Hear the word of the Lord:
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me."
And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you."
Samuel was wise, but still he suffered; his protégé Saul, now the king, was not to keep the throne. Saul’s hard-headed disobedience has cost him the favor of God. The very thought of it makes Samuel sick. When the Lord sees Samuel’s depression, he knows just what is required: he gives Samuel something tangible to do. The task brings an odd response from Samuel. Broken one minute because his favored man is no longer to be king, he shows fear the next moment at the thought that his pet might find out that he was anointing a new king. Yet he remains obedient.
Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
Neither being wise, nor being the servant of God, is a guarantee of perfect vision. Samuel does not see that others fear him as a mighty prophet much more than he fears them. Neither does even the mighty Samuel have adequate vision to understand exactly what kind of person God seeks to be the next king.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord."
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?"
And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep."
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.
The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
It is so difficult for human beings to anticipate what God can and will do with people over the course of their lives. Yet we are so quick to make judgments about people and what their relative merits are. Here God chooses the pretty boy, the youngest son, the shepherd son, the son with no status, the son with limited inheritance, the son the father didn’t even respect enough to bring in for Samuel’s line-up.
Which only leads us to wonder: which disrespected sons will rise from tending the animals in our pastures to find places of spiritual importance in the kingdom of God?
Think about it. Pray about it, too.
Blessings,
Ron
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 – NRSV
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Up against the wall ...
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
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
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
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Kindness for Jonathan's sake ...
Hear the word of God:
David asked, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"
And he said, "At your service!"
The king said, "Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
Ziba said to the king, "There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet."
The king said to him, "Where is he?"
Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar."
A promise is a promise. Jonathan is dead, and David is king, but David has not forgotten his friendship with Jonathan. Nor has he forgotten his exchange of promises with this, his greatest friend. Jonathan said: “If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die, never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord seek out the enemies of David." Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life. (1 Samuel 20:14-17 – NRSV). David is determined to prove his steadfast love for Jonathan.
Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, "Mephibosheth!"
He answered, "I am your servant."
David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always."
He did obeisance and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?"
That Mephibosheth is humble seems apparent from his words. At the same time, these words have a familiar sound to David because he knows them all too well. In the desert, fleeing from Saul, Mephibosheth’s grandfather, David speaks of himself as he calls out to Saul: “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea?” (1 Samuel 24:14-15 – NRSV). David remembers all too well the feelings of fear, the overwhelming sense of vulnerability, the loss of feeling safe. So now he offers the son of Jonathan a way out of danger, poverty, and dependence.
Then the king summoned Saul's servant Ziba, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master's grandson may have food to eat; but your master's grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do." Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9 – NRSV).
First David restores Mephibosheth’s fortune. Everything that had belonged to Saul’s family was now Mephibosheth’s, and placed under the care of a professional steward. This would have been more than enough to have generously provided for his needs for several lifetimes. Then David goes one step further; he offers him a seat at his family table, alongside his own sons. At first this seems like unnecessary duplication, but think about it. Saul’s fortune becomes the supply of resources that make up Mephibosheth’s wealth. By itself that would have been a great gift, but would not have restored the relationship between the house of David and Jonathan. So David offers a place at his royal table. Without the fortune of Saul, the table of David would be mere benevolence; with the fortune of Saul, a seat at that table becomes hospitality. Do we see the difference?
I think the gap between benevolence and hospitality is huge. How the two work is different, and the relationship involved is different. To me, benevolence is good, but it has the tendency to trap us into power plays with the very people we would help. And the power situation changes how they feel about us as well.
So the question I ask is: “Is our ministry a benevolent work, or a work of hospitality?” How would that difference work out in our ministry today?
Think about it.
Ron
David asked, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"
And he said, "At your service!"
The king said, "Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
Ziba said to the king, "There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet."
The king said to him, "Where is he?"
Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar."
A promise is a promise. Jonathan is dead, and David is king, but David has not forgotten his friendship with Jonathan. Nor has he forgotten his exchange of promises with this, his greatest friend. Jonathan said: “If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die, never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord seek out the enemies of David." Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life. (1 Samuel 20:14-17 – NRSV). David is determined to prove his steadfast love for Jonathan.
Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, "Mephibosheth!"
He answered, "I am your servant."
David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always."
He did obeisance and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?"
That Mephibosheth is humble seems apparent from his words. At the same time, these words have a familiar sound to David because he knows them all too well. In the desert, fleeing from Saul, Mephibosheth’s grandfather, David speaks of himself as he calls out to Saul: “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea?” (1 Samuel 24:14-15 – NRSV). David remembers all too well the feelings of fear, the overwhelming sense of vulnerability, the loss of feeling safe. So now he offers the son of Jonathan a way out of danger, poverty, and dependence.
Then the king summoned Saul's servant Ziba, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master's grandson may have food to eat; but your master's grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do." Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9 – NRSV).
First David restores Mephibosheth’s fortune. Everything that had belonged to Saul’s family was now Mephibosheth’s, and placed under the care of a professional steward. This would have been more than enough to have generously provided for his needs for several lifetimes. Then David goes one step further; he offers him a seat at his family table, alongside his own sons. At first this seems like unnecessary duplication, but think about it. Saul’s fortune becomes the supply of resources that make up Mephibosheth’s wealth. By itself that would have been a great gift, but would not have restored the relationship between the house of David and Jonathan. So David offers a place at his royal table. Without the fortune of Saul, the table of David would be mere benevolence; with the fortune of Saul, a seat at that table becomes hospitality. Do we see the difference?
I think the gap between benevolence and hospitality is huge. How the two work is different, and the relationship involved is different. To me, benevolence is good, but it has the tendency to trap us into power plays with the very people we would help. And the power situation changes how they feel about us as well.
So the question I ask is: “Is our ministry a benevolent work, or a work of hospitality?” How would that difference work out in our ministry today?
Think about it.
Ron
Monday, May 11, 2009
Magnified forever ...
David gets a new “house” of cedar; David (through Nathan) offers to build God a “house”; God declines a “house” and instead (through Nathan) offers David a “house” that isn’t cedar. Now it’s David’s turn.
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!
Did you catch that? David is done with intermediaries. He “went in and sat before the Lord.” There are times when God’s goodness is so good that just need to sit down and talk for a while. Yet this is no casual conversation; hear the awe and humility in David’s words: “Who am I …” and “What is my house …?” David well knows that God’s promises are from the goodness of God’s heart and not merited favor. Yet as world-changing as God’s promises turn out to be, they do not require a large expenditure of God’s power. Through what “small thing in the eyes of the Lord God” has God wrought such a huge blessing in your life?
And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
David has heard about a lot of gods, but he has heard of no God like Yahweh God. Humans seek to manipulate and provoke their gods with a little “g”, but they waste such efforts on Yahweh, a God who will, on his own, seek the highest good for his people. He often shapes these good things in forms that his people could not even begin to imagine. How has God seemingly passed over your prayers in order to give you something better than that for which you hoped?
Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God.
Just he sent Israel, so God sends out the church to share his redemption, to sing his praise, to press the cause of his kingdom, and to replace worldly idols in the hands of others for his real and powerful presence. How is God acting through us, as his people today, to accomplish these very things?
And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."
While David’s posterity was faithful, his house reigned over Israel. Sadly that faithfulness found a bitter ending. Yet even past the promise as David understood it, God maintained his promise by continuing David’s house. What David could not have fully understood was that God would take David’s acts of faithfulness and use them as a pathway to enter into the world as Jesus, God Incarnate. In the hands of an eternal king, the throne of David has become truly eternal. In the hands of the eternal king, Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise to David in a way that immeasurably dwarfed David’s understanding.
So, the question comes to us: “How will God use our faithfulness to advance his kingdom into the eternal through the seemingly insignificant things that we say or do?” Not only do I believe that God will do this, but that he has already begun to do so. We don’t have to foresee all of the possibilities for God to make use of the work of our hands. Yet I think that we will find great encouragement in this imagining if we will allow ourselves to see the possibilities of our diligent ministry. We will also find innumerable reasons to praise God for his work in our world in our lives.
“Thus your name will be magnified forever!”
Blessings,
Ron
2 Samuel 7:18-29 – NRSV
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!
Did you catch that? David is done with intermediaries. He “went in and sat before the Lord.” There are times when God’s goodness is so good that just need to sit down and talk for a while. Yet this is no casual conversation; hear the awe and humility in David’s words: “Who am I …” and “What is my house …?” David well knows that God’s promises are from the goodness of God’s heart and not merited favor. Yet as world-changing as God’s promises turn out to be, they do not require a large expenditure of God’s power. Through what “small thing in the eyes of the Lord God” has God wrought such a huge blessing in your life?
And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
David has heard about a lot of gods, but he has heard of no God like Yahweh God. Humans seek to manipulate and provoke their gods with a little “g”, but they waste such efforts on Yahweh, a God who will, on his own, seek the highest good for his people. He often shapes these good things in forms that his people could not even begin to imagine. How has God seemingly passed over your prayers in order to give you something better than that for which you hoped?
Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God.
Just he sent Israel, so God sends out the church to share his redemption, to sing his praise, to press the cause of his kingdom, and to replace worldly idols in the hands of others for his real and powerful presence. How is God acting through us, as his people today, to accomplish these very things?
And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."
While David’s posterity was faithful, his house reigned over Israel. Sadly that faithfulness found a bitter ending. Yet even past the promise as David understood it, God maintained his promise by continuing David’s house. What David could not have fully understood was that God would take David’s acts of faithfulness and use them as a pathway to enter into the world as Jesus, God Incarnate. In the hands of an eternal king, the throne of David has become truly eternal. In the hands of the eternal king, Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise to David in a way that immeasurably dwarfed David’s understanding.
So, the question comes to us: “How will God use our faithfulness to advance his kingdom into the eternal through the seemingly insignificant things that we say or do?” Not only do I believe that God will do this, but that he has already begun to do so. We don’t have to foresee all of the possibilities for God to make use of the work of our hands. Yet I think that we will find great encouragement in this imagining if we will allow ourselves to see the possibilities of our diligent ministry. We will also find innumerable reasons to praise God for his work in our world in our lives.
“Thus your name will be magnified forever!”
Blessings,
Ron
2 Samuel 7:18-29 – NRSV
Friday, May 8, 2009
A place for my people ...
God tells David not to build a temple. Yet then, lest we think that God is angry at David, hear the words by which God honors David:
“Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
“And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.
“Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”
In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:8-17 – NRSV
Previous episodes in the life of David reveal his intent to honor God. David must obey the will of God. David must respect the symbols of God’s presence. David must worship the person of God. In David’s view, the life of Israel is not about David, but is instead, all about God.
We wouldn’t want to view this as an exchange, because the things that God has given to David are immeasurably superior to that which David has been able to offer God. Yet God has seen the ways that David has honored him, and wants David to understand how his God has honored him in the past, and will honor him in the future. God has taken David from shepherd to prince, from pauper to king. God has walked with David, and protected David. As David has lifted up the name of God, God has lifted up the reputation of this unlikely king. Unlikely except for the purpose and power of God.
Yet God does not lift David up merely for David’s sake; God does this for the sake of his people. Having made David king, God says, “I will now appoint a place for my people and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place …” From the very beginning, God has known that place is important for human beings, because he made them that way. He made a safe place for Adam and Eve to begin, and he has maintained a place of providence for the people who followed them. Now God appoints a place where an entire people can know his care.
We all need space: room to move, to grow, to play. God gives us freedom of movement, room to play so that, in our play, we may find new ways to use our gifts, new ways to serve him, new ways to please him. The kind of room to play that David had dancing in front of the ark. Yet human beings don’t always allow others to have space. Michal, for instance, didn’t give David that kind of room, because the only way was her way. Because she couldn’t give him room to maneuver, she couldn’t keep a place in his heart. Yet God not only gives David room to work, he makes room for an entire nation of people to discover what it means to be the people of God.
Does that mean that David and his people will be perfect? Hardly. As a matter of fact, it looks like God is setting himself up for a world of hurt. God promises, though, that he will see to it that the actions of his people in this universe will find their natural consequences. A faithful house of David will keep its throne; yet if they misstep, God will correct David’s offspring as if they were his own children. Yet despite whatever future iniquity David and his people might commit, God promises that they can count on one truth: his steadfast love will never cease.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
Lamentations 3:22-23 – NRSV
May God help us,in the space that he gives us, imaginatively create a place something like the kingdom of God, however imperfect. May that place have enough room for everyone in our house to stretch, to grow, to run, and maybe even hide in the shelter of his love, even if for just a little while.
Grace and peace,
Ron
“Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
“And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.
“Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”
In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:8-17 – NRSV
Previous episodes in the life of David reveal his intent to honor God. David must obey the will of God. David must respect the symbols of God’s presence. David must worship the person of God. In David’s view, the life of Israel is not about David, but is instead, all about God.
We wouldn’t want to view this as an exchange, because the things that God has given to David are immeasurably superior to that which David has been able to offer God. Yet God has seen the ways that David has honored him, and wants David to understand how his God has honored him in the past, and will honor him in the future. God has taken David from shepherd to prince, from pauper to king. God has walked with David, and protected David. As David has lifted up the name of God, God has lifted up the reputation of this unlikely king. Unlikely except for the purpose and power of God.
Yet God does not lift David up merely for David’s sake; God does this for the sake of his people. Having made David king, God says, “I will now appoint a place for my people and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place …” From the very beginning, God has known that place is important for human beings, because he made them that way. He made a safe place for Adam and Eve to begin, and he has maintained a place of providence for the people who followed them. Now God appoints a place where an entire people can know his care.
We all need space: room to move, to grow, to play. God gives us freedom of movement, room to play so that, in our play, we may find new ways to use our gifts, new ways to serve him, new ways to please him. The kind of room to play that David had dancing in front of the ark. Yet human beings don’t always allow others to have space. Michal, for instance, didn’t give David that kind of room, because the only way was her way. Because she couldn’t give him room to maneuver, she couldn’t keep a place in his heart. Yet God not only gives David room to work, he makes room for an entire nation of people to discover what it means to be the people of God.
Does that mean that David and his people will be perfect? Hardly. As a matter of fact, it looks like God is setting himself up for a world of hurt. God promises, though, that he will see to it that the actions of his people in this universe will find their natural consequences. A faithful house of David will keep its throne; yet if they misstep, God will correct David’s offspring as if they were his own children. Yet despite whatever future iniquity David and his people might commit, God promises that they can count on one truth: his steadfast love will never cease.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
Lamentations 3:22-23 – NRSV
May God help us,in the space that he gives us, imaginatively create a place something like the kingdom of God, however imperfect. May that place have enough room for everyone in our house to stretch, to grow, to run, and maybe even hide in the shelter of his love, even if for just a little while.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Unsettled in the house ...
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."
Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
2 Samuel 7:1-7
The writers of Samuel were both skilled and inspired. They tell their story concisely and powerfully. At times they even tell it playfully. Here they play with the word, “house.” Through this chapter, they use the word house three different ways.
First, “the king was settled in his house.” It may be that this only means the palace, but does it? Isn’t David settling down into his role as the patriarch of his family? After settling his issues with Michal, doesn’t the domestic life of David reach a new and peaceful plateau? No more hiding from Saul. No more intrigue among the Philistines. Not so many running battles with powerful enemies. No more conflict with God. There is this moment in time where there is peace in the house of David.
Now David has time to think instead of react. As he looks out from the roof of his majestic “house of cedar” (second use of house), what does he see? He sees the tabernacle, the dwelling place of the ark, the symbol of the presence of Yahweh. Can you imagine what the tabernacle looks like by now? I’m sure that the Levites maintained it as best they could, but still, that tent has seen a lot of sand, and wind, and sun.
What David sees is unsettling; he can’t live with the inconsistency. I don’t think that we could either. Imagine looking out your window on a rainy night and seeing Jesus sleeping in your front yard in a WWII surplus pup tent, without even a stone for a pillow. It’s easy to understand the move toward action, isn’t it?
So David tells Nathan. Nathan is a courageous prophet, but he doesn’t even see the need to bother God. He phones this one in. "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
David’s project concerns God. God is not content to be silent. God doesn’t recall Nathan as a prophet; he redirects Nathan to undo his acceptance speech. “Have I ever asked you, David, or anyone else, to build a house for me?” (The idea of a house for God, a temple, is the third use of house.) God asks David to rethink. God’s answer is obviously, “No.”
So why would God say no to such a noble and honorable request? There are a lot of good possibilities.
Perhaps, as Solomon later says, David was still busy taking care of the enemies of his people (1 Kings 5:3-4). This is possible, but doesn’t appear to completely explain God’s answer.
Perhaps David’s hands are too bloody for this holy purpose (1 Chron 22:7-8; 28;2-3). This is what David tells Solomon and the people. Could it be, though, that David didn’t ever understand God’s “no”, and this business about the blood is David’s attempt to make sense out of a decision that he never understood? Yet God doesn’t say anything about blood here.
Could it be about the people? After obedience to God, the first duty of a king is to care for his people. Instead of taxing his people to finance a temple, and instead of using their labor to build an edifice of limited utility, shouldn’t the people be allowed to build their own houses, and farms, and herds? Shouldn’t the king help the poor, care for the sick, find shelter for the orphan, give the widow security, make safe the alien, and bring justice among his own people? Isn’t that task large enough for anyone who governs? Especially after so many years of war?
I think that God’s reasons are even deeper. God’s answer hints that he is a God who is not tied down to one place. He has power in Eden. He has power in Canaan. He has power in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Jericho; even in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. God is a God who goes where he desires to go. He can go to Jerusalem or Bethlehem; it doesn’t matter if there is any room at the inn or not.
God does not need for us to make a place for him; He is the Maker of Place.
God does not need a building so that we can find him; if we seek God, we will find him among his people.
God does not desire stone temples; he seeks living ones.
God doesn’t want to be sent to his room. He wants, oddly enough, scarily enough, to live with us.
Are we open to God’s presence in our lives?
Ron
Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
2 Samuel 7:1-7
The writers of Samuel were both skilled and inspired. They tell their story concisely and powerfully. At times they even tell it playfully. Here they play with the word, “house.” Through this chapter, they use the word house three different ways.
First, “the king was settled in his house.” It may be that this only means the palace, but does it? Isn’t David settling down into his role as the patriarch of his family? After settling his issues with Michal, doesn’t the domestic life of David reach a new and peaceful plateau? No more hiding from Saul. No more intrigue among the Philistines. Not so many running battles with powerful enemies. No more conflict with God. There is this moment in time where there is peace in the house of David.
Now David has time to think instead of react. As he looks out from the roof of his majestic “house of cedar” (second use of house), what does he see? He sees the tabernacle, the dwelling place of the ark, the symbol of the presence of Yahweh. Can you imagine what the tabernacle looks like by now? I’m sure that the Levites maintained it as best they could, but still, that tent has seen a lot of sand, and wind, and sun.
What David sees is unsettling; he can’t live with the inconsistency. I don’t think that we could either. Imagine looking out your window on a rainy night and seeing Jesus sleeping in your front yard in a WWII surplus pup tent, without even a stone for a pillow. It’s easy to understand the move toward action, isn’t it?
So David tells Nathan. Nathan is a courageous prophet, but he doesn’t even see the need to bother God. He phones this one in. "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
David’s project concerns God. God is not content to be silent. God doesn’t recall Nathan as a prophet; he redirects Nathan to undo his acceptance speech. “Have I ever asked you, David, or anyone else, to build a house for me?” (The idea of a house for God, a temple, is the third use of house.) God asks David to rethink. God’s answer is obviously, “No.”
So why would God say no to such a noble and honorable request? There are a lot of good possibilities.
Perhaps, as Solomon later says, David was still busy taking care of the enemies of his people (1 Kings 5:3-4). This is possible, but doesn’t appear to completely explain God’s answer.
Perhaps David’s hands are too bloody for this holy purpose (1 Chron 22:7-8; 28;2-3). This is what David tells Solomon and the people. Could it be, though, that David didn’t ever understand God’s “no”, and this business about the blood is David’s attempt to make sense out of a decision that he never understood? Yet God doesn’t say anything about blood here.
Could it be about the people? After obedience to God, the first duty of a king is to care for his people. Instead of taxing his people to finance a temple, and instead of using their labor to build an edifice of limited utility, shouldn’t the people be allowed to build their own houses, and farms, and herds? Shouldn’t the king help the poor, care for the sick, find shelter for the orphan, give the widow security, make safe the alien, and bring justice among his own people? Isn’t that task large enough for anyone who governs? Especially after so many years of war?
I think that God’s reasons are even deeper. God’s answer hints that he is a God who is not tied down to one place. He has power in Eden. He has power in Canaan. He has power in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Jericho; even in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. God is a God who goes where he desires to go. He can go to Jerusalem or Bethlehem; it doesn’t matter if there is any room at the inn or not.
God does not need for us to make a place for him; He is the Maker of Place.
God does not need a building so that we can find him; if we seek God, we will find him among his people.
God does not desire stone temples; he seeks living ones.
God doesn’t want to be sent to his room. He wants, oddly enough, scarily enough, to live with us.
Are we open to God’s presence in our lives?
Ron
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
It's not about you ...
David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!" David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord, that I have danced before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in my own eyes; but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor." And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
2 Samuel 6:20-23 – NRSV
David has experienced a wonderful day in the presence of God. He has leaped and danced the ark of the Lord all of the way into the city of Jerusalem, and he has shared a wonderful meal with all of the people of God as a reminder of God’s providence. But David did forget about one thing – that the palace has a view.
David will grow an inordinate fondness for that view later, but it is others who avail themselves of its possibilities on this day. “Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart” (2 Samuel 6:16 – NRSV).
When David comes home, happy and ready to bless his loved ones, Michal awaits him. David doesn’t even make it to the door; Michal charges out of the house and attacks him out in the street in front of the palace.
“Don’t you know how to act like a king?”
“Don’t you know how to behave like a married man?”
“Don’t you know that we have appearances to keep up?”
Essentially, Michal guts David like a fish in front of the palace and in full view of his household. This tirade may cut David to the heart, but David’s reply cuts to the heart of the matter.
“It’s not about you!” is effectively the reply of David. “This day wasn’t about your husband, or your father Saul. The way that I dressed and danced didn’t have a thing to do with you, Michal, but it was all about the God who made your father king and then made me king. It’s not about you!”
“It’s not about me!” is the other thing that David made clear. “Yes, I am king, but before God I will abase myself because he is God. It’s not about me!”
“It’s about God! This day was about God, about his presence, his providence, his power in making this kingdom, this city, and this palace all possible, Michal. This day is about pleasing God, praising God, and parading God as a victorious king before his people. It’s about God!”
Michal is an easy target, isn’t she? But when you think about it, she is doing something that almost all of us have done at some time or another. She is upset with the worship leader. Have we ever fussed at the song leader, complained about the preacher, or found fault with the prayer leader? Have we ever griped that we’re not getting anything out of worship? Of course we have. And of course we want to get something out of worship. But when it comes down to it, worship isn’t really about us is it?
Worship is about our majestic king. Worship is about our gathering together so that the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of Humanity, the Spirit that Empowers us will come into our midst. Worship is about Immanuel, God is with us. And though there may be days when God blesses us with wisdom, or insight, or comfort, or an awareness of his presence, the important thing is that God is with his people. He should be our focus.
Does God see the boy doze? Yes, he is the feeling of safety surrounding that boy that allows him that peace. Does God hear the baby cry? Yes, and he exults in the wonder of that life and the beauty of that human being. Does God feel the ache in my heart? Yes, he can tell it by the slightest change in my voice, and he shares my pain with me. Does God know about my impatience with the words used in worship? Yes, and wants me to learn to be still and know that he is God. He can sanctify people, and he can sanctify even the inadequate language we use to talk about him.
Let’s make worship about God.
Imagine, if you will, that what David has done is lead Yahweh into Jerusalem like a conquering monarch coming to assume his throne. Imagine that God is enthroned as his people sing this song in his praise:
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted.
Psalm 47 - NRSV
As we go about our day today, may we remember that the day is not about us, our ministry is not about us, but rather that our entire lives are about the God who loves us and saves us.
May God rule in our hearts, and his praises dwell on our lips, forever. Amen.
Ron
2 Samuel 6:20-23 – NRSV
David has experienced a wonderful day in the presence of God. He has leaped and danced the ark of the Lord all of the way into the city of Jerusalem, and he has shared a wonderful meal with all of the people of God as a reminder of God’s providence. But David did forget about one thing – that the palace has a view.
David will grow an inordinate fondness for that view later, but it is others who avail themselves of its possibilities on this day. “Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart” (2 Samuel 6:16 – NRSV).
When David comes home, happy and ready to bless his loved ones, Michal awaits him. David doesn’t even make it to the door; Michal charges out of the house and attacks him out in the street in front of the palace.
“Don’t you know how to act like a king?”
“Don’t you know how to behave like a married man?”
“Don’t you know that we have appearances to keep up?”
Essentially, Michal guts David like a fish in front of the palace and in full view of his household. This tirade may cut David to the heart, but David’s reply cuts to the heart of the matter.
“It’s not about you!” is effectively the reply of David. “This day wasn’t about your husband, or your father Saul. The way that I dressed and danced didn’t have a thing to do with you, Michal, but it was all about the God who made your father king and then made me king. It’s not about you!”
“It’s not about me!” is the other thing that David made clear. “Yes, I am king, but before God I will abase myself because he is God. It’s not about me!”
“It’s about God! This day was about God, about his presence, his providence, his power in making this kingdom, this city, and this palace all possible, Michal. This day is about pleasing God, praising God, and parading God as a victorious king before his people. It’s about God!”
Michal is an easy target, isn’t she? But when you think about it, she is doing something that almost all of us have done at some time or another. She is upset with the worship leader. Have we ever fussed at the song leader, complained about the preacher, or found fault with the prayer leader? Have we ever griped that we’re not getting anything out of worship? Of course we have. And of course we want to get something out of worship. But when it comes down to it, worship isn’t really about us is it?
Worship is about our majestic king. Worship is about our gathering together so that the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of Humanity, the Spirit that Empowers us will come into our midst. Worship is about Immanuel, God is with us. And though there may be days when God blesses us with wisdom, or insight, or comfort, or an awareness of his presence, the important thing is that God is with his people. He should be our focus.
Does God see the boy doze? Yes, he is the feeling of safety surrounding that boy that allows him that peace. Does God hear the baby cry? Yes, and he exults in the wonder of that life and the beauty of that human being. Does God feel the ache in my heart? Yes, he can tell it by the slightest change in my voice, and he shares my pain with me. Does God know about my impatience with the words used in worship? Yes, and wants me to learn to be still and know that he is God. He can sanctify people, and he can sanctify even the inadequate language we use to talk about him.
Let’s make worship about God.
Imagine, if you will, that what David has done is lead Yahweh into Jerusalem like a conquering monarch coming to assume his throne. Imagine that God is enthroned as his people sing this song in his praise:
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted.
Psalm 47 - NRSV
As we go about our day today, may we remember that the day is not about us, our ministry is not about us, but rather that our entire lives are about the God who loves us and saves us.
May God rule in our hearts, and his praises dwell on our lips, forever. Amen.
Ron
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Too mad to see straight ...
The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
It was told King David, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
2 Samuel 6:11-19 – NRSV
How long does it take to get over being mad at God? I’m not sure that there is just one answer. I’ve known farmers who’ve been angry at the Creator for years because of the weather that drowned or dried up a crop. I’ve know people who’ve maintained a grudge against God for decades because of the way that God’s people acted toward them on one traumatic Sunday many, many years ago.
David gets over his temper in three months. In a lot of ways, he’s probably ahead of the learning curve for most human beings. What changes David’s mind? Apparently, it is that David sees that, for three long months, the Lord is blessing Obed-edom greatly for his hospitality to the ark. Despite the shock and horror of the tragedy with Uzzah, Obed-edom has made a place for this symbol of the presence of a very dangerous God. For this courageous display of respect, God showers blessings so large and plentiful upon Obed-edom that it comes to the attention of all of Israel.
David comes to understand that his anger with God has cut him off both from the presence of God and the blessing of God. Perhaps that is why God chooses to bless Obed-edom so richly; God wants David to see just exactly what his unquenched anger was costing him.
When David finally does open his eyes, he sees that God has continued to take care of his people. God holds the day of praise and blessing for David. When David can put away his anger and return humble, doing the right things with the right heart, then he could receive the blessing of that day. When David decides to get over his anger and rejoin the movement of God in this world, then he manages to demonstrate that God's people can't take half a dozen steps without God's blessing being present, and without the need for the praise of God's people to return as a blessing to their God.
Our anger with God hurts God; because he loves us profoundly he is capable of the most profound suffering as well. That anger, though, hurts us in more ways than we might understand. It is not just that we lose his presence and his blessing. Our anger can also deafen us from hearing what God would have us hear from his word and the world around us. It can blind us from seeing how God is moving in our lives and the world around us. If we give our anger free rein long enough, it can dull our senses so that we are no longer capable of experiencing God’s power or presence at all.
How can we recover our senses? Hear the word of the Lord:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 34:4-8 – NRSV
May God open our eyes to help us see that the One who is with us is greater than those who are against us.
Grace and peace,
Ron
It was told King David, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
2 Samuel 6:11-19 – NRSV
How long does it take to get over being mad at God? I’m not sure that there is just one answer. I’ve known farmers who’ve been angry at the Creator for years because of the weather that drowned or dried up a crop. I’ve know people who’ve maintained a grudge against God for decades because of the way that God’s people acted toward them on one traumatic Sunday many, many years ago.
David gets over his temper in three months. In a lot of ways, he’s probably ahead of the learning curve for most human beings. What changes David’s mind? Apparently, it is that David sees that, for three long months, the Lord is blessing Obed-edom greatly for his hospitality to the ark. Despite the shock and horror of the tragedy with Uzzah, Obed-edom has made a place for this symbol of the presence of a very dangerous God. For this courageous display of respect, God showers blessings so large and plentiful upon Obed-edom that it comes to the attention of all of Israel.
David comes to understand that his anger with God has cut him off both from the presence of God and the blessing of God. Perhaps that is why God chooses to bless Obed-edom so richly; God wants David to see just exactly what his unquenched anger was costing him.
When David finally does open his eyes, he sees that God has continued to take care of his people. God holds the day of praise and blessing for David. When David can put away his anger and return humble, doing the right things with the right heart, then he could receive the blessing of that day. When David decides to get over his anger and rejoin the movement of God in this world, then he manages to demonstrate that God's people can't take half a dozen steps without God's blessing being present, and without the need for the praise of God's people to return as a blessing to their God.
Our anger with God hurts God; because he loves us profoundly he is capable of the most profound suffering as well. That anger, though, hurts us in more ways than we might understand. It is not just that we lose his presence and his blessing. Our anger can also deafen us from hearing what God would have us hear from his word and the world around us. It can blind us from seeing how God is moving in our lives and the world around us. If we give our anger free rein long enough, it can dull our senses so that we are no longer capable of experiencing God’s power or presence at all.
How can we recover our senses? Hear the word of the Lord:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 34:4-8 – NRSV
May God open our eyes to help us see that the One who is with us is greater than those who are against us.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Monday, May 4, 2009
An outburst upon Uzzah ...
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.
David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?" So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
2 Samuel 6:1-10 – NRSV
Years before David’s reign, before Saul became king, and even before Samuel assumed leadership of Israel, the ark of the Lord had been a mighty symbol for the people of God. After a devastating loss to the Philistines, the Israelites decided to take the ark with them into battle, assuming that, if they hauled the divine throne to the battlefield, God would ensure their victory to protect his throne and defend his name.
Their assumptions were incorrect. The ark was lost and began a unique little exodus of its own (1 Samuel 4-6). Taken to Philistine territory as an apparent captive of Dagon, Yahweh vindicates both his ark and his name by proving his power superior to Dagon or any other being. After God devastates the major cities of Philistia with plague, the Philistine kings chose to send the ark back to Israel on a brand new cart. The ark finds its way back to Israelite territory, and it is taken to the house of Abinadab for safe keeping.
After David captures the idols of the Philistines at Baal-perazim, he has the opportunity to think about this history. Just as the Israelites once hauled the ark into battle to tip the scales toward victory, so the Philistines brought and lost their idols as a result of the same logic. David believes in Yahweh, and has sought to honor him for the victories he has thus far experienced. What better way to honor God than to bring the symbol of God’s presence with his people to the center, to the capitol, of his people?
A new cart is built to carry the ark, just as the Philistines had done. Instead of two cows sent out on their own, though, this wagon is pulled by oxen, and carefully led by humans. Yet this time, instead of a successful trip, there is death. God breaks out against the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and God breaks out against Uzzah at Perez-Uzzah. Everyone is horrified and scared.
In his years of being with the ark in his father’s house, had Uzzah grown careless of respect toward the ark? Or was the problem the fact that the ark was moved on a cart instead of by the carefully prescribed and historically practiced method (Ex 25, 40; Num 3; Dt 10)? If the cart was the problem, then why wasn’t it a problem for the Philistines?
The Philistines didn’t have a way of knowing not to use a cart. God actually used the Philistine’s “cart test” to prove that he really was in control of their little universe. And, the Philistines didn’t have any Kohathites to carry the ark anyway.
David, though, should have known. As king, he had a responsibility to know the teachings of God. David either didn’t know his Torah here, or chose to ignore it.
The actions of God scare David, and then, as it so often does, anger follows fear. The anger of David rises. How could God have done this thing? Was death really necessary? Doesn’t God appreciate the honor that David chose to show him? The confident David, the King David who has had all of the answers so far now finds that he is uncertain of what to do and estranged from his God. He returns this dangerous ark of this dangerous God to storage. Obed-edom courageously extends hospitality to the ark within his home.
How do we handle God when God doesn’t appear to play by the rules, at least not the rules as we understand them? Perhaps the beginning of wisdom really is the fear of the Lord (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10). He is not predictable; he has free will; he knows and understands that which we cannot. Neither can we “handle” God. God is beyond our manipulations, even if our well-intentioned designs are for his glory.
Perhaps gratitude, and not anger, should follow fear. Thankfulness that as many of us who have life, have it. Thankfulness that God has seen us through so many battles. Thankfulness that God has provided our every need and asked for so little in return.
Much of our grief comes when we focus on the tragedy that God appears to have let happen instead of the hundred that he has prevented. Many of our problems with God come when we focus on the prayer he doesn’t appear to hear instead of the thousand that he has answered.
May God forgive us when we are blind to his blessing.
May God forgive us when we tell God how he ought to be God.
May God forgive us when we think that we should be able to understand him or his actions.
May we praise God for who he is and what he has done.
May we praise God in spirit and truth.
Blessings,
Ron
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.
David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?" So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
2 Samuel 6:1-10 – NRSV
Years before David’s reign, before Saul became king, and even before Samuel assumed leadership of Israel, the ark of the Lord had been a mighty symbol for the people of God. After a devastating loss to the Philistines, the Israelites decided to take the ark with them into battle, assuming that, if they hauled the divine throne to the battlefield, God would ensure their victory to protect his throne and defend his name.
Their assumptions were incorrect. The ark was lost and began a unique little exodus of its own (1 Samuel 4-6). Taken to Philistine territory as an apparent captive of Dagon, Yahweh vindicates both his ark and his name by proving his power superior to Dagon or any other being. After God devastates the major cities of Philistia with plague, the Philistine kings chose to send the ark back to Israel on a brand new cart. The ark finds its way back to Israelite territory, and it is taken to the house of Abinadab for safe keeping.
After David captures the idols of the Philistines at Baal-perazim, he has the opportunity to think about this history. Just as the Israelites once hauled the ark into battle to tip the scales toward victory, so the Philistines brought and lost their idols as a result of the same logic. David believes in Yahweh, and has sought to honor him for the victories he has thus far experienced. What better way to honor God than to bring the symbol of God’s presence with his people to the center, to the capitol, of his people?
A new cart is built to carry the ark, just as the Philistines had done. Instead of two cows sent out on their own, though, this wagon is pulled by oxen, and carefully led by humans. Yet this time, instead of a successful trip, there is death. God breaks out against the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and God breaks out against Uzzah at Perez-Uzzah. Everyone is horrified and scared.
In his years of being with the ark in his father’s house, had Uzzah grown careless of respect toward the ark? Or was the problem the fact that the ark was moved on a cart instead of by the carefully prescribed and historically practiced method (Ex 25, 40; Num 3; Dt 10)? If the cart was the problem, then why wasn’t it a problem for the Philistines?
The Philistines didn’t have a way of knowing not to use a cart. God actually used the Philistine’s “cart test” to prove that he really was in control of their little universe. And, the Philistines didn’t have any Kohathites to carry the ark anyway.
David, though, should have known. As king, he had a responsibility to know the teachings of God. David either didn’t know his Torah here, or chose to ignore it.
The actions of God scare David, and then, as it so often does, anger follows fear. The anger of David rises. How could God have done this thing? Was death really necessary? Doesn’t God appreciate the honor that David chose to show him? The confident David, the King David who has had all of the answers so far now finds that he is uncertain of what to do and estranged from his God. He returns this dangerous ark of this dangerous God to storage. Obed-edom courageously extends hospitality to the ark within his home.
How do we handle God when God doesn’t appear to play by the rules, at least not the rules as we understand them? Perhaps the beginning of wisdom really is the fear of the Lord (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10). He is not predictable; he has free will; he knows and understands that which we cannot. Neither can we “handle” God. God is beyond our manipulations, even if our well-intentioned designs are for his glory.
Perhaps gratitude, and not anger, should follow fear. Thankfulness that as many of us who have life, have it. Thankfulness that God has seen us through so many battles. Thankfulness that God has provided our every need and asked for so little in return.
Much of our grief comes when we focus on the tragedy that God appears to have let happen instead of the hundred that he has prevented. Many of our problems with God come when we focus on the prayer he doesn’t appear to hear instead of the thousand that he has answered.
May God forgive us when we are blind to his blessing.
May God forgive us when we tell God how he ought to be God.
May God forgive us when we think that we should be able to understand him or his actions.
May we praise God for who he is and what he has done.
May we praise God in spirit and truth.
Blessings,
Ron
Saturday, May 2, 2009
When you hear ...
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up in search of David; but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the valley of Rephaim. David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?"
The Lord said to David, "Go up; for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand."
So David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. He said, "The Lord has burst forth against my enemies before me, like a bursting flood." Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.
Once again the Philistines came up, and were spread out in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines."
David did just as the Lord had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.
2 Samuel 5:17-25 – NRSV
When good things come into our lives, there are some things that we should expect. The first expectation is that we will be tempted to believe that the blessings we received were only for our benefit. This is the temptation that David resisted successfully after being anointed by the Israelites (see yesterday’s devotional).
If we resist being our own worst enemies, then we can count on resistance from outsiders. For David, success attracts enemies. Surprise, surprise, here come the Philistines. Remember the kings whom David treated like his friends just a little while back? Now they’ve figured out that David took them for a bunch of fools. They are not happy about this. Now the Philistines believe that whatever they did to Saul, they can do to David. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t ask God whether they could or couldn't. They can’t.
David, on the other hand, is successful and yet still in conversation with God. David doesn’t just pray in emergencies; he maintains an ongoing dialogue with God, especially about matters of leadership. David doesn’t make a decision on his own authority; he gathers a community of informed judgment that includes God, and then acts on the word of God. God brings the first victory, and David glorifies him for it.
Defeated once, the Philistines return to repeat their assault on David. Again, David resists the impulse to make assumptions based on past decisions, or to operate on his own authority. He consults God, who gives him advice which he would not have anticipated on his own. Attack from the rear? Who would have guessed? As David follows God's instructions, God is already moving out in front, dealing with the enemies of the Israelites before God’s people are in the position to strike a single blow. David’s army cleans up the remnant of the enemy as they catch up with the Philistines.
Like David, we need to be in constant conversation with God. If we glorify God for our successes, then we avoid so many pitfalls. If we keep talking with God even when the blessings are there, they will seem to keep on coming to us again and again. If we listen to God as much as we talk to God, then we have the opportunity to behave wisely and lead wisely.
May God help us to keep our conversation with him constant and transparent.
Blessings,
Ron
The Lord said to David, "Go up; for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand."
So David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. He said, "The Lord has burst forth against my enemies before me, like a bursting flood." Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.
Once again the Philistines came up, and were spread out in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines."
David did just as the Lord had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.
2 Samuel 5:17-25 – NRSV
When good things come into our lives, there are some things that we should expect. The first expectation is that we will be tempted to believe that the blessings we received were only for our benefit. This is the temptation that David resisted successfully after being anointed by the Israelites (see yesterday’s devotional).
If we resist being our own worst enemies, then we can count on resistance from outsiders. For David, success attracts enemies. Surprise, surprise, here come the Philistines. Remember the kings whom David treated like his friends just a little while back? Now they’ve figured out that David took them for a bunch of fools. They are not happy about this. Now the Philistines believe that whatever they did to Saul, they can do to David. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t ask God whether they could or couldn't. They can’t.
David, on the other hand, is successful and yet still in conversation with God. David doesn’t just pray in emergencies; he maintains an ongoing dialogue with God, especially about matters of leadership. David doesn’t make a decision on his own authority; he gathers a community of informed judgment that includes God, and then acts on the word of God. God brings the first victory, and David glorifies him for it.
Defeated once, the Philistines return to repeat their assault on David. Again, David resists the impulse to make assumptions based on past decisions, or to operate on his own authority. He consults God, who gives him advice which he would not have anticipated on his own. Attack from the rear? Who would have guessed? As David follows God's instructions, God is already moving out in front, dealing with the enemies of the Israelites before God’s people are in the position to strike a single blow. David’s army cleans up the remnant of the enemy as they catch up with the Philistines.
Like David, we need to be in constant conversation with God. If we glorify God for our successes, then we avoid so many pitfalls. If we keep talking with God even when the blessings are there, they will seem to keep on coming to us again and again. If we listen to God as much as we talk to God, then we have the opportunity to behave wisely and lead wisely.
May God help us to keep our conversation with him constant and transparent.
Blessings,
Ron
Friday, May 1, 2009
For the sake of his people ...
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back" — thinking, "David cannot come in here." Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. David had said on that day, "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house. David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
2 Samuel 5:1-12 – NRSV
After so many years of difficulty, this course of events had to be so affirming to David. First, the civil war ends when the people of Israel come and say, “We are your people. We have always loved you and always longed to have been your people.” This is more than polite politics; remember that the people so loved David, and so sang his praises that it drove Saul insane with jealousy. Literally.
Peace is confirmed with covenant. King David, both people and scriptures call him. That respect had to compensate in some real ways for the years of disrespect spent in the wilderness. Now David is anointed by God and anointed by all of his people to lead.
And lead he does. He attacks a gentile stronghold set in the central highlands of his country, a city that had resisted capture since the days of Joshua, and claims it for his own. Even today, people call Jerusalem the “city of David.” God confirms David’s leadership with victory, victory unparalleled in many years of Israel’s history.
Then there is the palace. King Hiram wishes for peace with his neighbor, this new and aggressive young king. So, as a proactive gesture of goodwill, Hiram helps David feel like a king. The palace is good. Life is good. Being king is good.
Then comes the most interesting statement: “David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.” David well understands, as do we, that he is king. From that fact, he makes the most extraordinary leap of logic: God did this for his people.
Somehow David understands that “it’s not all about David.” God doesn’t decide one day that David has won the royal lottery; God has deeper purpose. The people have asked for a king (1 Sam 8), and even though the first king was not an unqualified success, God gives the experiment another chance. God makes David king for the sake of the people.
The people hope for safety. The people seek some unifying symbol, some mark of God’s presence with them. The people need a leader who understands this nation’s unique relationship with one, and only one, God. For the people, David becomes king.
Just as God uniquely gifted and prepared David for his time and place, so, I believe, God has uniquely gifted and prepared us for our time and place in his kingdom. Here’s the good news: it’s not all about us either. We have a king, the son of David, but better than David. The good news is about that king, Immanuel, “God is with us.”
Just as David respected all whom God chose to anoint, so ought we. Just as David respected his gift and calling so ought we. Will what we perceive to be our calling always be consistent with how others perceive their calling? Probably not. When that happens, we have to live in the tension of the moment. We do that through an abiding trust in the providence and purpose of God. God will take care of his people. So ought we.
May God give us the strength and wisdom to make it so.
Blessings,
Ron
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back" — thinking, "David cannot come in here." Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. David had said on that day, "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house. David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
2 Samuel 5:1-12 – NRSV
After so many years of difficulty, this course of events had to be so affirming to David. First, the civil war ends when the people of Israel come and say, “We are your people. We have always loved you and always longed to have been your people.” This is more than polite politics; remember that the people so loved David, and so sang his praises that it drove Saul insane with jealousy. Literally.
Peace is confirmed with covenant. King David, both people and scriptures call him. That respect had to compensate in some real ways for the years of disrespect spent in the wilderness. Now David is anointed by God and anointed by all of his people to lead.
And lead he does. He attacks a gentile stronghold set in the central highlands of his country, a city that had resisted capture since the days of Joshua, and claims it for his own. Even today, people call Jerusalem the “city of David.” God confirms David’s leadership with victory, victory unparalleled in many years of Israel’s history.
Then there is the palace. King Hiram wishes for peace with his neighbor, this new and aggressive young king. So, as a proactive gesture of goodwill, Hiram helps David feel like a king. The palace is good. Life is good. Being king is good.
Then comes the most interesting statement: “David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.” David well understands, as do we, that he is king. From that fact, he makes the most extraordinary leap of logic: God did this for his people.
Somehow David understands that “it’s not all about David.” God doesn’t decide one day that David has won the royal lottery; God has deeper purpose. The people have asked for a king (1 Sam 8), and even though the first king was not an unqualified success, God gives the experiment another chance. God makes David king for the sake of the people.
The people hope for safety. The people seek some unifying symbol, some mark of God’s presence with them. The people need a leader who understands this nation’s unique relationship with one, and only one, God. For the people, David becomes king.
Just as God uniquely gifted and prepared David for his time and place, so, I believe, God has uniquely gifted and prepared us for our time and place in his kingdom. Here’s the good news: it’s not all about us either. We have a king, the son of David, but better than David. The good news is about that king, Immanuel, “God is with us.”
Just as David respected all whom God chose to anoint, so ought we. Just as David respected his gift and calling so ought we. Will what we perceive to be our calling always be consistent with how others perceive their calling? Probably not. When that happens, we have to live in the tension of the moment. We do that through an abiding trust in the providence and purpose of God. God will take care of his people. So ought we.
May God give us the strength and wisdom to make it so.
Blessings,
Ron
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Blood at your hand ...
When Saul's son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. Saul's son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon a Benjaminite from Beeroth — for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin ….
Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest. They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring."
David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when the one who told me, 'See, Saul is dead,' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag — this was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?" So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.
2 Samuel 4 – NRSV
The Israelites made a promise to the Gibeonites. True, the Gibeonites tricked them into it, but nonetheless the Israelites agreed not to wipe them out (Josh 9). “Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 21:2-3 – NRSV). So, when Baanah and Recab, two Gibeonites from Beeroth have the opportunity to get back at the house of Saul, they take it. They think that they will be heroes to their people and favorites of the new king who will benefit from their action.
Except, once again, David does not reward the assassins. Essentially, David says, “When God is on your side, why would you need to resort to killing a righteous man, even if he opposes you, even if he makes himself your enemy?” David didn’t do this to anyone in the house of Saul, despite his many opportunities. He doesn’t plan to reward anyone who does. Instead the punishment is swift and final.
Racial and ethnic hatred are horrible; eventually hatred and its consequences oppress both peoples involved in it. These kill those, and those kill these, and the growing hate fuels the deadly people-killing machine. The verdict of David has not settled the score between the Benjaminites and Gibeonites; we have not heard the last of this ethnic conflict.
Unfortunately this kind of conflict surrounds us in our world today, too. Do we believe that killing the people who hate us will stop people from hating us? Or will the killing only create even more people who hate us, only justly so?
Doesn’t David give an amazing and godly clue to the path to peace? Doesn’t he show the people of his time and ours the way through our conflict? “When God is on your side, why would you need to resort to killing a righteous man, even if he opposes you, even if he makes himself your enemy?” God is our security, not the sword. God raises up and takes down governments, not us.
Love others. Trust God.
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:18-21 - NRSV
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest. They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring."
David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when the one who told me, 'See, Saul is dead,' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag — this was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?" So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.
2 Samuel 4 – NRSV
The Israelites made a promise to the Gibeonites. True, the Gibeonites tricked them into it, but nonetheless the Israelites agreed not to wipe them out (Josh 9). “Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 21:2-3 – NRSV). So, when Baanah and Recab, two Gibeonites from Beeroth have the opportunity to get back at the house of Saul, they take it. They think that they will be heroes to their people and favorites of the new king who will benefit from their action.
Except, once again, David does not reward the assassins. Essentially, David says, “When God is on your side, why would you need to resort to killing a righteous man, even if he opposes you, even if he makes himself your enemy?” David didn’t do this to anyone in the house of Saul, despite his many opportunities. He doesn’t plan to reward anyone who does. Instead the punishment is swift and final.
Racial and ethnic hatred are horrible; eventually hatred and its consequences oppress both peoples involved in it. These kill those, and those kill these, and the growing hate fuels the deadly people-killing machine. The verdict of David has not settled the score between the Benjaminites and Gibeonites; we have not heard the last of this ethnic conflict.
Unfortunately this kind of conflict surrounds us in our world today, too. Do we believe that killing the people who hate us will stop people from hating us? Or will the killing only create even more people who hate us, only justly so?
Doesn’t David give an amazing and godly clue to the path to peace? Doesn’t he show the people of his time and ours the way through our conflict? “When God is on your side, why would you need to resort to killing a righteous man, even if he opposes you, even if he makes himself your enemy?” God is our security, not the sword. God raises up and takes down governments, not us.
Love others. Trust God.
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:18-21 - NRSV
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Discerning motives ...
Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." And King David followed the bier. They buried Abner at Hebron. The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. The king lamented for Abner, saying,
"Should Abner die as a fool dies?
Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered;
as one falls before the wicked
you have fallen."
And all the people wept over him again. Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, "So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!" All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people.
So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!"
2 Sa 3:31-39 – NRSV
In times of great injustice, in times of unspeakable tragedy, leaders must send clear messages. There is no room for ambiguity. There is no place for misunderstanding. Sentences must be simple. Words must be clear. Actions must be both. Words and actions must agree.
David gives simple and clear instructions to his people, and specifically to Joab, the cause of all of this trouble. There are symbols: sackcloth, a bier, a tomb. There is ritual: tearing clothes, mourning, marching, burying. Words are spoken and tears are shed. Not only is there grief, but also there is a sincerity in that grief, at least for David. Sincerity that distances David from Joab. David can wrap Joab in sackcloth, but not sorrow.
Then there is lament. David lifts Abner up as one who is wise, not a fool. David tells the people that this valiant warrior deserved to die in battle, or as a captive of his enemies, but not as a helpless victim of the wicked. The unnamed, but not unknown, wicked one, Joab. David creates more distance from Joab. And then there are more tears.
Meals are common to funerals in many cultures, and it is no different here. Yet David will not eat. He will fast; he will not let go of his mourning until the evening comes. The people are satisfied that David is sincere. This sincerity makes the idea that he had anything to do with plotting the death of Abner seem unlikely, perhaps even unbelievable.
After David retires to be with his personal staff, David’s complaints are more pointed. Those sons of my sister: Joab and Abishai. They are the problem. David, as king, does not have to take revenge on Joab for killing Abner; he could apply law and justice. Instead, he decides to put Joab into the hands of God.
Up until this point in the narrative, David’s sorrow seems real. Yet the notion that Joab could continue to serve as general of the king’s armies sounds a note that seems out of tune with the chords of David’s grief. Is David really that weak? Is Joab really that strong? Is David really that concerned that revenge belongs to the Lord?
I don’t know if David was innocent or guilty. To me, Abner’s death appears to have set David back a considerable length of time. Some, though, make a strong case that Abner was more predictable as an enemy than as an ally. He could have been trouble for David’s young dynasty. In reality, it may be that only God, David, and Joab know the truth.
Do we understand the dilemma here? Human beings gauge the motives, the actions, and the character of other human beings from such small clues, many of which can be taken more than one way. From this person’s perspective, David is innocent. From another person’s perspective, David is guilty.
Humans make these judgments about each other’s behaviors every day. What did Ron mean by that devotional? Was it really a coincidence that he talked about that text today? Why did he choose that word? Why did he not use this obvious idea? Did he think that …
On and on we go every day. The best of us, communicating in the clearest of terms, have the best of our actions misunderstood. Even God is misunderstood. “Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize [Jesus] or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him (Acts 13:27-28). A part of human and divine suffering is being misunderstood, even by those who love us.
This pain ought to warn us of the dangers of being quick to judge. This is especially true with children. It is so easy to misread the clues, to misstep in our interpretations, and to misjudge guilt or innocence. It is frighteningly easy to bring trauma instead of justice. This difficulty in knowing how we know what we know (epistemology) is a good reason to be careful in assigning consequences and to avoid exacting revenge altogether. This difficulty in knowing with absolute certainty is a compelling reason to prayerfully discern these situations in community, thus gaining the power of multiple perspectives.
May God give us the wisdom to discern wisely, and together.
Ron
"Should Abner die as a fool dies?
Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered;
as one falls before the wicked
you have fallen."
And all the people wept over him again. Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, "So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!" All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people.
So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!"
2 Sa 3:31-39 – NRSV
In times of great injustice, in times of unspeakable tragedy, leaders must send clear messages. There is no room for ambiguity. There is no place for misunderstanding. Sentences must be simple. Words must be clear. Actions must be both. Words and actions must agree.
David gives simple and clear instructions to his people, and specifically to Joab, the cause of all of this trouble. There are symbols: sackcloth, a bier, a tomb. There is ritual: tearing clothes, mourning, marching, burying. Words are spoken and tears are shed. Not only is there grief, but also there is a sincerity in that grief, at least for David. Sincerity that distances David from Joab. David can wrap Joab in sackcloth, but not sorrow.
Then there is lament. David lifts Abner up as one who is wise, not a fool. David tells the people that this valiant warrior deserved to die in battle, or as a captive of his enemies, but not as a helpless victim of the wicked. The unnamed, but not unknown, wicked one, Joab. David creates more distance from Joab. And then there are more tears.
Meals are common to funerals in many cultures, and it is no different here. Yet David will not eat. He will fast; he will not let go of his mourning until the evening comes. The people are satisfied that David is sincere. This sincerity makes the idea that he had anything to do with plotting the death of Abner seem unlikely, perhaps even unbelievable.
After David retires to be with his personal staff, David’s complaints are more pointed. Those sons of my sister: Joab and Abishai. They are the problem. David, as king, does not have to take revenge on Joab for killing Abner; he could apply law and justice. Instead, he decides to put Joab into the hands of God.
Up until this point in the narrative, David’s sorrow seems real. Yet the notion that Joab could continue to serve as general of the king’s armies sounds a note that seems out of tune with the chords of David’s grief. Is David really that weak? Is Joab really that strong? Is David really that concerned that revenge belongs to the Lord?
I don’t know if David was innocent or guilty. To me, Abner’s death appears to have set David back a considerable length of time. Some, though, make a strong case that Abner was more predictable as an enemy than as an ally. He could have been trouble for David’s young dynasty. In reality, it may be that only God, David, and Joab know the truth.
Do we understand the dilemma here? Human beings gauge the motives, the actions, and the character of other human beings from such small clues, many of which can be taken more than one way. From this person’s perspective, David is innocent. From another person’s perspective, David is guilty.
Humans make these judgments about each other’s behaviors every day. What did Ron mean by that devotional? Was it really a coincidence that he talked about that text today? Why did he choose that word? Why did he not use this obvious idea? Did he think that …
On and on we go every day. The best of us, communicating in the clearest of terms, have the best of our actions misunderstood. Even God is misunderstood. “Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize [Jesus] or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him (Acts 13:27-28). A part of human and divine suffering is being misunderstood, even by those who love us.
This pain ought to warn us of the dangers of being quick to judge. This is especially true with children. It is so easy to misread the clues, to misstep in our interpretations, and to misjudge guilt or innocence. It is frighteningly easy to bring trauma instead of justice. This difficulty in knowing how we know what we know (epistemology) is a good reason to be careful in assigning consequences and to avoid exacting revenge altogether. This difficulty in knowing with absolute certainty is a compelling reason to prayerfully discern these situations in community, thus gaining the power of multiple perspectives.
May God give us the wisdom to discern wisely, and together.
Ron
Monday, April 27, 2009
A dish served up cold ...
David has carefully negotiated peace with Abner and the various tribes associated with Israel. In peace, he sends Abner back to finish the detail work that will bring an end to the civil war and unite Israel and Judah under David as king.
Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace. When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace."
Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away? You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing."
When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother.
Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner son of Ner. May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!" So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
2 Samuel 3:22-30 – NRSV
Did David send Joab out on a raid knowing that Joab would be opposed to negotiating a peace with Abner? Perhaps. It could be that David’s concerns were simpler: fear that Joab would kill Abner if they met face to face. If that is what David worried about, he turned out to be right. Yet in Joab’s absence, Abner and David negotiate a peace, negotiate power, and, some think, negotiate a position for Abner within David’s cabinet.
Joab just misses Abner. Joab rants at David as if he were some sort of political simpleton. David is not a fool, Abner is not a spy. The problem is that Joab desires what David does not.
But Abner can only get a couple of miles away from Hebron before Joab’s messengers catch up. The messengers claim to have been sent by David, not Joab. They lie. They claim to have peaceful purposes. They do not. So Abner comes to Joab believing that Joab delivers an important message of peace from David. He does not. Joab delivers a knife.
In the stomach. As Abner strikes Asahel, so Joab strikes Abner. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. Yet Asahel had warning; Asahel was a casualty of battle. Abner had no warning; Abner was a victim of cold-blooded murder, of revenge served up cold.
Joab wins his revenge, but loses his king’s carefully-negotiated peace. Joab adds to his reputation, but gives his lord a bad name that some still believe to this day: he is a dangerous manipulator who assassinates his enemies. Joab keeps his job as general of the armies safe from Abner, but he nearly costs David his rightful title of king over all the children of Israel.
Is David angry? I believe so. David calls down upon the house of Joab every nasty consequence that he can contemplate for a warrior: venereal disease, leprosy, effeminacy, failure in battle, and poverty. David separates himself from Joab’s actions and calls for the blood of Abner to be “a storm” over the head of Joab.
We might be ready to applaud David’s justice until we consider one simple question. Have we ever chosen our own purposes over the purposes of our Lord? His purposes for unity, for inclusion, for peace. His purposes for our actions, our speech, our thought.
We can choose to ignore the purposes of our Lord, but if we do, we need to remember that it can bring about two consequences: (1) separation from him and from his ongoing mission in this world, and (2) abandonment to the natural consequences of our disobedience.
Instead, let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ (Php 2:5).
Dear Lord, and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives, thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust, like those who heard,
Beside the Syrian Sea,
The gracious calling of Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow thee.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease,
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
- John G. Whittier
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace. When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace."
Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away? You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing."
When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother.
Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner son of Ner. May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!" So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
2 Samuel 3:22-30 – NRSV
Did David send Joab out on a raid knowing that Joab would be opposed to negotiating a peace with Abner? Perhaps. It could be that David’s concerns were simpler: fear that Joab would kill Abner if they met face to face. If that is what David worried about, he turned out to be right. Yet in Joab’s absence, Abner and David negotiate a peace, negotiate power, and, some think, negotiate a position for Abner within David’s cabinet.
Joab just misses Abner. Joab rants at David as if he were some sort of political simpleton. David is not a fool, Abner is not a spy. The problem is that Joab desires what David does not.
But Abner can only get a couple of miles away from Hebron before Joab’s messengers catch up. The messengers claim to have been sent by David, not Joab. They lie. They claim to have peaceful purposes. They do not. So Abner comes to Joab believing that Joab delivers an important message of peace from David. He does not. Joab delivers a knife.
In the stomach. As Abner strikes Asahel, so Joab strikes Abner. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. Yet Asahel had warning; Asahel was a casualty of battle. Abner had no warning; Abner was a victim of cold-blooded murder, of revenge served up cold.
Joab wins his revenge, but loses his king’s carefully-negotiated peace. Joab adds to his reputation, but gives his lord a bad name that some still believe to this day: he is a dangerous manipulator who assassinates his enemies. Joab keeps his job as general of the armies safe from Abner, but he nearly costs David his rightful title of king over all the children of Israel.
Is David angry? I believe so. David calls down upon the house of Joab every nasty consequence that he can contemplate for a warrior: venereal disease, leprosy, effeminacy, failure in battle, and poverty. David separates himself from Joab’s actions and calls for the blood of Abner to be “a storm” over the head of Joab.
We might be ready to applaud David’s justice until we consider one simple question. Have we ever chosen our own purposes over the purposes of our Lord? His purposes for unity, for inclusion, for peace. His purposes for our actions, our speech, our thought.
We can choose to ignore the purposes of our Lord, but if we do, we need to remember that it can bring about two consequences: (1) separation from him and from his ongoing mission in this world, and (2) abandonment to the natural consequences of our disobedience.
Instead, let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ (Php 2:5).
Dear Lord, and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives, thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust, like those who heard,
Beside the Syrian Sea,
The gracious calling of Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow thee.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease,
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
- John G. Whittier
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Friday, April 24, 2009
Right thing, wrong reason
Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and I will give you my support to bring all Israel over to you."
He said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to see me." Then David sent messengers to Saul's son Ishbaal, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines."
Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back home!" So he went back.
Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies." Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.
When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. Abner said to David, "Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.
2 Samuel 3:12-21 – NRSV
Abner is doing the right thing. He is seeing to it that Israel makes peace with David, so that Israel and Judah may be united under one king. A king that the Lord has promised. A king that God will use to save his people from their enemies.
Yet Abner isn’t really doing this for the right reasons, is he? In the confrontation with Ishbaal he decides to give the kingdom to David just to prove that he could do it. Now Abner, “owner” of this land tells David that he will give him his land and his support. Finally, Abner tells Israel’s elders that he’s doing this because the Lord has already endorsed the kingship of David.
If that’s really the reason, then why did it take him so long to act on the fact? Abner does this because he suspects he has a better chance now to maintain his power by shifting to David’s side. Abner’s plan is really not righteous obedience to the will of God, but a sophisticated way to move and maintain power.
David has an interesting condition to the offer of diplomacy. Before he will negotiate with Abner, David demands the return of his first wife, Michal. Michal, the daughter of Saul. Michal who loved David. Saul demanded 100 Philistine foreskins as her bride price, but David paid 200 to Saul instead. After David’s escape from Saul, Saul remarried her to Paltiel. Now David wants her back. Yet this demand for Michal’s return is more than regaining a relationship that was dearly and dangerously purchased. It is a power move to reclaim a familial connection with the house of Saul and the tribe of Benjamin.
So Michal must leave a man who loves her, and Paltiel must suffer a pathetically broken heart. What is sad is that David never says, “Send to me Michal, whom I love.” Once again, one of our characters appears to be doing the right thing for the wrong reason. Yet a careful reader of the law (Deut 24:1-4) would doubt that David is obeying the law by remarrying a woman who has been married to another man. Wrong move, wrong reason.
We run into this a lot, don’t we? People who do the right thing for the wrong reason. People who do the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes even people with the right reasons end up doing the wrong thing.
We want something more. We want to do the right things for the right reasons. For us, it is not enough, for example, to worship God (the right thing); we want to worship God in Spirit and truth (the right reason). This is what we want, but it’s not easy to do all of time, is it?
In reality, our decisions tend to be a mixed bag: some right and wrong acts, some right and wrong reasons. Our challenge, though, is to honestly evaluate our thinking and action so as to become pure in heart. May God help us to make it so.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Ron
He said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to see me." Then David sent messengers to Saul's son Ishbaal, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines."
Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back home!" So he went back.
Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies." Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.
When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. Abner said to David, "Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.
2 Samuel 3:12-21 – NRSV
Abner is doing the right thing. He is seeing to it that Israel makes peace with David, so that Israel and Judah may be united under one king. A king that the Lord has promised. A king that God will use to save his people from their enemies.
Yet Abner isn’t really doing this for the right reasons, is he? In the confrontation with Ishbaal he decides to give the kingdom to David just to prove that he could do it. Now Abner, “owner” of this land tells David that he will give him his land and his support. Finally, Abner tells Israel’s elders that he’s doing this because the Lord has already endorsed the kingship of David.
If that’s really the reason, then why did it take him so long to act on the fact? Abner does this because he suspects he has a better chance now to maintain his power by shifting to David’s side. Abner’s plan is really not righteous obedience to the will of God, but a sophisticated way to move and maintain power.
David has an interesting condition to the offer of diplomacy. Before he will negotiate with Abner, David demands the return of his first wife, Michal. Michal, the daughter of Saul. Michal who loved David. Saul demanded 100 Philistine foreskins as her bride price, but David paid 200 to Saul instead. After David’s escape from Saul, Saul remarried her to Paltiel. Now David wants her back. Yet this demand for Michal’s return is more than regaining a relationship that was dearly and dangerously purchased. It is a power move to reclaim a familial connection with the house of Saul and the tribe of Benjamin.
So Michal must leave a man who loves her, and Paltiel must suffer a pathetically broken heart. What is sad is that David never says, “Send to me Michal, whom I love.” Once again, one of our characters appears to be doing the right thing for the wrong reason. Yet a careful reader of the law (Deut 24:1-4) would doubt that David is obeying the law by remarrying a woman who has been married to another man. Wrong move, wrong reason.
We run into this a lot, don’t we? People who do the right thing for the wrong reason. People who do the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes even people with the right reasons end up doing the wrong thing.
We want something more. We want to do the right things for the right reasons. For us, it is not enough, for example, to worship God (the right thing); we want to worship God in Spirit and truth (the right reason). This is what we want, but it’s not easy to do all of time, is it?
In reality, our decisions tend to be a mixed bag: some right and wrong acts, some right and wrong reasons. Our challenge, though, is to honestly evaluate our thinking and action so as to become pure in heart. May God help us to make it so.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Ron
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Power and accountability ...
There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.
Sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?"
The words of Ishbaal made Abner very angry; he said, "Am I a dog's head for Judah? Today I keep showing loyalty to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me now with a crime concerning this woman. So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it! For just what the Lord has sworn to David, that will I accomplish for him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba."
And Ishbaal could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
2 Samuel 3:1-11 - NRSV
After the death of Saul and the beginning of the civil war, the inevitable comes to pass: David’s house gains power while Saul’s house loses it. This transition is symbolized by the wives and sons of the two families. Each of David’s growing list of wives represent an alliance of power: political, military, or financial. Most of David’s wives produce an heir potential for the throne of Judah. Meanwhile, Saul’s enemies have killed many of Saul’s sons, and his friends have proven the survivors to be weaklings. Saul’s women are in enough jeopardy to seek alliances wherever they can. David’s growing power versus Saul’s diminishing strength.
What power remains in the house of Saul has been swallowed up by Abner. Since Abner’s power put Ishbaal into power, Ishbaal hasn’t complained about it. Not until now.
When kings died or experienced defeat, the new power figure would often take the wives and concubines of the old king into his harem. Thus the power that went with the alliances represented by these marriages went these women. For anybody else to sleep with the wife or concubine of a king is blatantly subversive. If Ishbaal is right, this sex is not about celebration or procreation; it is about power. Ishbaal accuses Abner, not just of sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, but of rebelling against Ishbaal to the extent of beginning to act like the king of Israel himself.
If we listen to Abner carefully, we never hear him deny his relationship with Rizpah. He is adamant, though, that this was done neither to claim the throne for himself, nor to give it to David. The relationship is personal, not political. Essentially, Abner says, ”You think that I’m giving the throne to David? I’ll show you what it looks like to give the throne to David!” And so he does it. Ishbaal is so weak that he can do absolutely nothing to stop the transfer of Israel’s loyalty from the house of Saul to David.
Abner’s moves are all about power. He moves to take power that others can’t keep or handle. He uses the power for his own loyalties and purposes with absolute disregard for the lives or happiness of his pawns. Then he refuses to be accountable to anyone for his use of that power. Even if we grant Abner’s assertion that his relationship with Rizpah had nothing to do with the throne, Abner not only asserted his power to do whatever he wanted, even in the Ishbaal’s house, but he also told Ishbaal that he was accountable to no one for how he used that power. It’s all about Abner.
Fortunately none of us have issues with power. Right? None of us are a part of systems where other human beings have lost powerful supporting figures from their lives. None of us would ever be tempted to use our huge power differential over those less powerful people in our little worlds, would we? Surely we do things that are right for our house, and everyone in our whole house, and we don’t just do the things that please our obsessive-compulsive characters, right? We’re more concerned with boys discovering ways to deal with the difficulties of life for themselves than we’re worried about maintaining control. Isn’t that so?
Well, if it is so, it is because we have chosen to make ourselves accountable for the power that is in our hands. Accountable to God, the source of all power. Accountable to our peers, who best understand the kinds of power we possess and who can best assess whether or not our use of power is empowering or oppressive. Accountable to our boys, who ought to be able to breathe, who ought to have enough power in their lives to set some boundaries for us, too.
Let’s use our power like Jesus – emptying ourselves of the impulse to use power for ourselves, and instead, using it for others. And let’s allow others to hold us accountable for that use of it. Then we will truly have justice and peace in our little world.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?"
The words of Ishbaal made Abner very angry; he said, "Am I a dog's head for Judah? Today I keep showing loyalty to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me now with a crime concerning this woman. So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it! For just what the Lord has sworn to David, that will I accomplish for him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba."
And Ishbaal could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
2 Samuel 3:1-11 - NRSV
After the death of Saul and the beginning of the civil war, the inevitable comes to pass: David’s house gains power while Saul’s house loses it. This transition is symbolized by the wives and sons of the two families. Each of David’s growing list of wives represent an alliance of power: political, military, or financial. Most of David’s wives produce an heir potential for the throne of Judah. Meanwhile, Saul’s enemies have killed many of Saul’s sons, and his friends have proven the survivors to be weaklings. Saul’s women are in enough jeopardy to seek alliances wherever they can. David’s growing power versus Saul’s diminishing strength.
What power remains in the house of Saul has been swallowed up by Abner. Since Abner’s power put Ishbaal into power, Ishbaal hasn’t complained about it. Not until now.
When kings died or experienced defeat, the new power figure would often take the wives and concubines of the old king into his harem. Thus the power that went with the alliances represented by these marriages went these women. For anybody else to sleep with the wife or concubine of a king is blatantly subversive. If Ishbaal is right, this sex is not about celebration or procreation; it is about power. Ishbaal accuses Abner, not just of sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, but of rebelling against Ishbaal to the extent of beginning to act like the king of Israel himself.
If we listen to Abner carefully, we never hear him deny his relationship with Rizpah. He is adamant, though, that this was done neither to claim the throne for himself, nor to give it to David. The relationship is personal, not political. Essentially, Abner says, ”You think that I’m giving the throne to David? I’ll show you what it looks like to give the throne to David!” And so he does it. Ishbaal is so weak that he can do absolutely nothing to stop the transfer of Israel’s loyalty from the house of Saul to David.
Abner’s moves are all about power. He moves to take power that others can’t keep or handle. He uses the power for his own loyalties and purposes with absolute disregard for the lives or happiness of his pawns. Then he refuses to be accountable to anyone for his use of that power. Even if we grant Abner’s assertion that his relationship with Rizpah had nothing to do with the throne, Abner not only asserted his power to do whatever he wanted, even in the Ishbaal’s house, but he also told Ishbaal that he was accountable to no one for how he used that power. It’s all about Abner.
Fortunately none of us have issues with power. Right? None of us are a part of systems where other human beings have lost powerful supporting figures from their lives. None of us would ever be tempted to use our huge power differential over those less powerful people in our little worlds, would we? Surely we do things that are right for our house, and everyone in our whole house, and we don’t just do the things that please our obsessive-compulsive characters, right? We’re more concerned with boys discovering ways to deal with the difficulties of life for themselves than we’re worried about maintaining control. Isn’t that so?
Well, if it is so, it is because we have chosen to make ourselves accountable for the power that is in our hands. Accountable to God, the source of all power. Accountable to our peers, who best understand the kinds of power we possess and who can best assess whether or not our use of power is empowering or oppressive. Accountable to our boys, who ought to be able to breathe, who ought to have enough power in their lives to set some boundaries for us, too.
Let’s use our power like Jesus – emptying ourselves of the impulse to use power for ourselves, and instead, using it for others. And let’s allow others to hold us accountable for that use of it. Then we will truly have justice and peace in our little world.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Do the right thing ...
After this David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?"
The Lord said to him, "Go up."
David said, "To which shall I go up?"
He said, "To Hebron."
So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron. Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, "It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul," David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, "May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him! Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing. Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
2 Sa 2:1-7 - NRSV
When it came to the big moves in his life, David had learned not to completely trust his own judgment. He inquired of the Lord. So the priest would pull out the Urrim and Thummim, and he would do whatever it was that he did to obtain answers from the divine. Once David had the answer, he enacted it. You do what is right, with no other justification required. Action, without hesitation.
When David arrives in Hebron, he learns that the people of Jabesh-gilead have done a very brave and righteous thing. After the Philistines killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, they returned to cut Saul’s head off, put his armor in their temple and mount his body, and his sons’ bodies, on the wall of Beth Shan. This was both shameful and horrible to the Israelites. When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about this, they were convicted. As a community they decided to right this wrong.
So, in a courageous raid, the men of Jabesh-gilead marched all night to Beth Shan, stole the decomposing bodies from the wall and brought them back to Jabesh. They burned the bodies, gathered the bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Where is a respectful place? Where does the king sit as judge? Under the well-known tree in a community.
Many people would not risk the danger to rescue people who are still alive. The citizens of Jabesh knew this well. Years earlier, Nahash the Ammonite had besieged Jabesh offering them their choice of death, or making a treaty which required their right eye to be gouged out - most often the dominant eye of an archer or the one who carried the sling. Nobody would come to rescue them, even though they were alive, well, and willing to fight alongside their rescuers. No one, except Saul. Saul gathered up an army within seven days, raced across Israel, defeated Nahash, and freed Jabesh.
Saul didn’t do it because it seemed reasonable. You do what is right, with no other justification required.
The people of Jabesh didn’t need an excuse to go rescue the bodies of Saul and his sons. You do what is right, with no other justification required.
This last week, many of our neighbors in Oklahoma and Texas suffered from horrible range fires that swept across huge expanses of land at unbelievable speed. They lost grass, hay, fences, horses, cattle, barns, and houses, too. It is a gift from God that some of them were able to get themselves out of the fire alive. After the fire, they are now working hard to restore their farms and ranches to some form of normalcy. So to pray for them would be a good thing. But real righteousness is coupling action with prayer.
Independently, Burl and Doug came to me. Burl wanted to haul our excess clothing for children from our clothes closet to Sunset, TX to clothe children there who didn’t have any left. He took some groceries, too, to help tide their families over for a bit. Doug gathered up a semi-trailer load of hay and took it to Blanchard, OK, where horses and cattle were literally starving. The hay that he took will help tide them over until these ranchers’ hay can get up high enough to swath and bale. Neither one did this for the public to find out. And we’re not going to brag about it outside our community.
You do what is right, no justification required. Action coupled with prayer, without hesitation.
Blessings,
Ron
The Lord said to him, "Go up."
David said, "To which shall I go up?"
He said, "To Hebron."
So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron. Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, "It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul," David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, "May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him! Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing. Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
2 Sa 2:1-7 - NRSV
When it came to the big moves in his life, David had learned not to completely trust his own judgment. He inquired of the Lord. So the priest would pull out the Urrim and Thummim, and he would do whatever it was that he did to obtain answers from the divine. Once David had the answer, he enacted it. You do what is right, with no other justification required. Action, without hesitation.
When David arrives in Hebron, he learns that the people of Jabesh-gilead have done a very brave and righteous thing. After the Philistines killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, they returned to cut Saul’s head off, put his armor in their temple and mount his body, and his sons’ bodies, on the wall of Beth Shan. This was both shameful and horrible to the Israelites. When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about this, they were convicted. As a community they decided to right this wrong.
So, in a courageous raid, the men of Jabesh-gilead marched all night to Beth Shan, stole the decomposing bodies from the wall and brought them back to Jabesh. They burned the bodies, gathered the bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Where is a respectful place? Where does the king sit as judge? Under the well-known tree in a community.
Many people would not risk the danger to rescue people who are still alive. The citizens of Jabesh knew this well. Years earlier, Nahash the Ammonite had besieged Jabesh offering them their choice of death, or making a treaty which required their right eye to be gouged out - most often the dominant eye of an archer or the one who carried the sling. Nobody would come to rescue them, even though they were alive, well, and willing to fight alongside their rescuers. No one, except Saul. Saul gathered up an army within seven days, raced across Israel, defeated Nahash, and freed Jabesh.
Saul didn’t do it because it seemed reasonable. You do what is right, with no other justification required.
The people of Jabesh didn’t need an excuse to go rescue the bodies of Saul and his sons. You do what is right, with no other justification required.
This last week, many of our neighbors in Oklahoma and Texas suffered from horrible range fires that swept across huge expanses of land at unbelievable speed. They lost grass, hay, fences, horses, cattle, barns, and houses, too. It is a gift from God that some of them were able to get themselves out of the fire alive. After the fire, they are now working hard to restore their farms and ranches to some form of normalcy. So to pray for them would be a good thing. But real righteousness is coupling action with prayer.
Independently, Burl and Doug came to me. Burl wanted to haul our excess clothing for children from our clothes closet to Sunset, TX to clothe children there who didn’t have any left. He took some groceries, too, to help tide their families over for a bit. Doug gathered up a semi-trailer load of hay and took it to Blanchard, OK, where horses and cattle were literally starving. The hay that he took will help tide them over until these ranchers’ hay can get up high enough to swath and bale. Neither one did this for the public to find out. And we’re not going to brag about it outside our community.
You do what is right, no justification required. Action coupled with prayer, without hesitation.
Blessings,
Ron
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Song of the Bow ...
David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.
You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul.
2 Samuel 1:17-24 – NRSV
David excelled at poetry and singing before he became king. So it is only natural that at a time of sorrow that he would turn to his strengths to express the depth of his feelings. Although there is a certain amount of irony in this lament, I don’t believe that such was David’s intent.
David remembers the good, the strength in these two men. He cannot have forgotten the painful politics, the random raids, the chases through the desert wilderness, or the sound of Saul’s spear shaft singing past his ear. Yet David does not sing about the famous spear of Saul. He celebrates his fonder memories: the mighty warrior, the relentless foe, their speed and strength in battle. Remembering the loss of Saul and Jonathan brings to mind the true enemies of God’s people, not the squabbles between them.
How will your survivors remember you? What images will come to mind when your spouse, your children, the boys, or your co-workers remember you? What will be the weapons, the tools, the instruments that they remember in your hands? Just as it is too late to speak the unspoken to someone who has died, it is too late to change the image that our survivors have of us, even in that last eulogy.
Think about it.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.
You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul.
2 Samuel 1:17-24 – NRSV
David excelled at poetry and singing before he became king. So it is only natural that at a time of sorrow that he would turn to his strengths to express the depth of his feelings. Although there is a certain amount of irony in this lament, I don’t believe that such was David’s intent.
David remembers the good, the strength in these two men. He cannot have forgotten the painful politics, the random raids, the chases through the desert wilderness, or the sound of Saul’s spear shaft singing past his ear. Yet David does not sing about the famous spear of Saul. He celebrates his fonder memories: the mighty warrior, the relentless foe, their speed and strength in battle. Remembering the loss of Saul and Jonathan brings to mind the true enemies of God’s people, not the squabbles between them.
How will your survivors remember you? What images will come to mind when your spouse, your children, the boys, or your co-workers remember you? What will be the weapons, the tools, the instruments that they remember in your hands? Just as it is too late to speak the unspoken to someone who has died, it is too late to change the image that our survivors have of us, even in that last eulogy.
Think about it.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wrong place, wrong time ...
Hear the word of God:
When David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David said to him, "Where have you come from?"
He said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."
David said to him, "How did things go? Tell me!"
"The army fled from the battle, many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died."
David asked, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?"
"I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear … He said to me, 'Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.' So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
David said to the young man, "Where do you come from?"
He answered, "I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite."
David said to him, "Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" Then David called one of the young men and said, "Come here and strike him down."
2 Samuel 1:1-16 – NRSV
You have to wonder, what did this young Amalekite expect from David? Did he expect to be congratulated for living through such a brutal battle? Did he hope to be considered compassionate because he administered the coup de grace to a suffering king? Or did he believe that the surviving competitor for the crown of Israel would reward him for bearing the news and the crown?
Whatever he thought, he was wrong.
It’s not as if David killed the messenger for bringing bad news. David executed the Amalekite for doing the very thing that he had resisted doing for some time; killing King Saul so that he could claim the throne for himself. David was furious.
It’s not as if David had been having a great week. He’d been living in Philistine territory for a while now, hiding out from Saul. David was the right hand man of one of the Philistine kings, but most of the Philistines thought that he was a crazy man. He ought to know; he did his best to convince them of that.
So when the five Philistine kings set out to destroy Saul, David was in a hard place. Would he fight as a traitor against his people, or would his new masters discover his lack of loyalty and take his life? After they sort it all out, the kings go to fight Saul, and David gets sent back home to the women and children in Ziglag.
Only they’re not there. It seems that some Amalekites have come, stolen his property and livestock, and kidnapped his wives and children. Yeah, that’s right: Amalekites. Land pirates from way back in the time when Moses and the newly-freed Israelites wandered in the wilderness. (Some think that, over the years, they migrated to Somalia and learned how to sail ships …)
When his men discover what has happened, they want to do to David what Saul has been thinking about for years. But he manages to shut them up, band them together, and go fight a battle to reclaim what belongs to them. Only to have to put down another rebellion to make certain that all of the stuff was given back to its original owners, and not just the endurance athletes.
So he gets home to a burned-out city, gets a night’s sleep and then wakes up, only to find out that the king he who used to sing to sleep, and the friend who was closer than any brother, are dead. Yes, David is angry.
But is the anger really about Amalekites, or young men that claim to kill kings? (Read 1 Sam 31:1-6 and see if you think the Amalekite is a murder or a liar…) I don’t think that’s what all of the anger is about.
I believe that David is angry because David knew that David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This won’t be the last time that this happens, but this is a particularly painful time for it to happen. David is on the wrong side with the wrong people fighting the wrong battle, and now he has terrible evidence of that reality. The only person David ever trusted besides his God is now dead. Jonathan is gone. Discovering that we’ve made a mistake may put us in a murderous mood, but anger can’t fix our problems. It can only signal to us that we have a problem.
Sometimes our anger rises, but not because someone else has been a fool. Sometimes our anger rises because we have been a fool, and we really don’t want to admit it. Or deal with it.
The next time we feel angry, what is that anger telling us? Are our expectations of someone else disappointed, or have we disappointed ourselves? Let’s keep our swords in their sheaths until we figure it out.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
When David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David said to him, "Where have you come from?"
He said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."
David said to him, "How did things go? Tell me!"
"The army fled from the battle, many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died."
David asked, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?"
"I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear … He said to me, 'Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.' So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
David said to the young man, "Where do you come from?"
He answered, "I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite."
David said to him, "Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" Then David called one of the young men and said, "Come here and strike him down."
2 Samuel 1:1-16 – NRSV
You have to wonder, what did this young Amalekite expect from David? Did he expect to be congratulated for living through such a brutal battle? Did he hope to be considered compassionate because he administered the coup de grace to a suffering king? Or did he believe that the surviving competitor for the crown of Israel would reward him for bearing the news and the crown?
Whatever he thought, he was wrong.
It’s not as if David killed the messenger for bringing bad news. David executed the Amalekite for doing the very thing that he had resisted doing for some time; killing King Saul so that he could claim the throne for himself. David was furious.
It’s not as if David had been having a great week. He’d been living in Philistine territory for a while now, hiding out from Saul. David was the right hand man of one of the Philistine kings, but most of the Philistines thought that he was a crazy man. He ought to know; he did his best to convince them of that.
So when the five Philistine kings set out to destroy Saul, David was in a hard place. Would he fight as a traitor against his people, or would his new masters discover his lack of loyalty and take his life? After they sort it all out, the kings go to fight Saul, and David gets sent back home to the women and children in Ziglag.
Only they’re not there. It seems that some Amalekites have come, stolen his property and livestock, and kidnapped his wives and children. Yeah, that’s right: Amalekites. Land pirates from way back in the time when Moses and the newly-freed Israelites wandered in the wilderness. (Some think that, over the years, they migrated to Somalia and learned how to sail ships …)
When his men discover what has happened, they want to do to David what Saul has been thinking about for years. But he manages to shut them up, band them together, and go fight a battle to reclaim what belongs to them. Only to have to put down another rebellion to make certain that all of the stuff was given back to its original owners, and not just the endurance athletes.
So he gets home to a burned-out city, gets a night’s sleep and then wakes up, only to find out that the king he who used to sing to sleep, and the friend who was closer than any brother, are dead. Yes, David is angry.
But is the anger really about Amalekites, or young men that claim to kill kings? (Read 1 Sam 31:1-6 and see if you think the Amalekite is a murder or a liar…) I don’t think that’s what all of the anger is about.
I believe that David is angry because David knew that David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This won’t be the last time that this happens, but this is a particularly painful time for it to happen. David is on the wrong side with the wrong people fighting the wrong battle, and now he has terrible evidence of that reality. The only person David ever trusted besides his God is now dead. Jonathan is gone. Discovering that we’ve made a mistake may put us in a murderous mood, but anger can’t fix our problems. It can only signal to us that we have a problem.
Sometimes our anger rises, but not because someone else has been a fool. Sometimes our anger rises because we have been a fool, and we really don’t want to admit it. Or deal with it.
The next time we feel angry, what is that anger telling us? Are our expectations of someone else disappointed, or have we disappointed ourselves? Let’s keep our swords in their sheaths until we figure it out.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
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