2 Kings 12-14, Psalm 74

Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord—the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”
 
But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. (2 Kings 12:4-6)

I suppose some priests are good building contractors and some are not. Those serving under Joash apparently are among the latter, or they are corrupt, or they are prevented from obeying the command to repair the temple for other reasons. It's interesting that Joash asks why the work hasn't been done, but no reason is given. He doesn't seem to have recriminations against the priests, but he does relieve them of the responsibilities for financing and repairing the temple.

When have you failed in a task, reader? Why did you fail? Who took over the responsibility for the task?

2 Kings 9-11

What goes around comes around. King Ahab stole land belonging to Naboth (See 1 Kings, chapter 21.) after Queen Jezebel plotted Naboth’s murder. Now Joram, son of Ahab and Jezebel, is killed by Jehu, and Joram’s body deposited on the very plot of land Ahab had stolen. Prophecy (2 Kings 9:26) is fulfilled, and vengeance is delivered.

None of this seems to advance peace, harmony, or brotherly-sisterly love.

2 Kings 6-8

I did not post a reflection on the readings specified for yesterday. So I am reading and posting today...

A boy is brought back to life. An iron axe head floats on water. Bitter water is made pure. Poisoned stew is made edible. Kings and armies are defeated. I’m noticing that there are more miracle stories associated with Elisha than with Elijah. Maybe the stories are intended to show that Elisha indeed inherited a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (reference 2 Kings 2:9).

2 Kings 4-5, Psalm 73

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord. (2 Kings 4:42-44)

Compare with Mark 6:35-44...

By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Give thanks to the God of Elisha and Jesus!

2 Kings 1-3, Psalm 72

The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.” ...

The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.” ...

Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. (2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7)

I wonder what it is like to be in the company of prophets. They seem to know the day of Elijah's assumption into heaven beforehand. At a distance hey witness the place where heaven and earth meet. They demonstrate deep love and care for one another. They speak only what the LORD gives them to speak, and they announce truth. 

Let us inherit a double portion of their spirit!

1 Kings 21-22, Psalm 71

You got me when I was an unformed youth, God, and taught me everything I know. Now I’m telling the world your wonders; I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray. (MSG)

I am feeling old and gray today. As the psalmist tells, so I hope to tell also.

1 Kings 19-20, Psalm 70

“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

[TheLORD says,] Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
‭‭(1 Kings‬ ‭19:9, 14, 18‬)

This is so typical of me. Just when I am so sure I am the only faithful one left, God is able to identity 7,000 others just as faithful or perhaps even more so. Why do I jump to the conclusion that my situation is the most pitiful of all? Do others do this, too?

1 Kings 17-18, Psalms 68-69

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (Psalm‬ ‭68:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Not often, not sometimes, not only when it pleases, but daily—every day, all day long, God carries that which would bury us. As I reflect on these chapters of scripture, this is the phrase that captures my attention and takes me to the depths of my lived experience.

Today, I lift the mortality of a friend, and God liberates it.

Today, I raise a load of concern for travel, and God resurrects it.

Today, I bear worries, distractions, and mental wanderings, and God banishes them one by one.

Praise to the Lord God our Savior!

1 Kings 15-16, Psalm 67

As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. (1 Kings‬ ‭15:23‬)

My feet are killing me! I love a detail like this. It’s just like a journalist to include such a personal tidbit of information. It could be a “juicy” tidbit at that, since “feet” is sometimes employed as a euphemism for genitalia in ancient texts.

1 Kings 12-14

The stories of the kings of Israel and Judah feature several prophets in these three chapters. Both kings worship the LORD, but they set up priests, occasions, and idols, facilitating the worship of other gods. The prophets denounce such innovations and spell out the consequences of unfaithfulness to the LORD.

It’s significant that Egypt threatens Judah and extracts heavy tribute, that is, all the treasure of the temple and the palace. (1 Kings 14:25-26) A divided house cannot stand! If Judah and Israel had been unified, not divided, they might have repelled the Egyptian aggressor.

1 Kings 10-11, Psalm 66

They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans. (‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭10:29‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

In 1 Kings, chapter 11, Solomon is judged for his multiple marriages and resultant involvement with foreign deities. No good comes from that. But nothing good comes from the arms trade described in the verse of scripture above, either. I wonder if, by exporting chariots and horses, he is arming the enemies of his royal line.

1 Kings 7-9, Psalm 65

King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. (1 Kings 9:11)

The king goes to great expense in order to build the temple and the royal palace. He is so indebted to Hiram of Tyre that Solomon cedes territory to him. I suppose this territory traditionally belongs to one or more of the ancestral tribes of Israel. What of the tribal rights of ownership? How are they compensated? What happens when, in the Year of Jubilee, all debts are erased, and ownership of land reverts to the descendants of the various tribes?

I have more questions than answers.

1 Kings 4-6

King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel—thirty thousand men. (1 Kings 5:13)

The king forces human beings into slavery in order to built a temple. Does God want a temple built that way? 

1 Kings 1-3

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. (1 Kings 3:9a)

Today, this is my prayer for all who lead, they they develop discerning hearts:

• Pastors, teachers, administrators, and bishops in the church
• Mayors, council members, commissioners, state representatives and senators, governors, congressional members, judges, presidents, prime ministers, members of parliaments, monarchs and dictators in the world

2 Samuel 22-24, Psalm 64

2 Samuel 23:8-39 lists the mighty warriors David employed in his violent exploits. The record includes the numbers of enemy warriors killed and descriptions of several battles in which heroic killings took place. Strength, courage, and savagery are extolled in this part of the Bible.

Reading Second Samuel just now, during Holy Week, reminds me that the way of Jesus is entirely different from the way of David’s mighty men. Jesus never killed anyone. He taught love for enemies, not death for them. Turning over the money changers’ tables was the closest he ever came to violent behavior. Like those mighty men, he lived a life of strength and courage. Unlike them, he embodied humility instead of savagery.

LORD, let us learn strength, courage, and humility.

2 Samuel 19-21

2 Samuel 21 is very disturbing to me. It connects a three-year famine (2 Samuel 21:1) with Saul's persecution of Gibeon, according to some unknown prophet's word from the LORD, and David is convinced. Saul's sin must be atoned. He asks Gibeonite leaders for a proposal (2 Samuel 21:3); and naturally they respond with vengeance in mind. In effect, they say, "Let us put to death seven of Saul's male descendants." (2 Samuel 21;6)

Surprisingly to me, David agrees!

The seven are handed over to the Gibeonites, and the seven are killed. Their corpses are desecrated and exposed to the elements. But David orders their remains buried together with the remains of Saul and Jonathan in their family's burial plot. The biblical writer implies that the LORD ends the famine on account of the seven-man sacrifice.

That implication does not harmonize well with God's judgment against human sacrifice. See, for examples, Genesis 22:1-13, Leviticus 18:21, and Deuteronomy 12:31.

I suspect that David fell for a Gibeonite plan for extracting vengeance on Saul's family here. I imagine he may have been tricked by someone impersonating a legitimate prophet of the LORD. It's possible the famine came to an end with the passing of time alone. It's possible that the human sacrifices made had nothing to do with God's desires for the land and its people.

2 Samuel 16-18

Absalom leads a popularity contest and a rebellion against his father, David. He seems to have the upper hand in that he displaces his father. David is forced to leave his city. Absalom asks for strategic military advice and receives mixed signals. He takes unnecessary risks and dies in battle.

David might have felt relief, but no! He is bereaved over Absalom’s death. The threat to his rule is ended, but his son is no more. In this way Nathan’s prophecy (2 Samuel 12:7-12) is fulfilled. David is punished for his adultery with Bathsheba and for his execution of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah.

2 Samuel 13-15

Intrigue, deception, rape, elaborate scheming—I don’t find much of this story edifying. I suppose it serves to prove Samuel’s warning to the Israeli people that they would rue the day they rejected the rule of the LORD and demanded the rule of a king instead.

2 Samuel 10-12, Psalm 63

Something turns in David the king, and it is described in 2 Samuel, chapter 11.

• At a time when kings go off to war David stays in Jerusalem.
• Awake in the night David can turn over and go back to sleep, but he walks on the roof of his palace instead.
• Seeing a lovely woman in a neighbor's house, David may let it go at that, but he commissions an investigation of her.
• Upon discovering Bathsheba has a husband, David can honor her covenant of marriage, yet he sends for her and, bringing her into his palace, he sleeps with her.
• When Bathsheba informs David of her pregnancy, he might confess to Uriah, her husband, and honor them somehow, but he attempts to deceive Uriah instead.
• When David's deception fails he may yet tell the truth, but he commissions Uriah's murder and goes through the motions of legitimizing his affair by marrying Bathsheba.

Nathan the Prophet acts wisely in provoking David to judge the behavior of a wicked hypothetical neighbor. When David takes the bait and condemns the neighbor Nathan lays all of his cards on the table, declaring, "You are the man!"

David is unable to conceal his wrongdoing from either the LORD or the prophet.

Most often buried truth is dug up and disclosed...

2 Samuel 7-9

[The LORD says through Nathan,] “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” (2 Samuel‬ ‭7:15‬)

The ancients believed that if one did well, then God loved them. They believed that if one did not prosper, it was because...

1. God had withdrawn God’s love from that one, and/or
2. That one had chosen not to do well.

My understanding differs from the ancients. I believe God loves everybody unconditionally and continuously. Why some individuals prosper while others do not has more to do with the opportunities into which one is born and the industry with which one pursues his/her opportunities.

2 Samuel 4-6

David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” (2 Samuel‬ ‭6:21-22‬)

In Michal’s view David degrades himself by worshipping God. David’s attention is not focused on himself, however. It is focused on God; and he celebrates. He can’t control how Michal views his celebration, even when she judges his actions negatively. He can control his view only, and he does so. If he degrades himself all the more, so be it. If he becomes humiliated in his own view, then he is okay with it—provided that his celebration before the Lord is authentic and passionate.

2 Samuel 1-3, Psalm 62

I have fallen behind in reading and reflecting. Now I intend to catch up.

It’s one thing to be anointed next king of Israel. It is another to see how the kingship passes from Saul’s family to David and his family. It is not easy. It is not bloodless. It is difficult and messy.

So when you are anointed to a position or to a role, reader, pay attention! You may need the fullness of the anointing in order to handle the challenges and chaos that come your way.

1 Samuel 29-31

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel‬ ‭30:6‬)

Here is a lesson from David’s experience: When in distress, when others are talking about one’s destruction, that one can find strength in God. May I trust this lesson; may I apply it appropriately to my own life.

1 Samuel 26-28

Saul’s misery continues and increases. David continues to honor him as God’s anointed king, but Saul pursues him with murderous intent. Time after time, David spares the king, even when he has opportunity to kill Saul. Each time Saul is spared, he confesses David’s innocence and his own guilt. The biblical story is making clear the conclusion that God’s Spirit is not with Saul, but is against him. The conclusion is being drawn also that in this season of David’s life, David is both devoted to God and not actively seeking to take over the kingship for which Samuel the Prophet has anointed him.

1 Samuel 23-25

It is telling that David has three wives.

1 Samuel 19-22

I've gotten behind in blogging; and I don't have anything to say about the story that 1 Samuel 19-22 tells. It is shameful. David respects Saul. Saul tries to kill David out of jealousy and the desire to see his royal lineage continued through his son, Jonathan. It is not to be. Samuel has already anointed David as the next king of Israel.

1 Samuel 16-18

Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. (1 Samuel 16:14)

Here is clear evidence that the ancient biblical writer(s) attributed both good and evil to the LORD. As the pages of history turn, this view is laid aside, and other views develop. One is the view that the LORD creates everything and everyone good, but allows the generation and growth of evil within them. Another view is that the LORD creates all that is good and that another god or perhaps a fallen angel creates all that is evil.

I know this is jumping ahead, but the Bible's book of James, written hundreds of years after the Bible's book of First Samuel, states this view: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone..." (James 1:13) Clearly, the book of James publishes a perspective on God's character that is different from the perspective recorded in the book of First Samuel.

As I continue to read through the Bible, I want to notice and appreciate various beliefs about God, how they are similar, how they are different, and how they fit (or do not fit) into historical patterns of development. 

1 Samuel 13-15

Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. (1 Samuel‬ ‭15:35‬)

Saul is a questionable leader, indeed. He acts foolishly and disobediently toward the LORD (1 Samuel 13:13). He makes a foolish, risky vow (1Samuel 14:24). He is afraid of the men he leads (1 Samuel 15:24b).  Saul seems a regrettable choice for king for these and other reasons.

Does God really regret some of the ways God has acted or spoken in history, or do the biblical writers attribute to God the regret they themselves feel, or is something else “in play” here?

I’ve acted and spoken in regrettable ways. Does God regret God’s choice of me? And what about God’s choice of you, reader?

1 Samuel 10-12, Psalm 61

Could Psalm 61 have been used as a liturgical prayer, during Israelite worship when the king was present and participating? Perhaps, according to this arrangement of the material:

King:
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Priest(s) or leader(s) of liturgy:
Increase the days of the king’s life,
his years for many generations.
May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

King:
Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
and fulfill my vows day after day.

1 Samuel 7-9

A day late again...

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (1 Samuel 8:1-5)

Samuel is an interesting fellow. His mother may have raised him as a Nazirite, for she swore not to cut his hair (1 Samuel 1:10). He was given to the priesthood (1 Samuel 2:18). He was given the gift of prophecy (1 Samuel 3:20). By a word from the LORD Samuel proclaimed the end of Eli's priestly line, because Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, took unconscionable liberties in their priestly duties (1 Samuel 3:11-14). He served a judge or leader of the people (1 Samuel 7:6), and by the word of the LORD he identified the first of Israel's kings (1 Samuel 9:17).

Given Samuel's role in unseating Eli's sons from their priesthood, it is ironic that Samuel had no better luck with his own sons, Joel and Abijah. It was partly due to their failure in the priesthood that the people began to desire a king to rule over them.