Author: Larry Soape

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 15 (day four)

It never works to try to bargain with God.  It is called ‘foxhole religion’.  “Lord, if you will just get me out of this situation, I’ll serve you, forever.”  Have you ever done that?  Absalom claimed he had vowed to serve the Lord if He would bring him back to Jerusalem.  (V. 8) For Absalom, it was a ploy to get out of town without causing a stir.  For us, it may be a selfish condition we try to place on God, if He wants our obedience.

Do we really expect God to do our bidding, in order to earn our obedience?  We serve God out of love… because He is worthy…because He has already paid for our worship with the blood of His Son.  We talked about it last week…if God never did anything else, is it worth it to serve Him?  Is it worth our obedience if there is nothing else in it for us?  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 13:1-33 (day four)

Why would this account of palace intrigue even be included in Scripture?  It might have to do with succession to the throne.  Amnon was, after all, the eldest son of David and the likely heir to the throne.  His counsel came from a cousin, Jonadab, who was the son of one of David’s older brothers.  Jonadab may have even had aspirations for the throne himself.  (He was shrewd!)  Then, there was Absalom, and later Adonijah (the oldest after Amnon and Absalom’s death).  David’s plan all along was that his successor would be Solomon.  God had a plan that ran all through history…a family line that would lead to the birth of Christ.

The word is ‘sovereignty’…God is sovereign over all creation, all history, and all governments…everything!  Does ‘everything’ include our lives?  Is God sovereign over the events of my life?  Am I really in charge of my own destiny?  Seeking God first can make such a difference in our lives pointing others to Him!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 12:1-23 (day four) 

It was a thinly veiled story…but David took it hook, line, and sinker!  He never recognized the point of the story until Nathan sprang the trap…”You are the man!”  David had been quick to condemn the rich man in Nathan’s story, but he had completely glossed over his own guilt with Uriah and Bathsheba.  Everyone recognized David’s guilt but himself.

Aren’t we like that, often?  It is easy for us to condemn others for their jealousy, or their hypocrisy, or their lack of compassion, but we fail to see our own iniquity and sin.  Our sinful hearts can so quickly absolve our own motives and actions, while at the same time condemning others for their actions.  Christ taught us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:41-42) to deal with the log in our own eye before we try to remove the speck in our brother’s eye.  Good instruction!  Hard to do, but profitable to practice.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 11 (day four)

What was David thinking?  He knew God’s laws.  He knew it was wrong to lay with another man’s wife.  Levitical law called for them both to be executed.  David was the king though and he thought he might get away with his sin.  Uh-ohh…David is found out…God knew all along.

We learn through David the power of repentance.  David responds correctly in contrition when Nathan confronts him with his sin.  (Chapter 12)  Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance following his sin.  Further evidence of God’s forgiveness is seen later as Bathsheba takes her place in the lineage of Christ Jesus.  (Consequence is realized, but forgiveness is given.)

We are all sinners.  We fall short of God’s plan and commands.  Sin and judgement are what result following our fall.  What happens following our sin is determined by our response to our failure.  Do we cover up our sin?  Do we ignore our sin?  Or, do we repent in humility before God?  David found forgiveness…so can we.  It is all a matter of our heart’s response!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 8 (day four)

David was a mighty warrior.  He enjoyed victory after victory over his enemies…amazing triumphs against overwhelming odds.  David recognized though that it was God’s hand at work, not his own prowess.  Pridefulness could easily have taken over his kingdom, but David remained humble before the Lord.  Verse 15 says, “David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.”  God had established the ‘guidelines’ for a successful kingdom and David was obedient to those instructions.  (i.e. – In Deuteronomy, the kings were instructed not to accumulate horses…David was obedient.  Israel was to trust in God…not horses or chariots or mighty armies!)

How often do we get sidetracked by success, or fame, or wealth?  Do we pridefully begin to view ourselves to be better than others…therefore, entitled to more?  David’s righteous ruling extended to all people.  Rich or poor, privileged or neglected, ruler or peasant…David was just to all Israel.  The result of David’s obedience and reverence for God was the book of praise and thanksgiving we know as Psalms.  As you read the Psalms, get to know the sovereign God that David loved!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 7 (day four)

Why me?  David asked God why He had chosen to bless him and his household.  In modern times, we tend to say we are so loved by God that He blesses us on our own merit.  David has a different answer…he answers himself in vv. 20-21.  David says it is nothing I have done…I don’t deserve any blessing…it is all for God’s glory.

There is a modern song that says when Jesus was on the cross, He was only thinking of me.  David would say, ‘Jesus was being obedient to His Father and He was thinking only of Him.’  David had an accurate view of God.  Our self-centered approaches to God’s blessings are the complete opposite of David’s understanding.

Have you ever substituted your own goodness and worth for God’s glory and mercy?  As Blake Coffee reminded us last Sunday, we must maintain a high view of God…”not of works lest any man should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:9)

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day four)

For 20 years, the Ark of God had been at Kiriath-jearim.  It had been captured by the Philistines in battle and then returned when calamity overcame them.  A similar experience occurred with the transport of the Ark and it was diverted to obscurity.  Abinadab was set apart and consecrated to take care of the Ark and the symbol of God’s presence among His people disappeared from public life.

Israel had sought their own way rather than God’s and lost the Ark in battle.  Then, rather than follow God, they demanded a king.  Saul was crowned king as a result of their rejection of God.  The Ark was forgotten until David became king.

Now, in chapter 6, David and Israel are soundly reminded that reverence for God means complete obedience to His instructions.  The extended absence of the Ark had not reset the rules regarding its handling.  God expects complete obedience.

Have you ever ‘re-written the commands’ of God’s Word?  It is easy to adjust God’s ways to be convenient for us…but not without consequence.  Remember…to love God is to obey Him!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 5 (day four)

All through the Old Testament, Israel had a long line of kings.  There were both good kings and bad kings…more bad than good it seems.  David was known as a man after God’s own heart.  He was not perfect, but he remained faithful throughout his reign.  David’s commitment to serve only God was the key to his success.

Verse 21 tells us about one of the battles that David fought.  His armies defeated the Philistines and in their haste to escape, the Philistines abandoned their idols and Israel captured them.  If we look at the parallel passage of 1 Chronicles 14, it says David ordered the idols to be burned.  Many of the later kings of Israel, both good and bad, failed to cleanse the land by destroying the high places and idols of their enemies.  David’s focus was on God and he did not allow other gods to be a pitfall for his nation.

Today, we are surrounded by the idols and high places of the enemy.  Our society would have us embrace and follow them freely.  Be like David and keep a singular focus on the Lord.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 1; 2:1-7 (day four)

On several occasions, David had passed up the opportunity to kill Saul and gain the throne that God had promised him.  Saul was chosen and anointed as God’s choice to reign over Israel.  Even though God had removed the kingdom from Saul and given it to David, David refused to take matters into his own hands and kill the Lord’s anointed.  In God’s sovereignty, He could take care of the details of giving David the kingdom.

It may seem harsh to us that David had the young man killed who claimed, by his own mouth, to have killed Saul.  God is the giver of life…it is in His authority that life is also taken away.  David recognized that the Amalekite had taken God’s authority into his own hands.

How often is this same sin committed today?  Murders, mercy killings, suicides, and abortion…God’s sovereign design is pre-empted.  How long can our nation survive when we ignore the sanctity of life?