Respectfulness

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

RESPECTFULNESS

2 Sam 13:15-29

15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!" 16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. 20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman. 21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. 23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?" 25 "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons. 28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.

NIV

Justice had been served, for Amnon had done an offensive act, first raping his own sister, then rejecting her with as much hatred toward her as he had first had love or lusted for her. How disgraceful his actions were toward Tamar, and now his brother will serve the justice without the knowledge of their father, King David. However, how do we make sense of this that would be relevant for our lives? With one son raping his sister and another son making plans to murder his brother, there was no respect for each other, and maybe we might even think they had no respect for life. Did Amnon deserve some form of punishment for his crime against his sister? Of course, but was death a little too strong a punishment? However, maybe the point we should consider is having mutual respect for each other, even when we feel someone has offended us, or someone we love. We have witnessed there have been times when an offended believer disrespects the person they felt offended them, by getting upset and leaving the local church to find another church, leaving the situation unresolved, harboring that hurt, and that unforgiveness. We wonder how anyone who has those anger issues with unforgiveness in their heart can even worship the Lord. Any tension within the body of Christ, specifically within a local church, disrupts the ability of true worship, for God loves true worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth. If there is any tension, any unforgiveness, any type of disharmony, then there is no truth, and they also lack the Spirit. Let us put all else aside except pure love for each other, having mutual respectfulness, so that our worship will be pleasing and acceptable to our Lord. 

The Ploy

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

THE PLOY

2 Sam 13:1-14

13:1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. 3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." 5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.'" 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand." 7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. "Send everyone out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister." 12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

NIV

What do we do with this awful thing that was done by Amnon? What can we learn for our lives from this immoral act, no, actually a criminal act of rape against his own sister? It was a sinister plot, a ploy to get her alone in his chamber so that he could fulfil his sinful lust for his sister. This may be the truth we are sensing regarding plots or ploys to achieve a goal we have in mind. We might want to consider our plot as more of a plan of how we will get what we want. The word plan seems less offensive than a plot. We wonder, because of the gender differences, that the plot or the ploy we use could be different. We have observed women might try some methods men would never conceive, while we men have our own secret ploys or cunning plans or actions designed to turn a situation to our own advantage, to achieve our way. Then we should consider how we live in this world and how many of our days are filled with our own plans or plots to gain success in our endeavors to achieve goals for monetary or material accumulation. Do we forget that the Lord knows our thoughts are not his thoughts, nor are our ways his ways. Should not we always be looking for his ways, his thoughts about what we are going to do, or how we are going to respond or interact with others? No plot, plan, or ploy should be part of our relationship with others. Should we not just be honest, which means we need to be able to express ourselves freely, and accept others' feelings as well as responses, so we need no ploy to get our way? Let us be careful not to use a ploy. 

Labor or Freedom

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

LABOR OR FREEDOM

2 Sam 12:24-31

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.   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.

NIV

While David was comforting Bathsheba, Joab was out doing the business of war against the Ammonites. He sent messengers to David, and he responded by leaving Jerusalem and going to war with the rest of his army. Interestingly, he captured the town of Rabbah and took a seventy-five-pound crown from its king and put it on David’s head. They put them all to work making bricks, which is also interesting, as it was this same work the Egyptians put on the Israelites. What do we learn from this narrative? The victor puts the defeated to hard labor is the point we should ponder. We are in war, although not in the sense that David and Joab were at war with the Ammonites. We war against the forces of this dark world, the rulers, principalities, and the evil forces in the spiritual realm. Our battle is not for land, but for our lives. However, because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, who wears the crown of crowns, who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, he stands before us, and through his power, we have already become the victor. Some poor souls have been or are being defeated by the evil forces of this world, as with the Ammonites, they will be consigned to heavy labor, without the chance of freedom. But there is another problem that could exist within the church. If we are simply doing church, that is being religious, or having a form of Pharisaical righteousness, then we might be under some kind of labor to the law, without realizing we are living a defeated life. We have the power of the Holy Spirit available within so that we can live the victorious lives we have been given by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us walk in His light, fully armed in His armor, and standing our ground, as the victor over all the forces of this dark world. Let us stand humbly before our Lord who gives us that victory, who has set us free, and because Jesus set us free, we are free indeed. We will never be consigned to hard labor. What a joy to know the difference between labor and freedom. 

His Sovereignty

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

HIS SOVEREIGNTY

2 Sam 12:15-25

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." 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.  

NIV

There are several truths within this narrative that we need to explore. First, it is all within the power of the Sovereign God to sustain life or take it. The child was innocent, having no say in its conception or birth, yet the Lord determined the child would not live because of the sinful act by David, and the willing submission of Bathsheba. We should never be so bold as to think we have anything to do with the longevity of our days. Culture is consumed with various ways to improve our bodies, either to enhance our physical appearance or to extend our lives. Although there is no specific one verse that tells us God has numbered the exact days of each person, we know that Hezekiah was given an extra fifteen years. However, we could use that verse in Job when he said, “Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed”, to show the sovereignty of the Almighty God and our lives are in his hands. So he took that child to be with him. The second truth is how David reacted, first, beseeching the LORD to save the life of his child, a heavy, deep seeking of the favor of the LORD After all, who knows, the Lord could have been gracious to him and allowed the child to live. But when he realized the sovereignty of God, he got up and restored himself and went to comfort his wife. We are not told what emotional turmoil Bathsheba went through losing her baby. We also do not know if she and Uriah ever had any children, and if they had none, this would have been her first child, and to have God take it from her, we believe she would have been devastated, hurt, and in need of her husband’s comfort. For the most part, women may have deeper emotional hurts than men, although that is not an exact science, but when a wife is hurting, should not the husband comfort her? Maybe we men fail too often in that area, and we need to be more sensitive to the needs of our wives. David comforted Bathsheba, and at some point she bore him the son God wanted, Solomon. Nathan named him Jedidiah, which means, loved by God. He would be the one who would be known as the wisest man to live and who would build the temple for God in Jerusalem. Oh, Sovereign, who am I that you have taken me this far? We live and breathe and have our being in you, Oh Sovereign Lord. 

Taken Away

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

TAKEN AWAY

2 Sam 12:1-14

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." 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.'" 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."

NIV

You are the man! That is as direct as it can be. Interestingly, Nathan set up a scenario or an analogy to illustrate what David had done with Uriah and Bathsheba. The Lord was not going to allow this child, who was conceived in that sinful way live. We think from the scriptures that it was a punishment for David, and the Lord was going to bring calamity to the house of David. Surely sin does not go unpunished under the Covenant of the men of the Old Testament. David did confess that he had sinned against the Lord, and Nathan told him, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you are not going to die.” This shows us the mercy of the Lord, His forgiveness, but it also shows us a forerunner, fore shadow of what Jesus did on the cross, taking away our sin. Once again, although we do not commit any heinous sins, we are still plagued with sin in our lives. It could be being prideful, judgmental, or critical of others, envy, jealousy, and that could be of another’s abilities or position, or possessions. This sin of gossip, or as the scripture says, slander, for that is what gossip does, slander someone’s good name. Maybe one of the most difficult to acknowledge is unforgiveness or harboring hurt or ill feelings toward someone. That may be because we think too highly of ourselves, or that we are self-centered, it is all about us. But these are all a secret, as we keep it deep within. Nathan told David that what he did in secret, the Lord would do in broad daylight. When we try to keep our sins a secret, we might fool other people, as we pretend to be righteous, holy, upright, and a “Good Christian”; we can never fool the Lord. Surely he brings to light any of our secret sins, so that we can confess them and receive his grace, his forgiveness. Surely, as Nathan told David, he would not die, we can be assured that as we confess our sin before the Lord, we will not die, for Jesus took our sin away, or actually took our sin upon himself, and paid that price for us. However, that does not give us the right to keep any secret sin within, as we are to rid ourselves of them, and the way we do is to confess them before the Lord, and he will take them away.

 

Looking Inward

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

LOOKING INWARD

2 Sam 11:18-27

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'" 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." 25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab." 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.

NIV

There had been nothing negative about David throughout the previous portion of scripture; in fact, he was a great man of God whom God even testified that he found a man after his own heart, and he would do what the Lord wanted. But now, this awful act of unrighteousness, first, taking Bathsheba, second, having Uriah put in the front of the battle to ensure he would be killed. The whole idea is that what David did displeased the LORD. Although David committed this awful act, is any sin greater than any other sin? Doesn’t all sin displease the Lord? Of course, we now live under that new covenant and have the Lord Jesus, who took our sins upon himself on that cross, and we have been forgiven and live in the grace of God. Still, we sin; we cannot live a perfect life, like Jesus did, so we fall and we sin. Maybe our sins are so little compared to what David did, and we want to judge him or think poorly of him, yet that kind of thinking leads to being judgmental, which displeases the Lord. It’s that log and speck truth that we have to keep in mind. If we are going to be critical of any sin, we need to look within. Sure, we have not killed anyone, done any other major crimes against another person, yet being prideful, boastful, self-edifying, gossiping, or this almost self-righteousness that the Pharisees had are still acts or attitudes that are displeasing to the Lord. We know that whole list of attitudes and behaviors we are to rid ourselves of, and we wonder how well we are or have accomplished that list. It always comes down to looking inward and asking the Lord to show us if we are failing in some area, to examine our hearts to see if there are any anxious thoughts, and to see if there are any offensive ways in us. Let us not be hasty in finding faults in others, as it could become a habit without our awareness. Let us not be too quick to think more highly of ourselves, for that too may become a pattern of life. If we ask the Lord to show us the way everlasting, to be active in our lives, transforming us into the likeness of Jesus, he will do the work within us. When we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior and want to follow Him, and when the Holy Spirit comes within us to lead, guide, correct, rebuke, teach, and train us in righteousness, we are in a state of transformation, and that should reflect in our lives. That is, we should be reflecting the glory of the Lord in ever-increasing glory. Show us the way, Lord, examine our hearts, then we would not be looking at others, like judging David, but looking inward, judging self.

 

The Plan

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

THE PLAN

2 Sam 11:6-27

6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

This was the plan that David had devised so that Uriah would spend the night with his wife, and that would be a good cover-up for what David had done. But that plan was not to be, and so David devised another plan that would cost the life of Uriah, then no cover-up would be needed, and he could have Bathsheba for himself, after all, he was the king. However, this was not a good plan, as we will be told the Lord was not pleased with what David had done. Once again, we might find ourselves in this picture. Can we make our own plans to prosper our own agenda without consulting the Lord? Do we want what we want, no matter what the cost to others, to have it our way? One of the major burger chains advertises that we can have it our way. We have seen ads from a specific brewing company, which we only go around once, so grab all the gusto we can. It seems the world is fixated on the satisfaction of self or that it is all about having the pleasures of life, looking the best we can, even stopping the ageing wrinkles on our faces. David wanted what he wanted, even at the cost of committing murder. Of course, not with his own hands, but with his heart, or more correctly, with his lust. We cannot afford to be that self-centered, especially at the cost of others. Are we not told to put others before ourselves? Are we not told to serve rather than be served? Jesus told us that is exactly what he came not to be served, but to serve. It is difficult not to get caught up in the ways of the world while saying we want to follow Jesus. But we cannot do both, or at least we are not supposed to try to do both. How can we follow Jesus and the world? It has to be one or the other, so we chose to follow Jesus, yet how do we still want some of those good things of the world? It does seem simple: if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, he will provide us with what we need to live in this world. That means we should not chase after things, but chase after Jesus. David chased after the things, and God was not pleased, and we know it cost David dearly. Let us not be concerned about the things, but only about following Jesus. It is far better to follow his plan rather than our plan.