1 Kings 2 – Getting theirs

In the movies, we want the villains to “get what they deserve.” Whether it is a freak accident or by their own undoing, we hope that justice will be served. In 1 Kings 2, there is a reckoning for the evil that had been done during David’s reign. While some of the accounts are gruesome, others show considerable patience and mercy given what happened several chapters earlier. But we must remember that the Lord is our avenger; He is the one who rights the wrongs.

1 Kings 1 – Rocky beginnings

David was now very old and had a wife that merely attended him, much like a nurse would. His kingdom is crumbling and David is doing nothing. From a human standpoint, it can be hard to do the right thing. Sometimes it is very difficult to confront a situation and, as time passes, the situation becomes more and more difficult to address. Although prompted to do the right thing, David still avoids confrontation by installing Solomon without addressing Adonijah. It is hard to think of possible futures, but had David confronted and talked with his son, Adonijah might not have made any more claims to the throne (1 Kings 2:17) and thus would not have forfeited his life (1 Kings 2:25). Lack of boldness can be a moral failure; God expects us to fear Him, not people.

2 Samuel 24:14 – The great mercy of the Lord

Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man." - 2 Samuel 24:14 (ESV)

When faced with a difficult choice, David chose to fall in the hands of God for punishment, because God’s mercy is great. The Lord doesn’t have “ordinary mercy” but incredible mercy. That is what we need – great mercy. We don’t often think of ourselves needing great mercy for our sins. In context, David committed the sin of pride and self-reliance. Do I see pride and self-reliance as a horrible wickedness needing great mercy?

2 Samuel 23:3-4 – The blessing of the Lord

David says that when one rules justly over men, in the fear of God, there will be great blessing for the people. The kings after David were usually quite bad and Israel suffered greatly. Even so, how does this affect me now? We can experience this type of blessing from God when we let the peace of Christ rule our hearts (Col. 3:15). Christ is the ruler that David anticipated; He is the only one who can perfectly rule with justice and in the fear of God. My hope is not in a good leader, but in the Great King of all time.

2 Samuel 21 – Past blood, current recompense

And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. – 2 Samuel 21:14 (ESV)

While this is a challenging passage regarding the punishment of the Lord and the sacrifice of Saul’s descendants, there are several things to note. (1) Rizpah (the mother of two of the executed men) waits by her sons’ bodies until the famine lifts. (2) David, moved by her compassion for the dead, reinterred the bones of Saul and Jonathan with the executed men, thus giving them all a proper burial. (3) God does lift the famine. While this seems particularly harsh, we must realize that Saul wanted to exterminate these people, violating a covenant established in Joshua 9. Verse 14 shows us the Lord’s grace to (a) the Gibeonites, since they have come under the shelter of His protection, then the Lord will be their avenger, and (b) to the people of Israel, since now this episode of injustice has come to a close.

2 Samuel 20 – Rivals hurt the cause

Joab, the down-downgraded commander (2 Sam 19:13), kills the new commander, Amasa, while the army is in pursuit of a new enemy, Sheba, son of Bichri. This compounds the other delays the army has trying to reach this rebel. First, Amasa was late in getting the army off, secondly, Joab has to convince the army to follow him, and finally, the soldiers are stopping to look at Amasa’s dead body on the road. Ultimately, the mission fails; Sheba has fled to a fortified city. Now the city must be put under siege, destroying the city and wasting valuable time and lives in the process. Our own pride and desire for power is costly to those around us. It is the Lord’s name and renown (Isaiah 26:8) we should be pursuing and not our own.

2 Samuel 19:41-43 – A growing rift

Relationships don’t usually crumble at the drop of a hat and hatred takes some time to brew. Here is another page in an ongoing saga that will lead to the creation of two separate nations between Israel and Judah. The issue this time: who gets to bring the king back to Jerusalem, Israel or Judah? The nation is tearing itself apart from the rebellion and this ‘discussion’ is not helping at all. Times of pressure often reveal unresolved issues that we may have. As God’s people, we must work hard at loving one another or factions will form and they will create divisions among us.

2 Samuel 18 – Joab’s treachery

Effectiveness is not always the same as faithfulness. The man who discovers Absalom realizes that Joab is disobeying David by having Absalom killed. Joab shows that he realizes it too when he tries to prevent Ahimaaz from delivering the news to David, probably remembering David’s retribution of the man who claimed to have killed King Saul. Ahimaaz has been very involved with this whole affair (ch 15 & ch 17) and may be giving a truthful answer to David about his ignorance of Absalom. Nonetheless, God had already given David’s men the victory, and so Absalom’s death was all the more bitter. Scheming and plotting are not the way of righteousness, and Joab will ultimately answer for this pattern of subversion in his life.

2 Samuel 17:23 – Death of Ahithophel

“When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.” – 2 Samuel 17:23 (ESV)

It is not enough to have intelligence and wisdom in a given situation, but there needs to be trust in the Lord. That means that God is in control, even if people do not listen your wise advice and suffer for it.

Introduction

This is a personal online journal of my various devotional thoughts from the M'Cheyne bible reading program, among other things. The purpose of this blog is to inspire fellow believers in their daily devotional readings and in journaling how the Lord of the universe is impacting their lives. Posts are on, but feel free to email me if you would like to interact more.