 12-15 & 1 Chronicles 15:25-28 - The journey starts, they only take a few steps with the Ark when David stops the procession in order to offer sacrifices.  These sacrifices are sacrifices of thanksgiving because God is helping the Ark make the journey to Jerusalem, and helping the Levites to make this journey according to God's ways.  This may seem silly, but I think this celebration is significant - for the first time in many years the Levites are openly & publicly following God's prescribed ways - this marks the turning of a Spiritual corner - a type of repentance from wrong actions previously taken.  After the sacrifice the Ark continues on it's journey.

Michal's Bitter Heart - 2 Samuel 6:16 & 1 Chronicles 15:29 - If you don't recall, Michal was David's 1st wife, Saul's daughter.  She helped David escape from Saul, was later given by Saul to another husband, and much later taken from that loving husband and given back to David.  So Michal hasn't had it easy, so lest we condemn her too severely we should remember her hardships & how she'd been manipulated by these two kings - one was her father & the other her husband.  That said, her heart attitude is wrong, and this may be evidence of her true nature.  We'll get back to her a bit later in the chapter.

The Ark set in place - 2 Samuel 6:17-19 & 1 Chronicles 16:1-7 & 37-43 - The Ark is set in its proper place, the sacrifices are made, blessings are declared, a new psalm of thanksgiving is sung, and gifts are given to the people of Israel.  David ensures that everything is set up for regular worship and sacrifices are ongoing, the celebration ends and the people disperse, when everything wraps up David heads home to bless his own large & growing family.

Correcting Michal - 2 Samuel 6:20-23 - Who comes out to meet David as he returns from this marvelous celebration of God & the return of the Ark?  Michal, and she's coming out to criticize rather than congratulate.  It's bad enough that she despised David in her heart, now she's criticizing him openly - you could even call it nagging.  David puts Michal in her place, she may be a princess (of Saul) and a queen (of David) but she is nothing in David's eyes as compared to the Lord.  David was honoring God, and if he looked the fool for doing it it wasn't going to stop him from honoring God - even at the risk of his own wife & queen despising him.  Michal may be queen by marriage, and a princess by birth, but the slave girls had done better by honoring David for what he had done to honor the Lord.  David dealt directly with Michal, and God did as well, since she was not able to have any more children.  I also thought it was interesting that at this last mention of Michal she's not called the wife of David, but rather the daughter of Saul - I think this speaks to her having a heart more in line with her father Saul's than with her husband David's.

Can you think of any other passages where someone has suffered consequences from criticizing God's appointed leader?

Numbers 12 - Moses' sister Miriam mocks Moses because he had a Cushite wife - Miriam was stricken with Leprosy.

Numbers 16 - Korah & followers led the people of Israel to rebel against Moses' leadership - they were swallowed by the earth.

2 Kings 2 - Youths mocking Elisha because he was bald - mauled & killed by bears.

Jeremiah 28 - Hananiah contradicted Jeremiah's true prophecies with false - killed later that year by God as prophesied by Jeremiah.

Acts 13 - Bar-Jesus (sorcerer) lied about Paul in order to turn the governor against him - temporarily struck blind.

Closing Prayer:  Lord help us to have hearts for You, hearts that love each other, hearts that uplift each other, hearts for Your ways and Your work.  Help us to be ready for whatever you call us to, help us to seek your word to know that we walk in your ways, help us to be prepared for the work you have set aside for each of us to do, and help us to be willing to be despised by the world for the sake of Your kingdom.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.   Read Psalm 132 - what do you learn about:

a.  David's attitude about the nation's worship of God? 

b.  God's desires concerning the people's worship?

c.  God's response to the worship of His people?

3.   Read 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (David's Psalm of Thanks after establishing the Ark in Jerusalem) - what do you learn about:

a.  David's heart toward God?

b.  Who God is and what He has done?

Life of David - Lesson 22

David seeks God's will - 2 Samuel 5:17 - 6:11

Prayer: Lord God, sometimes we get confused by you.  One day, we'll know clearly what you want, and clearly see your hand in what we're doing.  Next thing you know, we think we're doing your will only to have something happen that stops us in our tracks.  Then we scratch our heads & ask ourselves if we were really following you or doing your will, or were we just following our own hearts.  I suspect that's what David was going through in the events we're going to study this week, help us as we study to see your hand at work even in David's moments of confusion.  Amen.

Quickly Form Groups:

1. Briefly have each person share about a new challenge they're facing (think single sentence), say a brief (think single sentence) prayer for each. (share, pray, share, pray, ....)

David is now ruling all Israel, and his kingdom is being bolstered by God - God will make Israel strong, God will bring wealth and honor to the land and it's king.  But it's not a case of David sitting back & putting up his feet & thinking he can coast because he's finally where God said he'd be.  Quite the opposite, David is going to be used by God to bring about the power and the wealth, God chose David & has spent quite a bit of time preparing David for the work ahead.

Challenge #1 - the Physical well being of Israel - the Philistines - 2 Samuel 5 v17-18 & 1 Chronicles 14:8-9: Let's rewind a bit and remind ourselves what's happened previously.  For a while David & his entourage lived in a town in the Philistine lands, the Philistine king thought he had David & his fighting men under his service & available to do his bidding - even to the point of going to war against Israel.  When the Philistines had come against Israel God worked it out so that David & his fighting men would be excluded from the battle.  The Philistines warred against Israel, they killed King Saul, and the war resulted in crippling Israel and making it weak.  Then David left Philistine territory to return home to his tribal lands, and was made King of the tribe of Judah.  Apparently the Philistines weren't feeling threatened at that time, because they didn't do anything about David when he was ruling Judah.  At that time Israel as a whole was still defeated and without a strong king.

Suddenly the Philistines get the news that all of Israel has made David their King and pledged their fighting men to his service.  The Philistines were well aware of David's abilities, and now they hear of his new fighting force, they would naturally assume David and his armies were a threat.  They decided not to wait, but to deal with this immediately.  Let's pause for a second and realize that we're not 100% certain when this happened, it may have happened either before or after the conquering of Jerusalem, so we're not sure if David started out from Jerusalem or from Hebron.  In either case the 2nd Samuel passage indicates David went to some sort of stronghold from which to determine his next move, but the 1 Chronicles passage says he went out to meet them (Philistines) - these are both true, and this leads me to believe that the stronghold may have been a strategic location (perhaps an outlook) somewhere near the Valley of Rephaim.  From these two passages we learn that this valley was both a staging area for further battle since the Philistines had spread out through the valley, and that they had raided the area.  So this is not simply a military presence, but a conquest to take control of the valley, and a direct attack on Israelite peoples & territory.

2 Samuel 5 v19-21 & 1 Chronicles 14:10-12: David is following a familiar pattern, he inquires of God about going into battle - likely through the Urim & Thumim, David leads his men into battle per God's instructions, is victorious, and gives God the glory for the victory.   The battle took place at a location that was renamed to Baal Perazim which means "the lord who breaks out".  Apparently when they defeated the Philistines in this location the Philistine forces were so overwhelmed that in order to escape they left their idols behind.  These idols were taken by David & his men, and 1 Chronicles tells us David ordered the idols be burned.

2 Samuel 5 v22-25 & 1 Chronicles 14:13-17: The Philistines weren't completely routed after a single battle.  This is interesting, we'd assume that if God gave the victory it would be complete.  But let's think about how this relates to our lives: we may have a victory in an area of struggle, but that doesn't mean the struggle will never come again.  So once again the Philistines are in the valley, once again David inquires of God, and once again God provides instruction & victory.  This time the Philistines are routed from Israel, and they would eventually become subdued during David's reign.

Challenge #2 - the Spiritual well being of Israel - moving the Ark of the Covenant (part 1)  in order to re-establish the tabernacle & the sacrificial system - 2 Samuel 6 v1-5 & 1 Chronicles 13:1-8: David calls together an assembly of the leadership of Israel, he has in mind to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and to establish the tabernacle there in the capital city.  He speaks to the assembly about how God's Ark has been neglected, that none have gone to worship or make sacrifices during the time of Saul.  The assembly unanimously agree with David, people are gathered from all over Israel, and 30,000 men are chosen to accompany David on his journey.

The large entourage travels to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to the house of Abinadab where the Ark has been faithfully guarded by this family for several years (1 Samuel 7:1).  The Ark is put onto a new cart, with 2 members of the family of Abinadab to guide it, and the entourage starts the journey back to Jerusalem.  This must have been an amazing site, 30,000 men celebrating & singing songs - like a massive parade to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

Anyone notice something wrong?  If David or the others in his entourage had known their scriptures they'd have known that you don't put the Ark on a cart!  The Ark was made with special rings & carrying poles, and was supposed to be carried by the poles on the shoulders of the priests.  It speaks to the Spiritual state of the nation that nobody brought this to David's attention, it's possible that they didn't know.  But this is a grave error, and not knowing God's law is no excuse for breaking God's law, when God's law is broken consequences are going to result.

2 Samuel 6 v6-7 (& 1 Chronicles 13:9-10): It seems like an innocent mistake, Uzzah isn't trying to sin, Uzzah's intention is to protect the Ark from harm when the oxen stumbled.  Don't get me wrong, God cares about our intentions, about the attitudes of our hearts, but God is perfect & His perfect Justice required that this irreverent act of touching the Ark be punished.  God indicated when he instructed the Ark to be built that this was His Ark, it bore His name, it was for Him to occupy, and no human should touch it - thus the poles were to be used, and then only by the priests, for the purposes of moving the Ark.  Sometimes I think we are so accustomed to the Grace of God that we take it for granted, we fail to see how even the tiniest offense is a grave offense to a Holy God.  We must remember that our sense of Justice is perverted, and God's is perfect.

2 Samuel 6 v8-11 (& 1 Chronicles 13:11-14): David's response is very much like our gut response is to the death of Uzzah, he's angry about what God has done.  He's so angry that he names the place Perez Uzzah, which means "outbreak against Uzzah".  David quickly transitions from his initial response of anger to a response of fear, he was confused, he thought he was doing what God wanted and suddenly this good man has been struck down.  David questions whether he was really doing the will of God, and so he decides to stop this journey and leave the Ark in the care of the family of Obed-Edom  - who are a family in the tribe of Levi (priestly tribe).  The family of Obed-Edom are blessed during the time they cared for the Ark.

Closing Prayer:  God, we thank you that you reveal your will to us - even though sometimes we're confused by it.  Lord help us to remember that we're only dust, that our thinking isn't your thinking, and that our sinful nature clouds our judgment.  Help us to always come to you first, seeking what you want in our lives rather than seeking what we want you to do in our lives.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2. We saw from the example with the Philistines that sometimes God has to help us battle an enemy more than once.  What was the same, and what were the differences between the events of the two battles? (2 Samuel 5:17-21 & 22-25) What does this tell you about how God might work in your life & battles?

3. What was your gut reaction to God striking Uzzah?  Do you think David was in God's will moving the Ark to Jerusalem (give your reasoning)?  Have you ever been confused by God?

Life of David - Lesson 21

David rules from Jerusalem - 2 Samuel 5:6-16

Prayer: Lord God, we don't always understand your ways & why you do what you do, but we thank you for your wisdom that always knows what's best for us.  We thank you for the example that you have for us in David, a man that was not perfect, but who you chose to be the king of your people, a man that made mistakes but was a powerful force for your name's sake.  As we learn about David today, how you established his reign in Jerusalem, we won't necessarily understand why Jerusalem was special - but it was your choice.  Lord teach us to trust your choices in our lives as David trusted your choices in his.

Quickly Form Groups:

1.   Briefly have each person share about a choice that you're facing that you'd like God to direct (think single sentence), say a brief (think single sentence) prayer for each. (share, pray, share, pray, ....)

Last time we took a look at the mass of armed forces David had available to him as he was being made King over all Israel.  Now that David has all these forces at his disposal, he's going to move his center of operations to Jerusalem - but first he has to conquer Jerusalem, a city occupied by Jebusites.  Before we take a look at how he accomplishes this, what's so important about Jerusalem?  What is historically significant about this city?

Genesis 14:18-20 - Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, is the King of Salem (Salem is identified as Jerusalem).  Jesus is recorded as being a priest in the "order of Melchizedek.  Apparently Abraham wasn't the only man God had on His side in those days.

Genesis 22:1-3 & 2 Chronicles 3:1- Jerusalem, is located on Mount Moriah, the same mountain where Abraham was instructed to offer Isaac as an offering to God.  The city itself, at the times of David & Abraham, was not on the specific site of the Abraham's sacrifice; however, this specific site was nearby & was later purchased by David, David put an altar there & later the temple was built (and rebuilt) there.

How long had the Jebusites been in Jerusalem?

Joshua 15:63 - since before the conquering of the promised land, with a temporary conquest recorded in Judges 1:8, but they were never completely routed.  This makes me wonder if Melchizedek was a Jebusite, we don't really know.

For some reason this was an important place to God, He picked this place, and it was already significant in the history of Israel.  Not only that, it was located at the border between Judah & Benjamin, though technically in Judah, and was still occupied by foreigners - not good to have foreigners occupying a city in the King's tribal lands, that would make him look weak.  Not only this, Jerusalem was a city that, because of its location & topography was easy to defend, a known-good stronghold fit for a king.

2 Samuel 5 v6-8 & 1 Chronicles 11:4-6:  King David takes his forces to the city of Jerusalem, a city which the tribes of both Judah & Benjamin had failed to subdue previously, and David is determined to conquer it.  It was a fortified city, only about 11 acres in size, estimated to have a population inside the city of only around 3500 people - it was an independent city-state within Israel, but not part of Israel.

The Jebusites thought their city was impregnable, but David had a plan - somehow David knew about the "tsinnor", and that this was the means of getting inside to conquer the city.  The word "tsinnor" is one of those words that we're not 100% certain of it's meaning, and sometimes it gets translated "scaling hooks"... but this seems unlikely.  The same word is also used in Psalm 42:7, and there from the context it appears to mean waterfall.  Some think "tsinnor" means water-shaft (this is the most popular interpretation) but it could also be referencing the cliffs (a waterfall could go over a cliff) that led up to the city's walls (thus the "scaling hooks" translation).  Generally, the word is believed to have had something to do with water, but that is just an educated guess.  Whatever this "tsinnor" was, it was the weakness that Joab took advantage of & went up first, thus earning him the position of the head of the newly combined forces of Israel.

Back to this "water shaft": The city of Jerusalem was on a hill, and as far as we know had no natural water source except the Gihon Spring which was located outside the city at the bottom of the hill.  The inhabitants of the city would have needed a way to access water in order to endure siege - which they had done several times.  Today there still exists a shaft leading to the spring, one that is considered an amazing engineering feat for its time - but this was not in existence yet during the time of David, it was created during the time of Hezekiah (a couple centuries later).  When the shaft of Hezekiah was built it connected up to an older shaft, the date of which is unknown.  It's possible, I'd venture so far as to say it's likely, that this shaft went into the city in David's time, we just don't know for sure.

2 Samuel 5 v9-10 & 1 Chronicles 11:7-9:  These few verses summarize David's overall reign - he built up Jerusalem & the city, and he became quite powerful - though the scripture specifically points out that God was the source of David's power.

2 Samuel 5 v11-12 & 1 Chronicles 14:1-2: How powerful was David?  So powerful that the King of Tyre wanted to curry favor, he sent messengers & carpenters & stonemasons as well as cedar logs - and built David's palace.

Historians note that during the time of David's reign the Hittites & Egypt, though still around, had faced significant losses of power.  The Philistines were driven into a small portion of their previous lands.  And the King of Tyre wanted to make an alliance.  Under David's rule many of Israel's old enemies were subdued: Moab, Ammon, Edom.  David expanded the boundaries of Israel from about 6,000 to 60,000 square miles.  Commercial highways were developed and wealth poured into Israel from throughout the known world.  Israel was the leading power in the Near Eastern world, and David the mightiest monarch of his day.  David operated not only as a King, but as a Judge and as the leader of his armed forces.

2 Samuel 5 v13-16 & 1 Chronicles 14:3-7: How powerful was David?  Perhaps a bit too powerful, because we see that he continues to acquire wives & he is growing what will end up being a huge dysfunctional family - but we'll get to that better a bit later in the narrative of David's life.

David was God's choice as king, and God was going to make sure his reign was powerful.  Even though he wasn't perfect & made some big mistakes, David was going to do much that was good for Israel both economically and spiritually.

Closing Prayer:  God we thank you that you don't pick perfect people to do your work; otherwise, none of us would ever be chosen to do your work.  We thank you that as we do your will in our lives that the power to work for you comes from you, we don't have to worry about what skills we do/don't have - you will teach us & provide for what we need.

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.   David faced the temptations that came from wealth and power.  If you suddenly had more wealth & power than you ever thought possible, what practical steps could you take to keep you from temptation?  Try to come up with several ideas within your group.

As Individuals:

3.   The Jebusites resided within God's promised land for a long time without being removed, sometimes in our lives we can allow things to reside even though we belong to God - we have a "fortified area" where we keep things that God wants to remove.  Take some time individually to reflect and pray - is there a "Jebusite fortress" in your life?  Ask God to conquer this stronghold.  If you're willing to share have the group, or another class member, pray for this as well.

Life of David - Lesson 20

David rules all Israel - 2 Samuel 5:1-10

Prayer: Lord, we're finally to the passage where David becomes King of all Israel.  It seems like its taken us a long time to get here, and yet the amount of time David had to wait to see this day was much longer.  Lord as we live our lives in our fast-paced electronic society help us to appreciate the long-term plans that you have in place for us individually and for this world as a whole; teach us not to expect instant gratification or resolution, and to appreciate things that take time.

Quickly Form Groups:

1.  Briefly have each person share about 1 person who is special because they are supportive and loyal (think single sentence), say a brief (think single sentence) prayer for each. (share, pray, share, pray, ....)

Last time we studied about a couple murders that happened as peace was being brokered between Judah (David) and the remainder of Israel.  David took these matters in hand and dealt with them, keeping this newly formed peace from being destroyed.  Finally after many years that have passed we're going to see him become king, not just of Judah but of all Israel.

2 Samuel 5 v1-3 & 1 Chronicles 11:1-3: These passages are almost identical, did you notice what was added in Chronicles?  Why was it added?

Chronicles adds that David's kingship had been promised by the Lord through Samuel, Chronicles is concerned about the Spiritual leadership of Israel & thus includes this additional information.

The representatives of the various tribes within Israel have gathered at Hebron where David is currently reigning as king over Judah with the intent of making him king over all of Israel.  Let's take a look at what they say:

• They point out that they are, in fact, all part of one (very large) family.
• They acknowledge that David had been a great military leader for Israel.
• They recall that God had said David would be the shepherd (leader) of Israel.

When all the elders of Israel had gathered David made a compact with them "before the Lord" - a pledge before God to act in good faith as their King.  They in turn had David anointed as King.  If you remember back in 1 Samuel 16:13 Samuel, acting as God's representative, had anointed David & the Holy Spirit had come upon David.  In 2 Samuel 2:4 the people of Judah had shown their acceptance of David as King by anointing him, and now here the remainder of Israel is expressing their allegiance to David by anointing him.  David didn't need these last two anointings to be King of Israel, the anointing from God was sufficient, but the people needed to perform these subsequent anointings to show that they were in agreement with God on His choice for King.

2 Samuel 5:4-5: David was 30 when he became King over Judah, and sometime in the next 7 1/2 years, probably toward the end of that time, he became King over all Israel.   Remember that this 7 1/2 years overlaps with the reign of Ish-Bosheth, includes the time when Abner was seeking to broker peace, and includes the episodes recorded regarding the murders of both of these men.

We're going to take a bit of a side-trip now, to look at some passages from 1 Chronicles 11 & 12 - these passages speak about David's fighting men (11) and the fighting men of the rest of Israel (12), and will give us an idea of the personalities involved & the size of the forces of Israel.

1 Chronicles 11:10-11a: David's forces were called his "mighty men", it's interesting that they're not called the "army of", but keep in mind that for most of their time of existence they didn't have a country.  So instead of being known as the "army of country X" they were known as the "mighty men of David".  These men were an important part of David's life, they lived and traveled with him for many years, they were completely devoted to him through all their travels and would continue their devotion as he becomes King of all Israel.

As we go through the rest of this passage in 1 Chronicles 11, you'll meet some of these men, some of whom are known as "the three", and some as "the thirty" - these are special members of David's elite forces.  We're not clear from this passage who all these men were, but we'll be seeing David's Mighty Men again later in 2 Samuel... at this point we're just getting a "taste" of them.

v11b-14: Jashobeam was the chief of the officers, or chief of "the thirty", so he's a man of high rank in David's forces - and his ability to kill 300 men single-handedly in battle is impressive.  Eleazar, we're informed, is one of "the three", this passage indicates that God worked through Eleazar to bring a victory in a battle against the Philistines.

v15-19: This is a little historical side-note showing the devotion of David's men to their leader, they would risk life and limb to please him.  These are "the three" but they are unnamed here, and their loyalty to David appears boundless.  I don't know about you but my initial reaction to this is that these guys had to feel insulted that they went to all this trouble for him & he goes & pours the water out on the ground.  But in all honesty he was being loving toward them, giving them an object lesson so that they wouldn't risk their lives unnecessarily on his behalf, instead he pointed them to God - to have their best efforts put to seeing God's will be done rather than man's will.  Some commentators indicate that they believe that David treated the water as a drink offering to God, considering himself unworthy of accepting the water for himself.

v20-21: Here we meet Abishai again, and this time we're told that he's also the commander over "the three".  Abishai is famous in his own right, and this account adds to what we've read previously to indicate that he also single-handedly killed 300 men.  Its interesting that he was honored by making him the commander over "the three", yet he is not "included" - there was something very special about these three men.

v22-25: Benaiah is a tough guy, amongst this list he's called out as performing "great exploits", and we're given some examples here.  He's defeated some of the strongest men of Moab, went into a pit and killed a lion, and defeated a giant from Egypt - this guy wasn't a giant like Goliath (9') but at 7 1/2' he's huge compared to the average guy of that day who would have been around 5' tall.  We're told he was held in greater honor than any of the thirty, and its possible he was one of the thirty (this is unclear), but he is not one of "the three".

I had a friend & co-worker once that was 7'2", I went to a shopping mall with him one time & you wouldn't believe the looks & comments he got.  We hear of these heights and don't think a lot about it because we hear about basketball players & the like, but let me tell you that 7'2" is huge.  If you want to think of things proportionately, the average man of David's day would have been 2/3 the height of this Egyptian... guys who are 6' today might think about standing next to a guy that is 9' tall.

The rest of chapter 11 I'll leave you to peruse on your own, it's a list of the names of some of those who were considered to be David's "mighty men".  If you like this  sort of thing I'll also encourage you to read 12:1-22 on your own, as it talks about several others who joined David's forces prior to him becoming King over Judah.

1 Chronicles 12:23-37: The forces of Judah already under David are listed first, and numbered at around 6800 men.  A conservative estimate of the total number of  forces, some of whom had joined David previously, all of whom came to pledge loyalty to David, would be around 350,000 men.  This is significant, this is a sizable army and represented a strong support for David as king of all Israel.

David had to wait a long time for this, 13 years from the initial promise to his kingship of Judah, and as much as another 7 1/2 years until becoming king of all Israel... that's as much as a 20 year wait for someone who at this point in the narrative would be around 37 years old.

I don't know about you, but I struggle with patience - it's always been a problem area for me.  I was working on something in the studio this week, a new piece that I had already decided I'd name "Grace" after Grace Kelly (Princess Grace)... it was 99% done when unfortunately something went wrong & I got very upset - crying out to God to help me "fix it quickly" since it had taken several hours to make.  I tried the tricks I knew to try to fix it quickly, they didn't work, and I was devastated... but God used that to teach me some spiritual lessons, and that piece has now come to represent God's Grace to me.  Have I learned to be more patient?... I don't think so, but God definitely showed me how I had let some things get out of perspective - Thanks God, I needed that! 

Closing Prayer:  Lord it is beautiful to see your promises fulfilled, and we know that you fulfill your promises in your time.  Thank you for the example of David, of how he endured through trials & waited a long time in order to see your promises fulfilled in his life.  Help us Lord as we go through trials and periods of waiting to do so faithfully, trusting that your will & your ways are always best.

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  Share about something precious you've had to wait for, how did waiting help you appreciate it more?

3.  If someone were to sum you up in their list of "mighty friends", what would you want to be remembered for?