Life of David - Lesson 29

Truth, Consequences, Forgiveness, & Restoration - 2 Samuel 12

Prayer: Lord we are thankful for your hand in our lives.  We thank you that you don't let us go our own way but instead take action in our lives.  I pray that we will learn from David this week, last time we saw the importance of resisting temptation, this time we need to learn the importance of repentance - of coming clean & staying clean with you.  Lord, for whatever areas of our lives that we've failed & fallen we ask for your hand to be on us in order to restore us.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups:

1. What is your favorite Bible parable?  What is the main lesson of that parable?

Last time we met we saw David fall deeper & deeper into the trap of sin.  He started out by being a little too self indulgent, fell into adultery, tried several times to cover up his sin & eventually ended up ordering a man's death in order to cover up what he had done.   If we didn't have the passage recorded in the Bible we might think he got away with it, but he didn't.  

God knew what David had done & God was not pleased, now God is sending Nathan to David to expose his sin.  Why would the sin need to be exposed?  So it could be repented of & David could be clean & forgiven once again.

Truth:

2 Samuel 12:1-4 - Nathan is using a form we're familiar with from the New Testament, he is using a parable.  He tells of a rich man & the awful thing he has done to his poor neighbor.  The rich man who had many sheep & cattle of his own stole a young lamb, the only lamb & beloved family pet of his impoverished neighbor, and used it to throw a feast.  A modern-day equivalent might be: Governor Dayton came into your house, walked off with your cat or dog, and then used it to feed a visiting dignitary.  It is a viciously unkind & unnecessary action, there is no justification for this, this is nothing short of cruel hard-heartedness

2 Samuel 12:5-6 - David's response shows us that he's not aware that what Nathan has told him is a parable.  David is indignant, he wants the man brought to justice at once, he wants not only the debt to be repaid - 4 times was the prescribed amount - he wants the man put to death.

2 Samuel 12:7-9 - About a year had passed, and apparently David had been contentedly living a lie, apparently he hadn't told anyone & apparently he hadn't confessed his sin before God. Perhaps he had justified himself in his own eyes, after all he is the king & has rule over all the people, in any case it's been a year and he's gotten away with his sin... or so he thinks.  So can you imagine how David's heart must have been crushed when Nathan proclaims "You are the man!".  Nathan interprets the parable, God has given David much & would have gladly given him more, but David instead has taken what belonged to someone else.  David is accused of despising the word of the Lord, of doing evil in God's sight.  Nathan doesn't cushion the blow, he proclaims David's guilt in Uriah's death, it may have been an Ammonite sword that struck the blow but David is guilty of murder.

Consequences prophesied:

2 Samuel 12:10-12 - David's sentence involves 3 prophesied consequences:

• A prophecy about the sword not departing from his "house" - from Biblical history we know that 3 of David's sons died violent deaths, and this seems to be a long-term prophecy that would go down through the generations of his family tree.
• A prophecy about a specific calamity that would come upon David & his wives - we will see this play out in chapter 15 when Absalom (David's son) seizes the throne from his father & takes his father's wives.  This is a mid-term prophecy, one that would play out within David's lifetime.
• A short-term prophecy that has immediate consequences, but we'll get to that one in a moment, because suddenly David has a realization!

Forgiveness:

2 Samuel 12:13 - David confesses his sin, notice what he says "I sinned against the Lord".  This isn't between David & Uriah, or between David & any other person, this sin is against God.  David's actions have separated him from God, and David appears to be saying "may God do with me as He pleases, I have sinned against him".  Nathan declared that David is forgiven, he has received God's mercy, he will not be given the death sentence normally required for either adultery or murder (according to God's laws).  Mercy - not getting the punishment you deserve (as opposed to Grace which is getting a gift you can't earn & don't deserve).  Mercy comes when we confess our sins before God, and that mercy is God's forgiveness.

Consequences Begin:

2 Samuel 12:14-15 - Despite forgiveness there are still consequences for sin, the sentence already given remains, and the third consequence is prophesied:

• The child conceived in sin will die.  This is the short-term prophecy, one with immediate consequences.

God didn't take it easy on David, God dealt a hard blow in 3 tough consequences, any one of which would have been a severe punishment.  There is a long-term prophecy against his family line, a mid-term prophecy against himself & his wives, and a short-term prophecy which will take his baby boy.  God was hard on David because God loved David, sometimes God deals tenderly with His people when they fall & sometimes God is tough.  From my recent studies in the life of Elijah I've seen that God deals tenderly with those who fall when they are broken, and here we see that God is tough with those who fall when they are in defiance.

The child is struck ill.  There is a part of me that wants to say "but this baby didn't do anything wrong!"  I need to remember that this is God at work, and God is always loving & always just.  For anyone else that is struggling with this I'd ask that you hold off on thinking God is being cruel, because there is a verse later in today's passage that gives us deeper insight.

2 Samuel 12:16-17 - David pleads with God for his baby boy to be spared.  David fasted, he spent his nights on the ground (fasting from comfort as well as from food).  The elders were quite concerned, they couldn't get him to get up off the ground or to eat with them.

2 Samuel 12:18-19 - God says no.  Ouch!!  David has been God's man up to this point & will be again, but this time God said no, and the child died.  David's servants aren't sure what to do, David has been beside himself up until now & they fear for how he will react once he knows his child has died.  If you've ever known anyone who has lost a child you know how devastating that can be, there is something in our guts that tells us it's unnatural for a child to die, and it is a crushing blow.

Restoration:

2 Samuel 12:20-23 - David's reaction to the news of the death of his son puzzles his servants, they expect him to grieve even more.  David's reaction may seem strange, but after 7 days of fasting & prayer David has God's perspective on the situation.  

I lost my Dad to cancer, watching my Dad die & knowing he was dying was extremely painful - it was a period of extended grief for my family prior to his death.  This wonderful sweet man of God was put through a living hell on this earth, it seemed so unfair.  When my Dad finally died the family experienced an unexpected surge of joy, my Dad was no longer suffering & we knew with confidence that he was walking with the Lord - and in fact most of us experienced a jealousy of sorts, that he was able to go before us & we'd been left behind.  People didn't understand what my family experienced, even believers didn't & usually don't understand still, but God gave us a glimpse of things from a heavenly perspective.

David gets up, washes up, puts on some lotion, and puts on some clean clothes.  This marks the end of his period of fasting & prayer.  The very next thing he does is goes to the house of the Lord (the tabernacle) and worships God.  After he has worshipped God he goes home & eats a meal.  David has been Spiritually & Physically restored.

The servants don't understand, they are like the people I said didn't understand my family, so they ask & David attempts to answer, but I'm guessing they still might not have understood.

God is not cruel, verse 23 makes it clear that David knows that his baby is now being nurtured in the hands of his loving God - the child will not be returned to David, but David will some day be reunited with his child in heaven.  Was it cruel for God to take the child?  Absolutely not!  That child was in a much better place than he would have been living out a mortal life on earth, he was in the loving arms of God.

2 Samuel 12:24-25 - David is doing much better but poor Bathsheba has probably been trying to nurse the baby back to health & likely feels like a failure.  David goes & comforts Bathsheba, the love of a husband can do wonders for a hurting wife, and David is a loving husband to Bathsheba.  In time another son comes along for David & Bathsheba, that son we know would eventually become King Solomon, a man loved by God, and God assigns him a name that means "loved by the Lord".  David is emotionally restored, and his family with Bathsheba has been restored.

2 Samuel 12:26-31 - During this period Joab has been out leading a portion of the army, still swatting at those annoying Ammonites, and he's laid siege to the royal citadel (fortress).  Joab sends word that he's cut off the water supply & it's time to bring the rest of the army & take care of the Ammonites for good.  Joab says something odd, he basically says "get out here & help me finish this or this kingdom I've defeated is going to be mine", that's some pretty strong words from the General to his King, but they are words that get David back to doing the job he should have been doing to start with (instead of lazing around the palace seducing the neighbor girl).  This in effect brings about David's positional restoration, that of being the active king.

Rabbah is captured, and the crown is taken - symbol of the authority of their king - and it is symbolically place on David's head to signify him as the new authority over the Ammonite people.  From the passage we read that the crown contained a talent of gold (about 75 pounds) and was set with precious stones.  Apparently the Ammonites had a great deal of wealth in valuable items in Rabbah, and David took the wealth of the city as plunder.  David also took the people and put them to work as laborers to the benefit of Israel (common practice of the day).  From there they went out and conquered all the rest of the Ammonite towns, bringing the entire peoples of the Ammonites under David's rule.  Finally these pesky Ammonites have been taken care of, and the army returns to Jerusalem.

Closing Prayer:  God we thank you that you show us that there are consequences for our sins, but we thank you even more that these consequences are designed for our sanctification & restoration.  Help us to have soft hearts so that you can deal with us tenderly, keep us from being hard hearted & having to face such dire consequences, but in either case Lord keep us close to you.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  Read Psalm 51, this was the Psalm written after David was confronted by Nathan.  What in this Psalm could you point to as evidence of true repentance on David's part?

Life of David - Lesson 28

A Major Blunder, an Attempted Cover-up, and a Murder Plot - 2 Samuel 11

Prayer: God we thank you that when your Word speaks of your people, of your chosen, that it is brutally honest.  We thank you that an imperfect fallen person was "just the right man" & "a man after God's own heart".  We're far from perfect, we need the encouragement that comes from knowing you use flawed people to do your will.  We're saddened by the failings of believers, and pray for the sanctification of your church.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups:

1.  Talk about the types of sins that trap people - especially people in your generation, after some discussion pray for strength when facing temptation.

You may have already guessed which passage we're at in David's life.  Despite all the amazing Godly things David he is best known for this terrible episode in his life.  It's like we see on the evening news, it's the bad news that gets the most attention.  This passage saddens me, but at the same time encourages me - you see, despite David's failure (and this is a biggie) he's still the "man after God's own heart".

The Major Blunder:

2 Samuel 11:1 - It is Springtime in Israel, and the army has gone out to deal with the Ammonites once again (the same pesky group that started all the trouble in last week's passage).  Apparently David didn't feel like going, even though he could have, so we get the sense that he's decided to take it easy, to indulge himself & enjoy the many benefits of being king.  1 Corinthians 10:12  This should be a warning to us, it's usually when we start getting a little too "comfortable" in our salvation that we get tripped up - we're just not paying enough attention or getting lazy in our faith.

2 Samuel 11:2 - Red Alert! Red Alert! Warning! Danger!!  David is restless, has too much time on his hands & perhaps is a bit bored.  He decides to go for a walk out on the roof in the evening.  Sounds innocent enough, right?  Roofs in that area were flat & frequently were used as outdoor rooms.  Eastern palaces of that era typically had a king's bedchamber on the 2nd floor (for privacy), with a door that opened up onto a stretch of flat roof which had been furnished as a private area to relax, this is where we find David taking a late night stroll.  Perhaps he heard the splash of water & looked out over the edge of his roof to see who else was up & about that night, whatever the case he looked out & saw a woman bathing - a very beautiful woman.  

A couple things should get our attention here, this woman was not behaving in a modest way - as was the way of most Hebrew women.  A modest woman would not have bathed in a place where she could be observed, and this woman is in plain sight of the  king.  The other thing we should notice is that the scriptures call her very beautiful, not just beautiful, and the scriptures rarely include the word "very" so this is no exaggeration, she was a knock-out.  Was she hoping to be seen by the king?  It seems that this was the case.  It reminds me of the time Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to JFK, which raised eyebrows in that day - google it if you don't get the reference. 

2 Samuel 11:3-5 - Who is at fault here?  Both are at fault, she tempted & he gave into temptation - using his position as king as a means of manipulating the situation.   I want you to know that these few sentences probably took some time, there was time to make an inquiry & time to be introduced & time for the seduction to reach it's dreadful conclusion.  The note about purification is how we know that she was not already pregnant by Uriah, and that the child that resulted from their actions is indeed David's.

Uriah was one of David's mighty men, he was off at war, and while he was off at war his wife was at home tempting the king.  Uriah was a Hittite, a foreigner, who had become a Jew by choice - even taking on a Hebrew name, the fact that his home was in close proximity to the palace indicates that he may have been a man of high rank.  Bathsheba was also a foreigner by birth, a Gilonite, the daughter of another of David's mighty men.  I'm guessing Bathsheba may have been attracted to David for a while, she & her family may have been part of the band of misfits that had been traveling with David when still in the wilderness. (Both Uriah & Bathsheba's father Eliam are listed in 2 Samuel 24 as part of David's Mighty Men)

The Attempted Cover-up:

2 Samuel 11:6-9 - David has Uriah called back from the war under a pretense that he wanted to know how the war was going.  The fact that David's actions didn't arouse suspicion is another indication of Uriah's high standing among David's men.  David "plays nice" and tells Uriah to go home & relax for a while, and even sends a gift on to Uriah's home showing his favor.  David thinks his plan is going well but Uriah doesn't go home, instead he chooses to sleep at the entrance to the palace along with David's servants.

2 Samuel 11:10-11 - David discovers Uriah didn't go home and questions him, he wants to know why he didn't take the opportunity to rest well at home since he'd come from quite a distance.  Uriah's response tells us a lot about him, he's a man of honor.  Uriah wasn't going to go enjoy all the comforts of home while the rest of the army was off fighting.  Compare that to David's recent behavior, David chose to stay home and take it easy & even played around with another man's wife.  Uriah is demonstrating his camaraderie & solidarity with his fellow soldiers & refusing to enjoy his own home, bed, and wife.  A foreigner's devotion & honor has outshone that of the Hebrew king.

2 Samuel 11:12-13 - David hasn't given up trying to cover-up his actions, so he tries once more.  This time David gets Uriah drunk... but despite having too much to drink Uriah keeps his honor & once again sleeps with David's servants.  This cover-up attempt has failed, when the child Bathsheba is carrying is born Uriah will know it is not his.  This is a serious problem for both David & Bathsheba, Leviticus 20:10 & Deuteronomy 22:22, God's law prescribed serious consequences (the death penalty) for both of them.

The Murder Plot:

2 Samuel 11:14-17 - David is now taking desperate measures, he sends Uriah back to war with his own execution orders carried in his hand.  Did Joab know what was going on?  Did he suspect?  It is not known, but he knew his king had asked him to arrange for Uriah to die, and so he did as he was asked.

Uriah died a hero's death, and David - the man after God's own heart - is the villain.  Sometimes we think that because we're believers we aren't as evil as those in the world around us, that just isn't true!  We are all born with a sin nature, we all are fallen, none of us is any better or any more deserving; however, a heart that is passionate for God draws us to God, and it is by His goodness we are saved.  David still has a heart that is passionate for God, but he's lost his way.

2 Samuel 11:18-25 - The news comes by messenger that Uriah is dead, Joab is shrewd in how he has the message delivered so that David will know that the deed has been done but the messenger won't understand.  David sends a message back to the front indicating his understanding & instructing Joab to carry on.

2 Samuel 11:26-27 - Bathsheba observed the standard mourning period, this would have been about 7 days, then she is taken to the palace to become one of David's wives.  I wonder if there was any real love for her husband, she may have cared about him but it may have been an arranged marriage that wasn't satisfying, we just don't know.  In time the baby is born, a son.  This final attempt at a cover-up appears to have succeeded, but if it had we wouldn't have this passage recorded for historical posterity.  Even if David hadn't been found out by men his actions would have been known by God, he simply wasn't going to get away with murder.  God is displeased, and God is not going to let David keep his sins hidden, God is going to cleanse David once again.

When we sin we don't simply sin against other people, in fact it's not our actions against other people that carry the greatest consequences.  David reflecting back later on this episode wrote Psalm 51 (Psalm 51:4).

Closing Prayer:  Lord help us to diligently keep watch over our what we look at, what we listen to, what we read, what we think, what we say.  We ask that the power of the Holy Spirit would guard our hearts & minds.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  We know that any sin causes separation from God, but what is it about sexual sin that makes it so especially heinous?  Try to come up with verses to support your thoughts.

3.  What warnings would you give to a friend you discovered was being tempted in an area of sin?  How might you come along side to help?

Life of David - Lesson 27

When God's people are Misunderstood - 2 Samuel 10

Prayer: God we thank you for being our defender in a world that sometimes finds our very existence offensive.  We thank you that your love isn't based on what people think of us, but on your very nature instead.  Help us Lord to be willing to be uncomfortable for your name's sake. Amen!

Quickly Form Groups:

1. Briefly have each person share something about their lives that their non-believing friends don't "get", pray for each.

David is a good king, he's shown himself to be honorable & to be a man who keeps his promises - like we saw last time when he kept his promise to Jonathan to show kindness to Jonathan's family.  David was also the kind of king that wasn't ruthless to the other nations around him, he didn't go looking for a fight; in fact, he had good relations with the king of at least one of the surrounding nations - and that's where our passage begins.

2 Samuel 10:1-2a - We start with some sad news, a friend & ally of King David has died - someone who had shown kindness to King David.  David makes up his mind to show kindness to King Nahash's son & successor Hanun, so he sends a delegation to Hanun to express his sympathy.  This delegation was likely people from within David's royal court, trusted friends & advisors, and they most likely came bearing gifts.  This action on David's part shows his compassion but also his wisdom, he wants to keep peace with this neighboring nation, and that nation has a new king.

2 Samuel 10:2b-4 - What a shame, David's actions which were spurred on by his compassion are completely misunderstood.  The Ammonites have not been wise, surely there was a better way to guard themselves against a perceived threat, they could have simply turned the delegation away, instead they seem to be inviting trouble.  Let's take a look at what they did to David's men:

• They shaved off half of each man's beard - Leviticus 19:27; Isaiah 7:20 - The beard of an Israelite man was symbolic of his relationship with God, their particular type of beard set them apart as God's chosen in a visible way.  In most Eastern cultures of that day a beard was only shaved off during times of deep mourning.  For the Jew, a beard being shaved or pulled off at someone else's hand was sometimes used a symbol of God's displeasure - showing that the people weren't really being God's people.  It could also be a sign of being cut off from God - Isaiah 50:6 - this prophecy was fulfilled by Christ, his own people rejected him as one of them & took away a symbol of him being a Jew - thus symbolically cutting him off; in addition, it was also symbolic of him being "cut off" from fellowship with the Father at the crucifixion.
• They cut off their garments mid-buttock & sent them away like that - Wow, I can't imagine the humiliation this caused.  Being uncovered in this way is humiliating to anyone, but not only would it humiliate them they would be exposed as "different" since all Jewish males were circumcised (not practiced by any other cultures at this time).  This was a customary way, in that place & time, to treat prisoners of war...

2 Samuel 10:5 - How does David respond?  He sends messengers to greet his delegation & help them recover.  I'm guessing his messengers would have been sent with fresh garments for the delegation, though we don't know.  What we do know is that David set aside time for his men to recover, and a place for them to recover that had them hidden away - Jericho was still in ruins in David's day per the Lord's direction.  David showed compassion and did what he could to help them regain their dignity - remember these were members of David's royal court & likely also some of his dearest friends.  What I find equally interesting is what David doesn't do, he doesn't get ticked off and start a war, perhaps he considered that Hanun's grief may have blurred his judgement - just a thought, we really don't know.  David didn't retaliate - Roman's 12:19 which quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 - he let the offense go, leaving their fate in God's hands.

2 Samuel 10:6 - At this point the Ammonites realize that what they've done is going to cause problems in their relations with Israel - now that they've had some time to think through their actions.  I wonder if David's inaction, his lack of retaliation, is what caught their attention?  But they go from one foolish decision to another, instead of reaching out to broker peace they automatically assume that David is hatching some sort of big plan to do them in, and this new wrong assumption on their part leads them to start a war.  The Ammonites must have feared the strength of David's army, because they're not content to fight alone, they hire in additional forces to assist them: 20,000 Foot Soldiers (Aramean from Beth Rehob & Zobah), King Maacah & 1,000 of his men, 12,000 men from Tob - totaling 33,000 additional troops.

2 Samuel 10:7 - David now is forced into a war, why?  Because he wanted to show compassion to the son of a friend that died.  Have you ever been misunderstood?  I have been, I've been accused of some terrible things by people who didn't understand that I was acting out of kindness, care, or compassion - and it cuts deeply.  I've had people I thought were friends turn their backs on me, and undermine me (start a war of a different sort), because they were upset about something I'd done with good intentions.  Though times like these are painful, as believers we should expect this is we are openly living out our faith in front of our unbelieving friends - Luke 6:22.

2 Samuel 10:8-12 - The Ammonite troops formed lines in one area, near the entrance to their city, while their hired troops (Arameans) were in open country nearby.  I'm guessing the groups would have been relatively evenly split, if so the Ammonites would have been around 30,000-40,000 men strong.  The forces of Israel under Joab were right in the middle, not a good strategic position; however, Joab divides the forces between himself and his brother Abishai.  Joab took the more skilled troops with him, presumably to tackle the more skilled forces of the Arameans.  Abishai took the greater number of troops, though not as highly skilled, against the Ammonites.  The brothers agreed that if either struggled the other would come to help, but they knew that God was the one in control of their battle - their service under David had taught them well.

2 Samuel 10:13-14 - From our study of 2 Samuel 5 last Spring I told you that conservative estimates of the size of David's combined army (with the former army of Saul) would have been about 350,000 men at the time he became king over all Israel.  I'm guessing that these forces hadn't dwindled, but they may not have all been called out into this battle.  Needless to say, when the smaller group of David's forces head toward the Arameans they flee - likely they knew it would be a slaughter if they stayed put.  Once the Ammonites see their hired warriors have fled they also flee & take refuge in their city.  At that point Joab simply leads the troops back to Jerusalem, the conflict appears to have been settled - or has it?

2 Samuel 10:15-16 - Apparently the Arameans had their reputations in danger because they had fled from a battle that they'd been hired to fight.  The first time there had been 33,000 of the Aramean forces and that wasn't enough, so this time they brought a bunch of their countrymen from further away (from the other side of the Euphrates) to join their fight.

2 Samuel 10:17-19 & 1 Chronicles 19:18 - I don't like mosquitos, I'm allergic to them & get terrible hives when bitten, but even if it weren't for that I think they're pesky critters.  I really dislike them when they buzz my ears or fly into my eyes, I find this behavior  downright obnoxious!  I think that's how David was feeling about these Arameans, he'd swatted at them already trying to shoo them away, but they just aren't getting the message.  

This time David is responding in person, he leads the troops into battle & Israel is the victor (hmm, this was predictable).  David's men killed 7000 charioteers (the 700 in 2 Samuel is believed to be an ancient copyists error - 1 Chronicles is believed to have the correct number), as well as 40,000 foot soldiers.  Ok, do the math, that's 47,000 killed - and the first time they'd only come with 33,000 troops!

The Arameans got the picture, they weren't going to defeat David, so they brokered peace with Israel.  They also got wise about the Ammonites & wouldn't act as their hired guns anymore.  I'm guessing the Ammonites decided to just keep to themselves after this... my mental picture is of them cowering inside their city walls afraid to upset the neighboring kingdoms - after all they didn't want their beards cut off & their buttocks exposed.

Closing Prayer:  God we thank you that you are the defender of your people.  We know that when people come against us because of you that you are standing with us and for us, that is such a comfort.  We thank you for your word that shows us your faithfulness toward your people, a faithfulness that is seen by looking at how you have worked for the sake of your name's sake throughout history.  We thank you that you choose to work through us to continue to do your will in this world, help us to lean on you for the strength & courage to do what you ask.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  Share about a time when someone lashed out at you because they were suspicious of your intentions.  How did that impact you?  Have you specifically forgiven them?

3.  Share about a time when you felt God was fighting your battle on your behalf, giving you victory.  What did you learn from that?  How can you use your story to encourage others?

Life of David - Lesson 26

David keeps his Promises - 2 Samuel 9

Prayer: God we thank you once again for your scriptures & for the opportunity to come together and learn from them.  Helps us once again to learn from David's example. Amen!

Quickly Form Groups:

1.  Briefly have each person share a promise they've made that is tough to keep, pray for each.

David is firmly in place as King, at this time nobody is threatening his appointment, in fact most seem happy to have him; however, we're reading the narrative from the perspective of the winning side.  We know from our previous studies that Saul's army seemed pretty happy to be joining David's forces - though I'm sure there were some reservations.  So who's left that might not be happy with David being King?

Unlike other kings David didn't annihilate his predecessor's family.  Why didn't David annihilate them?  What happened to them?  In today's scriptures we're going to find out.

First, some background passages:  1 Samuel 20:12-17 & 1 Samuel 24:16-22

David had made two different oaths, what were the differences?

What were the similarities?

In David's oath to Saul he promised not to annihilate Saul's family, but in his oath to Jonathan he promised even more.  To Jonathan he promised not to annihilate the family (still Saul's family) but also not to cut off kindness to the family.  It is this promise to Jonathan that would have been on David's heart and mind that spurred him to action.

2 Samuel 9:1-3 - David is remembering his promise to Jonathan, and he is looking for a way to keep that promise.  So David's men found one of Saul's old servants and calls him in, Ziba was not just a servant but the chief steward of Saul's estate - he'd have been responsible for keeping the estate and knowing to whom it belonged.  Ziba informs David that one of Jonathan's sons still lives, and he's a cripple.  Saul likely had other descendants that still lived, but it is the descendants of Jonathan that interest David - remember it was Jonathan & not Saul who David promised to show kindness to his family.

Let's look back a few chapters & find out about Jonathan's son (2 Samuel 4:4).  He was 5 years old when he & his nurse fled because men who that thought they were supporting David (though acting against David's ways) were killing Saul's family.  Apparently while fleeing some sort of accident happened & Mephibosheth wound up crippled.

2 Samuel 9:4-5 - David finds out where Mephibosheth has been & sends for him.  The man that Mephibosheth is staying with is Makir, he is believed to be a wealthy benefactor of Mephibosheth - perhaps because of some kindness shown to his family by Jonathan or perhaps he is some sort of relation, we don't really know.  What we do know about Makir is that he later comes to the aid of David during a crisis (2 Samuel 17:27-29).  We also know that the place where Makir lives (Lo Debar) is far from Jerusalem , and far from Saul's family estate; in fact it is in the region of Gilead East of the Jordan River.  It is about 80 miles away from Jerusalem as the crow flies, but any direct path there would be through mountains & ravines & would involve crossing the Jordan. 

2 Samuel 9:6-7 - Mephibosheth honors David & calls himself David's servant, clearly indicating that he is no threat to David - you can imagine he may have had some misgivings about being brought before the king.  David appears excited to see him, the son of his best friend, and he may never have met Mephibosheth as a boy (due to Saul's pursuit) but is genuinely happy to meet Jonathan's son.  Mephibosheth is no longer a boy, he is a man with a son of his own (we'll see this later in the chapter).  David reassures him that he has nothing to fear, that kindness is being shown to him for Jonathan's sake, and that he's going to not only get back all of Saul's estate but he's also going to be a permanent guest at David's table.  Hospitality is a big deal in Middle Eastern cultures, so this is a major statement by David that Mephibosheth is always welcome at David's table. 

2 Samuel 9:8 - Mephibosheth calls himself a dead dog, and wonders aloud why David would bother to even notice him.  Let's take a look at his situation, he's a man who is unable to work because he's crippled - others have had to support him.  Not only that, he's the grandson of an evil king that tried to assassinate David several times, and family of ousted kings were usually just killed off.  The term "dead dog" would have deep significant meaning to a Jew of his time.

Copied from a Chronological Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publisher

2 Samuel 9:9-10 - David commands Ziba to not only hand over all of Saul's estate to Mephibosheth, but also to have his sons (15) & servants (20) farm the land in order to provide for Mephibosheth & his family.  Mephibosheth is suddenly raised from having to depend on charity to being a wealthy man.  Mephibosheth (and presumably his family) were to eat at the king's table as well.

2 Samuel 9:11-13 - Saul's lands would not have been far from Jerusalem because he was from the tribe of Benjamin & his capital city of Gibeah was within a couple miles of Jerusalem.  So Mephibosheth stayed in Jerusalem with his family & had Ziba's household caring for him - presumably the women would care for the needs in the home & the men would have been working the land.  If Gibeah hadn't been so close this would have been a difficulty for Ziba's family, but apparently it worked out well, and I'm guessing that David's generosity toward Mephibosheth also extended to Ziba's family. 

This passage is where we learn Mephibosheth has a young son named Mica.  Mica's descendants are listed in 1 Chronicles 8:35-39 - so the family of Johnathan continued on & thrived.

Mephibosheth had gone from the King's household, to a fallen state, and then restored to the King's household - David's actions in this passage are a beautiful example of Grace.  Mephibosheth wasn't worthy, wealthy, or beautiful - but he was treated with kindness & love.

Closing Prayer:  God help us to see others around us through your eyes, and help us to extend grace to all - even those (and perhaps especially those) we don't think deserve it.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.  Share about a time when someone surprised you with a kind or loving act.  How did that impact you?

3.  Think of someone you know that needs to be shown kindness & love.  What will you do, by the power of Jesus working in you, to demonstrate kindness & love to that person?

Life of David - Lesson 25

To God Be The Glory - 2 Samuel 8

Prayer: God, I thank you that you can take a passage that on the surface doesn't look particularly interesting & bring it to life through the power of your Holy Spirit.  I thank you that you did that with this passage for me, and I pray that through this study you continue to bring it to life by your power & to your glory. Amen!

Quickly Form Groups:

1.   Briefly have each person share something God is doing through their life, say a brief prayer of praise for what God is doing.

Where we left off: David is now King of Israel, he's established himself in Jerusalem, he's brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem & restored Jewish worship practices.  David would have liked to build a Temple for God, but God said no; however, God promised David an amazing legacy in the form of the Davidic Covenant.

When I first looked at today's passage I wasn't sure how to approach it, it seemed just like a list of accomplishments & not very interesting.  So I put the passage aside and prayed about it.  I don't know about you, but I'm not good at feeling defeated, so it colored my whole day gray.  That evening (Wed) at choir practice my friend Bev & I were praying together for some spoken requests, and without knowing it she prayed for my specific need - Praise God!!  The next day, still not sure how God was going to direct me, I decided to see if one of my devotional books had something on this passage - and one did (thank you Beth Moore), and it showed me some beautiful things in this passage.

This passage in my various Bibles is titled something on the order of "David's Victories", but in reality this passage is about God & His victories - so I've titled this lesson "To God Be The Glory".

I'm going to have us step back to a small scripture from our last lesson to get us into the right mindset.  2 Samuel 7:10-11 - God promises David, as part of the Davidic Covenant, that He will provide a home for His people Israel & that they would have rest from their enemies.  We see a promise like this & might think "ok, I've got it easy, I can just sit back & let God work".  That's not how God works!  God can work despite His people, but God prefers to work through His people, and in this case (in this chapter) we see God working through David.  I don't know about you, but I feel much more blessed seeing God work when I see Him work through me rather than just around me.  There's something so special knowing He cares enough about me to include me in what He's doing.

2 Samuel 8:1 - Over time God works through David to defeat & subdue their old enemies the Philistines.  Notice this doesn't happen instantly, and that David is cooperating with God to see God's plan fulfilled.

David was called by God to do battle for God & for God's nation Israel, David answered God's call - demonstrating a spirit of obedience & cooperation.

2 Samuel 8:2 - God continues to work through David, this time defeating the Moabites.  These are the descendants of Lot, another ancient enemy of Israel.  There is what sounds like a gruesome process David goes through with this group, he makes them lie down, measures them off, and kills off 2/3 of the people.  Let's take a look at this from the viewpoint of the common practices of the day, the common practice would be to annihilate the entire population of your enemy (leave no one to take revenge).  So David's act demonstrates Mercy & gives Hope to the Moabite people.  Just as David measured the Moabites to determine who would be granted life, God also measures people according to His standard - determining who will be granted eternal life.

2 Samuel 8:3-4 - David continues to defeat yet another enemy, this time fulfilling a promise to Abraham to extend the borders of Israel as far North as the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18).

Why do you think David hamstrung the horses?  When God set His law in place through Moses He knew there would eventually be kings over Israel, so He created laws for kings way before Israel had a king.  This is a 1/2 verse from those laws: Deuteronomy 17:16a, David was obeying God's law.  Another interesting thing about kings & horses: a king who rode in on a horse was considered a king of war, but a king who rode in on a donkey was considered a king of peace.  David's reign would eventually bring God's people into a time of peace & rest.

2 Samuel 8:5-14 - More battles, more victories, and I found it interesting that the same phrase is used in verses 6 & 14 "The Lord gave David victory wherever he went."  At this point in history David was walking with God & living an undefeated life, a life marked by excellence.

One evidence of his walk with God is what David did with the plunder from all these victories.  David took the plunder and dedicated it to God.  David demonstrated his dedication to God by repeatedly giving glory to God.  David knew that God was the source of his accomplishments, and his actions demonstrate a heart attitude of humility & devotion to God. 

2 Samuel 8:15 - David was a good king, he reigned over the people of Israel but didn't "lord it over" the people of Israel.  David displayed a desire for justice, and a love for his people.

2 Samuel 8:16-18 - Israel is becoming settled and growing strong, so David delegated work to trusted followers, setting up a government to govern over the various aspects of the life of the people of Israel.  This allowed David to continue to do with excellence the things God had called him to without being distracted by things that could be handled by others, demonstrating wisdom regarding the affairs of man.

Do you remember who the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7) would ultimately be fulfilled through? Look at the traits of David that we've seen in this passage, who do they remind you of?

• demonstrating a spirit of obedience & cooperation
• demonstrates Mercy & gives Hope
• reign would eventually bring God's people into a time of peace & rest
• walking with God & living an undefeated life, a life marked by excellence
• demonstrated his dedication to God by repeatedly giving glory to God
• actions demonstrate a heart attitude of humility & devotion to God
• displayed a desire for justice, and a love for his people
• delegated work to trusted followers
• demonstrating wisdom regarding the affairs of man

No wonder he's called a man after God's own heart!!

Closing Prayer:  Lord, I am humbled by the traits I see listed, and I very much desire to have these same traits demonstrated in my life.  Lord, I pray that you would be at work in and through each of us, making us men & women after your own heart.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again:

2.   God is calling you to cooperate with Him in doing His will.  What has God called you to?  Where do you see God at work & how might you join God in getting His work done?  

3.   Which trait of David inspires you?  Which trait do you most want God to develop in you?

Don't cry over spilled milk… NOT!

I was praying for someone the other day, and while praying the expression “don’t cry over spilled milk” popped into my head.  I decided that expression is wrong... Let me explain... I was praying for a woman who is angry because her marriage is breaking up, not her fault, and her soon-to-be-ex is being cruel.

Sometimes life is messy, sometimes things break that can’t be fixed (or at least can’t be fixed without leaving scars)...

Think about Spilled Milk... the Milk is no longer any good - what was meant to be a nutritious beverage to help us have and keep strong bones is now simply a mess all over the table or floor... I guess it would be fine for a cat or dog, but in human terms its no longer of any good use.  The mess can be cleaned, but the Milk can not be recovered and put back to its original use.

Then I thought, what if you didn’t just spill but dropped the whole glass, and it didn’t just make a milky mess but a milky mess with glass shards mixed in... not only is the milk no good, clean-up can be down right dangerous!  In trying to clean up the mess you can get cut... perhaps deeply...

This woman’s marriage is like spilled milk... her life, and the lives of her family, will never be the same.  This marriage which was intended to bless her life now not only has no value but is causing deep cuts & pain.

She has a mess on her hands, a mess caused by someone else, a mess that is causing serious injury - to her and to her family.  This is something that should be causing tears, but instead she’s focused on anger... the anger is making the mess worse, it is causing more injury, and it is keeping this family from healing.

This woman needs to cry, I know, I’ve been through this sort of mess myself... what she doesn’t need is to try to mask her pain with anger.   Does this mean she doesn’t get angry over her situation?  Of course not!  Anger is an appropriate response to the situation; however, until she lets go of the anger and deals with the pain she’s not going to find the healing her heart needs.

So I say go ahead and cry over spilled milk... better to shed our tears to the one who captures them in a bottle than to bottle them up and end up an angry mess...

Psalm 56:8 - You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?

Revelation 21:4 - and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.

How does your garden grow?

I’m a gardener, and I love to tend my garden, but every season something in my garden just doesn’t behave.  Oh, and I guess I should confess I have a bit of a perfectionist streak in me as well... 

I was thinking about how my gardens are so much like life.  Just when you think you’ve got everything the way you’d like there are weeds, and if not weeds its sick or dying plants, or maybe a plant that gets too big for its place... And don’t get me started on storms...

I don’t know why I place unrealistic expectations on my garden... and even more why I place unrealistic expectations on life!

We’re not promised easy lives in this world, in fact we’re promised the opposite!!

John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 15:18-20 - If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

I love my imperfect garden, it gives me great joy - even if I do have to keep weeding & transplanting & trimming... This helped me to reflect on God’s work in our lives as believers, His work of sanctification.  He has to pull things out of our lives, transplant His ways into our hearts, and trim back the excess... all to get us to be the people He designed us to be... and it brings Him joy to work in our lives!

Philippians 1:6 - ...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

(I hope you've enjoyed a stroll through my garden)