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Bible reading for September 8.  2 Samuel 2. "Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months." (2 Samuel 2:10-11)  KING OF JUDAH.   With Saul and his sons buried, David sends a word of blessing and encouragement to the leaders of the northern tribes. But he is again rejected, and one of Saul's sons is chosen to be king. Without a united monarchy (God's choice of a single king) Israelite soldiers end up fighting each other. What began as a contest for entertainment turns into a heated battle, and many men die. (Some of these animosities will continue.) How much time elapsed between Samuel's anointing David as king over Israel (1 Sam 9) and the nation (in united agreement) anointing David as king (2 Sam 5)? It was between ten and fifteen years that David wait...

Bible reading for September 7.  2 Samuel 1. "Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!" (2 Samuel 1:19)  FALLEN.   The appearance of an Amalekite at Saul's death was a twist of irony,  given the events of 1 Samuel 15.  Perhaps Saul had revived somewhat from his own sword wound, then to be killed by this man, or perhaps this man just came upon the scene and took trophies and hoped for some reward from David. Either way, the Amalekite dies for his treachery. Despite Saul's hostility toward him, David grieves the loss of Israel's first king and his sons in battle. His psalm honors Saul and Jonathan, and gives credit for their contributions to the national security and prosperity that Israel experienced over his forty-year reign. David is not bitter, angry, or vengeful, but gives honor where honor is due.  REFLECT. Sometimes we may come to have a view of a prominent leader that is tarnished by his or her faults...

Bible reading for weekend September 5.  I Samuel 29-31. "And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." (1 Samuel 30:6)  OVERVIEW. Chapter 29 : The Lord has mercy on David and he is spared from having to fight on the side of the Philistines against Israel. Chapter 30 : upon returning with his troops to Ziklag he finds his city burned with fire and their families taken captive by the Amalekites. This was a very low point in David's exile, with seemingly no one on his side. He seeks the Lord and finds strength in him. A number of David's psalms are written during the period of his exile. The Lord grants David a speedy and complete victory, and a return of the captives.  Chapter 31 : Saul and his sons are killed in the battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa. His body was taken, beheaded, and mounted upon...

Bible reading for September 4.  I Samuel 28. "Moreover, the LORD will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me." (1 Samuel 28:19) THE WITCH OF ENDOR. Earlier Saul had prohibited necromancers (mediums) from being in the land (as the Law stipulated), but now he is at the point of desperation and turns to occult means.  The Bible condemns all practices of the occult, including necromancy (Deut 18:10-12). It seems most likely that seances do not actually communicate with departed spirits but rather with deceiving, demonic spirits. But here in God's remarkable providence he allows this medium to make actual contact with Samuel, who reiterates what God had already plainly said to Saul. He does learn something new: his sons and he will be dead within 24 hours. Later God would say through the prophet Isaiah, "And when they say to you, 'Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and m...

Bible reading for September 3.  I Samuel 27. "So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day." (1 Samuel 27:6)  REFUGE AT ZIKLAG. For about a year and a half David takes refuge with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. Saul ceases his pursuit of David, and Achish figures that David is now an enemy of Israel. There is deception on David's part, and his alliance with Achish will soon cause a dilemma for the Philistines in an upcoming battle. David's actions here seem dubious at best. Note: not all actions in the Bible, even by normally "good" characters, are commended to us for imitation. Sometimes the biblical narrative is presented without comment on the rightness or wrongness of actions by the characters. A good rule of interpretation is -- no example of Scripture is normative (that is, we ought to imitate it) unless it is accompanied by a biblical command. The story of David among the Philisti...

Bible reading for Sep 2.  I Samuel 26. "Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?" (1 Samuel 26:9) SAUL SPARED AGAIN. David again refrains from killing Saul. Many of his day would say that he was being foolish and neglecting a good chance to remove a wicked king. Yet, David is ordering his life and behavior before the Lord in reverence. God placed Saul as king ("anointed"), and David was trusting that God would remove him in time.     ORDAINED BY GOD. What does it mean when we say a ruling authority has been ordained by God, especially if it is an evil ruler?  First, it does not mean that God approves of evil. God has made his moral will clear to us in the teachings of the Bible. But God also has a will of decree, meaning that he approves that certain things come to pass. God's decree -- what he wills or ordains to come to pass -- takes into account, and uses, free human agency. When somethin...

Bible reading for Sept 1.  I Samuel 25. "Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from avenging myself with my own hand!" (1 Samuel 25:33)  LADY WISDOM. Samuel dies, and the story continues with David. David is committed to not taking personal vengeance nor working salvation (deliverance) by his own hand (vv 26, 33). But here he is en route on a murderous rampage, and is stopped by a worthy woman, who is married to a worthless man. Nabal's property, along with much of Judea, was being protected by David and his troops (vv 16, 21). So, a gift of support would have been proper. Nabal, whose name means "fool" -- whether he got this at birth, later in life, or used mainly behind his back -- acted with arrogance. His wise and beautiful wife Abigail intercedes with David. She appeals to his conscience and his commitment to not take vengeance but to trust God for deliverance (Rom 12:17-21). David is won ov...

Bible reading for Aug 31.  I Samuel 24. "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed." (1 Samuel 24:6) SPARING SAUL. David has opportunity to take Saul's life, but refrains.  He is trusting the Lord to rule in the affairs of Israel: "May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you" (v 12). David knew that the Lord, "...changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings..." (Dan 2:21; 4:17) .  David did not seek to be king, nor would he bring about the fall of the current king in order usher in his own reign. Saul recognizes that by sparing him David showed great mercy. David promises to not destroy the house of Saul when he ascends to the throne. Saul seems moved by all of this, but this penitent attitude will soon disappear.    REFLECT. Men and women of fai...

Bible reading for weekend of Aug 29.  I Samuel 21-23. "And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand." (1 Samuel 23:14) DAVID IN EXILE. These chapters chronicle David's flight from the madness of King Saul. The Lord protects David at every turn. David takes in Abiathar, the only priest who survived Saul's butchery against the house of Ahimelech. David regularly seeks the Lord's will in regard to decisions, and he successfully engages the Philistines in battle. In time the towns of Judea become David's loyal supporters because he is actually fulfilling a kingly role in protecting their region while Saul is not doing his job.      REFLECT. Why does the Bible give us so many stories about leaders, both good and bad? Good leaders give us valuable lessons on leadership and also point us to Christ as the perfect King. Bad lead...

Bible reading for Aug 28.  I Samuel 20. "And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul." (1 Samuel 20:17)  DAVID AND JONATHAN. In this chapter we see Jonathan make a break from unquestioned loyalty to his father, King Saul, to make a covenant with David, his closest friend (vv 14-16). Today's hyper-sexualized culture would see some kind of sexual aspect to this relationship, but in the Hebrew world for men to kiss one another's beard was a common sign of respect and honor (2 Sam 20:9; Matt 26:49; Luke 7:45). This kind of "holy kiss" was practiced in the early church, as well (e.g., Rom 16:16). What was going on was more remarkable than even strong male friendship: Jonathan, son and heir of King Saul, was giving up his right to the throne in order to serve David. Notice the words, "my house" (v 15) and "house of David" (v 16). This covenant of loyalty, or fealty, to David woul...

Bible reading for Aug 27.  I Samuel 19. "Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night." (1 Samuel 19:9-10)  GOD PROTECTS DAVID. We continue to see Saul's erratic behavior and his obsession with destroying David. The Lord delivers David from Saul on several occasions through various means. The strangest perhaps is in the latter half of the chapter where Saul's messengers (probably soldiers), and later Saul himself, are overcome by the Spirit of God and engage in prophesying. Being moved by the Spirit to give praise to God in word and song is certainly appropriate for believers, for God's children. But here it seems to be a way of preventing the group from acting on their murderous plans. Or perhaps this is a dem...