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One God

Daily Reading

2Samuel 22-24

Daily Thought

“So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” (2Samuel 24:2). David’s purpose in his census was to know the size of the nation’s army and its ability to win wars. He wanted to know how strong he was. “And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000” (2Samuel 24:9).

“As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved,” from a song of David, Psalm 30:6. King David was a song writer and his lyrics revealed his heart, both good and evil. This was evil. 

David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people and David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done” (2Samuel 24:10). What David had done was count his soldiers. David believed he had measured the strength of Israel, but it was the wrong measure. David needed only count one. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). 

We collect many gods in this world, gods of power, of status, of fame, of possessions, but I count my God and there is One. Any more would be less.

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.”
Another song of David, 2Samuel 22:2-4

This is good.

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, You are my strength. With you, I am are more than a conqueror. When I act on my own strength, I act on my own. Either I fail or my head gets big. Keep me from thinking I can handle the troubles and temptations of this world on my own. I can’t.

I must remember that when I am weak, that is when You go to work. I am strong, not because of what I am capable of, but because You are almighty.

Amen

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The Door

Daily Reading

2Samuel 19-21

Daily Thought

David mourns the loss of his son, crying aloud, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2Samuel 18:33; 19:4). Who can fault a father his grief, but it lingers too long and too loud, and Joab are pointedly true, “You have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased” (2Samuel 19:6).

Death is grievous, and should be. It is the last enemy (1Corinthians 15:26). But there is a particularly awful agony in the loss of a son you never really had, whose death was as pointless as his life. King David the father mourns the life and death of his rebellious, disobedient son, and in doing so, pours scorn on the faithful people who had well-served their king.

What a contrast to the death of another son of David, “who humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8). God the Father celebrates the life and death of his righteous, obedient Son, who in dying provides salvation to the sinful people who crucified their King.

To a life lived for today, death closes the door, but to a life lived for Jesus, death is the door into eternity.

Daily Prayer

God, Your salvation is amazing. I, a sinner, was not looking to be saved, but rather, I was a self-seeking man, longing to be self-satisfied. I could not, however, find satisfaction, contentment, peace, love, purpose in my pursuits. I needed a Savior.

Your Son left His place by Your side and became like me to show me who You are. He  sought me, saved me, and showed me true love. He laid down His life to give me mine. No greater love.

Thank You

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A Name Remembered

Daily Reading

2Samuel 16-18

Daily Thought

Absalom, the son of David, was pretty and proud, and, for a moment, stole the hearts of the people and his father’s crown. “Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight (2Samuel 14:25-26). The custom of royalty was to drench one’s hair in fragrant oils, braiding in gold dust and jewels and piling it high above the head as a crown of glory. Absalom had an abundance of glory on his head. That glory would be his downfall.

“Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, ‘I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.’ He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument to this day” (2Samuel 18:18). Absalom desperately wanted his name remembered, and it is. Mention to a Sunday School class the name Absalom and they will tell you about David’s son, and they will tell you about his his long and beautiful hair, and then they will giggle, because he got it stuck in a tree. “Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on” (2Samuel 18:9). 

While he dangled, David’s soldiers discussed what to do until Joab “took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak” (2Samuel 18:14). Thus the crown returned to the rightful king David. Absalom wanted his name remembered, and it is. How it is remembered should have mattered more. 

Daily Prayer

Father God, protect my heart from seeking my own benefit. Whenever I seek my own, it costs somebody something. May I learn to live completely content with the riches I have in You, so that I will be someone who seeks to serve rather than be served.

I have learned love, the highest love, sacrificial giving love, from You. You who knew no sin became sin so that I might be brought into Your family. You delight in me. There is nothing I can add to Your worth or Your wealth. You have no need of my offerings or my sacrifices. All that I am, God, comes from You. I am happiest when I pursue what You have created me to do. Take my desires God and shape them to Your will. You delight in me. I long to delight in You. May I desire You fully forever.

Amen

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A Nasty Web

Daily Reading

2Samuel 13-15

Daily Thought

There is irony in Absalom’s name; it means peaceful. It was not to be. When David committed adultery and murder, Nathan pronounced God’s judgment, “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (2Samuel 12:10). Chapters 13-15 tell of torrid events that wreak havoc in David’s household. At the center of the storm is Absalom.

David had many wives, and with many wives came many children, each with the same father, not necessarily the same mother. Amnon thought his half-sister Tamar beautiful and desired her until he took her by force, then disposed of her in disgrace. Absalom, Tamar’s full-brother, brooded revenge for two years before killing his half-brother Amnon. The other brothers fled Absalom, fearing they were next, and Absalom fled the city of David, fearing his father’s displeasure.

It took some convincing, but David eventually invited Absalom back to Jerusalem. David, however, refused to see Absalom for two more years, and during that time, the handsome Absalom stole the hearts and loyalty of many of the people, including Ahithophel, a trusted advisor to the king. Turns out Bathsheba, the woman of David’s adultery, whose husband David murdered, was the daughter of Eliam (2Samuel 11:3), the son of Ahithophel (2Samuel 23:34). Ahithophel, David’s counselor, was Bathsheba’s grandfather. Sin weaves a nasty web. At chapter’s end, David fled his throne, fearing Absalom.

The reason David ends up exiled from his city and kingdom traces to choices, bad choices. David’s murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba are glaringly bad, but not the beginning. “It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (2Samuel 11:2). Wrong place to be, but still not the beginning of bad choices. Turn back one more verse, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle,  …David remained at Jerusalem” (2Samuel 11:1). 

As a teenager, I was told “nothing good happens after midnight.” Every teenager hears this because every mother says it. What’s wrong with 1am? Nothing necessarily, but after midnight is the wrong time to be in the wrong place. David was supposed to be at war. War is where the men were, leaving all their wives at home in Jerusalem. Where David was. On the palace roof. At bathing time. Wrong time, wrong place. David did not fall into sin, as if by chance. Temptation only seeks opportunity and David provided it. 

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, You made this world and called everything in it good. You gave this world to the people You created and told us to take care of it. You said everything is yours except one thing, and we then wanted the one thing.

God, shape my heart to desire nothing more than You and Your kingdom. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, may I think about these things. Strengthen my resolve, keep me from evil, and do not let me give sin a foothold into my life.

May my eyes at all times be focused on You.

Amen

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How to Treat an Enemy

Daily Reading

2Samuel 8-12

Daily Thought

Saul learned early on that the first rule of being king is protect the throne. Remove the competition. When Saul was king, David was the competition. Many times Saul tried to  kill David, but he did not succeed, and now David is king. And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2Samuel 9:1). Are you kidding? Kindness? If there is anyone left of the house of Saul, that person has claim to the throne. The first rule of king: Remove the competition. Protect the throne.

Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. Heir to the throne. Mephibosheth was the competition. And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always” (2Samuel 9:7). David changed the rules.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45). If you treat your enemy as your enemy treats you, you will become like your enemy. If you treat your enemy as Jesus treats you, you will become like Jesus.

Daily Prayer

Father in Heaven, You are love – all that love is or can be or can do. My love is soft, convenient. I am careful with my love, lest I be hurt. Your love walks into hurtful places and does what is difficult, risking it all. Your Son died because You love us.

God, may I walk in that kind of love, confident love, passionate love, active love, love that risks. Love where no love is returned. Loving even my enemies. In a world where love has lost its meaning, may I be a definition of Your love. May I change the rules.  May I display Godly love toward all people all the time.

Amen

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Bad Beginnings

Daily Reading

2Samuel 4-7

Daily Thought

David determined to bring the ark of God to the city of David, to Jerusalem. It began badly. After loading the ark of God on a new cart, the oxen stumbled, the ark thrust sideways, and “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God” (2Samuel 6:6-7). The celebration turned to grief. What happened?

The problem: David determined to bring the ark. He talked to his leaders, “David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader” (1Chronicles 13:1). He talked to the people, “All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people” (1Chronicles 13:4). Of course he talked to God, right? He always talks to God. Look how often, “David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I…?'”–1Samuel 23:3; 1Samuel 30:8; 2Samuel 2:1; 2Samuel 5:19. Except not this time. He did not ask God if God wanted his ark in Jerusalem. And, tragically, he did not ask God how to carry the ark.

God’s word was clear, but forgotten. “You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it” (Exodus 25:12-15). The ark was to be carried on the shoulders by four Kohathite men, and “they must not touch the holy things, lest they die” (Numbers 4:15). And “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it.”

It began badly, because it began without God.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, I worship You and You alone. You are God and there is no other. May I worship You the way You want, the way You ask me to, the way that pleases You. God, too often I worship You to please myself and others.  May I be more concerned about Your pleasure than mine. I give You Sunday; may I worship You Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, as well, and may my worship be seen in my love for others. May my life be a living sacrifice.

God, help me be Your servant to the poor and the needy. Let me be one who reads Your Word and follows Your ways. To worship You, obedience comes before sacrifice. Keep me from becoming self-centered, world-centered. May I be heavenly minded and passionate about You. Mold my heart, so that it desires all things good and righteous.

Amen

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The Fear of God

Daily Reading

2Samuel 1-3

Daily Thought

The second book of Samuel begins where the first ended, the death of Saul, but the stories disagree. In both accounts, the Philistine victory over Saul is imminent. Saul, wounded with arrows, instructs his armor-bearer to finish the job. “Kill me,” he says. But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it (1Samuel 31:4). However, turn the page and an Amalekite soldier tells it differently. When Saul said, “Kill me,” according to the Amalekite, “I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord” (2Samuel 1:10). Which is it? How did Saul die?

Here’s the situation: while Saul and his army were fighting the Philistines, the Amalekites had attacked the city where David lived. The Amalekites were a sworn enemy of Israel. They had plundered the city and taken the women and children. David and his men pursued them, caught them, and killed them. It was not a good day to be an Amalekite. The second story-teller is an Amalekite.

It is likely this Amalekite knew both David and Saul had claim to the throne and believed the death of Saul would be the delight of David. He did not, however, know David’s God. If he had, he would not have boasted of killing God’s anointed. He inserted himself into the story of Saul’s death anticipating a happy David and a possible reward. Instead, “David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword” (2Samuel 1:11-12). The surprised Amalekite was rewarded with execution because by his own mouth he claimed, “I have killed the Lord’s anointed.” He changed the story because he feared David. He should have feared David’s God.

Daily Prayer

Lord God Almighty, You are on the throne. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, in my life, here and now, and forever. May Your Name be known, may every knee bow and confess You Lord. God, you are most terrifying to those who do not fear You.

God, I serve You and only You. May my love for You be seen in my obedience to Your ways, my allegiance to Your will. May I see sin as You do, and may it grieve me, as well. May I find no pleasure in it. Rather, when I serve You, I serve the highest good, so may I delight in Your pleasure. May I never lose sight of who truly is my God and my Savior. May I keep my eyes on You.

Amen

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Enough

Daily Reading

1Samuel 28-31

Daily Thought

In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel (1Samuel 28:1), marching by hundreds and by thousands according to chapter 29. Saul would lose all. By war’s end, he and his three sons were dead. He was afraid, so he turned where he seldom turned, to the Lord, but “the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets” (1Samuel 28:6).

Chapter 30, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had made a raid, and David found the city burned with fire, and the wives and sons and daughters taken captive, including David’s two wives. David had lost all. He was distressed, so he turned where he always turned, to the Lord, and “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1Samuel 30:6).

Saul spoke of “your God”; David of “my God.” Each had lost all, but Saul had none left because he had not God to begin with and wallowed in empty silence. From David was taken his city, his family, his possessions, but none could take his God. “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God,” turning from earth’s ruin to the riches of heaven. Whatever else I might lose, as long as I have my God I have enough.

He restores my soul.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. ~A Psalm of David 23:3, 4

Daily Prayer

Everlasting Father, all of hope rests in You. Away from You can only lead to despair and darkness. You are the light of the World. Your Word shines a light on my path and makes my way straight.

God, daily I will spend time in Your Word. I will put it in my mind and deep in my heart so that it stays with me throughout the day. Thank You for the truth. Your truth. I will build my house on solid ground.

Amen

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Forgo the Fools

Daily Reading

1Samuel 25-27

Daily Thought

David showed kindness to the shepherds of Nabal and expected kindness in return. Instead, Nabal “was harsh and badly behaved” (1Samuel 25:3). He was stingy, rude, and insulting to David. Nabal, whose name means fool, was one. David decided a proper response would be to kill Nabal and every last man who belonged to him. 

God’s law of retribution was well known, “If there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:23-25). An eye for an eye is just, it is due punishment, giving an offender what they deserve, but not more. When Jesus said, “Instead, turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38-39), it was not because “an eye for an eye” was unjust or cruel. Jesus was teaching mercy, forgiving and forgoing a due punishment. David, angered and offended, was rashly ready to exceed just an eye.  

A man after God’s own heart must understand justice and mercy and David was due a lesson. God sent Abigail to instruct, “Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live” (1Samuel 25:28). David got distracted and Abigail refocused him. Forgo the fools like Nabal so you can fight the real battles, the battles of God.

Daily Prayer

Yahweh, “I Am That I Am,” the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End, God Almighty, King of kings and Lord of lords. Your Name declares Your glory. May we declare Your Name. God is good. God is just. God is love.

God, I am known as a Christian, a follower of Jesus. I wear Your Name. Because of this, my actions give Your Name meaning in a world that does not know You. I pray, God, that my actions are true to Your Name, that I fight Your battles, that I love the way You love, that I show mercy and kindness, that I stand for righteousness and justice. 

Amen

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Every Reason But One

Daily Reading

1Samuel 21-24

Daily Thought

King Saul threw a spear at David, attempting to pin him against the wall. Twice he threw it according to 1Samuel 18:10-11. Once again in chapter 19, verse 10. David was well aware Saul wanted him dead. Jonathan thought better of his father, the king, until he challenged him, defending David, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” This time Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, and Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death (1Samuel 20:33).

David was a better man than Saul; a better warrior, too. Saul tried to kill David three times. Saul was a disgrace as king. David should be king, and David will be king. There was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself, and the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you'” (1Samuel 24:3-4).

David could kill Saul and he had every reason to, every reason but one. “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed” (1Samuel 24:6). If David ignored God’s plan and gained the throne by blood, then he’d be like Saul. Israel did not need another king like Saul.

Daily Prayer

God, my Savior, I offer myself, body, soul, and spirit, as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You. I love You, heart, soul, mind, and strength. Transform me God, to reflect Your glory, to resemble Your Son. Keep me humble and good.

You would rather I obey than play at religion. My obedience is not a demonstration of my righteousness, but a sign of my love. I want to know Your Word, follow Your ways, and live in Your love.

Amen