Year 4, Day 347: 1 Kings 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

1 Kings 6 appears to be a fairly mundane chapter on first read.  It is verse after verse of construction manuals.  Solomon built the temple.  There was stone.  There was wood.  Then there was gold overlay.  I’m sure that it was splendid.  I’m sure that it was a sight to behold. 

But don’t miss 1 Kings 6:11-13.  Look at God’s response to the initial building effort.  Before Solomon can finish the temple God reminds Solomon about what his true calling happens to be.  Solomon isn’t called to be some great builder.  God didn’t call Solomon to build an incredible temple so that Solomon’s name would be remembered forever.  God called Solomon to be obedient to His word and to model that in his life.

Notice what is important to God.  God never says, “Wow, Solomon, that’s an impressive place to worship!”  God doesn’t say, “Oh, I really like the choice of cedar here.”  No, God calls Solomon into a life of obedience.  He says, “Solomon, don’t get caught up in the building.  What is important is that you keep my commandments.  What is important is that you are humble and submitted before me.”

The same is true for me.  What are my accomplishments in the presence of a God that created the world?  God doesn’t call me to have a life of splendor.  God calls me to have a life of obedience.

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Year 4, Day 346: 1 Kings 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

 As I reread my blog post from 3 years ago, I was struck once more by the lesson that hit me then.  It takes Gentiles and Jews to build the temple of God.  Solomon enlists Jewish help but he also requests workers from Tyre and Sidon.  The most holy place on earth from the Jewish mindset is a product of Gentile and Jewish hands.

Of course, what a beautiful place to point us to the work of Christ!  His church is build from Jewish and Gentile hands.  Jesus’ disciples were Jews.  Most of the first few decades of the church were filled with Jews.  Paul comes around and begins to include Gentiles and the church grows by leaps and bound.  Suddenly both Jews and Gentiles alike are able to be included.

What this brings us to is God’s sovereignty.  He is sovereign over us.  But He is sovereign over Jews and Gentiles alike.  He is not just the God of the Jews.  He is the King over creation.  He will rule over all, and all those who humble themselves before His presence will abide in the very presence of the king.

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Year 4, Day 345: 1 Kings 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

Yesterday I spend a good bit of time praising Solomon and his choice for wisdom.  Unfortunately, that praise lasts one day before we begin to see issues with Solomon.  Solomon’s issues seem to stem from his appetite.

This shouldn’t really surprise us.  David suffered from an issue of appetite.  David’s appetite was predominantly with respect to women.  Solomon certainly has this issue – 300 wives and 700 concubines.  The sins of the father are often seen in the son.  But Solomon’s issue with appetite is really more than that.  His issue is with respect to resources and demands upon the people.

Look at how much food had to be supplied to Solomon to sustain his bureaucracy.  Look at how many chariots he had to maintain on a regular basis.  Of course, chariots require horses, which come from Egypt and likewise need to be maintained, too.  Solomon was consuming the resources of the land.

Solomon’s appetite seems to revolve around the things of the world.  Solomon wants stuff.  This is costly to the kingdom.  And it is only going to get worse as Solomon’s kingdom expands, his reputation grows, and he gets more and more reputation in the ancient world.  Is there any wonder why the kingdom splits after Solomon’s reign?  Solomon’s appetite for the things of the world put an unnecessary strain upon the kingdom.

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Year 4, Day 344: 1 Kings 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Competency

• Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.

I absolutely love the question that Solomon poses to God at the end of his request for wisdom: “For who can govern your people?”  Solomon knows the truth.  Trying to lead people gets harder as the amount of people increases.  It’s hard enough to lead a family.  It’s even harder to lead a team or group.  It’s even harder to lead a ministry or business.  It’s even harder to lead a nation or country.  Solomon understands the near-impossibility of his task.  And he asks for help in the form of wisdom.

I want to praise Solomon from another perspective, too.  Solomon could have fallen into the pit of ambition and asked to be famous and filled with renown.  Solomon could have fallen to his appetite and asked for riches beyond measure or treasure unlike anyone else has ever known.  Solomon could have fallen into the pit of needing approval and asked for followers or servants who lift up how great and necessary he is.

But the truth is that Solomon was up to God’s challenge in this moment.  He is a competent leader - so long as he remains humble and faithful to God.  So long as Solomon understands that he isn’t ruling the kingdom under his own authority he can be a competent leader.  It is amazing to see Solomon’s humble attitude in the presence of God so naturally lead to competence.

But don't hear me giving Solomon the seal of approval, either.  We know how this story ends.  It is important that we learn the good from Solomon in this story, but not consider the story closed, either.

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Year 4, Day 343: 1 Kings 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

I was reminded of something that I desperately needed to hear about Solomon as I read 1 Kings 2.  You see, it is very easy to read this chapter and think of Solomon as an incredibly cruel man.  He has several men slain in this chapter!  As forgiving as David was when people around him make mistakes, Solomon seems inherently cruel.

However, I was reminded of some words I said three years ago when I studied this passage.  Each of the men who are killed in this chapter had been extended grace already.  Solomon had already given them parameters in which they could continue to live and not have issues with Solomon.  But they all discard Solomon’s grace.  They all scorn Solomon’s forgiveness.

Adonijah tries to steal the kingdom through another means: political shenanigans via the harem of King David.  Shimei was allowed to live so long as he stayed in Jerusalem, and he violates this contract.  Joab had killed during peacetime and David knew he was living on borrowed time.

Yes, Solomon’s consequences are harsh.  The fact that he has three people killed is not an easy thing to overlook. But in extending grace to them Solomon had challenged them to rise above their earlier behavior.  He challenged them to rise above their human nature and choose a better and more godly path.  But the challenge wasn’t accepted.  These three men remained the men they always had been.

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Year 4, Day 342: 1 Kings 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

I think that this is a neat passage with which we can have a discussion on forgiveness.  There is forgiveness all throughout this chapter.  And this is neat, because in each case the forgiveness doesn’t necessarily serve the one who is doing the forgiving.  In my experience with humanity, people in power tend to be forgiving most when it is to their own benefit to do so.  That’s not what we see happening here.

Let’s deal with the first one – the obvious one.  Adonijah sets himself up as king and then hears about David going through the process of making Solomon the legitimate king over God’s people.  He immediately repents.  He runs to the altar and grabs the horns of the altar.  He’s trying to save his life, for Solomon could legitimately have him executed for treason.  Solomon forgives.  Solomon allows Adonijah the opportunity to convince him that the coup is over and Adonijah accepts Solomon’s leadership.  We don’t know how Adonijah did it, but we know that Solomon allows Adonijah to go to his own house.  Solomon is forgiving and allows a rival to live.

The second story of forgiveness that we have is David and Joab.  Now, this one isn’t exactly spelled out in words.  But think about how many times Joab has countermanded one of David’s orders.  Joab killed Abner.  Joab killed Absalom.  Now Joab joins Adonijah’s coup.  Yet through all of this David allows Joab to remain the general over his army.  David understands forgiveness.  David understands that people make mistakes.  David seeks genuine repentance over perfection.

The third story of forgiveness is perhaps my favorite because it deals with God.  Remember how angry God was at David for the whole David and Bathsheba incident?  Yet, here we see God lifting up a legitimate child of that relationship as the next king of Israel.  God is willing to take a child of that union and place him among the long list of grandparents for His own Son.  God forgave David and Bathsheba because their repentance was genuine.

We are in a relationship with a forgiving God.  I can’t tell you how many times God has had to forgive me.  Yet, He continues to do so.  We are to model that forgiveness as we see constantly in David and we also see here in Solomon.  We are to be a people modeling what we receive from God.

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Year 4, Day 341: 2 Samuel 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

In the theological commentary from three years ago, I set forth a fair explanation of how it is that this chapter can say that God told David to do a census but then got angry at him for doing a census in the first place.  For anyone struggling over that concept, I would recommend reading that post.

What I am going to focus in this post is the repentant heart of David.  You see, God may ask David to do a census.  But when David goes about it using the wrong method – forgetful of the requirement of the offering to God – David immediately repents.  He knows his guilt and is humble before the Lord.

God relents.  But look at what it is that causes the relenting of the Lord.  David goes and offers up a sacrifice.  The sacrifice costs something of David.  But David would have it no other way.  David insists on paying for the sacrificing.  His heart is genuinely repentant for his sin.  He disobeyed God, and rather than denying accountability he acknowledges his sin and asks for forgiveness.  And God is happy to relent.

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Year 4, Day 340: 2 Samuel 23

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.
• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

The oracle of David that takes up the early section of this chapter gives a neat reminder about God.  We remember that it is God who rules justly over mankind.  God is the King.  God is the one with the power and the authority.

Yet god is not just the King.  As King, God could easily and righteously judge us and find every last one of us lacking.  But God is also Father.  He is the one who loves us.  He wants us to be justified, not condemned.

So this Father makes an everlasting covenant.  This Father gathers around us and lifts us up.  He promises to be with us not just in this lifetime but forever.  He promises us that we will be with Him and the world can do nothing about it.

Such is the nature of God.  He is the righteous king and judge.  But He is also the everlasting Father who promises His eternal love if we are just willing to receive it.

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Year 4, Day 339: 2 Samuel 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

If there is anything that the Psalms do better than the rest of scripture, it is putting a clear and blatant focus upon the greatness of God.  Yes, all of scripture is about God’s relationship with creation as well as the process of its restoration.  But the Psalms really do a great job focusing in on giving glory and honor to God.

As we read throughout this whole chapter we find reasons to praise God.  He is steadfast.  He is a rock.  He is faithful.  He is salvation.  He is our refuge.  He hears us.  He responds.  He rules the earth.  He rules the heavens.  He controls nature.

I can keep going, but I think you get my meaning.  God is worthy of being praised.  God is the focus of David’s life – even if occasionally he strays from this point.  This is what it means to have your Up on God.

This fall I’ve been challenged to keep God the center of my life.  When things go well, I’m challenged to give God praise.  When things go poorly, I’m challenged to continue to praise His name.  To have God in one’s Up as David has in this psalm means to be in relationship to God and turn to Him regardless of circumstance.

As the coach in the movie Facing the Giants says to his football team, “If we win, we give God the glory.  If we lose, we give God the glory.  Whatever happens, we give God the glory.”  That’s what it looks like to have one’s Up properly centered on God.

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Year 4, Day 338: 2 Samuel 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

As I read through 2 Samuel 21, I was struck by the famine that comes upon the nation at the end of David’s reign.  I wasn’t struck by the famine.  I was curious about why it took God so long to bring about the famine since this is quite some time after Saul ever lived.  But what struck me most is that the famine comes because some “non-chosen” people – in other words, non-Hebrews – were dealt with in an unrighteous manner.

Here is why this is such a neat point.  In the ancient world, two things were assumed about “gods.”  First, gods lived according to their own whims.  Second, gods only cared about their people.  In other words, gods only cared about the people that honored them and sacrificed to them.

But here’s the thing.  The people who were slighted were Gibeonites.  They were non-Hebrews.  They didn’t worship God.  They weren’t part of the chosen people of God.  Yet God still cared for them.  He still cared that righteousness was done.

This shows God’s magnitude.  God isn’t just concerned about himself.  Nor is He just a god of a certain people.  God is over everything, even upholding people who aren’t His own while holding His own people accountable!  God is king over the universe, not just His special group.  God is concerned with righteousness, not just the success of His people.  God is a big God.

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Year 4, Day 337: 2 Samuel 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: People of Peace

• People of Peace: A person of peace is someone whom God has prepared to hear God’s message through you.  God does all the work of preparing that person for your presence in their life. Because of this preparation, these people will like you.  They will listen to you.  They will serve with you as you live out God’s calling for your life.

As we look at this chapter, I’m going to try and say something meaningful about the concept of People of Peace.  If we look at David, we remember that he is just coming off of a war against his own son, Absalom.  His own people, the people of Judah, supported Absalom.  When the battle is over, David knows that there is some repair that needs to happen.

So David begins to draw the people of Judah close.  He begins to invite them closer into his life.  He begins to allow them to have special roles and special functions.

Here is the amazing thing.  It works!  The people of Judah respond.  The same people that once supported Absalom in order to oust David now find him to be desirable.  They are willing to serve him.  They are willing to listen to him.  They are willing to see what God is doing in David’s life and join in.  That’s what People of Peace are all about.  Even among David’s enemies can People of Peace be found!

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Year 4, Day 336: 2 Samuel 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

Challenge.  It is a double edged sword.  Without challenge, most of us would not grow meaningfully.  Sure, we might learn and occasionally do something.  But without challenge, we would seldom if ever grow and stretch in directions that are difficult but necessary.

David’s son dies.  David, being David, mourns the loss of his son.  That’s the natural thing to do for him.  David isn’t about power or really even concern for the kingdom.  David mourns that his son is dead.

But Joab comes along and challenges David.  He tells David that his mourning has gone too far.  The warriors who fought with him are beginning to no longer see the battle as a victory and are beginning to think something is wrong.  The whole nation is confused because David should be celebrating in public but is mourning instead.  They are beginning to miss the fact that God’s hand was at work in the battle.

David is just doing what David feels natural to do.  He’s just “being himself.”  But he needs to hear the words of Joab.  He needs that challenge to pull him back into proper alignment for the kingdom.  He needs the challenge to get past his own personal mourning and realize to give glory to God for delivering the kingdom back into the hands of the one to whom it was promised.

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Year 4, Day 335: 2 Samuel 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

I really have a fair amount of respect for David in this chapter.  I’m not saying that David does everything perfectly in this chapter, either.  But look at what happens in this chapter.  David’s kingdom is usurped by his own son.  Absalom comes out to fight – looking for David’s head, even!  Yet David makes the request of a loving father that Absalom be treated with gentleness.

Then the actual war breaks out.  David finds out that Absalom has been slain.  Instead of David being angry that his request wasn’t followed, David simply mourns.  He doesn’t yell at Joab.  He just mourns.  Like a loving father who is heartbroken that his family is suffering from so much dysfunction, he just mourns.

So why Can David do this?  Why can David love a rebellious son?  How can David mourn his son’s death without being ugly to the man who killed him?  David’s Up is in the right position.  David is focused upon God.  Because David is focused on God and God’s ways instead of his own desire for his own life, David is able to mourn without lashing out at the people around him.  Because David is focused on God’s will, he can even look past his own son’s rebellion.  It is amazing what people can live through when their Up is focused on God and not anything else.

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Year 4, Day 334: 2 Samuel 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

Let’s talk authority two days in a row.  Today, we look at Hushai.  Hushai has the courage to stay behind in Jerusalem and thwart the advice of Ahithophel.  Why would he put himself in this position?  Quite simply, Hushai can do this because he understands who the king is and what authority flows out of the king.

No, I’m not talking about David or Absalom.  Hushai understands that God is king and God’s will shall be done.  Hushai believes that David is God’s anointed and David is worth fighting for.  So Hushai goes into the chamber of Absalom and is able to contradict Ahithophel’s advice.  He does it under the authority of a God who is in control of a particularly dark moment in the history of the kingdom.

I’d like to note here that Hushai doesn’t go about his work in today’s reading deceptively.  Everything that he says is true.  How many times did Saul pursue David with stronger numbers and how many times did God give David the upper hand?  David is not a man to pursue when he is on the run and angry.  I believe Hushai is genuinely giving Absalom good advice in this chapter; but it is godly counsel that also serves the purposes of David, too.

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Year 4, Day 333: 2 Samuel 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

I think this chapter contains one of my favorite stories about David.  Here is a king who has just lost his kingdom.  One of Saul’s kinsmen comes out to verbally abuse David as David goes by.  This man believes that David lost his kingdom as God’s righteous judgment upon David.  David needs to respond.

Some of David’s men come to David and offer to go kill the man and silence them.  Who could blame David if he had allowed them to do so?  Had you just been ousted by your own son and be running away with your tail tucked between your legs, wouldn’t it be easy to lash out at people who would just come and pile it on?

But look at what David does here.  I love David’s spiritual example.  David reminds himself that he is a human and cannot know God’s will.  It could be that this kinsman of Saul is actually correct.  And if he is correct, then what good will it do to go and hurt someone who is properly acting upon the will of God?  Or it could be that this man is wrong.  If he is wrong, then wouldn’t it be better to let God deal with it than to take matters into our own hands?

You see, people will always come up against us.  People will always think they know God’s will when it comes to our life.  The high spiritual road that David shows us is that we should let vengeance be to the Lord.  The Lord is the only righteous judge.  If I get caught up in some sort of vengeance and I turn out to be wrong, then I am putting God in a position to be my judge.  And let’s be honest with ourselves.  God’s already got enough on me.  I don’t need to add to the pile!

David knows where true authority comes from: the King, our God and Father.  David doesn’t need to wrest God’s authority out of his hand.  David is content letting God be king, letting God be in charge, and letting God be judge.  David will simply follow the path that God seems to be putting in front of him – even when it doesn’t make any sense such as losing the kingdom to your worldly son.  But even then, David doesn’t usurp God’s authority.  His example is very good here.

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Year 4, Day 332: 2 Samuel 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval, Ambition

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.
• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

2 Samuel 15 is all about the set-up for Absalom’s revolt.  In this revolt, we can see two of the three broad categories of sinfulness that I’ve been talking a lot about lately.  We’ve spoken often about David’s reoccurring failure in appetite – specifically sexual appetite.  Today we’ll get to examine Absalom through the lens of ambition.  But to get to Ambition, Absalom moves through approval.

Absalom wants to rule over Israel.  He wants to be king.  Absalom is completely and totally driven by ambition.  For Absalom, it’s all about him, his name in lights, and being in the seat of power.  Absalom is a driven man, willing to do anything to accomplish his goals.

In order to get to where he wants to get, however, Absalom needs to go through the lens of Approval.  But here’s the catch.  You’ll notice that it isn’t God’s approval that Absalom seeks.  He’s not really interested in whether or not God approves of his plan to become king.  No, Absalom seeks the approval of mankind.  He gets some of the leaders to follow him.  He gets the general populace to follow him.  He seeks after the approval of the people to get what he wants.  He manipulates the people by whispering into their ears the words that they want to hear.

Which, of course, leads us back to talk about Absalom’s ambition.  Notice that Absalom is seeking his own dream, not God’s dream for Absalom!  When Absalom begins to seek after the approval of the people and not the approval of God, we get our first hint that Absalom’s ambition isn’t God’s ambition for him, either.  Not once do we hear that Absalom seeks out the Lord.  In fact, Absalom even drums up some false story about needing to go worship God at Hebron in order to begin his revolt!  This is not God’s plan.  Absalom is using God to accomplish his own ambitious plan.

This is scary, but extremely common in the world today.  People all over the world are all about accomplishing their plan rather than humbling themselves and being ambition for what God desires of them.

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Year 4, Day 331: 2 Samuel 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

In this chapter we get several horrible glances at what approval – misguided or even lack thereof – can do to relationships.  We see it in Joab.  We see it in Absalom.  We see it in David.

Let’s start with David, because he continues to be the central character.  In this story, David absolutely refuses to allow Absalom to have any means to regain approval in David’s eyes.  Remember two things.  First of all, Absalom killed David’s first-born, Amnon.  So David does have a bit of a right to be angry with Absalom.  But also remember that Absalom is also David’s son.  Even in his darkest moments, Absalom needs some hope for approval and restoration.  David blocks Absalom from this first by not welcoming Absalom into the city and then by not welcoming Absalom into the palace even when David is tricked into allowing Absalom back into the city.  David doesn’t realize the negative impact that his disapproval actually has upon Absalom.

Second, let’s look at Joab.  Joab is seeking approval of the world around him.  First of all, Joab wants Absalom to come back to Jerusalem.  This is his own desire, but we also will learn in the next chapter that Absalom was well liked by the people.  Therefore, Joab is seeking the approval of the greater community by being the person who smoothed things out and who brought back the favorite prince.  He’s not seeking God’s approval and doing God’s will; Joab is seeking his own elevation in the eyes of the people around him.

Finally, let’s look at Absalom.  In some respects Absalom is the tragic person in the story.  He appears to genuinely want restoration to David.  He tries to see his father, but his father denies him access.  He tries to talk to Joab, but even Joab won’t have anything to do with Absalom after the beloved prince is returned to Jerusalem.  So what are the effects of this young man not having access to the approval that he so desperately desires and even needs?  We’ll see the big effect tomorrow.  But for now we can see that he destroys Joab’s barley field.  Absalom wants access to Joab enough that he will get it even if through negative means.  Of course, this also leads to a cordial – but certainly not meaningful – meeting between David and Absalom.

While I certainly do not condone Absalom’s murder of his brother Amnon, I also can’t help but feel for Absalom in this passage.  The door isn’t open for forgiveness.  He has no ability to find approval in anyone’s sight.  I can really understand Absalom’s question to Joab when he asks why he wasn’t allowed to stay where he was – because he was at least accepted there!  Life in which means to approval are denied to a person is no fun at all.  Over the next three of four chapters we shall see how this unravels the kingdom around David.

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Year 4, Day 330: 2 Samuel 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.

2 Samuel 13 is a great chapter to look at the failure of In.  What happens when we don’t have In?  What happens when we choose our In properly?  All of these dynamics can be seen in 2 Samuel 13.

If begins with Amnon.  Amnon lusts after his sister-in-law.  Where were the people of common sense in this story?  Where were the people who could shepherd Amnon into healthier thinking?  Instead of good and healthy friends, we hear about Jonadab, Amnon’s crafty cousin.  When Amnon could have benefited from an In relationship with someone wise or matual he instead turns to someone with the descriptor of crafty.  Amnon picked his In poorly.  This choice led him to sleep with Tamar and ultimately this choice leads to an early grave.  Wise counsel might have been able to save Amnon; his poor choice of In hurt him in the end.

What about Absalom?  Who does Absalom turn to for In?  Therein lies the problem.  Absalom doesn’t turn to anyone.  Absalom plans and schemes his half-brother’s death.  Granted, I think this had just as much to do with wanting to be first in line as king and less to do with repaying the sin.  But in either case, let’s look at what happens. 

Absalom doesn’t get bad advice – he gets no advice!  Absalom doesn’t have any In to whom he can turn.  He plots and schemes all on his own.

This leaves me asking one simple question.  Where is David?  Where is their father figure?  Where is perhaps the greatest influence of In in a young man’s life?  David is silent.  He is angered by the actions of his kids, but he is silent.  His silence only adds to the lack of In felt by Amnon and Absalom both.

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Year 4, Day 329: 2 Samuel 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

It makes sense to talk about forgiveness in the chapter after we spoke about David’s sexual appetite.  Nathan comes to David and confronts David in his sin.  David’s sin with Bathsheba is now public.  Someone I know and respect has a habit of saying, “No sin is ever done alone.”  David may have thought this sexual sin had been covered up with the death of Uriah.  But God knew the truth.  Nathan knows the truth.  David’s sin affects his community.

But here’s the thing.  As much as David is a sinner – no more so than me, by the way – David is also a man of repentance.  Look at what David says here.  David does not get angry with Nathan.  He doesn’t deny it.  He doesn’t try to rationalize his behavior.  David acknowledges his sin and repents.  When the life of his baby is in danger, David also fasts and mourns just in case God desires to not kill the baby.  David may sin with his whole heart, but David repents with his whole heart, too.  David doesn’t just confess with his lips; David lives out his repentance.

But perhaps the most admirable thing that I think we see David do is what he does after the baby dies.  Some accuse David of being cruel and heartless here towards his baby.  I consider him to be strong and courageous.  David knows that if the baby is dead then there is nothing else that can be done there.  Instead, David goes and comforts his wife.  When his new wife is comforted, David went out into the military battlefield where he should have been in the first place.  David’s repentance actually leads to changed behavior. 

David doesn’t repent and then put himself into the same place of sin.  David repents and changes his behavior as a demonstration of his repentance.  David’s sinfulness is certainly not something we should desire to imitate.  But there can be little wonder as to why God loves David when we see how David responds to his sinfulness in repentance.

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Year 4, Day 328: 2 Samuel 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

We’ve already spoken about David’s appetite for women.  By this point in the story we should not be surprised that when David sins the majority of time it is a sin of the appetite variety.  David sees Bathsheba.  David wants Bathsheba.  David’s men take Bathsheba.  David sins because his appetite is out of control.

But if we look at this chapter, we can see why his appetite is out of control.  This chapter begins by saying that it was the time for kings to go out to war.  Up until this point, what had made David a great military leader is that he led his troops personally.  But now that he is king he stays at home.  So here is David with all of his generals, his advisors, and the strong fighting men of the town gone.  He should be at the battle leading his men personally.  But he’s at home with minimal accountability.

He puts himself in a position where his appetite has no check to help balance him out.  His appetite gets the better of him because all the people who should have been there to help him were gone – including Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.  He set himself up to fail.

This is an important lesson to learn.  We often set ourselves up to fail when we lose sight of our accountability.  We often sin the greatest in the moments when we are alone and the sinfulness that resides inside is left unchecked.

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Year 4, Day 327: 2 Samuel 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

This is a chapter that gives us a lot of reality in the world.  How many times do we as people try to do something nice or meaningful and have it come back to bite us?  How many times do we try and make a gesture in love and only have it come back to hurt us?  In many instances our good deeds are received well.  But all too often our well-meaning intentions aren’t received.

In fact, sometimes our well-meaning intentions actually bring about conflict!  When we see David reach out in love in this chapter, what we see come back at David is the other side lining up for war!  David simply desires to honor the death of a neighboring king with whom he had a good relationship.  The next thing he knows, the Ammonites are buying mercenary support and coming against him in war.  Sometimes life just isn’t fair when you try and do the right thing or the meaningful thing.

This is where protection comes into play.  David relies upon the protection of the Lord.  David knows that his heart was genuine and he relies upon God to bring him through this tough stretch.  God allows his armies to fight well and sent home those who come to oppose David.  We cannot control how other people receive our gestures.  But if we are genuine in our intentions, we can know that God will protect us.

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Year 4, Day 326: 2 Samuel 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge, Invitation

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.
• Invitation: God is always inviting us into relationship with Him. He desires that we know Him and that we know His desire for us.

This is a great chapter to look at the concept of invitation and challenge.  Clearly this is a chapter where there is an abundance of invitation.  David seeks to remember and honor Jonathon’s name.  So he seeks out and invites Jonathon’s son and literally welcomes him into his family.  By inviting Mephibosheth to eat as his table, David is inviting him into the family permanently.  You don’t get much more invitation than that.

However, the invitation comes with a bit of challenge.  As I explain in the theological commentary from three years ago, Mephibosheth was born into this world under the name Meribaal – which means “Ba’al is the advocate.”  Remember that Ba’al is the chief Canaanite god.  When this son of Jonathon comes to stay with David and becomes a part of David’s family, David changes his name.  Mephibosheth is a name that means “Scatterer of Shame.” 

So while David invites this son of Jonathon into his household, he is also giving him a challenge.  David asks him to give up any part of his life that touches Ba’al.  David asks this son of Jonathon to focus on God and live according to God’s ways.  David gives us a great model here of how challenge and invitation can be calibrated properly.

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Year 4, Day 325: 2 Samuel 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

In this chapter we begin to hear about the expansion of the kingdom under David.  I don’t know if you have looked at one, but I would recommend trying to find a map of the kingdom of Saul versus the kingdom of David.  It’s rather impressive.  David’s kingdom grows to about ten times the size of Saul’s kingdom.

Now, this isn’t because David is ten times the leader as Saul.  It isn’t because David is ten times more powerful.  In fact, this growth has less to do with David and more to do with God.  About the only thing it has to do with David is that David was willing to follow God.

God caused the kingdom to grow.  God gave David the plan and God gave David the victories.   God was the power behind the expansion of David’s kingdom.

However, it was David’s calling.  God chose to do His work through David.  David was willing to follow and obey.  David played the role that God asked of him at the timing and planning of God.

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Year 4, Day 324: 2 Samuel 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: In, Up

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.
• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

2 Samuel 7 is a really neat perspective on Up and In.  You see, David gets an idea.  So David takes that idea to Nathan, his spiritual In.  The two of them discern together and they decide that it sounds like a good plan.  David is given the green light to go ahead and build up a temple of the Lord.

This is where Up starts to take over.  That night, God visits Nathan and corrects Nathan.  Now think about this for a second.  Nathan has to admit that he was wrong.  He has to admit that he gave David bad advice.  But none of these things matter to Nathan.  His pride doesn’t get in the way.  What is important for Nathan is to follow the will of God regardless of what human plans may have been made.

We get a great chance to see Up and In with David in response to Nathan.  When Nathan comes to David, David listens.  Again, for David it is more important for him to follow God than to follow human plans.  David is humble and obedient to God.  David listens to his spiritual In.  This is a great example of how spiritual relationships truly work.

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Year 4, Day 323: 2 Samuel 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

This chapter has always been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is such a memorable story, and it is a story where we can easily wonder what exactly happened that caused Uzzah to need to die.

The crux of this story rests with David’s inability in this instance to consult with the Lord.  David wants the Ark of the Covenant to come to Jerusalem.  But he doesn’t consult with God.  He doesn’t consult with God’s Word about how to move the Ark.  He just does what makes sense and sticks the Ark in a cart.  Because David thinks for himself and doesn’t confer with God, he puts Uzzah in a position to offend God.

However, what I love about this chapter is that after David has had some time to cool down and rethink his mistake we see an obvious change.  We see obvious spiritual growth.  David brings the Ark the rest of the way up to Jerusalem and has the priests carry it this time.  As they process, there is a grand worship for the Lord.  Much has changed about David’s approach to the Ark as we progress through this chapter.

This is a great story of challenge.  David tries to do his best, but he fails because he followed his own thinking rather than consulting God.  But he learns his lesson and grows.  He feels the challenge and makes a great decision after experiencing failure.  That is what challenge is all about.

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