OCT 26 READ 1 KINGS 15-19

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We begin the divided kingdom.

Many find it difficult to read 1st and 2nd Kings b/c it goes back and forth between the northern kingdom (10 tribes) and the southern kingdom (2 tribes). But there is a pattern. The author will start with a king in one of the two kingdoms and tell the events of his entire reign. Let’s suppose a king (king A) reigns 20 years. If at the end of his reign a new king has not begun to reign in the other kingdom, then the author will go to the next king after king A and give the events of his reign. But if at the end of the reign of king A a new king has begun to reign in the other kingdom, then the author will skip to the other kingdom and give the events of that king to his death. The process continues in this manner.

For example: 1 Kings 15:8 Asa became king of the southern kingdom. The author then gives all the events of the 40 year reign of Asa to his death (1 Kings 15:24). But during his reign, in the 2nd year of his reign, Nadab the son of Jereboam became king over the northern kingdom and reigned over Israel 2 years. Then Baasha reigned over Israel 24 years. Ela then became king over Israel and reigned 2 years. Then Zimri became king over Israel and reigned 7 days. Then Omri became king of Israel and reigned 12 years. Then Ahab became king over Israel and reigned 22 years. 1 Kings 16:29 says that Ahab became king in the 38th year of the 40 year reign of Asa king of Judah. Notice that the author has covered the reign of 5 consecutive kings of Israel who reigned over Israel during Asa’s 40 year reign. He then gives the events of the next king of Israel, Ahab, up to his death (1 Kings 22:40) which extends 20 years past the reign of Asa in Judah. BTW that means that 1 Kings 16-22 are all about the reign of Ahab. 1 Kings 22:40 mentions that Ahaziah becomes king of Israel after Ahab dies but doesn’t give the events of Ahaziah’s reign yet. Instead, during the 22 year reign of Ahab a new king, Jehoshaphat, arose in Judah in the 4th year of Ahab’s reign and reigned 25 years. So at the death of Ahab the author skips from the northern kingdom and reign of Ahab over to the southern kingdom and the reign of Jehoshaphat. During Jehoshaphat’s 25 year reign, in the 17th year of his reign at the death of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Israel so the author at the death of Jehoshaphat will skip back to the northern kingdom and give the events of the 2 year reign of Ahaziah up to the death of Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:17). So now you are even more confused, right? I do think this is the pattern used in 1st and 2nd kings to cover all the kings of the two divided kingdoms. I hope that helps. When I am studying or teaching just the kings of Judah, I always use 2 Chronicles 10-36 b/c that only covers kings of Judah consecutively and not the kings of Israel, so it is not as confusing as using 1 and 2 Kings. It will mention kings of Israel when they are involved in the reigns of any of the kings of Judah, but it does not cover the reigns of any of the kings of Israel like 1 and 2 Kings does.

So in our continued reading of 1 and 2 Kings, let’s use this pattern to go back and forth between the 2 kingdoms.

Judah #1 Rehoboam 1Kings 12-14 Reigned 17 years.

Judah #2 Abijam 1 Kings 15:1-7 Reigned 3 years. He did evil but for the sake of David God kept the kingly line going.

Judah #3 Asa 1 Kings 15:8-24 Reigned 41 years.

Israel #2 Nadab. 1 Kings 15:25-27 Reigned 2 years. Assassinated by Baasha who killed all of the rest of Jereboam’s household..

Israel #3 Baasha. 1 Kings 15:28-16:7 Reigned 24 years.

Israel #4 Elah. 1 Kings 16:6-14 Reigned 2 years. Zimri assassinated Elah and killed all of his household.

Israel #5 Zimri. 1 Kings 16:9-20 Reigned 7 days. Zimri also killed all of the rest of Baasha’s household. Committed suicide by burning himself in a house.

Israel #6 Omri. 1 Kings 16:15-28 Reigned 12 years. Built the city of Samaria to be the capital of the northern kingdom.

Israel #7 Ahab. 1 Kings 16:28-22:40 Reigned 22 years. Worshipped Baal and Asherah.

1 Kings 17 begins the work of Elijah the prophet. We will number and record the miracles of Elijah;

Elijah Miracle #1: He predicted a famine to last 3 1/2 years. James 5:17-18 mentions this. Ravens fed Elijah at a brook.

Elijah Miracle #2: Flour and oil for the widow at Zarepheth. She was about to prepare her last flour and oil for her and her son to eat and then die, but by faith gave it to Elijah. He gave her flour and oil during the famine. Luke 4:25-27 mentions this widow.

Elijah Miracle #3: Raised son of the widow when he died. He stretched out on him 3 times and he came to life.

1 Kings 18 begins with the prophet Obadiah who hid 100 prophets from Jezebel who had killed prophets of the Lord. Elijah got him to arrange a meeting for him and Ahab, which Obadiah reluctantly did. Elijah met with Ahab and challenged his prophets to a test on Mt Carmel . 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, all verses Elijah the true prophet of God.

Elijah Miracle #4: The defeat of the prophets of Baal and Asherah at Mt Carmel. They tried all day to call down fire from their false gods to consume the altar and Ellijah mocked them. Elijah then drenched the altar 3 times and called down fire that consumed the offering and the the altar. He then had the 450 prophets of Baal killed.

Elijah Miracle #5: He prayed and ended the drought. James 5:17-28

1 Kings 19 Elijah’s depression. Jezebel was furious when she heard that Elijah had milled 450 of her prophets of Baal. She swore to kill Elijah within one day. Elijah is obviously depressed. He goes to Mt Horeb (Mt Sinai) for 40 days and nights. Twice God asked him, “19:“What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”” As He did with Moses, the Lord passsed by but he was not in the violent wind, earthquake, or fire. Instead he was in a gentle breeze. God then told him to quit feeling sorry for himself and get back to his work as a prophet, to anoint Hazael of Syria (who would kill many in Israel), Jehu (who would kill Ahab and Jezebel), and Elisha (who would take Elijah’s place). He also told him that he was not alone in serving God, that He still had 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. That’s not a lot percentage wise of the Israelites, but God has always been in the remnant business.

Life Lesson: Do you struggle with depression and self pity? Do you ever feel like you are the only one trying your best to do God’s will? Does it bother you when the wicked seem to have the upper hand in our society? Does it bother you when God doesn’t react to evil in some forceful way (the wind, the earthquake, the fire) but instead He just gently continues to work among men? Does it bother you when evil leaders and dictators all around the world kill God’s people and nothing happens to them? Are you running from your problems or staying and fighting, trusting in God? If so, maybe you need to go to an isolated place (like Mt Horeb) and spend some time meditating on God’s power and working, renewing your courage to get back in the fight. Get back to work using your gift to serve the Lord and let the Lord take care of vengeance.

OCT 25. READ 1 KINGS 10-14

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1 Kings 10 The Queen of Sheba. Whether the Queen of Sheba was Ethiopian depends on the historical or traditional account you reference, as her kingdom spanned both sides of the Red Sea. Mainstream archaeological and historical sources place the ancient kingdom of Sheba (Sabaʾ) primarily in southwestern Arabia, in modern-day Yemen (see the map).

Her conclusion after meeting with Solomon? The half was not told me. According to Ethiopian tradition, she bore Solomon a son named Menelik I, who later founded the Solomonic line of Ethiopian emperors. Ethiopian belief holds that when he grew up and visited Jerusalem that Menelik brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Aksum, where many still believe it resides. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church officially claims to possess the original Ark of the Covenant. The church states that the Ark is housed in a special treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in the town of Aksum (Axum), Ethiopia. It is guarded by a monk and no one is allowed to view it. That is all Ethiopian tradition. No one knows what happened to the ark. Many think the Israelites buried it under the temple so the Babylonians could not take it. AI: “When the Romans sacked and burned the Second Temple in 70 AD, the Holy of Holies contained no Ark. According to the ancient historian Flavius Josephus, who witnessed the siege, the inner sanctuary was completely empty. While the Roman soldiers did loot sacred items like the golden menorah and the table of showbread—which are famously depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome—the Ark of the Covenant was notably absent from the list of captured treasures.”

Solomon’s wealth. The 666 talents of gold he received each year was about $3 billion today.

1 Kings 11 Solomon’s idolatry. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines mainly from countries that he subjugated. He began to worship Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Milcom, and Molech and other gods. God told him that his kingdom would be taken away from his son Rehoboam after Solomon died. He would leave Solomon one tribe, Judah, for the sake of the promises God had made to David, his father, that David’s house would be established. The rightful kings came from the tribe of Judah and the southern kingdom of Judah. Jesus would eventually come from the tribe of Judah and take his seat on the throne of David in heaven (a spiritual throne over a spiritual kingdom, the church). BTW the tribe of Benjamin, which was very small and close to Judah on the map, stayed loyal to Judah, so the southern kingdom of Judah actually had 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin). It’s hard to believe that rhe wisest man of earth could turn to idolatry like Solomon did. The prophet Ahijah anointed Jereboam as the king of the 10 tribes that rebelled against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Solomon tried to kill Jereboam but he fled to Egypt. Solomon ruled 40 years and died.

1 Kings 12 The kingdom divided. Rehoboam had a chance to keep the 12 tribes together if he would lessen the heavy yoke that Solomon had put on them, but he listened to his young advisors who told him to make the yoke even heavier. The 10 tribes anointed Jereboam to be their king and would come to be known as the northern kingdom of Israel (a little confusing since us to now all 12 tribes of the united kingdom was called Israel). Rehoboam assembled 180,000 men to fight the 10 tribes and force them to be loyal to him, but God told him not to fight them. Jereboam then set up 2 golden calves to worship at Dan and Bethel. He also instituted feast days and his own priesthood (not Levitical) so that the Israelites in the 10 tribes would not go back to Jerusalem for the main feasts and to worship in the temple in Jerusalem. All of the kings of the northern kingdom would be idolatrous.

1 Kings 13 The prophet sent to curse Jereboam’s altar. God sent a prophet to curse the idolatrous altar that Jereboam was burning incense on at Bethel. God told the prophet to return from Bethel to Jerusalem non-stop. An older prophet caught up to the prophet and lied to him. He told him that an angel had told him (the older prophet) to bring the prophet to his house to eat. When he did, God told the prophet that he would did b/c he disobeyed God. A lion killed him on his journey back to Jerusalem. The older prophet recovered and buried the prophet’s body.

Lesson: We might be thinking, “but the prophet was lied to”. That’s correct. But he had his instructions and he should have consulted the Lord before accepting what the older prophet told him. There is a lesson there. Many false prophets have told people that they have had angels or visions or God speaking to them. Be careful before you accept what they say as the word of God. “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God or not.” (1 John 4:1) Jesus said, “the blind lead the blind and they both fall into the ditch”. It is our responsibility to make sure someone is really telling us the word of God. Be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

1 Kings 14 Jereboam’s son was sick so his wife disguised herself and went to Ahijah the prophet in Judah to find out if the boy would get well. The prophet was told by God that she was Jereboam’s wife and told her the child would die as soon as she set foot back in her house, and he did. Jereboam reigned 22 years over the northern kingdom of Israel.

Solomon’s son Rehoboam would reign over the southern kingdom of Judah for 17 years. During that time Shishak the king of Egypt came and took the gold treasure that Solomon had accumulated. Rehoboam was the son of an Ammonite mother and the people of Judah committed idolatry and sinned.

OCT 24 READ 1 KINGS 5-9

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1 Kings 5: Solomons gets cedars from Lebanon. Solomon and Hiram King of Tyre were good friends but we don’t know how that friendship was formed. This is really interesting about those cedars: AI

Cedars (specifically the Cedars of Lebanon) are mentioned frequently in the Bible—around 70 to over 100 times—because they were the most prized, durable, and majestic natural resource in the ancient Near East.

Key Reasons Cedars Appear So Often

  • Superior Building Material: Cedar wood was fragrant, reddish, straight-grained, and naturally resistant to rot, decay, and insect attacks.
  • Royal and Sacred Construction:
    • King David used cedar wood to build his palace (2 Samuel 5:11).
    • King Solomon imported massive amounts of cedar from King Hiram of Tyre to build the First Temple in Jerusalem and his own royal palace (1 Kings 5:6-10; 1 Kings 7:2–12).
    • Cedar beams were also used later when rebuilding the Second Temple (Ezra 3:7).
  • Symbol of Strength and Permanence: Growing up to 130 feet tall with deep roots and massive branches, the cedar represented physical might, majesty, stability, and enduring power (Job 40:17).
  • Spiritual Metaphors:
    • The Bible often compares the righteous to the cedars of Lebanon, noting how they grow strong, tall, and deeply rooted (Psalm 92:12).
    • Conversely, towering cedars were also used as a prophetic metaphor for human pride and arrogance that gets cut down or humbled by God (Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 31:3–9).
  • Divine Provision: Scripture views the cedar forests of Lebanon as a direct creation and gift from God (Psalm 104:16) (“the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted”).

Do you remember those warnings that Moses and Samuel gave about how a king would burden the people? One of the areas was making Israelites from the 12 tribes be forced labor. Solomon did that. 5:13 Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. 15 Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains. Remember, it took 13 years to build his palace and 7 years to build his temple. That’s 20 years total, half of his 40 year reign, with forced labor. It’s a wonder that the 10 tribes waited till he died to rebel against his heavy handed way of treating them.

2 Samuel 6 Solomon builds the temple. In the 4th year of his reign he began building the temple and it took 7 years to finish. The stones for the temple were cut without iron tools (making it a lot harder) at the quarry and not on the temple site. These stones typically weighed up to 25-40 tons each and were 12-15 feet long. The quarries were located close by to Jerusalem, allowing the finished stones to be dragged or moved overland via manual labor, sleds, rollers, or ramps without requiring long-distance freight. Still a massive amount of labor hewing those stones (80,000 stonemasons) and dragging those stones (70, 000 transporters) to the temple site.

In the original ark put in the tabernacle there were two cherubim on the mercy seat on the ark facing each other, but the cherubim of Solomon’s temple stood side by side, 15 feet tall, wings toughing stretching across the full 30 feet wide holy of holies.

2 Samuel 7 Solomon’s builds his palace. Solomon’s Palace: He spent 13 years building a large personal royal complex and dwelling for himself, which included structures like the Throne Hall and the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:1–8). Pharaoh’s Daughter’s Palace: He built a separate, matching house specifically for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 7:8).

1 Kings 8 Solomon’s puts the ark of the covenant in the temple. Before King Solomon placed the Ark of the Covenant into the newly built temple, King David housed it in a special tent (often called the Tabernacle of David) in the City of David (also known as Mount Zion) in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:17, 1 Kings 8:1). Solomon had it brought from there to the holy of holies in the new temple. 8:10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.”

  • Setting: Solomon stood on a bronze platform before the altar of the Lord, facing the assembly of Israel, then knelt with his hands stretched toward heaven.
  • Core Acknowledgment: He confessed that the highest heavens cannot contain God, let alone a physical building, yet asked God to watch over the temple day and night and listen to prayers directed toward it.

Key Themes of the Prayer of Dedication for the Temple:

  • Praise for God’s Faithfulness: Solomon praised God for keeping His covenant and fulfilling the promise made to his father, King David, regarding the Davidic lineage.
  • Seven Petitions (Scenarios for Intervention): The prayer outlines seven specific situations where Solomon asked God to hear from heaven, grant justice, and forgive the people when they turn back to Him:
    1. Legal Disputes: When someone is charged and forced to take an oath before the altar.
    2. Military Defeat: When Israel is defeated by an enemy because of sin.
    3. Drought: When the skies are shut and there is no rain due to rebellion.
    4. Natural Calamities: Famines, plagues, blights, mildew, or locusts.
    5. Foreigners: When outsiders hear of God’s great name and pray toward the temple.
    6. War: When Israel goes into battle at God’s command.
    7. Exile: When the people sin, are taken captive to a distant or near land, and repent toward the temple.

Conclusion of the Event

  • Divine Response: Fire fell from heaven to consume the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
  • Celebration: Solomon and all Israel offered massive sacrifices (22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep) and hosted a 14-day festival of gratitude.

1 Kings 9 God’s warning to Solomon. God warned Solomon about what would happen if he or his sons (descendants from the tribe of Judah) started worshipping idols. Israel would be cut off and the temple would become a “heap of ruins”. That is exactly what happened to the temple in the period of the divided kingdom when Judah became so evil that God sent the Babylonians to destroy the temple in 586 BC. BTW Solomon gave Hiram king of Tyre 20 cities in gratitude for his cedars and his craftsmanship help. Solomon also had a fleet of ships that he used to bring in gold from the surrounding subjugated nations.

So far, so good with Solomon’s reign for the first 20 years. But then is what he falls from grace! Stay tuned.

OCT 23. READ 1 SAMUEL 24; 1 KINGS 1-4

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1Samuel 24 David sins by taking a census. This incident needs a little discussion. The Lord was already angry at the people for some sins they committed (we don’t know what). David’s numbering of the fighting men was a reaction to that. He probably feared that God would allow the Philistines to defeat Israel b/c of their sins and he put his trust in the strength of his fighting men instead of just trusting God and trying to get the people to repent. So Gods anger “incited David to number the people” and “Satan moved David to number the people” (1 Chronicles 21:1). As in the book of Job, God sometimes allows Satan to test His people. Even Joab told David he should not do the census. The census took almost 10 months and registered 1,300,000 fighting men of Israel. David’s conscience bothered him later and he asked forgiveness from God. God gave him 3 options for his punishment and David chose 3 days of pestilence. What would you have thought if your parents gave you 3 options for punishment for something bad that you did? 70,000 died in that pestilence, and the “death angel” was about to strike the people in Jerusalem when the Lord relented. David made offerings on an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah and God stopped the plague completely. You might read this punishment and think what David thought: 24:17 Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.” But remember that the Lord was angry with the people b/c of their sins so the plague was part of their punishment also.

Life Lesson: Do you ever resort to trusting in your doctors or your money or your possessions or your physical strength instead of trusting in God? Maybe some things have been making the future look bleak so you start counting your money to see how you will fare with a monetary collapse. Perhaps a major illness hits you or someone you love and you put your faith in the medical profession instead of God. It’s ok to have money in reserve and to seek help from doctors, but the first thing we should do is trust God and ask Him for wisdom. Asa was lifted up in pride at the end of his reign and it says that only sought the aid of physicians and not God.

1 Kings 1 Adonijah tries to become king. David is about 70 years old and is on his deathbed, having been king for 40 years. But there is more “trouble in his house” as predicted by Nathan. David’s son Adonijah tries to make himself king even though David has said that Bathsheeba’s son Solomon will succeed him. Adonijah was a spoiled son. 1:6 His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.” It’s not hard to spot people like him today whose parents gave them whatever they wanted and never told them “no” or rebuked them. They become self willed and selfish. They might even turn on their parents to take their parents’ money or land or possessions. It’s not surprising that Joab tried to help Adonijah become king. He had been out of David’s favor for a long time now. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet sided with Solomon to be king. At Bathsheeba’s urging, David had Zadok and Nathan officially anoint Solomon as the next king and have him sit on David’s throne. Adonijah had been having a feast to anoint himself as king when he heard all this, and he took hold of the horns on the corners of the altar of burnt offerings out of fear of Solomon. Solomon did not kill him at this time but sent him to his house.

1 Kings 2 David’s deathbed charge to Solomon. David charged him to punish Joab and Shimei and show kindness to the sons of Barzilli. David died at the age of 70. Solomon put Adonijah to death for asking to be given Abishag (the woman who lay with David on his deathbed to keep him warm) for his wife. Solomon than dismissed Abiathar from being high priest b/c he had supported Adonijah. Abiathar was a descendant of Eli the high priest through the lineage of Aaron’s son Ithamar. God had given the high priesthood to Aaron’s son Elezar and his descendants after Aaron died but at some undefined point in the judges it shifted to the descendants of Aaron’s son,Ithamar, which is how Eli became high priest. But now Solomon will shift the high priesthood back to the descendants of Eleazar beginning with Zadok who supported Solomon becoming king. The Zadok high priesthood remained with the descendants of Zadok (the Zadokites) for roughly 700 to 800 years, beginning in the 10th century BCE under King Solomon until it was displaced around 171–167 BCE during the rise of the Maccabees and the Hasmonean dynasty took over the high priesthood. Solomon promised not to kill Shimei as long as he remained in Jerusalem, but after 3 years he left the city and Solomon had him killed. David was not allowed to build the temple b/c he was a man of bloodshed, but Solomon had Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei killed after David died. I guess those “notches” go on David’s belt since he ordered Solomon to do that.

Life Lesson: How would you summarize David’s life. He was the only Old Testament character described as “the man after God’s own heart”. But he committed 4 sins worthy of capital punishment (for which he was forgiven) and he was a man of much bloodshed and cruelty to enemies. But only God knows the hearts, and apparently David had a very, very special heart, wanting to please God all his life (except for some really bad periods of really bad decisions). My take is that God’s grace and forgiveness is awesome if we have sincere hearts than want to please Him. We tend to judge based on how bad and how many our sins are, but God is looking at the heart. A man might have many more sins than some self-righteous church goer, and yet have a more pleasing heart for God. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector says it all. Luke 18:9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” So come clean. People might see you and comment on what a wonderful person and Christian you are. But what is really in your heart? Do you love God more than anything else in life? Is your #1 desire to please Him or to enjoy this world’s pleasures and riches? Is there evil in your heart that you are not repenting of? James 4:6 “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

1 Kings 3 Solomon’s wish granted. Solomon begins his reign well. 3:3 Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. AI: “Elevated ground reduced the distance between earth and the divine realm, making prayers, smoke from burnt offerings, and incense more visible and accessible to deities. Many ancient cultures (such as the Canaanites, Moabites, and neighboring Near Eastern peoples) linked specific mountain peaks or hilltops to storm, sky, or fertility gods like Baal. These sites typically included stone altars, upright sacred pillars (matzevot), incense altars (hammanim), and wooden poles (asherim) dedicated to fertility and nature goddesses.” Solomon making offerings on the high places was rooted in pagan worship and God tolerated it though He did no approve of it. It will be a practice of sinful Israelites centuries after the temple was built. Kings Hezekiah and Josiah are the biblical kings of Judah credited with removing the high places of pagan worship. King Hezekiah: Removed the high places, smashed sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles as part of centralizing worship in Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:4). King Josiah: Conducted a massive religious reform, destroying pagan altars, high places, Asherah poles, and shrines throughout Judah, Jerusalem, and parts of the former northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 23). Other otherwise righteous kings—such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Jotham—did not take them down during their reigns. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the high place at Gibeon and God offered to give him whatever he wished. Solomon is still humble and only asks for wisdom. God gives him wisdom and riches b/c of his humility. His wisdom is soon demonstrated in the settling of the argument between the 2 women when he proposed splitting the child in half (which he knew he would not have to really do that b/c the real mother would not allow that). What would you ask for if God gave you one wish? Money? Material possessions? Would you ask for wisdom to be able to help others?

1 Kings 4 Solomon’s power, wealth, and wisdom. Solomon’s kingdom matched the scope of the land promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18–21, though the nature of the rule involved both direct control and subject tributary kingdoms. The Fulfillment (1 Kings 4:21): The text states that Solomon “ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.” The Promise (Genesis 15:18): God promised Abraham’s descendants the land “from the river of Egypt [Wadi of Egypt] to the great river, the Euphrates.” Granted, Israel did not actually live in all the land in Solomon’s kingdom. A lot of his kingdom were subjugated or vassal kingdoms of other nations who paid much tribute to Solomon. Solomon did have a massive army so the subjugation of those nations were a result of his great power. The provisions needed for Solomon’s massive army and household were massive. Each tribe had to supply the provisions for one month of each year. This was a source of great unrest that helped split the kingdom after Solomon died. God made him the wisest man on earth. Imagine 3,000 proverbs (like in the book of Proverbs) and 1,005 songs (like in the book Song of Solomon). King Solomon fulfilled almost every warning that the prophet Samuel gave in 1 Samuel 8 and broke the specific instructions for kings outlined in Deuteronomy 17. He drafted the sons of the people for his army, multiplied horses, used forced labor to build his palaces, confiscated fields and property, and taxed the people heavily for his monthly provisions. This would be 40 years of this but things were peaceful and prosperous. 4:25 So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” They went along with it until Solomon died.

OCT 22 READ 2 SAMUEL 19-23

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2 Samuel 19 David returns to Jerusalem. Joab rebuked David for his continual grieving over the death of Absalom. He said it was offensive to those who risked their lives to keep Absalom from killing David. David finally decided to return to Jerusalem as king and made a passionate appeal to his officials to bring him back, which they did. Shimei meets David at the Jordan River and begs forgiveness for when he cursed David and threw stones at him as he was fleeing Jerusalem. David swore not to kill him even though Abishai wanted to. Later on his deathbed he would turn the fate of Shimei over to Solomon who eventually did kill Shimei. Ziba and his 15 sons met David to help him cross the Jordan. Mephibosheth also met David as he was returning to Jerusalem and explained why he did not go with David when he fled Jerusalem. He said that Ziba had lied to David when he told him that Mephibosheth had gone over to Absalom. Instead, Ziba had told him that he would saddle a donkey for him to leave with David, and then Ziba just left him in Jerusalem. Since he was lame, he could not get on a donkey and leave. I’m pretty sure David believed Mephibosheth’s version of what happened, but he had already sworn to give Mephibosheth’s land to Ziba. So David just resolved to divide the land between them. Do you remember Barzilli? He had brought much food and supplies to David at Mahanaim after he fled from Absalom. David offered to take Barzilli into Jerusalem with him and care for him but Barzilli declined due to his age (80) and a desire to die in his home town. There was a lot of angry words between 10 of the tribes (apparently Benjamin was the 11th tribe not involved here) and the men of the 12th tribe, Judah, over who would get the credit for binging the king back to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 20 Sheba’s revolt. Sheba and the Benjamites revolted against David as king. David told his main commander Amasa whom David had replaced Joab with to put down the rebellion. But Joab met Amasa and killed him. Joab is a bloodthirsty man and out of David’s control. Joab then pursued Sheba and trapped him in a city and sieged the city. A woman met with Joab and told him that the people in the city would deliver Sheba to prevent the city from being destroyed. They cut off the head of Sheba and threw it over the wall and Joab left. That ended Sheba’s rebellion. Joab is back in control as the main commander of David’s army.

2 Samuel 21 Gibeonite revenge. God told David that the famine was b/c of how King Saul had broken Joshua’s treaty with the Gibeonites (they had deceived Joshua into thinking they were from a far off city instead of the nearby cities that were to be totally destroyed) and killed man Gibeonites. David aaked them what would appease them and they asked for 7 of Saul’s descendants to be given to them to be hanged, which he did. A sad, sad story about Rizpah. The bodies of the 7 men (2 or which were Rizpah’s sons) were left out in the open. Rizpah stayed day and night, even in the rain, to keep the birds from feeding on the corpses. David heard about that and had the bones of Saul and Jonathon (that were at Jabesh-Gilead) and the bodies of the 7 hanged men buried in the grave of Saul’s father Kish. One of the descendants of Goliath tried to kill David but Abishai (Joab’s brother) killed him. David’s men killed several other Philistine giants, one of whom had 24 toes and fingers! . It makes you wonder just how many giants there were. And then we wonder where did the giants originate since everyone came from Noah and his 3 sons. Where did the DNA get in the gene pool to create all these giants?

2 Samuel 22 David’s psalm of deliverance. Psalm 18 is nearly identical to 2 Samuel 22. Both chapters record King David’s song of thanksgiving and praise to God for delivering him from his enemies (including Saul).

2 Samuel 23 is called “the last words of David” because it marks his final prophetic oracle and formal poetic testament rather than his absolute last spoken words before death. Then comes the names of the “mighty men of David”, made famous for their heroic deeds on behalf of David. You can read all their heroic deeds but one stands out to me. David was thirsty and wanted water from the well at Bethlehem where the Philistines were camped. 3 men risked their lives, broke through the Philistine camp and brought David some water from that well. David poured it out b/c he felt unworthy to drink it. I wonder what those 3 men thought when he poured it out. That might not have looked like a noble gesture to them!

OCT 21 READ 2 SAMUEL 14-18

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2 Samuel 14: Absalom’s return from a 3 year exile. Maybe a little summary of this chapter will help.

More of the “trouble in David’s house” as predicted by Nathan. Mostly about David’s son Absalom.

2 Samuel 15: Absalom’s conspiracy and David flees Jerusalem. Absalom formed his takeover of the kingdom from David in Hebron. David fled Jerusalem but left the ark in Jerusalem (just the opposite of Eli’s sons taking the ark into battle to get victory). In spite of the Bathsheeba, David is still a man after God’s own heart. Zadok the high priest (through the descendants of Aaron’s son Eleazar) and the Levites actually brought ark out of the temple and were going to bring it with David wherever he fled to, but David them to put in back in the Holy of Holies. David said, 15:25″ If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then He will bring me back again and show me both it and His habitation. 26 But if He should say thus, ‘I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” An humble attitude. He sent his counselor Hushai back into Jerusalem to be his spy and to thwart Absalom’s counselor Ahithophel. Here is a great map showing all the action in chapter 15. The final battle between David’s men and Absalom’s men will be fought in the forest of Ephraim on the map, which is where Absalom died.

2 Samuel 16 has a few interesting things. 1) Ziba’s lie: When King David fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion, Ziba met him with food and supplies. When David asked where Mephibosheth was, Ziba falsely claimed that Mephibosheth stayed behind in Jerusalem, hoping the Israelites would restore his grandfather Saul’s kingdom to him. Believing the lie, David hastily gave Ziba all of Mephibosheth’s land and property. The Truth Revealed (2 Samuel 19:24–30): After the rebellion ended and David returned to Jerusalem, Mephibosheth came to meet him. He showed signs of deep mourning and explained that Ziba had deceived him and left him behind because he was lame and could not saddle a donkey himself. David’s Final Judgment: Realizing he had acted too quickly, David modified his ruling and commanded that Mephibosheth and Ziba divide the land. However, Mephibosheth told the king that Ziba could keep all of it, expressing that he was simply overjoyed that David had returned home safely. Mephibosheth had the same humble qualities that his father Jonathon had. 2) Shimei curses David. Shimei was a descendant of Saul’s clan. As David fled Jerusalem, Shimei cursed David and through rocks at him. Joab’s brother Abishai wanted to kill Shimei but David would not let him. David’s attitude is humble again. He said, “If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” David will not seek vengeance of Shimei. David made mistakes, but again we see a “man after God’s own heart”. He is willing to put his fate in the hands of God. How do you react when people say bad things about you or attack you personally? I had that experience with one particular person for several years. I think I might have just tried to handle in my own way instead of just turning it over to the Lord. Later, after Absalom is killed and as David is returning to Jerusalem, Shimei begs forgiveness of David. David swore to him not to kill him at that time, but on David’s deathbed he left the fate of Shimei with Solomon. . Solomon placed Shimei under house arrest in Jerusalem, warning him that he would be executed if he ever crossed the Kidron Valley. Three years later, Shimei left to retrieve runaway servants, violated the pact, and Solomon had him put to death. God took care of the vengeance on Shimei. “Vengeance belongs to the Lord.” 3) Absalom entered Jerusalem. Absalom then went in to (had sex with) the 10 concubines that David left to take care of his palace. He did that on the roof so that all Israel could see his spite for his father. Absalom had so much hatred in his heart. He hated (and killed) Amnon for raping his sister Tamar. He probably hated David for not doing anything about the rape of his sister. He probably hated David for sending him into exile for 3 years. He hated his own father David so much that he tried to kill him and take over his kingdom. David wasn’t a perfect father, but how could a son hate his own father so much? Proverbs 23:22 explicitly states: “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old”. Despising means holding someone as insignificant, showing contempt, or belittling them. Proverbs 30:17 warns of severe shame for those who mock their father or scorn obedience to their mother: “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.” Proverbs 15:20 notes that “a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.”

2 Samuel 17: Hushai’s counsel. David’s spy counselor Hushai contradicted the counsel of Ahithophel which was to flee David immediately before he crossed the Jordan. Hushai advised Absalom to delay and gather more men. Hushai’s counsel allowed David to flee safely over the Jordan overnight. Ahithophel committed suicide after his counsel was rejected. David is apparently frustrated, maybe even afraid of Joab, and makes Amasa his commander of his forces instead of Joab. It is noted that Barzillai brought supplies and food to David at Mahanaim (where Jacob saw the camp of angels). David had his personal household, royal officials, and 600 men so there was a great need for food. After Absalom is killed, King David rewarded Barzillai the Gileadite by offering him a permanent place at the royal court in Jerusalem, and later, by extending royal favor to Barzillai’s family. Barzillai declined the personal invitation due to his advanced age, poor health, and desire to die in his hometown near his parents’ graves. David, on his deathbed, told Solomon to Before his death, King David instructed his son and successor, Solomon, to continue showing loyalty to Barzillai’s family by allowing Barzillai’s sons to eat continually at the king’s table.

2 Samuel 18: The death of Absalom. 18:1 indicates that many more men loyal to David had come to him at Mahanaim. He now has an army of thousands, and not just the 600 Ittitite warriors who fled Jerusalem with him. He divides his army with 3 commanders: Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, but they advise David to remain behind in safety since he was the king. 5 The king charged Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” The final battle between David’s men and Absalom’s men takes place in the forest of Ephraim (locate that again on the map above). David’s army killed 20,000 of Absalom’s men and Absalom fled on his mule. Do you remember that Absalom was very handsome and had long hair that he only cut once per year? As he was fleeing, that hair got caught in a tree and he was left hanging from the tree by his hair. Ouch! Joab defied David’s instructions about not killing Absalaom and thrust 3 spears into the heart of Absalom as he was hanging from the tree. David has lost control of Joab but is probably afraid of him and is struck with him as one of his commanders even though he replaced him with Abishai. When the runners came to David with news of the death of Absalom, 33 The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” “King David loved Absalom with a deep, unconditional paternal bond, driven by natural parental affection, guilt over his own parenting failures, and the charismatic beauty of his son. (The Vineyard Camp, Medium, Wikipedia) Perhaps you have seen some father show this kind of love to a son even though the son despised his father and did many things to hurt his father. I know of one such thing just recently as the rebellious son didn’t even come to the funeral of his father but his father was still expressing his love for that son in the years before he died. Not that a father doesn’t love his daughters, but there is just something special about a father’s love for his sons.

OCT 20 READ 2 SAMUEL 9-13

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2 Samuel 9: David’s kindness to Mephibosheth. David’s good heart is seen as he wants to show “God’s kindness” to anyone still alive from the house of Saul. That is really being kind considering Saul spent 10 years trying to kill David. Jonathon’s lame son Mephibosheth was found, which I’m sure pleased David b/c of his close friendship with David. Mephibosheth spent the rest of his life eating at David’s table like one of David’s sons.

2 Samuel 10: David defeats the Ammonites and Arameans. The Ammonites humiliated David’s messengers that were sent to them by David to express sympathy for the death of their king. David then defeated the 33,000 men of the Ammonnites and hired mercenaries of the Arameans. David killed 40,000 of them.

2 Samuel 11: David and Bathsheeba. Most of us know the story of David’s sin with Bathsheeba, so no need to retell the whole story. A few observations: David broke at least 4 of the 10 commandments, two of were punishable by stoning. The 6th (not murder: David had Uriah killed on the battlefield but also several others were killed along with Uriah making David a mass murderer). The 7th (not commit adultery). The 9th (not bear false witness). He lied, deceived, and covered up his sin for a while year before Nathan came to him and condemned him. The 10th (not covet your neighbor’s wife). He deserved 4 counts of the death penalty!

2 Samuel 12: Nathan rebukes David. David already had 7 wives but he took Uriah’s only wife (aka the parable Nathan used). When Nathan confronted him with his sins, David sincerely repented and God spared him the death penalty. God forgave his sins. Stop right now and read Psalm 32 where David talked about the tole his sin had on him during the year that he hid the sin but then how God forgave him. Then read Psalm 51 where he begs for God to forgive him, to create in him a clean heart, and to restore the joy of salvation. The heading on Psalm 51 says the psalm was written after the sin with Bathsheeba. But the punishment for his sin was terrible.1) The death of his child that Bathsheeba was carrying. 2) The sword in his house: Violence and bloodshed would never depart from David’s own household (such as when Absalom killed Amnon for raping his sister). 3) Trouble and rebellion would rise against him from within his own family (such as the revolt led by his son Absalom and then his son Adonijah trying to steal the throne from Solomon when David was on his death bed). 4) His own wives would be taken and laid with in public view as a direct response to his hidden sin (In 2 Samuel 16:21–22, Absalom sleeps with ten of King David’s concubines (often referred to in related passages as his wives or women) in public on the roof of the royal palace. I must add this. I am shocked that God allowed David to keep Bathsheeba as his wife after the whole incident. He would never have been allowed to have Bathsheeba as a wife as long as Uriah lived, but after he killed Uriah, even though he was forgiven, he gets to take her as a wife. The grace of God is obvious when people repent. I have seen many marital situations where people who have divorced just have to trust in the grace of God and move on. You can’t unscramble scrambled eggs! Repent with a pure heart and sincere motive, make the best decision that you can, trust God and pray that He will accept your decision. Meanwhile, Joab and David are still fighting those Ammonites! David defeats and plunders them, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.

Life Lesson: Even when God forgives our sins, there may be serious consequences of our sins. Bathsheeba might have been beautiful and that night of sex with her might have been scintillating, but was it worth it???? David probably asked himself that question many, many times in the years after his sin. When you face a big temptation, ask yourself, “What might be the consequences if I yield to this temptation and sin?” How is this going to affect my wife and family if I have that affair? How might one night of drugs change my whole life? What will giving in to my boyfriend’s push for sex mean for my emotional stability in the future, especially if I don’t marry him? What might happen if I lie on my resume? How might one drunk driving incident affect my life and/or the lives of others? What will losing my temper cause (my friend did 25 years in prison b/c he lost his temper and killed a man). What might cheating in college cost me if I get caught? What impact would a hasty abortion on my life? Maybe you have already committed a serious sin and have faced or are facing the consequences right now. BTW you need to counsel your friends on this life lesson. When you see a friend being tempted to drink at a party, have sex, do drugs, commit a crime, then discuss what the consequences might be. It’s bad enough that we sin against God, but thinking about consequences of sin might deter us from sinning.

Life Lesson: Another lesson might be how David responded to the death of Bathsheeba’s child. It appears that he spent 7 nights (maybe 7 nights and days) fasting, weeping, and lying in sackcloth praying that God would spare the child. When the child died, his attendants were afraid to even tell him for fear that he would do something “desperate” (like commit suicide). 12:20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” I’m sure David felt the guilt of his sin every night for the rest of his life, but at least he moved on from his sin. Some people find it hard to move on after some horrible experience or sin. Paul said in Philippians 3: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul had imprisoned, tortured, and murdered Christians before he converted to Jesus. No doubt he lived with guilt for the rest of his life after his conversion, but he moved on and used the rest of his time on earth to serve God. This next slide is great!

2 Samuel 13: Amnon rapes Tamar. This next slide shows David’s family. Tamar was Amnon’s half-sister. Absalom and Tamar were full blooded brother and sister. That explains the hatred Absalom had for Amnon when he heard about the rape. He never said anything to Amnon, but was plotting to kill him and did kill him 2 years later. It says that David was furious when he found out about the rape of Tamar, but he did nothing. Why not? Did he feel that he was unable to discipline his sons b/c of what he had done with Bathsheeba? It is interesting that David mourned many days for the death of Amnon. Absalom fled for 3 years to Geshur so that is an indication that David was angry with Absalom for killing Amnno. But at the same time, longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death. Maybe that was near the end of Absalom 3 years of exile. David is having nothing but trouble in his household just as Nathan predicted.

Life Lesson: It says, 13:15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” The truth is that he never truly loved her to begin with. It was pure lust, not love. It is hard to tell the difference between lust and love when you are single and dating. Perhaps you will have that lustful desire for someone that you are physcially attracted to. That is to be expected. But make sure that you really love them and that your potential mate really loves you. How can you determine that? You can’t be sure, but one indication is that your boyfriend never pushes you to have sex before marriage. The girl can really help by saying a firm “no”. If he can’t handle that “no”, then you don’t want to marry him anyway. This is all a much bigger life lesson for boys than girls. You don’t usually run into the situation where the girl wants to have sex and the boy doesn’t (such as with Joseph and Poliphar’s wife!) Lust wants what satisfies a boy’s lustful sexual desires, what makes him happy. Love wants what is best for your girlfriend in the long run. I read a book where the author studied hundreds of cases where the girlfriend reluctantly gave in to have sex with her boyfriend after he pushed her to have sex. Almost always, the boy dumped the girl after the sex (ever how long the sexual episodes lasted). The girls is stuck with an emotions issue that will stay with her as she loses her virginity and faces difficult memories when she eventually marries someone. He probably goes away without much guilt or bad memories. It’s a “double standard” on these issues at time, isn’t it? Advice: Avoid all situations where lust could arise to the point of sinning. Do friend dating with couples instead of solos. Guys, make yourself leave when you feel that lustful temptation coming on. Free advice and counseling!

OCT 19 READ 2 SAMUEL 4-8

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2 Samuel 4 Death of Ishbosheth. It gets worse! 2 of Ishbosheth’s men stabbed him to death while on his bed resting. They brought his head to David, expecting a reward. Would you care to guess what David did? Do you remember what he did to the man who brought the crown of Saul to David, claiming to have killed Saul? Yes, he killed them, cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron. David had Ishbosheth’s head buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. Mephibosheth was Jonathon’s son who was lame in both feet due to a fall when his nurse fled with him from Jezreel when he was 5 years old.

2 Samuel 5 David anointed king over all 12 tribes. So all 12 tribes come to David at Hebron and made a covenant with David and anointed him king over all 12 tribes. 5:4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.” David conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital. The city was built on a naturally fortified ridge surrounded by deep valleys and steep slopes, making it very difficult for enemies to attack. Fresh Water Access: Jerusalem had a dependable, year-round water supply from the Gihon Spring located just outside the eastern wall of the City of David. David’s general, Joab, led an elite force that sneaked into the city by climbing through an underground water channel or shaft connected to the Gihon Spring. David “inquired of the Lord twice and defeated the Philistines both time.

2 Samuel 6: David brings the ark to Jerusalem. The next two slides tell the journey of the ark from Shloh to Jerusalem. Thie first slide reviews how the ark ended up at Kiriath-Yearim for 20 years.The 2nd slide tells how David brought the ark from Kiriath-Yearim to Jerusalem. They are carrying the ark on a cart instead of with poles as God commanded. The oxen stumbled and Uzzah grabbed the ark to keep it falling and God struck him dead for his “irreverent act”. That’s one of those hard to explain events. It seems innocent enough that Uzzah would try to keep the ark from falling to the ground even though they were carrying it improperly. God knows the hearts and maybe Uzzah was a bad person who deserved what he got. Maybe God just wanted to make an example to others about following his commands more closely. Then there is David dancing in a linen ephod when the ark gets to Jerusalem. Michal despised him for that because she felt his uninhibited, public dancing before the Ark of the Covenant was a shameful and vulgar breach of royal dignity. 6:20 Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” God made her barren b/c of her criticism of David.

2 Samuel 7 God’s promise to David. 2 Samuel 7 has one of the most important predictions in the Old Testament. David felt bad b/c he had a nice cedar house but the ark of the covenant was in a tent (the tabernacle). He wanted to build a temple for God. God basically said, “Have I ever asked the Israelites to build me a temple? If I wanted one, I would have told you so.” But then he said that he would allow Solomon to build the temple. That’s kinda weird:”I don’t want a temple but I am going to let Solomon build one anyway!” Kinda like giving Israel a king: “I don’t want a king but I’m giving you one anyway!” Is God thinking that a permanent structure temple might be a better way of trying to keep Israel worshipping the one true God? If so, that worked sometimes but many other times the Israelites are building pagan altars in the temple of God! We know that Solomon is a main part of the fulfillment of this prediction b/c it says, “if he commit iniquity” I will punish him. That could not refer to Jesus who was sinless. The Jesus part of this prophecy is this:7:16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Luke 1 confirms this to be a Messianic prophecy: Luke 1:30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Peter confirmed this to be Messianic of Jesus in Acts 2:
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” So Peter is telling the Jews that the promise in 2 Samuel 7 was fulfilled when Jesus arose and ascended to the right hand of the Father and that he began sitting on the throne of David when he ascended. It was spiritual throne in heaven and not an earthly throne over an earthly kingdom which is what the Jews were expecting. Jesus would be king forever over his spiritual kingdom, the church. Psalm 89:“I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.” David, after being told this by Nathan, prayed a very. humble, grateful prayer praising God for all that He had done for Israel and David and asking God to bless David’s house forever as promised.

2 Samuel 8:David’s victories. 1 Chronicles 22:8: David tells Solomon that God said to him, “You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.” When you read 2 Samuel 8, you see what God was talking about. An agnostic might struggle with all this killing, but times were different back then. God had chosen Israel as his holy nation. He need to keep Israel strong until the Messiah Jesus would come through the Jewish nation. That meant defeating the enemies of Israel back then. Also remember that these nations that David killed so many of were some of the same nations that God had told Israel to completely destroy when they entered Canaan (like the Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines)but they did not do that. So these nations are still there and they want to destroy Israel. Some of Israel’s enemies at the time of David were Edomites, Moabites, Arameans who wanted to destroy Israel. David is killing those enemies who wanted to destroy God’s holy nation, so remember that as you read about all the bloodshed.

OCT 18 READ 1 SAMUEL 30-31; 2 SAMUEL 1-3

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1 Samuel 30 Ziklag. Achish sent David back to Ziklag where David’s wives and the families of his men were living. While David had been off with Achish, Amalekites had raided Ziklag and taken captive David’s two wives and the families of the 600 men fighting with him. His men spoke of stoning David. He inquired of the Lord using the high priest ephod to see if he should pursue the Amalekites, and was told to do so. He took 400 men, leaving 200 exhausted men with the baggage, and rescued the captives, slaughtering the Amalekites. The 400 men who went did not want to share the spoils with the 200 who stayed with the baggage, but David said “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.” David shared the spoils from the raid with the people of Judah living in cities of Judah. That’s a great principle today. Many go off into foreign fields to do the Lord’s work and many, for whatever reasons, stay back in the US and support those who go. They share the “spoils” of success equally. I read every day where EEM partners in Europe deliver Bibles and see the joy of those receiving them. I get to share in that great work by supporting EEM.

1 Samuel 31 Mt Gilboa: The death of Saul and his 3 sons. As Samuel predicted, Saul and his 3 sons died at Mt Gilboa in a battle with the Philistines. Saul took his own life so a Philistine could not kill him. The Philistines found him, cut off his head and fastened the bodies of Saul and his sons to a wall. The men of Jabesh-Gilead (the city Saul rescued from having their right eyes put out) came and took down the bodies, burned and buried them. Thus ends the life of King Saul.

2 Samuel 1 An Amalekite brings Saul’s crown to David and claims that he killed Saul at Saul’s request having been critically wounded. We know that was not true (Saul killed himself) but the Amalekite thought David would give him a reward so he lied. Instead David had him killed for “killing the Lord’s anointed”. Then David took up a “lament” for Saul and Jonathon that is recorded in the book of Jashur. There are many such books that were not considered worthy of being put in the Old Testament canon. 3 times he says, “How the mighty have fallen”. He especially grieved over the death of Jonathon. 1″25 Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.” It is sad that some try to make this imply homosexual love between Jonathon and David. The Law of Moses clearly condemned homosexuality. They just had a special, deep, non-sexual bond of spiritual brotherhood, political alliance, and covenant loyalty (comparable to ancient Near Eastern friendship pacts) rather than erotic love. (Marc Sims, Cross Examined)

Here is a great slide that I will use for David’s life as king in 2 Samuel.

2 Samuel 2 David is anointed in Hebron as king but only of the tribe of Judah. He will be king over Judah only for 7 1/2years. Saul’s commander Abner makes Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth (obviously not one of Saul’s sons killed at Mt Gilboa) king over the other 11 tribes. Ishbosheth will only reign as king for 2 years and then there was 5 years of civil war before David is made king over all 12 tribes after being king over Judah for 7 1/2 years. The 5 year gap between when Ishbosheth died and David became king over all 12 tribes has been explained with several different theories that we won’t get into here. There was so much violence during this time. Abner, Ishbosheth’s commander, and Joab, David’s commander, meet and each sends out 12 men who battle hand to hand. 2: 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together.” Abner and Joab were just sitting back watching the slaughter like people watch WWF violence, nothing but a sport. Joab’s brother Asahel chased Abner and Abner told him to stop b/c he did not want to kill him. He wouldn’t stop and Abner killed him, thrusting the butt of his spear through Asahel’s stomach, implying that he is trying to get away from Asahael, not even facing him when he rams the butt end of his spear backwards into Asahel. Joab and Abner agree to stop fighting for the time being.

2 Samuel 3 David’s wives. There was also a lot of polygamy. David had 8 wives and many concubines. I don’t understand why God allowed that, especially why he allowed concubines which were just basically mistresses. David had 19 named sons and many more sons by his concubines. Even David violated one of the warnings Moses gave Israel about the bad things that a king would do, i.e. have many wives.

Sounds like a soap doesn’t it? Abner is angry with Ishbosheth b/c he criticized Abner for sleeping with his concubine. Ishbosheth was afraid of Abner and said no more. So Abner switches allegiance to David and to getting all 12 tribes to accept David as king. But David makes that conditional on returning his wife Michal to him (Saul had given her to Paltiel) which Abner did. Kinda sad: 3:16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.” David sends Abner away in peace to persuade the 11 tribes to make David their king. Joab was angry with David for letting Abner go, accusing him of just being a spy. So Joab gets Abner to come back to Hebron and killed Abner for killing Joab’s brother Asahel! David claimed innocence in the killing of Abner and put a curse of Joab’s family. David mourned the death of Abner. 3: 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.” That was an important political move on David’s part to get the 11 tribes to trust him. David admitted that Joab and his brothers were “too strong” for him and he was basically afraid of Joab.

Stay tuned for the next episode of this soap! Keep readying the texts and the blogs!

OCT 17 READ 1 SAMUEL 25-29

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

We continue to name and number the places David fled to during the 10 years that Saul was pursuing him


10. Wilderness of Paran 1 Sam 25. A very rich but harsh, evil business man, Nabal, refused to give David sheep for his men even though David’s men could have raided Nabal’s sheep in the fields but did not. David gets 400 of his men ready to go kill Nabal and his servants, and take what they want. Nabal’s wife, Abigail, brought plenty of food to David without Nabal knowing, and asked him not to kill Nabal. David concluded that the Lord had sent her to keep him from seeking vengeance in anger, and thanked her for her discernment. Many New Testament verses tell us not to ever seek revenge against our enemies or seek retaliation. When Abigail returned to Nabal and he found out what she had done, his heart died within in and the Lord struck him dead 10 days later. David took Abigail as his wife, along with Ahinoam, b/c Saul had given his wife Michal to Palti. Here’s a map showing where the wilderness of Paran was located.

Here’s a map of places David fled to in 1 Samuel 24-27.


11. Wilderness of Ziph 1 Sam 26 The Ziphites told Saul where David was, and Saul took 3000 men to pursue him. David’s spies told him where Saul’s camp was, so David sneaked in and took Saul’s spear and jug of water, even though Abishai was telling him to kill Saul. From a distance David called out to Abner, showing him the spear and jug. Saul, as in the cave in 1 Sam 24, seems penitent again, and leaves.


12. Gath 1 Sam 27 David decides that his only choice is to escape to the Philistine king of Gath for protection, and Saul, upon hearing that, no longer searched for him. The king Achish gave David the city of Ziklag so David’s wives and the families of his men would eventually all be living in Ziklag. While telling Achish that he is raiding Israelites, he actually is raiding non-Israelite enemies of Achish, killing everyone both men and women there so there would be no witnesses. The Philistines prepared for war against Israel, and Achish trusted David to be his bodyguard for life and David agreed.

1 Samuel 28 Saul goes to the medium at Endor.

King Saul visits a hidden medium at Endor to summon the dead prophet Samuel for military advice on the eve of a battle against the Philistines. 

The Background

  • The threat: The Philistine army gathered for war against Israel, and King Saul grew deeply afraid.
  • God’s silence: Saul tried to seek guidance from God through dreams, prophets, and sacred lots, but received no answer.
  • The hypocrisy: Out of desperation, Saul turned to necromancy—despite having previously banned and expelled all mediums and sorcerers from Israel on pain of death. Moses had condemned mediums, spiritists, etc. in Deuteronomy.

The Encounter at Endor

  • The disguise: Saul disguised himself, traveled by night with two men, and found a medium (the “Witch of Endor”).
  • The oath: The woman initially hesitated out of fear of Saul’s own laws, but Saul swore an oath by God that no harm would come to her.
  • The summoning: Saul asked her to bring up the spirit of Samuel. The woman saw the apparition, realized her visitor was Saul, and cried out in shock. Saul calmed her and asked what she saw.  Her shock proves that she had not been able to actually raise someone from the dead before this IMO.

The Prophecy and Aftermath

  • The message: The spirit of Samuel rebuked Saul for turning to the occult after God had departed from him. 
  • The doom: Samuel foretold that the Lord would hand Israel over to the Philistines, and that Saul and his sons would die in battle the very next day. 
  • The end: Overwhelmed with terror and despair, Saul collapsed to the ground. True to the prophecy, the Israelite army was routed at Mount Gilboa the next day, and Saul committed suicide to avoid capture. Jonathon was killed in the battle also.

13 Ziklag 1 Sam 29-30. The Philistine lords joining Achish in the battle against Israel demanded that David not be allowed to go into battle with them b/c of his reputation of killing Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 29). Achish told David that he could not go. David acted offended, but it must have been a relief for him b/c he would have been forced to kill Israelites if he had gone. Achish then sends David back to Ziklag so his days in Gath are finished. Meanwhile, while David was off with Achish, Amalekites had raided Ziklag and taken captive David’s two wives and the families of the 600 men fighting with him. His men spoke of stoning David. He inquired of the Lord using the high priest ephod to see if he should pursue the Amalekites, and was told to do so. He took 400 men, leaving 200 exhausted men with the baggage, and rescued the captives, slaughtering the Amalekites. The 400 men who went did not want to share the spoils with the 200 who stayed with the baggage, but David said “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.” David shared the spoils from the raid with the people of Judah living in cities of Judah. That’s a great principle today. Many go off into foreign fields to do the Lord’s work and many, for whatever reasons, stay back in the US and support those who go. They share the “spoils” of success equally. I read every day where EEM partners in Europe deliver Bibles and see the joy of those receiving them. I get to share in that great work by supporting EEM.

I actually added 1 Samuel 30 to today’s reading.