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).

1 Samuel 25 - 2 Samuel 6: Dancing with abandon

- The good wife:  Abigail served David with great hospitality and in the process deflected his anger away from her foolish husband, Nabal. Her reward? When she became a widow, David married her. She became the wife of King David (chapter 25).

- Respect for the anointed:  David had a strong sense of justice and right vs. wrong. He refused to take advantage of the opportunities he had to slay Saul, who now hated him and was trying to chase him down and kill him. Instead, he spoke well of Saul as God's anointed, and punished others who did not show the proper respect to Saul and his family.
- Listening to the commander:  David consulted God before battle. God gave him the go-ahead and even gave him specific battle instructions (2 Samuel 5:23-24).
- Dancing with abandon:  David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), mocked David as he danced before the Ark of the Covenant into the city. David said "I'll dance to God's glory--more recklessly even than this" (2 Samuel 6:20-22).  I remember experiencing this in some of the churches in Cuba--they dance before God with abandon. And it was so joyful!


Elena's verse of the day:  "David knew that the Lord had made him king of Israel and a powerful ruler for the good of his people" (2 Samuel 5:12).

1 Samuel 12 - 24 : The giant vs. the runt

- I'm taking this:  Samuel preached a sermon to the Israelite people and said this: "God took delight in making you into his very own people" (1 Samuel 12:22). This is for me and for you today. God takes delight in making us into his very own people!

- War & peace:  The good judges in the book of Judges brought peace to the people. Unfortunately, King Saul did not. "All through Saul's life there was war" (1 Samuel 14:52). It was a "bitter and relentless" time, says 1 Samuel. Not good.
- Disappointing God:  Saul didn't listen to God, even when God let it be known that obedience was better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22-23). "God was sorry he had ever made Saul king in the first place" (1 Samuel 15:34-35). Saul got worse as he got older and became angry, depressed, bitter, and murderous.
- The boy who would be king:  As a result of Saul turning away from God, Samuel went and anointed David, at God's direction. David was the runt of the family, out tending the sheep. An unlikely candidate for a warrior king. (1 Sam 16:11).
- A rush of wind:  On the day of his anointing, the Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, "God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life" (1 Sam 16:13).
- The giant:  David volunteered to fight Goliath. This was crazy, for many reasons.

• David was young and inexperienced
• He had no armor
• He was tiny compared to Goliath, who was ten feet tall
• No one supported his decision
• No one else was foolish enough to go up against the giant
• Everyone was watching

- He did not walk:  But none of those things mattered to David, who was filled with the Spirit and empowered by God. And of all the amazing facts on this story, this hits me the most:  David ran to the field of battle to meet Goliath (1 Sam 17:48-49). What tremendous courage and surrender to God's call. Lord, give me that kind of courage.
- Saul didn't get it:  This amazing man, David, was first appreciated by King Saul. But later, when David began to win the hearts of the people, Saul hated him and tried to kill him.



Elena's verse of the day:  "Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He wants you to obey Him" (1 Samuel 15:22).

Ruth 1 - 1 Samuel 11: An ordinary woman, a harvest romance, & a messianic prophecy

- An ordinary woman:  Ruth was not born into the faith--this woman who became the grandmother of Israel's greatest king was an outsider, an ordinary person, a widow, and poor. Yet she became the great grandmother of David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Eugene Peterson writes that it is "extraordinary to get a tale from the point of view of two lower class women."
- A redeemer:  Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi (Ruth's mother-in-law) was in the circle of "covenant redeemers" for Ruth. This meant that he was eligible to marry her and give her children to carry on the family inheritance.
- Kindness begets love:  Boaz was kind to Ruth and took special care of her. At harvest time, Naomi told Ruth: "Maybe it's time to make our move." She counseled Ruth on how to approach Boaz by sleeping at his feet, which signaled her availability for marriage. Boaz awoke in the night and saw her and they spoke in the dark and made arrangements to marry. (Romance! Love it!)
- 1 Samuel was written about 1000 BC, at the midpoint in history between Abraham and Jesus. Samuel is one book written on two scrolls because there were physical limits on how big a scroll could be--thus 1 and 2 Samuel.
- New name for God:  "The Lord of Hosts" is translated by Eugene Peterson in The Message version as "God-of-the-Angel-Armies." Love that.
- God's listening:  Hannah was barren and asked God for a baby. Immediately, "God began making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had asked." So often this happens, but we can't see it. God is listening and making arrangements. Thank you for this, Lord.
- Baby Samuel:  When God answered and Hannah has a baby, she delivers a joyful and astonishing prophecy: "God will set things rights all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world." This sounds like a messianic prophecy. Is it the first in Scripture? I don't remember another prior to this.
- Kids gone wild:  Samuel was a good and godly leader who pointed the people back to God, but his sons were corrupt. Sometimes godly people have ungodly children, and it is no reflection on their parenting.
- Saul started out humble:  Samuel and Saul meet. Saul has been chosen by God to become King of Israel. Samuel says "At this moment, Israel's future is in your hands." Saul's response reminds me of Gideon's. Who, me? I'm insignificant, from a small nothing clan in the smallest tribe. Yet Saul was anointed king by Samuel. That day, Scripture says, God transformed him and made him a new person! To help bolster his faith, there were several "confirming signs." If God calls you to do something for him, he will anoint, equip, and transform you so that you can carry out the task, even if you think you are a nobody. So did Saul!

Elena's verse of the day:  "God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and asked for a king" (1 Samuel 10:19)

Judges 10 - 21: Terror laced with glory

- This name cracks me up:  Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo. He was a judge for 23 years, so he must have been a man of honor and dignity and wisdom. But, still, his name cracks me up.

- Sacrifice horror story:  Jephthah's daughter was sacrificed as a result of a hasty vow by her father before a military victory. This is a very difficult story to read and understand. I was at a retreat once where the speaker, a theology professor from UCLA, theorized that Jephthah actually dedicated his daughter to the temple and she spent the rest of her life there. I hope that is the case! (Judges 11:29-40).
- Sounds like Mary:  An angel came to Samson's mother and announced his conception. The angel also issued instructions to raise him as a Nazirite (long hair & no alcohol). When she described the angel to her husband, she described him as "terror laced with glory" (Judges 13:6-7). They made offerings on an altar, and the angel ascended in the flames of the altar. Wow! I don't remember ever hearing that story before.
- Samson fell in love with a Philistine girl, which was forbidden. But God was behind it, Scripture says, arranging an opportunity to go against the Philistines (Judges 14:4). God works in mysterious ways.
- Samson judged Israel for 20 years, so along with his amazing exploits (the lion & honey incident, the jawbone incident, the wife actually going to his best man incident, the city gate incident), he must have been a wise and just man. When he died by bringing down a large building with his bare hands, he killed 3000 Philistines at the same time.
- Chaos:  "In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing" (Judges 17:6).
- Phinehas is still around?  Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, was still the priest when the Israelites began a civil war with the tribe of Benjamin, which came about as the result of a brutal rape in the town of Gibeah. (Gibeah was a Benjaminite town, but it sounded exactly like Gomorrah). As a result of the war, 25,000 Benjaminites were killed. "God routed them" (Judges 20:34-36).

Elena's verse of the day:  "In those days Israel wasn't ruled by a king, and everyone did what they thought was right" (Judges 17:6 & 21:25).

Joshua 22 - Judges 9: The left-handed warrior & the runt warrior

- Come back, Joshua:  I'm already missing Joshua. The people were more tuned into God, then. Joshua was a strong leader and kept the people on the right track. Judges? It's a shock. A dark and dangerous time, with just a few bright spots. "Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel" (Judges 2:10).
- The people were "stubborn as mules"  (Judges 2:18-19) and engaged in evil practices. They didn't clear out all of the land's occupants, as they were instructed, and the remaining peoples led them back into Baal and Ashtoreth worship. God's anger blazed.

- Where did my knife go?  Ehud was a left-handed Benjaminite warrior who decided to take down Eglon, a fat king who was oppressing the Israelites. He crafted a short, two-edged sword and strapped it to his thigh under his clothes. He asked for a private meeting with Eglon, then said "I have a word of God for you." He plunged his knife into Eglon's belly, hilt and all. Eglon died and the people were released. Interesting note: the current Israeli defense minister is named Ehud Barak.
- Woman warrior:  Deborah was a wife, mother, prophet, and judge over Israel. She went into battle with her general, Barak. "Isn't God marching before you?" she told Barak (Judges 4). He was, and they routed the enemy.
- Jael, a wild mountain goat of a woman, was also an assassin and took out the enemy general, Sisera, with a tent peg. Deborah's song said this: "Most blessed of all women is Jael" (Judges 5:24-27).
- A lovely blessing after a war:  "Thus may all God's enemies perish, while his lovers be like the unclouded sun" (Judges 5:31).
- A runt saves Israel:  Gideon was commissioned by God to save Israel. He couldn't believe it. "I'm the runt of the litter from the weakest clan, and you want me to do what????" (Judges 6:15). But he did. The Angel who delivered the message started with this: "God is with you, O mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12).

Elena's verse of the day:  "The next generation did not know the Lord or any of the things he had done for Israel" (Judges 2:10).

Joshua 9 - 21: Woodcutters & water carriers, giant hailstones, and happily ever after

- Woodcutters & water carriers:  Joshua and the people of Israel were outwitted by some locals in hobo outfits. They were tricked into signing a covenant. When the ruse was discovered, Joshua sentenced the tricksters to work as woodcutters and water carriers. Interesting story, that.

- Chapters and chapters of Joshua's conquests. One key battle included a day the sun stood still, along with God flinging giant hailstones from the sky. The Israelites won.
- Balaam, the old sorcerer with the talking donkey, was finally killed by Israel in battle. Notice his name, an homage to the pagan god Baal (Joshua 3:15-22).
- Happily ever after (at least for a while):  "God gave Israel the entire land that he had solemnly vowed to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and made themselves at home in it....everything came out right" (Joshua 21:43-45). Lord, I want that for my life. Please make everything come out right.

Elena's verse of the day:  "When the priest, Joshua, and leaders of the families met to divide up the land, the Lord showed them how to do it" (Joshua 14:5).