Month: September 2023

2 Samuel 13:36 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.

David and his household heard the bad news of the murder of Amnon and the flight of Absalom. This message brought sorrow and grief to the king’s sons and servants; and they all wept and mourned together. David’s family may have been dysfunctional, but they were still family, along with his servants. The whole household would weep with those who weep. Weeping with one another doesn’t really take away the grief and loss, but some comfort comes from sharing the sorrow and mourning together.

Weeping and mourning is the natural response to sin, death, and loss. The Self lost something, which brings grief, but love grieves with the sufferer and gives some comfort.

A part of the cause of weeping is that we have lost someone, but the unseen and greater cause of weeping is that we are aggrieved over Sin, sin in the world and our own sin, that brings death, loss, and misery. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, not just because of the loss of a friend, but mainly because of Sin that causes death, pain, and loss. But then Jesus responded by doing something about it: He raised Lazarus and went on to die for the sins of all, and then rise to give victory over tears.

Therefore, in heaven God Himself will wipe away all tears, for sin, death, and loss will be no more. Then we shall rejoice with those who rejoice.

2 Samuel 13:22, 28-29 Absalom hateth Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar….Absalom had commanded his servants, Smite Amnon; then kill him….And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom commanded.

Absalom may have had every earthly good reason to hate his brother for the rape of his sister. But the response of hate is never excusable. Hate is always sin, and hatred is always murder in God’s eyes (Matthew 5:22; 1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.”) The story of Cain and the story Absalom illustrate this truth. Hatred in the heart literally caused murder in actual fact. God considers it murder, and a violation of the Fifth Commandment, if there is hatred in the heart.

The godly response to pain and offense is to apologize, reconcile, and forgive. We do not let the sun go down on our wrath. Our Lord grants faith in God’s forgiveness so that we might have the power to forgive others. God reconciles us to Himself in Christ so that we have the ministry of reconciliation. We pray for forgiveness and we pray to forgive.

When anger enters the heart we recognize it as the sin of murder, and we deal with it through apology, reconciliation, peacemaking, forgiveness, repentance, and prayer. Our Lord stops the growth and spread of sin. None of us goes through life without pain; therefore, none of us escapes anger and hate. Learning anger management is a necessary spiritual skill, and it can only be taught by the Spirit through the Gospel.

2 Samuel 1, 2, 11-12, 22 Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her….he fell sick for his sister Tamar….he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me….but being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her….for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.

This story further illustrates how lust leads to adultery, in this case rape and incest, and how hatred leads to murder. Lust and anger are a natural habit of sinners’ thoughts, but the believer responds with repentance to stop the progression that leads to action. Without godly self-control, the world would end up in a terribly dysfunctional mess.

The dysfunction in David’s family was at least partly caused by David’s own sin. He faced sins in own family that were a consequence of those he had committed. And he could not control his family either. Amnon could not control his lust for his half-sister, who was Absalom’s full sister. Absalom could not control his anger toward Amnon for raping Tamar, so he had him murdered.

Unless repentance and faith allows the Spirit to exercise self-control, one sin leads to another leads to another and so on. Unless controlled, thoughts can turn into deeds. Disaster results. As good a man as David was, and he was, he still let sin in himself and his children snowball out of control. David did repent and was forgiven and restored, in Psalm 32 and 51. But it was too late to control the effects. For this reason, we indulge in daily repentance for sin and faith for forgiveness.

2 Samuel 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall return to me.

David’s newborn son was sick for seven days, and then died. While he was alive briefly, David fasted and mourned. But after he died, he rose up to eat and enjoy life. When God did not answer his prayer to save his life, David resigned himself to accept God’s will, knowing that He is always good. This example teaches us to respond with heartfelt prayer and faith during a crisis; but when the prayer does not get answered the way we want we accept God’s good and gracious will. We believe He really does have our best interests at heart.

The more remarkable faith response of David was to believe resurrection and reunion in another life: “I shall go to him.” The promise of resurrection and the gift of eternal life is the most powerful truth we take away from the Word of God. It overrides and overwhelms all of our temporal cares and troubles. We respond with this real hope: Jesus is with us now and we will be with him forever.

2 Samuel 12:9, 13 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?…And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

The prophet Nathan had the guts to confront the king with the Word of God and convict him of his sin. This took God-given courage. David could have responded in rebellious pride and had Nathan killed on the spot. But David, still a godly believer, repented under conviction, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Against the Lord was even more important than his sin against a woman and a man. The Word convicted David, bringing him to godly repentance and sincere faith. The Lord responded by putting away his sin, and he would not die.

However, there were still consequences to be suffered. The newborn child would die after seven days. And the sword would not depart from David’s house. David’s sin was the real cause of Absalom’s rebellion. The Bible makes this clear: “the Lord struck the child,” and “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house.”

We live in a fallen world under the curse of death, which is the consequence of Adam’s (our) sin. In the midst of death Jesus brings life: “you shall not die.” We receive that life through God-given repentance and faith. Such a response is worked by the Spirit through the Gospel.

2 Samuel 11:1-2 At the time when kings go forth to battle…David tarried still at Jerusalem….And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

This famous story is a classic example of how one sin leads to another and to others and to tragic consequences. A sin in thought can cause sins in word and deed, and those sins can have terrible consequences. Laziness led to lust led to adultery led to murder, and the unforeseen consequence was Absalom’s Rebellion, which produced more death and grief.

Laziness: David did not go out to battle when kings normally do but stayed behind in Jerusalem. Lust: he saw Bathsheba bathing nearby and lusted after her. Adultery: he sent for her and brought her to bed while her husband was in battle. Deceit: he called for Uriah to come home to his wife, but he would not enter his house. Murder: he sent him back with a note to Joab that he should be left alone to die in the battle. Then afterwards, David’s house was left in disarray with the rebellion.

The Biblical principle is clear: sins in actual deed begin in the heart. Hatred is murder, and lust is adultery. No one is exempt. All have sinned, even if only in the heart. We live in the world where temptation to lust is always present, and causes for anger are always about. Our response is to treat a thought sin as equal to a deed sin. Daily repentance and forgiveness is the key to stopping the chain reaction of sinful thoughts. Martin Luther said, “You can’t stop the birds from flying around you, but you can prevent them from making a nest in your hair.”

2 Samuel 9:1, 7 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?…And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

After the civil war between the house of Saul and the house of David ended and David was firmly established as king, David’s response to his newfound position was to show kindness to anyone left of Saul’s house. There was a son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth by name, who was lame in his feet. David summoned him to come to live at his palace and dine at his table. Indeed, he showed him much kindness.

It says he did that for the sake of his good friend, Jonathan, but Mephibosheth was still of the rival house, an enemy threat that he did not kill. Nevertheless, he treated him with kindness. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you [Matthew 5:44].” “Heap coals of fire on his head….Repay no one evil for evil….Overcome evil with good [Romans 12].” This is what a true believer does.

Of course, the cynic would say David was a shrewd politician, knowing the old adage, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” He was neutralizing a threat to the throne. But we give David the benefit of the doubt as a man of God: he was being kind because that’s what believers do. Our response to all people is to show kindness and exhibit the love of Christ. We follow the old advice of the fathers: Be kind, for everyone you know is going through a struggle.”

2 Samuel 8:11 Which also king David did dedicate to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all the nations which he subdued.

Because of David’s faithfulness to the Lord and trust in Him, with God’s help he was able to smite the nearby enemy nations and subdue them. God fulfilled His promise by helping David defeat the opposing nations. Along with the long time nemesis, the Philistines, David smote the Moabites, the Syrians, and the Edomites, and took much plunder of silver and gold and brass.

As an expression of thanksgiving and giving credit to God, David dedicated the gold, silver, and brass he had taken to the Lord. Dedicating the plunder was David’s way of humbly thanking God, proclaiming that it was not by his own strength or good works that he had success, wealth, and victory, but it is the Lord who gave it all out of grace.

Jesus Christ has given to us great spiritual victory over our enemies. He has granted to us life and health and material goods. He gets all the credit and all the glory. We are humble, powerless, weak beggars. Therefore, we respond by dedicating to Him our time, talents, and treasure. Every time we give to the Lord we are acknowledging that all we are and all we have comes fro Him. Thus our tithe is a token of thanks to the Lord for who He is, for what He has done, and for His abundant blessing. God dedicated his life to us; we dedicate our lives to Him.

2 Samuel 7:5, 25; 27 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?…And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said….For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

After he was settled in as king, David had it in his mind to build a house (temple) for the Lord to dwell in. But the Lord said, “No! You will not build a house for Me, but I will build a house (dynasty) for you.” David’s son, Solomon, ended up building a temple for the Lord to dwell in among his people.

David accepted God’s NO because He trusted God’s will instead of his own. God had a greater answer for David than he could ever have imagined: a descendant of David would become the Eternal King of an Eternal Kingdom. He accepted God’s will in answer to his prayers: “Do as You have said.” He thanked God and praised Him for His awesome promise of a Savior and King from his line.

We also need to remember that God has a greater answer to our prayers than we can understand. Because we believe God’s grace and goodness, we are able to accept God’s NO, for He has something greater in mind. Whether we receive a “No or Yes” to our requests, we accept “Thy will be done.” Whatever disappointments we may have with God we take comfort greater wisdom and goodness. Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”

2 Samuel 6:14-15 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all house Israel brought up the ark with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was being transported back to Jerusalem from the Philistines who had taken it. On the way, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it on the cart, and he was struck immediately. Don’t presume to come near the Holy Presence of God. The Ark stayed with Obed-Edom for three months, and he was greatly blessed.

Then they slowly, deliberately, and carefully moved the Ark to Jerusalem. During the procession there was great rejoicing. David was so excited in the presence of God that he danced before the Lord. This exuberant dancing was apparently pleasing to God, but it did not please his wife Michal. We don’t really know whether she was jealous or thought he was being offensive, but she did not approve of his dancing.To David, it was entirely appropriate that his spiritual excitement should be given physical expression. His exuberance could not be contained: the Lord was coming back to be among them!

Whenever hear the Gospel we should also be so excited that we sing, rejoice, celebrate, and dance before the Lord in the spirit and in our minds. Whether we give outward expression or not, inwardly we may rejoice to high heaven. But what would it look like if we danced our way from the altar of Communion back to the pew? But this is what is going on in our mind after church.