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JUNE 2
2 Samuel 19:11-20:13
David's mess was far from over and his thinking and judgment were far
from clear.
2 Samuel 19:11-43
Vs. 11-15 The problem here is that most of Absalom's strong supporters
were of Judah. David urged Judah to invite him back to Jerusalem as the king.
As a special political incentive, he told Amasa, Joab's cousin and the leader
of Absalom's army, that he would become the commander of his army. I wonder at
the wisdom of having someone as your commander who was just trying to kill you.
No telling what Joab thought about that, but Joab had disobeyed David and
killed Absalom.
Vs. 16-23 It is interesting to me that both Shimei and Ziba are
mentioned together here. Again, Ziba is “only” there to serve and win David's
heart, right? Shimei gets off easy, for now.
Vs. 24-30 So finally, Mephibosheth (M) shows up. Notice that he hadn't
taken care of himself since the king departed
until the day he came back. What does that mean? Mephibosheth was in
mourning for David. Not taking care of yourself was how you mourned and fasted.
It wasn't how you went about making yourself king. The text/the Spirit is
giving us proof that M was innocent. Read M's explanation of what happened. He
was telling the truth and that rat, Ziba, lied about everything. Why? Because
Ziba wanted to have Saul’s estate for himself, the way it had been before David
helped M.
So what was David's response to bring fairness and justice to this
situation? How did David show true loyalty to the son of his best friend, the
guy who willingly gave David the crown and strengthened him in the Lord?
V. 29 David impatiently cut off Mephibosheth in mid-sentence and told
him to shut up. That is the import of his response. David was tired and rude to
M. David had been tricked and trapped again. So the compromised, frustrated
king got a fantastic idea: He split the property (that was the issue) between
Ziba (the liar) and M (the victim).
V. 30 Once again, just as in the case with Uriah, David is shown up by
a humbler, more spiritual man. M told David that Ziba could have it all. He was
just happy that David had come home safely. I'm just sad when I read this.
Mephibosheth was like Jonathan, a good, honest, spiritual man. He was
five years old when his father died, but something good happened in those five
years. To think, not only was Jonathan a great man and spiritual leader, but he
also turned out to be a better father than David and he only had five years to
pull it off.
For me, what David did here to M was a disgrace. David the liar, the
murderer, could not bring himself to do the right thing and judge another liar,
especially since Ziba had helped him and David had received his gift. Receiving
the gift put David under obligation. And then David had rashly believed Ziba
and judged M before witnesses and given everything to Ziba. David was a ruined
man.
Vs. 31-40 This is a lengthy section of David repaying Barzillai for
helping David. David gives Barzillai’s son, or grandson, a permanent place at
his table. There may have been other favors attached to this.
Vs. 41-43 This is where communication skills could have helped.
Apparently David thought everything would go back to normal quickly, but I
don't think he realized the depth of his neglect, not speaking to Absalom and
letting him (with his 50 men a-running) win the hearts of Israel. God still had
more chastening to do to really break David. God allowed some hot-heads to
create dissension. Earlier in David’s reign he knew how to smooth things.
2 Samuel 20:1-13
Vs. 1-2 Here was yet another Benjaminite causing problems and another
mini-civil war. Apparently this happened in David’s presence as they were
coming up from Gilgal to Jerusalem. Just for trivia, notice where this guy was
from (20:21) and then look at Judges 8:1 and 12:1. What was going on in the
hills of Ephraim?
V. 3 Because of the way Absalom had dishonored them, David would no
longer be a husband to these women. This would be a permanent, visible reminder
and scar. I don’t think David suffered, but these women surely did. People were
still paying for David’s sin. I keep thinking of the line in Psalm 51:4 where
David says to God, Against you, you only,
have I sinned. Hmmm.
Vs. 4-10 David ordered Amasa to call the army of Judah together to keep
the rebellion of Sheba from growing. When Amasa didn’t have the assembly done
by the appointed time, David sent Abishai, Joab’s brother. This didn’t mean
Amasa was a bad guy, but apparently he wasn’t a skilled leader.
Vs. 9-13 This was cold-blooded murder. How do we know? Later David will
tell Solomon it was murder, and he made Solomon promise to execute Joab in a
way that would pay for this murder. The political situation was too fragile (for
David's human thinking) to punish Joab. With this "stroke" Joab
killed his cousin and kept his position of power as commander of the army. The
description is vicious and violent. Obviously, Joab was his own man and did
things his way. I think he knew he didn’t have anything to fear from the
compromised David. Notice that immediately after this murder, Joab assumed his
old position as commander of the army.
Vs. 11-13 Amasa had already been given a promise by David and was seen
as a loyal man. What happened here, it seems, is that when the men looked at
Amasa's body, it brought up thoughts of treachery and double dealing. Maybe,
they thought, David was going back on his word. So one of Joab’s men dragged
the body off of the road and threw a blanket over it. Now everyone was unified
again so they could go after the bad guy.
As disciples working in the harvest, there is no room for politics and
hypocrisy. It is better to be honest, say our peace and if the situation
persists, ask the Lord to put us in a place where we can do honest work for
Him. Salary and position are not reasons to stay in a dysfunctional situation.
David still could have done all of this the right way, but he didn’t. He should
have taken care of Joab himself.
John 21
Vs. 1-14 Jesus had commanded them to meet Him in Galilee, and seven of
the eleven were there waiting at some appointed place. Wherever it was, it was
a lonely place and there were no crowds.
V. 3 Some suggest that Peter had gone back to his trade, but it clearly
looks like he was just passing the time, trying to catch breakfast.
V. 4 They didn't recognize Jesus, because he had either changed His
appearance or had given them some mental block.
V. 7 John was spiritually perceptive. He didn’t recognize the man, but
he remembered the situation, and knew that this unidentified man was the Lord.
That is pretty big faith.
Vs. 9-14 There is a slight miracle noted here, probably something the
Lord did to encourage Peter. Not only did Peter drag the net ashore alone, but
it is noted that the net didn't break.
V. 12 It is interesting that Jesus made them have to deny their sight
and go with their hearts regarding His identity. I wonder if at some point He
went back to the old form they knew.
Vs. 15-19 I think this portion here is the primary reason John and the
Spirit included this story. It is all about Jesus' restoration of Peter.
Notice that Peter is brought to confess his love for Jesus three times,
just like he denied Jesus three times.
Notice, too, that Peter's love for Jesus was to be expressed in
service. He was not to become the executive head of anything. He was to be like
Jesus, a servant. In making disciples, the key element is serving people, being
with them, teaching them to follow Christ in the harvest. Disciple-making is
not an executive position.
V. 19 This is a very interesting assurance for Peter and for all of us.
As we are following Christ, He actually designs our death so that by it, we
will glorify God.
Peter had publicly denied Jesus; Jesus restored him publicly. Loving Christ
means following Him, sharing His love to make disciples. Peter had been broken
and was now humble enough to lead and make disciples. He followed.
Vs. 20-23 Apparently, this is written here to dispel some false
information regarding John never dying. John was probably an old man when he
wrote this, possibly 50 or more years after the resurrection.
Vs. 24-25 This Gospel is traditionally thought to be the last of the
Gospels, written after the deaths of Peter and Paul and well after the
destruction of Jerusalem. John was an old man, possibly the last of the
apostles, living in Ephesus as he wrote this, and then in exile on Patmos when
he wrote the book of Revelation.
Psalm 120
Psalms 120-134 are called "Songs of Ascents," and were to be
sung by the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem one of those three times of the year
when all of the men were to appear before the Lord at the feasts. This one is
anonymous. Some of them are from David and one is from Solomon. These were
probably sung to "tune" the hearts of the worshipers to be longing
for God and to be confessing their own sins as they walked to Jerusalem and
came before Him.
Vs. 1-2 This is an interesting song to be singing, walking up to
Jerusalem to tune your heart to God. But maybe not. Here the psalmist is crying
out to God for help.
Vs. 3-7 Maybe this is what it was like for Hannah, Samuel’s mother,
each year that she went up to worship, being hurt and antagonized by the other
wife.
It is hard to worship when you have enemies, so maybe this psalm makes
a lot of sense. We are told to forgive, but often it is not a matter of our
forgiving, but resisting the enemy’s influence. Somehow our love for God and
our understanding of Him and this world has to be bigger than our enemy, or the
enemy controls us.
On second thought, this is a brilliant song to sing on the way to
worship, asking God to free one’s heart from these enemies and to receive the
peace of God.
Proverbs 16:16-17
I don't think anyone who has lived for Christ in the harvest and seen
fruit regrets not being wealthy; in fact, there are other blessings they would
value more. Those other blessings are the "riches" that confirm the
hand of God on their lives. On the other hand, there are masses of Christians
who have forged comfortable lives, with little or no fruit, who would gladly go
back and redirect their lives and choose other values to follow.
V. 17 sounds like
what Paul warned Timothy about in I Timothy 6:9, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and
harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
Better to be “rich” in the harvest with our Lord.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, 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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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