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.

Day #148

Sermon - Audio
1 Chronicles 26-29 & Psalm 127 - Audio
1 Chronicles 26-29 & Psalm 127 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

• 27.1ff: The book of Chronicles as we’ve been looking at it off and on over the past few weeks is one that seeks to answer the question, “What makes a good society?” Here the question of “what makes for a good society” is explored further. The Chronicler reveals that a good society is well organized with people in places of authority overseeing military and civil affairs.
• 27.1ff: David has completed all his appointments for the temple, now he turns his attention to appointments for the military and civilian/household concerns.
• 27.2-15: David has a civilian militia that is on a 12 month rotating basis. The head of each group is one of David’s mighty men who were professional soldiers. David also has a small standing army.
• 27.16-22: There are also those who oversee the tribes. Of interest is that Gad and Asher are not mentioned in this list. The reason most likely is to keep the number of tribes at 12.
• 27.23-24: This verse seems to lay the blame for the disastrous census (1 Chronicles 22) at the feet of Joab. We know, however, that it is David who demanded it. Here we may get a hint of why God was so displeased with the census: God’s promise was to make a great nation, David did not show trust in God’s promise when he decided to count. Such a count said, “Let’ see if God has kept his promise and we’ve really become great.”
• 27.25: The king’s treasuries held the spoils from war and the income/tribute from conquered nations.
• 27.26-31: The crown had extensive holdings that supported the work of the government in establishing a good society.
• 27.32: The gift that Jonathan brings (Hebrew word is “byn”) is the ability to discern between good and evil.
• 27.32: Since the king has so many sons care had to be taken to raise them in royal ways, with the right education and training.
• 27.33: Ahithophel becomes a traitor to the king during the revolt of Absalom. This fact is not mentioned in Chronicles because we are given an idealized picture of David’s reign.
• 27.33: To be the king’s “friend” was most likely a political post in the government.
• 28.1ff: This is David’s farewell speech in the book of Chronicles. He reveals in this speech what is important to him and what he wants the people to remember before he dies.
• 28.3: We are again told why David is not allowed to build the temple: he is a man of war and blood. Again, we are not told why this disqualifies him from building. There are a number of occasions in Chronicles where we are not given the reason for a decision. It seems that the writer of Chronicles either assumes people understand the reason or he wants to leave it open so different ideas and interpretations can be pursued.
• 28.5: The choice of Solomon as king, who is not the first born, is by divine election.
• 28.6: God choose who will be the architect for the temple. This verse, along with other things we are told, show that the building of the temple is God’s deal. The importance placed on the building is a huge teaching moment for those who have returned from exile and have struggled to rebuild the temple.
• 28.8-10: David calls his son to covenant faithfulness before the gathered leaders. It is an awesome moment and one that makes Solomon accountable to all the people because they are heard what he is to do.
• 28.12: The theme that God is directing this work is made clear by the fact that the Spirit has put the plans in David’s mind.
• 28.12-18: Like the building of the tabernacle, we find a specific picture of how things are supposed to be. God is creating a sanctuary in space for his people to worship him and so it needs to be done in ways that reflect his honor and glory.
• 28.19: In a bit of surprise we find that David has all the instructions in writing--and these minstructions have come from God. We don’t know how this came, whether from David or delivered from one of the prophets, but its a wonderful thing to get your building specs from God.
• 29.1ff: As we come to the end of David’s reign the question in the background is again, “What makes for a good society?” The answer in 1 Chronicles 29 is: people who give the best of themselves and their resources to God.”
• 29.1: “palatial structure” means one that is luxurious, splendid, and magnificent. The Hebrew word is used of a palace. The temple will be no ordinary building--as the amount of gold and silver that will be used shows.
• 29.2: The riches of the nation gained through tribute and war are first given to the building of the house.
• 29.3-5: David is not content to give a gift that costs him nothing (see the buying of the land where David is offered all he needs for free and replies that he will not offer a sacrifice that has cost him nothing.), so he gives a large gift from his personal wealth. The numbers here are overwhelming in terms of amounts. These numbers are most likely representative of fullness rather than literal amounts.
• 29.7: A “daric” is a monetary unit the comes from the day of the Chronicler, not the days of David. It is, if you will, a dynamic equivalent so the people of the Chronicler’s day can see the generosity of the leaders. The story of generosity is being used by the Chronicler to call the people of his day to give to building the temple that will replace Solomon’s destroyed temple.
• 29.9: When the leaders give freely, the people rejoice--and so does the king.
• 29.10-13: A celebration of God and his attributes. He is father, victor, majestic, powerful, great, exalted head of all and ruler of all.
• 29.14-18: These verses are filled with connections to other passages in the Old Testament that bring to mind the wonders of God and who God wants his people to be.
• 29.17: While all we have is God’s, God finds pleasure when people give joyously back to him what is his.
• 29.19: Not only the people, but especially the king, needs a whole heart in following God. As the king went, so went the nation.
• 29.21: 1,000 is most likely a number of completeness indicating a time of lavish sacrifice and not a literal number.
• 29.24: In keeping with the theme of the perfect kingdom and society, no mention is made of the lack of support of at least one of David’s sons: Adonijah.
• 29.25: The writer of Chronicles portrays Solomon as even greater than David in certain respects. He does this because Solomon is the one who actually builds the temple.
• 29.28: To die “full of days” esv is to die a person who has been blessed by God.
• 29.29-30: In an interesting note the Chronicler tells us where we can find David’s full story. It is as if he is acknowledging that there are different ways to look at David’s reign, but since his aim is to show what a good society is like, he has chosen his particular angle.

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• Psalm 127 is a Psalm that declares that unless God is in something that it is bound for failure.

• 127.1 “builds the house” In the Old Testament “the house” often refers to the temple (cf. that on the day of Pentecost [Acts 2] that the sound of a great wind “fills the house”). So the house referred to in this Psalm is the temple. Unless God build the house it’s builders labor in vain. In other words, if God is not behind the temple then all the sacrifices, worship, work of the priests is meaningless and so is the idea that having the temple in their midst will keep them safe.
• 127.1: “the city” refers to the city of Jerusalem. It is actually Yahweh who protects the city. He may use watchman and armies in that work, but no matter how great the army it will fall whenever God desires. •127.2: The theme of needing God’s help continues in the area of work. Those who stay up late and strive, but do so without God gain nothing. Even sleep is God’s good gift--as many can attest that a good night of sleep is experienced as a grace of God.
• 127.3: “heritage” is a very special possession that has been given. It is helpful in understanding what this means to realize that Israel is seen as God’s heritage. “God’s special created, chosen heritage is the people of Israel (Deut 4:20; Ex 34:9; cf. Acts 15:16ff.; Eph 1:3–4). This blessed position (Ps 33:12) was the basis for special petitions (Deut 9:26, 29; Ps 28:9) and confidence (Mic 7:14, 18; Ps 94:14; cf. 37:18).” If we are curious about the relationship between parents and children one place we can look to understand how God sees and deals with Israel as his heritage.
• 127.3: While the verse speaks of sons as a heritage in the second part of the verse it points out that all children are God’s reward.
• 127.5: “the gate” is the place of business and justice that one went to in the city. To have many sons showed God’s approval on a man and so strengthened his case when he went to seek justice.

Day #146

Sermon - Audio
1 Chronicles 23-25 - Audio
1 Chronicles 23-25 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

23

Instructions for Levites and priests [ chapters 23–24 ]. The remainder of the book of 1 Chronicles is devoted to David’s last acts as a king on the verge of handing over the kingdom to those who will succeed him. These chapters have the nature of a *farewell discourse(23:27 uses the formula “the last words of David”). The parting instructions that the writer chose to include reflect his own conception of what matters most in a well-ordered nation, and doubtless the material reflects David’s thinking along the same lines, with a focus on worship and the leadership of it. This unit unfolds as follows: David’s organization of the Levites, followed by a list of names (23:1–23); David’s final instructions regarding the duties of the Levites (23:24–32); a list of the divisions of the priests (chapter 24). ESVLB

1 - Over the next few chapters we see David's preparation for making Solomon king.

1-2 - The Levites, who were not included in David’s earlier census, are now counted. This census was probably carried out in order to assess the organization of the Temple -JSB-

4 - The “officers” were perhaps “record keepers.”

6-23 - David organizes the Levites according to their traditional clans: the Gershonites (vv. 7–11), the Kohathites (vv. 12–20), and the Merarites (vv. 21–23).

13 - "The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the LORD and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever." - duties of the Priesthood

24

1-19 - David organizes the priests into 24 divisions.

10 - To Abijah.” This was the priestly division to which Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, belonged (see Lk 1:5). -ASB-

7-18 - rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt

20-31 - This list is frequently thought to reflect an updated version of 23:6–23.

25

1-8 - David and the leaders of the Levites divided the musicians into the three family groups of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman (see 6:31–47), who prophesied with musical instruments, i.e., wrote songs. In some cases, their songs seem to have become part of OT Scripture, for Asaph is named in the titles of Psalms 50 and 73–83, and Jeduthun in the titles of Psalms 39, 62, and 77. In addition, Heman here may be the same person as Heman the Ezrahite named in the title of Psalm 88 -ESVSB-

The verb “to prophesy” (Hb. naba}) indicates that their songs were prompted or guided by the Spirit of God. This shows that “prophecy” is not always a direct announcement of God’s plans; it indicates that the person is operating as God’s authorized spokesman, here providing the right way for God’s people to sing to him (they prophesied … in thanksgiving and praise to the LORD, 25:3). -ESVSB-

7 - The number “288” is the product of 24 courses (divisions) times 12.

7-31 - The 24 divisions of 12 members each were assigned their duties impartially by lot, as were the priests (24:5). Each group varied in age and contained both teachers and pupils (25:8). -ESVSB-

Day #144

Sermon - Audio
2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22, Psalm 30 - Daily Audio
2 Sameul 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22, Psalm 30 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22, Psalm 30

2 Samuel 24 (with side notes from 1 Chronicles 21)

v. 1 – Verse 1 states, “The Lord…incited David, while Chronicles 21:1 “Satan…incited David.” God himself never does evil, but sometimes He uses evil moral agents to accomplish His purpose.

v. 3 – By taking this census, David apparently showed lack of trust in God to supply the necessary men when needed. Joab is the one who recognizes David’s wrongdoing.

v. 9 – Numbers in scripture often have an important significance. However, between these to books we come across a discrepancy. In 2 Sam. 24 there are a total of 1.3 million men and in 1 Chron. 21 they speak of a total of 1.1 million men. A possible theory is that in Chronicles, they did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin.

v. 13 – Of the three choices the number people who would die would be about equal. Plague kills faster in three days than famine in three years.

v. 16-17 – “The angel stretched with his hand toward Jerusalem.” 1 Chron. 21:16, the writer describes “a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem.” The angel with the drawn sword over Jerusalem makes us think of Abraham with his knife over Isaac in “the land of Moriah”. Mount Moriah was the site of the future temple. “Please let your hand be against me.” David offers to bear the punishment for this sin, but God does not accept this offer. This is a worthy gesture on David’s part and sets the pattern for his ultimate descendant, Jesus, who will bear the punishment for his people. (ESV)

v. 23-25 – There seems to be another discrepancy in numbers. In 2 Sam. account David pays 50 shekels of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. 1 Chron. 21:25 says that he paid 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. Probably the site mentioned there is the larger piece of land on Mount Moriah, which is where Solomon will build the future temple.

1 Chronicles 22 – The purpose of the narrative is not only to recount David’s purchase of the temple site, but also to explain the meaning of the temple itself as the place of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

v. 6-16 – David’s reign was a time of warfare and destruction of enemies. In contrast Solomon’s reign was promised to be a time of peace and quiet which allowed him to focus on building the temple.

v. 14 – 100,000 talents of gold is equal to 3750 tons and would translate into over $50 billion dollars

Food for Thought: David prepared Solomon to build God’s temple, which would become a symbol of God’s faithfulness to Israel. These financial, emotional, political, social, and personal preparations were crucial elements in Solomon’s temple-building project. David built a bridge through Solomon for centuries beyond his own lifetime. What are you building in those who will follow you in your family, business or ministry?

Psalm 30

According to the title, David composed Psalm 30 for the dedication of the temple (an event that took place after David died.) The temple does not figure much in the psalm itself, except for the address to the fellow worshipers in Psalm 30:4. The theme of the whole psalm is one of personal thanksgiving for God’s repeated care and deliverance over the course of a life; the title makes the concrete situation of David’s experience the background, and the worshipers can liken their own experiences to his. (ESV)

v. 1-3 – These are David’s praise of God for delivering him from a life threatening illness.

v. 4-5 – David asks the community of believers to praise God.

v. 6-7 – David recalls his misplaced self-confidence.

v. 8-10 – David asks God to save him.

v. 11-12 – David praises God for deliverance.

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....

Day #134

Sermon - Audio
1 Chronicles 20 & 2 Samuel 11-12 - Audio
1 Chronicles 20 & 2 Samuel 11-12 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

2 Samuel 11

• The scriptures never hide the flaws of even the best of the followers of God. Here we find David, a man after God’s own heart, falling in a huge way. By the end of the chapter he has broken at least 4 of the 10 commandments, namely, do not murder, do not commit adultery, to not bear false witness and do not covet your neighbor’s wife.
• The central problem in David’s sin is not that he broken 4 of the 10 commandments but that he forgot who was truly King. David’s behavior was acceptable for any king who believed himself to be THE ruler, but it was totally unacceptable for one who realized he is under the authority of a holy and righteous God. He got the story wrong
• 11.1: The spring is the time to go out to battle because the rains have stopped and the harvest has not yet begun.
• 11.1: There is disagreement on whether it was wrong for David to have stayed in Jerusalem rather than being with his troops. As king he had other duties that might have kept him in Jerusalem and we know of other kings of the era who sent their generals out without them. Also, we know that David had once almost been killed in battle and so his troops had determined to protect him. 2 Samuel 21.15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. 16 And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels [b] and who was armed with a new sword , said he would kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, saying, "Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished." At the same time the fact that the Ark was with the troops speaks of this as being a holy war where even God was in attendance and yet David stays behind.
• 11.1: This war/battle is a continuation of the war/battle against Ammon that began in Chapter 10.
• 11.2: Cool breezes on hot afternoons came down into Jerusalem. The roof of the house (which was flat) was a good place to enjoy these breezes.
• 11.2: The beautiful woman (notice no name yet) was carrying out ritual cleansing after her period. One thing is clear: because she is purifying herself after her period, David has to be the father of the child that results from their sexual encounter. A second thing is not clear: why is this beautiful woman bathing in a place she can be seen from the king’s roof? We assume innocence, but some rabbis point out that she may have been trying to get David’s attention.
• 11.3: Bathsheba is the wife of one of David’s mighty men, a daughter of one of his military leaders and the granddaughter of one of his most trusted advisors. David knows who she is.
• 11.5: The punishment for adultery is death. Bathsheba leaves it in David’s hands what he will do about the situation.
• 11.6: The faithfulness of a non-Israelite (Uriah the Hittite) stands in bold contrast to the unfaithful behavior of David.
• 11.11: The fact that the Ark is in the field shows this is a holy war. Uriah will not break the vows made for this holy war nor take advantage of a special privilege that his fellow soldiers do not have.
• 11.11: Some rabbis point out that Uriah snubs David by referring to Joab as “my lord” rather than speaking of David as his lord.
• 11.13: Even drunk Uriah will not break his vows or enjoy a night with his wife. Apparently drinking was not a special privilege.
• 11.14-17: David’s instructions are not followed by Joab. Instead Joab tries some unwise military tactics that result in the death not only of Uriah but also of other soldiers. As the soldiers of Israel counterattack they get too close to the wall and are shot by archers.
• 11.18-21: Joab covers up his military screw up by making sure David knows that Uriah died in the battle.
• 11.25,27: “Do not let this matter trouble you” is literally, “do not let this matter be evil in your eyes”. In verse 27 we read that thing that David had done has “displeased the LORD”. Literally it is, “the thing David had done was evil in the eyes of the LORD.” The bold contrast shows that David has no idea how badly he has messed up.

2 Samuel 12

• 12.1: The role of prophets in the Old Testament included reminding kings of God’s call on their lives and when they failed in that call.
• 12.5: The Torah does not demand death for the stealing of sheep. David’s response may be along the line of what we say when we see injustice, “He ought to be shot!”
• 12.5: David’s call for restitution of 4 times what was stolen is in line with the Torah (Ex. 221.) What is unsettling is to look at the life of David from this point forward and see that 4 of his sons die.
• 12.7: Nathan’s “You’re the man!” departs significantly from the meaning of the phrase in our day.
• 12.8: A new king would take the wives of a former king in order to maintain the treaty obligations made through royal marriages.
• 12.9: David despises God’s word by breaking 4 of the 10 commandments and by abusing the power that God has given him.
• 12.10: The sword does not depart from David’s house during David’s reign. The curse, however, does not overwhelm David’s house. Instead God gives David a son named Solomon whose name means, “my peace”. During Solomon’s reign there will be peace in the house of David.
• 12.11-12: This will happen when Absalom revolts against David.
• 12.13: David’s response is quick and sincere. He repents. This is different than King Saul who always tried to negotiate his way out of his sin.
• 12.15: Nathan will not have a meal with David at this point because of his sin.
• 12.16-19: Fasting is combined with prayer by David to show his repentance. But his servants believe he is fasting out of mourning. Therefore, when the child dies they are concerned of what David will do next when he is already so deep in fasting and prayer.
• 12.20: “worshipped” i.e. he accepted God’s punishment and honored God
• 12.24: This is the first time Bathsheba is called “David’s wife”. God punishment on David’s house will continue, but he now blesses even this marriage that began in such a sordid way.
• 12.25: Jedidiah means “beloved of Yahweh”
• 12.26: The author takes us back to the battle that started the entire David, Uriah, and Bathsheba episode.
• 12.27: “city of waters” would be the city that held the water supply for Rabbah. With the fall of the water supply all of Rabah would soon fall.
• 12.30: This is ceremonial crown that weighed 75 pounds. It may have been part of the pagan cult of Rabbah.
• 12.31: Forced labor was often the fate of those who were conquered.

1 Chronicles 20 -- Remember the theme of Chronicles is “What makes for a good society?”

• 20.1-3: These verses condense a huge piece of material from 2 Samuel 11 and 12. In those chapters we are told of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, Nathan’s rebuke of David, the death of David’s son and the birth of Solomon. All of this is skipped over by he writer of Chronicles as he presents us with the picture of what makes for a good society and a good leader. He chooses to stick with positive examples of this in the case of both David and Solomon.
• 20.1: This war/battle is a continuation of the war/battle against Ammon that began in Chapter 19.
• 20.2: This is ceremonial crown that weighed 75 pounds. It may have been part of the pagan cult of Rabbah. Rabbah was the chief goddess of the Ammonites.
• 20.3: Forced labor was often the fate of those who were conquered.
• 20.4-8: These verses are basically paralleled in 2 Samuel 21.15-21: Again, the Chronicler leaps over a large part of material to bring us to this place. Most importantly he ignores the rebellion of Absalom and Sheba against David. A good society, well run and enjoyed by the people does not have rebellions. The only reason for these rebellions is that David stepped away from building a good society.
• 20.4: Gezer is an important city along the trade route the Via Maris. It is a crossroads city. The one who controlled this city, controlled the lucrative trade route. The Philistines know this and so try to capture it.
• 20.5-8: David is not the only one to slay a giant. The picture of giant slayers brings us back to the importance of heroes in a good society.

Day #132

Sermon - Audio
1 Chronicles 19 & 2 Samuel 10 & Psalm 20 Audio
1 Chronicles 19 & 2 Samuel 10 & Psalm 20 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

1 Chronicles 19

1-5 - Free men wore beards, and having them shaved was typically a sign of slavery. This was a big insult to these men. The king was more than likely mocking David through the cutting of the men's garments and beards. David was trying to show kindness, but Ammon suspected trickery.

6-8 - Mercenaries were hired by Ammon.

13 - I love this speech by Joab. It makes me think of a rallying cry that us Christians could use today when discussing the cities we live in. We need to be strong in the Lord, put our hope and desires in Him, which will give us courage to engage our cities/culture. Joab also recognizes at the end that the outcome is not up to us as humans, in the end it's God's story.

Q. What desires in your life are holding you back from fulling engaging in God's story?

16-19 - David's army defeats the reinforcements from Syria as well. Two battles in one so to speak.

2 Samuel 10

1-2 - It seems that David's "kindness" is for political reasons. As the ESVSB expounds: "David wants to keep the Ammonites as peaceful neighbors..." That doesn't really work out.

1-19 - "The account of the war with Ammon serves as background to the next story, which deals with David’s sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. The first part of the present account explains the cause of the war, the second part tells of its first stage, which involved both the Ammonites and the Arameans, and the third part reports the second stage, which was conducted against the Arameans only (mentioned in ch 8). David did not initiate the war, but through his victory he gained supremacy in the region (the third stage of the war, against the Ammonites only, is related in chs 11–12)." -JSB-

*Interestingly enought, these battles happen right before David sleeps with Bathsheba...God gives David a mighty victory, that very well could have gone to his head. As Larry stated on Sunday, "David decided that he was king and in charge of His story, and forgot that everything he had was given to him by God." David was a simple shepherd, chosen, and called by God...who forgot.

Psalm 20

God save the king: a prayer for victory [ Psalm 20 ]. The imagery of battle and victory, coupled with the wish expressed in the last verse that the Lord will save the king, makes it plausible to put this psalm into the category of royal psalm—a poem that focuses on the king, in this case the king as he prepares to enter battle. But we need to avoid tying a poem like this so closely to an inferred original occasion that we miss the fact that the sentiments it expresses are appropriate for any believer in God in any situation in life. The sequence is as follows: a litany of wishes for the victory of the king, using the “may . . .” formula (vv. 1–5); assertion that victory comes from trusting in God, not from military resources (vv. 6–8); prayer to God to save the king (v. 9).

Psalm 21 will give thanks for God answering this prayer in Psalm 20.

2-3 = Themes of the sanctuary (place of the presence of God) and offerings and sacrifices are the basis of the requests in these two verses.

7 = "David was confident of victory because he did not trust in military might (see 33:16–18) but in the “name of the LORD our God.” Since the “name” refers to the attributes (see Ex 34:5–7; Is 9:6), the object of David’s faith was the person and works of Yahweh. The word translated “take pride” is literally “keep in remembrance, make mention of, ponder”—he built his confidence by meditating on the nature of God." -ASB-

10 = The Septuagint reads = “O LORD grant victory to the king; answer us when we call”

Day #130

Sermon - Audio
1 Chronicles 18 & 2 Samuel 8-9 - Audio
1 Chronicles 18 & 2 Samuel 8-9 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

2 Samuel 8-9 and 1 Chronicles 18

Again, since these chapters are telling some of the same stories, we will be commenting on 2 Samuel 8-9 with some snippets from 1 Chronicles 18.

2 Samuel 8: David’s Victories

v. 4 – Horses could not be shot as they are today and the Israelites has no use for them or the ability to care for them: nor did they want their enemies to have use of them. Hamstringing involves cutting through the rear tarsal tendon in the hock joint (equivalent to the human Achilles tendon) leaving the horses unable to walk.

v. 10-11 – Dedication of precious metals to the Lord means that they were donated to the sanctuary’s treasury and became part of the assets that were cared for by the priests rather than going into the royal treasury.

v. 14 – The establishment of garrisons in enemy territory was a sign of domination. Placing garrisons in annexed territories allowed Israel to extend its’ supply line, monitor activities and maintain control. Food and arms could be stored there and the military could be ready to deal with uprisings. Also tribute could be collected and merchant activities controlled.

v. 16-18 – Joab is listed first indicating that the military commander was second in command in the administration. The recorder would be in charge of records and documents of Israel and could be considered as the equivalent of our modern press secretary. He would also have control of who was admitted to see the king. The secretary was in charge of diplomatic correspondence and might be comparable to our Secretary of State.

2 Samuel 9: Mephibosheth

v. 1-13 - Chapter 8 highlights David’s life as success on the battlefield. Chapter 9 balances David’s personality and experiences with an event from his personal life, one that demonstrates compassion. David’s kindness is a fulfillment of his promise to Jonathan and Saul when they swore to remember each other in 1 Sam. 18:20, 23. New dynasties normally killed the families of the old order because of they may threaten the throne.

v. 7 - David elevates this crippled grandson of Saul, a potential rival to the throne, to a place at the royal table. Also consider: Political prisoners were seldom kept in prison cells. It was more advantageous for the king to hold them in confinement within his palace or royal city, treating them to the pleasures of the "king's table" but always keeping a close eye on their activities. Thus Mephibosheth enjoyed the largesse of the king's court, but was not truly free. (IVP)