11. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Chapter 12 concludes with the victory over the Ammonites.   When we started the story about David and Bathsheba, our text opened up with “that it was the season when kings went out to war.”  The battle being fought was against the Ammonites.   I would also like to remind you that the Ammonites and Israelites went to war because when David sent a team of men to offer his condolences after the loss of the Ammonite king, the people of Ammon misread his actions and thought it was a trick to take the city and they humiliated the men that David sent by cutting off half their beards and tearing their clothing.    Today’s text shows the victory over the Ammonites. 

Israel was fighting against the Ammonites during the entire Bathsheba and David incidence.  It was this same battle that David called Uriah from to go and sleep with his wife and also this same battle that he sent Uriah to his death in.

Here is the conclusion of the chapter.

II Sameuel 12:26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.” 29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 He took the crown from the head of their king–its weight was a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones–and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

The meanwhile in the text above indicates that this battle was happening simultaneously while David and Bathsheba were going through their issues. 

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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10. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

Today’s lesson only has a couple of verses in it because the text following starts a new story.   We will conclude the David and Bathsheba text today.   Following is the conclusion:

II Samuel 12:24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

Our text today concludes with after David got up,  washed himself, changed his clothes, and went to the house of God to worship, he then went in to comfort his wife Bathsheba.  

I want you to notice something so fascinating in the text or in our story of this entire incident.   Bathsheba name is mentioned in the beginning of this story when David sees her on the rooftop and inquires as to who she is and he is informed that her name is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.  After David commits adultery with her, her name is never mentioned again until now.  All throughout the sin she is only referred to as the wife of Uriah.  Once the baby is killed and punishment has been announced upon David for his sins, she is then referred to as Bathsheba again.   Very interesting.    I just wondered if you noticed it..

So the text says that David lies with his wife and she conceives and that is how Solomon is born.   We all know that Solomon will be the last and final king of the monarchy and will become the wisest man in the world.   Solomon’s name means peace or to make peace.     David made peace with his God.   The text tells us that God loved Solomon and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because he loved him so much. 

Jedidiah means  “beloved of Jehovah” or beloved of God.

We will continue our journey on tomorrow. 

Stay encouraged!

God Bless!!!!!!!

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

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9. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Welcome back from the weekend.  We are continuing our study on the life of David.  On last week, we ended with what David’s punishment would be and today, we will discover David’s response to knowing that his son from Bathsheba will die.

Here is the text:

I Samuel 12:15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21 His servants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” 22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”  

If you will notice in our text, it says that David went on a fast for the child.  He understood that God told him that the child would die, but he pleaded that God would show mercy.     The Lord does not show mercy as God said it, the child dies.  

David’s servants were afraid to come to him and tell him that the child was dead because David would not eat and spent his nights on the ground while interceding for the child so they assumed that the news of the child’s death would cause him to do something more drastic. 

David overheard the conversations of his servants and David assumed that they were talking about the child’s death.  When David confirmed that the child was dead, he got up and washed himself and changed his clothes and went in the house of the Lord and worshipped.

This is one of my favorite parts of this story.  David was not angry with God about anything.   So many times when things go bad or we don’t get the results we desire from God, we shut down and stop going to church, and stop reading the bible, and stop praying because we are disappointed in the results and felt as if God should have done what we requested. 

Once David gets the outcome, he takes off his interceding clothes and he prepares him self to go to the house of God and worship.   David accepts the sovereign will of God and he worships.  He worships.   No matter what the outcome, he worships.    He still realizes that God is still his source, and that God is worthy to be praised.

Most of us would accuse God falsely and think it was cruel and unjust for the baby to die because of David’s sins.  There are so many things that we could say about what happened to this child but God rendered the verdict and we must trust that God is just and righteous and David accepted the will of God and honored God in worship.

When we don’t understand, we should just worship, when it hurts so bad we can’t hardly breathe, we worship, when it seems unjust, we worship.    It is through worship that we get strengthened and encouraged and that we learn to accept when we need to accept and get the strategy for warfare when we need to fight.  The key is worship. 

David’s servants were surprised at these actions and they questioned him.  David responded that while the child lived, who knows if the Lord would not have been gracious towards him but now that the child is dead, he can not return to him.  David says that one day he will go to the child in death but the child cannot return to earth.

Worship…….  Worship…….. Worship.    It makes the difference.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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6. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Those of you that follow my daily teachings know that every once and a while when I have a moment where a scripture just blessed me so then I share it with you.  I have been studying the 6^th chapter of John and this text which is so familiar in the life of the church just took my breath away.  Here is the text:

John 6: 43b Jesus answered. 44 ”No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

In this story, the context is where Jesus feed the five thousand with the loaves of bread and fish.   The text also teaches that he was well established as a miracle worker.   In the context of our text, the religious leaders come to Jesus and they ask him what they must do to do the works that God requires.  Jesus tells them that they must believe in the one that God sent.  They responded by saying what miraculous sign will you do to prove to us that you are sent from God. 

Now, again, please note that Jesus had already been established as a miracle worker and they had just seen him feed the multitude miraculously.    They tell Jesus that feeding the multitude was no big deal for their forefather Moses feed 6 million people a day miraculously with manna from heaven.  

Jesus simply tells them that no matter what he does it will never be enough for unless God gives you the ability to come, you will not be able to come to Jesus.  That is our text where it says”  No one can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent him draws him.   Jesus goes on further to say that according to the prophets the people that will come to him have been taught by God.  I thought that was soooooooo powerful.  That while we were sinners we were being taught by God himself to be able to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ when we hear it.

I don’t know if you’re getting it but God gives us the ability to come.  How powerful.  I just want to fall to the floor and worship.  The ability to come to him comes from God.  We were chosen by him to respond to the gospel…   Wow…. I am so grateful to be a part of the ones that have been taught by God to come to Jesus.

What a wonderful life this is.  I can’t imagine being without God now that I have tasted of what true fellowship with God means. 

So let me leave you with the thought of praise for the weekend.  Let’s just thank and praise God that he drew us to Jesus….

Have a safe and great weekend and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.  We will resume our study on Monday of the monarchy on Monday. 

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5. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Today we will be discussing David’s response to what God has instructed him that his punishment will be. 

Here is our text:

I Samuel 12:11 ”This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

David’s punishment will be out of his own household.   God told David that he will take his wives as David took the wife of Uriah and give them to someone who is close to him.   Notice, that David’s punishment will be similar to the crime that David committed.  David took the wife of someone that loved him and would have easily given his life for him.    And we know that it will be David’s son Absalom that will steal the kingdom from him and sleep with David’s wives and put David on the run.  We also know that David’s daughter will be raped and David will go through a season of calamites that will be caused by the people that he loves.

God also tells David that he committed his crime in secret but God will punish him openly before all Israel.    After David gets his punishment from God, he simply says:  I have sinned against the Lord.   This statement is so powerful to me because David could have went on and on about what was about to happen to him but in his mind, he realized that he had offended God. 

Nathan responds by telling David that God has forgiven him and he will not die but the son that he just had from his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba will die.

Tomorrow, we will study David’s response to learning that his newly born son would die.

Stay encouraged.

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

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4. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

In our lesson today, we will be studying the text where Nathan reveals to David that the story he just told him about the rich and poor man was about him..  If you remember on yesterday, David was so angered about the story of how the rich man treated the poor man in the story that he immediately said the man should die and repay back four times of what he had taken. 

Here is our text:

II Samuel 12:7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 ”This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

This is one of my favorite scriptures concerning David.  It is not because of the rebuke or sentencing of Punishment for his sin but because it exemplifies the phenomenal place that David had achieved in God and their relationship.

I know you’re probably like what….. but Let me explain to you what I mean.     The text says that once Nathan reveals to  David that he is the rich man in the story, then Nathan tells him how God felt about their relationship.    God tells David that he has given him everything as promised.  He made him king over Israel and Judah.  He gave him the house of his master and delivered him out of the hand of his enemy Saul. He  was not only given his master’s house but his wives and then here is the statement that just takes me out……..   God says that if that had not been enough, I would have given you even more.  David had reached a place in his relationship with God that God told him that if all that he had was not enough then God would have given him more.  David did not have to covet or long for something that did not belong to him.  He could have easily had any single women in the kingdom that he wanted and if all his natural wealth was still not enough, God offered him more.  

What an incredible place to be in God.   Please don’t focus on the material.  David was in love desperately with God long before he had acquired any status or wealth.   This was a sincere relationship so much so that the wealth of the world just came with it.  

But God tells David something that is so convicting to me.  He tells David why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing something that was evil in God’s eyes?  Wow!!!!   How did you get here David?   The text is clear, God told David that he had despised his word.  Ouch…..   We all say how much we love the word of the Lord but the text is clear if we do what is evil in God’s site then we have despised God’s word.   The word despise here means to hold contempt for or it means a willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the word of God. 

Ohhh..  But what I want you to focus on in this lesson is the relationship.  What a wonderful place to be in God that God would say that if all that I have done for you is not enough, I will do more.   That comes out of intimacy and relationship.

Well, I am tearing…….  I really don’t even know why but my heart just got tender towards this subject.

Our text closes with the punishment pronounced upon David’s household. 

On tomorrow, we will discuss what David’s response will be to what the Lord has just said.

Stay encouraged.

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

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3. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

I am headed to my sister-in-law’s funeral so today, I simply want to post our next scripture.   Our story today deals with  David’s sin.   If you study the timeframe of the story then you’ll know that God did not immediately deal with David’s sin.  When Uriah was killed and David brought Bathsheba into his home as his wife the prior text teaches us that a son was born unto David.  This means that the story that we are about to read happened at least 9 months after the original act happened.  Today in our lesson, God finally deals with David’s actions. 

Here is how the story unfolds:

II Samuel 12: 1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 ”Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Nathan comes to David and his strategy is to present a story to David about two men one rich and one poor.  The rich man unjustly took the belongings of the poor man when it was so unnecessary based on the wealth of this man.  He used the analogy of a sheep and shepherd.  If you remember, David use to keep his father’s sheep before he was appointed as king so this was a very sensitive subject to him.   David immediately got angry and said that the man should die and pay for his crime at least four times over because he had no pity.

Tomorrow, we will study Nathan’s response to David’s answer.

Stay encouraged!

God Bless!!!!!!!

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

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2. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Welcome back from the weekend.   I had a great Sunday.   The service that I went to yesterday the pastor preached Jude 1:1 on the greeting that Jude gave to the church about Mercy, Peace, and love be multiplied unto you.   He focused on the first one, Mercy.   He talked about the need for Mercy and the need for Mercy to be multiplied into our lives.  He went all the way back to Genesis and talked about how necessary it is for us to have mercy on our lives.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was awesome.   That thing blessed me so. 

I will never look at a scripture the same that has Mercy be multiplied unto you in it again.   OHHHHHHHHHHH…….  I wanted to scream and shout but at the same time; I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to miss a word.  GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!  Thank you for mercy.

Remember, with mercy…. You are already proven guilty.   Mercy means you don’t get the punishment that you rightfully deserve.  Ohhhhhhhh…. Getting chills…. Let me move on to our lesson.

Today in our lesson, we find out what happens after Uriah has been killed in battle. 

Here is our text:

II Samuel 11: 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

The text opens up with saying that When Uriah’s wife, (they did not even mention her name.  She is labled as Uriah’s wife only here in this text.) heard that her husband was dead, she went into mourning. 

Let’s look at what it means to go into Jewish mourning.

Jewish mourning practices can be broken into several periods of decreasing intensity. These mourning periods allow the full expression of grief, while discouraging excesses of grief and allowing the mourner to gradually return to a normal life.

When a close relative (parent, sibling, spouse or child) first hears of the death of a relative, it is traditional to express the initial grief by tearing one’s clothing. The tear is made over the heart if the deceased is a parent, or over the right side of the chest for other relatives. This tearing of the clothing is referred to as keriyah (lit. “tearing”). The mourner recites the blessing describing G-d as “the true Judge,” an acceptance of G-d’s taking of the life of a relative.

From the time of death to the burial, the mourner’s sole responsibility is caring for the deceased and preparing for the burial. This period is known as aninut. During this time, the mourners are exempt from all positive commandments (”thou shalts”), because the preparations take first priority. This period usually lasts a day or two; Judaism requires prompt burial.

During this aninut period, the family should be left alone and allowed the full expression of grief. Condolence calls or visits should not be made during this time.

After the burial, a close relative, near neighbor or friend prepares the first meal for the mourners, the se’udat havra’ah (meal of condolence). This meal traditionally consists of eggs (a symbol of life) and bread. The meal is for the family only, not for visitors. After this time, condolence calls are permitted.

The next period of mourning is known as shiva (seven, because it lasts seven days). Shiva is observed by parents, children, spouses and siblings of the deceased, preferably all together in the deceased’s home. Shiva begins on the day of burial and continues until the morning of the seventh day after burial. Mourners sit on low stools or the floor instead of chairs, do not wear leather shoes, do not shave or cut their hair, do not wear cosmetics, do not work, and do not do things for comfort or pleasure, such as bathe, have sex, put on fresh clothing, or study Torah (except Torah related to mourning and grief). Mourners wear the clothes that they tore at the time of learning of the death or at the funeral. Mirrors in the house are covered. Prayer services are held where the shiva is held, with friends, neighbors and relatives making up the minyan (10 people required for certain prayers).

If a festival occurs during the mourning period, the mourning is terminated, but if the burial occurs during a festival, the mourning is delayed until after the festival. The Shabbat that occurs during the shiva period counts toward the seven days of shiva, and does not end the mourning period. Public mourning practices (such as wearing the torn clothes, not wearing shoes) are suspended during this period, but private mourning continues.

The next period of mourning is known as shloshim (thirty, because it lasts until the 30th day after burial). During that period, the mourners do not attend parties or celebrations, do not shave or cut their hair, and do not listen to music.

The final period of formal mourning is avelut, which is observed only for a parent. This period lasts for twelve months after the burial. During that time, mourners avoid parties, celebrations, theater and concerts. For eleven months of that period, starting at the time of burial, the son of the deceased recites the mourner’s Kaddish every day.

After the avelut period is complete, the family of the deceased is not permitted to continue formal mourning; however, there are a few continuing acknowledgments of the decedent. Every year, on the anniversary of the death, family members observe the deceased’s Yahrzeit (Yiddish, lit. “anniversary”). On the Yahrzeit, sons recite Kaddish and take an aliyah (bless the Torah reading) in synagogue if possible, and all mourners light a candle in honor of the decedent that burns for 24 hours. In addition, during services on Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, the last day of Passover, and Shavu’ot, after the haftarah reading in synagogue, close relatives recite the mourner’s prayer, Yizkor (”May He remember…”) in synagogue. Yahrzeit candles are also lit on those days.

When visiting a mourner, a guest should not try to express grief with standard, shallow platitudes. The guest should allow the mourner to initiate conversations. One should not divert the conversation from talking about the deceased; to do so would limit the mourner’s ability to fully express grief, which is the purpose of the mourning period. On the contrary, the caller should encourage conversation about the deceased.

When leaving a house of mourning, it is traditional for the guest to say, “May the Lord comfort you with all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”  (taken from the following website source:  http://www.jewfaq.org/death.htm)

I know the above is a lengthy discussion on mourning but I wanted to show you that the time frame from David bringing Bathsheba into his house to make her his wife was not an overnight process.  According to our study above the mourning process was at least 40 days.  

It was after this forty days that Bathsheba became his wife and she bore him the son that had been conceived in adultery.   Our text closes out with “this thing displeased the Lord.”  

Tomorrow, we will begin to get into the consequences of David’s sin and what it looks like for the Lord to be displeased.

Stay encouraged.

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

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