365 Reflections

The book of Kings opens with an ancient story about a rebellious son assuming the throne that has rightly been set apart for the beloved Son of David. Adonijah is that rebellious son and Solomon is the chosen, promised, beloved Son who will reign. The whole story provides a picture of our present reality as Christians in the Church age. Adonijah signifies for us those kings and rulers through the ages that assume Jesus' absence is their license to rule and reign on the Earth. But they are sadly mistaken and its just a matter of time. While Adonijah is feasting and celebrating his own glorification, Nathan, the true man of God and prophet who has spoken forcefully to David in the past comes up with a plan. He and Bathsheba will unite forces to awaken the king from his absence and bring about the rightful reign of Solomon. 1 Kings 1:11–12 (ESV) Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our l...

The book of 1 Kings starts off in a familiar manner. Once again the kingdom of David is challenged by insurrection through an undisciplined son of David. 1 Kings 1:5–6 (ESV) Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom. Adonijah's move here is a familiar event indeed. The handsome son of David and younger brother to Absalom decides he's going to make himself greater than all. We notice that he is described as handsome. We should not dismiss the fact that scripture makes no bones about the fact that outward appearance is often hand in hand with pride , rebellion and ultimately disruption . This, of course, was Satan's problem in heaven before Creation. What's interesting about Adonijah's...

2 Samuel 24:10 (ESV) But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” David's heart is convicted of his sin of counting the military. He is given choices of punishment and he chooses to fall "into the hands of the Lord for (David knew) His mercy is great" (Verse 14). And so 3 days of pestilence captures the land and 70,000 men die. It should be noted that this number is 5% of the previously counted army. Modern people struggle with God's judgment but consider that only 1 in 20 members of the army perished while 19 in 20 remained. God's mercy FAR outweighs His judgment. When the Lord brings judgment upon the nation, He stops the destroying angel over Jerusalem and the future site of the Temple. This is significant. Scripture is speaking to something far larger than this current ...

2 Samuel 24:1–2 (ESV) Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.”  The first sentence in this passage understandably troubles Bible readers. But we have to understand Biblical narrative and let the scriptures interpret one another. First, the text wants us to understand the Lord's displeasure with Israel. Perhaps this is due to how they treated David upon his return after abandoning him. Perhaps this is due to inner spiritual rot. We can guess any number of reasons. We also have to turn to the Chronicles account of this same moment for clarity: 1 Chronicles 21:1 (ESV) Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. The Chronicles account makes clear that Satan was th...

Boldness is next to Godliness. Benaiah is exhibit "A." Why do we get the idea that the safer we play it, the more "Christian" we are? Where does this vision of faithfulness come from? When I read scripture, it is not those who play it safe that get mentioned but rather those who take the chances and seek to accomplish great things with God as their strength. One of those lesser-known bold men of God is mentioned among David's mighty friends: 2 Samuel 23:20–21 (ESV)   And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Benaiah is perhaps the Bible's best risk-taker. He never passed up an...

2 Samuel 23:14–17 (ESV)   David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord , that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did. This passage seems to be a contradiction in terms. David at war with the enemies of Israel longs for water from his hometown. His three best men get through to get the water and David pours it on the ground. What gives? If I was one of those men I'd be pretty upset. But of course, there's more to t...

I think we wall want to be remembered for having lived well. I think we all want to live well. But I also think most of us have no clue how to get there and mismanage our path along the way. David lived well. He had his bad moments, but he ended well and brought Isreal to unprecedented heights. His last words are a testimony to his secret to living well. For David, it was his complete heartfelt devotion to the Lord. 2 Samuel 23:1–4 (ESV)  Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. David knew the Lor...

David's song of thanksgiving for God's deliverance continues here in 2 Samuel 22.  Here in verses 26-28, he makes a statement that illustrates God's dealings with men. 2 Samuel 22:26–28 (ESV)   “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. Please take note, God does NOT respond the same way to all people. He reveals different sides of His nature to different kinds of people.  I consider that many people get exactly what they expect from God. If they expect Him to be tortuous, He will be. Yet if they expect Him to be merciful and good, He will be. Notice that David ends with the humble person. God's salvation power works for those who remain reliant on Him. The interesting thing here for David is that he sees God's goodness work for hi...

2 Samuel 22 is another version of Psalm 18 but this time, the song is placed in the historical setting at which it was uttered. David has lived a blessed and sustained life from the Lord. He acknowledges freely and joyfully that without the Lord he would have been doomed. One thing that jumps off the page for me is that the mighty king and warrior is also a worshipper. So often we think worship is for the weak or maybe even the feminine. It is not just for them! It is also for the strong, the mighty, the one who knows the Lord is strong FOR them and THROUGH them. 2 Samuel 22:2–4 (ESV)   He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 4 I call upon the Lord , who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. Notice the personal relationship David maintained with the Lord. Ten times in...