Summary #38

Weekly Summary
Beginning of NT - Luke & John 1-5, Matt 1-4, Mark 1-2

Going from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we jump over a considerable span of years. When we pick up, the nation of Israel is living under a new regime: the Romans have conquered their part of the world, and they now live under the laws of the Caesars instead of the rule of the Babylonians or Persians or Assyrians.

Opening up the scene, the four gospel writers start at different places: Matthew starts with the genealogy that brings the reader from Adam to Joseph and Mary, Mark jumps in with a quick look at John the Baptist and makes no mention of Jesus' birth or childhood, Luke spends a great deal of time on the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus, and also carefully outlines the political situation as well, and John starts at creation with a dazzling literary passage that outlines the supernatural situation that prompts the ministry of Jesus. It is sort of amazing that these four writers tell the same story in such profoundly different ways.... and each highlights important aspects of Jesus' ministry and stories in different ways, as well.

Setting up the introduction of the Son of God into the earthly realm, we understand that Jesus' earthly family belongs to the tribe of Judah in Israel, and Joseph is in fact a descendant of King David. His cousin John (the Baptist), born to an elderly mother in a miraculous fashion, is a descendant of Aaron, and therefor a Levite, and the son of a priest. Mary, a devoted young follower of God's law, is notified that she will bear the Messiah after becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, the man she is betrothed to, is told in a dream to take her as his wife even though this apparent disgrace of pregnancy before marriage gives him the right to reject her. Mary's cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John (the Baptist) is also given knowledge of the identity of the child that Mary carries, and the two of them rejoice -- although their physical situations are quite difficult, they are honored to be chosen as mothers for these promised ones.

Politics jumps in -- there is a census ordered, and (very) pregnant Mary must accompany Joseph to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born, with angels and a star confirming the birth of the Messiah to the low and high alike. When "wise men" from the east follow the announcement star to Israel, they stir up Herod's fear of a usurper, and he kills all male children under the age of two, but Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt until the danger passes. They raise Jesus in a devoted manner.

Established as a rabbi, or teacher, Jesus begins his ministry at around age 28 or 30 - he teaches in synagogues, and begins to gather disciples - although he gathers them not from the cream of the crop, but from ordinary men and boys. He spends time being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, where he exhibits not only a command of scriptures, but also the knowledge of their true intent. He submits himself to baptism by his cousin John, and is acknowledged physically by his Father, God. John has been delivering a pretty harsh message to the people of Israel: repent, repent, repent, for something great is about to happen. He directs people to Jesus, claiming that he is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Locally, Jesus is gathering great crowds - healing the sick (including Peter's mother-in-law), casting out demons, and teaching. Always, always teaching. He associates with a Samaritan woman, which disgusts even his own disciples; he crosses the religious establishment of the day by flouting their laws on fasting and Sabbath observance, he cleanses people of leprosy, and he changes water into wine to save a reception from disaster at his mother's insistence... but most profoundly, he claims to be the Son of God - able to forgive sins, but in total agreement with the will and work of God the father. He leaves no doubt about his status.

Several times in the opening accounts, the gospel writers refer to prophecies that we have been reading over the past several months -- tying together this "new" testament with the writings that recount the history of God's people. As Jesus begins his earthly ministry in these pages, it feels a lot like the part of a novel when pieces start falling in place, where loose ends are tied up, and you begin to see how everything fits together. This really is a good book!

Summary #35

Weekly Summary
Ezekiel - Daniel

We left Ezekiel taking a "vision tour" of the new temple, following through all the rooms. He ends with a last vision: Water flowing from the temple through the land, bringing restoration to everything it touches. Finally, Ezekiel takes down the orders of how the land will be divided between the tribes and people.

Finally, we finish with this exile prophecy and move back to the story of Israel and Judah in the land of Babylon. The book of Daniel opens with Nebuchudnezzar besieging Jerusalem, and Daniel and three of his friends being taken into the king's house -- they will be given new names, eat the king's food, educated, taught the language, and then presented to the king. Daniel, however, will not "defile" himself, and makes a deal with the steward: he and his friends will eat only vegetables, and after a time they will see if they are as strong as those who eat the fine meals that come from the king's table. Lo and behold, they are stronger, smarter, and all-around better than those who ate the king's food. Daniel and the three were elevated to the position of "Wise Men".

Then the king had a dream, and demanded that it be interpreted by his wise men. They asked what the dream was, but he told them that they would also have to tell him the dream. That stumped them...they stalled for more time, but the king totally called them on it, and told them that if he didn't get an interpretation pronto, they would all die. Well, no answer was found, and so they came for the wise men. Daniel, however, had heard nothing of this crisis, and asked to be given a chance to interpret the dream.

God gave Daniel the dream and the interpretation in a vision, and the guard brought Daniel before the king, where he told the king that the vision and interpretation had come not from wise men or sorcerers, but from the only true God. And so Daniel and the other three were spared.

Then comes a very familiar story: Nebuchudnezzar set up large golden idol, and commanded that all people bow down to it at a certain time. Malicious rumors were circulating about the Jews and their tendency to not fit in very well, and this didn't do anything to help it. Daniel's three friends - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were discovered not bowing down, and their punishment was to be thrown into the furnace. Nebuchucnezzar was reluctant, but ordered them tossed in, after giving them a chance to bow down. They declined, and into the fire they went, but instead of burning up, a fourth figure appeared with them, and they emerged alive, giving credit to the only true God. The king commanded respect for this God, and promoted the three to provincial governors.

Daniel goes on to interpret another of the king's dreams, and when a human hand appeared out of nowhere to write on the wall during one of the king's banquets, Daniel interpreted that, too. The king LOVED Daniel, and promoted him to a very high office. However, he made many enemies, and they made sure to point out Daniel's failure to bow down to the idol the king constructed. After having his hands tied, the king sent Daniel into the den of lions as his punishment. But when Daniel emerged unscathed, once again giving glory to God, the king relented, and also praised God.

Daniel receives several visions that he shares with the exiled Israelites, and continues in the court of the king. Read on this week to find out what comes next.

Summary #34

Weekly Summary
Ezekiel 22-43

So we left Judah in exile, with Ezekiel bringing God's message of destruction to the Israelites. At the start of our scripture for this week, God speaks through Ezekiel and describes two unfaithful sisters, an allegory of Judah and Israel. These two unfaithful sisters end up being oppressed by the ones that they pursued in their adultery, a picture of those who followed the gods of other lands, and ended up being dominated by them.

Unless you are completely hardhearted, the next story is brutal. God tells Ezekiel that his wife, his joy, the apple of his eye, will die. On top of that, Ezekiel must not mourn, but go on prophesying as if nothing happened. Ezekiel follows God's direction, showing that Judah will also have no chance to mourn the destruction that will befall her.

Moving from condemnation of Israel, Ezekiel turns to judgment of the foreign nations around Judah. Tyre, Egypt, Mt. Seir, and Gog all are condemned, and given a vision of their future destruction. Interestingly, in addition to judgment and oracles against these nations, God also includes a lament for each of these peoples. Ezekiel 33:11 stands out here: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." says the Lord. Even the destruction of Israel's (and God's) enemies breaks God's heart.

Mindful that all of Judah's false hopes have been shattered, Ezekiel's prophecies now point to the true source and proper shape of life renewed for the people of God. Ezekiel turns to the shepherds of Israel who have not properly overseen God's sheep. He says that he himself will seek out these errant sheep, but He also points out that the sheep, too, have been doing wrong, taking no care of the weakest of their flock. Ezekiel foretells a new David to shepherd the sheep, shining a light at the promise of a Messiah.

Ezekiel is known best, probably, for the next vision he recounts: The valley of the dry bones. He sees this valley filled with disjointed bones. God asks him if he thinks they can move, and Ezekiel throws back that only God knows. And he does know -- he reanimates the bones, just as he will renew and gather back his people after the exile.

Renewed with the hope of restoration, Ezekiel is given another vision, this time of the temple, rebuilt and restored in full glory. God points out that this restoration is for the sake of his name, which must be revered and glory-filled. Ezekiel is full of amazing pictures of destruction and restoration. A few more chapters this week, then we move on to the other exile prophets! Have fun reading this week.

Summary #33

Weekly Summary
Ezekiel 1-21


Being able to understand Ezekiel depends profoundly on understanding the context. The northern nation of Israel has been exiled, Jerusalem destroyed, and now Nebuchadnezzar has defeated the Southern King of Judah, and exiled its 18-year old King, Jehoiachin along with many of its leading citizens. Included in this group is Ezekiel, who is a member of the priestly class. He begins his prophetic career at the age of 30 -- interestingly, the age that priests assume priestly duties. He later dates the end of his prophesying at age 50 -- the age at which priests no longer serve in the temple.

As a prophet to exiles, Ezekiel is preaching to a devastated lot. They have lost everything, and Ezekiel calls to their attention that they have broken their part of the covenant. What he accused them of is of not keeping God's name holy - his mission was to restore the glory of God's name not only before the people of Judah, but also before the surrounding nations.

Covenant broken -- by the people, not by God -- is not covenant ended, though. The word of God through Ezekiel contains his wrath and his destructive power, but it is never without the reassurance that God has permanently bound himself to his people, and that though they will suffer the consequences of their sin, not even Nebuchadnezzar could finally destroy what God would protect. God's promise is also one of restoration.

Keep reading through Ezekiel, looking for images that highlight God's sovereignty as well as his power, his holiness and his justice. Ezekiel is quite the poet, and God uses him powerfully to bring a message to his people.

Summary #32

Weekly Summary
Habakkuk, Jeremiah 41-52, Lamentations

So Aha

Summary #31

Weekly Summary
Jeremiah 23-40, Various 2 Chron/2 Kings & Psalm

So Aha

Summary #30

Weekly Summary
Zephaniah & Jeremiah 1-22

So Aha

Summary #29

Weekly Summary
Isaiah 54-66, Nahum, Various 2 Chron/2 Kings

So Aha

Summary #28

Weekly Summary
Isaiah 31-53, Various 2 Kings/Psalm

So Aha

Summary #27

Weekly Summary
Isaiah 13-30, Hosea, Various 2 Chron/2 Kings

Raging unfaithfulness vs. everlasting faithfulness -- these are the themes of this week's reading. First, Ahaz, wicked king of Judah, builds idols of bronze, and codifies the idolatry of a nation. He falls to Israel and to Assyria - Israel takes the people of Judah as prisoners and slaves, but a prophet of the Lord warned the Israelites that this was NOT pleasing to God. Ahaz finally dies, and his son, Hezekiah takes the throne at 25.

After such a wicked king, we are surprised when the son turns wholeheartedly to the Lord - cleanses the temple, calls not only Judah but also Israel to return to God's ways, including observing Passover, which has not been observed in a long time. God smiles on Hezekiah, and blesses his faithfulness with wealth and security. Hezekiah is a great example of the faithfulness that God has called Israel to.

In stark contrast, the prophet Hosea lives out a parable of the unfaithfulness of Israel when he, at God's command, takes a prostitute as his wife. He redeems her as God redeemed Israel, and gives her everything she needs, including status. Her response? A return to prostitution, faithlessness, and scorn for the sacrifice of her husband. Through it all, though, Hosea remains faithful, and his heart breaks with love for his unfaithful wife. A beautiful picture of Israel's situation, and a powerful call to the people to return to their first love.

Noting Israel's faithlessness, Isaiah also cries out against the injustice that the people of God are showing - their indifference to the despair of the poor, their self-satisfaction in a tepid, shallow life. Israel tells the people that destruction is sure to come to them as a result of of their unfaithfulness, but also reminds them that in the midst of this unfaithfulness, destruction, despair, and defeat, God is always faithful. The promise of a redeemer again falls on the people.

Things are getting politically shakier in Israel and Judah -- read on this week to see the fulfillment of the predictions of doom.

Summary #26

Weekly Summary
Isaiah 1-12, Amos, Micah, II Chronicles 27

This week we switch from the narrative of the dueling kingdoms (Israel and Judah) to words of God to these people. Neither the northern kingdom nor the southern kingdom are doing what God commanded - the kings have not removed the high places, they have intermarried, and they have walked away from the commands of the Lord.

In this environment, God calls three prophets to speak against the the way his people are pursuing life: Isaiah preaches against the unfaithfulness of Judah, Amos proclaims against the carelessness of Israel, and Micah, a farm boy, is sent to both kingdoms to call the people to justice, mercy and faithfulness.

Mixed in with the indictment of Judah and the promise that God will scatter his people far from their promised land, Isaiah also introduces a beautiful promise: a child will be born, a savior will come to redeem these people. In the prophecy of the destruction that be the result of their unfaithfulness, God's faithfulness is constant, and his promises are lavish.

Entirely because he is gracious, God demands mercy of his people. He lays out the path of righteousness, and the one of destruction, and calls his people to righteousness, as well as promises to rescue them when they make the wrong choice. Look carefully this week for the images of destruction and redemption in the reading.

Summary #25

Weekly Summary
Obadiah-Jonah

So Ahab is dead, as foretold by Elijah. His son, Ahaziah, ascends the throne next, but we hear very little about his reign other than that he fell through a lattice, and his first instinct was to send men to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron (my computer wants to auto-correct to "Enron") as to whether he'll get better. God has Elijah intercept these men, and ask why he is going to Ekron -- isn't there a God in Israel? Since he went to Baal-Zebub, he will surely die in the bed he's confined to right now. They go back and report to Ahaziah, who sends 50 men to retrieve Elijah. When they get there, Elijah calls down fire from the God of Israel, and it consumes the 50 men. Same thing happens with the second 50 men that Ahaziah sends. Finally, on the third try, the captain of the 50 men begged for his life and the life of his men, and since he asked nicely, God told Elijah to go with him and deliver the pronouncement in person. Which he did. And Ahaziah died on the bed he was in. Since Ahaziah had no sons, his brother Joram took the throne.

Prophets don't last forever, and it was time for Elijah to be taken up into heaven. He says to Elisha, his protegee, that he is going on, and Elisha should stay behind, but Elisha isn'tt having any of that. He accompanies Elijah, despite the warnings of the company of prophets and the admonitions of Elijah. Finally, Elijah asks what Elisha wants before he is taken away, and Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah says that can only be done if Elisha sees him taken into heaven, which he witnesses shortly thereafter. Elijah is taken to heaven in a flaming chariot, and Elisha heads back. When he comes to the river that Elijah had parted with his rolled-up cloak on the way out, Elisha rolls up the cloak that Elijah left him, and parts the water in the same way. The rest of the company of prophets recognizes that he was carrying on the work of Elijah.

Rescue parties are sent out to look for Elijah, despite Elisha's protests, but they do not find Elijah. Elisha becomes the head prophet, and shows that he has inherited the double portion of Elijah's spirit by performing miracle after miracle: he sweetens bad water, calls in bears to punish children that call him "Baldy", feeds a hundred men with twenty small barley loaves, repays a Shunamite woman's kindness by giving her son, then raising said son when he dies, multiplies a widow's oil to save her and her children from indentured servitude, heals a foreign general from leprosy which he transfers to his servant when he surreptitiously takes money and clothes from said general, makes an iron axehead float, and makes food not poisonous by adding flour to the pot. He keeps pretty busy with propheteering.

In Moab, meanwhile, revolts once Ahab is not king anymore. Joram calls on Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and also the King of Edom to get them back in line. They head out through the desert and end up advancing in circles and running out of water for the men and animals. Jehoshaphat asks if there is a prophet to consult, and Joram, rather reluctantly, sends for Elisha. Elisha brings the word of God that there will be water for them without rain, and it will look like blood, and they will devastate Moab. All of this happens as foretold: The desert is covered in water, which looks to the Moab sentries like blood when they look out at daybreak. They read this as a sign that the three kings have fought against themselves and so they head out to attack in their tents. Instead, the Moabites are completely defeated.

Now the king of Aram is at war with Israel, but every time he makes a move, Elisha tells Joram. This enrages the king of Aram, who thinks that there is someone in his company that is sending work to the king of Israel. One of his men, however, says that it is in fact Elisha that is warning the king each time, so the king sends an army to go and retrieve Elisha. Elisha wakes up one morning to see his city surrounded by this army, and his servant is terrified, but Elisha reassures him, pointing out the army of angels that greatly outnumbers the army of Aram. Elisha prays for blindness in the army, and goes right up to them and says, "The man you are searching for is not here - follow me and I'll lead you to him!" and he marches them right into the middle of Samaria. The king of Israel looks at this totally captured army and asks Elisha if he should kill them, but Elisha encourages him to instead throw a feast for them and release them, which he does, and the raiding stops.

Good things often come to end, as does the peace with Aram. Some time later, the king of Aram besieges Samaria, and causes a severe famine. When the king hears a woman complain that she and her neighbors ate her son yesterday to stave off starvation, but now they won't give up their son as promised, the king is incensed. He declares that the prophet of the God who sent this must die. But Elisha tells him that by this time tomorrow the famine will be over. The king's main attendant scoffs at this, and Elisha promises him that he'll see it, but he won't eat anything. That night, a bunch of lepers get desperate enough to try to get food at the Aramean camp, but when they get there, they find it completely deserted, as the army had heard a great thunder and fled headlong into the wilderness. After grabbing some goodies for themselves, they report the good news to the city. They king has a hard time believing this, but after some checking, they people of Samaria head into the Aramean camp and help themselves to all the food they want. The king's attendant is crushed in the rush out to the camp, and all of the Lord's words through Elisha are vindicated.

Back in Damascus, some time later, Elisha is in town where the king of Aram who besieged Samaria then fled, lies sick. He sends Hazeal to Elisha to ask if he will be healed, and Elisha tells Hazeal to tell the king that he will recover, but in fact he won't, and he weeps. Hazeal asks why he is crying, and Elisha says it is because he sees the pain and bloodshed that Hazeal will cause the people of Israel. Hazeal promptly goes back, tells the king he will recover, kills the king, and becomes king himself.

Right about five years into Joram's reign, over in Judah, King Jehoshaphat gives way to King Jehoram, who as Ahab's son-in-law doesn't follow in the path of his righteous predecessor, but after Ahab. He sees two rebellions and at his death he is succeeded by his son, Ahaziah... not the same Ahaziah, son of Ahab that was the king of Israel, but the same name. He is only 22 when he takes the throne.

Elisah sends one of the prophets to Jehu, the commander of Israel's army and the son of Jehoshaphat, and pulls him to the side and anoints him King of Israel... even though Joram still sits on that throne. When his companions find out about this, they fall in behind him and they head for Jezreel, where both Joram and Ahaziah are recovering from battle wounds. When he sees the army approaching, Joram sends out messengers to see if they are coming in peace, but the messengers keep defecting to Jehu's side. They meet in battle, and Jehu kills Joram, and dumps his body in Naboth's vineyard -- the vineyard that Ahab had confiscated, and that Elijah prophesied that his sons would die on. Ahaziah is also wounded, and dies from his wounds back in Judah. Jehu also hunts down Jezebel, and convinces her eunuchs to defect to his side, too, and they throw Jezebel from the window, where dogs devour her before they can get to burying her.

After this, Ahab's family fell, and fell hard. His seventy sons were beheaded, his friends and advisers were slaughtered, and not one was left that was associated with Ahab. Jehu continued the purification of the land by luring all of the Baal worshipers to a great celebration and worship of Baal, and once they got there, he had his men kill all of them. Jehu cleared out the Baal temple, and did what God asked him to do, but he did not end the worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel, and because of that, the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel.

Kings continue to come and go. Back in Judah, Ahaziah's mother, once she finds out he is dead, has the rest of his (and her, I would guess) family killed and takes the throne. One of his sons survives, though, in hiding. Jehoiada, the priest, waits a few years, and then arms the priests, and brings out a seven-year-old Joash and anoints him as king, and kills the queen. Joash follows all the commands of God (but still doesn't take down the idols at the high places) and collects money to repair the temple, which he commences when he turns 23. Both Israel and Judah continue to struggle with the surrounding territory, and swing back and forth in its faithfulness to a God who is continually faithful to them.

Check back next week for more!

Summary #23

Weekly Summary
Proverbs 1-21

Beware summarizing proverbs -- it'll make you crazy. Because proverbs refer to specific things, and defy thematizing with great gusto.

Embedded in the story of Solomon, who prayed for wisdom and received it in great quantity are the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs -- the wisdom books. While they are powerful and beautiful, they don't much move along the narrative of the true story of the whole world. So how to do a weekly summary?

What I have decided to do is list a couple of my favorites as an enticement to you to dig in to a chapter or two today, even if you didn't get a chance to keep up this week. Here we go:

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Prov. 3:6 How wonderful to trust that God will direct us if we honestly intend to follow him, even when the way doesn't seem clear.

So what is my excuse for my (sometimes) messy desk? "Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox." Proverbs 14:4. I know the oxen comparison isn't so flattering, but probably better than Vanna White.

Ending thought: "Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,but blessed is he who is generous to the poor." Proverbs 14:21 One of the foundational themes to Proverbs, this is a great way show not only wisdom, but also love.

Read on this week!

Summary #22

Weekly Summary
Psalm 111-119, Proverbs 1-3, S.of Solomon, 1 Kings 1-4(Other Passages Between)

Our he

Summary #21

Weekly Summary
2 Samuel 22-24, 1 Chronicles 21-25, Some Psalms

Counting. Since when did that get you in trouble? It got David in trouble, though -- he takes a census of all of Israel, probably dreaming of military might. He does this even against the advice of his occasionally righteous military commander, Joab. Joab comes back with a number.

Once David realizes that he has gravely offended the Lord, he repents and begs his forgiveness. God offers him three choices: Three years of famine, three months of running from strong adversaries, or three days of pestilence on the land. Not a great choice among them, but David chooses the shortest option, giving himself over the hand of God rather the hands of men.

Moving through the land of Israel, the Lord's angel takes the lives of 70,000 of the newly-counted Israelites, and then heads to Jerusalem to destroy it, but at the last minute, God tells him to spare it. David's eyes are opened and he realizes that people are dying because of his sin, and he begs that God's vengeance be taken on him and his house rather than the people of Israel.

Ending up at the threshing floor of Ornan, who, along with his sons, had seen the angel of the Lord, David is compelled to buy the place to raise an altar to the Lord. Ornan offers to give it to David, along with bulls and wood and grain for the offerings, but David insists on paying the full price, saying what is one of my favorite verses: " I will not offer to the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing."

Once David had made his sacrifices, God relented and stayed the hand of the angel. David began to offer his sacrifices here at the threshing floor of Ornan rather than in the tabernacle, because he was afraid of the angel of the Lord. He decided that this site would be the site of the new Temple.

Now that he had a site for the temple, David begins preparing for it. He gathers workers who were skilled in doing the labor that they would need. He also orders wood from Lebanon, and makes nails, and all of the other supplies that Solomon would need. Although God had told him he would not be the one to build the temple, David wanted everything ready.

So after he got everything together, he called Solomon to him and gave him the charge to build the temple of the Lord. He called on the people of Israel to follow Solomon as he builds the house of the Lord, saying that God had given the people of Israel peace so that they could build.

Peace meant that the people could focus on creating this place for the Lord -- and he organized the Levites so that they could move their duties from the Tabernacle to the Temple.

Right after organizing the Levites, David moves on to organizing the priests, and then gathers the musicians and organizes them as well. David counts on God to lead him in organizing and appointing the right people to the right posts in Israel.

In these last years of David's reign, he continues not only to depend on God for wisdom and guidance, but he also is quick to repent. It's interesting that despite his pretty outrageous list of sins, he is so close to God's heart, and so willing to repent, to take responsibility, and to answer God's call. As the second King of Israel, he sets the tone for what God wants from a king.

Next week we'll get a glimpse of the "House and Line of David" as his son, Solomon takes the reigns... read on to see if he follows in his father's footsteps or wanders away.

Goodbye.

Summary #20

Weekly Summary
2 Samuel 13-21, Some Psalms (Other Passages Between)

Last week, we got quite the glimpse of our warrior hero: Winning battle after battle, uniting the country, offering to build God a new home, and getting the promise that his descendents would remain on Israel’s throne forever. Things are looking great for David and Co. And then this week, things start falling apart.

Even though it is the Spring of the year, “the time when Kings go out to battle”, David sends Joab, his commander, out to do battle with Ammonites without him. Left on his own, David sees a beautiful woman. He asks about her, and finds out that she is the wife of one of his mighty men. Despite her marital status, David sends for her, and they end up in bed together. She leaves, and the next thing he hears from her is that she is pregnant.

Now, this is NOT what things are supposed to look like in Israel!

This demands action on the part of David, so he sends for her husband to return home from battle. He asks how the war is going, etc., and then sends him home to his wife. He is looking hard for plausible deniability! But Uriah doesn’t cooperate, and stays the night on the floor of the palace. David gets him drunk, and tries again, but Uriah has too much honor to enjoy the company of his wife while the rest of his cohorts are fighting. Wow. Exactly the opposite of David. Anyway... Uriah returns to the battle, and now David is stuck with a woman who is pregnant after a visit to his palace, with a husband who cannot be the father. So, he tells his commander to send Uriah to the front, then retreat from him, leaving him in danger. Joab doesn’t quite do this - in fact he embarks on a fairly ridiculous military strategy that ends up in disaster. Luckily for him, it ends in the death of Uriah, which he knows will smooth the way with David. So now David is free to take the beautiful Bathsheba as his wife.

Seems like everything is just going to work out fine for David, and then along comes Nathan the prophet. He tells a story about a rich man, a poor man, and a stolen pet lamb that infuriates David, and uses it to point out that David has done a terrible thing. The punishment for this is that the child born of this tryst will die. David repents, mourns, and prays for mercy. The child does indeed die, and David finds refuge, strength and comfort in God.

They (David and Bathsheba) eventually have another child: Solomon. Things are going fine in that part of the family, but not so much in some of the other parts. Absolom, David’s son, has a full sister, Tamar. Their half brother Amnon desperately wants Tamar, his half sister. He first connives to get her into his room, then rapes her. Once he has done this, he despises her and turns her out, a disgraced woman. David is bothered, but does nothing. Absolom is furious, and starts plotting against David. He eventually constructs an elaborate ruse to get Amnon alone, out away from the rest of the family, and kills him. Messengers first tell David that Absolom has killed all of his sons, but he eventually hears the truth: Only Amnon is dead. Absolom flees to Geshur, and stays there for three years. David again does nothing to right this horrible situation.

Again someone comes to David to tell him a story that will highlight his own condition, only this time it is a woman who has been paid to tell David what Joab wants him to hear. After hearing this story, he allows Absalom to come safely back to Jerusalem, but he is not allowed in the king’s house. Absalom is not pleased with this situation, and demands that Joab intervene with David. Joab doesn’t respond to his summons, though, so Absalom sets fire to his field. That got his attention, and David was persuaded to allow Absalom to return to his presence. But Absalom was plotting... he begins to get between David and the people, and slowly gathered people that were loyal to him. He eventually asks David to let him go to Hebron to pay his vow to the Lord. When he went, though, he sent word throughout Israel that he would be king, and called them to him in Hebron. Absalom and a great army advanced on Jerusalem to unseat the King. David fled to the wilderness, but first he left a few key people to stay in Jerusalem to foil the advice of Absalom’s advisors, especially Ahithophel, who had originally been David’s advisor, but had defected.

Regrettably, David also hears of another betrayal: Mephibosheth, whom he welcomed to his own table, had decided that he was on Absalom’s side. His servant, Ziba, told this to David, and also brought David and his company food and transportation. In gratitude, David took everything that he had previously given to Mephibosheth, and gave it to Ziba. Meanwhile, David’s friend, Hushai, who David sent to Jerusalem to counter Ahithophel’s advice, wormed his way into Absalom’s inner circle. Every time Ahithophel gave advice, Hushai not only countered it, but sent word to David about what was transpiring. Eventually, seeing that he no longer held the sway he used to, Ahithophel returned to his home and hanged himself.

Then the inevitable arrives: having slept with his father’s concubines and declared himself King, Absalom faces David’s forces in battle. Although David wanted to fight with them, his commanders convinced them that they would be better off without him on the battlefield. During an incredibly devastating battle, Absalom’s long beautiful hair gets caught in a branch. Although the soldier that found him won’t kill him because he heard David’s command that Absalom be spare, Joab takes matters into his own hands and kills Absalom. Instead of celebrating the victory, David falls into deep mourning for the death of his son, which confuses and demoralizes his troops. Joab forces him to keep them loyal by appearing in front of them rather than staying in seclusion mourning. David returns to Jerusalem, and wins the hearts and minds of Judah. He forgave those who had betrayed him, and heard Mephibosheth’s plea that Ziba had slandered him, but the Israelites were not happy, feeling that they were being neglected.

Sheba, a Benjamite, capitalized on that discontent and fomented rebellion among Israel. Joab and the army pursued him, and followed him to a town and besieged it. When a woman asked to speak to Joab, asking why he would destroy an Israelite town, he says that he doesn’t want to hurt the town, he just wants Sheba. The townspeople decide that they want the same thing... and throw Sheba’s head over the wall to Joab. So the whole country unites behind David once again.

High drama in Israel - palace intrigue and battlefield heroics. Will it continue? Or will things calm down? Read on this week to see!

Summary #19

Weekly Summary
1 Chronicles 17-20, 2 Samuel 7-12, Some Psalms (Other Passages Between)

Our hero, David, is settled on the throne, and in fact has been given a rest from all his enemies. Like many men with time off, his mind turns to starting a building project. Since his own house is just fine, he suggests to Nathan, the prophet, that he should build a house for the Lord, whose dwelling was still a tent. While this seems like a fine idea to Nathan, the Lord is not so excited about the plan. He basically says, "Have I complained about living in a tent?"

Lest David misunderstand, God goes on to tell him that he has taken him from shepherd boy to king, and instead of David making him a house, he will establish the House and Line of David -- his descendents will occupy the throne forever. Instead of David, a man with blood on his hands, building the house, his son will do it. David writes still more songs and Psalms of praise for the faithfulness of the Lord and for his promises.

Yet all is not quiet on the enemy front: David engages in a series of battles that lead us to believe that the "rest from his enemies" is over. David takes on the Philistines, and beats them. He takes on Moab, and beats them. He beats Hadadezer, and takes men and chariots as loot... then when the Syrians come to the rescue of Hadadezer, David beats all 22,000 of them. He's on quite the winning streak here. Some of the enemies of those he defeated take the shortcut, and bring him tribute before he takes if from them in battle. He defeats the Edomites as well, and as the writer of 2 Samuel puts it, "David made a name for himself." I wonder what his nickname was....

Putting away his sword for a bit, David asks about the descendents of his dear friend, Jonathan. He finds out that his crippled son, Mephibosheth is still alive. David takes him to live with him and eat from his table, and restores the family lands of Saul to Mephibosheth. He shows great kindness to the grandson of his enemy, and makes him part of his household.

In the meanwhile, there is a death in Ammon -- the king, an ally of David -- has died, and so David sends emmisaries to comfort Hanun, the new king. Hanun's advisors, though, convince him that David is really sending spies to see how easy it would be to take over the place, so Hanun does the obvious (?!?) and shaves half of each of David's servants, and cuts their tunics off at the hips. The new short tunics and facial hair styles apparently don't please these guys -- they are "greatly ashamed". In fact, David tells them just to stay at Jericho until they don't look so goofy.

Coming off such a brazen attack on David's men, Hanun realizes pretty quickly that he's in hot water, and employs a bunch of Syrians to help in the approaching battle. Joab, David's commander, realizes that they are using a different battle strategy, and he will be facing Ammonites in the front, and Syrians at the rear, and so he asks his brother to take half the men to battle the Ammonites while he takes care of the Syrians. They promise to help each other if the need arises, but it turns out the the Syrians fled pretty quickly, and the Ammonites didn't stick around to see how they would fare without the hired help.

So, David continues his winning streak, and is faithful in devoting the spoils of his battles to God, but he doesn't get to build the temple that he wanted to build for the Lord. What's next for our warrior friend? Keep reading this week, as the drama turns domestic....

Summary #18

Weekly Summary
Psalm 102 - 132 (Other Passages Between)

So we left David settling in as the new King of Israel. The text this week brings a look at the songs that David wrote during this time as well as the people who are assembling around David in this new administration. The writer of Chronicles gives us a roster of David's "Mighty Men" (can't you just see the T-shirt?), many of whom had been with David since well before he became King. These were quite the warriors -- exploits like killing 300 men on your own, or taking down a 7 1/2 foot tall Egyptian with his own spear almost sound like comic book heroes! But they gather around David, proclaiming that they follow him wholeheartedly because God is with him.

Having made that commitment, these men surround David on his first foray as king: the taking of Jerusalem, which will come to be known as "David's City". When threatened, the Jebusites that were in the city boasted that the city was so well fortified that is could be successfully defended by the lame and blind. Apparently, the lame and blind were off that day, because Jerusalem did indeed fall to David and his men. One man, Joab, really distinquished himself that day, and became the head of David's army.

Out on the periphery, the Philistines hear about David's business in Judah. As his former employers, they wonder whether they should come down and pay him a bit of visit. As they approach, David asks God whether he should fight against them, and God tells him that he should, and he will prevail. They fight, and David wins. Not decisively enough, thoug... the Philistines attach again, and David prays again. This time God tells him not to attack them directly, but to go around back and wait until they are across from the balsam trees. As they wait, they hear marching in the tops of the trees, and then attack, and again defeat the Philistines.

Reinstating the ark of the covenant becomes the top thing on David's mind at that point, and he instructs that it be taken back on a new cart. Now, this is not the way to transport the Ark -- it needs to be carried by the Levites, according to God's command. But onto the new cart it goes, and when the oxen stumble, Uzzah decides that another proscription against touching the ark is not as important as steadying it, and he puts out his hand to save the ark. He dies immediately, and the ark is left at a close town and everyone backs way off. But instead of raining down misery, like God did on the Philistine towns where it had been left before, this place receives God's bountiful blessings, and David decides to try again. This time he follows instructions, and the Levites bear the ark to Jerusalem, where David has prepared a tent for it. David leads the procession, giving himself completely over to the worship of God, even to the point of taking off clothes that were hindering his dancing. This does NOT please Michal, his first wife, who derides him for not acting like a king. David, however, reminds her that before the Lord, he does not have to preserve his dignity, he merely has to worship. This little snit costs Michal dearly: she bears no children to the day of her death.

Through all of these events, David continues to lead the Israelites in worship, through writing and singing his Psalms of praise, of devotion, of wonder. He continually reminds Israel that the Lord is in control, he is just, he is faithful, and he is kind. It looks like Israel is on a true path of faithfulness, living in the covenant that God established. Stay tuned this week for more exploits of the Mighty Men, and to see what David does next as ruler of Israel.

Summary #17

Weekly Summary
1 Chronicles 1-6(Other Psalms Between)

How things stand so far: God creates the world, creates societies that reject him in various ways, but he never abandons them completely. Instead, he calls Abram to be the father of a nation, and he makes a covenant with that nation: he would be their God, and they would be faithful to him. God keeps his part of the promise.

On the eve of their anhiliation as slaves in Egypt, God calls them out with miracles galore, and leads them to the promised land, but the people grumble and complain, and find many ways to disobey. Therefor, they stay in the wilderness for a long time before they are allowed in. God renews his convenant with them. Finally, the doors to Canaan are opened to them, and they begin to take the land that has been promised to them.

Putting down roots takes a while, though, because again, the people seem to be incapable of following God's plan, and there is much cause for repentance and still God keeps his convenant. The nation of Israel continues to take the land God has promised, each tribe in its own territory. They settle down a bit, and God sets judges over them. The people and the judges take turns behaving poorly, the people flirting with other gods, the judges ignoring God's laws and direction, until the place descends into baseness: everyone does what is right in their own eyes. And let's just say the vision isn't 20/20 in that respect.

Everyone has been begging for a king, like the neighbors have. So God sends them one: Saul. Although he is chosen by God, he rejects the ways of God and so God rejects him as king, instead anointing the little shepherd boy, David, to become king. Saul on several occasions sets out to kill David, who (finally) follows God's heart, and is faithful to his calling. Eventually, though, Saul is killed in battle, and David takes the reigns as king of all Israel.

While this action takes place, the writer of Chronicles takes a moment to remind the people of how each of them came to be there: who their fathers and forefathers were, how the land that they had came to be theirs, and again the reminder that they are all part of God's story. God had kept his covenant with them time and time again, guiding the people of Israel from one place to another, but always under his care.

Our man David, meanwhile, is getting used to his role as King without Saul chasing him down. Before he was a king, though, he was a songwriter (which captured Sauls attention in the first place), and he doesn't stop writing songs, which compose much of the book of Psalms. Often, we look at literature or songs to understand something about the author, but with David's songs, you understand much about the object of the songs: God. His wisdom, power and care, but especially his faithfulness shine through in the Psalms. He is a God that knows each heart, that keeps the covenant, and loves justice.

Now that Israel has a king that loves and follows God, what will happen? Will there finally be peace and productivity? Is this the happy ending that we all want? I'm guessing not... there's still a lot of story to tell. Check it out all this week as we move forward in the true story of the whole world.

Summary #16

Weekly Summary
1 Samuel 25 - Psalm 21

David keeps sparing Saul's life, and other people keep killing Saul and his family, trying to please David. Things in Israel are NOT going well. We pick up the story this week as Samuel dies.

All of Israel mourns for him, gathered at Ramah. David heads for Paran, where he sends some of his men to the spread of a man named Nabal (which means foolish or boorish... somebody's mother wasn't having a very good day when she named him...), asking that his men be included in the shearing celebration. David possibly wanted to establish a relationship with this man, and he had also, according to one of Nabal's servants, been quite helpful in keeping Nabal's flocks safe. Nabal, however, lives up to his name, and is impossibly rude to the men that David sent. When they report back to David, he is ticked, and has everyone strap on a sword, ready to finish Nabal off. Nabal's wife, Abigail, however, hears about what her husband has done, and rushes a huge shipment of festive food out to David and his men, with many apologies for the behavior of her husband. She begs David to accept the gift, and not attack Nabal. David does, and is grateful to the beautiful and graceful Abigail for preventing him from bloodguilt. When Nabal wakes up from his drinking binge the next day, and hears about what Abigail did, he shuts down and dies 10 days later.

Very grateful that God has avenged the man that insulted him, David calls for the lovely Abigail to come with him and be his wife. He has also taken another wife, Ahinoam, which brings his count to 3 (including Saul's daughter Michal), but in David's absence from Israel, Saul has given Michal to someone else in marriage, so David's back down to 2. Or so. Not sure how to count Michal. Anyway, David is traveling with two wives at this point, when the Ziphites tattle to Saul about David's whereabouts, and Saul comes after David again. This time, David waits until the camp is asleep (a very deep, God-induced sleep) and creeps right up to where Saul is sleeping. The man with David is ready to drive a spear right through Saul, but David stops him, and instead takes Saul's spear and water jar, and leaves everyone unharmed. The next day, though, David curses those who have been given the responsibility of protecting Saul, and points out that he had another chance to kill Saul, but didn't do it, and begs Saul to stop pursuing him. Saul relents, and swears that all is well between David and him. They part ways.

Instead of going to Israel, though, David heads to Philistia, where he becomes a fighter for Achish, the son of the king of Gath. David negotiates his own little city for him and his men, and gathers a large amount of booty from his raids on the enemies of the Philistines. Saul, meanwhile, is readying for a fight against the Philistines, and asks for the Lord's blessing. Only the Lord doesn't respond to his request. Impatiently, Saul decides to consult a medium, even though he himself has banned them from the land. Despite her misgivings, the medium agrees to summon the spirit of Samuel for Saul, but is terrified when Samuel actually appears. Samuel gives Saul the same message that God had given him earlier: God has abandoned him and will remove the kingdom from his line. Now Saul was as terrified as the medium had been. He returns to his army.

David, meanwhile, has been joining up with the Philistines to march on Israel, but the lords of Philistia are not convinced that he won't turn on them in the heat of battle. They demand that David and his men be sent away. So David returns to his little town, only to find that Amalekites have raided it while he and his men were gone. The entire group of them immediately take off after them, despite having ridden for three days just to get home. At the river, many of the men have to stop from exhaustion, but the rest ride right out to where the Amalekites are camped, along with all of the families and wealth of David and his men. Even with the smaller group of men, David fights the Amalekites and defeats them, killing all but 400 of them and taking back all of the women, children and flocks, none of which had been harmed. When the men who had fought resisted returning the flocks and other stuff to the men who had been too tired to fight, David established a rule that all would partake in the loot of a battle -- even those who "watched the baggage". David also shared the spoils with the town in northern Judah for their support.

While David was fighting the Amalekites, Philistia and Israel were also fighting. And the Philistines were winning handily. Saul's sons were killed, and Saul was struck by an arrow. When he asked his armor-bearer to kill him so that the uncircumcised Philistines wouldn't be able to capture him, his armor-bearer refused, and Saul had to resort to falling on his own sword. The Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his sons the next day, and they hung Saul up on the city wall as a warning to other kings. The people of Jabesh-gilead rescued his body, burned it and buried the bones. A messenger ran to David to tell him the news, expecting that David would rejoice that the man who had been trying to kill him was dead. In fact, he embellished the story a bit, and claimed that he had been the one to finish Saul off after he had been wounded. Instead of the reward he expected, though, David had him executed for harming the Lord's anointed. David mourns Saul and Jonathan, writing a song about "How the MIghty have Fallen", and had it taught to the people of Judah.

Inquiring of the Lord what he should do next, David is told to go into Judah. When he gets there, the people of Judah anoint him their king, while Ish-bosheth, Saul's youngest son, is anointed king of Israel. They struggled against each other for years, with Abner leading Ish-bosheth's army and Joab leading David's. As the struggle wears on, David grows stronger and stronger, and Ish-bosheth grows weaker. Eventually, Ish-bosheth turned on Abner, accusing him of taking as a wife one of the concubines of Saul. (You begin to wonder whether there was a shortage of women in the land, with all of the "taking" of someone else's wives or concubines...) This made Abner mad, and he threw his lot in with David instead of Ish-bosheth. He went to David, and committed his allegiance to him, which David accepted. He also asked Abner to send Michal to him in Judah, reclaiming his first wife. After Abner left, Joab returned from a raid, and found out about the defection. This did not sit well with Joab, though, because Abner had killed Joab's brother in a battle. So Joab and his men went after Abner, pretending that they had a message from David. When Joab got Abner alone, he stabbed him. David heard about this and was outraged, and made sure that he whole nation knew that he did not condone this murder. He didn't execute Joab, however, as he had done with the man who had claimed to kill Saul.

Now Ish-boshethe wasn't doing well over in Israel, and he is eventually killed in his bed by associates of his. Again, messengers run to David thinking that they will be lauded for bringing the good news of the death of one of David's enemies. Instead, David again mourns, and has the men executed.

So -- no one is left that opposes David's claim on the throne of Israel. Is the nation ready to unite under one king? How will the Philistines feel about the whole enterprise? On the romance side, will David be reunited with Michal? What will wives #2 and #3 think? Tune in next week...