Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. – 2 Samuel 12:7

Today's Scripture Reading (July 25, 2025): 2 Samuel 12

J. Edwin Orr (1912-1987) tells of a time of revival in Brazil. At this time, a lady attending the service stood in a crowded church and said, "Please pray for me. I need to love people more." The leader gently responded to her words, arguing, "That is not confession, sister. Anyone could have said it." The woman sat down, and the service continued with songs, testimonies, and teachings by the special speaker. Later in that same service, the woman stood again, but this time her testimony had changed: "Please pray for me. What I should have said is that my tongue has caused a lot of trouble in this church." Her pastor leaned over and whispered to the guest speaker, "Now she's talking."

There is a reality that true confession can never be general; it must be specific. It is not enough to say to God, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," without getting to the specifics of our sin. We need to be honest with God and with those around us about the ways that we have hurt the community. Like the woman, we all need to love people more, but the true confession of sin is that we have gossiped, told tales, revealed secrets, and harbored hatred directed at specific people. And we can never be healed until the particulars of our sin are understood and confessed.

Nathan has told a story to David. It was the story of a horrible sin, one in which a rich man had taken advantage of a less affluent neighbor. In the story, the wealthy man, with his many sheep, entertains a friend. Instead of sacrificing one of his large flock of sheep to feed his guest, he decides to steal the only lamb of the poorer man. It is a horrible story of the abuse of power by the wealthy man, and David responds precisely as he should. Whoever this rich man was, he needed to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Something like this should never happen in Israel, in a land that had been consecrated as the people of Yahweh.

But then Nathan responds with a familiar plot twist. The rich man is David. The King was the one who took the only lamb of the poor farmer. The lamb was Bathsheba, and the poor farmer was Uriah the Hittite, whom David had commanded to be killed. It was a very personal sin, and as a result, it would be a very personal punishment. But David appeared to be blind to this fact until Nathan had told him a story about two men and some sheep.

Sometimes I wonder how blind the contemporary church is to our sin. We are blind to the way we treat those who have less than we do. We insulate ourselves from the need that surrounds us. And I wonder if maybe a Nathan is standing among us who needs to tell us a story about a rich man, a poor man, and their sheep, and bring home the guilt of our civilization.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 51

 

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. – 2 Samuel 11:4

Today's Scripture Reading (July 24, 2025): 2 Samuel 11

I loved playing "Hide and Seek" as a child. My favorite version of the game was played in the twilight of the day. You ran and hid, but then, using the dark as your ally, you snuck back toward home base, seeing if you could get home. I loved getting out as the hot summer day began to die, playing a game with a bunch of neighborhood kids. If you were it, part of the strategy was to be patient and wait for the players to begin to sneak back and then hide yourself somewhere where you could pounce on your unsuspecting friends as they tried to make it home.

Sin rarely sneaks up on us. It's often the result of a series of missteps, and it's more than a little like the game of "Hide and Seek" I loved to play as a child. Perhaps each step is not a sin, but each step carries us just a little closer to it. The reality is that there are usually several moments when we could have stopped the sin, but we don't.

And that is precisely what happens to David. Perhaps the first decision David makes is to send his army out to fight without him. At other times, David would have led his troops; he would have been part of the strategy sessions with his Generals, but this time he decides to stay home while his army goes out to fight. It was not really a sin to stay home, but it was a break in tradition.

Then David goes up on the roof of his palace as the day begins to end. In the ancient world, where there was no such thing as hot and cold running water, woman would often put their bathtubs on the roof of their homes and then let the sun warm the water. Then, as the day began to close its eyes, they would go up onto the roof and bathe. The roof of David's palace was higher than that of any other roof. As David goes to the roof of his palace at this time of the day, he knew exactly what it was that he was going to see. 

David sees Bathsheba and sends someone to find out who she is. He finds that she is the wife of one of his soldiers and a friend, a man named Uriah the Hittite. This woman's husband was someone David had learned to trust. David has come close to sin with each step, but he hasn't crossed the line. (Admittedly, I am not sure where to place his voyeurism, maybe that crosses the line, or at the very least it comes incredibly close to the line, but up until now no one would need to know what David has done.)

But there is no doubt that when David sent for Bathsheba, the King had definitely crossed the line. There were many places where David could have stopped the process, but he didn't. There were several guardrails (see the July 19, 2025 post from 1 Chronicles 18:3) designed to keep David safe, but he plowed through every one of them. And at the end of the road was a sin that would set up some of the biggest disasters of David's life, which included the murder of a friend, the death of at least one child, maybe more, rebellion against his kingdom by his son, and the rape of his daughter by one of her brothers and the murder of a son. None of this had to happen, but the dominoes that led to all of this were set in motion and began to fall on this fateful day.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 12

When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. – 1 Chronicles 20:7

Today's Scripture Reading (July 23, 2025): 1 Chronicles 20

I am proud of my family. I'm not sure if that's allowable, but I hope it's something we can all agree on as we look at our families. Many years ago, I was in a neighboring city and walked into a music store to look at some keyboards. The salesperson took an interest in my name. She confided that her maiden name was Mullen, and then she asked if I was an "Eastern Mullen" or a "Western Mullen." I admitted that I was actually a displaced "Eastern Mullen." And then she made this comment: "Are your relatives a bunch of drunks, too?" Maybe it is stereotypical behavior for an Irish family to be filled with people who like to spend their time at the local pub, but the reality is that my relatives are not a bunch of drunks. Most of them are high achievers in a wide variety of endeavors.

Notable individuals in my family would include my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Mullen, who pioneered the roles of women in the Church. My great-uncle, Leonard Klinck, was an early President of the University of British Columbia. I have an uncle, Dave Deeks, who built an impressive insurance company. My sister, Cheri Schwartz, continues to climb the rungs of the local public education system. And if you are into gaming, check out "My Name is Kieran." There you will be introduced to my nephew, Kieran Schwartz. There are more, but I don't want to bore you too much with my family history. All of them have fought through barriers so that they could make an impact on the world in which we live. I must admit that sometimes I think I may be quite a disappointment in the family tree. But I am proud of them and all of their accomplishments. Another generation is just beginning to make its influence felt on the world around them.

David is getting older. He is not done yet, but it might be safe to say that his giant-slaying days are now in the past. However, that does not mean that no more giants remain in the world who need to be tamed. David might not still be a giant killer, but there were people out there who were ready to take on the giants, and those giant killers included Jonathan, the son of David's brother, Shimea, also known as Shammah. The next generation was ready to step up and fight the giants.

Maybe I am not done yet with fighting the giants in my world. There are still things left that I feel called to do. But one day, I will leave the giant fighting to the next generation of fighters. As long as there are giant problems in our world, I believe that God still calls people to address those issues. Fighting the giants might be our job right now; tomorrow, they will be the problem of those who come after us. But hopefully, we will be proud of them for picking up the fight and continuing the battle, just as I am sure that David was proud of his nephew, Jonathan.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11

So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away. – 1 Chronicles 19:4

Today's Scripture Reading (July 22, 2025): 1 Chronicles 19

In the divided history of the United States, one of the most serious divisions was the divide between the Slave States, mainly in the south, and the Free States, primarily in the north and the extreme west. It is a division that still plays itself out in contemporary American culture. But what has sometimes been forgotten is that being an African American living in one of the Free States might have been better off than being an African American existing in one of the slave states, but it definitely wasn't safe; living while Black was dangerous then, just as it is now. And one of the daily realities for an African American living in the Free States was that someone could grab them on the street and take them to one of the Slave States for no other crime than living with a particular skin color. It is a sad part of the history of North America and a part of the history of the continent for which we have still not recovered.

In ancient Israel, slavery was also a very real reality, but it was not necessarily racially based. Even Hebrew people could enter into a master-slave relationship with other Hebrews. The distinction between a free male Hebrew and an enslaved man was the presence of a beard. Free Hebrew men proudly displayed their beards, while an enslaved person was required to be clean-shaven. For a free man to have his face shaved by an enemy, or even just half of it, as is indicated in the companion reading of this story in 2 Samuel 10:4, was intended to send a somber message. Soon, all of Israel would live as slaves.

Hanun had seized David's ambassadors and had their beards removed to send a message to David. What was done to the King's ambassadors was the same as if it had been done to the King himself. But Hanun did not stop there. He also cut the lower half of the garments off of the men. The author of Samuel tells us that this exposed the buttocks of the ambassadors. But that was not the real problem. It also would have exposed the genitals of the ambassadors, exposing the fact that they were circumcised, as all Jews were. Hanun wanted to reveal what he saw as Israel's shame. To the Gentile people who surrounded Israel, circumcision was proof of the inferior nature of the Jews. The circumcised ambassadors were deeply humiliated by both actions, and because they were humiliated, so was David.

Jesus made a similar comparison on his last night with his disciples. Just before his arrest, he told them that;

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me (John 15:18-21).

We are ambassadors of our King. And by persecuting us, the powers of this world believe that they are persecuting Jesus. Jesus' message was never that we should avoid such persecution, but rather that we should remember the actual target of our persecution, just as it was for Jesus, is aimed at the God we serve.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 20

See also 2 Samuel 10:4

 

David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. – 2 Samuel 10:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 21, 2025): 2 Samuel 10

The incident occurred during a war between the Greeks and the city of Troy, located in modern-day Turkey. Paris had kidnapped Helen, the wife of Menelaus, the mighty King of Sparta in Greece. Menelaus was determined to retrieve his wife, but to do that, he had to gain entry to the city gates of Troy. So, Menelaus devised a plan. He would present the city of Troy with a gift, maybe they would interpret this as a desperate plea by Sparta for peace and the end of the conflict. The gift Menelaus would give to Troy was a statue of a horse. However, inside the horse, the Spartan King would place a small attack force. Once the gift was wheeled inside the city, his attack force would come out of the horse and take the city.

The horse and the war between Sparta and Troy, along with all of the characters of the story, are largely mythical, and there is no evidence that the Trojan Horse ever existed. However, the idea of nations coming claiming friendship while planning an attack is a familiar story. One recent example might have been the June 2025 missile attack by the United States on suspected Iranian nuclear sites. It seemed that President Trump and the United States had committed to negotiating a solution to the crisis, but then launched an attack before any real negotiations could take place. I have to admit that I find it amusing that some of my conservative friends, and fans of President Trump, quickly supported the attack and called any detractors hypocrites because of the attacks of previous Democratic governments. My response is that there is nothing like pointing to your political opposition and declaring that you are different, and then using their previous actions to justify your own.

Sneak attacks don't always require a horse. Negotiating while you are secretly planning an attack is more common than probably anyone wants to admit. If someone wants to negotiate, the best military advice I can give you is not to let your guard down, because the negotiating table might be the Trojan Horse that your opposition is offering to you.

However, not every negotiation is a Trojan Horse. Sometimes, the negotiation is precisely what it seems to be: an attempt to reach a compromised solution to a conflict. Maybe the best advice comes from a Russian proverb, one that Suzanne Massie, an expert in Russian history, taught to President Ronald Reagan: "Trust, but verify" (in Russian, the proverb actually rhymes).

Nahash, the King of the Ammonites, has died. As a result, Hanun, his son, has taken over his throne and responsibilities. David seems to have believed that Nahash was good to him, and he wants to offer his condolences to his son. David could have sent a messenger carrying a letter to the new King of the Ammonites, but he decides instead to send a delegation. More than just words of sympathy, David hopes that there is something that he can do to help the new King. However, Hanun and his new advisors appear to believe that the delegation is not there to extend condolences. Hanun thinks that this is David's version of a Trojan Horse, and this delegation is there to scout out any weaknesses of the city. Hanun wasn't willing to "trust, but verify." Instead, he simply assumes that the delegation was a prelude to an attack from David and immediately goes on the offensive against both the delegation and Israel.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 19

Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "At your service," he replied. – 2 Samuel 9:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 20, 2025): 2 Samuel 9

Are you a narcissist? It is a question someone asked me recently. The question startled me. I had never considered myself to be a narcissist, although there are probably narcissistic tendencies in all of us. The question, which was asked in a personal message on a social media site, came with a test. I don't often have the patience, time, or interest to take online tests, but I decided to take this one. I arrived at the end of the test when a message appeared on my screen demanding a couple of dollars to access my results. I had already wasted some time taking the test and decided that I didn't want to waste some money as well, so I closed the window without getting my results. Not sure if that means that I am a narcissist or just cheap.

In a Psychology Today article, Dr. Suzanne Degges-White lists nine traits of a narcissistic personality. Her nine traits were;

1)     A grandiose sense of self-importance.

2)     Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

3)     Belief that they are special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people or institutions.

4)     Need for excessive admiration.

5)     Sense of entitlement.

6)      Interpersonally exploitive behavior.

7)     Lack of empathy

8)     Envy of others or belief that others are envious of him and her.

9)     Demolition of arrogant and haughty behaviors or attitudes. Arrogance and conceit are traits that are often noticed first among narcissists (Suzanne Degges-White, Phd).

(I think I might know a couple of narcissists, including the one who sent me the test.)

Narcissists have been found in every culture and throughout history. One list of the top narcissists that ever lived declared the number one narcissist to be Alexander the Great. Napoleon Bonaparte, Henry VIII, Adolph Hitler, and Donald Trump rounded out the top five. The list also included cult leader Jim Jones at number 10, North Korean leader Kim Jung Un was listed at number 11, and serial killer Ted Bundy came in at number 13.

Ziba could probably also make our list of historical narcissists. We know very little about him, but what we do know doesn't show this former servant of Saul in a positive light. Ziba is called into the presence of David. David is seeking a descendant of the House of Saul. Ziba has no idea why, but the usual reason why a King was looking for a descendant of the previous ruler was so they could kill them, removing any competition. However, that doesn't seem to matter to Ziba. Instead, Ziba appears to be consumed by figuring out how to turn this situation to his advantage. It seems evident that Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, is in hiding, trying to live out his life quietly without attracting attention. But Ziba doesn't hesitate to sell him out. This situation wouldn't be the last time this servant would sell out Mephibosheth. Years later, when David would be driven out of Jerusalem, he would bring an accusation to the King that Mephibosheth had taken the side of David's enemy. All that seems to matter to Ziba is how he can turn any situation to his advantage. He seems to live with a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a grandiose sense of self-importance. All three of these traits suggest that Ziba might have been just another run-of-the-mill ancient narcissist.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 10

 

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines. – 1 Chronicles 18:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 19, 2025): 1 Chronicles 18

Several years ago, when I was in Hawaii, my wife and I wanted to do some sightseeing (not a lot of sightseeing, I just wanted to lie in the sun and read, but some sightseeing would be okay). One evening, we had gone into a local mall food court for supper, and on the way out, we stopped at a kiosk with travel information. The lady working the kiosk was friendly and provided us with some great information. She told us about the "must do's" and the "should do's" and the "don't bother doings," but her last category was the "please never do." It was at this stage of the conversation that she took her pen and the map she was giving to us, and she circled an area of the Island with the instructions, "Don't go here."

I was a little curious. Is this where the Hawaiian gangs roam, or is this where all the dangerous Hawaiian animals live? Why shouldn't we go there? And the answer was that the road was narrow, great cliffs that went down into the ocean bordered the highway, and there were no guardrails. If you're not accustomed to driving in those conditions, just don't go there.

Guardrails are weird things. No one wants to hit a guardrail, but they serve a critically important purpose. These guardians of the highway are planted on safe ground, but just beyond them is danger. Their purpose is to form a barrier on safe ground that will keep us from the threat that exists just beyond their reach. And that danger is far worse than hitting the guardrail.

David was a great military commander, but all he is doing here is setting up the guardrails for Israel. One of the problems facing any ancient nation was the frequent occurrence of border raids. For generations, Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land, but those living close to the edges of the nation had to learn to put up with these all too common border strikes. So, one of the first things that David does as king is to take over the neighboring countries with the purpose, not of enlarging his kingdom, but of building a buffer zone so that his country would no longer be raided, or at least, not as often.

It is the reason why God has set his expectations for us. They are guardrails, outlying nations, planted firmly on safe ground, and yet keeping us from dangers that lie just beyond. Sometimes, we think, "I don't understand why God doesn't want me to do this because this looks like safe ground." And it might be, but God knows that there are cliffs just on the other side.  God isn't a God who hopes to catch us in something. He is a God who wants to keep us away from the cliffs that threaten to hurt us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9