Today’s time extends yesterday’s little thought experiment.
Today’s text is the continuing description of a tragic decision: wrong thinking becoming wrong action compounded with cover-up. Instead of having the text interpreted for you, imagine that you are a person within this story. Identify with a character, named or not. You don’t know what is coming; you only know what is past and what is happening. Remember that the king was absolute monarch, controlling life and death. Remember that there were people serving him who would steal miles through enemy territory just to get the king a drink of water out of a particular well.
How would you feel?
What would you say?
Is there something that you can do?
What does it say about a community where you can have a cover-up this big?
How secret really is the cover-up?
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die."
As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.
Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting; and he instructed the messenger, "When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, 'Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.'"
So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, "The men gained an advantage over us, and came out against us in the field; but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king's servants are dead; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also."
David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab, 'Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city, and overthrow it.' And encourage him."
When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.
2 Samuel 11:14-27 – NRSV
Blessings,
Ron
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Just watching ...
Today’s text is the description of a tragic decision: wrong thinking becoming wrong action compounded with cover-up. Instead of having the text interpreted for you, imagine that you are a person within this story. Identify with a character, named or not. You don’t know what is coming; you only know what is past and what is happening. Remember that the king was absolute monarch, controlling life and death. Remember that there were people serving him who would steal miles through enemy territory just to get the king a drink of water out of a particular well.
How would you feel?
What would you say?
Is there something that you can do?
What does it say about a community where you can have a cover-up this big?
How secret really is the cover-up?
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, "This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite." So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.
The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."
So David sent word to Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?"
Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing."
Then David said to Uriah, "Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
2 Samuel 11:1-13 – NRSV
Blessings,
Ron
How would you feel?
What would you say?
Is there something that you can do?
What does it say about a community where you can have a cover-up this big?
How secret really is the cover-up?
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, "This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite." So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.
The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."
So David sent word to Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?"
Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing."
Then David said to Uriah, "Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
2 Samuel 11:1-13 – NRSV
Blessings,
Ron
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Like the palm tree ...
Dwell in God’s Word today;
meditate on this psalm one section at a time,
pray about that thought,
and then consider the next thought.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever,
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 92 – NRSV
Grace and peace,
Ron
meditate on this psalm one section at a time,
pray about that thought,
and then consider the next thought.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever,
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 92 – NRSV
Grace and peace,
Ron
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
We will tell ...
Today, a prayer:
The gratitude we intend
Walter Brueggemann
The witnesses tell of your boundless generosity,
and their telling is compelling to us:
You give your word to call the worlds into being;
You give your sovereign rule to emancipate the slaves
and the oppressed;
Your give your commanding fidelity to form your own people;
You give your life for the life of the world . . .
broken bread that feeds,
poured out wine that binds and heals.
You give . . . we receive . .. and are thankful.
We begin this day in gratitude,
thanks that is a match for your self-giving,
gratitude in gifts offered,
gratitude in tales told,
gratitude in lives lived.
Gratitude willed, but not so readily lived,
held back by old wounds turned to powerful resentment,
retarded by early fears become vague anxiety,
restrained by self-sufficiency in a can-do arrogance,
blocked by amnesia unable to recall gifts any longer.
Do this yet. Create innocent space for us this day
for the gratitude we intend.
In thankfulness,
we will give,
we will tell,
we will live,
your gift through us to gift the world.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
The gratitude we intend
Walter Brueggemann
The witnesses tell of your boundless generosity,
and their telling is compelling to us:
You give your word to call the worlds into being;
You give your sovereign rule to emancipate the slaves
and the oppressed;
Your give your commanding fidelity to form your own people;
You give your life for the life of the world . . .
broken bread that feeds,
poured out wine that binds and heals.
You give . . . we receive . .. and are thankful.
We begin this day in gratitude,
thanks that is a match for your self-giving,
gratitude in gifts offered,
gratitude in tales told,
gratitude in lives lived.
Gratitude willed, but not so readily lived,
held back by old wounds turned to powerful resentment,
retarded by early fears become vague anxiety,
restrained by self-sufficiency in a can-do arrogance,
blocked by amnesia unable to recall gifts any longer.
Do this yet. Create innocent space for us this day
for the gratitude we intend.
In thankfulness,
we will give,
we will tell,
we will live,
your gift through us to gift the world.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Choosing sides ...
When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the open country.
When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans; the rest of his men he put in the charge of his brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be strong, and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him."
Who would we want to fight alongside?
The Ammonites, the aggressors, take the safest position, close to the gates of their own city.
They send the Arameans, paid soldiers, to stand on their own out in the field, well on the far side of the enemy. This move effectively surrounds the Israelites, but put the Arameans in a place where they can’t retreat to safety if things go badly. If Israel breaks out (and that would be the wise tactical move), it will be away from the city.
Israel stands its ground surrounded; the two brothers choose, as generals of their respective armies, to fight back to back. You have to admit, though, their position looks really bad.
Where would we want to be?
So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans; and they fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites, and came to Jerusalem.
But when the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. The Arameans fled before Israel; and David killed of the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams, and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel, and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
2 Samuel 10:6-19 – NRSV
The outcomes of everyone’s choices are obvious now, aren’t they? Those who remain obsessed with their own safety are useless when things get tough, aren’t they? And the people who are only in it for the money, the mercenaries, aren’t much better; one solid push and they’re on the road again. They only come back to fight because they know that they’ve offended the Israelites, so they might as well return with overwhelming force. A little shock and awe from the Arameans. Except it doesn’t turn out like they expected, does it?
Where is the right place to be? I would want to be one of the people who knew that people I trusted were covering my back. I’d want to know that they felt like they had as much to lose as I did. I would want to believe that our relationship was a small but sure shield from the cruel flukes of misfortune and the vicious attacks of any enemy. Right next to the bigger shield that covers me every day.
Where do we want to be? I don't know about you, but I feel that I have chosen well.
Blessings,
Ron
When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans; the rest of his men he put in the charge of his brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be strong, and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him."
Who would we want to fight alongside?
The Ammonites, the aggressors, take the safest position, close to the gates of their own city.
They send the Arameans, paid soldiers, to stand on their own out in the field, well on the far side of the enemy. This move effectively surrounds the Israelites, but put the Arameans in a place where they can’t retreat to safety if things go badly. If Israel breaks out (and that would be the wise tactical move), it will be away from the city.
Israel stands its ground surrounded; the two brothers choose, as generals of their respective armies, to fight back to back. You have to admit, though, their position looks really bad.
Where would we want to be?
So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans; and they fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites, and came to Jerusalem.
But when the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. The Arameans fled before Israel; and David killed of the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams, and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel, and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
2 Samuel 10:6-19 – NRSV
The outcomes of everyone’s choices are obvious now, aren’t they? Those who remain obsessed with their own safety are useless when things get tough, aren’t they? And the people who are only in it for the money, the mercenaries, aren’t much better; one solid push and they’re on the road again. They only come back to fight because they know that they’ve offended the Israelites, so they might as well return with overwhelming force. A little shock and awe from the Arameans. Except it doesn’t turn out like they expected, does it?
Where is the right place to be? I would want to be one of the people who knew that people I trusted were covering my back. I’d want to know that they felt like they had as much to lose as I did. I would want to believe that our relationship was a small but sure shield from the cruel flukes of misfortune and the vicious attacks of any enemy. Right next to the bigger shield that covers me every day.
Where do we want to be? I don't know about you, but I feel that I have chosen well.
Blessings,
Ron
Monday, May 25, 2009
Do you really think ...
Hear the word of the Lord from the book of Samuel:
Some time afterward, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him. David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent envoys to console him concerning his father.
When David's envoys came into the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, "Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away.
When David was told, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return."
When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.
2 Samuel 10:1-7 – NRSV
Any leader is bound to make mistakes, and the mettle of any new leader is tested by how they make mistakes and learn from them. When you’re the king, though, the learning curve can be pretty difficult. Hanun’s problem is not that he makes a mistake; it’s that he stacks them like bricks. What mistakes did the young king make?
Mistake 1 – Misunderstanding a relationship. Hanun’s father had a relationship based on mutual loyalty with David. Had Hanun not been paying attention to the events in his father’s court? What kind of person did Hanun think David was? Perhaps Hanun and his friends had been listening to the enemies of David. Perhaps there were other people with other agendas than that which was best for Hanun and his people. Why do we so easily see evil in the actions of others?
Mistake 2 – Misreading a situation because one has misunderstood a relationship. Sometimes a messenger is just a messenger. Did Hanun really think that David would dishonor his father by using mourners as a ploy for military intelligence? When a person is hypervigilant, they read the wrong motives into every act: right, wrong, and indifferent. The narrator tells us that David meant to show loyalty, honor, and respect. I’m sure that those were precisely the words that David’s envoys used. Hanun has totally missed the intended message. Why do we so often struggle to believe the plain spoken words of another, and insist on misreading a situation as being its precise opposite?
Mistake 3 – Acting unwisely because one has misread a situation as a result of misunderstanding a relationship. It is one thing to believe that you don’t have a good relationship with someone. It is another thing altogether to misread the intentions of one of their actions toward you. But to take an aggressive action based on these two things shows that Hanun is not thinking things through. Did he not have the self-confidence to believe that another king might wish him well? Did he not take the time to consider, even for a moment, that David might have had a good motive? Apparently not. So, instead of hedging his bets by allowing for the possibility that he has misunderstood the relationship or misinterpreted the events, Hanun assumes that he is correct on all counts and makes the most aggressive move possible in the circumstances, short of assassinating the emissaries. Why do we believe that picking a fight is easier than praying for peace?
Mistake 4 – Making a bad decision by going to war to defend an unwise action based on a misreading of a situation because one has misunderstood a relationship. After Hanun humiliated these two men, he soon received conclusive evidence that he had enraged David. He could have reconsidered the evidence. He might have apologized. Perhaps he should have offered to make things right for the envoys that he humiliated. Instead, Hanun hires an army as one more ill-considered action in a chain of mistakes. Why do human beings so often choose war over peace?
Don’t you wish that we could say that we were different? Don’t you wish that our behavior was any more noble? The fact remains that we are going to make mistakes in our lives, especially when we try to interpret the words and actions of other people. The important questions, though, are:
Are we going to test our theories against other facts?
Are we going to listen to others who disagree with us?
Are we going to hear the plain spoken words of those whom we doubt?
Are we going to act in such a way that allows for the possibility that we might be wrong?
Do we have the courage to apologize when it becomes painfully apparent that we have messed up?
Let us test our hearts, our minds, our words, and our actions against these difficult questions.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Some time afterward, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him. David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent envoys to console him concerning his father.
When David's envoys came into the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, "Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away.
When David was told, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return."
When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.
2 Samuel 10:1-7 – NRSV
Any leader is bound to make mistakes, and the mettle of any new leader is tested by how they make mistakes and learn from them. When you’re the king, though, the learning curve can be pretty difficult. Hanun’s problem is not that he makes a mistake; it’s that he stacks them like bricks. What mistakes did the young king make?
Mistake 1 – Misunderstanding a relationship. Hanun’s father had a relationship based on mutual loyalty with David. Had Hanun not been paying attention to the events in his father’s court? What kind of person did Hanun think David was? Perhaps Hanun and his friends had been listening to the enemies of David. Perhaps there were other people with other agendas than that which was best for Hanun and his people. Why do we so easily see evil in the actions of others?
Mistake 2 – Misreading a situation because one has misunderstood a relationship. Sometimes a messenger is just a messenger. Did Hanun really think that David would dishonor his father by using mourners as a ploy for military intelligence? When a person is hypervigilant, they read the wrong motives into every act: right, wrong, and indifferent. The narrator tells us that David meant to show loyalty, honor, and respect. I’m sure that those were precisely the words that David’s envoys used. Hanun has totally missed the intended message. Why do we so often struggle to believe the plain spoken words of another, and insist on misreading a situation as being its precise opposite?
Mistake 3 – Acting unwisely because one has misread a situation as a result of misunderstanding a relationship. It is one thing to believe that you don’t have a good relationship with someone. It is another thing altogether to misread the intentions of one of their actions toward you. But to take an aggressive action based on these two things shows that Hanun is not thinking things through. Did he not have the self-confidence to believe that another king might wish him well? Did he not take the time to consider, even for a moment, that David might have had a good motive? Apparently not. So, instead of hedging his bets by allowing for the possibility that he has misunderstood the relationship or misinterpreted the events, Hanun assumes that he is correct on all counts and makes the most aggressive move possible in the circumstances, short of assassinating the emissaries. Why do we believe that picking a fight is easier than praying for peace?
Mistake 4 – Making a bad decision by going to war to defend an unwise action based on a misreading of a situation because one has misunderstood a relationship. After Hanun humiliated these two men, he soon received conclusive evidence that he had enraged David. He could have reconsidered the evidence. He might have apologized. Perhaps he should have offered to make things right for the envoys that he humiliated. Instead, Hanun hires an army as one more ill-considered action in a chain of mistakes. Why do human beings so often choose war over peace?
Don’t you wish that we could say that we were different? Don’t you wish that our behavior was any more noble? The fact remains that we are going to make mistakes in our lives, especially when we try to interpret the words and actions of other people. The important questions, though, are:
Are we going to test our theories against other facts?
Are we going to listen to others who disagree with us?
Are we going to hear the plain spoken words of those whom we doubt?
Are we going to act in such a way that allows for the possibility that we might be wrong?
Do we have the courage to apologize when it becomes painfully apparent that we have messed up?
Let us test our hearts, our minds, our words, and our actions against these difficult questions.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)