Tag Archives: david

Our Relationship With God # 7 (Rod and Staff, Mighty Men, Census to Sacrifice)

Leave a reply

This is meant to be a concluding message on our relationship with God, albeit there might be more under a slightly different title in the future. In this I will explore the theme of Rods & Staffs, David’s mighty men for today, and an Unwise Census and Deliverance thru Sacrifice.

— Rods, staffs, and implications for the future

Yet there is a time when Yeshua is on the throne that he will rule with a rod of iron.

Rev. 2:27:: He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ [Ps. 2:9]— as I also have received from My Father;

In Ps. 2:9 rod is šēḇeṭ which has been translated by bible scholars and many different ways:
rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe

Ps. 23:4:: Your rod (šēḇeṭ = rod,staff,sceptre) and Your staff (mašʿēnâ = support or staff), they comfort me.

Is this the same staff that David had in his hand when he confronted Goliath? Apparently not!

1 Sam. 17:40:: (David) took his staff (maqqēl) in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand.

Goliath called David’s staff (maqqēl) a stick for it was nothing to him. One article I found suggested the staff was no ordinary support or rod. According to this author the staff was part of a staff sling. A different kind of sling that uses a staff to throw rocks. In this case rocks could be as big as your fist.

This is not even the rod that Moses used during the time of Pharoah:
Ex. 14:16:: (to Moses) lift up your rod (maṭṭê), and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it
See also Ex. 4:2, 17:5,9

Moses’ matte was a rod of authority. It was what was used before Pharoah to consume the rod’s of the magicians. Moses also had a matte when he stood on the hill as Israel fought Amalek at Rephidim.

So David probably had a shephard’s rod. One used for herding sheep. I don’t want make too much of rods and staffs other than to point out they have different meanings and purposes. Some are for shepharding, some for defense, and some for commanding authority.

— David’s Mighty Men (2 Sam. 23:8-39)

For all of the mighty deeds that Joab did while serving under King David it is a bit strange that he is not listed amongs the mighty men of David. He was David’s commander for taking the city of Jebus.

1 Chr. 11:6:: David said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief.

Abishi and Asahel, Joab’s brothers were among the mighty men. Joab was rash and at times did not listen to the king. He killed Abner (2 Sam. 3:27), Saul’s commander and also Amasa (2 Sam. 20:9-10). Both men were military leaders but regarded as competition by Joab and probably in his mind expendable. Joab also does not spare Absalom’s life, despite the king calling for him to be dealt with kindly. Absalom was the epitomy of a prodigal son, one who never came home, one who never repented.

A lesson from Joab’s life is that despite being very powerful he was not completely trusted. David at times needed his skill and support but inwardly was grieved over things like Absalom’s death which Joab initiated and then scolded David over his lamentations (2 Sam. 19:5-7). It is also apparent that top generals like Joab commanded too much power. Abner, Ishbosheth’s general was what maintained the young ruler but he abandoned Isbosheth, coming over to David’s side and that greatly weakend the house of Saul. We even hear about pagan kings like Achish who had to bow to the rule of the military princes. That is one reason in many countries top power is handled by the civilian authorities.

Joab caused so many issues for David that after his death David ordered Joab’s execution (1 Ki. 2:6). For Joab killed both Abner and Amasa during peacetime (vs. 5).

Many of David’s mighty men were known for their exploits. There might have been 37 in total but maybe not serving at the same time. Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah are spoken of highly in this chapter. In some manuscripts Abishi is said to be over another group of three. All were mighty men of valor and did great exploits.

The mighty men were very loyal to David. We need people of such loyalty to support us. Loyalty means not stabbing us in the back when they think it is their right to go outside of agreed-to actions (like what Joab did). Loyalty means doing what is right as our representative even when we are not around.

Spiritually, loyalty means taking initiative but only within the bounds of what is appropriate. If you want to do exploits and serve our master and king wisely, first seek his counsel and then acquire his heart. Since David’s heart was after that of God’s we need to stay this course and do what is right in God’s eyes. Murder has its consequences, whether physical or with our words and actions. Remember we represent the King of Glory so we must represent him properly and not go off half-cocked doing our own thing, assuming are actions are approved.

— The Unwise Census and the Deliverance Thru Sacrifice

One example of sowing into what was happening was in the case of David as an older man. He, against prudent advice of Joab and the commanders of the army, counted the fighting men of Israel. One would think this is ok since Moses had counted the fighting men over 20 in the days of taking Canaan (Num. 1 & 26). But we read in 2 Sam. 24:10 is that David’s heart condemned him. Here we hear from Gad, David’s seer (prophet).

The obvious question here is why this census was wrong and the ones that Moses commanded were ok…….

Joab did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab (1 Chr. 21:6). The tribe of Levi included the priests and levites. Counting them as part of Irael’s fighting force was not good. They were not to serve as combatants. So despite Joab’s questionable actions at times he often advised the king wisely.

Num. 1:47:: Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel. For sure the Levites were to care for the tabernacle of the Testimony.

Yet we see in the census of chapter 26 Levi was counted in the census of fighting men soon before going into Canaan. It could be that the Levites sang and played musical instruments going into battle at the time of going into Canaan. Verse 62 also indicates the Levites were counted seperately.

Num. 26:62: those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and above; for they were not numbered among the other children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the children of Israel.

Why Joab got upset about counting Benjamin is also debatable. When Joseph ordered his brother Benjamin to Egypt his brothers were fearful for Israel because they already thought they had lost Joseph. We also know King Saul was a Benjamite and it seems King David was wanting to protect the House of Saul, at least some of them.

We are told in 1 Chr. 21:7 ‘God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel’ but we are never told the exact reason why God was dipleased. Verse 1 here says ‘Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel’. The reason is probably something to do with a character flaw in David. He might have become proud or even fearful. Rebellion in his own house might have caused uncertainty (fear) about the future. The bottom line is we do not know for certain why David’s order to take a census of fighting men was wrong. For this he gets three choices for his punishment.

Gad the seer comes to see King David and speaks to him:
2 Sam. 24:13:: Shall seven[three in Septuigint and 1 Chr. 21:12] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land?

The translation of 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days makes the most sense here. David opted for the plague because he said ‘let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man’. With this response only fleeing before your enemies would be removed since three years of famine could also be construed as ‘from the LORD’. Years of famine would ultimately be a huge cost so I can understand why David opted for the quick punishment (also maybe because of a recent famine: 2 Sam. 21:1). Still, 70k dead is a lot of people for his sin. Sometimes being a leader takes a huge toll on the people because of sins or miscalculations of leadership. This is a hard thing to bear for leaders!

It is also interesting to see that the hand of the angel of destruction never went against Jerusalem. This gave David a time of pause and reflection to see what his response should be.

I have to wonder what kind of plague would destroy 70k people in only three days.

2 Sam. 24:15-16:: the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. When the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.

The hebrew word deḇer means pestilence or plague. It can also mean murrain, cattle disease, cattle-plague. Murrain is an infectious disease, especially babesiosis. Babesiosis is a disease you get from the bite of a tick infected with the parasite Babesia. It’s symptoms sound like that of malaria which is normally caught by an infected mosquito. So the plague could have been the result of bites by ticks or mosquitos but probably in this case a plague transmuted from cattle to people, like what seems to be the case from bird flu.

What interests me most on this plague it the hebrew word deḇer which has the same root word as dāḇar.
Dāḇar means to speak or declare. This makes me think this terrible plague affected the centers of speech, either in the throat or within the brain itself. I’m sure some will question that conclusion. The bottom line is the plague was quite virulent and deadly. 70k dead in three days! This makes me think we have seen nothing like this in recent times and it makes COVID look like the common cold!

2 Sam. 24:24-25:: David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

Another question here is why the offering at the threshing floor of Araunah….

A threshing floor is where the grains are seperated, the wheat vs. the chaff. Matthew quotes this when it comes to Yeshua and the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is Yeshua who baptises us with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. – Matthew 3:12

This baptism referred to by Matthew removes our worthless parts. It cleanses us from chaff, that which cannot be used by the Lord. The purpose of King David was to build an altar and offer sacrifices unto the LORD. This is the same for us. We offer unto the Lord the sacrifice of our lives as he removes the fleshly chaff from our lives and consumes this with the fires of his holy presence. Fire is many times considered a cleansing agent. Those that come under persecution are cleansed by it. King David knew well what persecution was and also a family divided. His life had to be fully purged of evil, even the stain of trauma often left by rebellion, sedition, and unresolved feuds.

1 Pet. 4:12-13:: Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Joab-in-the-Bible.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/mighty-men-David.html

Our Relationship With God #6 (Amnon’s Sin; Absalom’s Revenge, Treachery & Legacy)

Leave a reply

We will look at the sad events of Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar and her brother Absalom planning a revenge. Amnon’s death leads to anarchy and rebellion in the house and eventual results in the death of Absalom.

— Sin in The House

Soon enough an issue arose in David’s house. One of David’s sons Amnon desired to sleep with his (half)sister Tamar. The thoughts kept persisting to the point where he sought counsel on how to have her. He gets her through a ruse, pretending to be sick and asking Tamar to come wait on him at his room.

— Amnon’s mother is Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimelech. This is D avid’s firstborn (2 Sam. 3:2).
— Absalom’s (and Tamar’s) mother is Maacah daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur. Absalom was David’s third child (2 Sam. 3:3). Maacah was won as a result of battle.

2 Sam. 13: 19-20::
Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly. Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.

However, Absalom did not forget this thing and waited silently, patiently for two years. But secretly he hated his brother Amnon for what he did to his sister (2 Sam. 13:22).

Moses told the tribes of Gad and Reuben ‘if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure your sin will find you out’ (Num. 32:23). For these tribes wanted to settle in the lands east of the Jordan and not help their brothers take conquest of all the land of Israel. Obviously Amnon took conquest of his half sister but not in a good way. His sin was soon to be discovered even though Absalom kept quiet for a couple years. Eventually the consequences of sin catch up to us, even if we think we have escaped judgement.

Absalom flees to Geshur for three years after he has Amnon, his brother, murdered.

It is probable this is the same Jonadab who both counseled Amnon and then later King David. Jonadab counseled the king ‘for by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar’. (2 Sam. 13:32)

Know this, there are some people who like to stay close to power and will play both sides of the fence so as to curry favor. The sins of the father are passed upon the children unto the third and fourth generation so it does not really matter if this is the same Jonadab, the weasly people who hang around power will so so for their own avantage. Taking advice from these people is quite dangerous.

Incidently, a false report comes that all of David’s sons were killed (2 Sam. 13:30). This was simply not true. Confusion often comes with iniquity, as most Jewish commentators believe Jonadab was always scheming.

(Jonadab was probably son of Shimea or Shammah so really David’s nephew but some sources say one brother was unnamed, see 1 Sam 16:10 vs. 1 Chr. 2:13-15).

A main point is what was done in secret is proclaimed openly. The death of Amnon is finally announced by Jonadab as what had been determined all along (although David had likely heard the story already). Absalom murdering his brother is not unlike David murdering Uriah. Both were done in secret and both were premeditated. One point relates to repentance: David repented, Absalom did not. Nor do we ever hear of Amnon repenting for raping Tamar.

Absalom soon plans sedition and treachery against his father. For he had set himself up as a wise and just judge in Jerusalem and stole away the hearts of the men (2 Sam. 15:8).

— The case that Amnon ‘putting away’ Tamar and Absolom lying with David’s wives

There is a fulfillment of Nathan the prophet here relating to adversaries being raised up from the house of David and lieng with his wives. The record of this happening is based upon David’s son Absalom lieing with David’s concubines.

2 Sam. 12:11:: Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

We could say that a concubine is not a wife but that is not how God views these relationships. Hagar was considered a wife.

Gen. 16:3:: Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Apostle Paul echo’d this belief when he told the Corinthians ‘do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh’. (1 Cor. 6:16).

Most young people do not realize how God views sexual intercourse. The oneness of uniting in copulation is as the joining a man to a woman. It does not matter if you have a piece of paper or went through a ceremony. You have united the relationship in marriage, maybe not holy matrimony, yet as a husband and wife.

The Torah spells out the consequences of a man lying with a virgin. If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife (Ex. 22:16).

I believe this includes the idea of even marying a woman who is a widow or divorces. The bottom line is if you (men) are going to have sex before marriage you should also be thinking of marrying that woman. This is not optimum but it often happens. What happened to Amnon after he enticed and raped Tamar? He then despised her! This was worse

2 Sam. 13:15-16:: Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone! So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.

For now he had uncovered her nakedness and had lied with her.

Lev. 18:9:: The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover.

In essence it was like putting away your wife for any uncleanness.

Free sex and marying multiple women is forbidden of elders and deacons in the church despite the patriarchs and kings of old having many wives. The point the apostle makes in 1 Corinthians is the mating of Christ with a harlot.

Going back to David and his ten concubines. In reality Nathan’s prophesy came true, it might not involved his 7 or so legitimate wives but in essence did come true in the sense of concubine wives. We read in:

2 Sam. 16:21-22:: Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

— Absalom’s Legacy

The situation between Absalom and his father got so bad that David and his servants had to flee Jerusalem. Eventually Absalom met his end at the hands of Joab and his men for the king could not kill his own son, as he could not kill the children of Saul.

the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom (2 Sam. 18:5). He loved his son, like the father of the prodigal son. But in this case his son never came to his senses and returned to his father. We have no record of him ever repenting for the rebellion against his father.

2 Sam. 18:14-15:: Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.

The idea of Joab’s words ‘I connot linger with you’ suggests his patience was up with this rebellious son. David was not going to take action against his rebellious son so Joab had to do it.

2 Sam. 18:18:: Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King’s Valley. For he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

It is traditional to throw rocks at Absalom’s Monument unto this day. For he was a rebellious son and parents want to teach their children a lesson on what happens to rebellious children.

Absalom did have three sons and a daughter.
2 Sam. 14:27:: To Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.

Did all of his sons die? Were they not considered worthy of his kingdom? Were the sons illegitamite? He does have relations with his father’s concubines (2 Sam. 16:21) so they could have been children of promiscuity. Why did he name his daughter Tamar? She was beautiful like his sister Tamar.

Despite leaving children, Absalom left us another legacy. That of a rebellious and murderous son. I would be remiss to not compare Absalom to the parable of the prodigal son. One main difference is that the prodigal son got to the point of seeing his desperation and poverty. He repented and came back to his father. In the case of Absalom there was no repentance and no returning to his father. Yet we can see in the life of King David he never lost his love for Absalom. He would have gladly received back Absolom and showered gifts and affection upon him. It is a sad story of what can happen to the prodigals — they never return and die in their sins.

You do not want to be branded a prodigal and have people throw stones at a monument to your name. Return to your heavenly father and seek reconciliation with your brothers and sisters. Absalom’s murder of his brother Amnon is an example of those destined for eternal judgement.

Matt. 5:21-22:: You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

1 John 3:15:: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Don’t be like Absalom. He hated his brother and murdered him.

Sources:
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/35159/did-absalom-have-3-sons-2-samuel-1427-or-none-2-samuel-1818
https://bible.org/question/2-sam-1427-bible-says-absalom-had-sons-and-1818-absolom-says-i-have-no-son-who-will-carry-m
https://www.gotquestions.org/David-brothers.html
https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/432/jbq_432_bakonyonadav.pdf

Our Relationship With God #5 (David’s Great Sin and God’s Great Mercy)

Leave a reply

Chapter 6 of Second Samuel deals with irreverant transport of the Ark of God from Abinadab’s house to Jerusalem. For more on that find my sermon entitled ‘Doing the right things in the wrong way’. Here I want to deal with Nathan’s prophesy about David’s son building a house for Jehovah and his rebuke of King David. Yet there is great mercy given David. Much of this story relates directly to Yeshua.

— Prophesy of Nathan regarding David’s son and heir

We start hearing from Nathan the prophet in Chapter 7 of 2nd Samuel.

For he tells David:
2 Sam 7:12-16:: When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever (ôlām) before you. Your throne shall be established forever (ôlām).

nathan means to give, bestow, grant, ascribe, or devote. Actually Jonathan is made of two hebrew words jeho- and nathan meaning Jehovah has given or even Jehovah is gracious.

A maskill of Ethan the Ezrahite also speaks of God’s covenant with David for all generations:
Ps. 89:3-4:: I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:
‘Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.’ Selah

Lest we forget much later the Jonathan that was the beloved by Yeshua. Even though King David had no son called Jonathan, we see the son of David, Yeshua, having a faithful friend called Jonathan who never abandons him, even at his greatest point of need. I never realized this before but Yochanan (CJB) is the same name Jonathan which was missing from King David’s life after the battle at Gilboa. The twist is that the first Jonathan died and the second one lived to a very old age.

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women (2 Sam. 1:26)

It is probably Solomon himself who wrote the Song of Solomon. He himself penned the idea what the Shulamite Bride said of her beloved (Sos 2:16, 5:8).

SoS 2:16:: The Shulamite: My beloved is mine, and I am his. See also sermon entitled ‘Beautiful and Beloved Church (Song of Solomon)’ first done in June 2024.

It is by no coincidence that Yeshua’s best friend, his most beloved friend was names after David’s best friend Jonathan. The Shulamite is represented by the church. It was also Jonathan, David’s best friend who loved him so much. Can you not see the tapestry of love that God has played before our hearing!

Of course the house that Solomon eventually builds for Jehovah is nothing compared to the house that Yeshua builds for us. For he now lives by the human heart, despite it’s imperfections and wicked thoughts.

The fact of King David not building the house of God is not unlike the situation of Abraham not being able to sacrifice his son, his only son. Things have to wait for the son to build the house of God. Literally that of Solomon, but spiritually that of Yeshua.

— David Sins Against God and Man (Uriah & Bathsheba)

2 Sam. 12 – Nathan confronts King David about taking the one little ewe lamb, Bathsheba. King David had his pick of many women in the kingdom yet lusts after the one wife of Uriah the Hittite.

The name Bathsheba is linguistically related to Beershiva. The town Beershiva means well of seven or well of an oath. Bathsheba is daughter of seven or daughter of an oath. Be’er means well, Bat means daughter. The oath came about because of the seven ewe lambs Abraham set apart to give to Abimelech as witness that he had dug the well there.

From what I looked up, Bathsheba might have been David’s seventh wife. The idea of the one ewe lamb being stolen might have hit home for David as he considered both his oath to follow God and the seven ewe lambs offered up by Abraham.

After the story of Nathan about a rich man stealing a poor man’s only lamb King David was greatly angered.

2 Sam. 12:5:: David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! He shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

This is accordance with Torah.
Ex. 22:1:: If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

The fourfold restoration of sheep is expressed by the words of wee little Zacchaeus who climbed the Sycamore tree to see what he could see which was Yeshua passing by.

Luke 19:8:: Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.

We do not know if Zacchaeus cheated anyone out of sheep or oxen but he felt compelled to do over and above and restore four-fold. Notice in verse 1 that Yeshua was passing through Jericho which I will speak more of regarding King David and Bethsheba. Needless to say there were blind men on the road going through Jericho.

One is the case of blind Bartemaeus.

Luke 18:38:: 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. Upon hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by so he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Bartimaeus calls out a second time, even louder. We shall also come back to the idea of mercy when it comes to King David needing it himself. Going back to Nathan’s rebuke. He says to David:

2 Sam. 12:9:: Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

There is a penality for what Nathan spoke. It is death:

Ex. 21:14:: if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar (if there for protection), that he may die.

After David was confronted by Nathan he penned Psalm 51 to express his sorrow and repentance for the death of Uriah and taking his wife. But it was too late. Nathan already proclaimed the prophesy which was to plague David for years to come, and that in his own household.

2 Sam. 12:10-11:: Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

The second part of Nathan’s prophesy was to come to pass more quickly. The bastard child of David and Bathsheba’s adulterous affair would soon die. Justice had to come with a penalty!

As for David’s sin, it was acquitted.
2 Sam. 12:13:: David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away (āḇar) your sin; you shall not die.

This putting away is a passing over of sin.ʿThe word is āḇar (aw-bar’) is often used as passing over like across a river, or the spirit passing through a sacrifice, or even someone passing by. It is also the same word used of Bethsheba while she was mourning (passing through) the grief of her husband dying.

The death angel passed over the children of Israel in Egypt (Exodus 12). Note that in Exodus verse 11 it is āḇar but in verse 12 it is pāsaḥ (paw-sakh’). I attached an article that argues the idea of Pesach is more than passing over but also includes mercy which is what David got. It is quite curious the only time we see pāsaḥ used in relation to King David is in regards to Mephibosheth. He fell and became (pāsaḥ) lame (2 Sam. 4:4). Mephibosheth ultimately was the most favored of Saul’s (grand)children. He had many, many children.

I believe there is a very subtle but intentional mercy given to Bathsheba. She ultimately births Solomon which is the King who builds the first temple. Also, remember that Jacob wrestled with an angel of God at Peniel and the angel touches his hip which was put out-of-place and made him limp (Genesis 32). It does not say Mephisobeth was lame from a messed up hip joint but rather in his feet. The amazing thing I see is that the hebrew word for Passover has two meanings. The second meaning is to limp or be lame. God has a message here about his mercy, even for those with physical difficulties.

Zacchaeus was there when Yeshua passed through Jericho. Yeshua also healed blind Bartemaeus who also wanted the mercy shown to King David. It seems Yeshua was always aiming to end up in Jerusalem. He may have passed by Jericho several times but his mercy endures forever.

Sources:
https://outorah.org/p/5710 (passover meaning)
https://millingtonbaptist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Background-Notes-on-1-and-2-Samuel.pdf

add_filter( 'dt_blacklisted_meta', function( $blacklisted_metas ) {
    $blacklisted_metas[] = 'autoshare_for_twitter_status';
    return $blacklisted_metas;
} )

function opt_my_cpt_into_autoshare() {
    add_post_type_support( 'my-cpt', 'autoshare-for-twitter' );
}
add_action( 'init', 'opt_my_cpt_into_autoshare' );
function opt_my_cpt_into_autoshare() {
    add_post_type_support( 'my-cpt', 'autoshare-for-twitter' );
}
add_action( 'init', 'opt_my_cpt_into_autoshare' );
function enable_autoshare_by_default_for_core_post_type( $enabled, $post_type ) {
    if ( 'post' === $post_type ) {
        return true;
    }

    return $enabled;
}
add_filter( 'autoshare_for_twitter_enabled_default', 'enable_autoshare_by_default_for_core_post_type', 10, 2 );

Creator God – The Pressing

Leave a reply

In Day four of creation we read that God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years.

Psalm 8:3-9:: When I [see]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have [appointed,fixed] ordained. What is man that You [remember him] take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than [Elohim]God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the [animals] beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Deut 6:4:: shama` O Yisra’el Yehovah ‘elohiym Yehovah ‘echad
‘elohimy: plural of ‘el·o’·ah (also plural in Genesis 1:1, 6:1 and elsewhere)
echad: properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first

Verse quoted in Hebrews 2:6-8. Hebrews talks about angels in verses 2 & 5. It is not to angels he has subjected the world to come (‘olam haba).

The psalm is a gittit. According to the ATS Bible Dictionary The word Gittish signifies belonging to Gath. It probably denotes either a musical instrument or a kind of music derived from Gath, where David sojourned for a time during the persecution of Saul, 1 Samuel 27:1-7. The word Gath also signifies in Hebrew a winepress.

As from last week we talked about the ark of the covenant’s journey from Baal of Juda (Abinadab’s house) to Jerusalem. The oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to the ark and was struck down by it. The ark was then moved to the house of Oved-Edom, the Gitti. Coincidently, one from Gath. The ark stayed there for 3 more months.

2 Sam. 6:14:: Then David danced and spun around with abandon before ADONAI, wearing a linen ritual vest (aka ephod)

Where did the linen ritual vest come from?

1 Sam. 21:9
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. The servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

This is also the same chapter where King David is portrayed as eating of the 12 loaves of shewbread (he asked for 5 but ended up with 12 instead)

1 Sam. 23:9:: David told Avyator the priest (son of Achimelekh) to “Bring the ritual vest here”.

Goliath was also from Gath! Gath was a city of giants (1 Chr. 20:4-8). What giants do we have to slay today?

Matt. 26:26-44:: 26 Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.” 30 And after singing a hymn (Hallel), they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Hallel done during Pesach (Psalm 113-118). Sometimes the Jews even sing in harmony the hallel — maybe even in a maskil? gittish is either a musical instrument (like lyre) or music derived from Gath.
….

The Garden of Gethsemane – Gat Shmanim. Gat is wine press. Shmanim is oil. We could be talking about an olive or grape press.

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

I think it more than coincidental that Gat also means of Gath. I put it to you that Jesus was thinking of King David all this time. How he defeated Goliath of Gath. How he got the sword of Goliath and the ephod of the priest of Nov from Avyator, son of Achimelekh. How David fled to Ackish king Gath during the persecution from Saul. How the ark was kept 3 months at Oved-Edom from Gath. Gath was actually a city of giants. Jesus had a cup to bear and the giants were pressing him right now.

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He *came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. — Lackland AFB annex snooze room!

44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!

Peter’s famous tri-fold denial of Jesus is repeated later by a tri-fold request of Jesus “Do you love me”. (John 21) That was restoration!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace 16 and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross

Our Relationship With God #4 (Honoring the Household of Saul)

Leave a reply

Exegesis of what happened to King Saul of Israel, the seven years of chaos after Saul, honoring Mephibosheth, the end of the House of Saul, and another Saul persecutes David’s lineage.

–– Saul dies in battle (2 versions)

One version is that Saul fell on his sword (1 Sam. 31 & 1 Chr. 10)

1 Sam. 31:3-6:: The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. When his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

Another version is that an Amalekite killed Saul (2 Sam. 1)

2 Sam. 1:1-2:: Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.

2 Sam. 1:10:: I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.

So why two versions? Was the Amalekite lying? Did he think he would be rewarded? The idea of Saul having fallen could be that even after falling on his sword he did not die right away and so the Amalekite’s testimony was true. After Saul being finished off by the Amalekite the armorbearer also killed himself. It is also possible the Amalekite was just plain lying and thought David despised Saul because Saul tried to kill him so many times. Thinking of rewards, he hands over Saul’s armament and gives his testimony. David had him executed on the spot. He was probably lying to try to curry favor and reward from David. He was not rewarded.

The mention of another 3 days according to the probably false narrative of the Amalekite does make me wonder if on the third day when David caught up to the Amalekites was about the same day that Saul met his demise at the hands of the Philisteans. For Saul continued to attack the wrong enemy. David prevailed Saul got defeated.2 Sam. 4:10 supports the idea that the Amalekite was executed during the two days David remained in Ziklag. The Philistines continued to be a thorn in the side of Israel until the time of Hezekiah.

A lying spirit got into the jewish rulers in the time of Yeshua’s death. They had a false narrative spread abroad that the disciples of Yeshua stole away his body in the night (Matt. 28:12-15). They were given a large sum of money to spread this lie. The jews continue to be a thorn in the side of Apostle Paul for much of his ministry. This lie eventually resulted in the death of over 1 million jews according to Josephus. For we must not lie about things, for that lie will eventually catch up with us. It is only by grace did David survive.

— Seven years of the split kingdom under King David (respecting Saul’s son)

There was a long war between the leaders of Saul’s army (2 Sam. 3:1). It is a very confusing and chaotic period for Israel and Judah. The imporant thing is ‘David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker’.

In the first four chapters of 2 Samuel there was much chaos in Judah and Israel. There was fighting between the generals of David and Ishbosheth, David took back Mical as wife despite her new husbands grief, Joab (David’s general) murders Abner (Saul’s general). This is because Abner killed Joab’s brother. Eventually Ishbosheth got murdered by his own captains. David even had chaos in his own camp with the sons of Zuruaih and even with Abner. Let’s review what happened politically.

2 Sam. 2:10-11:: Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

So if this is accurate what happened to the other five years that David reined in Hebron? I believe that the text in 2 Sam. 2:8-9 gives us a clue: Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king. Isbosheth reined because of Abner!

2 Sam. 3:7-10:: Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the LORD has sworn to him— to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah

So in essence Abner transferred the rule of all Israel over to King David yet David was never going to disrespect the prodigy of Saul.

2 Sam. 5:4-5:: David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

David respected the children of Saul enough to not disturb Ishbosheth’s rule until he died about five years later.

Even leaders of Sauls troops seemed to disregard Ishbosheth after awhile and fled the area before formenting sedition. When sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah killed Ishbosheth and beheaded him it did not go well with them, just as it did not for the Amalekite who lied about killing Saul.

David commanded his young men, and they executed them (Rechab and Baanah), cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron (2 Sam. 4:12)

The idea of a legacy to you children or even children’s children is not new and probably event in the life of David gave rise to subequent wisdom:

Prov. 13:22:: A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

Prov. 22:6:: Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

However, it remains to be seen how good Saul was. Anointings cannot be transferred because of heritage despite David’s honor to the house of Saul.

Sometimes we see in church empires leaders trying to transfer the kingdom to their sons. This can occur as did David leave a legacy to Solomon but it can often fail when it comes to Saul transferring the kingdom to Ishbosheth. One key difference here was David was a man after God’s own heart so tranfer was godly. Saul did not have that kind of kingdom. A transfer to Jonathan could have been honored and was through Mephisobeth. Yet it skipped a generation due to a son honoring an ungodly father. So Jonathan died before fulfilling his destiny.

— Mephibosheth (the last son to be honored)

Another (grand)Son of Saul gets honored even longer than Ishbosheth:

2 Sam. 4:4:: Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

2 Sam. 9:1:: David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

We hear that Mephibosheth was to eat at the king’s table all of the days of his life for David had made a covenant with Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:3) and even between their descendants.

1 Sam. 20:42:: Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever

Despite David and Jonathan have a love like no spouse only through Mephibosheth was the covenant to Jonathan fulfilled. This is a case of delayed fulfillment. Following an ungodly father can skip a blessing despite godly friendships.

— More death in the House of Saul

In 2 Sam. 21 we read about seven offspring of Saul being murdered by the Gibeonites. If you remember, the Gibeonites are ones who made a covenant with Joshua when the children of Israel came into Canaan. It was a ruse but the covenant of peace remained intact, at least until King Saul violated the agreement.

2 Sam. 21:2: the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.

I won’t go into detail on the seven grandchildren of Saul murdered by the Gibeonites but to say two were of Saul’s concubine Aiah and five of Saul daughter Michal (or Merab). This might have ended the house of Saul save for Mephibosheth.

In verse 1 it says there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.

Even when Shimei the son of Gera of the house of Saul cursed David and threw stones at him, claiming that David murdered the house of Saul, David left him alone (2 Sam. 16:10). This protection, however, did not extend to all Benjamites like Sheba the son of Bichri (2 Sam. 20).

The Lord in many ways protected David from having to deal with Saul and his descendants. Yet, David either protected descendants like Mephiboseth or others murdered the family of Saul. David had nothing to do with the death of Saul and his sons at the battle of Gilboa because of God’s mercy and providence (the Philistine princes rejecting David).

— Another Saul persecutes the lineage of David

Many years later there was another Saul, one of Tarshish who was also a Benjamite. I want to make a posit here that in some ways the house of Saul represents greater Israel which got scattered throughout the world. Many joined King David of Judah as did Abner, just as many joined Judah after the Babylonian captivity. It would take 1000 years after David for greater Israel to reach out again after the death of Yeshua when Apostle Paul takes up the mantle for Benjamin to spread the influence of Israel into the world. Ben-jamin means ‘son of my right hand’. This is prophetic for Psalm 110 when King David stated this:

The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand (yāmîm),
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool (Ps. 110:1)

So I maintain that it was necessary for a Benjamite named Saul to be involved in the spread of the gospel to the whole world. Remember it is Saul of Yeshua’s day which pursued and persecuted Yeshua’s church. In Paul’s own words he said “we all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me'” (Acts 9:4).

In many ways Apostle Saul replays persecuting David, at least until his encounter on the road to Damascus.

Sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/David-and-Ish-bosheth.html
https://nshorechurch.com/2020/10/21/the-life-of-david-sauls-massacre-at-nob-10-18-20/

Our Relationship with God #1

Leave a reply

Our relationship with God does not need be perfect, but has to be our driving desire. We all make mistakes, that is why grace is essential in our faith. King David messed up, as do we.

— A man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22)

Yeshua represents God’s own heart. He is the image of all that the Father represents, he is patient and longsuffering. The Father also sacrificed his own son who succomed to the will of his Father… not my will but thine be done.

John 14:7-9:: If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Col. 1:15:: Yeshua is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

The big test of Abraham was a sacrifice of his one and only son which did not get fulfilled until the cross:
John 3:16:: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten son…

2 Pet. 3:9:: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

So what did King Saul do that could not be forgiven and King David do that warranted forgiveness?

Saul offered burnt offerings himself, he did not completely destroy the Amalekites, he consulted a witch, made rash vows, he developed pride and jealousy, he ultimately turned away from God.

1 Sam. 13:14:: (Samuel says to Saul) your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you

1 Sam. 15:9:: Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them

Needless to say, the sparing the best of the animals was disobedience unto the Lord.

1 Sam. 15:23:: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.

— David Takes on the Giant

David gained experience in fighting from the lion and the bear. These are indeed formidable animals that can easily kill an unarmed man or woman or an inexperienced fighter. The problem with Israel is that they greatly feared the giant.

1 Sam. 17:11:: When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Now David was fearless.

1 Sam. 17:34-36:: David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Additionally, they tried to put Saul’s armor onto David. David refused to wear this armor, claiming he had not tested it. This brings up a point or two. We are to put on God’s spiritual armor: the shoes, the hip guards, the breastplate, the shield, the helmut, and the sword. Man’s armament is not to be used without testing first meaning our knives, guns, and miltary machinery can be effective if thoroughly tested. Even God’s armor needs testing.

Our spiritual defenses are more important than physial. In this case the staff and sling are what is represented by David. The five smooth stones come from the brook. The staff does defend against attack by holding off predators or by pulling sheep away from danger. It is the main tool of shephards. The sling holds the stones that are meant to hurt or destroy a would-be attacker.

Additionally, the uncircumcised Phillistine used a sword and spear:
1 Sam. 17:47-48:: David declared, “this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hand. When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

Notice that David ran toward the battle line. He did not shrink back nor cower in fear. He was very brave.

What does this tell all of us? Training is key to preparation, even using a substitute like going against lions and bears. We use God’s armament, not worldly weapons, especially without being thoroughly tested. Our weapons are mostly defensive against predators. We do not shrink back but run toward danger. I once met a missionary in Texas who said while all other missionaries left a certain area when danger arose, he went in at this time. All of this takes bravery for God will ultimately send the cowardly to the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).

In modern times lion and bear attacks are not often but a shephard must always be on guard against attacks. Notice that David mentions a lamb being attacked. It is the young, weak, and vulnerable that often get attacked by predators looking for an easy prey. It is also interesting that the mention this Phillistine is uncircumcised. Maybe a circumcised Phillistine would have been better? Perhaps Goliath’s behavior represents him acting viciously toward his opponent, acting like that of an animal.

In the church we can have baby lambs, lions, bears, and giants. A pastor is a type of shepard and so guards the sheep. Lions, bears, and even savage wolves would like to eat the flock. Apostle Paul told the Ephesians that savage wolves would come in so as to destroy the flock after he left (Acts 20:29).

— Five stones, 5 loaves vs. 12 loaves (David & Yeshua), Fish and Snake(s)

Five stones reminds me of the five loaves. 2 Sam 21:22 actually says there were at least 5 giants.

David’s request for five loaves of bread to Ahimelech:
1Sa 21:3:: Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

Yeshua used five loaves and two fishes to feed the five thousand:
Mark 6:42-44:: So they all ate and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.
Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

In both Matthew and Mark the comment is made that they had 12 baskets full of fragments left. The baskets could have been both bread and fish (John 6 says only loaves), we are not told but the idea of 12 baskets full goes back to the idea of the shewbread.

Lev. 24:5:: You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the Lord.

The idea of 5 loaves and 12 basketfuls of loaves remaining is a symbol of what David did echoed by Yeshua. David probably received all 12 of the shewbread which was removed every Sabbath from before the altar. This shows that Yeshua is the bread of life for all 12 tribes and also Lord of the Sabbah.

Read what Yeshua mentions in regard to receiving good gifts, like the Holy Spirit:

Matt. 7:7-10:: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

Now a stone is not as nice as bread unless you are King David and the stones are used to kill a giant. Likewise serpants are not nearly as nice as fish. But hold on there, he may not be talking about actual snakes.
Mark 16:18 says ‘they shall take up serpents’ as a sign of Yeshua followers
Luke 10:19 says ‘I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions’
John 3:14 says ‘Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness’

So are we to handle snakes like Apostle Paul did in Malta? Actually he never tried to pick it up, it just came out and bit him. What about the firey snakes with Moses as the children of Israel passed south of Edom by the Red Sea? They did not try to pick them up but Moses created the bronze fiery serpent so that those bit would recover upon seeing the snake. So there is really no precent for Christians to handle live snakes. One interpretation of the idea of taking up serpents is to take away what has been lifted up. Metaphorically we are to have power to handle dangerous things so as to remove them. As the stone removed Goliath we are to remove the power of the enemy by removing serpents, like what Satan has sent against us. David took on Satan’s power, whether the lion, the bear, the serpent, or even a giant.

But even King David was not always brave. We can look more into that in coming weeks.

Giants:
Ishbi-Benob,
Saph (Sippai)
Lahmi, brother of Goliath the Gittite

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araunah
https://overviewbible.com/david/
https://www.gotquestions.org/bread-of-the-presence.html

Our Relationship With God #2

Leave a reply

Even though this lesson is on our relationship with God the idea of iniquities involves what we do against our fellow man. Wrong behavior can push people to take wrong sides. We should be a refuge for the hurting. Mercy to the anointed. No mercy to fools.

— Siding with the Enemy?

When David first meets Ahimelech, Ahimelech was sore afraid. David was supposed to be on mission for Saul but Saul had created a spirit of fear and intimidation for many.

1 Sam. 21:10:: David rose and fled (bāraḥ) that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.

1 Sam. 21:12-13:: David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.


So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

Psalm 34:1:: David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out (gāraš), and he went away. Remember Abimelech means my father is king so it is more of a title than a name, David actually fled to Achish, King of Gath but originally after feigning insanity he then fled (yālaḵ) to the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1).

It is possible that Psalm 34 has an error and it should have read Achish but that does not change one idea here. Remember, Abimeleh could also be a title. David originally fled (bāraḥ) Saul to Achish, king of Gath, and then was driven out (gāraš) of his presence after feigning madness. The Psalmist says Achish drove him out (made him to leave).

gaw-rash’ (gaw-rash’) to drive out, expell, cast out which is what Ahish (or Abimelech) apparently did to David. I imagine that Abimelech did the same thing to Abraham and Sarah upon learning of the sister deception. Even Isaac spoke the same lie to Abimelech (or his son) when he visited Gerar.

We will again see David returning to Achish in another 6 chapters. But we must be cautious about who we side with. Achish at this point seemed preferrable to King Saul. As leaders we must not push our people to dispair and press them to make unwise choices. Gath, home to both Goliath and Achish, means winepress. It was probably the pressure of Saul’s assaults that pushed David to side with the enemy. The whole Psalm 34 reference probably points more to David being pressured to uproot and leave places.

The enemy, Philistines, seem to have caused much contention for David and even the Patriarchs. Today it is not much different. The modern Philistines (the Philisteanun or Palestinians) are causing much contention for the children of Judah. Gerar is said to be close to Khan Yunis, which you might recognize as being in the Gaza Strip. Israel was driven out of Gaza in 2005-2006, as part of the land for peace initiative imposed upon Israel by the UN. It is sad to me that the Palestinians do not know what role they play in fulfillment of bible prophesy.

— Giving refuge to those under threat or persecution

1 Sam. 22:2:: everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

David created a refuge which again Yeshua becomes toward us. However, in chapter 23 we see David’s men being afraid of the Phillistines at Keilah. It is likely David wrote Psalm 46 which states:
Ps. 46:1b:: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.

Being afraid or having those around us fearful does not mean anything. We are human and need a place of refuge, even a city of refuge. We are normally most apt to minister to those around us for that thing for which we have also experienced. Do you think Yeshua was ever afraid? He was only human! God does not give us a spirit of fear yet we must be overcomers.

Ahimelek, the priest at Nob gave David and his men bread to eat. It was no ordinary bread but the shewbread which had be used at the temple. Afterwards Saul summoned the priest and his household.

1 Sam. 22:11:: the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king.

Notice it is Ahimelek, not Abimelek. Ahimelek means my brother is king or melek is my brother. Saul, in his madness and anger had all of Ahimelek’s family killed except one son.

One of the sons of Ahimelech the priest named Abiathar was given refuge by David who said ‘stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping’ (1 Sam. 22:23)

When we first hear of Ahimelech he was much afraid, trembling (1 Sam. 21:1). We also hear that David was much fearful when he first met Achish, King of Gath (1 Sam. 21:12). I must conclude that Saul had created an atmosphere of suspicious, fear, and intimidation after David fearlessly defeated the giant Goliath. David created a place of refuge for those fearful and under threat.

— David shows mercy to King Saul

What King David did was to respect King Saul, God’s anointed… despite obvious flaws. He spared Saul’s life in the cave going toward En Gedi and later on at the hill of Hachilah (1 Sam. 24 & 26).

Touch not my anointed and do the prophets no harm (Ps. 105:15)

We read David was in the rocks near to En-gedi which means “fount of the kid”. David was by the rocks of the wild or mountain goats (yāʿēl). These are two hebrew words: one meaning a baby goat (kid) and the out a full grown goat (yāʿēl).

Saul choose 3000 men of Israel to set out and capture David. After Saul entered a cave to go to the bathroom David snuck in after and was able to cut off a corner of Saul’s garment. David even felt guilty about that and had to restrain his servants who wanted to harm King Saul. After David revealed to Saul about the opportunity to kill him, Saul became very humble and repentant, even saying that David will be king one day.

At Hachilah David took Saul’s spear and a jug of water (1 Sam. 26:11). Now remember the spear is a carnal weapon, not like the shephard’s staff which David used.

Hacilah is a hill and it’s meaning is darkness. It is next to the wilderness of Ziph near to a place called Jeshimon which means waste, wilderness, desert, or desolate place. Saul also had 3000 men with him. Now David stayed in the wilderness of Ziph. We also read that David sent out spies just as Moses commanded from the wilderness.

Do you not get the prophetic picture here? They are both in the wilderness but Saul was also in a place of darkness, next to a waste place, something very desolate. There were 3000 of Saul’s men with him.

Death came to the children of Isael by the hands of the Levites.

Ex. 32:27-28:: Then he (Moses) said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

Yet on the Day of Pentecost about 3000 souls got saved. We see here in the mercy of King David no evil befell the 3000 soldiers with Saul. It is possible all 3000 could have died if King David had vengeance or even justice in his heart. For David respected what came before him and sought no harm to the Prophet Saul. It was an impossible decision to kill your brothers and sisters in the faith.

As best I can estimate David had about 600 men (1 Sam. 23:13) so Saul had about 5 times the men. Still, with God’s help a battle could go in either direction. This is being between ‘a rock and a hard place’. Why would David want to hurt Saul or his men? It is a quagmire, at best. Maybe that is apropos. Saul was beside an actual quagmire.

That brings up a question. What do we do when facing almost impossible circumstances as I see also very recently.

Be still, and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10) comes to mind.

Yeshua spoke this years later…
Matt. 5:7:: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Such is the case later in sitations involving Bathsheba and even later on in his life.

— Strange interlude between Saul chasing David

Between the two oppourtunities to harm King Saul, there is a very interesting story of Nabal and his wife Abigail. The Holy Spirit sometimes sandwiches in an unrelated story between to things where He is trying to teach us something very important. In this case we read that Nabal had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. The sheep count corresponds to King Saul’s fighting men. The sheep had been led to a slaughter by a mad King, twice. Actually, if David had indeed killed Saul I highly doubt he would have to go after the 3000 soldiers, for sure even Jonathan might have interviened if around. The 1000 goats of Nabal is a bit tougher to interpret. We read that Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel. It is quite possible that the goats were in or around En Gedi. Just speculation on my part, but it does fit in with the narrative. The idea in 1 Sam. 24 calling it sheepfolds is a bit misleadig because that is really a wall or hedge and has been used to describe holding cattle (Num. 32:26), or in this case, goats. Additionally, Nabal was from Moan, he only had his business at Carmel (not current Mount Carmel). Moan is much south of Hebron
.
I say all of this to try to get to the spiritual lesson of King David and Nabal. We hear that Nabal lived in prosperity, in the coastal strip.

Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master (1 Sam. 25:10). Even his wife, Abagail realized her husband reviled David and his young servants. There is a note that none of Nabal’s things were missing while David’s men were with the shephards in Carmel. I am thinking this was months earlier since David seems to be in the wilderness during these chapters and the sheep were near to Carmel. Anyway, Nabal has come to mean fool for David and 400 of his met set out with swords to kill Nabal and his entire family. Nabal was not an anointed man and David had no regard for him or his family.

Outside of grace for the anointed, fools get no mercy. It is a wonderful that that Christ means the anointed one. Without Christ we cannot receive an anointing nor grace. It is true ‘Christ died for all’ but that should not be construed as universal grace for fools and sinners.

To the rich young farmer God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you’ (Luke 12:20). Beware of covetousness. Nabal was a fool too. Abigail mean my father is joy and is also the name of David’s sister. Soon this Abigail was to be David’s wife because even though she stopped David’s pursuit of Nabal, he died 10 days later, being ‘struck’ from the Lord. King Herod in the book of Acts was also struck from the Lord and eaten by worms. We likewise can be ‘struck’ from the Lord like having a heart attack or stroke.

Remember Luke 12:15:: Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses

Life is relational, both with God and with our fellow human beings. Let us remember God’s goodness and mercy.

Sources:
https://overviewbible.com/david/
https://www.gotquestions.org/Ziklag-in-the-Bible.html

Our Relationship With God #3

1 Reply

During the demise of King Saul we read of David’s behavior and deception before Achish, Saul’s desperate move to consult a medium at Endor, lack of trust amongst the Philistine generals, Ziklag and a third day scenario, and how the Amalekites were the greater enemy to Israel

— More on Siding with Achish

— David deceives Achish, attacking the old enemies of Israel, not their allies (1 Sam. 27:8-10)

1 Sam. 27:8: David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites.

David did use deception here against Achish. He attacked the old enemies of Israel and told Achish that he was attacking Judah and their friends. Remember, the whole idea of David acting nuts was also a ruse in chapter 21. Deception is one strategy of warfare. I question the whole idea of lying, even to an enemy, but we are not in the same desperate sitation as was David. In verse 1 we see him reasoning to escape from Saul by living with the Philistines. Even his 600 men went with him into the land of the Philistines. We read in verse 11 that David left no man alive in the areas he raided so no word would get back to Achish of what he was actually doing. Achish fell for this deception and the bible is completely silent on the morality of this behavior.

This is where we cannot physically compare David to Yeshua. For Yeshua did not lie to the Jewish authorities or Romans about his purpose in life. However, I think the whole tapestry of Yeshua’s life did deceive the spiritually wicked forces of this world for if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8).

Remember Eph. 6:12:: we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

What David seemed to do against flesh and blood, Yeshua confined to spiritual wickedness.

However, the bible is not silent on what Saul is doing.

— Saul consults the medium at Endor (1 Sam. 28: 15-20)

Now King Saul resorted to deceipt and trickery. Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes when he went to visit the medium at Endor, one known to have a familiar spirit. The spirit, whether Samuel himself or a representation of Samuel ends up rebuking King Saul. By this time Saul was fearful, and even moreso after seeing the spirt called Samuel. The spirit of Samuel rebukes Saul. Afterwards, he could not even eat.

So why the sharp rebuke of Saul and none for David lying to Achish? We should not draw a moral story of it being acceptable to lie to our enemies, even enemies of God. This is not what Yeshua did. What David did to Achish, or even the Amalekites is not to be construed as acceptable behavior before God and his Son.

Ex. 20:16:: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
false (šeqer) means deception, disappointment, falsehood

We could say that Achish is not a neighbor so lying is ok in this case. The Muslim have a practice called taqiyya where it is acceptable to lie or deceive non-believers for the purpose of protection or advancement of Islam. There is another principle that Saul violated which was later spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

Is. 8:19:: when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets (1 Sam. 28:6). Desperation calls for desperate measures!

The practice of consulting mediums had already been forbidden by Lev. 19:31, 20:6, Deut. 18:10-12. If you seek such guidance you might get truth or you could also get deceipt and even lies. The fact that Saul got truth from some spirit is amazing in itself.

— The princes of the Philisinnes did not trust David (1 Sam 29:24)

The five lords (seren = ruler or tyrant) of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. The princes (śar = military rulers: generals) of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here? (1 Sam. 29:2-3)

Rightfully so, he had at least two occasions to kill Saul and would not! He also lied to Achish on his activities.

Achish trusted David but when the men of war went in review David was at the rear with Achish. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard the Lord Yeshua said ‘the last will be first, and the first last’. King David was preferred even though he was last. The military rulers of the Philisteans did not placed much stock in David but the Lord God of Israel did just as Achish did. If there was a parade, David was in the rear.

The Lord was also merciful to David so he should not be tested that day to see if he would fight against Israel.

We never hear much of Achish after this parade. It is too bad since he was in essence a protector of David.

— Ziklag and the third day scenario

1 Sam. 30:1:: when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire

We shall see that David had compassion on the weary. Taking only 400 ahead to pursue the battle.

1 Sam. 30:10:: David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor

There was an unwilling helper from Egypt who helped David find the Amalekites

1 Sam. 30:13:: I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.

Normally the third day scenario deals with redemption like Abraham looking up on the third day to see Moriah or the third day wedding at Cana (our model for Christ and his Church and the New Wine), or Yeshua rising from the dead on the third day. In this case redemption of the families of Ziklag came through an unlikely source, an egyptian.

In the case of David returning to Ziklag apparently it had been three days since the Amalekits had attacked Ziklag. Like Abraham venturing to Mt. Moriah, David also left behind men. There is nothing wrong with letting the weary or sick stay behind to guard provisions and rest.

Apparently it was the fourth day when David attacked Amalek. The fourth day is reminiscent of Lazarus being raised from the dead.

1 Sam. 30:17:: David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

I find it fascinating when we have numbers agree. The four hundred of David who attacked many more Amalekites but in the end let four hundred young men escape.

— The Amalekites were the greater enemy to both Israel and the Philistines

1 Sam. 30:16:: the great spoil which (the Amalekites) had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah

As bad as the Philstines were against Israel, they could not see the real enemy (the Amalekites). Amalek was a son of Esau and learnt to hate the sons of Jacob and they were the first to attack Israel when coming back to the land of Canaan. It was also Saul’s job to rid the land of Amalek which he failed to do. The Philistines, however, were sea people, possibly from the island of Crete. So while the bible does not say the Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines, it does not say they were allies either.

Yet David knew about this rift and lied to Achish about who he had been attacking. I submit to you that like the Jews and Palestinians of today, there is a greater enemy. We could call it Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS or Islamic Jihad, or even Al Qeida. It does not matter, in the end it is what is driven by Lucifer himself.

1 Sam. 30:25:: So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

What was this ruling? One, he wanted to share spoils with the 200 weary who stayed behind with the supplies. He also shared some of the spoils with the elders of Judah and his friends (1 Sam. 30:26). He declared the Amalekites the enemy of the LORD. This is not unlike Yeshua, who gave us a new commandment.

John 13:33-34:: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

This was not really a new commandment but a propetic interpretation of what the LORD had already given to the children of Israel (Deut. 6:5 & Lev. 19:18).

Lev. 19:18:: You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Of course in the time of King David the idea of neighbor extended to to that of Judah and his friends.

Friends included the Jerahmeelites (descendants of great grandson of Judah), and Kenites (the tribe of Moses’ father-in-law). This is what David told Achish he had raided during the time of deception (1 Sam. 27:10). The list at the end of 1 Sam. 30 actually shows he shared the spoils with 11 other places and probably other places where David and his men roved.

We are not told what happened to King Achish. Presumably he was reprimanded by the Philistean lords and put in his place.

Sources:
https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/what-do-the-terms-rod-and-staff-mean-in-the-23rd-psalm/