May 26, Reading Notes

2 Samuel 9-11

It feels too soon in the record of David to begin looking at his ruin, but actually we've been reading about David for about 23 chapters. And we're not through by a long shot. This is more "history" than Noah or Abraham received. In reading the Bible and observing what is there, the "law of proportion" is important. The question to ask is "Why is so much written about David?" Apparently David is very, very important. Yesterday I quoted a verse from Paul to Timothy, in which he mentions that Jesus being descended from David was a part of the Gospel he preached. In Romans 1:3 Paul says, "the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh"

Knowing what Paul says in Romans, and the close attention Jesus' connection to David receives in other parts of the Bible, it seems safe to say that God's promise to David is huge. The promise is not only pointing to the redemption of man, but also to the redemption of Israel and the fulfillment of their purpose before God to be a witness to the nations.

It is good to keep in mind, that David was a true man of faith and graciously blessed by God. Remember that, because what you are about to read about David is both tragic and sad. But then again, and there's a lesson here, so are the lives of many disciples who began well, but lost their focus on the love and mission of Christ.

2 Sam. 9

Remember the mention of Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth (M)? I will only make a few comments on this story, but some of the small details here will be important later. I'm drawing your attention to this now, because you won't hear from Ziba again until chapter 16 and you won't know the truth until chapter 19. You'd get all of this if you read your Bible year after year and took good mental notes, but anyway, treasure all these little details in your heart.

V. 2 Look at all the detail you have here about Ziba. That detail is very important. Ziba was a rich man, living large off of Saul's estate because there was no heir. He became a rich man, living under the radar until now.

V. 9 Ziba and his family and his servants became the servants of a cripple. Not only that, he was now accountable to David. The proceeds of the land had to be accounted for and given to M. This would change his lifestyle. Do you see what is happening here?

V. 10-11 The "Now Ziba" is important. You seldom read about anyone with this many sons, much less daughters and wives. He had means. David didn't have this many sons.

Notice verse 12.

V. 13 To make matters worse, M lived in the capitol city and ate at David's table in honor. Just imagine what this change meant for Ziba, now serving an absentee master.

Back to M, he seems like a nice guy and very humble, married with a little son that makes you think of Mickey Mouse.

So why the "Now" in verse 13? In the NT you never hear of a cripple being anything but a beggar, much less a great man or a king. Back then, you reigned because you could defeat those who stood against you.

2 Sam. 10

This story sets up chapter 11. It tells you why chapter 11 begins with Joab fighting against the main city of the Ammonites.

Chapter 10 is also important in that Israel not only broke the strength of Syria, but they defeated armies beyond the Euphrates into Assyria. The nations knew to respect David. Israel was now secure in the world.

2 Sam. 11

V. 1 Sermons have been preached on all of this. David obviously should have been out fighting.

V. 2 This "sighting" might not have been an accident. This was a common time for women to bathe for ceremonial cleansing. David, in his palace, had a high vantage point.

Now, David had 11 wives and many concubines at this time. So, why not make a date with one of them?

V. 3 If David didn't already know who she was, this information should have frozen him. Unfortunately, once lust is on a roll, it is really hard to stop with rational thought. As we'll see later, or you can find out on your own, David almost certainly knew who she was.

These names are important. Not only will they explain some things that happen later, but these show how very tragic this was. These names also could mean that David stayed behind in Jerusalem for this very reason. This might have been like a wife asking her husband if he wants to go with her and the kids to the store, but he prefers to stay home because he's tired. Then, as soon as the car pulls out of the driveway, he fires up the computer.

Also, just think of this: David crossed a line here from fantasy to doing. This must have taken time. The names above will let you know that David might have known who Bathsheba was and thought that, maybe, he deserved her. More on this later.

Vs. 4-5 How did David think he could keep this quiet? It had to have taken some planning.

That she had just cleansed herself means she had just had her period (v.4). It would be another month before she would know she had missed a period and was pregnant.

So here is the question: Was this mutual consent or was it rape? If it was mutual consent, both of them needed to be put to death for adultery. It is hard to imagine this any other way, but those were different times.

Now, what follows is my understanding of the situation.

In Leviticus 19:20 there is a case where a master rapes a slave woman who is engaged. She is not killed and he is not killed, although he has to pay for his crime. That the slave woman is not charged with any sin is because she is under the power of her owner. I think this was kind of the same case with David and Bathsheba. Her husband, Uriah, was a foreigner, a close servant of David. David was the ruler of Israel. Socially and culturally, if David made a demand of her, she could not deny David. This was more than statutory rape. In that culture, Bathsheba would have been required to consent because of David's standing as king and her husband's position under David.

There is one more thing that points to rape in this situation. Later, when God judges David, He will tell David that though David did this secretly, God will do the same thing to David that David did here and He will do it publicly. God will judge David by bringing David's own sin back upon him. As a result of what David did to Bathsheba and to Uriah, David's family will experience two cases of rape and a murder. His oldest son Amnon will rape his half-sister Tamar. Then Absalom will murder Amnon, and during the civil war that Absalom incites against David, Absalom will rape 10 of David's concubines (wives) openly, on the roof of the palace for all Israel to see. To further underline this last event, look at 2 Samuel 16:21 and see who it was who suggested this. If you track that name down, this entire act becomes so sad and sick that you want to wring David's neck.

Now, I'm being a little sketchy here so that if you are interested, you can track down all the names and figure this out by yourself. When we get to 2 Samuel 16 I'll put all the details together. But right now, it is important to have an idea of what David did here. It was ugly and everyone would suffer.

V. 6 I wonder if Joab's sneaky mind got a hint of anything here?

Vs. 7-13 God Himself was thwarting David's scheming with a simple man who was better than himself. What did David think when he saw this happening? I'm sure he knew it was God, but he kept on sinning.

As bad as sin is, coming clean and admitting what you've done, yourself, is more honoring to God than having to be backed into a corner or trapped and forced into an admission. When we sin and create a tangled "Gordian Knot" of lies and involvements, it is simple to get out of it. The next thing you do, after you come to your right mind, is to honor God. Obey Him and follow, regardless of the consequences, and the knot is sliced down the middle and God helps you sort out the mess. Keep lying, and you're imprisoned in the world of your lies.

Vs. 14-25 Here David gave Joab power over him. Joab could figure this out. They all knew Uriah (have you figured out why yet?) and knew this lowly, foreign guy had a "knock-out" for a wife. David would never be free of Joab now because he had become a murderer just like Joab.

V. 17 Notice that in order to get Uriah killed, Joab had to send a party of men to the wall and some of them were killed too. So, actually many men died to cover this sin. How sad.

V. 25 Utterly sad. From this point on, David's ability to think clearly and judge others rightly, is destroyed.

Vs. 26-27 There is a reason to fear the silence of God. There is a reason to fear when the intent of our hearts is evil and God doesn't allow anything to stand in our way. David, the man after God's own heart, has sinned in a way that is absolutely mind numbing. The spiritual powers and the surrounding nations will mock the God of Israel for this. God will forgive David, but David will never be the same man. This sin will devastate his own heart and his judgment and his family. And as we learned in Exodus through Deuteronomy, if one man sins, the nation will suffer. Israel will suffer and many more will lose their lives.

As we look at what happens here, obviously this is all written for our instruction and warning. Does God forgive? Absolutely. Should we play with God's grace and forgiveness, presume upon His kindness, mock His love? Absolutely not. Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Notice that Paul/the Spirit is saying this to believers.

God loved David, but He cuts David very little slack in terms of consequences. As disciples, we also need to fear God. As we follow Christ in the harvest, in deep humility, we need to tune our hearts daily to God in the Word and in the Lord's prayer. Thinking about those last lines of the prayer, "…and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one," we need to remember the danger we face on this earth, that we are very vulnerable and weak, and that for the grace of God this would happen to us too.

John 15

So, in this dangerous world, following Christ in the harvest, God the Father uses the very troubling circumstances, like what the disciples will be going through, to prune and equip them/us for effectiveness.

There are a few passages in this section that are murky, where someone could think that a believer could lose their salvation. Not so. The best way to view this passage is to think of a couple of examples as you walk through it.

First, think of the apostle Paul. Here was a man, shaped by the love of Christ, shaped by the suffering of Christ as He followed Christ in the harvest, shaped by the joy of seeing the power of the Gospel transform lives. Paul lived no easy life, but there is no greater example, after Jesus, of what this chapter means.

Second, think of someone like David, who was fully saved, yet still suffered damage and "withering" on earth because he chose not to walk close to God. Many believers have injured themselves, and have shipwrecked their faith and witness for Christ. It doesn't mean they are lost, but they are damaged and unfruitful.

Vs. 1-11 In the deepest of the testing the disciples would face, Jesus tells them to remain or abide in Him. This is not just to "believe" in Jesus or go to church, it is to remain in His love and mission and the reality of the purpose of His life and death. In trial or persecution, they would be tempted to "forget" reality, to give up and retreat. If you think of all of the discipleship teaching and warnings Jesus has given them, everything He has taught them fits here….the second seed that fell on the rocky ground that fell away in trial and persecution. Jesus' warning to the disciples when He sent them out by two's, "he who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but he who denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in Heaven" (not heed their prayers? Remember, Jesus intercedes for us beside the Father.). All of this fits together in terms of discipleship. Those who heed His words build a house that stands in trials; those who hear and don't follow, well, their house gets ruined.

Notice how often Jesus uses the words, "abide," "bear fruit," and "love."

V. 2 Pruning is normal and necessary to our lives following Christ in the harvest, in this darkness.

V. 4 Bearing fruit is to be looked at as normal and necessary.

V. 5 Abiding in Jesus insures bearing much fruit. The "without me you can do nothing" refers to bearing much fruit. To be fruitless means to be not abiding in Christ, whether we think we are or not.

V. 6 To me this is the same thing that happens to the salt that loses its saltiness or if a man builds on the foundation of Christ with wood, hay or stubble. There is waste and loss during this lifetime, loss of reward and humiliation before Christ, but there is salvation and entrance into heaven, but "as through fire."

V. 7 Notice the conditional nature of this promise. If a person abides in Christ (His love and mission and the reality of the purpose of His life and death) they are asking according to this reality in order to bear fruit for Christ. That prayer will be answered. Why?

V. 8 The Father will grant this prayer because He is glorified when we bear much fruit and so prove to be disciples of our Lord.

Just in case we get lost here; what is bearing fruit? It is our lives being involved in and focused on being witnesses for Christ so that others may find salvation through Him. Whether we are doing this alone or doing it with the church, serving so that the church can reach out and make disciples, living to follow Christ and bear fruit for Him is important to us. The fruit is people coming to Christ. Jesus defines fruit in John 12 when He says that if he dies He will bear much fruit. This fruit is the outgrowth of his death and sacrifice. It is people, it is us, it is those who are still lost and need to hear the message. Saved people are the fruit of the travail of His soul. I know for some people, the bluntness of hearing that we are only here on earth to be witnesses to Christ seems oppressive, but it is the reality of living as disciples, knowing His salvation and living on this dying planet.

Vs. 9-11 It is all about joy and love in the context of following Christ in the harvest and not giving up or hiding. If we "hide" anywhere, it is in the love of the Father and the Son.

Vs. 12-17 Notice that the call to love one another is in the context of the mission, abiding in Christ, bearing fruit.

Notice that Jesus invites us as friends into the very mission and plan He is living and dying for.

Notice that the commandments are in the context of, and defined by, the harvest, abiding and bearing fruit.

V. 16 The promise of answered prayer here is for that person bearing fruit in the harvest whose heart and desires are locked into following His savior and bearing fruit.

V. 17 It is a precious thing to be united together by Christ and His mission, and that person and mission defines the context of this love. In Christ, it is the church, groups of people somewhere on this earth, that God is using to bring the gospel to the lost, and who He is using to hold back the night. We need to love and care for one another, to encourage and guard each other, to "have each other's backs." In the military, you have to be willing to protect your fellow soldier with your life. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." When you read Paul, you notice the strong bond he had with those who labored with him "side by side" in the Gospel. Paul often called them "fellow soldiers."

Vs. 18-25 Notice that Jesus immediately brings them back to the reality of their situation.

Vs. 26-27 Therefore, the giving of the Spirit is to equip, empower, comfort and encourage them and us as they would (and we) follow Christ in the harvest.

Psalm 119:49-64

Back to the David we love, who was still afflicted and hadn't been ruined by success. This ought to tell us something too. Our hearts are closer to God when we are being pruned. So we need to make sure we are pursuing Christ in the harvest, sweating and straining for Him. God made sure Paul had a thorn in the flesh to humble him, but Paul himself knew of no other way to live. Paul said, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share in His sufferings becoming like Him in His death…."

Notice how close to God David was when He really, really, really needed the Lord.

Remember too, that the same guy who wrote this, when he became comfortable and successful, also did what we have read above in 2 Samuel. That frightens me.

Proverbs 16:1-3

I guess this is all another way to say, "if we deeply abide in Christ, our plans and work, our spirits and vision, our hearts and our tongues will be pleasing to the Lord." That's what I want and the way to it is to abide in the love of Jesus my Savior.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.