Today's Scripture Reading (June 20, 2025): 2 Samuel 3
On
two occasions, I have memorized and delivered as a worship message the text
from Jesus's "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5-7). It was a thought-provoking
experience. The first time I did it, I instructed my audience to place their
Bibles and notes under their chairs and listen to the words as if they were
hearing them for the first time. I admit that, as I committed to memorizing the
text, I built a connection between myself and the words of Jesus. The "Sermon
on the Mount" has become one of those guiding passages for me through
which I frequently struggle. If there is an essential passage that I think
every Christian should know, it begins with this sermon of Jesus. However,
essential or foundational does not mean easy. "The Sermon on the Mount"
continues to be one of those texts that is very hard to put into practice. Daring
to live a God-centered life begins with reading what God expects from us. However,
if we are going to make a difference, we need to put into practice the words we
have read.
Have
you ever wondered if people who should have read the Bible have read it? I
have, and for me, that question begins with the Kings of Israel. The idea that
the kings must read the Law was part of God's instructions for all future
kings. It is part of the instructions God gave to Moses centuries before a King
was placed over the people of Israel. In his last set of speeches before the
people of Israel, Moses told them;
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken
possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a
king over us like all the nations around us," be sure to appoint over you a
king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow
Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite
… When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for
himself on a scroll a copy of this Law, taken from that of the
Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is
to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to
revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this Law
and these decrees and not consider himself
better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the Law to the right or to
the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his
kingdom in Israel (Deuteronomy 17:14-15, 18-20, emphasis mine).
The King was to write the Law down and read it every day of
his life so that he would know what it contained. One of the instructions
pertaining to Kings found in the Law was this; "He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He
must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold" (Deuteronomy
17:17).
The
King was to write down the Law. I wonder if David or Solomon fulfilled this
part of the spiritual expectations as they began their reigns over Israel or if
they overlooked this aspect of their activities. If they had, it should have
changed their behavior. David settles down in Hebron, from where he will rule
for seven years. During those seven years, he will have six children, born from
six different wives. Some wonder why the Bible never condemns this polygamy. But
the truth is that the Bible has already condemned the behavior in Deuteronomy. So
now, the story of David illustrates the consequences of disobeying God.
The
story of the effect of David's polygamy is written in the impact it has on his
children. And it all starts with Amnon, who rapes his sister and then is killed
by a brother. But the story won't end there. It will proceed through sons like
Absalom, who will kill Amnon, and Adonijah, who will attempt to seize the
throne from his father, as well as other trials of the children of David. Perhaps
if David had written down the Law, and maybe if we had bothered to write down
the "Sermon on the Mount," David's and our lives would be different
and better.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 4
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