Devotionary

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Ep 663 – 2 Samuel 17:1-14 Oct 10, 2018

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David was on the outside looking in. He had lost his kingdom to his own son. And now, he was living in self-imposed exile, watching and waiting to see what God was going to do about it all. He was unaware of just exactly what God had planned. But he was trying to trust God in spite of it all. These were dark days for the former king. The great warrior-king of Israel had lost his kingdom without a fight. Not a single battle had been fought. David had simply walked out and allowed his son, Absalom to walk in. And in 2 Samuel 17:1-14, we see that, while David was on the outside looking in, God was not. He was fully aware of all that was going on and, at the end of the day, He was in full control of all that had happened. God was not up in heaven wringing His hands with worry. He had not been caught off guard. Every single circumstance surrounding David's life was under the sovereign control of Almighty God.

Ep 662 – 2 Samuel 16:1-14 Oct 09, 2018

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David was on the way out. Literally and figuratively. He was being forced to flee Jerusalem because of the coup his own son had staged. But he was also on the way out as the king of Israel. The days of his reign had come to an abrupt and ignominious end. As he made his way out of the city, he was barefoot and in mourning. Gone were the trappings of his kingship. Now, he was just another citizen, submitting himself to the usurper to his throne, his own son, Absalom. In 2 Samuel 16:1-14, David will have yet another painful reminder of his dramatic fall from grace. On his way out of the city, he was accosted by a man, a relative of Saul, who saw David's fall as just and well-deserved. David was simply getting what he deserved for having taken the crown from Saul. But David refused to allow this man's words and actions to get to him. He was going to trust God. Regardless of the circumstances.

Ep 661 – 2 Samuel 15:13-37 Oct 08, 2018

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Things were about to take a turn for the worse in David's life. His son, Absalom had turned the people against him, and was poised to stage a coup that would wrest the kingdom from his hands. But rather than fight and bring civil war to the kingdom, David chose to vacate Jerusalem and allow his son to ascend to the throne. Second Samuel 15:13-37 reveals David's somewhat depressing departure from the city, barefoot and with his head covered in mourning. He is having to walk away from his own capital, the city of David, relinquishing control to his rebellious son. It's a sad day. And while David was deeply saddened by the chain of events that had led to his fall, he was not giving up. Even as bad as things appeared to be, he saw light at the end of the tunnel. He glimpsed a feint silver lining on the dark clouds hovering over his head. In spite of the dismal circumstances surrounding his life, he tried to keep his hope in the God who had anointed him king in the first place.

Ep 660 – 2 Samuel 15:7-12 Oct 07, 2018

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Absalom was a man on a mission. He was ambitious and he had well-crafted plans in place that would ensure that his ambitions were fully realized. He had seen a flaw in his father's reign as king and he was more than ready and fully willing to exploit it – all for his own personal benefit. Absalom, unlike his father David, was not a man after God's own heart. His heart beat fast for one thing only: Himself. He was selfish and self-centered. Everything he did was aimed at elevating himself and he was willing to do whatever it took to make a name for himself. He was motivated by selfish ambition, but also a less-than-healthy dose of disdain for his father. And in 2 Samuel 15:7-12, we will see just how far this ambitious young man was willing to go to bring down his father and place himself on the throne of Israel. He knew the power of words and he was more than willing to put them to use in his quest for power, prominence and payback.

Ep 659 – 2 Samuel 15:1-6 Oct 06, 2018

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The prodigal son had returned. But David, unwilling to punish Absalom for his murder of Amnon, had unknowingly created a monster. This son of his was going to wreak havoc on David's kingdom by undermining his reputation among the people. In 2 Samuel 15:1-6, we begin to see some of the ramifications of David's decision to leave his guilty son unpunished. His reticence to mete out justice was going to have serious repercussions. And David's weaknesses as a leader were going to be exploited by his very own son. The man after God's own heart had lost the heart of his son and would eventually find himself facing the potential loss of his kingdom. And all of this would have direct ties to David's original sin with Bathsheba. God had warned David that, as a result of his affair with Bathsheba and his orchestration of her husband's death, the sword would not depart from David's house. He had already lost a son. Now, he stood the real possibility of losing far more.

Ep 658 – 2 Samuel 14:25-33 Oct 05, 2018

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David's son, Absalom, while guilty of murder, had been welcomed back in Jerusalem, but not with open arms. David had refused to meet with his long-exiled son and relegated him to a form of house arrest. Two years would pass with David doing what he normally did in situations like this: nothing. And his son would grow in his resentment toward him. In 2 Samuel 14:25-33, we're going to see this less-than-ideal situation grow increasingly toxic, as David continues his pattern of inaction and Absalom reaches the tipping point. David's lousy leadership was going to come back and haunt him. He had chosen to ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room and now he was going to pay for it. And David was going to discover that, while he had been willing to do nothing, Absalom wasn't. The son of the king, unimpressed with his father's leadership, would begin to have aspirations for his father's throne.

Ep 657 – 2 Samuel 14:18-24 Oct 04, 2018

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Ignoring our sin is a constant temptation for the child of God. Sometimes, we think that if we just keep it out of sight and out of mind, it will go away. Once we've committed the sin, we are tempted to simply move past it and get on with our lives. And we hope that God will do the same. But in the life of David, we have a perfect example of sin's insidious impact on our lives. It never goes away, no matter how much we try to ignore it. And in 2 Samuel 14:18-24, David will continue to avoid his God-given responsibility to discipline his own son for the murder of his half-brother. David will allow Absalom to return from exile, but will choose to sequester him away, refusing to see him or to deal with his sin. But, as we've seen before, David's choice to do nothing will not make Absalom's sin go away. And it will not prevent God from bringing just and righteous judgment on David and his house.

Ep 656 – 2 Samuel 14:1-17 Oct 03, 2018

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Minimizing our sins is almost a national pastime. We love to figure out ways to play up our strengths and ignore our moral and spiritual failings. We can even find ourselves overlooking the sins in the lives of others. Most likely, because we would prefer that we would extend us the same courtesy. But God cannot and will not overlook sin in the lives of His people. And that was going to be another painful lesson learned by King David. In 2 Samuel 14:1-17, David is going to allow himself to be unknowingly manipulated by Joab. This friend was so concerned with David's despair over Absalom's exile and so desperate to see David move on with his life, he concocted a plan to persuade David to absolve Absalom of all guilt. This well-intentioned friend would go against the revealed will of God and counsel David to do what he believed to be best, for his family and the kingdom. But Joab failed to remember that God takes sin seriously.

Ep 655 – 2 Samuel 13:34-39 Oct 02, 2018

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There's something in all of us that makes us want to get away with anything we do that might be deemed unacceptable or inappropriate. Not getting caught is a powerful temptation. And escaping punishment for any wrong we commit is even more alluring. It seems to be wired into our DNA as human beings. And it's all because of the sin nature we inherited from Adam. In 2 Samuel 13:34-39, we have the continuing story of Absalom, the son of David who murdered his half-brother, Amnon, for raping their sister. David, the king, should have punished Amnon for his crime, but had done nothing. His inaction had led to Absalom seeking his own form of vigilante justice, plotting and carrying out Amnon's death. And, once again, David did nothing. As a father, grieving over his son's actions, he refused to carry out justice as the king. He let Absalom get away. But the ramifications for the sins of his sons and David's inaction would come back to haunt him, when Absalom eventually came back to Jerusalem.

Ep 654 – 2 Samuel 13:20-33 Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

Committing sin comes naturally to all of us, because we have sin natures. But, the sad reality is that we also seem to be more than willing to tolerate sin, in our lives and in the lives of others. That's exactly what we see in 2 Samuel 13:20-33. David, the king of Israel and the man after God's own heart, had committed his own fair share of sins. And when sin started showing its ugly face within his own home, he showed a natural tendency to ignore it, rather than deal with it. This drama, with its soap-opera-like plot, reveals a growing list of sinful actions, committed by the children of David. One brother has raped his half-sister. Now, her blood-brother will seek revenge, plotting the death of their guilty sibling. And all because David refused to step in and do what he was obligated to do, as a father and a king. Rather than do his job, David decided to turn a blind eye. And his inaction would only make matters worse.

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