Gadfly's Muse

2 Samuel 17 & 18: Double, Double, Toil & Trouble

Image: Urquhart Castle Ruins, 2016, Loch Ness, Scotland

2 Samuel 17:14 (NKJV) 14 So Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring disaster on Absalom.

2 Samuel 17:23 (NKJV) 23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb.

2 Samuel 18:9 (NKJV) 9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

Job 14:1 (NKJV) 14 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.

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Sometimes it is not good to be king.  As we read these sections of 2 Samuel it appears that David is continuously weeping.  Everywhere he looks things are falling apart.  His son Absalom has raised his flag against him and for a time it looked like David would lose his throne.  He has not been entirely deserted, there are troops with him and a few loyal friends.  David uses one of these, Hushai, for the very dangerous and sophisticated mission of undermining the influence and counsel given to Absalom by Ahithophel.  This proved to be the turning point of the crisis because Hushai not only swayed Absalom from following Ahithophel's solid military advice, which might very well have won the day, but also was able to send warnings to David allowing him time to escape over the Jordan with his troops as well as recruit new soldiers for his army.

The story is straightforward and I will not simply recount all that happens.  At this point just notice that, as I said in a previous post, Ahithophel, who was once David's valued adviser, winds up hanging himself in despair.  David's son Absalom is shamefully caught up in the branches of a tree, most probably hanging by his hair, and is brutally killed by Joab and his servants.  20,000 men died in the battle.

This episode closes with David grieving over his son.  2 Samuel 18:33 sums it up: 33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”  We simply cannot fail to hear the pathos and deep sorrow in this verse.   David is surrounded by death and, when push comes to shove, he has to admit that he pretty much brought it on himself.

It appears to me that God is reinforcing His previous teachings by adding these details to this heart-breaking story.  We tend to forget that these Biblical characters who appear so larger than life in some stories (e.g. David and Goliath) were yet very real, very human characters.  David's pathetic composure does not appeal to his fierce warrior leaders who consider it unmanly and weak, as we shall see, but we have to remember that David was a man of deep emotion.  He was a sensitive, poetic, musical, contemplative thinker prone to movements of the soul that sometimes got him in trouble.  I think he retained a somewhat child-like simplicity at his deepest core.  As a young child will often weep uncontrollably when he has offended his parents and he hates them being angry at him, so I think much of David's unsettled behavior here is because he is mourning over his loss of God's special providential love.  David, in many ways, feels the distance between himself and His Father in heaven... and he sees that as overflowing into the toils and troubles that now "attendeth his way."

Hell is separation from God.  Yes it is a physical/spiritual state of being that is portrayed for us in scripture as bringing deep agony. But is also described as "darkness" (Mat. 8:12; 22:13).  God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all so therefore, the "outer darkness" is the condition in which no benevolent experience of God is possible.  What David went through in this passage and what many of us have experienced in our own lives, is a taste of Hell.  The "weeping and gnashing of teeth" that those in Hell exhibit is the fullest expression of the same soul anguish that can come over us when we truly encounter the horror of sin in our lives or the world around us.

When we consider that our Lord has delivered us from Eternal Hell then we might also reflect on His salvation as freeing us from present despair also.  There is a place for grief... but it cannot consume us as it does those in Hell.  Our Christ has given us hope even in the face of grief... even when, in our heart of hearts, we know that we have brought it on ourselves.

2 Samuel 15 & 16: David, His Son and His True Son

Image: Plunging Downward, 2016, Vicinity of Gatlinburg, Tn.

2 Samuel 15:4 (NKJV) 4 Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.”

2 Samuel 15:14 (NKJV) 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

2 Samuel 16:13 (NKJV) 13 And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust.

2 Samuel 16:23 (NKJV) 23 Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

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Nothing God does is without significance.  There are no superfluous verses or stories in our Scriptures.  David's life was comprised of many more details than Scripture records and we must remember that the Holy Spirit ensured that the stories and details He wanted preserved were what was written down.  Therefore we must see Absalom's coup d'etat and  David's flight as being important in God's purposes.  They are there "for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope" (Romans 15:4).  

We should appreciate the detailed account of the coup for its historical insight.  Any reader of history will recognize the pattern of insurrection here followed.  We see Absalom patiently building name recognition for himself as a man who would bring justice to the nation (15:4).  Absalom is playing on the resentment present among the tribes toward Judah.  It seems that the Judeans had more access to the king because of family and history while the other tribes of Israel were second because there was no "deputy of the king to hear you."  Absalom is building himself up among the tribes by playing on their sense of injustice.

He systematically works out his plan.  After forty years he makes his play.  He asks to go to Hebron to pay a vow.  He, as the king's son has some rank and he invites two hundred important men from the city to go with him.  David is left without his general allies though they (15:10) did not know what game was afoot.  

The details keep piling up but there is no room to repeat it here.  The bottom line is that Absalom's scheme works perfectly.  He issues a call to arms, men start gathering around him, David is made aware of what's happening and sees himself isolated and defenseless.  Rather than hunker down behind the walls of Jerusalem he flees so to avoid costly bloodshed.  It was a noble act.

The details of David's flight are important also.  We should note that, like Judas did with Jesus, he is betrayed by one of his inner circle, Ahithophel (who, also like Judas, later hangs himself - 17:23).  David runs a gauntlet of shame, enduring the cursing and taunts of Shemei.  Shemei's tossing rocks at David was a symbolic death penalty of stoning.  So, our Lord Christ would endure such taunts and shaming as He ascended to His place of execution.  Like David, Jesus did not answer the charges against Him either.

So, there are lots of contacts here with other central teachings of Scripture.  But like Peter Leithart in his exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel ("A Son to Me"), I think David's life circumstances in these chapters are a foreshadowing, a warning if you will, for all of Israel.  David embodies Israel.  In his day he was "Israel" as their covenant head.  But because of his sin he fell from his high place and in due time God works judgment on him as He would work judgment on all Israel later on.  David is taken from his capitol city, the place where the ark and the tabernacle were present, hence the close fellowship of God, and driven into the wilderness... into exile.

David's story, of course, does not end here but there are too many parallels with the life of Jesus as well as the history of Israel to just pass over.  The Lord carefully preserves the route of David's retreat.  He ascends the Mount of Olives where our Lord will spend some of His last hours.  He escapes to the East which is away from God in Biblical metaphysics.  The Israelites journeyed East to Babylon in their exile.  David's path and his encounters along that path are essentially a reverse order account of his coming to Jerusalem to ascend to the throne.  God systematically demonstrates that the pathway down is the same as the pathway up.  This is a picture of judgment as David is reminded of the Lord's goodness early on but now, to his shame, he sees that "goodness" be taken from him.

What we should gain from this is a high perspective on God's eternal counsel and acts.  The Scriptures essentially "recapitulate" the same story over and over again as God repeats Himself in His dealings with us.  Certainly the details differ and exact metaphorical correspondence is not present.  But what we see is, as in the Revelation of John, that there is a certain "sameness" in God's handling of things.  We should take this for our instruction.  When we sing "Thou changest not, Thy compassions fail not" (Hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness) we should bear in mind that our God is treating us in continuity with the way that He has dealt with men and women since the dawn of time. 

If we sin we can expect that God, though like with David He may show us mercy and restoration (His compassion), will visit us with clear reminders of what our sin has brought about on us.  If our pride, as with David, is so consuming, then our fall may be as great as his.  Our Lord teaching that "Of him to whom much is given, much is required" can be taken on several levels and not the least is that the higher we rise the more painful may be our fall.  

But even in our darkest hour, as it was here with David, we must cling to our Savior.  For what Scriptures shows us over and over, is that in His time He lifts His chastening hand from us and bids us again draw near to Him.  Thank God for that.

I Am Thankful

Image: Thanksgiving, 2019, Severna Park, MD

Isaiah 25:1 (NKJV) 

25 O LORD, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

I am indeed thankful for the "wonderful things" God has done:

I am thankful for friends who are family... and family who are friends

I am thankful for a warm house... with indoor plumbing... and hot water!

I am thankful for the bounty of this land that I can partake of: good food, a degree of peace and security.

I am thankful for all those who make all this bounty possible and protect it both here and abroad

I am thankful for the health I have enjoyed and the degree of health I retain

I am thankful that I live in a time when medical care is the best it has ever been

I am thankful for warm memories of those who have passed on: parents, siblings, friends 

I am thankful for the effect those parents, siblings and friends have had on me

I am thankful for the grace of God which is ultimately the source of all these blessings

I am thankful for the earthly life, death, resurrection and risen reign of the Lord Jesus Christ,

For it is through Him, by Him and unto Him that are all good things

I am thankful for the hope I have in the face of death, whether mine or in those beloved, 

that is secured in our Christ.

Thank you O God... for You have done wonderful things...

For me!

1 Samuel 13 & 14: Sin Wrought Debilitation

Image: Redoubt 10, Yorktown Battlefield, 2013 

2 Samuel 13:4 (NKJV) 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

2 Samuel 13:14–15 (NKJV) 14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!”

2 Samuel 13:28–29 (NKJV) 28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.” 29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled.

2 Samuel 14:13–14 (NKJV) 13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

2 Samuel 14:33 (NKJV) 33 So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.

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Redoubt 10 secured the British left flank at Yorktown as they faced the combined forces of General George Washington and his French Allies.  In the harbor at their back lay a French fleet that prevented any escape to the Chesapeake Bay.  The situation was dire.  General Cornwallis, the British general, was no coward nor was he an inept leader but his once proud army now lay in shambles.  When he looked out over his ramparts on October 14, 1871 he saw the despised colors of Washington's Colonial army flying over Redoubt 10.  During the night, the negro soldiers under the Marquis De Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton had stealthy crept up to the redoubt with only bayonets on their rifles.  They swept over the surprised defenders and took the redoubt.  Cornwallis knew it was over.  This stiff, aristocratic British nobleman had been deprived of the honor he otherwise would have gained... by a bunch of ragged (some with no shoes) colonials including, of all things, Negroes.  He was helpless to do anything about it.

David, in these chapters, show that same, almost pitiable, sense of helplessness.  He sees his son, perhaps his favorite son at that time, Amnon, commit the very same sin that he, David, had committed with Bathsheba.  Amnon uses his position and strength to entice his brother Absalom's half-sister Tamar to his bedside and then brutally rapes her.  There are so many overtones here.  There was another Tamar who had lured Amnon's great forefather Judah to her bed.  Amnon uses the same kind of enticing words as Potiphar's wife did to Joseph.  Tamar, here, appears to be virtuous.  She genuinely resists Amnon and is overcome.  Then, to complete his degrading treatment of her, he despises her for what he himself had done.  He banishes her from his house and she is completely shamed in the eyes of that world.

David essentially does nothing.  He, like Eli before him and like Aaron before that, does not take charge of his son and does not punish this awful, incestuous sin that Amnon has committed.  Here we see David, like Cornwallis, helpless in the face of his own sin.  How can he punish Amnon for doing what he himself had done.  (Amnon may have been his eldest son and may possibly have been intended to follow him to the throne.)

Absalom, also David's son and Tamar's half-brother, was disgusted and furious.  Like his forefathers, Jacob's sons, when they saw that their sister Dinah had been defiled by Shechem, a Hivite (Genesis 34), he undertook bloody revenge and kills his half-brother Amnon.  David is distraught... but he does basically nothing.  After all, was it not he who undertook to have Uriah killed at the hands of other men?  Absalom is sent away in semi-exile but no action was taken that was commensurate with the crime.  David's own failure to judge righteously as king first and father second was the real reason why Absalom took matters into his own hand.  David, the previously great and strong leader, has been debilitated by his own sin.

Absalom works his way back into David's forgiveness though it was far from heartfelt on either party's side.  When confronted with his sin by Joab's maneuvering, David calls Absalom back to Jerusalem and chapter 14 closes with David kissing Absalom.  In chapter 15 we will see that Absalom held his father in contempt and it is pretty apparent that his contempt started in these two chapters and was, to some extent, justified.

Let's just step back for a moment and gaze sadly at the debilitating effects of sin.  Look at how the strong decisive leader that unhesitatingly took on Goliath and showed great wisdom and patience in dealing with Saul, is now pretty much being played by his primary servant Joab and his own son Absalom.  Sin became like a cancer eating away at David's core moral being.  He was forgiven by God to the extent of an assured eternal salvation but the present effects of sin, on himself, were not taken away.  David never becomes the man "he used to be."  Perhaps we ought to take his example to heart.

We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, our Lord teaches.  We are not to sin against them because we love them.  Nor should we, in loving ourselves, sin to our own harm. There are great rewards to righteousness, not the least of which is a clear conscience which enables firm and decisive action.  Thank God, that through Christ, our sins are forgiven eternally but also, through the Holy Spirit we can hope for restoration through sincere repentance.  God will treat us justly in this and that is all we can ask.

 

Reflections on Bavinck: The Relation of Doctrine (Dogmatics) To Knowledge of God

Image: "God Rays", 2015, original Dave Johanson, Edited Arch Van Devender

Reference:

Bavinck, H., Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. I, p. 5-58, The Science of Dogmatic Theology

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

John 17:1–3 (NKJV) 17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

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Herman Bavinck's Magnum Opus, "Reformed Dogmatics" is principally concerned with developing the relation between "knowing God" and propositional truths as revealed in Scripture.  He specifically seeks to establish theology as a science that stands alongside and consistent with all forms of "science" as understood and practiced by human endeavor.  In developing his thesis Bavinck appears to have points of contact with a later theologian Gordon Clark who essentially equates "Saving Faith" to knowledge and acceptance of the propositional truths taught in Scripture. 

Bavinck specifically addresses another, common enough, idea that "faith" itself is identical to "knowledge" of God in that, as taught by a contemporary German theologian, "dogmatics" is the formulation and systematic exposition of the content of "faith."  Bavinck disagrees with this in a "chicken and egg" distinction in that "doctrine" (Dogmatics) precedes faith and furnishes content to it.  Bavinck's intent, as the particular theologian also agreed, was to argue against "piety" or "experience" as being the foundation on which the Christian doctrines are to rest.  There is much in this discussion that is relevant to the current trends in Evangelical Christianity.

I think the relation of "knowledge of God" to propositional truths about God is a topic upon which Christians need to reflect and gain clarity and indeed, certainty in ordinary discipleship and proclamation.

What I believe must be understood is that "knowledge" of God is not confined to truths about God but must always be defined in a more comprehensive fashion.  The Hebrews passage above teaches us that there is indeed a foundational premise regarding faith and "knowing God."  If the first act of "coming to God", and hence, knowing God, is "believing that He is" then there is a character of this believing that is not in opposition to the objective truth of God's existence as clearly taught in Scripture but is more subjectively "taught" to the individual by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  As the WCF teaches us the truths of Scripture are not properly appropriated by the individual until "the inward work of the Holy Spirit" moves the person's will and intellect to understand them as true.  

This "testimony" of the Holy Spirit can properly be classified as a form of "subjective revelation" and as the WCF correctly affirms it is from this testimony that "full persuasion and assurance" flows.  We would not be remiss, I believe, in stating that this "full persuasion" is, in many respects, identical with "knowledge of God."  Thus "knowledge of God" as spoken of in Biblical terms (cf. John 17:1-4) is both experiential (subjective knowledge) and objective (normative knowledge) and the two cannot be separated without grave implications for ordinary Christian discipleship.  John Frame goes further in his "The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God" to state that the inseparable relation between Normative, Subjective / Existential and Situational perspectives must be fully present before a person can truly affirm that he "knows God."

Thus "faith" is far more than simple confession that what the Bible teaches is true.  It is an all embracing sphere of existence in which the individual "knows" all things, including the created universe and himself/herself in it, in terms of the Triune God.  There is inherently a "relationship" that is implicit here.  This relationship is Biblically expounded as "covenant" and is spoken of in various ways.  There is a covenant God has with creation.  There is a covenant God has with His people.  There is the eternal covenant relation between and within the Triune God.  To "know God" is to know Him in covenant terms even if the individual is not acquainted with those doctrines.  

Thus ethics (situational perspective), theology proper (normative truths about God) and the subjective impact on the individual (existential perspective) are all necessary to the knowledge of God.  They can never be separated other than in a logical, analytical categorization because each perspective is present in all the others.  

Bavinck's work here is not being rejected, he brings much to the table, but, as did Clark, I hope that he does not necessarily truncate this most vital aspect of Christian discipleship and proclamation.

 

2 Samuel 11 & 12: Sin & Death

Image: Fallen, 2007, UN Cemetery, Seoul, SK

2 Samuel 11:16–17 (NKJV) 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

2 Samuel 11:27 (NKJV) 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

2 Samuel 12:9–12 (NKJV) 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”

A thousand "atta-boys" does not make up for one "screw-up."

In a more colorful form that was a common saying in my Navy days.  The proverb generally held true.  No matter how many times you landed an airplane successfully or even magnificently, that ONE time when you landed or tried to land "wheels up" would define your career, what was left of it, from that point on.  (No, I never forgot to lower my landing gear.)

Certainly the proverb is true for David... in spades.  A man "after God's own heart", riding the crest of power, authority, fame and good will among his people, conscious of God's preserving and benevolent hand in his life in all things, yet he looks long and hard at a naked woman when he should have averted his eyes.  He sends for her after discovering her name and that she was married to a Hittite named Uriah.  He takes her to his bed and in the course of time she becomes pregnant.  

David sees a way out that does not speak very highly of his affection for this woman, Bathsheba.  He calls her husband home for a while... plies him with liquor and good food for a few days... with the not unreasonable expectation that he would go sleep with his wife.  That would let David off the hook.  Bathsheba would simply say that the baby was Uriah's.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!"  That's another truism and boy is it descriptive of David's doings in these chapters.  As far as I can tell a form of insanity must have come over his brain.  This was the man who refused to take Saul's life, twice, when it was in his grasp.  In all of his dealings to this point he has acted honorably on the whole.  Yes, he was a man of passion; most outstanding leaders are.  But in this episode it is not his brain that is dictating his actions and the flesh exerts powerful influences over our lives.  David was simply acting irrationally... this is a pretty good definition of sin.

When the deception didn't work because Uriah was more righteous, as a foreigner, than was David, God's own king, David switched to plan B.  He orders Joab as leader of his army to put Uriah in a place of extreme danger.  He orders Joab to violate even the most common maxim in military operations:  Do not have a bunch of infantry exposed to protected missile fire.  Joab follows orders and Uriah and other valuable military men are killed.  David is guilty of murder.  (Joab was also in the last analysis.)  David is now an adulterer, a deceiver and a murderer.  How the mighty have fallen.

The wages of sin is death.  That fundamental moral law has been in place since the Garden of Eden.  If there was no sin in the world there would be no death.  Since all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God it is right and just for all of us to go through physical death.  Death came down on the house of David that day.  God tells David (vs. 11) that "I will raise up adversity against you from your own house..."  This is very reminiscent of the curse on Adam where he was told that for all of his endeavors "thorns and brambles" would grow in the fields he plants.  Trouble, heartache and more sin are also wages of sin.

David shows what good sense he has remaining by repenting right away.  His pitiful interceding with God was to no avail and his son (vs. 19) dies.  There is no injustice here.  The son did not "pay" for David's sin.  He was born mortal and God has every right to require the life of any of His creatures whenever He so decrees.  I cannot speak authoritatively but there is a sense in which this boy was spared the heartache of his own sin.  I think God probably showed him grace and that at some point the son greeted his father when David also died.

All of this comes down to some of the most basic truths in all of Scripture.  Sin is deadly.  It warps our minds, degrades our will, substitutes lies for truth and gives us irrational fantasies of being able to "get away with it."  Sin is always a movement away from God and toward ourselves.  Its central motive force is "me" registering in "I want..."  Only when we are constantly reminding ourselves that sin is ugly and dark do we have any hope of fighting against it.  David did not do that and he lived to regret it immensely.

 

 

 

 

2 Samuel 8-10: Causing All Things to Work Together for Good....

Image: Interlocking Patterns, 2007, Seoul, South Korea

2 Samuel 8:13–14 (NKJV) 13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

2 Samuel 9:13 (NKJV) 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

2 Samuel 10:19 (NKJV) 19 And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

In chapters 8-10 we see God carefully working to establish David in authority and wisdom as His king over Israel.  

David was a warrior king and we must not be surprised that these chapters are heavily weighted in military events.  In both chapters 8 & 10 David is required to fight against the neighboring nations.  That was just a fact of life in a region that has been subjected to violent conflict throughout recorded history.  The other nations were jealous, certainly, but there was economic and political issues at stake.  David's Kingdom controlled vital trade routes and sea ports.  His domain completely surrounded the Philistines.  He owned important sea ports along the Mediterranean coast.  Only Tyre and Sidon had more ports and they, like the Philistines were surrounded by Israel or her vassal states (Syria as detailed in these chapters).  The interior lands had to pay to travel the trade routes either to/from the port cities or the important highway to Egypt.  David, through the Lord's provision for His Covenant People, was sitting pretty.  The price he had to pay was "eternal vigilance" as the saying goes.

 That David was able to establish this strategic prominence in the very "presence" of his enemies (cf. Psalm 23) was clearly due to God's special love and provision for him.  All Israel and, to some extent, all the surrounding nations knew this.  None knew it better than David in these chapters.  In Chapters 8-10 we see the height of David's reign both spiritually and physically.  It is my premise that these two aspects cannot ever be separated.  God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28)

We see David's Divinely inspired statecraft at work in chapter 9.  The remaining heir of Saul's heritage was the somewhat sad figure of Mephibosheth.  David, as he should have, was aware that any legitimate (in the eyes of men) challenge to his throne would come from that house.  Following Don Corleone's precept that "one should keep your friends close and your enemies closer" (The Godfather), he finds out who among Saul's sons were still around and engages to "show the kindness of God" (9:3).  Here we see David using the very character of God as a guide for his own actions.  This is a powerful lesson for us.  

David restores the house of Saul to its original holdings thus preserving Saul's portion in the Promised Land in accordance with Mosaic law.  But lest that very wealth serve as a snare for ambition within that family, David requires the head of that family, Mephibosheth, to dwell in David's "house" and eat at his table.  Mephibosheth thus was essentially a hostage though benevolently held.  God was guiding David's hand in all that he did, both militarily and politically.  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly (those who would have just had Mephibosheth eliminated)... but whose delight is in the Law of God (cf. Psalm 1).  

I think we can glean some important lessons from this overview.

Faith in God is not just unto our eternal salvation.  A wholehearted "giving over to God" in all things is the pathway to wisdom.  It carries over into the entire complexity of our lives.  

Life in this fallen world is often confusingly complex.  Like the interlocking patterns in the image there often does not appear to be any unity or clarity to how things that we may encounter come together to make a whole.  Faith, guiding us, gives us the insight into how to deal with our lives throughout their entire range so as to bring clarity to it.

Faith simplifies; Sin makes complexity (as we shall see starting in the next chapter).  If we follow David's example we can see how, even in our fallen-ness, God will cause things to sort themselves out.  Every day, whatever comes our way, provides the opportunities and the challenge of translating God's wisdom into practical application.  This is the Christian's vocation.  Our Lord walked circumspectly through the maze of human life and always, without fail, followed this strategy.  In His humanity He faced the same complex world as did David and as do we, and surrounded by enemies on every side and the necessity of navigating very human challenges from those around him, yet He proved that God does work to uphold, sustain and guide our steps.

Each day and every thing in them does not have to overwhelm us.  We just have to deal with whatever comes our way, trusting in God's promises and submitting to His righteous guidance and, like David, we can find that He will bring order out of the chaos and establish us, like David, as living proofs of His covenant relation with us.  

The "chief end of man" is to glorify God... that is our vocation.  It is also to "delight in Him forever" that is our subjective reality as we do it.  Let us renew our intentions to so do.  It is the pathway of peace.

2 Samuel 7: Thou Hast Promised Good To Me!

Image: Comforting Presence, 2005, Ocean City, Md

2 Samuel 7:28–29 (NKJV) 28 “And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 29 Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

Let it be known that I am not much of a "beach person."  My preferred "happy place" is a rocky outcrop on some high mountain overlooking a pleasant valley.  That being said, like the couple in the image, there is something very peaceful about walking next to a benign ocean.  There must be waves, the ambiance demands it, but the fresh salt breeze, the rhythmic lapping splash and the calling sea birds are ideal for meditation and re-invigoration.  The mighty limitless ocean, so scary in its anger, is yet a comforting reassurance that life goes on under the Lord's constant supervision and puny though we may be, He has promised good to us.

David in chapter 7 is swept up in the Lord's goodness to him.  At first, this swelling emotion prompts him to "build a house" for the Lord.  "Why should I live in a beautiful house of cedar when the Lord's tabernacle is a "mere" tent", he wonders.  He inquires of Nathan the prophet whether this is wise.  David doesn't want to appear presumptuous.  Nathan speaks on his own and says that it sounds like a good idea.  However Nathan in a dream is instructed otherwise by the Lord.  God reminds David that He has been just fine dwelling in a tent since the days of Moses and He will continue to do so for a while.

But in this dream the Lord goes further.  He promises, covenants, with David and through David, to Israel, to bring about a Great King through David's house.  From David's very own body will come a "Seed" whose Kingdom God will establish and this Kingdom and David's throne will be established forever.

In verses 12-16 there is a blending of near term and far term prophecy.  God will give David a son, Solomon, who will in fact build a "house" for God (vs. 13) and God goes on to say that "if he commits iniquity I will chasten him."  Solomon is a "type" of the coming "Seed of David" who will in no wise commit iniquity.  God's prophecy given to Nathan is to be seen "through" the life of Solomon but the promise of verse 16, that David's house and his kingdom and his throne will be established forever is not tied to Solomon but the One who was coming, of whom Solomon was not worthy to tie the laces on His sandals.

David's thanksgiving to God starting in verse 18 is a model of prayer that we would do well to emulate in our own soul expression before God.  It is a marvelously humble prayer, especially for a king.  David wonders how God could be so loving to him.  "Who am I, O Lord God?" he cries out that you would bless me this way.  "Who is like Your people, Israel... that has been chosen by You to redeem for Yourself and to make Your name great!  They have been made Your People and You have become their God!"

Brothers and sisters this is covenant prayer at its very best.  The sheer, astonishing significance of God entering into a covenant with us... as a corporate people and as individuals... should humble us in tearful gratitude.  Like the limitless ocean God has resources and power beyond our imagination and yet He covenants with us... by name... to do good for us.

David does what all of us should do.  He humbles himself before the wisdom of God and God's amazing grace and he says:"O God, let it be so!"  I don't deserve it... I will never deserve it... but it is what You have willed to do and it is mine only to reach out and rejoice in it.  "Thou hast promised good to me!  Thy Word my hope secures" (paraphrase from the hymn Amazing Grace) and I will live securely in that hope.  

Our lives become like a walk along the beach, with the unending witness of the Lord's Presence always there, reminding us that He has promised good to us... and He will do it.

 

 

2 Samuel 5 & 6: A God Worthy To Be Exalted

Image: Glory, 2013, Gunpowder Falls State Park, Md

2 Samuel 5:11–12 (NKJV) 11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. 12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

2 Samuel 6:6–7 (NKJV) 6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 

2 Samuel 6:21 (NKJV) 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD.

David is established as God's King over all Israel (5:1-3)  Everyone appeared to know it without a shadow of a doubt.  He has a nice long reign (33 years) and just as it was the Lord's work to sit him on that throne it will be Lord's hand that keeps him there.  David, for all his faults and mistakes, knew this and especially in these chapters at the beginning of his rule over the unified state of Israel.

Sometimes God just "blows us away" with His awesomeness. 

David makes short work of conquering his capitol city of Jerusalem.  The sheer brevity of the account proves it is the Lord's work when we remember that the tribe of Judah never took the city during the period of the judges.  What a triumph that was.  Imagine how David must have felt when he entered those gates and knew that from henceforth Zion would be the City of our God!

Hiram of Tyre was quick to ingratiate himself to this new and surging monarch.  He sends cedar trees and carpenters and masons to build David a house.  David saw this also as further proof (5:12) of God's hand exalting His own kingdom and also saw that it was not just his, David's, person for whom God did this but "for the sake of His people Israel."  David rejoiced in God's covenant faithfulness to himself and God's people.  That's something to sing about.

The Philistines sought to diminish the glory of what was happening by invading the land again, twice.  They were probably pretty confident having only recently defeated Saul's army decisively, but now they are brought up short in no uncertain terms.  David inquires of the LORD and God tells him "Go get 'em" and he does. The Philistines are run out of town with more than just bloody noses.  David in his stronghold, with a battle hardened army, knows that he will now go from glory to glory as the Lord continues to sustain and empower him in his rule.  That's something to sing about also.

It was only natural then that the LORD's ark be brought to Jerusalem so that His Presence would be there with David and he could worship and seek counsel even more closely.  The story of the ark's movement from Baale Judah (6:1,2) shows that David intended to make this a national celebration.  He took 30,000 "choice men" with him to bring the ark.  There was to be no repeat of the ark being captured this time. 

Along the way the tragic story of Uzzah's transgression in touching the ark reminded David that God was not someone to be taken lightly.  He did not need human help to "steady" His mercy seat.  David was duly frightened and disappointed.  Uzzah's death put a damper on his parade.  He was not sure what God was telling him so he stops short of Jerusalem and leaves the scary ark at the house of Obed-Edom, a Gittite.  David wanted to see what would happen.  He wasn't taking any chances on taking God's will for granted.  When the house of Obed-Edom was blessed because of the ark, David saw that God was not angry at him so he gathered his courage and brought the ark into Jerusalem.

But now, with his assurance restored, David gave himself over to ecstasy.  This was a great day.  God's Presence was coming to his city... the city of David... the holy city of God.  He celebrated along the entire length of the progression, offering sacrifices, playing music, singing and dancing.  This was a joyous celebration of the goodness of God and the glory that He had bestowed on His people, on David and on Himself.

We must not see this procession as a worship service.  David and the people of God were celebrating a national holiday.  Dancing was OK.  Rejoicing was in order.  And complete immersion in the joy of the occasion is entirely consistent with David's emotional character and the expression of thanksgiving.  How many of the Psalms reflect this same heart-felt emotional release?  This was not the time for solemn, "frozen chosen" reserve.  It was time for a party and David partied.

David's wife Michal proves to be a bit too snobbish for her own good.  She reproves David for his ecstatic conduct and David takes the opportunity to remind her of what was happening.  "It was before the LORD, who chose me... to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel.  Therefore I WILL play music before the LORD."  Michal pays for her hypocrisy and is relegated to insignificance in David's house for her action.  She never had children "to the day of her death." (6:23)

What should we glean from this?

I think that this episode should remind us that our God is worthy of whole scale delight.  God has designed us human beings to rejoice in His goodness, in all aspects of our lives.  There is a place for singing joyously.   There is a place for dancing with glee (Eccl. 3:4).  We ought to be so caught up in His great blessings on us that, when appropriate, we give ourselves completely to expressing our wonder, delight and thankfulness for being the objects of His blessing.

Away with false sophistication and reserve!  He is our God and like David we must say "I WILL play before Him."  Worship services are constrained in how we may do this.  They are to be orderly and not chaotic.  Dancing is not appropriate there.  But the same sense of total release into His glory should be there also.  And outside the worship service... let the party begin.

 

 

2 Samuel 3 & 4: No Tree Like It

Image: Alone In The Garden, 2018, Dole Plantation, Hi

2 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV)  3 Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2 Samuel 3:28–29 (NKJV) 28 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “My kingdom and I are guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”

2 Samuel 4:11 (NKJV) 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?”

Ezekiel 31:8–9 (NKJV) 8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it;  The fir trees were not like its boughs, And the chestnut trees were not like its branches; No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty. 9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches, So that all the trees of Eden envied it, That were in the garden of God.’

These two chapters detail the manner in which David's pathway to undisputed kingship over Israel is cleared of obstacles.  It is a pretty sordid narrative.  David proves to be pretty adept at statecraft.  He manages to keep himself distant from the assassinations which happen around him.  We should notice how he walks a fine line in doing so.

First we have Abner's abdication of his position in Saul's house.  I don't think Abner was all that impressed with Ishbosheth, Saul's son and the anointed ruler of Israel.  Abner was not a man to respect weakness and Ishbosheth comes across as pretty spineless and inept.  When Abner was accused of sleeping with Saul's concubine he becomes enraged and storms off to ally himself with David.  By this time, as 3:1 tells us the long war between the house of David and the house of Saul was showing a decided shift toward David.  Abner, as the commanding general of Israel's forces, had to bear some responsibility for that but he probably saw an opportunity to not only survive the war to David's eventual victory but also to perhaps gain some position in David's subsequent kingdom.  In other words, I think he saw the writing on the wall and committed treason against his sworn king Ishbosheth.  Such is the unprincipled behavior of ambitious men.

Second, we see David embracing Abner.  This was a purely political and militarily strategic decision.  David had to recognize Abner's character and he probably knew that Abner would be a difficult man to tame but he would be invaluable if the war continued.  Abner's presence alongside David would inspire other members in Ishbosheth's army to defect also... perhaps even to the point of turning on their own forces during battle.  David welcomed Abner and told him to go and raise up more forces to join David's army.  Here we see David taking a calculated risk... the essence of strong leadership.

Third, we see Joab taking unsanctioned revenge against the killer of his brother.  David is again faced with a difficult situation.  He needed Joab but he could not tolerate insubordination and impulsive behavior among his generals.  What is interesting, as opposed to how he dealt with the man who reported Saul and Jonathan's death previously and what happened to the men who killed Ishbosheth in 4:11, David does not kill Joab.  He needed him and Joab was a popular general.  He pronounces a curse on Joab and his house and in so doing declares his own innocence in the murder.  David walked a fine line here.  God will honor David's curse as we shall see. (1 Kings 2:32ff)  David goes to great lengths to mourn Abner.  It might have been genuine grief but it might just as well have been a symbolic and somewhat hypocritical demonstration.  It worked.  In 3:37 not only David's men but "all Israel" understood that David himself was guiltless in the murder of Abner.  David's statecraft proved itself again.

Lastly, we see David praising his sworn enemy Ishbosheth and executing the men who murdered him.  He does the same thing as he did previously.  He praises Ishbosheth as a "righteous person".  This comes across as a bit excessive based on what we have seen of Ishbosheth's character.  The more serious charge was the nature of the assassination in "his own bed."  Every king lives in danger of those who surround him.  Like any powerful man he will always be the object of envy.  David could not sanction such actions.  These men violated the sanctity of Ishbosheth's home and David knew that such an act could not go unpunished.  It would set a dangerous precedent.  David has the men executed for their crime.  Again, David is walking a fine line since he did not execute Joab but it was evidently the right decision.  God does not reprove David for these actions.  His statecraft is careful and nuanced... but it worked.

What should we take from these chapters?  The major effect was that now David, like the tree in the image, stood majestically alone above all the other plants in God's garden.  Certainly, the Ezekiel passage above was directed toward Assyria as the kingdom that He had raised up to execute judgment on the Northern Kingdom of Samaria in due time but I think the symbology applies equally to David.  God's sovereign hand had removed all of the remaining obstacles to David's sole claim to the kingdom.  It was He who ordered the steps of the men involved even though they meant their actions for evil (Proverbs 16:9).  God's wisdom is seen in that these actions prevented further internecine warfare among His chosen people which would have weakened their armies and made them vulnerable to their true enemies the Philistines who surrounded them.  David would be made king over the combined forces of Judah and Israel.  David showed great statecraft in his leadership but we must see that it is God's hand that made him sole king.

Again and again we are called to humble ourselves before the Almighty King who works in powerful but mysterious ways.  We must see that even when evil appears triumphant that behind it is the wise and careful ordering of God's providential government that is the true reality.  This will be shown in its most precise instance when the righteous Son of God had to suffer the humiliation of the cross.  Evil apparently triumphed but Satan, to his chagrin, was found to be just an instrument for God to bring about His own glory and the vindication of His righteousness. 

As we watch the unfolding of God's ordering of the events of our own time let us rest in the truth that God is not absent in any of it.