Week 112, Day 2: Higher than I
Today’s Reading: Psalm 61:1- 64:1-10
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
I wonder how many songs that we sing are derived from the Psalms? Psalm 61 has the statement that David calls to God from the end of the earth when his heart is faint. He asks the Lord to lead him to “the rock that is higher than I”. What a great way to say it. God is our rock of strength and refuge during troublesome times. Seeing the pictures of the tsunami make you appreciate the concept of a high rock. During those times of chaos, panic, fear and pain we long for a place of safety. God is that rock of safety where we can seek to escape from disaster. Looking at David’s life it is easy to see that trusting in God does not mean that no bad things ever happen to you ever. But God provides us so many things that we need. A place of refuge is one very important thing. No matter how strong, smart, brave, or popular a person is, eventually they will need a place of refuge from this life. For example, no matter how well prepared a person was for calamity or emergencies over in Japan, the devestation and destruction would have been hard if not impossible to escape. Where does a person seek help from during those times? We need God, we need to constantly seek the rock that is higher than I.
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Week 83, Day 2: A song of salvation
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
David sang a song to the Lord praising Him for delivering him from his enemies. I often enjoy reading these because they give us an additional glimpse at the mindset of certain people. Speaches, prayers, and songs often open up a window for us to look in and see who this person was. David was a man of great faith. Here he acknowledges and thanks God for being his rock and fortress. Such pronouncements also enable us to see how David describes things in his own words. He calls God the horn of my salvation. This is certainly not a phrase that we would use regularly today. So we get a glimpse of terminology they used but most importantly we see how much David praised God for the good He had done. David says that God recompensed him according to the cleanness of his hands and according to his righteousness. God delivered David from the hands of mightier foes because David was a righteous man who served God faithfully.
Question: If you were to write you own “song of praise” to God, what would it center around and what would it say? This might be a good exercise for all of us to try. Put into writting your praise for God. And then compare this to the kind of things David had to say.
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Week 82, Day 4: David brought back
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 19:1-43
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
After Absalom is killed David mourns for his son. This could be understandable to greive the loss of your son but this son had just tried to kill you. David’s reaction is not good. He disheartened his men and made them feel so low that they came back into the city as if they had been the ones to lose the battle. David’s reaction puts him in danger of driving people away from him. Joab, the commander of his army, is the one who comes to rebuke him. This seems to reflect the close relationshihp that Joab had with David and yet their relationship is not all good. Joab is the one who had killed his son. It would also seem that word must have gotten back to David who killed Absalom because David states that he is going to appoint Amasa as the new commander of his army.
We also have a glimpse at conflict between the norther tribes of Israel and with Judah. This is the brewing of trouble to come later for Rehoboam.
Question: What does David’s reaction to Absalom’s death reflect about some parents?
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Week 82, Day 1: David’s flight
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 16:1-23
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
As David is fleeing before Absalom he is met by a couple different people. One of them was from the house of Saul. He verbally and physically attacked the caravan as it traveled along the road. He slung curses at David calling him a man of bloodshed. He claimed that God was repaying the bloodshed David had inflicted on the house of Saul. But the only bloodshed that David had directly inflicted on Saul’s household was to slay the seven sons of Saul as punishment for Saul’s attack against the Gibeonites and that had not happened yet. This also was not an act of vengence by David but justice for wrongs done by Saul. So either Shimei is just blaming David for all the calamity that befell Saul’s household since David is now king or perhaps he is blaming him for Ish-bosheth’s death. Either way it is an unfounded claim of wrong doing against David. And yet David feels so low because he is being driven out and punished for his sin with Bathsheba. He wonders if God wants this man to curse him. Notice how this man doesn’t just meet David and say something to him about how he deserves this, he follows him down the road hurling stones and continuing to rant at David. I believe that we see an amazing amount of restraint by David when he does not punish this man upon his return to be king.
Question: How should we react when someone is cursing us or assaulting us? What can our response show others?
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Week 82, Day 2: You are the man
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1-31
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
The prophet Nathan is sent to confront David regarding his adultery. Some period of time had passed between David’s sin and when Nathan is sent. Remember that David had Urriah killed, Bathsheba mourned for her husband, David took her to be his wife and she had the baby. In all this time David had not been moved to make amends for his sin through prayer and sacrifice. Nathan now confronts David of his sin and tells him what his punishment will be.
We see that although David was forgiven of his sin, there were still consequences. The consequence of sin may be severe at times. I wonder how often David wished he had not sinned. His life and the life of his family would have been very different if he had refrained.
Question: Why do you think David reacted so strongly to Nathan’s story about the rich man taking the poor man’s sheep? Why did this story apply so well to David?
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Week 81, Day 4: Mephibosheth
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 9:1-13
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Now that David has secured his throne and been granted rest from his enemies, he turns his eyes to accomplishing another work. David and Saul’s son Jonathan had made a vow to have peace between their houses. David now sought to honor that covenant by seeking out Jonathan’s son. It is sad that Jonathan’s only son was now lame. He had been injured by Saul’s servant. After Saul died, the servant gathered Mephibosheth up in order to flee but fell and it damaged both of his feet. So now Mephibosheth has been living many years in some kind of seclusion. David brings Mephibosheth and grants him all the lands that Saul had once owned. He has just made this man rich overnight and given him servants to tend to his new lands. David has extended great mercy to Mephibosheth and has kept his word to Jonathan.
Question: How easy would it have been for David to forget about the oath he made with Jonathan? What does the keeping of this oath show about David?
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Week 81, Day 2: Overwhelming
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-29
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
David has news brought to him that would be hard to take in. Have you ever felt that God blessed you or is blessing you so much? Have you ever realized that your cup overflows with blessings from God’s hand? I see David in that realm in chahpter 7. David had enough concern for doing good towards God that he recognized that here he was living in a house of cedar and yet the ark remained in a tent. But the answer to David was that he wasn’t the man to build the temple. This might have been hard for David to hear. Why not me? But this let down was followed by news that God would give him rest from his enemies and would establish his throne forever. David expresses his sense of how good God has been to him by saying, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” When David considered that God had taken him from following the sheep and made him an established throne. Amazing. You can understand how overwhelming these blessings must be to all take in.
Our challenge is to always keep things in perspective. Has God blessed us? How much has He blessed us? Let us stand in awe of what God does for us. Great is His mercy and great is His lovingkindness.
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Week 80, Day 5: David becomes king
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-25
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
David becomes king over all of Israel. Finally he has been raised up to the place he had been promised. Soon he takes up his seat in Jerusalem. Up till this time Jerusalem remained in the hands of the Jebusites. This text tells us in verse 8 how they were able to overthrow the city, “through the water tunnel”. David now understands that God has established him as king. God fulfilled His promise to David.
We are also told how David was able to defeat the long term enemy of the Philistines. The Philistines have always been a danger to Israel. But after David’s reign you do not hear of them being the same kind of danger. God put an end to the threat of the Philistines. And thus began the solidifying of Israel’s borders and security that would eventually come to the land.
Question: Why was it important for David, even after becoming the king, to still inquire of God whether to go against the Philistines?
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Week 80, Day 4: Ish-bosheth Murdered
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 4:1-12
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
After Abner is killed things just fall apart for Ish-bosheth. It sounds like from this account that Ish-bosheth was no “mighty man” and that Abner kept everything together for him. So with Abner gone things look very bleak for Ish-bosheth. One day these two men who are supposed to be commanders among his troops come in and strike Ish-bosheth and cut off his head. This does not seem to indicate that all of his troops wanted Ish-bosheth killed but these men came in by stealth and struck before they could be stopped.
David continues to display integrity and a great sense of honor in all his dealings. When these wicked men bring Ish-bosheth’s head to him, David addresses their wickedness and has them killed. Such acts of justice would spread among David’s men so that they knew what was expected of them and what kind of actions were not tolerated. I see in David’s actions a clear reflection of why a righteous ruler draws forth the godly. A righteous ruler does not mean that evil never happens again, but it does mean that the wicked have someone to fear and the godly have someone to rally around.
Question: Should David not have rejoiced that his enemy was now dead?
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Week 80, Day 2: Divided kingdom
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 2:1-32
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
David asks God what he should do and the Lord directs him to go up to Hebron. There Judah makes him king over them. There are quick references such as these that emphasize how David sought after God’s council. On the other hand you have Abner and Ish-bosheth. They continue after Saul’s example and will not accept that God has chosen to replace Saul as the king.
When the fighting begins it is clear that David’s men are superior. Whether this is because God strengthens them or because they are better men of war, David begins to gain the upper hand by his military victories. It is sad to see how many men died because some would not accept what God planned for His people. This is what happens though when men do not seek out God’s guidance. Had Abner and Ish-bosheth been willing to ask God like David did, then many men would not have lost their lives. But you have to be seeking to please God to inquire of him. These men were clearly not seeking to do God’s will but to do their own.
Question: How do we prevent ourselves from just following our own pursuits and instead pursuing God’s ways?
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