The death of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah

30. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

We are closing our study out this week with the death of Uriah.   David sent his faithful servant to his death all to cover up his sin.  WOW!!!!!  This is King David, the innocent shepherd boy who loved God with all his heart and wrote songs to him daily and was so strong and confident and humble and meek.  What happened?  How did he get so heartless?  This was a man whose sensitivity towards God was unmatched. 

 

 

Here is the story:

 

II Samuel 11: 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

 

 

As you can see from the text, David sends the instruction that would kill Uriah through a letter given to Uriah.  This man was so faithful that he didn’t open the letter to even see what was in it.  You know I would have just been too curious as to what I was delivering. I would have had to peek.  His loyalty for the king and the cause of Israel was simply remarkable.  

 

David sends one of his most faithful servants to his death simply to cover up David’s own wrong.

 

As you read the details of the battle, you will see that Joab was concerned about David being angry that they had lost so many men that day including Abimelech.   Joab was concerned that David would complain of their unsuccessful strategy but he instructed the messenger to tell David if he appears angry to simply include that his servant Uriah was also dead.

 

Joab was hoping that David’s strong desire to see this man dead to cover up his sin would ease the rebuke of the disaster that occurred on the battle day.  When the messenger tells David the news, he sends back a message to encourage Joab.  David tells him basically that the sword is no respecter of persons and for Joab not to get upset but to press on and destroy the city.

 

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Today, for the first time in the life of David, we see him in a different like.   It is one thing to commit adultery with another man’s wife but to have the man killed and to make matters worst, a man that would have easily given his life for David because  takes it to another level.

 

Have a great weekend everyone and on Monday, we will deal with what happens when Bathsheba’s learns that her husband is dead.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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The Cover Up Begins

29. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

In our lesson today, we begin the first of a series of stories where David attempts to cover up the fact that he is the father of Bathsheba’s baby.

 

Here is our text:

 

II Samuel 11:6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

 

There are a couple of things that I want to point out in this text today.   Uriah is the husband of Bathsheba and he is a loyal soldier to the king.   David tells Uriah to go home and “wash your feet.”  You may ask what does washing feet have to do with David suggesting that Uriah go home and sleep with his wife.

 

In ancient Israel, a common euphemism for “penis” was feet.   I know, you want me to prove it to you.  Well check out this other incidence in the bible.   This is the story of Saul going into the cave to relieve himself or go to the bathroom.   

 

The text says:   I Samuel 24:3 “And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.  (KJV)

 

The International version says:   3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself.   (NIV)

 

Also, there is evidence in the text that we are reading.  David tells him to go to his house and wash his feet.  The next day when David finds out that Uriah did not go to do what David had requested.  His response tells you what he thought David was telling him to do.   Uriah says:  “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife?

 

As you can see in his response, he clearly understands David to tell him to go home and sleep with his wife.   Now, the next time you read Ruth especially the passage where her mother tells her to go to the threshing floor after Boaz has been drinking and after he is merry, lay at his feet and whatever he tells you to do then do it.  Look at that lay at his feet again.   Calm down everyone, I know you don’t like viewing Ruth in this manner, Just look at it.  See what you see.

 

Back to our story.   The plan did not work so David instructs Uriah to stay with him another day and David got him drunk thinking that he would go home and sleep with his wife but it did not work.  

 

Tomorrow, we will continue our journey.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David & Bathsheba

28. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

Today we begin our journey with the David and Bathsheba stories.   This is probably the most popular incidence associated with the life of David. 

 

Here is our text:

 

II Samuel 11: 1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

 

Now, most of you know how this story ends but let’s just start at the beginning and look at some details. 

 

The text starts off by saying that “in the spring, when kings go off to war.”

 

According to our text, we were in  a season when traditionally major battles were fought.   The text says that it was the season that we would find kings on the battle field.     We know that the season was spring so maybe because of the good weather or coming out of a bitter winter into spring.  The text only tells us that the spring time was when kings joined there armies on the battlefield.   

 

The text also teaches us that David, the king of Israel would not go.  He sent the commander of his army Joab out with the king’s men but David stayed behind.   The battle was between the Ammonites.   We just finished our story of how David and the Ammonites became enemies. 

 

The first thing that you want to observe in the text is that David was out of place.  He stayed behind.  He should have been in the battle field with his men but for some reason that we are not given, he decides to stay in Jerusalem.   So David is out of place.  Be careful when you are out of place.  Some of my greatest sins have been committed when I have been out of place.  I was supposed to be in church, or suppose to have kept an appointment and I decided to stay behind and sin.   Sometimes the sin wasn’t even planned, but because I was out of place and not where I had committed to be, I found myself in situations that I would eventually regret and suffer for them.

 

David stays behind and he goes onto of his roof and sees a woman bathing that we later find out is named Bathsheba.   Historically, the top of the house or the roof was designed flat so that it could actually be used to sit on, eat on, or whatever else you wanted to design them for. 

 

It was a common thing for people to use their roofs as an active part of the home.   Some scholars have suggested that Bathsheba purposely went onto the roof to tempt David and that she incited the incidence.   There are several things that I have to say concerning this assumption.  The first is that there is no evidence in the text to argue that point and second, while she was aware that King David lived next door, the text teaches us that it was a known fact that kings were suppose to be at war.  So she could easily have thought the king was out with his army.  Also, the text teaches that she was purifying herself from her uncleanness which means that she had just had her menstruation cycle and she was taking the ritual bath of purification that Israelite women did after that “time of the month.”   

 

The bible says that David saw Bathsheba and how beautiful she was and he questioned as to who she was. 

 

David was clear in what he was doing.  There is nothing wrong with inquiring about who she was and desiring to know her. The problem came when word got back to David that she was a married woman and David still summoned her and slept with her.

 

In this text, you often hear about how Bathsheba could have done this and could have done that and that she could have refused him and been faithful to her husband. 

 

We don’t know what happened in between.  We don’t know if she knew she was being summoned to fulfill David’s sexual needs.   David is the king and women just didn’t have as much freedom to deny men of power and not suffer consequences. 

 

We don’t even know if that was the case, maybe she was freely able to reject and she was attracted to David and she did not resist.  Anything that we come up with would be speculation.

 

What we do know is that the rebuke goes to David and to David alone when God deals with the incidence.  Yes, Bathsheba suffers from the loss of her husband and the loss of her first born son but the text shows no evidence of God addressing her personally for the incidence.

 

In tomorrow’s story, we see how “Oh what tangle web we weave, when first we try to deceive.”  The cover up begins.

 

See you tomorrow.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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The war between Ammon & Israel

27. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

Welcome back from the weekend.   Today we conclude the story of the unnecessary war between the Ammonites and the Israelites.  If you will remember on Friday, The king Of Ammon who was a friend of David died and David sent men with condolences to the son who had become the new King.  The ambassadors for the new king spoke evil against what David was doing and made it seem like a part of a conspiracy to destroy them.   They responded to David’s kind gesture by humiliating the men by cutting off half their beards and their garments in the middle.   David instructed the men to stay in the near by city until their beards grew back.

 

David was upset with what they did his men and when word got back to the camp of Ammon of David’s anger, they hired a neighbor country the Arameans to team up with them to fight against David.

 

Here is the story:

 

6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David’s nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob. 7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country. 9 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.” 13 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

15 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the River; they went to Helam, with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them. 17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

Tomorrow’s lesson begins our journey into one of the greatest stories and scandals associated with the reign of David. 

 

Turn in to get all the specific details about the story of David and Bathsheba.  I guarantee we will explore things historically that you may have never really studied before.  So excited.  I love this story and the things that come out of it concerning David and God’s relationship.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David’s Misintrepreted

23. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

In today’s lesson, we find another of David’s battle stories.  Actually this story never should have been a battle.  David sent out a sympathy gesture to the Ammonites on the loss of their king and the men of the city made the son of the previous king think that David was setting a trap for them so they humiliated the delegate of men that David sent to express condolences. 

 

Here is the story:

 

II Samuel 10:1 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

 

 

In Genesis chapter 19, we find the origin of the Ammonites. They were created through the incestuous relationship between Lot (Abraham’s brother) and his two daughters.  One had a  child by the name of Moab and he is the father of the Moabites and the other daughter had a child and named him Ammon and he is the father of the Ammonites. 

 

During King Saul’s reign, the Ammonites were at war against Israel but the text teaches us that David had a friendly relationship with the Ammonites.  There is no biblical story that tells us the details of that relationship but most scholars believe that it was during his rise to ascension that Nahash the king of the Ammonites befriended or helped David.

 

David now wants to repay the favor as David always did.   We just finished a story on David fulfilling a promise he made to the house of Saul about ensuring that their remaining family members would be taken care of. 

 

David’s gesture is mistaken.  It is amazing to me how people will allow others to interpret acts on their behalf.   David was sincere and the king’s ambassadors interpreted the acts as a war strategy and they put those thoughts into the king’s head.  We have to be careful with receiving a second hand report.  Always go to the source and get the accurate account.

 

David never intended to start war with the Ammonites but because of how they humiliated the men that David sent, it caused an unnecessary war between the two countries.

 

 

Everyone have a great weekend.   We will continue this story with the details of this war on next week.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David keeps his vow to the house of Saul

22. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

In today’s lesson, we find the story of where David is trying to discover is there anyone left in the house of Saul so that David can bless them.   If you have been following this teaching then you will remember a couple of weeks ago that I brought to your attention the story of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth.  We talked about how when the news reached the camp that Saul and his sons had  been killed that the maid grabbed Mephibosheth and fled for protection (a young child at the time) and in their haste, he fell and broke both his legs and became cripple.   I told you to remember this event and this young man.    David made a promise to both Saul and Jonathan that he would not destroy their household.   David is now looking to honor that vow.  

 

Here is our text:

II Samuel 9: 1 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “Your servant,” he replied. 3 The king asked, “Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.” 4 ”Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “Your servant,” he replied. 7 ”Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was crippled in both feet.

 

So as you can see from our story.  David honored his promise to the house of Saul and he restored all the property that belonged to Saul to Mephibosheth ( Saul’s grandson and Jonathan’s son) Mephibosheth was well taken care of and was always welcomed at David’s table. 

 

We will continue our journey on tomorrow. 

 

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David’s Victories

21. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

In today’s lesson, we get a glimpse of some of the famous battles of David and his military strategies.   

 

Here is our text:

II Samuel 8: 1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. 2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute. 3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses. 5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. 7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze. 11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were royal advisers.

There are a few things that I want to point out and define in this text.   The story opens with David defeating the Philistines and took Metheg Ammah from their control.   The word metheg amah means the bridle of the mother city which means that he took their capitol or strongest city. 

 

Also, we see that through these victories, Israel is becoming a very wealthy nation.   Each time David conquers a nation, that nation would become subject to David and they would pay tribute (taxes) to the nation Israel. 

 

Also, this text gives us the key people that lead David’s administration.

 

Name                            Descent                                 Title

 

Joab                                       son of Zeruiah                     Over the army

Jehoshaphat                       son of Ahilud                       recorder

Zadok                                    son of Ahitub                      priest

Ahimelech                            son of Abiathar                   priest

Seraiah                                                                                  Secretary

Benaiah                                 son of Jehoiada                  over Kereth&Pelethites                         

 

If I were giving tests, I would give you a hint that these were key names to remember.  

 

We will continue our journey on tomorrow. 

 

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David’s Prayer

20. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

 

Today’s lesson deals with David’s response to what God told him via the prophet Nathan.

 

Let’s look at the story:

 

 

II Samuel 7:18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? 20 ”What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 ”How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel–the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O Lord, have become their God. 25 ”And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 ”O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

 

 

David was so humbled by the Lord’s response.  Though the answer was no or at least that it would not be David but his son that would build the house of God.  David went into worship before the Lord.  He sat before the Lord and prayed to him about how there was just no other God like him and how he was just such a sovereign God. 

 

He is grateful for all the things that God has done and that God promises to do.

 

David says something that is so profound in this prayer.  He says because God has heard his prayer and decreed these blessing upon him, he has found courage to offer up this prayer.  Wow……   That really blessed me today. 

 

It has me thinking about what he really meant by saying he found courage to pray.    I looked up the word courage in the original Hebrew and found it to mean mind, understanding, will, seat of appetites, heart, inner part…  

 

So David was saying that from the heart, from his seat of emotions, from his appetite, his hunger, his desires, he is offering up this prayer.

 

David is so grateful for what God has done and what God has promised and what how God has been with him no matter what it looked like.

 

What a powerful place to be in God; just grateful…. Grateful.    Yes, David had rest from his enemies, Yes, he was secure financially but David had these same emotions while he was in trouble.  We can easily see them expressed in the writings attributed to him through the Psalmist. 

 

Stay encouraged!

 

God Bless!!!!!!!

 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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David desires to do more for God

19. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

In our last lesson, we talked about how David successfully brought the ark back into the camp of Israel.  We also talked about how David praised God so hard that his clothes almost came off and his wife Michal accused him of looking vulgar in the site of the people; especially the slave girls.   David rebuked his wife and the text says that she never had children until her death for her disgust with how David praised his God.

 

Today, in our text, we encounter another familiar story in the life of David.   David is now secure in his kingdom and now we see a man that wants to do more for his God.   Ohhhhhhhhh….. How powerful.   David had already accomplished some phenomenal things thus far but now he wants to do something personally for God.  Let’s look at the text. 

 

II Samuel 7: 1 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

4 That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: 5 ”Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’” 8 ”Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” 17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

In our text, David is talking to the prophet Nathan and it appears to be a casual conversation about a man that is making plans to build a house for the Lord.  On the surface, there appears to be nothing wrong with this request that is why Nathan tells him to do all that is in his heart for God will be with him.   Nathan saw nothing wrong with David’s desire to build God a house. 

 

Well, that night, something interesting happens.  The Lord appears to Nathan and tells him that David cannot build him a house.   God goes on to tell Nathan to remind David that it was the Lord that brought him out of his father’s house and took him from the pastures and made him ruler over his people Israel and that he has been with him wherever he has been and he has cut off his enemies from before him and he will make his name great like the names of the greatest men on earth and he will provide for his people a stable place so that they don’t have to be on the run anymore and when David is dead,  he will raise up his son to succeed him  and he will be his father and he will build a house for God. 

 

I get goose bumps, whenever I hear this story.   From the surface, it may seem like such a casual conversation, but this is God responding to a man’s request to do more for his God.   Though the answer is no concerning his request to build God a house, , God tells Nathan to remind David of all that God has done for him and how he never left him and how he cut off his enemies from before him. 

 

If you have been following this study of the monarchy then you know that David went through hell before he was secure in his kingdom.  His writings in the Psalms reflect his pain and anguish concerning what God was doing.  His frustrations were clear but David never charged God foolishly.  After David vents, he would always end his psalm with how great God was and no matter what was going on that God was still worthy to be praised. 

 

David was so tortured by life’s circumstances but God was there the entire time and was working it all together for his good.   I am just sitting here thinking about the last twenty years of my life and what I have and have not accomplished.  What went wrong and what went right and I am so encouraged.   I think about these biblical stories and how one night they were struggling and the next day they were experiencing triumph and victories. 

 

You never know when things are going to change or how close we are to the turn around but what I do know is that God is faithful and everything is going to work out and your latter days will be better than your former.    If you have been hearing this statement for a long time then you should really be encouraged because you are closer than you know.

 

God goes on to tell Nathan to say to David that I will make you a great name just like the greatest men of the earth and his request will be granted but through his son and we know it to be Solomon. 

 

Wow…….    Tomorrow, we will learn what David’s response will be when Nathan comes and tells him what God has said. 

It is soooooooooo   good.

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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David deals with his wife

15. October 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 

 

Yesterday, we talked about David’s victory in properly recovering the ark and bringing it back into the camp of Israel and Michal’s  (his wife) response to him dancing hysterically before the people.

 

The bible says that when she saw David praising God so hard before all Israel and in particular the women, she despised him.  

 

 

Today, we will look at David’s reaction to her.

 

Here is our text:

 

II Samuel 6:  20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel–I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

 

 

Our text starts out by saying that when David returned home he came to bless his household but yet he encountered a confrontation with his wife instead. 

 

Michal comes out to meet him and sarcastically talks about David disrobing himself in front of the slave girls and compared him with someone who is vulgar.

 

David gave a short testimony to her about what he was praising God about. He went on to tell her that God choose him out of all Israel to lead his people and David said that he will celebrate before God for all that God has done for him.  As a matter of fact, David said that he would even take it further than he did today to the point where he will be humiliated in his own eyes concerning praise to his God. 

 

David told her that those slave girls that she was talking about will actually hold him in honor for what they witnessed and for her disgust concerning the  situation, David refused to have sex with her for the rest of their marriage for the text says that she had no children to the day of her death.

 

David was over her and did not want to be intimate with someone who did not want him to freely praise his God who was responsible for all that he had and had become.

 

This story reminds me of how reserve we are in the house of God.   How we know that deep in our hearts sometimes, we just want to let loose but fear of humiliation we hold it in. 

 

When I think of the goodness of God and all that he has done for me,,,  my soul cries out…….

 

I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth.    My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. 

 

That word there for boast means to be hilariously foolish.  My soul goes crazy for God.

 

Sometimes you just gotta let it go.  Be real before him.  Worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

People have often asked me what it really means to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.   The word spirit here means attitude.  It is not the Holy Spirit.   It is mind frame, state of mind.   So the text is saying that when we come to God in worship, it must be done with the right attitude and in truth.   Truth:  meaning to come clean.  This means that in worship, you have to deal with your sins, your character.  You can’t try to cover stuff up and come before a holy God without first acknowledging your sins.  Put it all on the table and honor him without any camouflage or dishonesty.    Whatever it is, it is.  God always knows.  So when we worship, we worship him with the right attitude (so many people have ulterior motives for their worship)   and we worship him in honesty.

 

Some scholars have also interrupted that “truth” as being the truth of his word.  Either way, it all means the same because his word teaches us to come before him in honesty. 

 

Stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

 

 

 

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