Last words should be intensely meaningful, a distillation of the lessons that life has taught us. “These are the last words of David” (2 Sam 23:1). Being uniquely positioned to describe how a shepherd boy became a king, David pinpoints the characteristics of a man after God’s heart. He is a man who understands both […]
We might not expect a soldier to also be a songwriter, to lay down his lance and pick up his lyre. David always understood the spiritual dimensions to the battles he faced. Notice in this song of deliverance his understanding that God was there for him in every skirmish. Yes, He “always leads us in […]
Read More… from February 5, 2024 — David’s Song Of Deliverance
Someday, beloved, the last of those monsters that bedevil us will be laid low. Count on it! Did you think we had heard the last of the Philistines? No, some enemies just keep rearing their heads. David, now well on in his 40-year reign, “grew faint” in battle (2 Sam 21:15). Enter Ishbi-benob (meaning, “his […]
Today’s episode provides a great opportunity to audit our own spiritual records for unpaid bills. Here are some unresolved accounts in David’s life. First, we read of “a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord” (2 Sam 21:1). Why did it take him three […]
Don’t give up living before it’s time to die. Don’t give up cooperating because you can’t be in charge. Today we have two short stories, one about a man who didn’t want in when he was invited, and others who were angry because they were left out. We’re introduced to Barzillai who “was a very […]
Are we truly “content to let the world go by” just as long as the King has His rightful place? As David makes his way up to the royal city, his next recorded meeting is with Mephibosheth. Ziba, his steward, had fled with David, bringing along a supply of provisions. When David wondered aloud where […]
Read More… from January 30, 2024 — Mephibosheth Gets It Right
Fiction’s “I’ll be back” and history’s “I shall return” are nothing compared to prophecy’s “I will come again.” Awkward! What was the topic of discussion across Israel? “The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines…But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in […]
The same old city heard “O Absalom” from David and “O Jerusalem” from his greater Son. Tragically, not all prodigals come home. What a contrast between the delight of the father’s house in Luke 15 and the lament of the father’s heart in 2 Samuel 18! Here’s how the story unfolds. Two runners bring news […]
Taking the rebel’s place, God’s Son went “about a stone’s throw” (Lk 22:41) to pray, “Not My will…” It was time for battle. So “David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them” (2 Sam 18:1). David chose the difficult terrain east of the Jordan, […]