One of my favorite stories about them comes in 2 Sam. 23:15-17.  David is in the midst of a battle and he’s thirsty.  So three of the mighty men broke through enemy lines and risked their lives just to bring back one cup of water for David to drink.  But David then refuses to drink it and pours it out.  What’s going on here?

David is so devoted to God that when he receives the cup of water, he sees that it has significant value – these men risked their lives to get it.  So instead of keeping it for himself, he pours it out as a type of offering to God.  He refuses to keep something so valuable for himself because his love and devotion for God are extremely great.

Is our love and devotion to God that great?  When we come across something of value is our first thought to give it to God?  Or do we immediately think of ourselves and the benefit we can reap from keeping it?  David shows me that I have a long way to go in my devotion to the Lord.

Also, it’s important to look at it from the standpoint of the mighty men who risked their lives for this cup of water.  First, if Jesus asked us to get him a cup of water, would we risk being killed just to get it?  Would we risk our lives for Christ if the task he called us to perform seemed insignificant (like a cup of water?).

Furthermore, think about how these men felt when David poured it out.  They had just broken through enemy lines and risked being killed to get that water.  Now he pours it out?!  How ungrateful!  We must ask ourselves, would we do the same for Jesus?  Would we risk being killed while performing a task we knew would ultimately result in nothing produced?

If Jesus simply asked us to break through the enemy lines and then come back to him for no reason at all, would we obey?  Obedience is the key here.  Why do we follow the commands in the Bible?  Yes, they ensure a better life for us than if we break them.  Yes, many times we receive blessing and pleasure from obedience.  But the first and foremost reason for obeying the commands of God in the Bible should be because God commands it.  And our respect, love, and devotion for God should lead us to follow, even if we think the commandment is pointless.

We’ve read how David has committed adultery with Bathsheba and then deceitfully had her husband killed.  The “man after God’s own heart,” is not perfect after all.  In fact, he’s capable of very horrible sin – just as any of us are.

In chapter 12 Nathan rebukes David in a very clever way.  He tells a story so that David sees the obvious truth without applying it to himself.  Then he turns it around and tells David that he is the one in the story.  He is the one in the wrong.  David sees his sin clearly and repents.

However sin always has consequences.  Yes, David repented and that was the right response.  Yet God tells him that his sin will negatively affect his household for years to come.  The sword will never depart from his house and evil will come up out of his own house (v. 10-11).  Not only that but God tells him his child with Bathsheba will die.

This hit me especially hard because my first child just had his 1st birthday not long ago.  I’ve spent a lot of time thinking how horrible it would be if my child died in the crib or something like that.  I hope I never experience that… and my heart goes out to those who’ve experienced the death of their infant child.

David and Bathsheba’s child becomes sick.  David then begins to fast and pray.  This shows us that one of the biblical reasons for fasting is to petition God to heal someone who is sick.  However God may choose not to heal them.  This is what he does here.

When the child passes away, David gets up and changes his clothes and gets cleaned up.  Then we read this…

“And he went into the house of the LORD and worshipped.”  – 2 Sam. 12:20

Wow.  Immediately after the death of his child he worships God!

Here’s what I learn from this:

First, David recognizes that God is perfectly holy, righteous, just, and good in all that he does and allows to happen in the world.  Is this how we would feel if God took away the most precious person in our lives?  Would we remain adamant that God is good, or would we get angry at God and turn away from him, thinking we know better than he does?

Second, we’re called to worship God both in good times and bad.  Job said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  God deserves our worship no matter what’s happening in our lives.  We should worship when we’re joyful, and worship when we’re suffering horrible tragedy.  In all situations, God is still God and he is worthy of our praise!  Not only that but he is the one who will lift us up again.

Grace is when God gives us what we need, not what we deserve.

David a Picture of God’s Grace

In this story David remembers the loving friendship of Jonathan, the son of Saul who tried to kill David earlier in his life.  David asks his servant if there’s anyone left in Jonathan’s family that he can show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake.  David’s servant replies, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.”  His name was Mephibosheth.

As you can imagine, in David’s time being crippled in both feet brought hardship and much shame to a person.  Mephibosheth likely had to beg for food and money because he could not hold down a regular job.  He lived a very humiliating life without much hope.  Not only that but he was the grandson of a king (Saul) that turned away from God and his legacy among his people is that he was a self-righteous and jealous man, not a good, Godly king.

But David, seeking to honor Jonathan’s family, shocks Mephibosheth and gives him a seat at the king’s dinner table every day for the rest of his life.  Not only this, but he gives Mephibosheth all the land that his grandfather, King Saul, had owned previously, as well as 35 servants to work the grounds for him and meet all his need!  What a change in fortune!

We Are Mephibosheth

What God intends for us to see in this story is that Mephibosheth is a picture of us.  We are crippled, handicapped by our sinful nature… rebelling against God…full of shame… and living life with no hope.  But in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins God extends his hand to us and offers us a seat at his dinner table for the rest of eternity.  He offers us a way out of the sin and shame, and entrance into the kingdom of God forever!  He adopts us into his family and treats us like sons (see 2 Sam. 9:11).

Put yourself in the place of Mephibosheth.  Understand that David’s act of kindness is a picture of the grace we’re offered by God in Jesus Christ.  Meditate on the hope of eternity in heaven with God, feasting at his table every day.  And the fact that we deserve none of it.

One of the reasons I say this is because often in the New Testament we see Jesus, or the NT authors (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) use a passage from the Old Testament to reveal a brand new teaching from God that no one could have foreseen.  This happens in passages like Hebrews ch. 7, or Galatians ch. 3.

Today we read one of those OT passages that no one would have been able to predict the great truth that came out of it.  In chapter 21 David and some other young men with him are on a journey.  They come to a place called Nob (v. 1) and a priest there named Ahimelech.  They are famished from the journey and desperately need food to sustain them.  Ahimelech has no ordinary bread but only the holy, consecrated bread which is supposed to be eaten only by Levite priests.  David and his men are not Levites, nor are they priests, but Ahimelech gives them the bread anyway.

In Matthew 12:1-8 Jesus and his disciples are going through the grain fields and picking off heads of grain to eat (remember they’re homeless).  Also they’re doing this on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees rebuke them for breaking the rule of the Sabbath.

Knowing that the Pharisees know the OT better than anyone at that time, Jesus refers back to this passage in 1 Samuel and shows them that David broke the rule of the holy bread so he and his men could eat.  Jesus goes on to teach that He is Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8) and that the Sabbath was created to serve us, not us for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).  He’s using the story of David to expose the legalism of the Pharisees.  They’d rather follow rules than follow Christ and love others.

God desires our hearts, not just our external adherence to rules.  That’s the great truth we see from this passage… now that we have the New Testament and the words of Jesus to tell us what it truly means!

In both 1 Sam. 15:11 and 15:35 the author tells us that God regretted that he made Saul king.  However in 1 Sam. 15:29 we read that God does not “lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should have regret.”  How do we reconcile this?

First, it’s important to note that the author realizes that God does not change (see Mal. 3:6).  God knows the future and therefore all of his decisions are perfect.  He does not ever think, “Ooops, I made a mistake.  I regret doing that because it was wrong.”  God would never have such a thought because God is all-knowing, and all-wise.  Numbers 23:19 says God does not change his mind.

So why do we read (in the same chapter no less) that God regretted making Saul king, and yet he cannot have regret?

Perhaps the word translated in these verses is different in the original languages?  No.  The same Hebrew word is used for “regret” in v. 11, 29, and 35 (nacham).  So what’s the answer?

The key is realizing that, just like in English, sometimes the same Hebrew word can be used to communicate different ideas.  I rarely say this, but in this case the NIV has translated this better than the ESV.  Even though the word is the same the author intends to communicate something different in verse 29 as compared to verses 11 and 35.

In verse 29 he means what you see above.  God never makes a mistake and then regrets his decision because it was wrong.

In verses 11 and 35 he means that God has emotions and is “grieved” (see NIV) because of Saul’s free-will choices to sin against him.  Even though God knows the future, he still experiences emotions as we do when his children sin.  He gets angry, he is grieved, his heart is saddened.  Our emotions are a part of us that was created in the image of God (See Gen. 1:26-27).

So there’s no contradiction.  God’s word never contradicts itself… EVER.  So the next time you come across what you think might be a contradiction, give God the benefit of the doubt, and don’t jump to a conclusion before doing some research and asking some questions to others.

“In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  – Judges 21:25

Many take this to mean that the author of Judges was suggesting that Israel needed a king.  However this is not the case as we saw today in 1 Samuel chapter 8.  When Israel requests that a king be placed over them they did so because they wanted to be like all the nations surrounding them (1 Sam. 8:5), and God says their requests reveals that they have rejected him as their King and Lord (1 Sam. 8:7).  So it was never God’s desire that they should reject him as king and have a man be their king in his place.

One very important lesson we learn from this is that “friendship with the world is enmity toward God.” (James 4:4)  The Israelites wanted to be like the world… like the nations around them.  But God wanted them to be holy, separate from other nations.  God wanted them to be different.  And he calls us to be the same.  If we see the world and desire to conform ourselves to it we’re in direct disobedience to God’s word (See Rom. 12:2).  We cannot run after the things of the world and at the same time be devoted to God.  The two don’t mix.  Becoming like the world means rejecting God as our King and Lord.

I’m not sure how many people are still following this blog (even if none are I’m learning a lot just doing it), but I’d like you to know that I’m always available and willing to answer any questions you might have.  A link to my e-mail address is below and I’d love to dialogue with you about anything you might not understand or something that you’d simply like to talk about that you’ve read.  Even if it’s a question about the Bible but not about the book we’re currently in, I’d love to help!  And even if I don’t know the answer, I’ll sure have fun researching it and learning something new to help you find it!

john@owensborochurchofchrist.com

Jephthah tells God that if God will give him victory in the upcoming battle, when he comes home whatever comes out of his house doors to meet him he will sacrifice to the Lord.  This is the weird part.  Did he actually expect an animal to come out to greet him and not his only daughter?

But the tragic part is, as he returns from battle, his only daughter comes out of the house greeting him with dancing and music for his victory.

Here’s why I thought it would be important to comment on this story.  The narrator in the book of Judges doesn’t comment on Jephthah’s actions… so many people assume they were honorable and pleasing to God.  He keeps his vow to the Lord, even though it was very hard for him to do.  He sacrifices his own daughter for God.

But remember the difference between prescriptive and descriptive texts.  This is a descriptive text in which the author simply describes what happened without making any comments on the morality of the situation.

So don’t think for a second that Jephthah’s actions were pleasing to God.  First of all, he tried to barter with God, which we should never do.  He tells God… If you bless me I’ll make a sacrifice to you.  That’s like someone who’s in a bind saying… God, if you get me out of this I promise I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!  Those are empty vows that should never be made.  They’re selfish and are not based on true devotion to the Lord.  We should follow God for who he is, because he deserves it!  Not because he blesses us.

Second, Jephthah, upon returning, should never have killed his daughter.  God would never want us to sacrifice a person (especially our own child) in worship of him.  That’s what the pagan nations used to do in worship of false gods and God hated it (see Lev. 20:1-5).  Jephthah could have paid 20 shekels to the priest to release his daughter from the vow (see Lev. 27:1-8), but he went ahead and killed her anyway.  This was evil resulting from a foolish vow.

So remember, just because the Bible shows someone doing something and doesn’t say it’s wrong, it doesn’t mean they’re right.

And remember too, God deserves worship and devotion simply because of who he is!  We do not come to God with ultimatums saying we’ll worship if he blesses us.  We worship no matter what circumstances we’re in because he is God!

In Judges 6:36-40 we read of a quite famous story where Gideon tests the Lord to try and confirm that He will truly be with Gideon.  He first asks God to cover a fleece with dew while the surrounding grass is dry.  God obliges him.  But that’s not enough for Gideon.  He next asks God to do the opposite – wet the grass but not the fleece.  God again obliges.

This is not an example for us to follow in discerning the will of God.  If you try this I predict you’ll be thoroughly disappointed.  Rather this is yet another instance of God showing someone his grace and mercy and favor in spite of their sin and unbelief.  Gideon is testing the Lord, which is sin (see Deut. 6:16).  He’s not trusting in God’s word but looking for physical signs to confirm that God will follow through on his word.  He’s lacking in faith.  Yet God has a plan to defeat the Midianites and to use Gideon as his man to do it, so God encourages Gideon in spite of the fact that he is in sin.

How many times in our lives has God responded to our sin and our lack of faith with blessings, favor, and goodness toward us?  How many times has God given us encouragement when we actually deserved punishment?

This is a constant theme in Judges, and throughout the whole Bible.  In spite of our sin (or the sin of Gideon, or the sin of the Israelites) God remains faithful to his people and true to his word.  God’s grace brings goodness and blessings in spite of our sin and in spite of the fact that we deserve punishment and death.  What a gracious and good God we serve!

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”  - Psalm 103:10

Today we ran across one of the most famous verses in the Bible.  Joshua is getting old and he knows he will die soon so he calls all the leaders of Israel together to give them one last speech – a sort of what-to-remember-when-I’m-gone speech.  He’s very blunt and honest with them and he tells them that they may feel like following the Lord is wrong, and in that case they’re going to have to choose what “gods” to follow.  And then he says the verse we’ve all seen cross-stitched and framed on our grandmother’s wall:

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  – Joshua 24:15

It’s important that we remember the context of this statement.  We’ve seen it so many times out of context, and probably have memorized it, but it’s very important to remember the way it was intended to be communicated.

Joshua, as the oldest male, was the head of his household.  He made the decisions as to how they were going to live.  It was very much a dictatorship back then.  Younger children and family members didn’t have a choice in these matters.  When the head was a righteous man this was a very good thing though!  Joshua takes control and says, It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing, my family is going to serve the LORD!

As a husband and a father myself, God has called me to be the head of my household.  And this stand that Joshua takes teaches me that I need to stand up and make the right decisions for my family.  I need to plot out our course and then lead them in that direction… sacrificially, lovingly, and selflessly.  Husbands and fathers are first and foremost the ones responsible for making sure their families know and follow God.  Husbands are responsible for cultivating the faith of their wives and helping them to mature (See Eph. 5:22 and following).  Fathers are responsible (even before mothers!) for teaching their children about God and his word.

Joshua wasn’t passive as so many husbands and fathers are.  He was proactive in setting the course for his family.  He didn’t wait for mom to do the spiritual stuff for the family while he went out and made sure they had enough to eat.  He took the responsibility God gave him.  Husbands and fathers today need to step up and do the same.