2 Samuel 7 - 19: Intrigue, battle, and family feuds

So much happened in these chapters, I don't even know where to start. Here is a smattering of events...

- A plain tent:  King David was a man after God's own heart. He loved God like a friend. "Here I am, comfortable in a luxurious house of cedar, and the chest of God sits in a plain tent," he said. He wanted to build God a temple, but God let him know that his son, Solomon, would be the one to build the temple. Not David.
- An intimate conversation with God:  David said "You know me, Master God, just as I am" (2 Samuel 7:21-29). God knows us and still loves us!
- Echoes of a friendship:  David showed kindness to Saul's family because of his past friendship with Jonathan (2 Samuel 9:1). He took in Jonathan's son, who was lame. He took him into the palace and cared for him, allowing him to eat at the king's table (2 Samuel 9).
- A walk on the roof:  David gave in to temptation and committed adultery with Bathsheba, who became pregnant. She was married to Uriah, who served in David's army. David ordered Uriah to go home and spend time with his wife--I never noticed this detail before but David was hoping that Uriah would sleep with Bathsheba and think the baby belonged to him. But Uriah stayed with his soldiers and David's plan didn't work. So he murdered him, and married Bathsheba. And guess what? "God was not at all pleased with what David had done." David's wives and children ended up causing him and the country many problems, including an attempted coup.
- Intrigue:  The rest of these chapters piles story upon story of intrigue, war, rape, and death. David was an amazing warrior and he loved God, but he wasn't always the best father. He seemed to let things happen without intervention, until it was too late to rectify.
- Soft heart:  David loved his sons. He loved Abalom, and bitterly grieved his untimely death, even though he had tried to overthrow his father. Wow--a powerful example of love with no strings attached.

Elena's verse of the day:  "God does not just sweep life away; instead he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him" (2 Samuel 14:14).