One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Tuesday May 31st
Click Here to LIsten to the Readings
Click Here to Listen to 2 Samuel 17
Yesterday Ahithophel had told Absalom to sleep with David's concubines, and today he advises him to take 12,000 men to chase after and kill King David. He even advises him to only kill and bring the rest of the men back to Jerusalem to serve him. He is appealing to Absalom's pride.
Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice
Yet, Absalom remembers Hushai, who had counseled his father so well. He asks Hushai if he agrees with Ahithophel's advice. Instead of mobilizing only 12,000 men, he advises Absalom to bring all of the army of Israel because David was such a fierce warrior, and his troops were 100% loyal to him. Absalom went with Hushai's advice and rejected Ahithophel's.
Hushai Warns David to Escape
Meanwhile Hushai let Zadok and Abiathar, the two priests know of the plan he had sold to Absalom. Their two sons were in hiding, but a young boy spotted them and told Absalom about it. The two sons, Jonathan and Ahinaaz, found a home which hid them from Absalom's men. They hid in a well, and the wife of the man who owned the home even put a cloth over it and baked bread on top so as to give them further protection. After the men left, the two found David and told them of Absalom's plan to kill him. David and his men fled to the other side of the Jordan.
Meanwhile, when Ahithophel learned that his advice had not been taken by Absalom, he hung himself in despair. Obviously his whole identity was wrapped up in his role.
This was the greater reason why the advice of Ahithophel was rejected. God was in control. The throne of Israel belonged to Him, and He could grant it or deny at His will. - Guzik
David then arrived Mahanaim, where he and his troops were given food, If you remember back in Genesis 32, Mahanaim was where Jacob was visited by angels. He gave the camp the name "Mahanaim", which means two camps. One camp for the people and one for God's camp.
We see that David is helped out by 3 rather obscure men. Shobi was the son of Nahash, the Ammonite king, who was friendly to David during his wanderings. Makir was the son of Ammiel, in whose house Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son lived. Finally, Barzallai, who was a wealthy man who helped David out greatly.
These otherwise obscure men are given special mention because they helped David in a time of great need. Friends in need are friends indeed. The people are hungry and weary and thirst in the wilderness: These helpers of David were not dramatic warriors, but they helped David in this crisis as much as the bravest soldier. They were specially sent by God to comfort David in his affliction. - Guzik
You can see God's sovereign hand in almost all of the events in the last two chapters. God thwarted Absalom's plans and his advisors, and God brought David the true intel he needed to be informed, and provided all sorts of other people to protect him and were of great help to him. A lot of these people came from unlikely places and backgrounds, which shows even more clearly that it was God's hand in all of this.
Click Here to Read John 19:23-42
Eventually Pilate had no choice but to crucify Jesus because of the Jewish leaders and people. His kingship was at stake and ultimately though he knew Jesus was innocent, he did it to save face. Jesus carried his own cross by himself. This was standard procedure for condemned criminals. When Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him, we can know he will never ask us to do something he wasn't willing to do.
When the people tried to get Pilate to change the sign above Jesus which read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews", he said, "What I have written I have written." Even though Pilate was a pagan king, he had written the truth about the Son of Man. What irony that this pagan king got Jesus' identity correct, whereas the Jewish people got it all wrong and they should have known.
The Death of Jesus
Jesus knew his mission had come to an end. He had fulfilled the will of his Father, and all the prophecies of the Old Testament. His last words were, "It is finished!". He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
In what sense was it finished?
1. Jesus finished the work the Father gave him to do by dying on the cross.
2. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament need for a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. Jesus was the innocent lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world. There would never be a need for innocent lambs or bulls to be sacrificed on the altar. Jesus death on the cross made atonement between man and God once and for all.
3. Jesus defeated death and the devil once and for all. Though we will all face judgment and die, through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we can live forever. Though the devil has a limited time on earth to antagonize the saints and try to keep unbelievers coming to a knowledge of the truth, on the cross he was defeated once and for all.
It is finished!
The Death of Jesus
Two men emerge to give Jesus a proper and decent burial. First, there was Joseph of Arimathea. Secondly there was Nicodemus, who we know came to Jesus at night for fear of the Jews. Both men were secret disciples of Jesus who came out into the open to bury Jesus properly. They didn't have a lot of time to do it since he needed to be buried by sundown before the Sabbath.
By burying Jesus properly it also avoided something else that could have happened instead.
“The Roman custom was to leave the body to birds and beasts of prey.” (Dods)
Many consider the burial to be an afterthought, but read here about the significance of the way these two men made sure Jesus was buried, and what it means for the gospel we preach.
· This burial fulfilled the Scripture. Isaiah 53:9 says, And they made His grave with the wicked; so that meant the Messiah would be buried in a grave – and He was.
· This burial fulfilled the promise, the prediction of Jesus. Jesus said that He, like Jonah, would be buried away for three days (Matthew 12:40), and so it had to be fulfilled.
· This burial demonstrated that Jesus was truly dead; it was proof of the glory of the coming resurrection. No one could tell Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus that Jesus did not really die.
· This burial was important because burial spices and preparations protected His holy body from decay; as it was said in Psalm 16:10: You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.
· This burial gave both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus a way to proclaim their relationship with Jesus; it called them out of their state of secret discipleship.
· This burial and the days of Jesus in the tomb tested the faith and devotion of the disciples; it made them die a certain kind of death for those days they knew Jesus lay in the tomb.
· This burial and the days of Jesus in the tomb were ways to prove that at the cross Jesus defeated not only sin, but also death. The burial and the empty tomb show that Jesus conquered sin and death.
· The days in the tomb were important because there was important work for Jesus to do during that time in the tomb. 1 Peter 3:18-20 tells us that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison; though there isn’t as much explanation on all this as we would like to have, it seems that as the body of Jesus lay lifeless in the tomb, His Spirit went to Hades, the abode of the dead. There He led the faithful dead to heaven, in light of His then-completed work on the cross. He also preached a message of judgment and coming condemnation to the evil spirits that were imprisoned in the depths.
· This burial was another great and final connection of the Son of God with the humility of man. There was a transaction aspect to the great work of Jesus on the cross; but there was so much more. There is also a radical identification aspect; where Jesus connects with you in every way possible, and He invites you to connect with Him. He was buried with us, in the humiliation of utter humanness. We are buried with Him – spiritually by faith, ceremonially by baptism. He identified with us; we by faith identify with Him.
Once again, as in the Old Testament, you see that every single detail of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were super intended by God and according to his sovereign plan.
How does seeing how every promise God had made to Jesus was fulfilled help you to trust in God's plan for your life?
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