April 2023
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 28
S a m u e l .. King David1
The relationship between the Israelites and nomadic Ammonites is a complex one, to say the least of it! As simply as it could be put, David saw the Ammonites as friends, when Nahash was their king. Firstly because they were historical enemies of Saul, David’s long time detractor. And secondly, maybe, because Nahash was the father of David’s step-sister Abigail (2 Sam 17:25). But the Ammonites, who were descendants of Lot’s incestuous relationship with his younger daughter, were mostly at odds with Israel. In any event, when Nahash died, David sought to show kindness to his son Hanun, the new king.
The men David had sent to offer condolence and comfort to the new king were branded as spies by the king’s advisors, then humiliated by shaving half of their beard and cutting their garments short before being sent away. David was unamused and the Ammonites knew it. They prepared for David’s reaction by setting their armies in defence, but again the LORD was with David and over 40,000 Syrians lost their lives, as well as many Ammonites a short while later. David did not accompany his army in this battle but remained in Jerusalem.
The events which follow comprise such a tale of lust and treachery, that it is almost beyond comprehension. Especially so from one whose reputation has been lifted so high in our ‘ordinary’ understanding. That this exemplary giant of a man of faith, David, lauded as a “man after God’s own heart”, could fall so low as to commit adultery, then compound that failure by ordering the valiant and high principled husband, Uriah, to a position where he had a high probability of losing his life, which he did. The only lesson that I can find here is a salutary one of caution. If it can happen to a man like David, no-one is safe from temptation and sin. It behoves all men to carefully guard against such. The Apostle Jude put it very succinctly as paraphrased in “The Living Bible”. “Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and protect you”.
The LORD used the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. He did so by relating an anecdotal story about a wealthy man and a poor man. The rich man with large flocks of sheep, the poor man with a single ewe lamb. That single ewe lamb became a family pet. Precious in every way to the poor family. All they had. A traveller passed the place where they lived, and sought hospitality and a meal from the rich man, who readily agreed to the travellers request. But instead of supplying that food from his own resources, he chose rather to take the only possession of the poor man (over whom he presumably had some authority) to feed the traveller.
As David listened to the story that Nathan related he became incensed with rage. Can you hear David, in his fury, saying “Bring that greedy fellow to me, he will lose his life over this injustice, and furthermore, the poor man will be compensated four fold for his loss”. Then can you hear Nathan’s quiet response? “I don’t have to bring him David. He is already here. YOU are that man.” If that were the end of the story it would be bad enough. But God had more to say. And in this we have another very solid lesson to learn.
God is NOT to be trifled with. The sin of David was NOT the secret he might have expected it might be. And even if it had been, that would not have made it any less egregious. David was reminded again by the faithful priest, Nathan, of the horror of his actions. Nathan, speaking in the Name of the Lord, told David that there would be serious ramifications to follow his act of treachery. It was blunt, direct, and held nothing back. “You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of Ammon. 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.” The house of David would be continually plagued by violence from this time forward. It seems that these words anticipated the violent deaths of Ammon, Absolom, and Adonijah during David’s lifetime.
At the same time, there was a more immediate consequence. David confessed to Nathan that he had “sinned against the Lord”. So Nathan told David “The Lord has put away your sin, you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child who is born to you shall surely die.” The Lord is so jealous of His reputation being trashed, he cannot allow His enemies to see good come out of such treachery. Now, MOST of us immediately think of the consequences for the innocent child. How could God do such a thing we ask?But that child is in God’s care. We need to remind ourselves of some basics here. Psalm 89:14 declares “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” It is David and his wife who rightly bear the pain and shame of the consequences, not the child.
We draw to an end this week with the birth of the one chosen to be David’s successor, Solomon. That name means either ‘(God is) peace’ .. as in Shalom, or ‘His replacement’. Both are true of this child. But, Nathan called him Jedidiah, which means ‘beloved of the Lord’. And so he was. And there is a lot more to learn about him!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 27
S a m u e l .. King David 1
King David was blessed with remarkable success. The kingdom of Israel, Judea in the south and Samaria in the north, was united under his rule. “And the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around”. He lived in a lovely house overlooking the Kidron Valley and was chatting one day with his advisor Nathan, the prophet. In my imagination, I ‘hear’ the conversation between the two as they discuss the marvel of God’s abundant provision Then they expressed, with concern, the thought that the Creator of the Universe, the very God who had blessed them so abundantly, was living in a box in a tent !!!! As they pondered that, Nathan advised David to “do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you”. And He was.
But the LORD had not been consulted and had a message for Nathan and David. And what He said provides an important lesson for us today. It is very easy to identify love, joy, and good intent, in the plan David and Nathan had concocted in their chat together. What a lovely idea was my first thought, BUT, in the night hours when God visited Nathan, it became evident that God did not approve of their idea. It was not in the timely plan of God for them. And therein is the lesson for us. Put simply, God is available to us at any time we approach Him, to confirm, or to guide us in the various schemes and programmes we are capable of thinking up. Even the very well-meant thoughts and ideas which appeal to us, but which may not be within His timely plan. Because we know the end of the story, we know that God’s plan DID include the building of a Temple to replace the Tabernacle, but God’s plan was that David’s offspring would be the builder …. and there is more to that than immediately meets the eye! We need to read a parallel passage (1 Chronicles 17:11-14) to get the full measure of the word which came to Nathan that night, as we reflect on that further.
The LORD took time to remind King David of the journey along which he had been led. Then He comforted him with the promise that in time there would indeed be a more permanent place of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of God, the representation of His presence among the people. Beyond that, God referenced another “house”, in which the “throne of the One building that house” would remain forever. But David was not to know that that “house” would not be constructed with conventional building materials. The character and grace of David is revealed to us again in his response. Truly, “a man after God’s own heart”. “You are great O LORD GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You.” Let that sink into your heart. Ponder the depth and sincerity of David for OUR God. Selah !
And David hadn’t finished. “For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You have become their God”. We live today in times where we see the insidious hateful tentacles of anti-semitism rising in many countries of this world. I am often reminded of the words of Isaiah, as I am now. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts .” (Isaiah 55:8,9) Is God using the evil intent of godless men to bring about His eternal purposes? It’s not the way I would do it. But …. God is God, and I am man.
Notwithstanding the ‘rest from his enemies’ which David enjoyed (Ch 7:1), we find Chapter 8 of our text devoted to the detailed account of “after this” conquests. The parallel passage is 1 Chronicles 18. Some commentators have suggested that the detail here is ‘filling in’ the gaps for some of those battles. In any event, the LORD continued to bless King David in regard to success in battle with his enemies. With that success also came the accumulation of significant wealth in addition to a formidable reputation as a leader who did not lose in battle. A good friend, but a formidable enemy.
What follows in our text provides, I believe, yet another lesson from this portion of Scripture for any willing to learn. We have already referenced the description of God in regard to David as “a man after My own heart”. Well, see the “heart of God” in this. When Saul was king over Israel, he tried many times to put an end to David’s life. David, on the other hand, on notable occasions had opportunity to end the life of king Saul, which he did not. By any measure, Saul could accurately be described as David’s enemy. As chapter 9 of our text opens, when David’s battles for the peaceful occupation of Israel ended, albeit temporarily, we find him enquiring about Saul’s heirs and successors. Not to end their life, but to enrich it.
His enquiries led him to Mephi-Bosheth, Saul’s grandson, the disabled son of his good friend Jonathon. Now, there is a significant amount of information and history in our Bible relating to Mephi-Bosheth, and those with whom he had lived and been cared for in his early life. Keen students of the Bible will be rewarded in searching it out. The end result of David’s “heart of God” enquiry was that Mephi-Bosheth was welcomed at David’s table for the rest of his life. He was granted a goodly portion of land (on what we now call the Golan Heights) with the family of Ziba (with 15 sons and 20 servants) to maintain and harvest the land for Mephi-Bosheth’s benefit.
One can only guess at the surprise and gratitude which must have been part of Mephi-Bosheth’s response. But in different circumstances, it is reasonable to also assume, he might one day have been anointed king in succession to his father Jonathan. But that is speculation.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 26
S a m u e l .. King David 1
It amazes me to see the way God allowed the intrigue and violence of greedy men to bring about His purposes in the establishment of David as king over all Israel. Last week we saw the violent death of Abner, the power broker who had appointed Saul’s fourth son, Ish-Bosheth, as king over the Northern tribes of Israel. Ish-Bosheth made the fatal mistake of accusing Abner of “going in” to a former concubine of Saul (a sign of taking over Saul’s authority). This caused immense anger in Abner, so much so that he decided to switch sides and made a treaty of peace with David. Unfortunately for him, Joab, commander of David’s army, took it upon himself to avenge his own brother’s death, without David’s knowledge, in treacherously killing Abner. When Ish-Bosheth heard of Abner’s death he “lost heart” and became very depressed. Two captains of Ish-Bosheth’s army, then opportunistically sought favour with king David, by killing Ish-Bosheth and taking his head, as proof of their changed loyalty, to David at Hebron. David was unimpressed by their treachery, and had them summarily executed, just as he had previously done at Ziklag with the man who claimed to have killed king Saul. Then David, in a gracious act of respect, took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it with the body of Abner in Hebron.
“Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and spoke saying ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in and the LORD said to you ‘You shall shepherd MY people Israel, and be ruler over Israel’”
“Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.”
David was 30 years old at this time. (Interestingly, the same age about 1,000 years later, as Yeshua when He began His ministry on earth). I wondered how many years had passed since David was initially chosen by God, because it provides a lesson for us. There is no definitive answer to that, but there are clues. Commentators have spent many hours on this subject and have varied in their conclusions. Maybe easier if we knew how old David was when he killed the Philistine Goliath. The age range for that event is from 13 to 22 according to different studies. But, in my view, it is likely to be between 15 and 19. IF I am correct, God had provided David with between 11 to 15 years of experience in battle hardened conditions preparing him for the task of leadership for which God had chosen him. He was NOT a novice. (See Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3) It is also my conclusion, that when God calls us to His service today, He ensures we have suitable and appropriate experiential training for the tasks to which He calls us. And above all, in David’s dealings with others whom he perceived to be chosen by God, he always exhibited deferential respect. Another lesson.
King David then turned his attention to the capture of Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Jebusites at that time. Jerusalem (Mt Zion) is on a hill protected by steep valleys on three sides. The “water shaft” referred to is thought to be the one discovered by Sir Charles Warren in 1867, and now bears his name. It was used to bring water from the Gihon Spring to the old city (Not to be confused with Hezekiah’s tunnel which performed the same function some years later). David’s success in capturing “the stronghold” and naming it after himself (The City of David), caused his reputation to be spread far and wide, and surrounding neighbours provided materials and workmen to build David a magnificent house. Over the years, David populated that home with many children !
The LORD favoured King David with His presence in counsel and strategy as David began the task (neglected by earlier generations of Israelites) in conquering the Land of God’s Promise and occupying that land as a united kingdom. David erected the Tabernacle in Jerusalem and then set about bringing the Ark of the Covenant (captured by the Philistines ‘1 Samuel 4” and returned and residing in the home of Abinadab). The LORD provided David with a salutary lesson as the Ark began its journey, and the resultant death of Uzzah, who had touched the Ark to steady it over rough ground. So eventually, some three months later the Ark was successfully restored to its place in the most holy place in the Tabernacle. The story is full of dramatic detail (Chapter 6). David wore a linen ephod, normally only assigned for priests. There was sacrifice and dancing, great merriment and singing, blowing of trumpets and praise to the LORD as the Ark made its triumphant return to the place of God’s appointment. King David led the people with such exuberance that he ‘exposed himself’ as he twirled in dance and praise to the LORD. BUT, David’s wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, was less than pleased, and sarcastically chastised David for his exuberant exposure. That signalled the end of David’s relationship with Michal as David explained “the LORD has appointed me as ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel, Therefore I WILL play music before the LORD, and I will be more undignified than this, and be humble in my own sight.’
King David showed no restraint in his fervour and praise to God who chose him. What other people thought and said …. didn’t matter. Another lesson?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 25
S a m u e l .. King David 1
Three days after David returned to Ziklag from recovering the possessions which were taken by the Amalekites, an escapee from Saul’s defeated army arrived in Ziklag with news of the death of Saul and his sons. It would appear that the man, knowing of the rancour that Saul had for David, decided to concoct a story about Saul’s death which he believed would ingratiate himself with David, by claiming that he himself had killed Saul. How wrong he was.
On two occasions David refused opportunities to take the life of Saul because he was anointed king by Samuel at the command of Almighty God. The truth about Saul’s death would have been more palatable to David. As it was, David was deeply distressed by the death of Saul in the manner reported to him. He ordered the execution of the self confessed perpetrator, and sat down and wrote a eulogy to Saul and Jonathan. (The Book of Jasher also known as the Book of the Upright is thought to be a collection of commemorative words about heroes of Jewish wars)
David’s life, and his outlook, was changed by the death of Saul. He sought guidance of the LORD about the future, by making enquiry, I presume, of the Ephod. He received clear confirmation that he should travel to Hebron. The whole company then left Ziklag and settled in that city. What follows provides clear evidence of David’s suitability, under God’s guidance, to be the leader of the nation. David had already been anointed king by Samuel (1 Sam 16;3 and 13). Now men of Judah visited David in Hebron and anointed him king, which confirmed David’s authority over the south of the country. Then David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead in eastern Israel. His words to them were conciliatory and respectful of their allegiance to Saul. “You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.” And went on “I will also repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing.” A statesman like message to people who had been strong supporters of David’s predecessor. BUT, there was also strong opposition. at the same time. Abner, Saul’s cousin and commander of the army, had evidently survived the slaughter at Mt. Gilboa. He anointed Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s eldest surviving son, as king over eastern Israel and, eventually, over the tribes of the north, who had their own problems with the occupation of the Philistines.
Now we need to gain a lesson for ourselves from the narrative which follows. There are TWO sides here. It is clear from the text that David was the one anointed by God to be King. David is the one consistently seeking, and receiving counsel, from the LORD. Saul also sought, but did not receive such counsel because “the Spirit of the LORD had left him”. Saul turned to necromancy. At no time do we learn of David’s opponents seeking, or receiving counsel from the LORD. BUT, all Israel was aware of David’s exploits as a servant of the LORD. Today, there are NO nations actively seeking God’s counsel, with the possible exception of some in Israel, not ALL. For that reason, it is incumbent on everyone who belongs to the LORD, to diligently seek the will of God on a personal level (it is just not available on a national level, and one would have to be blind not to see the confusion that reigns in our world today) so that we may face God’s judgement in confidence that we have walked uprightly before him. That judgment is about our works … exactly as we are ‘reflecting’ on the works of those Israelites of old, who are judged by, and suffer consequences of, their works in our text. (See Revelation 20:12)
David ruled Judea from Hebron for seven and a half years. During this time, many from other tribes (occupied by Philistines) travelled to Hebron to meet with David and to pledge allegiance to him (Read 1 Chronicles 12 for detail). And at the same time, we might conclude, Ish-Bosheth was engaging with the Philistine invaders of the land in the north. This ‘came to a head’ with a sort of ‘final accounting’ at the ‘pool of Gibeah’, which our text describes graphically in the remainder of our reading today. Joab represented King David’s side and Abner represented king Ish-Bosheth’s side. It started with an agreement to a small scale conflict between the ‘champions’ of both sides. Twelve men from each side. That ended in a ‘draw’, so the conflict escalated from there. The whole contingent from each side engaged in a fight, which was won by King David’s group. Again Abner managed to run away. But Asahel, Joab’s brother was pretty fast, and caught up with Abner, who killed Asahel. It is a story of fierce loyalties, but brings ‘brother against brother’ and ‘friend against friend’ in mortal combat. It is summed up as follows. “Now there was a long war between the House of Saul and the House of David. But David became stronger and stronger, and the House of Saul became weaker and weaker.”
Our reading today ends with two distinctly opposite actions. First, the contrition of Abner and his realisation that David was God’s anointed King and made a treaty of peace with him. And second, the treachery of Joab, who contemptuously killed Abner, through revenge, regardless of Abner’s treaty of peace with David. Mercifully, it fell to David, in statesmanlike fashion, to honour Abner for his courage and leadership (albeit against David) in Israel. “For all the people and all Israel knew in that day that it had not been the King’s intent to kill Abner, the son of Ner.”
Shabbat Shalom
RS