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2 Samuel 11 - 13 and Psalm 51

4/6/2012

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         First of all today, I’d like to underline some of the details of David’s sin so that we can see how scandalous it is.  I’m doing this not to put down David but so we can understand the reading better and make some observations that are not apparent the first times that we read 2 Samuel 11 –13.
         Although David doesn’t recognize Bathsheba at first sight, he would have recognized her by the names of her family members: “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Samuel 11:3).  Uriah is one of
King David’s thirty most valiant and celebrated soldiers (2 Samuel 23:39; 1
Chronicles 11:41).  So is Eliam (2 Samuel 23:34).  And Bathsheba’s grandfather is Ahithophel, David’s most trusted counselor (2 Samuel 15:12; 16:23; 23:34).  These men have risked their lives in constant devotion and support of King David.  They are part of the intimate circle that surrounds him.  And David is about to betray them by sleeping with their wife / daughter / granddaughter.
         This fact makes the comparison between David’s deception and Uriah’s valor even more painful to read.  David decides to cover up Bathsheba’s pregnancy by finding an excuse to call Uriah from the battlefield to Jerusalem; he’s confident that Uriah will drop by his home in the city and spend the night with his wife.  Then when it’s time to announce the pregnancy publicly, everyone will think that Uriah is the father, and David will be saved from scandal. But Uriah shows an exceptional
commitment to Yahweh, to Israel, to his general and to his fellow soldiers: “The
ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of
my lord are camping in the open field.  Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing” (2 Samuel 11:11).  But what did David do under the same conditions, having the opportunity to show the same valor?  He slept with the wife of the man who is showing him so much devotion.
         When he can’t eliminate Uriah’s valor by insistence or by alcohol, David sends him back to the battlefield with the orders for his own execution.  Uriah’s faithfulness will carry him to his death.  Then David can marry his widow, and when her pregnancy becomes apparent to all, everyone can congratulate David on being a father again, never knowing the real circumstances of his baby’s conception.  And draped over this whole scenario are David’s hypocritical condolences: “Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another.  Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it” (2 Samuel 11:25).  Everything will go on like normal, as if David’s sins had never occurred.  Any pagan king would be impressed with David’s underhandedness and deceit.
         But not Yahweh: “The thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27).  Both David and Bathsheba should die: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10).  David deserves to die twice, if that were possible: “You shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death” (Numbers 35:31).  The one who celebrates Yahweh’s glory so often in the Psalms causes Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme him (2 Samuel 12:14). 
It’s in this background that we must understand Yahweh’s mercy in not killing David (2 Samuel 12:13), His severity in decreeing that he should suffer (2 Samuel 12:11-12, 14), Yahweh’s grace in loving Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24-25), His grace in giving him victory over the Ammonites (2 Samuel 12:26-31), His severity in the evil that is raised up in his house in 2 Samuel 13 through the actions of his firstborn Amnon (mentioned for the first time in 2 Samuel 3:2) and by Absalom. David’s sins in 1 Samuel 11 are scandalous, rebellious and of inconceivable unfaithfulness and
proportions.
         Secondly, notice the shock in the appearance of these sins precisely at this point of 2 Samuel.  If it weren’t for the first verse of 2 Samuel 11, we would think that we were in another decade of David’s reign, at a point in time far removed from the readings of 2 Samuel 5 – 7 and 8 – 10.  The first verse portrays the events of 2 Samuel 11 – 12 in line with the conquest and foundation of Jerusalem, with the arrival of the ark in the holy city, with Yahweh’s covenant with David, with His profound grace in promising him a throne established eternally, with great military successes, with peace imposed on the nations, with the wealth that has poured into the city, with the mercy shown to Mephibosheth and more recently, with the victory over the Ammonites and their allies in 2 Samuel 10:18-19 that will now be solidified by attacking the Ammonite capital: “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel.  And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah” (2 Samuel 11:1).  How could he have sinned so brazenly in the midst of such a great abundance of Yahweh’s blessings and grace?
         Perhaps we might try to answer that question by the same verse where it says, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle… but David remained at Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1).  David wasn’t where he was supposed to be.  If he had been on the battlefield where he belonged, he would not have seen Bathsheba bathing; if he had not seen her, he wouldn’t have called her; he would not have committed adultery with her; he would not have sent Uriah to his death…
         There may be some truth to that reasoning, but it is interesting that when David repents of his sin in Psalm 51, he never says, “Forgive me, LORD; I was in the wrong place.”  Instead, he identifies something much more profound as the motive for his sin: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).  Notice that he is not trying to blame his mother for what he did, nor is he saying that he was conceived in adultery and therefore commits it now, nor anything of that sort.  He says that the wickedness that motivated him to commit these sins is within him, it’s a part of his being, and it has been a part of his being ever since the moment that he was conceived.  David recognizes that sin is the most natural thing that he does, even in obstinate rebellion against so much grace and privilege from Yahweh.
         Pained by this recognition, he cries out, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:7, 9-10). There is a cleansing from sin and wickedness that only Yahweh can do, and David cries out for it repeatedly. David, Yahweh’s
anointed, realizes that he himself needs a Redeemer, someone who can rescue him
from the sin nature within him.  And this desire directs us to the other Anointed One of Yahweh, the Anointed One above all, of whom the Bible will tell us, “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).  Even King David, in the
midst of so much grace and privilege, recognized his desperate need to receive the forgiveness of sins and new birth that only Jesus Christ could procure through His death on the cross for us.
         Do you recognize your own sin nature that is capable of manifesting itself even in the midst of Yahweh’s grace and privileges?
         If you say yes, have you cried out to Him for the creation of a new heart, a new birth that comes only through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
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Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 8 - 10

4/5/2012

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         When He announced His covenant with David, Yahweh said, “I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more.  And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel.  And I will give you rest from all your enemies” (2 Samuel 7:10-11).  Immediately in 2 Samuel 8, Yahweh begins to fulfill His promises.
         This reading summarizes the peace that David the anointed one imposed on or received from all his neighbors.  It begins with the Philistines, the ones who had inflicted Israel the most during their recent history: “After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them” (2 Samuel 8:1).  Then it summarizes how he forced Moab, Zobah, the Syrians and Edom to submit. Toi king of Hamath submits
voluntarily. Although we might want to know more details about exciting battles or heroic military campaigns, the Author of the Bible is not interested in telling us about them.  He wants us to be impressed with His power over the nations and His
faithfulness with which He fulfilled promises from 2 Samuel 7:10-11, and so He tells us twice briefly, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went” (2 Samuel 8:6, 14).  And this theme of the submission of the nations to Yahweh’s anointed will resonate for the rest of the Bible.
         Notice that as he imposes peace on the nations, David grows wealthy, “David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.  And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze” (2 Samuel 8:7-8).  But these riches were directed to the project of building a house for Yahweh, the project that his descendant will complete according to the covenant.  “Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.  These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued” (2 Samuel 8:10-11).  As we continue to read about the submission of the nations in the Old Testament, notice too, the references to the nations bringing their treasures to Jerusalem, the city of Yahweh’s anointed.
         Not only do we see the fulfillment of the covenant of 2 Samuel 7 in military success against Israel’s neighbors but also in the just government of the anointed one: “So David reigned over all Israel.  And David administered justice and equity to all his people” (2 Samuel 8:15).  And 2 Samuel 9 tells us about an outstanding example of his justice and equity, his mercy to Mephibosheth.  At a time when it was common practice to kill all the males of a defeated royal house to solidify a new reign (remember how Abimelech massacred his 70 brothers, all the sons of Gideon in Judges 9:1-6), David looks for a descendant of Jonathan to bless him.  Stronger
than any desire for vengeance on Saul is his desire to fulfill the covenant that
Jonathan had made with him: “Do not cut off your steadfast love from my house
forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face
of the earth” (1 Samuel 20:15).  And now that Yahweh has given him peace from all his enemies, David blesses, protects and provides for one who cannot offer him any military, economic or social advantage; he blesses Jonathan’s descendant out of mercy and love: “So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table.  Now he was lame in both feet” (2 Samuel 9:13).
         As he continues his just dominion in 2 Samuel 10, David tries to show mercy to a neighbor: “After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.  And David said, ‘I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me’” (2 Samuel 10:1-2).  But Hanun responds to David’s kindness with harshness and humiliation; he sparks another war that manifests once more Yahweh’s power to make His enemies submit: “When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.  So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore” (2 Samuel 10:19).  It is not a light thing to mock Yahweh’s anointed: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:10-12).
         Therefore we see that today’s reading is very important.  After the covenant of 2 Samuel 7, we see its fulfillment begun immediately by the peace that Yahweh’s anointed imposes by force or offers voluntarily to the nations and by his just and merciful dominion over everyone who accepts the warning to receive him.
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2 Samuel 5 - 7 and Psalm 118

4/4/2012

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         Today we get to one of the foundational readings to understand not only the Old Testament but the whole Bible.
         It includes the confirmation of David as king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-3); the decisive conquest of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-9; notice that it was conquered in Judges 1:8, but they could not occupy it according to Joshua 15:63 and Judges 1:21); the arrival of the ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6) and above all, Yahweh’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7).  After many years of waiting, Yahweh lays the foundations for the monarchy of His anointed one in His holy city.  And the parameters through which the Israelites and Christians think of our relationship with the living God havejust been transformed.
         David considers building a house for the ark of God (2 Samuel 7:1-2). But
Yahweh’s grace is much greater than any blessing than David can give to Him;
instead, David receives the stunning news that Yahweh will establish a house for him (2 Samuel 7:11).  He will raise up a descendant after him and will establish his reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16).  This descendant will build a house for Yahweh (2 Samuel 7:13).
         In part, this prophecy refers to David’s descendant who will reign and build the temple in the next generation, Solomon.  But the promises of a throne
established forever, an eternal throne, direct us to a physical descendant of David who is much greater than Solomon, one who will reign forever: Jesus Christ.  And that’s how we Christians understand the fulfillment of this covenant: it is partially fulfilled in the physical descendants of David who reigned in Jerusalem in the generations that we will read about in the Old Testament, but above all by the descendant of David who is called “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14), “the root and the descendant of David” (Revelation 22:16), the One before whom every knee shall bow in the heavens and on the earth and under the earth, and of whom every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).  Jesus Christ is the King of whom these verses refer.
         Therefore we Christians celebrate this news along with King David. After so many years of the downward spiral spiritually in the generations of the judges and of King Saul, Yahweh by His grace has revealed a covenant declaring the permanent stability of the just dominion of His anointed one.  We confirm David’s prayer: “You established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever.  And you, O LORD, became their God.  And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken” (2 Samuel 7:24-25).
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2 Samuel 1 - 4

4/3/2012

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         Since we know that David was anointed king of Israel in 1 Samuel 16, perhaps it surprises us that now, after the death of Saul, he is not declared king of Israel immediately.  Yahweh’s anointed and His people must still go through trials.  Although the tribe of Judah accepts him as king in 2 Samuel 2:4, years of civil war, political intrigue and assassinations prevent his immediate reign over Israel.
         Therefore, notice how Yahweh’s name appears in these chapters. Some try to use it to bless and advance their political desires: “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life.  The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring” (2 Samuel 4:8).  Others, like Abner, are ready to recognize Yahweh when it is convenient: “Then Abner was very angry… and said, ‘God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba’” (2 Samuel 3:8, 9-10; see also 2 Samuel 3:17-18).
         But the part of David the anointed is to reign in concert with Yahweh’s just dominion.  Therefore, we see David make reference to His name in striking acts of justice: “How is it that you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” (2 Samuel 1:14).  “May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him” (2 Samuel 2:5; instead of punishing the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying his “enemy”, which many thought he was).  “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner.  May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house” (2 Samuel 3:28-29).  “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.  How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed?” (2 Samuel 4:9-11)  In the midst of so much instability and violence, David looks for the security that can only come through submission to Yahweh’s just dominion.
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    Author

    Ken Kytle serves as pastor of Iglesia bautista La fe en Cristo near Atlanta, Georgia.

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