Bible Reading Reflection from 2 Samuel 9-16

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (SSEU) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟡:𝟙

"And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

So, David, when he became king, remembered his friend Jonathan.

Somebody said, "Be kind to people on your way up because you will be meeting them on your way down." David indeed had his down moment. Mephibosheth no doubt would have met the king, but Ziba, his servant cheated him.

A movie, Cinderella (2015) has a captivating line, "Have courage and be kind." David exemplifies this!

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 1𝟘:𝟝

"When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return."

Man seeks glory for himself. He will do great things to receive glory. If he cannot do those, he will humiliate others to exercise glory over the oppressed ones.

Why do we do anything? Think.

Seeking glory can be godly and sinful like a knife can be used to slice an apple or stab a man. When our seeking for glory is aligned with God’s seeking for His glory, it's godly. When it's not, it's sinful. Simple as that!

Why about glory? Because we find humiliation in the quest for glory. Hanun exercised his glory over David and his messengers by humiliating them.

Or substitute with "hurt". Man wants to hurt others. That's why you shout when you get angry—to hurt others. That's why they kill [more than hurt]. Some hurting led to humiliation, others to death!

Let's reduce the way of hurting and humiliation in our quest for glory.

 

𝟚 𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙:𝟚𝟟

"When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD."

Perhaps the blackest chapter in David's life! Yes, the whole episode recorded in this chapter is.

What a contrast of characters: David, an undisciplined human, and Uriah, a disciplined human even when he was forced to get drunk; Uriah, a true defender of Israelites, David a traitor.

Is there anything David can boast of? Is there anything any man may boast of (for that matter)? Your sins are really your sins, but your godliness from the least to the greatest is of God.

David would have lived in such type of sin forever, if not by the grace of God. See, how he moved from one sin to a chain of a greater sin. It's God who restrains a sinner. It's God who grants repentance. It's God who brings a change of heart towards God. Or else, David's destiny would have been no better than Saul’s.

Also in the New Testament, Peter was no better than Judas Iscariot. Jesus prayed for Peter and granted him faith and repentance, and entrusted him to be the leader. As Steve Lawson says, "The perseverance of the saints is the perseverance of the Saviour in the saints"

We will not fail. We will not be lost. We will not be cast away. Because it's Him who holds us. We are too incompetent even to run away from God. Breathe the Grace of God!

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟙𝟚:𝟙

"Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, "There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor."

This is one of the most helpful, relevant, and powerful parables in the Old Testament. I can find and see the reality of this parable almost every day.

This kind of injustice is everywhere. But what can we do!? Only God knows how to judge righteously and He does! So, be cool, relax!

I have been treated this way many times, and I'm sure (unfortunately) I must have treated others as well. And I don't think anyone is morally superior to you or me when it comes to this. We all have done this to some extent.

I had only 100 rupees for my monthly expenditure. My roommate had thousands, being richer. He lived eating whatever he wanted whenever he liked. While I had to live by a budget, not by my desires. There were times he asked me to lend him some money to buy something because he didn't have cash, and he never paid back. Yeah, Stephen Leacock’s story, My Lost Dollar comes to mind.

I, a poorer man never owed him anything. Never borrowed anything from him. Never needed his help. I knew how to live my life comfortably with whatever I had. He, a richer guy, owed me, often borrowed from me, never returned. This rich friend of mine lived in debt to poorer me!

Another illustration

I wanted to charge (up) my phone but didn't trust the plug. There was a younger guy (btw, most young guys are always poor, being unemployed) with a cheaper phone. I suggested, "Hey, your phone is cheaper than mine. Let's try first with your phone before I plug in mine."😂😬

David, a rich man was robbing a poor man whose only means of joy was that lamb.

John Wick's wife [a Hollywood movie scene] was dead. His delight was only the dog that his wife gave him. Somebody killed that dog! And there you have Nathan's parable even in Hollywood! 😂😂 Eagerly waiting for John Wick 4 BTW. May we look out for the interests of others too!

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟙𝟛:𝟙𝟝

"Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, "Get up! Go!"

Have you ever loved someone more than others, and then at some point of time, you began to hate that person?

Over the years, I have increased my understanding of this verse, but still, I don't understand enough how love can turn into hatred.

Well, there is one girl whom I liked to text often, but now, I don't want even to have her number! 😂 So, I think, I understand, now!

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟙𝟜:𝟛𝟘

"Then he said to his servants, "See, Joab's field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set the field on fire."

Absalom was totally desperate, and he decided to do what would really catch Joab’s attention. Are you ever desperate like that?

Well, sometimes, I want God desperately that I told God (confessed) that “if I know where God's field is, I will set it on fire that He may listen to me.”

Well, Absalom was manipulating Joab and David, instead of repenting. He was successful but of course, led him to his early death later on.

But, desperate for God, for God's blessings, for God's mercy, for deliverance is good. Psalter is full of that. Even Jacob wrestled with God till the daybreak. The Syrophoenician woman was arguing with Jesus about the crumbs under the table.

BTW, nobody can manipulate God; one can (may, must) only beg, ask, and wait on Him.

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟙𝟝:𝟚𝟞

"But if He should say thus, 'I have no delight in you,' behold, here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him."

David didn't want to see Absalom anymore, but Absalom manipulated the situation by burning down the field of Joab.

In the case of David, when God had chastised him, by removing him away from the throne, he would not manipulate the situation. He just submitted to the will of God.

The Greater King, Christ Jesus submitted Himself to the will of God in the garden of Gethsemane! Bearing punishment, not His but of His people!

Christian Living is submission to the will of God. David suffered for his sins; Christ suffered for the sins of others. Whether we are righteous or not, suffering is inevitable. All in the good purpose of God. Let Him do whatever seems good to Him!

 

𝟚 𝕊𝔸𝕄𝕌𝔼𝕃 𝟙𝟞:𝟚𝟚

"So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel."

Alas! What a horrendous thing! But God allowed so. Actually, God planned so, because Nathan prophesied of this as a punishment upon David.

What had those ladies done to deserve this? According to the narrative, It was David's sin. Ahithophel suggested this, possibly, partly as revenge on David for committing adultery with his [Ahithophel's] granddaughter, Bathsheba.

Elsewhere, as a punishment, God made the disobedient Israelites eat their own babies, and let the enemies rip off the pregnant women. And yet, many people want to rescue God and defend God. Well, who made the world bad, was it not God? He cursed the woman to be rebellious, He cursed the man to be abusive and live in suffering. He cursed the ground and so there are calamities.

Viruses, Floods, Violence, Bloodshed, Rape, Diseases everything bad and evil are the instruments of God. Nothing is random, nothing is accidental, everything is planned.

So, in conclusion, God is the solution for all things. David knew that. So, he didn't even kill Shimei, the dead dog in the words of Abishai. David let himself and his men be cursed, abused, stoned because he knew ‘it’s God who is in the background’ (v10, 12) And God was pleased to exalt David again.

Imagine walking along with David, and Shimei, throwing stones and pebbles and dust upon you all. Not just the insult, but you really have to cover your head from the stones. Maybe David was hit once or twice as well! 🤔