Day 93: 2 Samuel 16, 17 and 18

[Shimei] threw stones at David and his officers, but the people and soldiers gathered all around David (NCV, 2 Samuel 16:6).

As leaders, it’s a fact of life that people will throw stones at us. What a blessing to be surrounded by people who love us, and who are willing to put themselves between us and our detractors. It is not self-serving for a leader to teach those around him their responsibility in this matter. It is not dictatorial or cultish to engrain this kind of loyalty and sacrifice into the hearts and minds of followers. Leaders in training will be blessed by following the example of David’s soldiers. After all, one day someone may be throwing rocks at them.

There’s another lesson here. David doesn’t just dismiss out of hand Shimei’s curses. If he is cursing me because the Lord told him to, who can question him? (NCV, v. 10). David understood the necessity of spreading out before the Lord accusations made against him. David knew that – only after honest examination – if there was nothing there, that would be the time to dismiss those curses. The king was humble and teachable. If there was a foundation of truth in Shimei’s curse, or if God was trying to speak to him, he was prepared to receive from the Lord his message of correction.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Thank God for those people in your life who care enough about you to shield you from attack. And for those who care enough to lovingly confront you.

Day 92: 2 Samuel 13, 14 and 15

Amnon had a friend named Jonadab . . . a very shrewd man (NIV 1984, 2 Samuel 13:3).

These chapters illustrate the influence of a well-placed whisper. Our story begins with Amnon, a prince of Israel, who is head over heels in lust with his half sister. His friend Jonadab conceives an evil plan, and whispers it in Amnon’s ear, leading to the travesty of King David’s virgin daughter being raped by her half brother.

After Tamar confides in Absalom the terrible thing that has happened, her older brother nurses a scheme of vengeance and two years later kills Amnon for raping his sister, before finding asylum in a neighboring kingdom.

David is in a difficult position. Absalom (his father’s favorite) has killed another of his sons. Societal conventions do not allow David to bring his son home (no doubt the two years between Tamar’s rape and Amnon’s death, not to mention the careful planning involved, make it difficult to argue against premeditation).

Joab, the king’s trusted general, intervenes. Though he convinces David it is time to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, David still refuses to see his son. Though back in his home, he is still exiled from his father’s presence. Yet another two years pass. Joab pleads Absalom’s case before David, and the king finally reconciles with his son.

Whispers. Jonadab whispered in Amnon’s ear to indulge his appetites. Joab whispered in David’s ear to do the right thing.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Who’s your Jonadab? Who’s your Joab? Can you discern who’s been whispering in your ear?

Day 91: 2 Samuel 10, 11 and 12

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war . . . David remained in Jerusalem (1 Samuel 11:1).

Seemingly insignificant decisions can reap giant consequences.

Israel was going to war with Ammon. David had an able general in Joab, and entrusted the Ammonite military campaign to him, leaving David with some free time on his hands. One sleepless night, David was strolling around the palace rooftop, when he spied his neighbor’s wife bathing. He was intrigued and had her summoned. While David’s neighbor (Uriah) was at the battlefront, David became sexually entangled with Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife). Their relationship resulted in an unwanted pregnancy and a potentially embarrassing scandal for the king.

Rather than seeing this as an opportunity to come clean and confess his sins, David went the way of the cover-up. He brought Uriah home from the front lines, thinking he would sleep with his wife and everyone would think the baby was his. No flag, no foul; but Uriah had too much integrity for that. In a final act of desperation, David arranged with Joab for Uriah to become a casualty of war, a surefire solution to his problem with plausible deniability for all. David was in the clear… and a murderer.

What would have happened if David had led his own troops into battle, and that first wayward step not taken?

All for the want of a nail [1].

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What decisions are you pondering this week? What consequences should you be considering?

Day 90: 2 Samuel 7, 8 and 9

I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth (NIV 1984, 2 Samuel 7:9).

Unlike Saul, who dedicated a statue in his own honor (1 Samuel 15:12), David’s success doesn’t cause him to covet for himself the glory and honor that belong only to God. David’s heart is to build a temple for Yahweh: Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent (NIV 1984, 2 Samuel 7:2). Nearly 500 years later, God would scold the returning exiles through the prophet Haggai: Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while [the Temple] remains a ruin? (Haggai 1:4).

David is becoming famous but, rather than desire the world’s acclaim, he wants only to make God’s name great. Because David has his priorities in the right order, God speaks over him: I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.

Do you remember our conversation back in January contrasting the people of Babel with Abraham? The men on the Plain of Shinar proclaimed: Let us build ourselves a city . . . that we may make a name for ourselves (Genesis 11:4). Because Abraham honored God, God said: I will make your name great (Genesis 12:2).

If you want the right kind of acclaim, don’t worry so much about your own reputation. Make God’s name great!

TODAY’S MEDITATION

So much of life is about bringing glory to self. What could you do this week to bring God glory?

Day 89: 2 Samuel 4, 5 and 6

I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes (2 Samuel 6:22).

Today’s reading starts with David, already having been recognized as the King of Judah, now being installed as the King of all Israel. Not everyone is united behind David – there are still those loyal to the house of Saul, who will cause trouble for Solomon in later years.

Then David conquers Jerusalem which will become known as the City of David, and was not included in the inheritance of any tribe. Much like Washington D.C. is not part of any state, Jerusalem was David’s and no one else’s. In his History of Israel, John Bright applauds David’s genius in choosing neutral ground for the spiritual and political center of Israel [5].

Finally, after battling the Philistines, David establishes Zion, the new tent of worship to house the Ark of the Covenant. Notice his undignified display of worship before the Lord. A while back my Associate Pastor Garth Hamilton chose Undignified as his fantastic title for a sermon based on this passage – wish I’d thought of that.

I can’t get over David’s proclamation: I will be humiliated in my own eyes. David refused to attenuate his worship to make other people comfortable. His worship was for God’s pleasure – not to enhance his own status. David didn’t care what other people thought. He was a worshiper.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

When did what other people think become so important? No one starts out that way. When did things change for you?

Day 88: 2 Samuel 1, 2 and 3

He asked me, “Who are you?” “An Amalekite,” I answered (2 Samuel 1:8).

Remember the Amalekites? Review this pivotal narrative in Saul’s downward spiral in 1 Samuel 15. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered Amalek. Exodus 17 recounts how they attacked Israel wholly unprovoked while they marched through the wilderness. And this isn’t the last time we’ll hear the name either. We’ll revisit this narrative of Saul and Agag when we read Esther.

Yet one more tragic element of this account of Saul’s last battle with the Philistines is the easily overlooked detail of who ended his life. The final chapter of 1 Samuel ends where Saul has fallen on his own sword rather than be captured by the enemy. The opening chapter of 2 Samuel tells the rest of the story. A young man finds Saul mortally wounded but still alive. Saul asks him to finish the job of which he had been unable. “But first, tell me who you are.”

“An Amalekite.”

Saul was told to destroy King Agag and all the Amalekites. He disobeyed. Bottom line? What he failed to destroy in turn destroyed him.

When God tells us to get rid of something in our lives, we cannot afford to go only half way. Either we do away with it, or it may be the very thing that does away with us. God does not want to deprive us, but to free us.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Reflect on this story. Is there anything in your life that God has told you to get rid of?

Day 87: 1 Samuel 28, 29, 30 and 31

Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone (1 Samuel 28:20).

This is a tragic scene in which, I think, we see Saul acting more kingly than at any other time. Unfortunately, it is too little too late. Yes, Saul had a long history of disobedience, and yes, God has IM’ed him through Samuel’s ghost (? – that’s a whole ‘nother discussion) that his death is near.

What would you do if you were at war, responsible for leading your troops against a superior enemy, had been told that not only was God not supporting you in the battle, but that you would lose the battle and be killed in the process? I think I might resign, or at least RUN AWAY!

But Saul didn’t do that. Can you empathize with how he felt in the hours leading up to the conflict? I cannot imagine a more forlorn feeling than being responsible to lead my troops into battle, knowing the cause was hopeless and that I would meet my doom. And yet Saul manned up, ran to the fight (so to speak), and did what he had to do. This is where, in spite of his failings, Saul earns my profound respect and my heartfelt compassion.

Reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia, where in The Horse and His Boy King Lune advises Shasta that a king must be “first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat” [4]. Maybe being king isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Would you want the job?

TODAY’S MEDITATION

There are leaders in your life (spiritual, professional, political, etc.) that need your prayer support. Pray for them today.