You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. – 2 Samuel 22:28

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 31, 2013): 2 Samuel 22

I cheer for the underdog. If there are two sports teams playing that I do not have an emotional attachment to, then I will cheer for the one least likely to win. I am not really sure that I understood that until a few years ago. An acquaintance of mine came up with a simple question, why do you cheer for that team – I mean, they never win. And then he turned the thought around – why do you not cheer for my team, and then he started to list the championships and near championships that were lurking in his favorite team’s history. And about half way through the recitation I realized how little I cared about those things. I wanted to cheer for the teams that Las Vegas said had no chance to win. (Having said that, I will be cheering for the Toronto Blue Jays this year, it has been a long time for them and I will support them even though it seems that they might be becoming one of the five or six teams expected to win this year – of course, there is also that existence of that pesky emotional attachment.) But I enjoy so much more listening to teams who can say “we just focussed on each other and played together until we won the championship” rather than listening to teams who just believed that they were the best. There is something about humility that I find deeply beautiful.

David writes a song of praise to the God that has rescued him and in it he begins to list all of the things that God honors. But the reader quickly realizes that he is not talking about himself. He is very few of these things. Maybe the ones that have gathered around him might be pure and blameless, but not David. David has seemed to stumble at every point. But the tenor of the Psalm is that unless God moved, David would not have survived – God had saved David, and David was well aware of it. What David seemed to possess in abundance in this moment was humility. David was becoming other focused, a trait that is at the heart of humility – and David realizes that that was why God had saved him.

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity makes this observation. “If you were to meet a truly humble person we would never come away from meeting them thinking they were humble. They would not be always telling us they were humble. They would not always be telling us they were a nobody. The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.”

David’s reality – and ours – is that when our thoughts and concern begin to be consistently about the people that are around us – it is then that we are allowing God to move in our lives – and then that he can come to save us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 18

Note:  Last Week's message "Run with Pride" - the final message from the series "Danny Boy" rom VantagePoint Community Church  is now available on the VantagePoint website. You can find it here.

… let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul—the LORD’s chosen one.” So the king said, “I will give them to you.” – 2 Samuel 21:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 30, 2013): 2 Samuel 21

I have to admit that, when I am tired, I am vulnerable to doing things that I would never do if I was energized. That is actually the theory behind the idea of torture – you physically test and try the person until he is exhausted and then the person will do anything to make the ordeal end. But our reality is that most of us do not need torture to get us to that point – the everyday circumstances of life are often enough.

Sometimes I think we read the Bible with the idea that everything that is mentioned within its pages is somehow God ordained. But that is not the reality, and this story is a case in point. The Gibeonites had come to David with a problem of justice. During the day of Joshua, Joshua had promised that the people of Gibeon would be spared by the armies of Israel – even thought Gideon was not of Israel. Now, in that story we find out that that promise was not of God, but nevertheless, the promise stood. But Saul had discarded the promise and had attacked Gibeon and now the people of Gibeon had come to David to request of him a chance to take revenge on Saul. But Saul was already long dead, so the revenge would have to be on his house.

And David seems to have committed the same error as Israel; he did not inquire of God what was right. We can make that judgment on two grounds. First, there is no mention of David asking God what to do in this situation and, second, the action that David embarks on actually violates two laws given to Moses. The intention of the Gibeonites is to kill the seven descendants of Saul (in this case it would be his grandsons) and then hang their bodies from a tree – exposed – until the autumn rains come. The effect would be a warning against those who might come against them. But the Law of Moses clearly states that if a man is guilty of a capital crime (note, the men being executed were not guilty of the crime, but merely a descendant of the man who had committed the crime) and his body is hung from a tree, the body should be taken down and buried before sunset (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). And that brings us to the second violation, only the man who committed the crime can be put to death – family members are exempt.

But because David forgot to ask (the truth is probably that he was tired and just wanted all of this foolishness to end) and seven male descendants of Saul lost their lives as a result. Jonathan’s son David was able to save, but the seven that David allowed to be killed represented the whole generation of Saul. It was a confirmation of the pagan principle that if you kill some of us, we will wipe out a generation of you. But the question that reader is left with is – was there not some other way of atoning for Saul’s sin. And the answer is that God desired something different as well, but he was never consulted. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 22

Hasten, O God, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. – Psalm 70:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 29, 2013): Psalm 70

One of the misconceptions of the Christian faith is found in the idea that God will never give you more than you can handle. I hear it all the time. One friend, quoting a famous speaker, recently made the comment that he understands that God will not give him more than he can handle, but at this point in his life he just wished that God did not have such a high opinion of his abilities. But the problem with the statement is that Jesus never made that assurance for us. In fact, throughout history there have been many people that have had experiences beyond what they could handle, and God never did come through for them. And I know this because they failed the ultimate “I can handle this” test of life – they stopped living (or, if you prefer, they died.) The promise that Jesus did make was that he would not allow us to be tempted beyond the point where we can say no. But the promise was never that we would always feel that we are able to handle life.

David had reached the point where he could no longer handle life. By the time this Psalm is written, David has already been through a lot of living. His story is beginning to get long. And it started off with a long conflict with Saul. But God moved and Saul died. And after Saul had died, the conflict just moved. Now it was battle between the tribe of Judah and the rest of Israel. But God moved, and David won the battle. But the borders of the nation were not secure. So David began to fight the battles with enemies that wanted to destroy his kingdom. He needed to secure the borders. But God moved and the borders became secure. And then Absalom rebelled against him, and David was driven out of his own home and his own city. And Absalom did unspeakable things to the people and things of David, and father was forced to fight a battle against his son. And even though the odds were stacked in the favor of the son, God moved and David prevailed in the war. But now something has changed. David is broken and he is injured – life has taken its toll – and he is no longer sure that he can handle all that life has to offer to him. And then Sheba comes into his life – and David’s question becomes, does this ever end. Have you ever been there?

So David cries out, God, come quickly. Because if you do not come now; then I am afraid that I will no longer be here when you arrive. If you do not save me today, I may not be able to be saved tomorrow. It is a position that at some point in life we all find ourselves in – and we all issue the cry. And it is at that point that we realize – of all the things that we could put our hope in, God is the only one that can come and save. For David, God would come once more. But, maybe more importantly, David knew that whether God came to rescue him in this life and in this situation – or waited to usher him into the next, he knew that God would always comes.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 21

They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows. – Psalm 64:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 28, 2013): Psalm 64

I have thought about writing a blog sometime simply entitled “Lies We Tell Our Children” – because if we are honest there are a few big whoppers that we tell. One is that you can be anything that you want to be. It is the American Dream – anyone from anywhere can be a star. But that really is not true. We are all gifted to become something, but not to become anything. The truth is that B. F Skinner was wrong; we are not blank slates waiting for someone to create something in us. We are born with innate abilities and interests – and a grace given by God - that carry us toward something special. But we cannot be anything. A case in point is found in the story of Absalom and David. Absalom wanted to be king – not someday, but now. But the reality was that God’s hand was on David. He had ordained David to be king and there was nothing that Absalom could do to change that. It might have been that Absalom would have been king someday had he not rebelled, but this was not the time for King Absalom. Absalom could never achieve that dream.

Another lie that we tell our children is encapsulated in a little poem that we teach them – “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” The truth is probably more that the bruises and cuts from the sticks and stones will eventually heal, but a lot of us are still suffering under the wounds that we have felt because of what has been said about us. I know that I am. And sometimes at night when I am alone, I admit that the voices I often hear are the ones that have hurt me with words (and not the things that have thrown things at me to hurt me physically.) The idea that names will never hurt me is simply a lie.

David understands this. The civil war was over with Absalom and David has turned to mourn the death of his son. But Sheba comes and starts to cry out against him. He insults him claiming that he was not really the king; he was just the son of Jesse – and ordinary person. He accuses David of ignoring the eleven tribes of Israel to give all of his attention to the tribe of Judah – the tribe that David had descended from. But at this point they are just words. There are no sticks and stones and there are no broken bones, but the pain was very real.

So David cries out to God and he prays a prayer that recognizes the pain of the words that have been spoken. And he draws an image that is very physical. The image speaks to the reality of the pain that he is experiencing. David says that their tongues are like swords, and their words were like arrows. And when swords and arrows hit their mark, they hurt.

As much as we might want to believe that names will never hurt us, the truth is that words cause a very real pain. But God understands that, and he wants to speak a different name over us – he calls us beloved sons and daughters, worthy ones of all that he has to give us. He is the one that sees us – and calls us beautiful.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 70

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!” – 2 Samuel 20:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 27, 2013): 2 Samuel 20

We live in a finite world. No matter how much money you have in the bank, it is all you have, and for most of us that balance may rise and fall, but it stays within certain boundaries. We have a finite number of possessions. And again, we may buy something new, but often that means that something that is old is about to be discarded. But maybe the biggest finite thing that we have is time. None of us have an unlimited supply. For each one of us, we have twenty four hours in the day. I do not know anyone that has twenty-five or twenty-six. We each have seven days in our week, and again I do not know of any one that has eight. Our months range from twenty-eight to thirty-one days, but that is all that any of us have. And the result is that we have to make choices of what we do with our time – and if you live with demands on your time, you know that there are always people that think they are short changed.

Sheba was of the tribe of Benjamin. It was the tribe of which King Saul had been a member. And whether or not it was true, Sheba felt that David gave less attention to the tribes of Israel, and especially his own tribe of Benjamin, then they deserved (and for Sheba it might be that David simply gave less time to the tribe of Benjamin then Saul had given to the tribe – but he had been born into the tribe of Benjamin). It is not likely that this was something new. But what was new was that David was in a weakened state. He had just battled a civil war against his son, and in the midst of the war, his son, Absalom, had died. So David won the battle, but in many ways he had lost the war. And in this moment in time, David was militarily weaker than he had been, and he was in mourning the loss of his son.  So now, the time was ripe for his opponents to move against him. That was something that Sheba of the tribe of Benjamin understood.

So Sheba begins to make his charge. The charge is that David had ignored the tribes, he had given his time only to Judah (the charge was unlikely on the whole, but in the recent past the civil war between David and Absalom had been a conflict within the tribe of Judah). But then Sheba calls into question David’s right to sit on the throne. He calls David the son of Jesse, and the intent behind the words is that David was just a man – he was not the king, he was simply the son of man named Jesse. David was nobody important.

It is always something that the enemy wants us to believe about ourselves. We are nobody important, just the sons and daughters of other people. But God’s message to us is radically different - we are his sons and daughters, and we are called to his purpose. That was David’s real identity – and it was an identity that Sheba could not change.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 64

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church Sermon "Detoxification" from the Sermon Series "Danny Boy" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here.

So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king promised him on oath. – 2 Samuel 19:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 26, 2013): 2 Samuel 19

A few years ago I was driving in a nearby town and I, unintentionally, cut a guy off. Immediately, I realized what I had done, and I watched the advent of Road Rage rise in the face of my victim. I think he was about to scream at me when I rolled my window down and smiled and said – sorry, my bad. I know I was in the wrong and I apologize. Almost immediately, the Road Rage that had been about to explode out of him simply disappeared and was replaced by a sense of confusion. It just was not the reaction that he was expecting. He paused, and then mumbled something about it being okay and we all make mistakes sometimes – and then he drove off. But he was right – we do all make mistakes.

Shimei had cursed the king as he had left Jerusalem. The reality was that he was making a gamble. As the king left the city, he could no longer protect the people within the gates. The best defense, no matter what your political leanings might have been, was to curse the outgoing king and praise the one that was in control of the city.

So as the war ends, David has a problem. He had no idea neither of who it was that had felt coerced into their actions – nor who it was that were really his enemies. It is a story that would be repeated time and time again as David moved back into Jerusalem. So David decides on a unique course of action – he decides to display grace. I am not sure that any one in David’s circle of influence understood David’s motive – after all, it really did not matter what the reason was for the rebellion. Either way, the people who rebelled could not be trusted.

But David understood that that was exactly what God had done with him. Even though David had rebelled, God had offered grace as his response. It was God’s response to David, and it is God’s response to us. So, like David, what other choice do we have other than to offer grace to those around us.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 20

Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going. – 2 Samuel 18:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 25, 2013): 2 Samuel 18

In 1986, in game seven of a preliminary round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers were facing off against the Calgary Flames. The series had been long anticipated by fans of both cities. The Oilers and the Flames were both top teams in the NHL as well as being provincial rivals. Edmonton was in the middle of a series of Stanley Cup wins and there was no reason to expect that this year would any different. But the series between the Oilers and Flames had been memorable. And with the score tied in the third period, it was becoming obvious to anyone watching that the Oilers were simply too much for the Flames. The Oilers were pressing and Flames were out of gas. And then it happened. The Flames dumped the puck into the Oilers zone in an attempt to get fresh players on the ice, and the Oilers Steve Smith picked up the puck and scored on his own net. Smith flopped on the ice in an agony of embarrassment – and the Flames eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs. It was not the way it was supposed to end – but it was the way it would end.

Absalom is riding into battle against the forces of his father. As the reader moves through the story, it is evident that in Israel Absalom’s star was on the rise while David’s was falling. But all of that was about to change. Absalom was riding into battle on a donkey. It was the action of kings, and so riding on the donkey was simply a way that Absalom could proclaim himself as the real king. So it is King Absalom that rides into battle. But then the unthinkable happened. Absalom’s donkey carries him under the low hanging branches of a tree.

We are not really sure of the details of what happened next. Josephus, a Jewish historian from just after the time of Christ, says that the donkey carried Absalom under a tree and his hair got tangled up in the branches causing him to be trapped hanging from the tree. Some biblical scholars argue that if it was just his hair that was caught, Absalom would have at least tried to extricate himself from the situation. For them, it is more likely that the donkey carried him into a branch with a V in it. The resulting collision was completed with enough force that Absalom was temporarily knocked unconscious, leaving his body simply hanging limply from a tree. But, whichever way it happened the result was that Absalom, the would be king, had his head trapped in a tree and his body hung helplessly in front of his enemies.  

It was an embarrassing way for the rebellion to end, but sometimes there are just events in life that we can never adequately account for. And that is the reason why, in sport, the adage is that because the unexpected happens, the game simply must be played.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 19

This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel. – 2 Samuel 17:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 24, 2013): 2 Samuel 17

In George R. R Martin’s epic saga of “A Song of Fire and Ice” – maybe more popularly known as “The Game of Thrones,” there are two groups of people that are without thought to be without honor. The first is the Kingslayer. One of the characters in the saga is stuck with the nickname “Kingslayer” because he was involved in the overthrow of one dynasty to raise up another. But he was more than just a Kingslayer, he was also the one who went against the commitments the he had made. He was a betrayer, because before he became the Kingslayer, he had been part of the King’s personal guard – he had been charged with the protection of the very king that he would end up killing. And because of that very fact, there are some in the saga that have a hard time trusting the Kingslayer.

But as bad as being a Kingslayer was, there was one category that was worse – and that was the Kinslayer – the one who was willing to kill his own relatives. There could be no one worse crime than being willing to kill a member of the family for profit.

David, actively resisted falling into either category. During the reign of Saul he had tried to honor the King in all circumstances – he saw him as the anointed one of God. No one would ever be able to walk up to him and call him a Kingslayer. But he also resisted the idea that he could be a Kinslayer. As Absalom takes up arms against him, part of the problem logistically is that David repeatedly refuses to be the one who would bring about the death of his own son. David had made the active decision to be neither the Kingslayer nor the Kinslayer.

Absalom, on the other hand, did not seem to mind becoming both. There might be a message about how far Israel had fallen away from God in this comment from 2 Samuel 17. Absalom and the elders of Israel found the plan “good” that plotted to kill both the anointed king of Israel and the man who was Absalom’s father. The Hebrew word that is used here is “yashar,” and the word carries a moral overtone. The elders of Israel had decided that becoming a Kingslayer and a Kinslayer was actually not just practical, but the righteous thing to do.

In this, it would seem that maybe Israel had confused what was pragmatic and what was morally right. It is a battle that we all face. And when it comes to a choice between the pragmatic and the righteous, we are to choose the righteous option. And this might have summed up the difference between David and Absalom – David was a man after God’s own heart because his desire was toward righteous action in his life, while Absalom was willing to do the pragmatic – and simply call it righteous.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 18

The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfather’s kingdom.’” – 2 Samuel 16:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 23, 2013): 2 Samuel 16

As the National Hockey League lockout ends, I have to admit that I am interested to see what happens with the fan base of some of the teams. It seems to me that from the point of view of the participants in the lockout – the owners and the players – the expectation seems to be that the fans will automatically return. All of the decisions made during the lockout appeared to depend on the fans coming back. And if they do not come back, if the pie to be divided gets significantly smaller, there may be a major problem – especially it would seem with the teams with long-term and bigger dollar players on their rosters. But an assumption has been made that the sport will be able to resume and grow from the spot the sport was at before the lockout ended.

David had honored Mephibosheth because of whose child he was. He showed kindness to him because he was the child of Jonathan, his childhood friend, and the grandchild of Saul, his king. And while David wanted to do something in memory of the house of Saul and so he befriends the only surviving child of Jonathan, there is apparently still a question about Mephibosheth’s allegiance. And so there is a bit of an edge to David’s question which is seen even in the way that David addresses Ziba. David asks Ziba where his “master’s grandson” is? Ziba was the servant of Mephibosheth, but David reminds him that he was the actually the servant of Saul – and in that message was a reminder that the king was dead and that power in Israel had changed.

Ziba did not miss David’s message. He jumps on it and tells David that Mephibosheth had stayed in Jerusalem hoping that in the midst of the civil war hoping that this would be the time when the crown would pass back to the house of Saul – and in spite of his disability, maybe even to the head of Mephibosheth. Ziba wants David to believe that Mephibosheth has been patiently waiting and hoping, wanting to capitalize on the idea that at some time everything would return to the way that it used to be.

But the reality is that we can never go back to the way it used to be. Everything that happens, every action that we do changes our reality. Mephibosheth would never be king. And I am convinced that the lockout has changed the landscape of the NHL – even if it is just found in a lack of trust between the parties involved and between the fans and the players and the league. Our actions today change the reality of the future – and that principle covers the actions of the NHL and the actions of Mephibosheth and of Ziba.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 17

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church Sermon "Feel the Burn" from the Series "Danny Boy" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here.

Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. – Psalm 69:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 22, 2013): Psalm 69

Often our cries to God imply that we are innocent. It is the “Woe is me, have I not ...” kind of response we have when we are in trouble. As I talk to people, I have to admit that often my reaction to their cries is sometimes not filled with empathy. When they ask why this is happening, it is sometimes too easy as an outsider to sit in judgment and wonder how it is that they do not know. Do they not see the cause, in their own lives, of their struggle? But maybe we as a people are not self aware enough to understand the cause for what it is that we are struggling through. It is easy to see it in the lives of someone else, but not quite as easy to see it if it is in our own lives.

David cries out to God. In this case his enemies may be many, but the leader of his enemies is very intimately known by David. His enemy is his son – Absalom. And the reasons for David’s struggle is clearly present in his relationship with his own family. In the experience that David had with Bathsheba, the very fabric of David’s family was torn. It was a cause that had snowballed. David’s Son Amnon raped his sister, Tamar. Absalom, filled with hate because of the rape, killed his brother Amnon. David had felt that the only reaction that he could have was to send Absalom, his son, into exile. And although he did allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem, for two years David still refused contact with his son. So the snowball kept on getting bigger until finally Absalom decided to rebel against his dad – to gather the enemies of dad together and begin the process of trying to take the throne. But the seed of all of the pain that David was feeling now existed in the sins of his own past.

And so as David cries out to God his lack of understanding, he himself seems to be blind to the seeds of his own actions in the rebellion that he now has to quell. And he seems to forget the prophecy of Nathan that it is because of his own sin the sword would not depart from his family.

In the Protestant Church we do not like the idea of confession, but one of the elements of true confession is that we allow someone else have eyes on our life – and in that process we get a chance to see the things that we are blind to – the areas of our lives and the sins where we are not self aware. It is something that we all need, because on some level we all lack a level of self awareness.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 16

From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. – Psalm 3:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 21, 2013): Psalm 3

Maybe one of the most basic questions of life is what is the basis for my expectations of what it is that is yet to come? It is actually the bottom rung of Norman DeJong’s Philosophical ladder. The question that begins DeJong’s ladder (and for DeJong each step of the ladder must be taken in order) is simply what is the basis on which all thinking or knowing rests? Too often, the problems of our lives start with the fact that we have never settled that question. In the church, we often seem to have a non-biblical foundation on which we are trying to build a Christian edifice. But, it does not take long to figure out that our strategy is doomed to failure. Because of the way we have built our foundation, our Christian ideal’s fall quickly away and we end up discarding the faith.

So the question returns – what is the basis for our expectations. And all through the Psalms David is struggling with that question. What is the basis for my expectations? As his son, Absalom rebels against him, the question returns. David understood that if the basis for his expectations was found only in his own ability, he might be in trouble. And if the basis for his expectations was found in his past behavior, then he was definitely in trouble. But David consistently returns to the idea that his expectations are based on God. It was God that had lifted him up from the shepherd’s field to the palace of the king. And God, as evidenced by his dealings with Saul, could just as quickly demote him. His end was based on God. If deliverance was going to come, the only place that it could come from was the basis of his expectations and his faith – God.

So David’s prayer was for God’s blessing, because that was the basis of his understanding -everything came from God. If God blessed his people, then everything would happen according to his plan – and that would 

always be good.

Maybe it is significant that this Psalm is written in the midst of one of the most stressful periods of David’s life. There is maybe not a more troubling time than when you have to deal with the rebellion of a child. And yet, even in this moment in time, David understood from his established base that his deliverance had to come from God. And blessing on his own life, the life of his son and the life of the people under his influence, had to be from God. So, if that is also your understanding, then may God’s blessing also be on you, your family, and your ministry.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 69

Personal Note to Steven: We really miss you.

And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.” – 2 Samuel 15:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 20, 2013): 2 Samuel 15

Back when I was in Junior High School (or Middle School) I remember one election for the school council. What I remember about the election is the day that the speeches were given. The whole school was brought down into the gym for an assembly and those who were running for a position were gathered on the stage - and then the speeches began. We were young, and a lot of the speeches amounted to guys doing stupid things to try to prove that they were the kings – or to attract the girls. And, as in many campaigns, promises were made. That afternoon we heard everything from a promise of different foods and candies that could be offered in the vending machines around the school to a cancelation of exams and shorter school years. As I listened, even as a Junior High student, I realized that all of the promises I was hearing had one thing in common – they were all beyond the scope of the positions we were electing. But in Junior High, that really did not matter. All that mattered was getting elected.

As I have grown older, I have recognized (maybe cynically) that all elections still hold that same premise. Sometimes I have wished that I could be a fly on the wall on the day that the new President or Prime Minister has his or her first meeting with security advisor and finds out all of the reasons why the promises he made during the election campaign were actually impossible. And I sometimes wonder if on that day there is not, just for a fleeting moment, a bit of admiration for the out-going politician and all he was able to complete within the confines of the system. But the goal has not changed since Junior High – the idea remains to simply get elected.

A while back I read an article about all of the promises that President Obama had failed to keep. There was quite a list of promises that remained unfulfilled (in his defense, there was also a list of promises that had either been fulfilled or partially fulfilled.) But in a number of ways the article also misses the point. In a changing world, promises and priorities can often need to change. The real evaluation question is this – how did the politician react to the situation that time placed in front of him (or her) during their time in office. If they did well, then whether or not they were able to keep the promise made during the campaign really does not matter.

The other side of it is this – promises are always easier to make than they are to keep. As Absalom sits on the side of the road, outside of the power structure, it is easy to make promises. Without the responsibility of running the nation, Absalom did not have to worry about how his promises conflicted with the needs of the society at large. He could just make the promises. And without responsibility, it was easy to garner the praise and love of the people.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 3

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church Sermon "Danny's Diet" - the first sermon from the series :Danny Boy" is available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here

Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. – 2 Samuel 14:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 19, 2013): 2 Samuel 14

Discipline is never something that is meant for public consumption. It is always a private matter. But while discipline is supposed to be private, often we seem to want it to be public – that is, as long as we are not the ones being disciplined. As a result, in public circles, keeping discipline private is a challenge. And sometimes, people get upset because they believe that discipline has not been applied just because it has been applied in private.

David knew two things. One was simply that Absalom was guilty of the crime; he had killed his brother. Yes, there had been a provocation. His brother was guilty of raping their sister Tamar, but still, a murder had been committed, and Absalom was guilty. And the crime had left David torn. He probably felt guilt over the rape that Amnon had perpetuated against his daughter Tamar. He definitely felt guilt concerning the murder of Amnon, after all, it was David that allowed the boys to be alone together in the first place. There was probably a big part of David that believed that he was the one that needed to be punished – and yet, it was his children that were bearing the punishment for David’s sins.

And so David’s decision is to banish his son. But it is a decision that costs David. And Joab realizes the burden and the cost that the king was bearing, and begins to hatch a plan to reunite the king with his son.

We all need someone around us who understands our pain, and is willing to try to help us. David, early in his life, had found that very thing in Jonathan, and now he finds it in Joab.  In actuality, Absalom would come back to the city, but not into his dad’s presence. It would be another two years before the king and Absalom would find themselves in the same room. But throughout this stage of his life, he would have Joab stand beside him and understand exactly what it was the David’s desired in his heart.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 15

Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.” The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” – 2 Samuel 13:26

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 18, 2013): 2 Samuel 13

We want to see the world the way that we think it should be. We want it to work as we would have it work. And we want people’s reactions to be what we think they should be. And one of the most disconcerting things is when people react in a way that we are not expecting. Right now I am dealing with an action of a friend that I do not understand. And my problem is that, as I see the world, the response of my friend makes no sense. The reaction of my friend just does not conform with my vision of the world – and sometimes I just do not understand why.

The two sons of David are not getting along. There is a very real reason why the two sons do not get along. What Amnon did to their sister was unforgivable. But Amnon and Absalom were not only the sons of David, they were also, obviously, brothers. And family is important. Part of the rose colored glasses that we all wear is the idea that blood is thicker than water – and that when all the world has turned against us – family, and brothers, stand together.

David evidently finds Absalom’s request strange – he knows of the water that has already flowed under the bridge between the two brothers. But he also holds out a hope that the world can conform to the way that he believes it should be. And, just maybe, this could be the first move of reconciliation between his sons. But the rose colored glasses of the king stopped him from considering the reverse, that maybe this was a move toward the final battle between Absalom and Amnon.

Objectivity is impossible. We need our rose colored glasses and worldviews to make sense of the world in which we live; we literally cannot see the world without them. But we need to understand that the very glasses that allow us to see the world also creates blind spots. And in David’s case, it was a blind spot that would change his family – forever.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 14

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. – Psalm 32:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 17, 2013): Psalm 32

To be human means, at least to a certain extent, that we live with a certain amount of regret. There are times and activities that we wish we had handled differently. For me, they are the moments that help to keep me awake at night. It is a word said, or an action that might have been misunderstood – the things that I wish I could take back and redo another way – that bothers me. In a friendly golf match, there is a thing called a mulligan, a second free try to replace a mishit ball. And sometimes I wish that real life came equipped with its own set of mulligans.

The question that Psalm 32 raises is found in this verse. If David wrote it, as the ascription indicates, and if he wrote it in response to his experience with Bathsheba, as tradition leads us to believe, then what did David mean in this verse. He says that he did not cover up his sin, and yet is that not exactly what he did. He slept with Bathsheba, and then sent her home. When he realized that she was pregnant, he brought her husband home from the war so that he would sleep with her and then believe that the child would be his. And when that did not work, he had Uriah placed in a position where he would be killed in battle – and all of this was done for no other reason than to cover up sin.

It was not until the prophet revealed that he was aware of David’s sin that finally David owned up to his own sin. So what exactly does David mean when he says that he did not cover up his iniquity? As I read it, I wonder if maybe it was his regret that was speaking. After all, if God could forgive him after all of the things that he had done to avoid his sin, then could he not have forgiven David’s sin before he had tried to avoid it. And, maybe, it is an admission that there is no way for any of us to hide our sin from God.

David would eventually learn to keep short lists with God – and to come quick repentance. Eventually, what 

David writes in the Psalm was the way that he would try to live his life. But that, for David, would remain an event for someday. For today, he would have to live with the regrets of his actions and his wish of the way that he had handled his sin.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 13

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 16, 2013): Psalm 51

We like to think that we are good. We like to believe that we are the upright people. We are the ones in the right. A number of years ago I went through a counselling session with another man that was angry at me. And I recognized before I even went to the sessions that there was a lot that I had done that was wrong. It was a blow to everything that I wanted to believe about myself. I was the one that had mishandled the relationship. And so I resolved to go into the sessions and do what I really did not want to do; just admit my shortcomings. It is a hard thing to do, and we are not always honored for the decision.

A number of years ago I was working in a Toyota dealership as a parts man and I was once again confronted with my shortcomings. In this case it was a part that was mis-ordered for a customer. She brought her car in to get it fixed and I was confronted with the fact that the part that I had ordered was not the one that she needed. The service manager said that he would take care of it and just tell the person that it was Toyota’s fault – but that did not set right with me. So I told him that I would handle it – and I would handle it by telling her the truth. So, later in the day, the customer returned and I laid my soul bare about the mistake I had made. I still remember the first word out of her mouth in response to my truth. The word was ‘liar.’ Whatever the truth was, it was not what I had told her.

I think David believed deep down that he was a righteous man. Why else would God himself come and anoint him – lifting him up from being a shepherd in the field, the youngest son of a large family of sons, to being the king of the nation. But it did not take long for his own behavior to betray him. And as the prophet Nathan confronts him about his behavior with Bathsheba, everything that David wanted to believe about himself came crashing down around him. He was broken and undeserving of everything that God had given to him.

In response, David writes this Psalm. It is really a prayer – a conversation between him and God. And in it he asks God to ‘create’ in him a clean heart. The word that he uses for create is the same word that was used in the creation saga of Genesis. And the meaning of the word is – to make something new, something that has never existed before. This is David’s admission, not that he had fallen from great heights, but that he needed God to create in him something that he had never been before – no matter how much he had wanted to believe that he had.

What is right for David is also true for us. What we need more than anything else is for God to create and continue to create in us a spirit that has never been there before. It is our ultimate need – and it is God’s ultimate gift.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 32

Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. – 2 Samuel 12:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 15, 2013): 2 Samuel 12

I love to read Frank Herbert’s books. One of the features of his books is that Herbert understands the idea of cause and effect. There is very little in his books - I want to say nothing, but that might an overstatement - that does not form a cause for which an effect is going to have to be dealt with later in the book. Maybe the best example of this is found in the story of Paul Atriedes in the Dune Saga of books. In Dune, Paul finds out that he is the promised Messiah of the Fremen – the Maud’Dib. At the beginning of the saga, this is a good thing, because the young heir of the House of Atreides is going to have to rally the support of the desert dwellers who are waiting for their Messiah to come, to go against the evil powers that had taken over their desert planet. But because Herbert understood cause and effect, what was a good thing in the early books becomes the subject of separation and a problem that had to be dealt with in the later books of the story.

For the Christian, we too have a Messiah that has been waited for. And in the action of his coming, there is supposed to be an effect on us. We are supposed to be the gathering of the transformed ones, the ones who have felt the effect of the coming of the Messiah. I have to admit that sometimes I question whether or not that is really us – are we truly transformed by the coming and the presence of the Messiah in our midst or have we refused him. Either way, there exists a cause which demands and effect.

David had been chosen by God. God makes it clear to him that his anointing of David was to be the cause that was intended to have a certain effect on David’s life. But it is also clear that David had a choice whether or not he would allow God’s cause to have an effect on him. And he had decided with his actions that the answer was no. He would actively rebel against the holy cause of God in his life. And God comes to David and tells him that that response is in itself a cause that would have a specified effect. In this case, a sword would come and would not depart from not just his life, but his house. The effect was not negotiable. It was also not forgivable. God would forgive David and call him a man after his own heart – and yet the sword would still persist.

The effect would continue even until the day that the Messiah would come and interrupt the things of this earth. The Messiah would be of the house of David. Long after the kings that had reigned in Israel from David’s house had been subdued, David’s house would still exist. And on the cross as Jesus died, the descendant of David and member of the king’s house, the sword would still be present. The effect from the cause of David as he killed Uriah and took Uriah’s wife as his own, pierced the side of the Messiah as he surrendered his life. The sword had never departed the house of David – and the law of cause and effect was still in place.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 51

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful ... 2 Samuel 11:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 14, 2013): 2 Samuel 11

Can I admit that I sometimes have trouble understanding “The Lord’s Prayer” – well, at least with one line in it. The line is the one that asks God to not lead us into temptation. And part of my problem is this – when did I ever need God to lead me into temptation, I do quite well on that end myself. Do I want God to lead me into temptation, of course not! But that is seldom (or never) my problem. My problem is that I make the decision to lead myself into temptation.

I do not think that I am alone at this point. Our problem has always been that we lead ourselves into temptation; we go exactly to the places where we know that we will be tempted to be active in things that we should not be involved in. That’s the way it was in the Garden of Eden. We have to wonder why, with all of the Garden of Eden at their disposal, Adam and Eve stayed near the one tree that they were forbidden to eat fruit from. Why would they not have gone to the other end of the Garden? But we do not do that. We seem to want to stay close to the things that tempt us into wrong action.  And after we have been tempted and have decided to participate in the behavior, then we often chastise ourselves for being weak willed. But our will was never really the problem. Our decision to go to places where we know we will be tempted is the problem. If we would refrain from the places where we know we will be tempted we would not need to test the strength of our will.

One evening, David got up from his bed and went up to walk on the roof of the palace. Women in ancient times were not that different from today – they enjoyed a hot (or warm) bath. And often what they would do was to place a tub of water on the roof of their houses and let the warmth of the day heat the water. Then, in the evening, the woman would go up on the roof and take a bath. All of this David knew. And David’s palace would have been the highest building in the neighborhood – giving the king a great view of the rooftops of all the houses around him. The question that maybe we need to ask is this – when David got up from his bed in the evening of the day and went to walk on the roof, what is it that he expected to see?

David had committed himself to two actions. The first was that even though God had seemed to make it clear that David’s presence needed at the front of the war, David had decided not to go. God had already sent him hints that military success depended on the king’s presence (2 Samuel 10). But still, David stayed at home in Jerusalem. The second issue was that he went up to the roof in the evening of the day. Both actions of David lead him into temptation.

Temptation, by itself, is not a sin. But temptation, by its very nature, will lead us to sin. As we pray that God will not lead us into temptation, maybe the commitment we need to make to God is that we will not lead ourselves into temptation either – and in the process preserve the strength of our will.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 12

But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. – 2 Samuel 10:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 13, 2013): 2 Samuel 10

There are some things in life that absolutely need our attention. But the flip side is that there are some things in life that do not need our personal attention. As a leader, I know this – there are some things that I have to do, and some things that I can delegate. And success is in being able to know which is which. But the other reality of my life is that sometimes the things that need my attention are the easiest ones to delegate. The things that need my attention are often the ones that others are willing to do for me. And the other things, the stuff that I know that I should delegate, they are the lonely tasks that no one seems to want to do. But success remains in my ability to personally do the things that I need to do, and finding the ones who I can delegate the other tasks to.

Sometimes it seems that David lacks the wisdom to tell the difference between the things that he needs to do and the things that he can delegate. And that causes him problems. But sometimes I also wonder if maybe I am being too hard him. One of the areas that seem to require David’s presence is in the arena of war. David is the military master. It is the way that he stormed onto the main stage of Israel. But there seems to come a point where the military master delegates – he sends his generals off to war rather than going himself. But it might be that his generals really did not want him there. After all, if David was in the battle, the victory would belong to David. But if David was at home, then the victory would belong to the generals – and then they could make a name for themselves.

2 Samuel 10 tells exactly this story. There is a change of leadership in one of the border kingdoms. And as often happens when leadership changes, the policies of the past are thrown out in favor of new, more enlightened policies - and one of these policies is a new approach to Israel and Joab, a general of Israel, is dispatched to deal with the problem. And while Joab deals with the issue, he is unable to do so decisively. But it is probable that Joab did not really want his king in the battle. This was a chance for Joab to make a name for himself – for Joab to be seen in Israel as a military master, just like his king.

In the end, the battle is not decisively won until David enters the battlefield. In some ways it is a warning from the hands of God – David, this is where you need to be. It was a lesson that David failed to learn, and that failure would soon cost him more than he would ever guess. Because in 2 Samuel 10 we have the foundation laid for another battle, and once again it is a battle that David would attend. Instead of going off to war, he would find himself in the arms of a woman named Bathsheba. And everything that we know about David would change.      

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” – 2 Samuel 9:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 12, 2013): 2 Samuel 9

My brother-in-law, Ken, passed away about a month ago. It is amazing how a death to someone close to you changes your life. Memories sneak up on you and ambush you in your unguarded moments. I am not sure that Ken ever really knew how much he meant to his brother-in-law – or that I realized how much I would miss him when he was gone – but I do miss him. Because Ken passed away just before Christmas, maybe the business of the season kept some of the memories at bay, at least for a while. But now it is January, the house has emptied out of all of visitors and the calendar is a little freer – and now the memories come close.

David has been riding a wave of events. He had been on the run, and then he had led the Southern Kingdom of Judah, he had been involved in the reunification of the country, established the military presence of the nation and then spent a significant amount of time trying to secure the boundaries of the nation, and now it seems that there is a break in the action. And it is in the break that the memories of what all of these events had cost him becomes very real – and part of the cost was the loss of David’s best friend and adopted brother – Jonathan.

And as he remembers his friend, the thing that he wants to do more than anything else is to show someone kindness in memory of his fallen friend. Part of David’s pain is that there is nothing that he can do for Jonathan, but there might be something that he could do for the people that Jonathan had loved. As long as there someone that Jonathan had loved that David could honor – someone that David could include in his own circle of influence - then a part of Jonathan would still be alive.

I will miss Ken. I will remember fondly the last time that I was able to spend time with him – and the nice walk that the two couples would take together. But I know that the one that Ken loved is still with us. And we will lavish our love on Tanis because she deserves it (Ken chose the love of his life wisely), but we also because we loved Ken – and we miss him.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 10

You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry—now restore us! – Psalm 60:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 11, 2013): Psalm 60

Whose fault is it when you succeed? I know that is a strange question, fault and success seem to have little in relationship with each other. Fault indicates a responsibility for a mistake which often results in failure. And yet, I know that I have experienced times when it seems that I have done everything wrong, and yet the result was better than I had any right to expect. I may not want to admit it, but I know that I had nothing to do with my own success.

There seems to be a bit of a disconnect in this Psalm between the ascription and the body of the Psalm. The ascription talks about the victory of Israel over the Edomites, and yet the body seems to be more of a plea for God to come and support his people – to come and restore the people and give them success. Scholars have long wondered about the defeat that is described in the Psalm – the Bible does not seem to have a detailed description of the loss. But 2 Samuel 8 starts off with this statement - In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them ... (2 Samuel 8:1) and then goes on to describe the defeat of the Philistines, and the Moabites – and finally for the defeat of the Edomites of which Psalm 60’s ascription would seem to refer. But “the course of time” seems to indicate that there was a period of time in which Israel suffered under the reversals of war.

David seems to want to remind the people, even in the face of victory, that victory only comes because of God. The fault would always be Israel’s, but the success would always be because God has decided to move – the difference between success and failure is always all about God.

Too often I think that I forget that. I forget that the fault is mine, and that the success is all about what God is doing in all around me. And that is the reason why even when I know I have done everything wrong, success has still come my way. The only way that can ever happen is because God decided to move.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9

David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute. – 2 Samuel 8:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 10, 2013): 2 Samuel 8

There is part of me that has always wanted to be more like the Vulcan Spock of the Star Ship Enterprise. As I look back at my own life, it seems that most of the mistakes that I have made have been, at least in part, because of my emotional state. And so I wonder if maybe some of the mistakes could be eliminated if only my emotions could be controlled. However, I also have to admit that I enjoy my emotions – and I would mourn their loss. But that is all part of the premise of Gene Roddenberry’s vision in Star Trek. In Spock we find both the idea that there is something desirable about a lack of emotion, but at the same time there is also a loss of something important that needs to be mourned.

There is a violence in this passage that sometimes disturbs us. It is actually a violence that was quite common in the ancient world, but not in Israel. The common way of handling prisoners of war was actually by the use of casting a lot – often a measuring line – to decide which of the prisoners should be spared and which should be killed. But even though this was a common response in the ancient Middle East, it was not the common response of the people of Israel. So the question that needs to be asked is why does David use it here?

According to Jewish writers, the situation here was that David had entrusted his parents and family to the king of Moab while David was in exile. But instead of protection, Moab had either massacred his family or allowed them to be massacred. And so David responded much as Moab would have responded if the tables were reversed – he exercised the ancient tradition of mercy and Made slaves of some of the prisoners, but death for most. But we need to recognize that in this case it was an emotional response.

Maybe the real lesson of the story is not the one that Spock would have us learn – that a life without emotion is desirable, even though sometimes I think that we believe that it is. The real lesson is to understand that emotion exists – and has an effect on our behavior. And once we really understand that, maybe we can 

make sure that the effect that emotion has on our behavior is one that we really desire.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 60

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy ... Psalm 30:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 9, 2013): Psalm 30

We all need someone in our circle of influence that simply light up our lives just by their presence. They are the ones that can turn our lives around by just walking in the door – the ones that we want to spend time with when everything is going wrong. They are also usually the people that romantic novels are written about – but they do not always have to be the ones that we are romantically linked to. And we can have more than one - but no matter who they are, we need them.

And David needs them, but he also finds that person in God. As David finds a lull in the action taking place around his throne, he finds that his thoughts turn to his God. He wants to do something for the God that has placed him on a throne; the one that has healed the diseases of a nation. His thoughts turn to the temple that his God deserves – the temple that he wants to build, but knows that he never will. That task, by God’s design, will be left to his son - so all that is left for David to do is to sing the praise of the God that had lit up his world.

And so he composes his Psalm. He talks about the God who turned his mourning into dancing, the one that has left a residue of joy in his life. It is a Psalm that looks forward to the day when the Temple will finally be built and God will have home as great as that of the king. But, it is only at this point in time, a hope.

But David sings anyway. His joy is complete in his God.

Please Note: As with a number of the Psalms there is a bit of confusion as to where this Psalm fits in the Chronology of David’s life. It is placed here (after 2 Samuel 7) because of its relationship with the Temple that David wanted to build, but it could just as easily could fit after 2 Samuel 24 and the plague that is related there.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 8

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.” – 2 Samuel 7:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 8, 2013): 2 Samuel 7

I have to admit that there are dogmas of the church that make no sense to me. And one dogma close to the top of my list is Papal infallibility. The main idea behind the dogma is that because of the promise that Jesus made to Peter, the Pope is protected from error in the exercise of his office. The idea of Papal infallibility continues to be redefined by the Catholic Church – and a cynic would probably say that it continues to be redefined because of evidence of Papal fallibility. But either way, the idea that any one of us could be infallible is an absurd and dangerous belief – at least it is to me.

And part of my struggle with the dogma is that I really do not see any biblical evidence for it. Even Peter did not seem to be immune from mistakes after the promise that Jesus made to him. Paul had problems (and probably rightfully so) with the way that Peter had treated the Gentile believers. And Peter himself never seemed to expect that he was infallible.

In Peter’s belief in his own fallibility, he was aligning himself with the historical expectations of the prophets and priests of God, including Nathan. Nathan was a prophet in King David’s court. It is hard to imagine a more prestigious position than being the king’s prophet. Nathan spoke with the authority of God in the court of the king. He was the one that was in communication with God. And so when the King asks him a question, Nathan answers – go and do whatever it is that you are thinking about. God is with you.

But Nathan was not covered by any infallibility dogma. And in this case, in the exercising of his office as the prophet, Nathan was wrong. God would have a conversation with Nathan and he would have to clarify God’s instructions to David. But in this statement, Nathan would be simply be wrong.

It is the reality of all of our lives. Sometimes we make statements that are wrong. And there is nothing inherently sinful in being wrong – but, like Nathan, we need to own up to our mistakes and make things right.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 30

They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart – 2 Samuel 6:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 7, 2013): 2 Samuel 6

Sometimes I wonder if some of the regulations of the Hebrew Bible are really just God giving structure to what we think he desires. I mean, the sacrifice of animals to God actually starts long before the law is given to Moses. It is as if man came up with the idea that God wanted a sacrifice. So, when the Law came to 

Moses, God simply gave structure to what man had already decreed was necessary.

But that does not work with everything. Sometimes God may give in to what we think that he wants, but sometimes God desires something very different from us. Sometimes what God desires does not make sense to us.

It was time for the Ark to come home. It had been treated without respect, lost, and then finally returned to Israel, but it had never been returned home to the tabernacle. Now that David was trying to establish Jerusalem as both the political and religious center of the nation, it was time for the Ark to be brought home.  And what made sense was to build a new cart, one that had never been used for any other purpose, to complete the task - because God deserved something that was new, and just as he desired his people to be dedicated to him, so should the things that were to be used on his behalf be dedicated to him.

But that was not what God had decreed. The Ark was not to be entrusted to a thing – it was too special for that. The Ark was built to be with loops that a pole could pass through so that it could be carried by the priests. It would not have been the fastest way to move the Ark, but it was God’s way – and it was also a more secure way of getting it home . And when God has a way, that is the way that we need to go.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. – 2 Samuel 5:1

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. – 2 Samuel 5:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 6, 2013): 2 Samuel 5

There is becoming a standard belief in business – and one that is beginning to be understood inside the church – that it is better to promote from within the organization than hire from outside of it. The issue is that someone who is already inside of the organization understands the culture better than someone who is coming in from the outside. And since they understand the culture and have already operated from inside that culture, they are less likely to do things that will damage the existing culture. Someone coming from the outside will be more apt to damage the culture simply because they have been trained in a different culture setting. So the idea is that new people need to be brought in and placed at lower levels in the organization until they understand the prominent culture of the organization, and then promoted from there.

Israel was now suffering under a power vacuum. Those who had ruled were now gone. And the leaders of the tribes of Israel had a decision to make. They could return to the way it was during the time of the judges, when each man did as he saw fit. But that option had been rejected a generation ago. The nation wanted a king. They could find someone from outside of the power structure of Israel, a new name that they could raise to the position of the king, or they could promote from within. Judah already had a king to rule over them, but they were all brothers. Maybe their king could become king over all of Israel. The fact that their king was David, the military hero of Israel, and a man that had grown up inside king Saul’s own house did not hurt. David was one of their own – and he would be king.

The rule seems to be that if the culture is working, then it is dangerous to bring in high level leaders from outside of the organization. The higher an outsider is placed in an organization, the greater chance that that person will begin to disrupt the reigning culture. For Israel, that disruption was not desired. They needed a king who could continue Israel on the path that they were walking – one that already had a handle on what was happening in the nation – and outside of it. For Israel, that meant one man. They needed – David.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 6