Year 1, Day 334: 2 Samuel 17

Why Is David Afflicted When He Actually Is God’s Annointed?

You may be wondering why it is that God would allow David to be chased out of His holy city, especially if David is God’s Anointed and a “man after God’s own heart.”  This is actually a fairly easy question to answer, although the answer is very easy to forget.  2 Samuel 12:10 gives us the answer.  Because David sinned with Bathsheba, the sword would never depart from his house.

In a sense, this has more to do with a series of sin rather than a single sin.  David sinned with Bathsheba because his eyes lusted after women.  Because of David’s lust, he had many wives.  Because of those many wives and the various households that it created, David’s kids had rivalries between them.  Because of these rivalries, we had the Amnon and Tamar story as well as Absalom’s murderous act against Amnon.  Absalom’s revolt comes about through a slow process of spiritual decline originating out of David’s lust.  Lust takes many forms.  With David it was women, with Absalom the focus of his lust is power.

But here’s the really cool dynamic of God: God is not bound by the effects of humankind’s choices.  Yes, David’s philosophy of “family” really brought about all of these consequences.  But God can – and does – still use it! 

In this chapter we see the beginning steps of the division of the Hebrew people.  Sides are chosen.  Some support Absalom; others support David.  Although it would have been better to not have sin enter the picture at all, God can use the consequences to bring about His ways.  God uses this division to sort out the faithful and the loyal from the unfaithful and the disloyal.

I find this aspect of God fascinating.  Life would be better if we never sinned.  But we are human and we do sin.  God is not defeated by our sinfulness; He can actually use it to our benefit if we are humble and allow Him to do so!  This does not mean we sin all the more so grace may abound.  Rather it means that we strive for God’s ways when we can find them – but we understand that even God can turn our sinfulness into a means to bring us closer to Him, too.  All that is required for us is a willingness to repent when we do sin.  That’s really cool.

Hushai

Let’s talk a little bit about Hushai here.  Yesterday I spoke a good bit about lying and after thinking about it I still think that my words were worth speaking.  But I want to draw a distinction between yesterday’s words and what we read today.  Today Hushai is not lying.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with his plan.  In fact, his plan makes a great deal of sense. 

David is a skilled warrior, proving in the past against Saul that just because he has a numbers disadvantage doesn’t mean he’ll lose.  David is wily and cunning.  Going out and pursuing David when he is angry is not the best time to go get him.  David would be like fighting a bear that has been separated from her cubs!  I think Hushai is actually giving some pretty good sound tactical advice here.  Hushai is not lying in this passage as he was yesterday.  Although to be sure, it is very true that his counsel does help David flee without being pursued.

Furthermore, notice that Hushai uses Absalom’s ego against him by suggesting that he lead the force himself.  Certainly Hushai is on David’s side and using his influence to help David.  In fact, it is actually this piece of advice that will eventually get Absalom killed.  I don’t think that this is why Hushai said it, but it does lead to Absalom being on the battlefield where he will die.

In the end, today I have to praise Hushai.  Yesterday I found him deceitful because of his outright lie; today I find his actions legitimate.  He gives sound military advice, but it is advice that is also sound for helping David.  It isn’t that Hushai is intending harm or deceit for Absalom, he is just giving legitimate counsel that will serve multiple purposes.

Ahithophel

Finally, let’s talk a little bit about Ahithophel. His advice is rejected and he hangs himself.  But is his problem really rooted in himself or in his spirituality?

Notice that Absalom doesn’t consult the Ark of the Lord when making this decision.  He doesn’t seek out the priests.  Absalom falls into the earlier mistakes of the kings before him and Ahithophel finds his advice ignored.  We can see that Absalom isn’t a spiritual king, his is a worldly king. 

I think Ahithophel can smell the blood in the water and wants no part of the battle to come.  Ahithophel can tell that Absalom is not the one God is backing.   Absalom’s behavior demonstrates this to him.

I’m not trying to say that what Ahithophel did was right or just.  But it is understandable when Ahithophel finally realized that he had backed the wrong horse.  Things would not go well for him should Absalom fall in battle and David find himself in power once again.  I really do believe that Ahithophel can sense where this is going and simply wants to be done with it all.  So he hangs himself.  It is a sad conclusion to a sad life.

Ending on Comparison to Jesus

To end, let’s not miss over yet another note of similarity between David and Jesus.  David has an advisor go over to the other side who hangs himself after seeing that he has backed the wrong horse.  Jesus had one of his own disciples go over to the other side and hand Him over, too.  Judas also hung himself when he saw that his idea of what the Messiah would do did not come to pass.

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Year 1, Day 333: 2 Samuel 16

There are two great stories in this chapter – and a third one that I struggle continually with.  I’m not saying I disagree with the chapter, but I am saying that it causes me consternation because the message it gives is not black and white or cut and dry.  But we’ll save that one for last today.

Ziba’s Meeting with David

As we begin this story we see David met by Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant.  Ziba comes bearing bunches of gifts for the king and the king’s family.  David receives the gift and promotes Ziba to being master over Mephibosheth’s material wealth.  Of course, this guarantee is only good once David gets back into power.  For as long as Absalom is in power, David has truly lost his ability to assert who is in control of the land.

There’s only one problem with this – 2 Samuel 19:24-30 reveals to us here that Ziba is outright lying.  There is no truth in these words.  Mephibosheth is not in favor of Absalom; Ziba just wants to earn the favor of the king.

There are at least two lessons that we can learn here.  First, remember what I said a few days ago about being wary of those who come bearing lavish gifts?  This story proves the point of this.  People who come bearing lavish gifts often have an agenda behind the gift.  Take time to sniff them out, although we need not deny legitimate gifts. 

The second lesson is that we shouldn’t fear making mistakes.  David receives Ziba, but as we shall see in the future chapters David deals with the liar once he discovers the truth.  It is wrong to err, but it is more than acceptable to go back and correct prior errors once the full truth has been revealed.  We cannot be expected to be all-knowing mind readers.  We will make errors.  When discovered, we need to correct them.

Shimei’s Curse

The next story that we hear about is regarding the Benjaminite, Shimei.  I love this story because I need to hear it so often.  As a human being I tend to reflect the humanity that I see in Abishai.  I know what is right, I know when I am walking in the Lord, and when people persecute me accordingly I want justice now.   I even wouldn’t mind being the vehicle of that justice!  But that is not the spiritual high road.  David has proven again and again with Saul that in this type of circumstance he is incredibly spiritually gifted.  David looks to Shimei and knows how to treat him.  David lets Shimei speak the slander trusting that God will be the judge between him and Shimei.  If Shimei is correct, then at the very least David will not be guilty of being an obstacle in God’s way.  But if he is righteous, David will let God judge his adversary rather than him.

I am humbled by David here.  It is so easy to think “I am right; they are wrong.”  But it is better to think “Let me do what I think is faithful and let them do what they think is faithful; and let God be the judge.”  Having said that, though, I do think we should also be advocates against known sins.  If it is a clear-cut incident where one person is right and the other is clearly in sin, then we should be firm.  But in this instance David is unsure of what the will of the Lord is.  So it is best to let it play out.

I am further humbled by the intention of the last sentence in that last paragraph.  David shows great spiritual maturity here in that he acknowledges that he might be wrong about God’s will.  That’s a lesson I can really hear today, too.  It is easy for me to assume I know God’s will.  The truth is that I am far less certain of God’s will than I’d like to think I am.  I don’t know what God will have me do tomorrow, much less a year from now!  I don’t know what God wants me to say to everyone in this world – sometimes I struggle with how to say what is on my heart.  My spirituality is not crystal clear, and it is good for me to be humbled today as I am reminded of this.  I don’t have all the answers, so it is best to let God be the judge.

Hushai’s Advice

Now let’s get to the story that I struggle with.  Hushai is clearly lying to Absalom.  Hushai says to Absalom when confronted about being David’s ally, “whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.”  Now, we can interpret this to say that Hushai is speaking about David when he says these words.  The problem with this is that if this is so then the word “No” that begins his speech is a lie.  When a human being uses the word “No” it means “I am going to argue against what you just said.”  Absalom just told Hushai that he is David’s ally and Hushai says, “No.”  That is a lie as long as Hushai is speaking the rest of the sentence with David in mind.

Of course, if Hushai is speaking that sentence with Absalom in mind, then the whole thing is an outright blatant lie!  Either way, Hushai is lying deceptively to gain Absalom’s trust.  And for the record, I don’t doubt Hushai’s intentions.  Hushai is loyal to David and loyal to God.  That is absolutely certain in my mind.

But it raises a question with which I struggle.  Lying is always wrong.  Yet here it would seem that Hushai is lying quite intentionally in an attempt to defeat Absalom and accomplish God’s will.  Hushai intends to be loyal to David.  How are we to read this passage other than Hushai using deceptive means to try and accomplish what He thinks is God’s will?  Does this mean that it is okay to sin so long as the ends justify the means?  No, I cannot go there. 

There are those who will argue that David establishing his spy network is a good thing – and that might be.  I don’t think God ever says we can’t spy on those who would intend to harm us – think back to God’s command to send the spies into Canaan when the Hebrew people left Egypt!  But for the spies to outright lie in order to remain spies is wrong.  It is lying – and lying is lying.

There are others who will argue that this is war, and the rules about life don’t apply to enemies in times of war.  I won’t go there either.  Jesus died for all, not just His friends.  Jesus says that we are to love our enemies.  Is lying to Absalom going to demonstrate love to him and help bring him back to repentance for his actions?  No – should Absalom discover the lie he will feel betrayed and be driven away from any truth that Hushai might be able to bring to him.  I think how we treat our enemies – especially in times of war – is a great indicator of our faith in God.

I know and freely acknowledge that occasionally we have to choose between the lesser of two evils.  But even then what is appropriate is to acknowledge that we are doing evil out of having no other recourse.  Evil is still evil – even if it is the best of all the available options.  There is no right time to go against the ways of the Lord.

In the end, I struggle with Hushai’s example here.  I don’t have a problem with him collecting information and trying to subvert Absalom’s reign.  But the ways of the Lord are upright and righteous.  Lying does not fit in that category.

I serve a Lord who was rejected by men.  When men came to show just how much they rejected Him, He went to the cross with them and died for them – and me and you, too!  That is righteousness; that is the God that I serve.  Jesus did not lie.  Jesus subverted the culture, but He did not employ unrighteous means in doing so.

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Year 1, Day 332: 2 Samuel 15

Revolt

Revolt.  Revolution.  Two words – they are nearly synonymous in that they describe the same event.  What separates them is perspective.  Revolution is the word used by the proponents of change.  Revolt is the word used by the proponents of tradition.  Think about it in terms of Jesus.  Christians today would consider folks like Jesus, John the Baptizer, Peter, and Paul to be revolutionaries.  But what did the Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin say about Jesus and John and the rest?  They called them rebels – leaders of a revolt against them.  When it comes to God and faith, perspective is everything.

So let’s talk about this revolution … or is it a revolt?

Absalom’s Outward Attractiveness

Absalom goes about winning the hearts of the people.  He greeted people who had come up to the court of the king and reminded them that they had nobody to plead their case before the king.  Absalom made a promise that if he were king things would be better.  It’s good to know that politicians have been making these kinds of promises for a few millennia, at least!  Highly charismatic people always promise that things will be better under them.

Then, Absalom goes about and gives people fake homage.  He touched peoples’ hands and gave them a kiss, trying to show them the sincerity of his love.  But unfortunately the people don’t see through the show.  Just because someone treats you with kindness does not mean they are your friend.  In fact, often grandiose displays of affection are actually a sign of a covered-up hidden agenda.  Absalom is up to no good, but the people buy into his political snow job.  Here we see another point.  In politics, people don’t usually see the end-game because they are too busy listening to the hype.

Absalom’s Spiritual Unattractiveness

Then there is the lie that Absalom gives to David about Hebron.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Perhaps Absalom did make a vow to God.  But I doubt the sincerity of the vow.  The Bible tells us that it took four years for Absalom to give homage to God and fulfill his vow to God!  Doesn’t that seem a little pathetic and insincere to anyone?  If I make a vow to God and God fulfills His end of the bargain, would you not think that out of my gratitude I would want to uphold my end of the bargain quickly to show my appreciation to God?  It took four years for Absalom to remember to thank God about bringing him back to Jerusalem.  This doesn’t seem like a holy vow to God to me.  This is all about political scheming – and using the cover of spirituality to make it seem righteous.

David’s Poor Response

David lets Absalom go in peace, and like the people of Israel he doesn’t pierce Absalom’s deception.  David’s love for Absalom blinds him.  His inability to call Absalom to repentance keeps him from seeing Absalom’s true heart.  He has no recourse but to flee because he is aware of Absalom’s deception far too late.  Spiritual weakness will only enable sin to grow unchecked.

Ittai the Gittite

I also love this passage about Ittai the Gittite.  What a name!  Ittai – a foreigner by David’s own confession – shows us a brilliant foreshadowing of the vast majority of Christians alive today.  Ittai was completely a foreigner.  He was not a Hebrew; he was completely and totally a Gentile.  He had no reason to be loyal to David.  David even gave him permission to stay behind.  But Ittai knows that it is better to give up this life to stay close to spirituality than to sacrifice spirituality for the sake of comfort in this world. 

Reflect on that last sentence, for it is powerful.  How many of us can make the same claim?  How many of us Christians truly put the pursuit of spirituality as the primary goal of our life?  How many of us really show that we are loyal to God by being willing to leave the security of our own home and follow the spiritual one among us?  Oh, and for the record, is this not exactly what Jesus asked of every disciple/apostle in the New Testament – including Paul?  Ittai is a great foreshadowing of Christianity!

For the record, note that Ittai does something that even the Levites who bore the Ark of the Lord and Zadok the priest did not do.  Ittai follows David at all costs in spite of David urging him to stay in Jerusalem.  The priest and the bearers of the Ark do not.  I’m not judging them; perhaps God did actually desire them to stay in Jerusalem.  But I do lift it up to the greater glory regarding the faith that God gave to Ittai!

David and the Mount of Olives

Last, let’s look at the fact that David comes unto the Mount of Olives and weeps.  Does this not remind anyone else of another story involving the denial of a king in Jerusalem?  Where did Jesus go after sharing Passover (the Lord’s Supper) with His disciples?  Jesus, a rejected king in Jerusalem, goes out to the Mount of Olives to mourn.  (See Matthew 26:30ff as well as Mark 14:26ff)  What’s really cool is that David eventually returns to Jerusalem to rule.  And for the record, so will Jesus.

I think this is a great place of foreshadowing.  David is rejected because the hearts of the people are won over by the outward appearance of Absalom.  Jesus is ultimately rejected because the hearts of the people are ultimately won over by the outward appearances of the religious leaders.  This is a good thing to learn about humanity.  Crowds of people are often led astray by charismatic leadership for all the wrong reasons.  Spiritual leadership is often rejected by the masses.

That’s a great place to stop and ponder.  God’s peace.

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Year 1, Day 331: 2 Samuel 14

Beware the People Who Want Your Friendship Too Much

I once had seminary professor who gave a great piece of insight.  Well, he gave several pieces of insight – this was just one of them.  He said: “Be very wary of those people in the congregation who come to you at the beginning and want to be your friends.  True spiritual friendships take time and they aren’t forced.  Those who come at the very beginning often have an agenda and their agenda usually involves getting to you before the ‘other side’ gets to you.”

Now, this is phenomenal advice for everyone, not just pastors.  Beware of anyone who is really trying hard to be your friend.  Good friendships that develop over time will be quite natural and they will feel natural.  But when someone is trying too hard to be your friend, something should smell a bit funny.

How does this piece of advice apply to this passage?  Well, David already has a soft spot for Absalom – he is one of his sons after all.  2 Samuel 13:37 tells us that David mourned for him.  Then along comes a woman who seems to have a request that is tailor-made for the desires of his heart.  David would love to find a reason to bring Absalom home.  Now he has one.

Sure, David may not know all the details of the story between Absalom and Amnon.  But certainly David remembers that Absalom killed Amnon – he was told that much!  This woman comes with a fictitious tale that makes Absalom’s act seem more like an accident than the premeditated murder that it was.  David should have sniffed it out for a lie; this woman is trying too hard to give David what he wants!  But his heart helps him to be deceived.  He may not want to be used, but Joab is using the woman to get to David to accomplish his purposes.  Beware people who come to be your friend unnaturally.  They tend to have unseen agendas on their plate.

God’s Will – or Joab’s Will

To make my case and point, let’s look at the false base that the woman has for her argument.  In 2 Samuel 14:14 the woman is making the case that David’s potential proclamation to allow Absalom to come back would be a demonstration of God’s will.  What the woman is claiming is simply not true.  This is Joab’s will, not God’s will.  The woman comes to David under false pretenses and lies about speaking regarding the will of God. 

It is sad to see the lengths that someone will go to accomplish their will.  For someone to imply that they know God’s will while actively going about it in deceitful means is simply … sinful.

God Does Deal with the Outcast

But on one level – a level completely unintended by the woman of Tekoa – she is right.  God does have ways of dealing with the banished one so that he is no longer an outcast.  In fact, God has two specific ways.  The first is through the judgment seat.  A person who is unrepentant can come to the judgment seat of God and hear about their guilt.  They will have no excuse because God is not fooled by either the excuses of mankind or our rationalization of our sin.  Sin is sin, and the judgment seat of God will expose sin.  There is no escaping this avenue for God’s dealing with the “outcast” (or in this case the “sinner”).

But there is another way.  The outcast who humbles himself before God and repents of his ways can find forgiveness from God.  The accountability and consequences for the sin is present, but the guilt is removed.  This is precisely why Jesus Christ has come to the cross!  This is the second means that God uses for dealing with the “outcast” (or in this case the “sinner”).

Back to the Story

But does David encourage repentance from His son?  No. 

Again we see the problem of generation sin.  David has killed men for less reason that Absalom killed Amnon.  David had Uriah the Hitite killed simply because he wanted to possess Bathsheba.  If David demands repentance from Absalom he would be a hypocrite, would he not?  But remember what I said before.  Fear of being a hypocrite is no excuse to remain silent.  Sin is sin.  If we have something within us that makes us a hypocrite, then we should confess it so that we can go out and righteously call others to repentance with us!  David demands no repentance from Absalom; and no repentance is offered from Absalom.

Fearing the hypocrisy, David simply allows Absalom to return with no sign of repentance.  David may have felt good about being “forgiving,” but this is simply ridiculous.  David has not extended forgiveness to Absalom; what he has extended is the right to hide from his sin.  As you might expect, this is not exactly one of David’s shining moments. 

And it’s going to get worse before it gets any better, unfortunately.  Over the next few days we shall read about the downward spiral of sin that is allowed to go unchecked.

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Year 1, Day 330: 2 Samuel 13

Root of the Sin in 2 Samuel 13

There is a significant amount of pain in 2 Samuel 13.  However, before we get to the pain of this chapter let’s acknowledge that the primary root of this pain is in lust.  Poor practices with respect to human sexuality lead to pain.  But perhaps the worst part about this is that David’s boys learned this pattern of behavior from their dad.  David had little sexual control.  David saw a beautiful woman and lusted after her.  He killed in order to have his women.  And he saw no problem with having more than one.  The sin we see displayed in this chapter started at home with David.

This is a huge lesson that we all can learn from.  Sexual sin often starts at home.  But so does the sin of pride.  So does the sin of greed.  So does the sin of slothfulness.  So does the sin of lying.  Children learn these and other sinful behaviors from somewhere, and quite often they are learned in the home.  How often do we see the sins of the father or mother in the son or daughter?  Take this lesson to heart.

More than Lust

Moving into the actual content of this chapter, we should also understand that this chapter is not just about lust.  Amnon and Absalom were in line for the kingdom.  2 Samuel 3:2-5 tells us that Amnon was David’s first-born.  Absalom was David’s third-born, but many suspect that something had happened to Chileab by this time so Absalom was actually behind Amnon with respect to becoming king.  There was no doubt that a rivalry between Amnon and Absalom already existed – especially given that their mothers were different!  This is not just a story of lust, but of political intrigue.  The call of power corrupts; the call of power and lust corrupts even more completely.

Crafty Friends

What’s even worse is that Amnon has a “crafty” friend in Jonadab.  For the record, anyone remember a certain crafty character found in Genesis 3?  Crafty friends are not usually friends that provide positive help.  Crafty friends are people who usually come up with ways for us to find ourselves in trouble.

Lust

Now let’s talk about the sin of lust.  The politics and the “bad choice in friends” don’t make the lust any easier to defeat, that’s for sure.  So Amnon lusts after Tamar.  How do we know this is what we call lust and not love?  Love does not reject a person after having sexual intercourse with them.  Love embraces the recipient of the act all the more!  Love does not lead to anything after sex except for a deeper commitment.  This is not what Amnon has for Tamar.  Amnon hates Tamar after he has spoiled her virginity.  Amnon didn’t want Tamar; he wanted the conquest of a beautiful virgin.  That’s not love; it never has been.

We should learn something from this as well.  How many times in our modern culture do men and women throw around their sexuality without thinking about it?  How common is extra-marital sexual relations?  How common is it for people to live together and have sex with one another before being married?  I don’t want to make a universal judgment, but I doubt very much that in these cases that true love is behind the motivation for sex.  Our culture could stand to learn that having sex outside of marriage is actually a bad sign about the health of the relationship.  It is a sign that the couple is being driven by lust and not love.  Relationships built on lust simply don’t last.  They end bitterly – often with one – or often both – partners hating the other.

The Response of the Father

What about David, here?  What does the passage say that David did?  Nothing.  The passage says that David was angry; but David did nothing.  At the very least, David could have forced Amnon to pay the bride price to Tamar – or her mother. 

I think there is a very clear reason behind David’s inaction.  The sin of the children hit far too close to home.  After all, how could David dare judge any of his sons about sexual promiscuity without being a hypocrite, right?  When David’s sons do as he did, how can he say anything?

Fear of being a hypocrite is no excuse.  We are all hypocrites.  We all have places in our life where the old saying “do as I say, not as I do” applies.  We do not have an excuse to stay silent in the presence of sin simply because speaking up with expose our own hypocrisy.  That’s a recipe for giving victory to the Devil.  That is a recipe for generational sin as we see present here in this passage.  Want to know why generational sin continues to exist?  It is because parents are unwilling to correct the sin that they see in their children because it means they would be judging themselves as well.

Where does this all end up?  Amnon lay dead at the hand of his brother.  David’s inactivity is of no use to Absalom.  While David could have guided Absalom and helped him through his rage, David did nothing.  Absalom is left to defend the honor of his sister as much as he could, and the result is the death of Amnon.

Is Sex Worth It?

In the end, I am left wondering if Tamar was worth it to Amnon.  Was one moment of forced sexual experience worth an early trip to the grave?  Was one sexual experience worth turning something that had once been beautiful in his eyes into something that he now hated? 

So I have to ask a question to the rest of us who are alive to read this:  is any single sexual act worth these consequences today?  If the answer you come up with is “No, it isn’t worth it” – which is the answer I arrive at, too – then why is sexual promiscuity such a problem in our culture?  Now that’s a question worth pondering over.

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Year 1, Day 329: 2 Samuel 12

Nine Months

There is something to remember before we even begin to get involved with the story of Nathan and David.  It takes 9 months for a child to come to full term and to be delivered.  David had 9 months to come to terms with what he had done.  He had 9 months to confess his actions.  He had 9 months to acknowledge his sin and repent before the Lord.  But he does not.

Dealing with Sin

The child is born.  Nathan comes to David and confronts the sin.  Nathan comes to David and forces the confrontation.  Nathan knows that what David did has displeased the Lord and Nathan comes to David to make David see this fact.  Nathan doesn’t accept the character flaw in David just as we know God did not accept it in the last chapter.  But what we discover here is that sometimes we do not come to terms with our sin without the help of another person to confront us.  This is the role that Nathan plays with David.  Without Nathan, David likely would have continued in his deceitful ways to cover up what he had done.

However, while you might think that this is going to be a blog post condemning David, the rest of this blog post is actually going to speak quite highly about David.  Yes, everything that he did up until now was wrong.  But when David is confronted, David is fully repentant.  David understands that God has richly blessed him.  David understands that God would have legitimately given him more if he had went about it in a way that honored God.  David understands that what he has done is to steal from the one who has a humble existence while being in the midst of a lavish life already.  David’s sin may have started with sexual lust, but he now understands it to have blossomed into lust over possessions, greed, self-centeredness, and pride.  When confronted, he does not argue the charges.  Rather, David simply confesses that “he has sinned against the Lord.”

We should also see in this story that David’s repentance does not abolish the consequences.  David’s sin is out in the open.  The child dies.  Everyone will know what David has done.  Repentance does not remove the consequences, but it does remove the guilt.  David is forgiven, but as we shall see in the chapters to come his life will still be permanently altered by his choices.

This is an important thing to remember about God and life.  So many of us – me included from time to time – believe that when we repent things will go back to the way they were before the sin.  While sometimes this is possible, especially when the sin is small, the reality is that we don’t often get the chance to fully start over as if the sin never happened.  Sin alters relationships.  Sin changes things.  While we can be absolved of guilt through repentance we cannot run from the consequences.  God does not take us back in time to the moment of our poor decision.  Rather, God keeps us where we are in time and leads us through the process of repentance and dealing with our consequences.  Repentance is a “get out of jail (guilt) card,” but it is not a “get out of jail (consequences) card.”

So David mourns.  He weeps.  He fasts.  But the baby still dies.  Does this mean that God did not listen to David’s fasting and prayer?  No, rather it means that David’s sin brought about God’s judgment.  God forgives David, but the consequences remain.

David Moves On From Sin

But when the baby dies, David picks himself up and moves on.  I give David a ton of credit in this circumstance as well.  David has confessed the sin.   He has fasted.  The baby dies, and he doesn’t continue to beat himself up over it.  David moves on, consoles his wife, and she legitimately conceives a child.  David does not linger over the dead; David gives the dead to God and entrusts the baby to God’s care.  It sounds harsh, but it is really the godly way.  What can any of us do for the dead?  Can any of us bring them back?  No, God is the only one who can care for the dead.

Ammonites

This story ends with a military conquest.  We really have to understand the significance of this story with respect to 2 Samuel 11-12.  This whole story started with David living in luxury while his soldiers were away on the battlefield.  He had forgotten what God had done with him to get him where he was.  In his lapse of memory he came under temptation and fell into sin.  But now that he has confessed his sins, he remembers his place.  His place is not at home where his idle hands and idle eyes get him into trouble.  His place is leading the troops on the battlefield. 

His military campaign is successful. 

Part of repentance is not living in the past.  Part of repentance is changing our ways and returning to the ways of the Lord.  This is exactly what this battle story is all about.  As a part of David’s repentance, his behavior changes to what God desires for him to do in this world rather than focusing on what his flesh desires him to do.

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Year 1, Day 328: 2 Samuel 11

How We Talk About Sin

There are many great books out in the world to read.  But there are some significant differences in the books that are written by the hand of men and those written by the hand of God.  One of the primary differences is in the way our culture talks about sin verses the way that God’s Word talks about sin.  As you read in this chapter – and the next chapter – the Bible certainly does talk about sin.

Quite often when something in our culture talks about sin the end of the story revolves around justifying the sin.  In today’s culture, much of our life revolves around making sin acceptable.  Think about how many television shows made today has a “character flaw” that the Bible would classify as sin.  Yet, how many times is the television show attempting to demonstrate that the person’s flaw isn’t really a “flaw” as it is something that we should embrace, welcome, support, etc.  Our culture is about expanding our acceptance.

How the Bible Talks About Sin

But the Bible does not do this.  Here we have a story about lust.  David liked women – the amount of wives he took and the means in which he took them proves this much!  David sees a beautiful woman and lusts after her.  He lusts after her enough to send out messengers – not even willing to do the dirty work of his own sin himself.  And what’s worse, the Bible tells us specifically that the messengers “took her.”  Sure, some translations say they “got her,” but really the word there is “took” in the Hebrew.  So they took her and brought her to David so that he could sexually have her.  Let’s be blunt here, right?  This is sin in its purest form.

Let’s remember, what do the last words of this chapter say?  What David had done displeased the Lord.  There is no cute, “But it’s okay, this is just David’s character flaw.”  No.  What David did displeased the Lord.

But David isn’t done.  David finds out that the woman he took for sexual entertainment is actually pregnant.  So he conceives a plan for Uriah to come home and spend some time with his wife.  David schemes to cover up his sin.  He doesn’t tell Uriah what he’s done.  He doesn’t ask for forgiveness.  He continues to scheme, adding lying and deception to the web of sin he’s weaving.

But what does the Bible say about his actions?  What David did displeased the Lord.

But David still isn’t done.  When David finds out how loyal Uriah is to the king and to Joab his general, David sets up a plan to get Uriah drunk.  David tries to lead another man into sin!  And when that doesn’t work, David plans to have Uriah killed.  If David can’t cover up his sin by having Uriah have sex with his own wife and thus throw the identity of the father into question, then David will have Uriah killed so he can take Bathsheba as a wife.  Yes, David is attracted to Bathsheba; but killing Uriah is more about not having to confess his sins in front of Uriah than it is about taking Bathsheba.  This is about David trying to get away with sin without having to confess that he’s done anything wrong.

Now that we have gone the whole way through the story, let’s remember something again: what David did displeased the Lord.  Under no circumstances will David get away without confessing what he has done.  God is not fooled.  The Bible is clear on this fact.  There is no way to talk about this story in a way that lets us think God “accepts David’s character flaw.”  God neither celebrates nor embraces David’s action.

How We Should Talk About Sin

Before leaving today’s passage, let’s talk a little bit about what got David here.  First, David was at home while his armies were out on the field.  He is not being the leader that got him to be king.  David used to lead the troops into battle; now he’s at home unsupervised when the men of the town are all away.  Next, David was overconfident, living the life of luxury as king rather than remembering God had gotten him to this position.  Third, David let himself bask in the lust of his eyes.  He came under the effect of temptation and fell.  He did not turn to the Lord and ask God to help him overcome the temptation that he was feeling.  He plunged headlong into what his flesh desired.  In a word, he became a self-monger.  He became more interested in his own desires than living according to God’s ways.

What David did displeased the Lord.  God does not desire for us to abandon His ways.  We are not to celebrate those who abandon His ways.  We are not to embrace the ways that they take when they abandon God.  What are we to do with those who abandon God’s ways?  Well, we’ll save that for the next chapter.  We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

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Year 1, Day 327: 2 Samuel 10

Love and Loyalty Misconstrued

In 2 Samuel 10 we get another example of David’s love.  No, I’m not talking about David’s love for war – which might seem like the logical conclusion given this chapter is largely about war.  Rather, this chapter gives us a genuine perspective of loyal love.

This chapter unfolds with David desiring to be loyal to the king of the Ammonites.  Nahash had been loyal to David, and David seeks to return the favor.  It is a simple act of compassion coming from a man who tends to let his passion show.  It is an act of love.

Yet, the princes of the Ammonites convince Nahash’s son, Hanan, that David’s motives are not pure.  They convince Hanan that David is spying on them.  So Hanan chooses to go to war against the Hebrew people.  Now, there are a slew of lessons that we can learn from this story.

First, there is a cliché out there that says “a good deed never goes unpunished.”  Sometimes we can have the best of intentions but people take our meaning completely the wrong way.  Sometimes when we try to be absolutely helpful our actions are taken to be intrusive, interfering, and nosey.  Sometimes in an attempt to be polite and sincere we are seen as sticking our nose where it doesn’t belong or simply putting on a meaningless show.  The lesson we learn is that sometimes when we try to show love it is not accurately perceived by those to whom we are trying to show love.

Second, we hear that the Ammonites go out and hire the Syrians.  Sometimes those to whom we are trying to show love not only take things the wrong way but got out and actually rally support against us.  Sometimes our attempts at showing love not only are misinterpreted but completely backfire and make more enemies than just the one to whom we are trying to show love!

Third, we learn that often we do not initiate the battles we fight.  David certainly did not initiate the war with the Ammonites, but he and his people were drawn into war anyway.  We occasionally have to fight battles that we don’t think we are going to need to fight.  Sometimes battles come out of the blue and blindside us.  But if we are righteous, we can fight well and fight with God on our side.  We can overcome those battles that we do not see coming so long as we are righteous in our ways.

Fourth, we can learn that it is important to seek good counsel.  The war is fought simply because Hanan chooses to believe bad counsel.  Hanan believes the princes of his own land rather than David.  Now, this probably makes sense.  Human beings are more likely to listen to the counsel of those who are like them or those who are kin to them before the foreigner.  But this story should teach us that just because it makes sense to listen to one person’s counsel over another person doesn’t mean that it is the right decision.  It would have made more sense to accept David’s gift of loyalty than to listen to the counsel of the princes.

Fifth, we see in the Ammonites that people are often exposed to God’s kindness and love but feel the need to reject it.  This point is especially true with respect to the comparison between this chapter and the last chapter.  In 2 Samuel 9 Mephibosheth is invited to share in God’s love through David and he embraces the opportunity.  In 2 Samuel 10 the Ammonites are invited to experience God’s love through David and they utterly reject it.  This is the way of the world.  Often the ways of those who reject God’s love simply don’t make sense just as the rejection of the Ammonites doesn’t make sense.

Last, we can learn that those who show contempt for love and mercy will ultimately be destroyed.  The Ammonites reject love – reject God’s love through David – and they pay the ultimate price.  Again, this is a point that really shines through when we compare it to Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth graciously accepted God’s love and we know that he was blessed because of it.  The Ammonites refuse God’s love and not only are they defeated, but they further lose an ally in the Syrians, too!

Who would have thought that there were so many good lessons to be learned in this chapter?  But here they are, and truth be told I probably missed a few lessons, too!

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Year 1, Day 326: 2 Samuel 9

Mephibosheth’s Name

2 Samuel 9 gives us an interesting character: Mephibosheth.  Note that in 1 Chronicles 8:34 and 9:40 Mephibosheth is given a different name: Meribbaal.  Hopefuly by now you have seen enough name study with me and the blog to recognize the four dangerous letters on the end of that name!  Meribbaal literally means “Ba’al is the advocate” – remembering, of course, that Ba’al is one of the chief gods of the Canaanites.  And we know from the verses in 1 Chronicles that Mephibosheth and Meribbaal are is the same man because the lineage given fits both.  So what’s going on here?

What likely has happened is that this man was born into the world and given the name Meribbaal.  It does cause me to ask what Jonathon is doing naming his son with a name connected to Ba’al – but Jonathon no doubt learned about Ba’al in Saul’s house with Michal!  For his entire childhood this man probably knew his name to be Meribbaal.  But when he comes to see David, David likely does not tolerate the exultation of Ba’al in his house.  So what probably occurred is that his name changes as a part of this story we read in 2 Samuel 9.

This possibility makes even more sense when we consider that Mephibosheth is a name that literally means “Scatterer of shame.”  Mephibosheth is scattering (or we could say dispersing) the shame of the family by being elevated to eat at the king’s table.  No longer is Saul’s name looked down upon as a defeated king, but it is now a redeemed name by David’s act through Mephibosheth.  But perhaps more importantly – and certainly more personally – Mephibosheth is literally scattering away the shame of being connected to Ba’al when his name is changed to something new!

I have always loved the stories in the Bible when a person’s name changes – and unfortunately I think it is a tradition that was had among the early Christians that we have lost in recent days.  Here Mephibosheth’s name change is an intentional reminder about an important faith-based event in his life.  Another great example of this is the Apostle Paul, whose name is changed from Saul (which means “asked for” – a good name for a Pharisee!) to Paul (which means “small, humble” – a great name for a Christian!) while recovering from his Damascus Road experience.  Or take the name change from Simon (which means “He who hears” – a good name for a follower) to Peter (which means “rock” – a great name for one of the chief disciples and earlier workers in Christ’s church!) when he met Jesus (see John 1:42). 

Name changes are really cool when done properly – when they indicate experiences of faith.  I have always thought it would be a really neat concept to retain this practice in the church for adults.  When an adult finally understands what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ – when they finally give up the ways of the world and pursue the ways of God fully – at that time I think it would be awesome if we had a name changing ceremony and let the person and their close friends pick a new name for them.  Let them pick a new name that reflects their faith journey or some Christian concept significant to them.*  How cool would it be if we practiced that (voluntarily, of course) in the church when a person truly was filled with the Holy Spirit and truly gave up their worldly pursuits for the sake of pursuing Christ?

David’s Grace

Okay, enough about the names – although I do hope you enjoyed that line of thinking today.  Let’s move on to one other topic: grace.  David shows an incredible amount of grace in this passage.

It would have been easy for David to forget Saul’s name.  Saul tried to kill him.  Saul considered David a threat and an enemy.  David had every human right to ignore Saul’s name once he became king.

Yet, David does not do this.  David remembers Jonathon.  David wishes to bring honor to Jonathon and even Saul.  So David seeks out Mephibosheth and elevates him to his table.  Essentially, this is an act of David telling Mephibosheth that he is to be considered a member of David’s family for the rest of his life.  David takes a family name that could have been scorned and in a sense grafts it into his own family.  That’s grace.

However, David also shows grace to a person in life who could not provide for himself.  Mephibosheth’s feet were crippled.  He couldn’t provide for himself.  So David does it for him.  In fact, David not only provides for him, but he tells Mephibosheth’s servants to tend the land and provide for the remainder of Mephibosheth’s family.  This is grace not just to the family of Saul, but it is grace to the lame.  David reminds us here in this story that we are to care for the crippled and for those who are unable to care for themselves.

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* As an aside, as I was typing this I realized that to a minor extent I actually did this in my own life.  The word Estauromai is largely connected with me.  If you Google Estauromai, I am willing to bet that the first 5 hits that you receive are directly connected to me. 

You see, when I was going through seminary and shortly after becoming a pastor, the translation of the book of Galatians became very important to me.  I hung onto Galatians 2:20: “For I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”  Estauromai is literally the expression for “I have been crucified.”  I chose that name to be forever linked to my identity as a perpetual reminder of my nature as a Christian: crucified with Christ.  In fact, every time I log in to my Gmail account I have to type in the word estauromai!  And in retrospect, this has been one of the most foundational spiritual choices that I have made.

Year 1, Day 325: 2 Samuel 8

2 Samuel 8 is a pretty tough passage for me to write about today.  I’ll be honest and confess that I am having a tough time pulling something out of the text.  So if any of you readers have some insight, this is a great day to share!

God Fulfills His Promises

However, I don’t want anyone to go away without some kind of spiritual food, so I’ll talk generically here about God’s ability to fulfill promises.  God has told David that his offspring will rule.  In order for David’s offspring to rule, the nation must continue to exist.  This chapter shows us that not only did the united Israel continue to exist but it prospered underneath David.  The boarders expanded.  Generational enemies became subservient to David and the Hebrew people.  God was gracious.

In fact, what this chapter begins is a three chapter description of the expansion of the kingdom to fulfill God’s promise to the Hebrew people.  By the time we are done, David’s kingdom will have expanded tenfold over Saul’s kingdom.  Quite literally, David’s Kingdom runs to the border of Egypt in the south to the border with Syria in the north.  It is under David that the kingdom becomes a major player in the Middle East to be compared to the kingdom of the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Assyrians.

God’s Promises on God’s Timing

This chapter speaks to God’s ability to bring about His promise.  However, this chapter also speaks to God’s ability to bring about His promise on His own timing and when He believes it is a good thing.  There is no doubt that everyone who lived prior to David wondered when it would be that God would fulfill His promises and make them a united nation – His people – in a political sense.  Many faithful people no doubt waited for God to act.  It speaks to the point that we need to be patient with God and understand that sometimes God brings about the kingdom after we are no longer around to see it.

This has led me down a rabbit trail, but I think that it’s okay with this chapter today.  It leads me thinking about spiritual maturity and spiritual perspective.  As a person, I want to know that God is working with me and going to bring about great things in my life.  But isn’t that really a telling perspective from a human mindset?  Should I not be far more interested in playing the role that God wants me to play – settling not for the results occurring in my lifetime but rather settling for the knowledge that I did what God asked and He will bring about His results on His timing?

I’ll put all the chips on the table.  As a pastor, it’s easy for me to dream about establishing a church that is determined to be disciple-makers, not tradition worshippers.  Perhaps that is God’s plan for, but perhaps not.  Perhaps God has me to be the foundation builder.  Perhaps God has me as the ground-work layer:  the one who clears the land, prepares the ground, digs up the earth and gets the scene ready for the spiritual stone-masons to come in and build.  Now I’m not saying either picture is right or wrong.  But what I am saying is that is much easier for me to fall in love with the job of finishing the work than it is to fall in love with the job of preparing the work and then hand it off to someone else to finish.  And from a spiritual perspective, it shouldn’t be that way.  I should be willing to fall in love with whatever work God has planned for me.

I think of Jesus and John the Baptist here.  John the Baptizer was the ground-breaker.  He was the ground-leveler.  He was the preparation for Jesus to come and build the glorious kingdom.  John’s work was necessary and hard, and lacking in glory.  But John did it, and did it well.  Spiritually, John was mature in that he saw God’s plan, knew his role, and strove to work towards it.

Many Hebrew people before David wondered when God would fulfill the promise.  David saw it fulfilled.  Many prophets wondered when the Messiah would come and fulfill that promise.  Jesus’ disciples saw it fulfilled.  Many good people do good work in preparation for God to fulfill His promise.  I should count myself lucky and blessed simply to be numbered among them – whether or not I actually got to see the fulfillment of the promise!

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Year 1, Day 324: 2 Samuel 7

Humanity and Spiritual Leadership

2 Samuel 7 gives us a great message about leadership – especially spiritual leadership.  Spiritual leaders don’t always have an answer from God on tap.  Sometimes they give an answer based on what their spirit is guiding them to say and they base it on their own understanding of God’s Word.  And while you might hear that as the set-up to condemnation, I’m actually going to accept that and say that this is alright!  Of course, it is alright so long as the spiritual leader keeps their mind open in case God has something else planned.

You see, that is precisely what Nathan does in this chapter.  Nathan comes to David and they are fellowshipping in the midst of one another.  David tells Nathan of his genuine desire to build a temple for the Lord.  Nathan is convinced that David’s heart is pure and he is convinced that David has good motives for wanting to do such an act.  So Nathan agrees with David, no doubt thinking at the time, “Why wouldn’t God want a nice house to dwell in?”

But then the word of the Lord comes to Nathan.  God speaks to Nathan and tells Nathan that this is not the time to build God’s house.  We’ll go deeper into the explanation in a little bit, but for now that will suffice.  Nathan takes that very message back to David and tells David that while they both thought it was a good idea at first, God has revealed to him that the idea isn’t quite so good any more.  And here’s the amazing thing.  We don’t get any sense of bitterness from David or Nathan.  We don’t get any sense of resentment.  David and Nathan are content to do the will of the Father and that is enough for them. 

They don’t need to fulfill their dreams, just God’s.

But that isn’t even the coolest part, yet.  Not only do we not get any resentment from David and Nathan, we don’t get any resentment from God about Nathan and David’s “presumptuousness.”  God doesn’t yell at Nathan for telling David wrongly.  God doesn’t chastise David for dreaming about building a great house for the Lord.  Well, other than asking David who he thinks he is, but I don’t see that as chastisement but rather a reminder to be humble.  What we get from God is correction in thinking without the need to discipline.  We don’t get the sense that Nathan and David did anything wrong by doing their brief planning session. 

Again, though, the reason that they didn’t do anything wrong is because although they talked about their plans their hearts were still open to God’s plan and God knew it.

What do we learn here today?  Sometimes we have to do the best we can and trust that God will come along and correct our ways should we unknowingly fall off God’s path.  But we need not fear it so long as our mind and heart is open to God’s leading.  As long as we are humble before God and seek His ways over our own ways He can gently correct our actions when we should make a mistake in our own human understanding (or lack therein).

God’s Promise

So then God gives this great promise to David.  In a sense, God reaches the whole way back into history and pulls David back with Him.  God goes the whole way back to Abraham – back to Genesis!  God talks to David about his seed.  And God adds something new: David’s throne.

God had spoken to Abraham many times about his offspring and his seed.  God had told Abraham that his seed would number greater than the sand on the beaches {See Genesis 15, among other references}.  And God has fulfilled that promise.  Now God tells David that his seed will rule and David’s throne will be established forever.  David becomes a part of the promise that he had no doubt heard spoken of with respect to Abraham.  How little did David know that the promise wasn’t simply for land and rights to rule but for the salvation of the whole world – those who would receive it – through Jesus Christ!

David’s Response

Notice David’s response to God’s correction?  As I said before, David doesn’t get mad that God won’t let him build the temple.  David gets worshipful.  David is humbled before the Lord and values that feeling.  David comes to the Lord in thankful prayer.  What a lesson to be learned, although it is no surprise that the one who is used to repenting should lead us in this example.  People in the practice of being humble before God in repentance are often the first ones to be humble before God in celebration as well.

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Year 1, Day 323: 2 Samuel 6

This is a great passage for debate.  We have several things happening in this chapter, and most of them are quite controversial.  Was it necessary for Uzzah to die even though his intent was good?  Was Michal right to be angry with David?  Was it right for her to remain childless for the rest of her life because of this argument between her and David?

Uzzah

Let’s deal with Uzzah’s death first.  This story has always bothered me because I find so much of David’s reaction to make sense.  David wants to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, so he has it transported.  In the transporting process the cart falters because the oxen stumble.  Uzaah touches the Ark and dies immediately.  David becomes angry and then afraid – turning the Ark aside to the house of another.  It all makes perfect sense.

Well, it makes sense to me until I stop looking at it with human eyes and begin to look at it anew with the eyes of God.  Let’s tell the story again, this time from God’s perspective.  This should be quite revealing.

David wants the Ark in Jerusalem because it is a powerful connection to a powerful God.  David doesn’t consult with God about where God wants the Ark to reside. David doesn’t consult with God about how to move the Ark.  David doesn’t consult with God period.  David goes and imitates the way the Philistines transported the Ark by putting it in a cart in spite of numerous Biblical teachings that the Ark is to be transported by the sons of Kohath (Num. 3:27–31; 4:15; 7:9; 10:21).  Had the Levites been carrying the Ark, the oxen would not have stumbled and Uzzah would not have touched the Ark.  David’s ignorance of the Word of God led him down this path of mistake after mistake, and this trail of mistakes is what put Uzzah in the path of God’s wrath.

What can we learn from this?  It is important to know God’s Word so that we can know God’s ways.  We need not do everything in the same manner all the time, but we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit often felt through the Word of God.  Without knowing God’s Word we stumble in making choices that seem rational to us but are against the wisdom of the Lord.

Ark in the House of Another

For three months the Ark remained away from David.  Although we don’t know this for certain, no doubt this three months time period allowed David to be angry, then fearful, and likely repentant.  We know that David had a pattern of understanding himself as wrong and being repentant, so it fits his character that this process should be followed here.  It is also likely that David consulted with the Word of God in the meantime because we see a very important change in David when he brings up the Ark a second time – and remember that change away from wrongdoing and into righteousness is a sign of repentance. 

What is the change?  We see that people bear the Ark as God’s Word addresses.  No longer does David follow the Philistine means of moving the Ark in a cart.  Now David has found the right means – likely from reviewing the Word of God.  This is the power of the Word of God: it brings unrighteous behavior into righteous behavior.  Of course, the seeker must be willing to hear the truth of God’s Word and willing to obey or else God’s Word will not take root in the person.

Michal

In the space remaining, let’s deal with Michal.  As the Ark is coming up to Jerusalem David offers sacrifices and dances before the Lord.*  Michal is embarrassed to see David behave this way, and I personally think that Michal’s accusations are an exaggeration of David’s behavior.  We know that David was wearing an ephod, and it was the priestly practice to wear undergarments underneath their ephod.   So I am skeptical as to the accuracy of Michal’s accusation in light of how God’s Word speaks about the moment of worship.

Furthermore, I am lead to this skepticism because of Michal’s attitude towards the honoring of the Lord.  Michal doesn’t attend the worship of the Lord, although in her accusation she makes it clear that other women do – servants even!  Michal looks out from a window as one desiring to know what is happening but not one desiring to be a part of the worship. 

I think it is possible that in Saul’s house Michal learned the worship of the Canaanite gods.  This makes 2 Samuel 6:16 read that she despised David not so much because of the dancing but because he was bringing the God of the Hebrew people into her presence.  Furthermore, notice that Michal focuses on David before the people, but it is David who reminds Michal that it was actually him dancing before God! 

Given everything that transpires in this passage, I think this is quite a likely reading of this chapter.  Michal was upset about the transition of power from Ba’al whom she worshipped (and was worshipped by the Jebusites – being Canaanites) to the God of the Hebrew people.  As further proof, don’t forget the story from 1 Samuel 19 where Michal covers up for David by taking an idol and covers it with goat hair and places it in David’s bed so that Saul’s men think it is David.  Clearly Michal had experience with the gods of the Canaanite people. Also, keep in mind that her brother was Ishbosheth, also known as Ishbaal – which means “man of Ba’al.”

I think back to the words I wrote yesterday.  We don’t get to enjoy victories and spiritual experiences long before being dragged down to reality.  Here David no sooner finishes bringing in the Ark of the Lord to his city and has a wonderful worship when he is immediately embroiled in an argument with one of his wives.  No, we don’t get to enjoy the spiritual moments for long at all, do we?

So, is it right for her to remain childless all her days?  The Bible remains silent on the rationale, but given everything that I’ve said here it is not unreasonable to think that a rift occurred here that affected marital relations.  Michal and David never had a relationship built on love, and now it is likely that their choice in gods has irrevocably come between them.  Michal’s barrenness has little to do with punishment and more to do with the consequences of her choices.  This speaks volumes to me about thinking through the choices we make and ensuring that we are ready to deal with the consequences.

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*As an aside, some may wonder how it is that a man from the tribe of Judah can make sacrifices and act as a priest without incurring God’s wrath.  In my research of this passage I have found an answer.  The possible answer begins with Genesis 14:18 where we hear about Melchizedek – an ancient king of Salem (Jerusalem) who was a high priest of God.  When David conquers Jerusalem, it is not out of the question to think that he takes on the titles of those who came before him.  Thus, in a manner of speaking we can say that David is a priest because of the order of Melchizedek as king of Jerusalem, but not because he is a Levite (and specifically from the lineage of Aaron).  There are some really cool New Testament implications to this line of thinking that I’ll save for another space.