2 Samuel 20:14-22:20
2 Samuel 20:14-26
Vs. 14-22 This story wraps up the civil war.
The hero isn't Joab, but a wise woman who rescued her town.
Vs. 23-26 is the return to order. Benaiah
will come into the story again later. He apparently led an elite group of
fighters who may have had Philistine ties. Ira wasn't a priest. Remember that
David's sons were called priests, but the word really meant
"official." Ira was David's personal administrator, or administrative
assistant.
2 Samuel 21
Vs. 1-14 Chronologically, this must have come
after the country was at peace again. It is interesting how this plays out,
because during the civil war there must have been questions of Saul's family
coming to the throne again. What happens here will put that hope to rest. Also,
in this story there is another lesson about the long legacy of sin and wandering
from God. Saul did this with religious and patriotic zeal, but in disobedience
to God. Now it will hurt his family. I think we all get the point.
Sometime while Saul was chasing David, moved
by some kind of patriotism or "god thoughts," but not by God, Saul
decided to try to exterminate the Gibeonites. These are the people who had
tricked Joshua about 300 years earlier. As a result of their trick and the
ensuing covenant, they were saved and became a part of Israel, doing servant
work for the tabernacle. After 300 years they were as good as being Israelites.
Who knows where Saul got the idea to do this.
V. 1 It is interesting that it took David
three years of famine to figure out to ask God.
V. 3 When the Gibeonites felt that justice
had been done, they would ask God to bless Israel. Even today, if someone is
really seeking forgiveness, they should ask the offended party what restitution
would look like.
V. 7 David spared Mephibosheth because of his
oath to Jonathan. Notice that there was another guy named Mephibosheth. It must
have been a popular name.
V. 8 This is sad and interesting because
Merab should have been given to David to be his wife. She was a part of the
reward package for killing Goliath. I wonder how David felt having to take five
of her sons.
Vs. 9-10 The bodies hung out until the rain
came, meaning the curse was lifted. Normally you couldn’t leave a body hanging
on a tree overnight, but God must have allowed it because of the aspect of
having violated a covenant Joshua made with these people. When the rain came,
everyone knew the curse was over. I feel sorry for this concubine of Saul's,
Rizpah. Apparently so did David. Remember, he knew all of these people.
Vs. 12-14 This literally and figuratively
lays the house of Saul to rest in David's reign and in the history of Israel.
Except for Mephibosheth, there were no other heirs to vie for the throne of
Saul.
Vs. 15-22 This story lays to rest the
conflict with the Philistines. I don't think we'll ever hear of them again as a
threat to Israel. Also, David hung up his sword and it seems that the giants
were exterminated from the land.
You can see how this chapter is sort of
"tidying up" the history of David.
2 Samuel 22:1-20
What we have here is almost identical to
Psalm 18. This psalm will continue into tomorrow and will be complementary to 2
Samuel 23:1-7; in that, chapter 22 celebrates God's deliverance that brought
David to the throne and chapter 23 celebrates God's preservation of his
kingdom. In chapter 22 we might have David's first words of worship as a king,
while chapter 23 holds some of David's final words.
Vs. 1-6 This seems to sum up David's thoughts
of his ten years of running from Saul.
Vs. 7-16 But when David cried to the Lord,
God came to his aid, with lots of visual and sound effects.
Vs. 17-20 This is God rescuing David.
We're not through with the record of David's
life yet, but with all the lessons God has given us, the good, the bad, and
lots of ugly, David was still a man of God. We all fall. We all fail. What we
learn in seeing God's grace to David is that, in spite of our failings, we can
still get up and serve Him if we truly love Him and will follow Him as
disciples.
Acts 1
Whoa! This means
you’ve read all four Gospels. When’s the last time you did that in the same year?
Now we’re into the adventures of the Holy Spirit leading the disciples.
Vs. 1-3 This gives us some good information.
Apparently, Theophilus enjoyed the first installment.
Note that Luke talks about what Jesus began
to do and teach. That means that what we'll be reading, and what we are doing
as His disciples, is the continuation of what He began. The mission is to be
the focus of our following.
V. 2 Some wonder if Acts 1:8 is a command. I
think that Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission are the commands referred to here.
V. 3 Immediately after the Passover, came a
weeklong Feast of the Firstfruits. Then you had 49 days and on the 50th day
(Pentecost) you had the "Feast of Weeks" or "Feast of the
Harvest." The name for this feast that began at Pentecost is really the
Feast of the Harvest. It is called the Feast of Weeks because it was seven
weeks from the last feast. Isn’t it interesting that the feast that began on
Pentecost is called the Feast of the Harvest?
This feast also lasted for a week. For both
the Passover and the Feast of Harvest, all males in Israel were required to
attend. This will make Jerusalem a very crowded place.
I mention all of this, because in the time
between His resurrection and Pentecost, there were 57 days. Forty of those were
taken up with Jesus teaching His disciples about the kingdom of God. This would
mean that after Jesus left and told them to wait for the Spirit, they would
have to wait at least two weeks. Interesting. It just seems to me, that the
Lord expects His disciples to do a lot of seeking and praying and waiting.
Vs. 4-5 Apparently, after Jesus met with the
apostles and other disciples in Galilee, He went with them or met them in
Jerusalem. This was the reason He gave them the command to stay in Jerusalem,
in spite of what had just happened there.
Vs. 6-11 So on one particular day, when they
were on the other side of the valley on the Mount of Olives, boom, He was gone.
V. 6 The time of the establishment of His
earthly kingdom was a logical question to ask, since Jesus had been telling
them about the Kingdom of God for the past 40 days. Even though that earthly
kingdom still hasn't happened as it will in the Millennium, Jesus taught them
to have it anchored in their minds that it was coming. They had the sense of
expectation and now, they would work and live with the end in view. Not a bad
way for a disciple to follow Christ, with the end in view. If you read Luke
19:11-28, you'll see that Jesus was very clear that the kingdom would not
appear immediately and they were to do business until He returned.
V. 8 This is a key verse for every one of us.
After giving the disciples the future vision and expectancy, he told them to
focus on their mission. The you will be
is what we are. Notice that the Spirit's power is given to us for this mission.
Notice too, the pattern of outreach and
harvest. This is the structure of the book of Acts and it is vital to any group
of believers. You start close to home, your neighbors. It amazes me that
churches still do outreaches to the inner city and send missionaries to other
countries, but it isn’t easy to find a pastor or elder who has seen a neighbor
come to Christ or to church. As disciples we have to understand that if we are
not reaching out close to home, the other areas further out can become an
excuse to relieve our guilt for being ineffective at home. Also,
disciple-making involves the process of leading someone to Christ and leading
them to lead others to Christ, thereby making them reproducing disciples. If
you can't reach people at home, you can't make disciples. It's impossible. Our
job is not to fill the room and then close the door. We are to be reaching out
constantly, making disciples and leading them to reach out and make disciples.
The church is to be a moving stream of salvation/disciple-making, not a
stagnant pool.
Vs. 9-11 Talk about an interesting way to get
the disciples to remember these words. The connection to the kingdom is also
here in Jesus going before their eyes. The kingdom will be established on
earth, when Jesus returns the very same way, probably on that very same spot,
at the end of the Tribulation.
Vs. 12-14 They were all together in Jerusalem
and prayed for the Spirit for two weeks. Of course, they didn't know it would
be two weeks. That's a long time to pray. I wonder if Thomas was getting antsy.
This upper room was thought to belong to the
well-to-do family of John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark. This would
also explain why they had the room for so long, since this was a feast where
thousands filled Jerusalem and meeting space was hard to find.
Vs. 15-26 Jesus told them they would be
sitting on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. They needed a twelfth
guy. Note that Peter took the lead.
V. 18 There are lots of theories of how this
happened and they all end up with a mess.
V. 22 Note that both of these guys had been
with Jesus the entire time. In the Gospels we see that Jesus had lots of other
disciples. This is interesting to see these guys were still following even
though they were not a part of the Twelve.
Some people think that the disciples made a
bad choice, but that is because we know about Paul and think that they should
have chosen him. They didn't know about Paul; God didn't tell them, but He did
lead them to do this. Who knows, Paul might sit on a throne in Revelation
anyway, since there are 24 of them. On the other hand, knowing Paul, he won't
mind if he doesn't get a special honor and sees everything from the stands.
Psalm 121
As a pilgrim walked to Jerusalem singing this
song of ascent, he might have thought, "But who's holding down the fort
while I'm gone?" God promised in Exodus 23:20 and Exodus 34:24 that He
would guard them and their lands when they attended the feasts.
Vs. 1-2 As they were walking up to Jerusalem,
that hill upon which the tabernacle or temple stood would have been their goal.
It was from the presence of God that their help would come.
Vs. 3-4 As they left their lands and houses,
it was God who would watch and protect them, without sleeping or resting.
Vs. 5-6 The Lord was also their help and
their comfort.
Vs. 7-8 As we learn from David and from Paul,
even in danger with death a step away, God always keeps us. Particularly when
we leave this body, we are the safest we will ever be.
As disciples, we need to remember that our
hope for protection and care is ultimately in the Lord. If we can't rest in
that, then our worry, and Satan, will find a thousand reasons to keep us out of
the harvest.
Proverbs 16:18
As we've seen in David and will see with many
other kings, when they were weak and dependent, they were men of faith and
close to the Lord, but when they were (insert a word) they got into trouble.
Pride and arrogance come in many forms. That is good for us to remember as
disciples. I can hardly drive to the store and back without showing my
arrogance and pride a couple of times. Being needy and fearing God helps to
keep our sin in view and our hearts in check.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/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 complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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