One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Tuesday, May 24th

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Click Here to Listen to 4:1-6:23

The Murder of Ishbosheth

When Saul's son, Ishobeth heard that Abner had been killed, he was filled with fear wondering if the troops would support him. But two other Benjaminites named Recab and Banaah seized the opportunity to kill him when he was asleep thinking King David might give them a position of power. 

Quite the opposite happens. David handles this matter similar to the man who took Saul's life thinking he was doing him a favor. Both men are killed, and David made sure Ishobeth was buried properly. 

We have seen a lot of times in church history where someone claims to be acting in the interest of God only to do evil things. God knows the motives of a man's heart, and when he is doing it to glorify God according to His Word, or for himself. 

David Becomes King of All Israel

Finally, comes the moment when all 12 tribes are united under the kingship of David. This is the height of the Jewish monarchy and unfortunately it won't last too long. David was 30 years old in Hebron when they anointed him as king, and he would rule there for seven and a half years.  Soon he would be headed to Jerusalem, where he would serve for the bulk of his kingship for 33 years.

David Captures Jerusalem

Speaking of Jerusalem, David nows goes to capture Jerusalem, the city which would be the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Israel and play a major part in the life of Jesus. 

Up to this time Jerusalem was a small Canaanite city in the center of Israel. Some 400 years after God commanded Israel to take the whole land, this city was still in Canaanite hands. - Guzik

Jerusalem was a good place to be the capital city of the Davidic dynasty because it had no tribal association, so it could be a place of unity. And the terrain made it very hard to attack. -Guzik

David Conquers the Philistines

Once again this Canaanite nation became a threat to the Davidic kingdom. They felt threated by the new unification of Israel under David's capable leadership. Once again as he had done many times before, David inquired of the Lord if he should go into battle against them. The Lord provided the victory over them and David gave him the credit saying, "He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” 1 Samuel 5:20

Again the Philistines came after him, and again David inquired of the Lord if he should attack them. This time the Lord gave David a different strategy. He told them to circle around the Philistines by the poplar trees and not attack them straight on. When they heard the sound of marching feet in the trees, they would know the Lord had gone in before them. 

David's faithfulness and reliance on God paid off again. God loves to provide in ways that make it clear that He is the One who did it. I love to think of the fact that God goes before us to fight our battles. We should listen for the sound of the Lord's army marching in the trees. Sometimes all we have to do is step out in faith, and then watch him move and conquer our enemies!

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

The next step was to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. The Ark represented the presence of the Lord, and the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  Above all else, it was to be treated in a holy manner, because God is holy. 

 This was the Ark of the Covenant, which God commanded Moses to make more than 400 years before David’s time. It was a wood box (the word ark means “box” or “chest”) completely covered with gold and with an ornate gold lid or top known as the mercy seat. - Guzik

The Israelites were careless in moving the Ark with the result being that Uzzah touched the Ark when it appeared to be falling from the cart and died on the spot. The fact that the Ark was in a cart showed they weren't respecting the laws concerning the transport of the Ark. It was to be carried at all times by men. 

David was angry about this and decided to leave the Ark where it was rather than risk any more deaths. He left it at Obed-Edom's house for three months. During that time Obed-Edom was extremely blessed, which was a sign that David should now bring the Ark to Jerusalem. 

David did this in fulfillment of God’s word. Obed-Edom was a Levite of the family of Koath (1 Chronicles 26:4). This was the family within the tribe of Levi that God commanded to carry and take care of the ark (Numbers 4:15). - Guzik

As they came into Jerusalem, David danced and sung in front of the Ark. The men blew the ram's horns and shouted out in joy. What are we to make of this? Was David bringing attention to himself, or was his worship to the Lord, which caused such great joy and enthusiasm?

This expression of David’s heart showed that he had a genuine emotional link to God. There are two great errors in this area – the error of making emotions the center of our Christian life and the error of an emotionally detached Christian life. In the Christian life, emotions must not be manipulated, and they must not be repressed.

We don’t think that dancing is strange when the baseball player rounds the bases after the game winning home run. We don’t think it is strange when the winning touchdown is scored or when our own child scores a goal. We think nothing at hands raised at a concert or a touchdown. We should not think them strange in worship to God.

In my Lutheran traditional emotion in worship at times was frowned upon again thinking someone was drawing attention to themselves. But we can never judge someone's heart. We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. We are to worship all with all that we are, which includes our emotions!

Michal’s Contempt for David

David's wife, Michal, Saul's daughter, was embarrassed by David's public display of emotion and affection for God. Perhaps she thought it made him look bad. When David returned home to Michal she was not happy with him. She said, 

"How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” 2 Samuel 6:20

David did not let Michal's criticism affect him too much. He basically said, "I am doing this for the Lord not for me or for you or anybody else!" 

Then he says a classic line, "Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! " 2 Samuel 6:22

When we worship we have an audience of ONE!  When we are all worshipping the Lord with all that we have and are, it is a very beautiful thing. It is a foreshadowing of what heaven will be like. Don't let anyone discourage you from offering your heartfelt worship to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings!

Click Here to Read John 13:31-14:14

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

As Jesus makes his way to the cross, Peter inquires where he is going. Jesus realizes Peter is not ready to fully understand where he is going and tells him that he can't go where he is going now.  Peter in typical fashion tells Jesus, "I am ready to die for you now!" 

Jesus knows how Peter will respond when the chips are down, and his own life is on the line. Jesus makes a prediction that before the rooster crows twice, Peter will have denied him three times. 

Jesus, the Way to the Father

The first six verses of John 14 are some of the greatest in the bible. 

John 14:1-6 I read at almost every funeral I do! Why?

In verses 1-3 Jesus makes some incredible promises about where we as believers will go when we die. Most of us grew up with the old King James version where Jesus says, "In my Father's house there are many mansions, and I go there to prepare a place for you!" 

Jesus tells them to not let their hearts be troubled. We all know there were plenty of reasons why they might be troubled. But Jesus is preparing them for when he will be taken from this earth to be with His Father in heaven. He promises them that one day He will take them to be with him and the Father. 

Jesus tells them they know the way to where he is going which is when we hear Thomas' question, "Lord we have no idea where you are going, how can we know the way." 

This sets up one of the most important verses in all of scripture. Jesus replies, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me!" 

Once again this is clear statement Jesus is making about his divine nature. No human would say this about themselves, and if they did you should run for the hills.

Here we see Jesus' exclusive claim as the ONLY way of salvation. This is very hard for some people to accept. How can Jesus be the only way? What about all other religions? This is really offensive to people of other religious belief systems.

Here are some thoughts.

1. Though Jesus is the only way, it is a way open to everyone. God does not want everyone to perish but all to come to eternal life. 

2. Jesus is the only way, because he is the only One who could die for our sins. He was the only sinless person who wouldn't have to die for his own sins. Because Jesus was perfect, he could take our sins upon himself and make payment for the debt we owed to God because of our sin. 

3. If there was another way to God, then Jesus died for nothing. If people think it is offensive to say Jesus is the only way to suggest there is another way cheapens Jesus death on the cross. Why would the Son of God have to die on the cross if there was an easier, less painful way for us to be saved from our sin? 

4. If the only way to go to God is by doing enough good works to earn God's approval, how can we ever know if we have done enough? Whose measuring stick are we using? Ours or God's? If God's standard is perfection, then we all fall short and need a Savior. 

Though we need to handle this question about the exclusivity of Jesus' claim to be the only way to the Father in a sensitive and respectful manner, we also can't shrink back from the truth. We need to be prepared to answer for why we believe Jesus is the only way. You could use points 1 - 4 for your answer or come up with your own. 

Click Here to Read Psalm 119:17-32

Click Here to Read Proverbs 15:31-32