The Trials of a King - Chapter 12

We’ve all heard the story of David and Bathsheba. David is standing on top of his palace and looks out to see Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. Wait. Her rooftop? Where did we get that? I had always heard she was on her rooftop bathing promiscuously in clear view from David’s palace. Go back and read 2 Samuel 11:2-4 again.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

Where is David? The roof. Where is Bathsheba? It doesn’t say exactly where. What exactly is Bathsheba doing? Look at the parenthesis. She isn’t just simply enjoying a bath…in a premeditated place to gain David’s attention. In observance with Jewish law, she was bathing in what is called a mikveh for her monthly purification (you can learn more about the mikveh here). Bathsheba was doing what was required for purity while David was impure in his lust for her.

Some have said that Bathsheba was in the wrong because she should not have consented but we need to remember who David is and what position he held. David has abused his position as king. Bathsheba mourns for her husband when she learns of his death (11:26). Confronted by Nathan with a story, David is forced to examine himself in the mirror and face his sins. This is David’s lowest point. In what is by far his darkest moment, David pours out his heart to God. You can read his prayer in Psalm 51.

There are so many lessons that come out of this story. David holds a special position and therefore his actions come with greater consequences. This is why leaders in the church are held to a higher standard and judgements come more harshly when sexual scandals arise. With David’s sin came a severe punishment. There is something about David in this story that cannot be ignored though. How does David respond to sin? Does he give excuses like Saul? Does he place blame on Bathsheba? Does he rationalize his actions? No! He exposed his heart to God and asked for renewal. He confessed his sin before God and sought purity. When the consequences of his sins ended with the death of his son, he went to the house of the LORD and worshipped.

David, while flawed, continually sets an example of how one should respond to life’s situations. Even though Saul and Absalom both tried to kill David and he responds to each of their deaths with lament and mourning. It is difficult for many of us to separate ourselves from our selfish desires and lament the loss of life when the time comes. David was the greatest king Israel ever had, but one who is greater would come from his line (2 Samuel 7).

Next Sunday is celebrated as “Palm Sunday” in much of Christendom. Jesus comes to Jerusalem on a donkey and is celebrated as the king returning to his kingdom (Mt. 21:1-11). David, the one anointed by God, points to the Messiah, the Christ, THE Anointed one of God. The next week, April 16, we will celebrate Easter together. We will take time to step away from The Story readings to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior who sits on the throne forever!

From Shepherd to King - Chapter 11

David’s character and virtue are contrasted with Saul’s vice and downfall. David is insignificant to his family and to Israel. The opening scene of chapter 11 is Samuel going to Bethlehem in search of a new king. The prophet life must be a lonely one. The elders of Bethlehem trembled when they met Samuel asking if he has come in peace. The stage is set from the beginning as God says to Samuel, “Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

David was a “man after God’s own heart.” This doesn’t mean that God created him differently than he created Saul, or anyone else. He did not especially design him in the form of his own heart. David’s desire in life was God’s heart. Everything he did, was evaluated and viewed through the lens of God’s heart. He refuses to kill Saul because he was anointed by God even though Saul was trying to kill him. He danced in the streets in his underwear before the ark because he was so overcome by God’s glory. He waited on God’s timing for him to be king when he could have easily started a coup and led the people to overthrow Saul. He, even at a young age, refused to stand by and allow an uncircumcised Philistine to continue to defile the ranks of the LORD, God!

When reading the story of David and Goliath we can take it in a few different directions. On one hand, God’s power is manifested in the arm of David as he fell the giant with a rock from a sling. On the other, David used the abilities God blessed him with, which he developed over time, to bring honor God. The first telling of the story can quickly turn the narrative into a miraculous one of God intervening. The second telling is about recognizing the gifts you have developed and turning them toward God to bring Him honor. I believe the second telling deserves the greater emphasis. You have been blessed with talents and abilities. What are you doing to bring honor to God with them?

David points us to Christ in the kind of king he is. We’ll talk more next week about all the Davidic references to Jesus. David was not the perfect king but he did point to the perfect King. David killed Goliath. This is more than an underdog story. This is a story about how a life, that has been dedicated to following the heart of God, develops and strengthens to the point of standing off with a giant. With the conquering of Goliath, we know there will be other giants in David’s life. Christ stood before the Goliath called death and conquered it for good (1 Cor. 15:26).

Because Christ conquered death, the giants we face are diminished. As the body of Christ, we’ve been given power through the Holy Spirit to overcome the Goliaths in this world. While our minds quickly jump to the Goliaths we personally face (insecurity, worthiness, relationship issues, etc.), what does it look like for us as a church to look at the Goliaths of the world around us and work towards conquering them (race issues, poverty, broken families/marriages, hunger, etc.)?

As the Body of Christ, how do we come together and stand on the battle field before Goliath with confidence? Take time to read 1 Corinthians 12-13 at some point. This whole section is about unity in the Body of Christ. Here are verses 7-14:

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Your gifts are for the common good of the Body of Christ, the church. We are all baptized by the same Spirit so we are all part of the same Body. How are you developing your gifts so that Queen City church of Christ can be a stronger Body facing Goliath in our corner of Charlotte? How are you getting better acquainted with the other parts of the Body so that we are stronger together? Get involved with a Small Group, in a Bible class, host a game night, help with events, etc. Find ways to invest in the Body of Christ at QCC so that we can be stronger together and have confidence in the face of Goliath through the Holy Spirit.

Standing Tall Falling Hard - Chapter 10

We’re in the middle of March Madness which brings out a level of intensity in players as well as a level of…madness. Players and coaches alike do some crazy things to help them win. Roy Williams, the Tar Heels coach, will throw away his tie and often throw away the suit he was wearing after a loss. I read about a band member from Wisconsin who hasn’t changed any of his clothes since they won their first game in the tournament. I had a friend lock his sister in the bathroom because every time she came back in the living room their team would fall behind. Because they ended up winning the game (with her in the bathroom) he hasn’t watched a game with her since then. It is easy to laugh at superstition.

1 Samuel begins at the end of the time of the Judges. We’ve mentioned many times before about how bad Israel has gotten… “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” The reality is, they have always had a king but refuse to allow Him to be King. Israel is now in conflict with the Philistines and their relationship with God is probably more along superstition levels more than covenant. The Philistines beat them in battle so Israel is looking for what edge they have over them. The remember the ark and decide to march it into battle as a sort of good luck charm. God will not be manipulated. The ark is captured. God also refuses to be a token of war. While placed next to Dagon in his temple, God gives him a nudge and the Philistines find Dagon facedown bowing before the LORD the next day. After a plague of tumors, the Philistines send the ark back. God is not Israel’s trophy to be paraded by anyone!

It is easy to laugh at the ridiculousness of Israel but the reality is that we sometimes approach God in the same way. In our own tradition, we have exalted Scripture (or a certain way of reading Scripture) above God Himself. We have exalted “right worship” over God. I grew up with the debates dividing Christians into two camps, clapping and non-clapping. We’ve held up a lot of things that are not the LORD and we have placed them on the throne. The question we must always come back to: Do we only want God as our savior or do we want Him as the LORD of our lives?

This story about the ark of God illustrates powerfully that God will not be manipulated by your selfish desires. Shortly after this event, Israel asks Samuel for a king so they can be like all the other nations. This is not a rejection of Samuel but a rejection of God as their King. What are areas of your life where you have rejected God as King? Where do you put your hope and trust in something other than God? What are some areas of worship that you have treated like the Israelites treated the ark?

There is a lot more to talk about in this chapter so I’m just going to throw out some questions to ponder as you read:

-       How does Hannah’s prayer set the stage for the rest of 1&2 Samuel (Go read the whole thing)?

-       God back and read Deuteronomy 6:4-12. In your reading this week, where have you not seen this take place? What are the major implications of people not passing covenant relationship on to their children?

-       What are Saul’s character flaws?

-       Where do you identify with Saul? 

Ruth - Chapter 9

Ruth is such a wonderful story but we often miss the significance of this book; other than Ruth being in the lineage of David and Jesus. The story of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges and was possibly written by Samuel around the end of his life. While the events in the story are based on true events, the book of Ruth seems to be written as an allegory to shed light on Israel’s failings and open their eyes to who they are called to be. There is a lot of imagery going on in this story so I just want to hit some highlights that really stuck out to me.

Within the first five verses we see a description of Elimelech’s family falling from high stature to unfortunate strangers in a foreign land. Elimelech’s name paints a picture of what is to come for his family by the end of the story. His name means “may kingship come my way.” His sons, Mahlon (which means Sickness) and Kilion (meaning Decimation), marry Moabite women and then die (not right after marrying them but shortly after being mentioned in the text). It is probably safe to assume that their names were changed to give them literary symbolic value (There are two sons, Joash and Saraph, in 1 Chron. 4:22 who are listed to have married Moabite women. It is possible that these names were changed for the literary function of Ruth).

What imagery do you see taking place here? What might Samuel be communicating to Israel through this story at the end of his life? What can we learn today?

Placing this story within the context of the Judges points to the horrible position Israel placed herself in by not keeping covenant with The LORD. Symbolic nature of the names and events: they left their position with God, married Moabites (their gods), and therefore died. The symbolic nature of the allegory shifts to the purpose of Israel’s call to be a blessing to the world, or…redeem the world.

You’ve read the story so I’ll point out some more symbolic images. Two foreigners are left with Naomi when their husbands die. She warns that they will not be treated well by the Israelites because they are foreigners and sends them back to their people and their gods (1:15). Orpah turns away from Naomi and the Israelite people and heads home to Moab (Orpah’s name means “Back of the head” which is what she showed as she walked away). Ruth clings to Naomi and makes a claim of conversion, “Your people will be my people and your God my God” (1:16).

The question then becomes, what will happen to this foreigner who has decided to be a follower of God? This is where we are introduced to this ancient Israelite concept of the “Kinsman-Redeemer.” In short, the Kinsman-Redeemer is supposed to marry the closest relative’s widow in order to provide a male heir for the sake of carrying on the family line. Take a moment to look for the powerful imagery in Ruth 4:1-12.

The redeemer who is next of kin is happy and willing to cash in on the land that Naomi has for sale. He is completely unwilling to do so when it means he would have to also redeem a foreigner, “because it might endanger his own estate” (4:6).

This imagery leaped off the page at me since we’ve worked our way through the Old Testament in just a few months. God called Israel to inherit this land from their ancestors so that they could redeem God’s broken creation. The question is, will Israel be the first redeemer who does not want their land messed up by foreigners? Or, will they be like Boaz, who not only will redeem the foreigner God has brought into his care but will also be the Great-Grandfather of King David (and then Jesus down the line)?

The message I see in the allegory of Ruth is that God has called us to take part in the redemption of this broken creation through our special position in this world through Christ. Who is the foreigner we are refusing to redeem and therefore missing out on the blessings of God?  

A Few Good Men...And Women - Chapter 8

Judges was one of my favorite books growing up. The characters were incredible as they came to live in the picture books and flannel graphs I was exposed to. Judges is another example of how we have held on to simplified teachings from our childhood. Judges is a disturbing book of violence and tragedy as we see Israel let go of their identity of being God’s people and become the Canaanites they were supposed to drive out of the land.

The narrative draws you into the cyclical issue of Israel’s new reality. They sin (worship other gods) so The LORD allows Israel to be conquered and oppressed, Israel then cries out to The LORD (a kind of repentance per se), God sends a deliverer (called a Judge), and there is peace in the land…for a short time till they forget their relationship with The LORD and start worshipping other gods again.

The Judges range from “Pretty good” (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah – 3-5) to “Okay” (Gideon – 6-9), “Bad” (Jephthah – 10-12), and the “Worst” (Samson – 13-16). My favorite Judge is probably Ehud because of the textual debate of what “comes out” when Eglon is stabbed (NIV says “sword,” NRSV says “dirt,” and the Hebrew says something else…). I remember Samson always being depicted as a sort of hero who had a few shortcomings but going back and reading his story, it is hard to find anything redeemable about his character. He’s promiscuous, violent, arrogant, and as a Judge, he does nothing to redeem Israel from their oppressors. Everything he does seems to be for his own selfish gain.

Samson was a Nazarite which means he was dedicated to The LORD. According to Numbers ch 6, a Nazarite was not supposed to drink wine, cut his/her hair, or touch anything that is dead. Let’s just say that Samson came into contact with a lot of dead things (Lion carcass, jaw of a donkey, lots of people…). He didn’t cut his hair though so he’s got that going for him. The narrative of Samson can be read as analogous for the people of Israel. They are the one who are set apart for The LORD to be the redeemer of a broken world but all of their actions are self-centered as they flirt tragedy, moving from one lover to another, and ultimately bringing destruction on themselves and the world around them. God has called you to be an active part of His redemption of the world and all you can do is think about how the blessing is good for you. That’s the struggle of Samson. That’s the struggle of Israel.

The book ends with destruction in chapters 17-18 and the people are on the brink of civil war in 19-21. Chapters 17-21 are not in The Story. Take some time to read those chapters this week. They are very disturbing…which might be the point. The book ends with a verse that has been repeated throughout this section, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”

When you read that Israel didn’t have a king, the point is not that everything will get better when David is on the throne. The bigger point is that they have rejected The LORD as their King. We are quick to accept God as Savior but are we willing to make Him King? “Everyone did as they saw fit…” Everyone did what was right in their own eyes… Insert a commentary on the moral objectivism in which we currently live in our culture. I’ll let you wrestle with that on your own. But, if our take away from this book is to look at the culture around us and point the finger at “their moral failure,” we’ve missed the point of this book. Let the book of Judges be a mirror in which you look at your own life to see where you have failed to let God be King of your life.  

The Battle Begins - Chapter 7

Moses has now passed away and Joshua has taken his place. A generation has passed away in the wilderness, paving the way for the next generation to take the Promised Land. Will they be holy and follow God? Or, will they fall into the same pitfalls as their parents? They were witness to the sins of their parents and their consequences. Joshua leads them across the Jordan on dry ground and sets up a monument at Gilgal to commemorate the event (Joshua 4). This event seems pretty menial in comparison to what God did at the Red Sea. Why did Joshua see the need to set up a monument as a reminder of what God has done? Were they even around for what happened at the Red Sea? How does this tie into last week’s lesson on the Shema?

The spies have already given a good report that the land is theirs for the taking. They do not make the same mistake as the 12 spies 40 years before. Rahab informed them that the people tremble in fear because of all the LORD has done. Rahab and her family are spared because she helped the spies. What does it say to an Israelite reading this story that Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, has more reverence for the power of God than the entire generation that died in the wilderness?

Joshua is about to lead Israel on conquest to take Jericho and is confronted by a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. This encounter is left out of The Story but is an important story for us to hear. Take a moment to go read Joshua 5:13-15. Joshua has his “burning bush” moment. Joshua asks which side the man is on, Israel’s or their enemy’s? Neither. He is for the LORD. We often forget that it is God’s mission that we have joined, not the other way around. There’s a sobering quote from Abraham Lincoln that came to mind when I read this section. When asked if he thought God was on their side or not, he replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” How do you know if you are on God’s side or not? What does this have to do with the Shema we talked about last week?

One of the hardest questions that comes out of the book of Joshua is how do we address the criticism that we worship a God who is so quick to obliterate entire nations of people – men, women, children, and their pets? Responses we’ve given in the past have not always been satisfactory. How is the loving God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore, patient and slow to anger in this story? Is God just flying off the handle?

These stories have to be placed within the context of the larger story. God is ultimately concerned with reconciling his creation back to himself. Are there parts of the creation that have become so cancerous that they simply need to be removed? Take a moment to do some research on the people who lived in Canaan and the kind of things they were doing. Child sacrifices, sexual sins as worship to foreign gods, bestiality, incest, etc. are all active parts of what the people in Canaan were doing. This is why God is so concerned with how Israel interacts with the people in the land. God has given them 400ish years to correct their ways (while Israel was in Egypt) and they have not relented. Is this harsh? We need to be careful in these discussions. God does not need us to defend him. We need to also be careful with how we apply this discussion to our lives today. Unless God has come down and spoken directly to us about a group of people, we should not assume that they are unfit to live. God uses Israel to cleanse the land but also warns Israel that the same fate could come on them if they are not faithful. God’s desire is that all of creation would be reconciled to himself.

The conquest of the land is an uncomfortable discussion. Many “Turn or burn” sermons have been preached in this mindset and we’ve swung the pendulum to the far other extreme of an all loving God who ultimately doesn’t care how you live because he loves you anyway. We need to take sin very seriously and we need to take reconciliation seriously. What are we doing to reconcile the world back to God? Please send any questions or remarks you have! I’d love to hear from you.

Wandering - Chapter 6

Shema – Deuteronomy 6:4-9

The Shema is one of only two prayers that are specifically commanded in Torah. It is the oldest fixed daily prayer in Judaism, recited morning and night since ancient times. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is the first part of this prayer. It is recited in the morning when they get up and in the evening before going to bed. You’ll see a small box on the doorframe of a Jewish house that contains the entire prayer written on it. You’ll see Jews with a box on their forehead, called a “Tefillin,” containing the Shema in it and even have it wrapped around their arms.

Deut 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

There is so much that happens in chapter 6, “Wandering” and it is hard to touch on every element. Reading through this chapter, and through this section of scripture, it is easy to get wrapped up in God seeming to constantly be angry. Take a moment to remember why God is in a mood. Do you see any grace in this chapter? God has a plan for Israel as a nation to bless the world and it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to be that blessing when they continue to break their covenant with God. From the very beginning, Israel has struggled to be the people God has called them to be. God is using a group of people to bring about redemption who also need redeeming.

At the end of this chapter, we are standing with Israel on the banks of the Jordan looking across into the Promised Land. They just spent forty years in the wilderness because the people did not trust God to provide for them. Relationship was supposed to be learned in the wilderness. God was with them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. His presence rested in the Tabernacle when they stopped. Now, standing across the Jordan from the Promised Land, Moses gives them the Ten Commandments again to remind them of their covenantal commitment to the LORD God.

This is where “Shema” comes in. The word “Shema” means, “Listen.” “Listening” in this definition is more than a simple auditory exercise, but it involves singular attentiveness of the covenant partners to each other, to whom each is pledged in solemn oath. So, to “listen” means “obey,” to take with absolute seriousness the will and intention of the other. This is like when you look at your child who keeps doing wrong and say, “The problem is that you do not listen!” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 begins with “Listen, Israel.” It then affirms the sovereignty of God as being above every God. Then v.5, quoted by Jesus as the greatest command, says “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Read the rest of this section through v.9: Why is it so important to talk about these commandments in the morning, when they walk down the road, eat at the table, go to sleep at night, etc.? Why are they to saturate their lives with God’s commandments? What does Deut. 6:10-12 tell you about the importance of keeping God’s commands on your lips always?

Here are the hard implications of this passage: If you only eat of the Bread of Life once a week or so, can you be healthy? What are you doing to deepen your relationship with God? What are you doing to help your children grow into a healthy relationship with God? What can we as a church do to help you become more invested in this relationship?

New Command and New Covenant - Chapter 5

In my sermon on Sunday, I briefly talked about how God revealed Himself more personally to Moses by sharing His name, YHWH (LORD in our texts). This name takes on a few meanings. One, “I AM” means that He simply exists. He always has and always will. He isn’t like the other gods who come and go, live and die. The other major translation of His name is, “I will be who I will be,” which means that the LORD will be everything He needs to be for the sake of the relationship with His creation, and more specifically, His people.

This week in our reading, the people reach Sinai, the mountain where Moses met God. After God’s flexing of His muscles in Egypt, He now asks the people if they want to be in a relationship with Him. He says, “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

God gives stipulations for their relationship. This has bothered people in the past about God. If He loves His people, why would He force them into a certain kind of relationship? Should there be stipulations on relationships? How do wedding vows capture the kind of relationship God is creating with His people?

God has selected His people to model what relationship with Him is supposed to look like. What this relationship looks like can be boiled down to “Love God” (First four commandments) and “Love Others” (Last six commandments).

While Moses is away for 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain with God, the people grow impatient, believing themselves to be abandoned, they look to Aaron for a new leader. Everyone gathers their gold together and he fashions it into a calf. He then has a festival. Who is the festival for (go back and look)? They are worshipping the LORD but have condensed Him down to a calf.

Take a moment for some reflection: One of the problems with YHWH is that He isn’t manageable. We cannot manipulate the LORD and that simply isn’t convenient for us. Idols are convenient. You can take them out when you need to and put them away again. We are sometimes too quick to call on God as our Savior but fail to allow Him to be LORD of our lives. What are some areas of your life where you’re not letting the LORD be lord? We don’t intend to create idols but we often do without realizing it. What are some of the idols we have created and called it the LORD (i.e. religious practices, traditions, particular readings of scripture, understandings of God, etc.)? I want to always be careful not to become too comfortable with God for fear that I might create Him into a convenient idol.

The people quickly broke a good chunk of the 10 commandments. God reveals Himself to Moses in a way that the people hear God so that they will trust Moses’ leadership. Moses meets with God “face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” As God’s anger burns against the people, Moses meets with God on their behalf.

Does Moses change God’s mind? What does this tell you about relationship with God?

Moses was the kind of leader who took the people before God and interceded for them. Does your relationship with God continually lead you to meet with Him on behalf of other?

I’d love to hear some of your comments or questions on this chapter! Blessings to you as you grow in faith as a family this week!

Ryan

Moses and Deliverance - Chapter 4

When Moses is 40 years old, he's strong and driven. He is ready to stand up and fight for his people. He even goes as far as to kill an Egyptian who is abusing his fellow Hebrews. Why does God wait till he's an old man (around 80) to use him to lead the people out of Egypt? Why not use him when he's in his prime and has the energy?

God's timing always seems to be a bit terrible... I know His timing is perfect. But, it sure seems to be inconvenient for the people He is working with. Why does God work the way He does? What does this have to do with the question of "dependency" we've been talking about for a few weeks now? 

The Hebrew people complain at the first sign of trouble in the wilderness. They complain that they would rather be slaves in Egypt than to die seeking freedom. This seems rather dumb... but we have to look into the mirror of this passage and reflect on our own walk with God. They are going to the wilderness where they have to completely rely on God for everything. Where are some areas of your life that you often choose the slavery of doing things your own way rather than taking the risk of trusting God? The wilderness is the place where the Hebrews continually return to in order to learn dependency. What can you do in the next few weeks to intentionally "enter the wilderness" in order to learn dependency?