1kings 1:1

1 Kings 1:1 says, Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.   By now, David was old and couldn't stay warm.  The inability to stay warm seems to be a common malady of many older people today, but we need to make sure that we don't become spiritually cold as well as we get older.  That fire to do God's will should still burn.  Verse two adds, Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.  David’s servants had a solution to his being cold, though we are not told that they consulted God about this.  They proposed a young virgin be brought to cherish David and lie with him and keep him warm.  I would assume that at least some of his wives or concubines would have been alive, and we know that Bathhseba was at least, who could have fulfilled this role.  I can say that we should never do anything outside of God's will to meet a physical need, and we certainly shouldn't involve others if we do.  Verse  three continues, So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.  After their search, Abishag, a Shunammite, was chosen.   We are not told that she had any choice in this matter, and we certainly should not attempt to force others into doing anything that is not in God's will.  Verse four concludes, And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.  Abishag was very fair in looks and evidently cherished David in a platonic relationship.  Even if people are content in a relationship that God has not called them to, that doesn't make it right.  

2 Samuel review concluded

We are told of Nathan's getting David to condemn himself for having Uriah killed in order to have Bathsheba as his wife.  When we are condemning others for their sins, when it comes to deserving condemnation by God, as Nathan told David, You (we) are the man, or woman.  We have no right to condemn others.  We are also told of the death of the child of David and Bathsheba, and our sins may often affect innocent people.  In the first part of David's time as the anointed king of Israel, he spent a lot of time running from Saul, and later he was running from his own son Absalom, who attempted to make himself king.  We will always have someone who is waiting to destroy our Christian life as long as we are committed to doing God's will.  David allowed the death of Absalom to almost destroy him as he neglected those who had brought him victory.  We should never mourn the loss of people or things that would destroy us spiritually to the point where we ignore all the good people and things that God has blessed us with.  David also wanted to build a house of God, a temple, but God prevented him from doing so.  We may have a desire to do some particular thing for God, but we need to make sure that it is something God wants us to do before we do it.  David was nearly always at war during his time as king, and we can be certain that we are always going to be at war against evil in this lifetime.  Still, in spite of his failures, David was known as a man after God's own heart.  As followers of Christ, we are going to fail to remain true to God at times, but we must still live our life as people after God's own heart.  God's grace should always be at the center of our heart.  Next, we will look at 1Kings.

2 Samuel Reviewr continued

We learned of David mourning the death of Abner, even though he had once been David's enemy.  I believe Abner was honestly doing what he believed to be the right thing to do when he set Ishbosheth up as king, but it still wasn't God's will.  Sometimes,  Christians will oppose each other both thinking they are doing what God wants, though only one can be right.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't mourn them when they die, especially if we have been reconciled.  Then, we have the record of the death of Ishbosheth and the death of the two who killed him, who came to David expecting him to be pleased by their killing Ishbosheth.  I believe that they were looking for self-glory, but were killed instead.  David was always reluctant to act against his own people.  We should never take action against others seeking self-glory, and we certainly should not do so without making sure it is God's will that we do so.  After this all the people of Israel came to David and made him king.  David was thirty at the time, and several years had passed from the time Samuel under God's guidance had anointed him king.  Sometimes, it may take a while for us to fulfill the role that God has called us to.  The Philistines were still at war with Israel and David and his forces were still consistently defeating them.  We as Christians are always going to be at war with the world, but through faith in God we should be consistently defeating them at least spiritually.  David recovered the Ark of the Covenant, but didn't really want to have anything to do with it personally. He left it with Obededom for three months and God blessed Obededom.  When we take care of the things of God, He will bless us at least spiritually.   When David did have the Ark returned to Jerusalem, he danced in joy and was ridiculed by Michal.  We should never ridicule others for joyously celebrating in the Lord.  Because of her actions, Michal had no children.  Actions bring consequences in this lifetime, even if we are followers of Christ.  When David inquired of God about building Him a house, he was told that one of his descendants would do it, and that God had established the house off David to rule forever, and this promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, a descendant of David.  David continued to fight with and defeat the Philistines, just as we will never destroy all of the enemies of God today and will always be at war with them.  David also asked if any of Saul's descendants were alive, so that he might honor Jonathan by taking care of them, and only lame Mephibosheth remained, so David honored him by giving him his own land and having him eat at David’s own table.  We might have expected David to kill all of Saul's descendants since they could make a claim to the throne, but he was looking to honor them instead because of his relationship with Jonathan. Since we are all followers of Christ as Christians, we should never seek the destruction of other Christians, even if we are having problems with them.  David was not just at war with the Philistines, but with other countries as well,some of which he had attempted be nice to.  We can expect to have more than one enemy today as followers of Christ.  We are told of David's relationship with Bathsheba and his treachery in having Uriah her husband killed after she became pregnant when Uriah could not have been the father and David was unable to get him to place himself in a position where he could have been.  What began with a lustful look ended with a treacherous murder.  What starts as a small sin may often end with even greater sins.

2 Samuel Review

The first thing to acknowledge is that Samuel had died before events in the book of 2 Samuel occurred.   Still, his influence on the events was still felt, because he had anointed David as King.  Our deeds for God should outlast us.  We first find the record of the death of Saul and Jonathan, and the young man bringing what he thought would be good news to David, but David had never sought Saul's death.  I don't believe that the death of our worst enemy who dies without salvation should ever be considered good news to Christians.  The young man who had killed Saul and brought David the news was killed because he had killed God's anointed.  We will one day have to answer to God, and it is because of His mercy that we have forgiveness if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, since we in effect killed Him, God's anointed.  Instead of just assuming the role of king, even though he had already been anointed, David asked God if he should do so.  Even if we believe that God has called us to a particular place or service in the church, we need to pray and make sure that He has and that it is time to so.  God told David to go to Judah and he went.  When David sent word to Israel that Saul was dead and he had been anointed king by Judah and invited them to join him, Abner, Saul’s captain, opposed him.  He thought one of Saul's relatives should be king and not David.   We should not be surprised if some people oppose us as we do what God has called us to do today.  Abner, not God, anointed Ishbosheth, Saul's son, as king.  We need to make sure that we are never guilty of doing what we want instead of what God ordained.  This was the first time someone opposed David as king after Saul's death, but it wasn't the last.  We have a record of a battle between Abner’s forces representing Saul’s house and Joab’s forces representing David, and Abner’s forces lost.  They should have been united under David and fighting together against the Philistines instead of fighting each other.  We as Christians today should likewise be united in fighting against the enemies of God and never be guilty of fighting each other instead.  Asahel pursued Abner, and even though he didn't want to, Abner killed Asahel.  This would Abner lead to problems later on with Joab.  We also know that later Abner would be reconciled to David and placed in charge of his army, but Joab would murder him to avenge Asahel's death.  Though Abner had only killed Asahel in self-defense, Joab did not forgive him.  Some people today, even those who are or profess to be Christians refuse to forgive others, and some even do everything they can to destroy them. 

2 Samuel 24:17

2 Samuel 24:17 says, And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.  As the angel of the LORD was destroying the people of Israel, David confessed his sins to God and said that they weren't guilty.  He then asked that the punishment come on him and his father’s house.  If our sins are leading others to suffer, then we need to acknowledge our sins and pray that they no longer suffer because of them.  Verse eighteen continues, And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.  Gad, David’s wise man, told him to build an altar to God on the threshingfloor of Araunah, a proselyite according to Matthew Henry.  If we have truly repented of our sins, then our actions should begin to bring honor to God and we should worship at His altar.  Verse nineteen states,And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.  David did as God through Gad had commanded.  Though God's word may be spoken to us by others, we must recognize it when it is and act on it by the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty adds, And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.  When Araunah saw David, the king, coming, he went out and bowed himself humbly before him.  When we meet Jesus, the eternal King, we must humbly bow ourselves before Him if we are to be saved.  Of course, we must first recognize Him for Who He is for this to happen.  Verse twenty-one says, And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.  Araunah asked David why he had come to him, and David said to buy his threshingfloor to build an altar to God so the plaque on Israel could be stopped.  Though we cannot buy salvation, we should be willing to pay whatever we can to bring the gospel of Christ to others.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.  Araunah offered to give David everything he needed in order to make the sacrifice.  We might be willing to pay the price for someone's salvation, but salvation does not work that way.  Though salvation is free to anyone who accepts it, each person must give all that they have to God when they accept it.  Verse twenty-three continues, All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.  Araunah offered to give this all to David.  Again, we might be willing to give everything we have to ensure the salvation of others, but we cannot pay for their sins.  Only Jesus Christ can and each person must accept His sacrifice for themselves in order to be saved.  Verse twenty-four states, And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  David told Araunah that he could not accept his offer, but he must pay the cost of his own sin.  As already stated, no one can accept salvation for us even if they are willing to do so, and we cannot buy it.  Still, we should give everything we own in this world to God as we use it to carry out God's work.  David paid Araunah for the threshingfloor.  Verse twenty-five adds, And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.  After David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, God stopped the plague on Israel.  If we as a nation were to sincerely individually and collectively repent and offer sacrifices to God and commit to doing His will, the plague of sin would be stopped. 

2 Samuel 24:10

2 Samuel 24:10 says, And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.  David realized that he had done foolishly by numbering the people of Israel, since God had not told him to do so.  Matthew Henry says David had numbered the people of Israel out of self-pride and because of this it was wrong.  Anytime we count attendance in church for reasons of self-pride, we need to repent for doing so, although I don't believe counting attendance is necessarily wrong.  Verse eleven adds, For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,  When David was up in the morning, God's word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer and not to David himself.  As followers of Christ, we don't need a seer or anyone else to tell us God's will for our life.  God will speak directly to us.  Verse twelve continues, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.   God told Gad to go to David and tell him he had three choices as punishment for his sin.  Still, there is really only one choice for anyone to find forgiveness from sin, and that is by putting one's faith in Jesus Christ.  There are no more options.  Verse thirteen states, So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.  Gad told David that God gave him three choices for punishment, and two involved all the people of Israel more than they did David himself.  We cannot expect others to bear responsibility for our sins.  Only Jesus Christ can, and we must personally confess our sins and put our faith in Him to claim this forgiveness.  Verse fourteen adds, And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.  David said he didn't know for sure what the best choice was, so let him fall into the hand of God and not the hand of man.  Any of these things would decrease David’s self-pride.  God may at times today have to allow us to be defeated materially in order to decrease our self-pride, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, He will never allow us to be defeated spiritually.  All of these choices were for a limited time period and not forever.  Verse fifteen continues, So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.  God sent a pestilence on the people and seventy thousand men died.  We might think this to be an unfair punishment, but we need to remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective.  Verse sixteen says, And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.  When the angel of the Lord was about to destroy Jerusalem, God said that enough punishment had occurred and stopped him.  We need to understand that one angel carried out God's punishment of David and that the angel was totally obedient to God.  God has already pronounced the death of Jesus Christ on the cross to be enough punishment for the sins of mankind, and if we put our faith in Him, we will never face everlasting punishment of our soul.

2 Samuel 24:1

2 Samuel 24:1 says, And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.  Matthew Henry says that God was angry because David was going to number the people and later verses seem to bear this out.  God was once again angry with Israel, and it seems He told David to go and number Israel and Judah.  Matthew Henry says David’s arrogance and not God led him to do this.  Though they were called God's people, they were often His people in name only.  We today cannot afford to be the same way.  Verse two adds, For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.  David told Joab, the captain of his army, to go and number all the people of Israel, though David didn't tell Joab why he wanted him to do this.  Verse three continues, And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?  Joab, who seemed to question David’s authority a good bit, asked David why he wanted to do this, since David’s God, as Joab referred to Him, would add to the people as He saw fit.  David still didn't give Joab a reason as to why he was doing this.  Leaders of the church today may not always feel the need to tell us why they are doing a particular thing, but we need to pray that it is always because God has commanded them to.  Verse four concludes, Notwithstanding the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.  It seems that Joab and the captains of the army all questioned David, but David’s will prevailed.  David may have truly believed that he was doing God's will, but it would seem that this really wasn't the case.  Verse five states, And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:  Though he questioned David, Joab and those who were to help him passed over Jordan to begin counting the people.  If we truly believe that religious leaders are calling on us to do something that we believe is against God's will, we should not only question them, but should refuse to do what they ask.  Verse six adds, Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,  Matthew Henry points out that they began the count in the most distant parts of Israel.  Verse seven continues, And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba.  They continued their count throughout Israel.  Verse eight says, So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.  It took them nine months and twenty days to complete the count, by which time it was likely no longer accurate.  Some people where they first counted would have been born and others died by the time over nine months had passed.  Though I see no problem with counting attendance and membership in the local church today, we need to pray that after over nine months that it will have increased.  Verse nine adds, And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.  Joab took the count to David, and from the way it is stated, these must have been the men over twenty capable of going to war.  Though the count was divided between the people of Israel and the people of Judah, they were all part of the same nation in God's sight.  We as followers of Christ may divide ourselves by country or denomination here in the world, but we are still all a part of the same family of God.