The Bible

I'm sorry for your loss, VI.

 

Thanks hb, have'nt seen you on here in a while (or at least our paths have'nt crossed lately), hope all is well for you and the wife....now back to the Word.

 

1 Samuel 22-31

In ch. 22, David escapes to Adullam, Mizpah and Hereth as Saul continues his pursuit. Saul learns of Davids visit to Ahimelech and becomes furious. He orders his officers to kill Ahimelech and his entire family but they are afraid to harm the high priest. Doeg, the Edomite (remember him) accepts the duty and carries out Sauls wishes but one of Ahimelech's sons, Abiathar, escapes. Meanwhile, David saves the town of Keliah from the Phillistines, but Saul continues to chase him through the mountains. David takes refuge in a mountain cave at En Gedi. As Saul enters the cave to relieve himself, David sneaks up and cuts off a piece of Sauls garment. After Saul has left, David calls to him later and tells him of their "meeting" in the cave. "Why do you listen to people who say that I want to harm you?", David called out. Saul was ashamed and cried loudly, "You are better than I am. You have been good to me but I have done wrong to you". So Saul returned home and David and his men returned to their hideout.
After the death of Samuel all the Israelites met and had a time of sadness. David moved to the Desert of Maon. There was a man there named Nabal who was very rich and had many sheep and goats. His wife was Abigail, she was very wise and beautiful. David heard about Nabal and sent some men to him to ask for provisions but Nabal insulted David. David planned to attack him and take what he wanted but Abigail sent word to David asking for mercy. She also went to meet David taking supplies and food as she went. David praised her efforts and agreed to her requests, sparing the life of her husband. Nabal was unaware of this but one morning Abigail told him and his heart stopped. Nabal died that day and Abigail went to David and became his wife and they left.
After a while, the people of Ziph went to Saul and told him that David was hiding on the hill of Hakilah. Saul set out to kill David once again. One night as Saul and his men camped near Hakilah, David and Abishai crept into the camp and took Saul's spear and water jug then fled without harming him. In that way, David shamed Saul again and they both parted and went their own way. But David thought to himself, "Saul will catch me some day". He fled and went to live amongst the Phillistines in Gath. He became friends with Achish, king of Gath.
The Phillistines gathered their army for war against Saul and Israel. Now Samuel was dead and Saul could not call upon him as he did before so he became afraid. He sought the services of a woman, The Witch of Endor to conjur up the spirit of the now dead Samuel. As they begin the ritual Samuel appears and once again tells Saul that he will be defeated and that he and his sons will die. Then the war with the Phillistines begins. David plans to join the Phillistines in battle but is refused by the other Phillistine kings. He is sent back to his city, Ziklag, that was given to him by Achish. Upon his arrival home, David finds that his city has been raided by the Amalekites and they have taken everything, women, children, animals and wealth. David is blamed and is threatened by his own men. He prays to the Lord for direction and they chase after the Amalekites. David found the Amalekites and recaptured all their families, animals and wealth then they returned to their homes.
The Phillistines fought against Israel and deafeated them. Sauls son Jonathan was killed and Saul was wounded. He ordered his officer to finish him off but he refused so Saul fell on his own sword and died that day. The Phillistines came and cut off the head of king Saul. They took the head and armor back the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body an the wall of Beth Shan. Later some brave men of Jabesh recovered the body and brought it back to be buried there.
This is the end of the book of 1 Samuel

 

So if God made us in his own image, does that mean he also feels love, anger, rage, fear, excitement, sadness, jealously, and all those other emotions that rule us?

 

good question...and I do believe that God does feel most emotions, I'm not too sure that He "fears" anything though...but thats just me.

The Bible tells us that God expresses love, anger, rage, sadness and jealousy.

 

II Samuel 1-10

Now Saul was dead. After David had returned from defeateing the Amalekites the news was revealed to him about the defeat of Israel and the deaths of both Saul and Jonathan. Jonathan was very close to David and he still had respect for Saul even though he tried to kill him many times before. He wept for his friend and Israel. David wrote a song, as he often did, about Saul and Jonathan.
David returns to the city of Hebron in Judah and is made king of Judah before all that were gathered there. But those loyal to Saul had other plans and appointed Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, as king of Israel in Jerusalem. War erupts between the two nations, as a result of a contest turned into killing at the pool of Gibeon, and other tensions. Two groups gathered there began to challenge each other to physical feats and then fighting broke out which led to the death of Ashael, son of Joab and officer to king David, at the hands of Abner (Saul loyalist). As the war went on, Davids group gathered strength while Sauls group faded. David was victorious and grew in power having many wives, slave women, sons and daughters while king of Judah. Abner has a change of heart and decides to join David but is killed by Joab upon his arrival in Hebron. David denounces Joab and his family for his deeds.
Even later, the king of Israel is killed by two men, Baanah and Recab. They run to David and break the news to him. He has them put to death for their crimes, "So even more I must put you evil men to death because you have killed an innocent man on his own bed in his own house!"
Then all of Israel and Judah met at Hebron and asked David to become king over all Israel. David took Jerusalem as his own and renamed it the City of David. He continued to fight victoriously against the Phillistines and grew more powerful and loved. The Ark is returned to Israel and king David danced before the Lord with all his might upon its arrival. He has a dream of building a temple unto the Lord in Jerusalem and asks Nathan the prophet for a word from the Lord. Nathan has a vision that night and brings David this message from God. "When you die and join your ancestors, I will make one of your sons the next king and I will set up his kingdom. He will build a house for me and I will let his kingdom rule always. I will be his father and he will be my son." Many have given thought to this prophecy down through the ages and it is there for you to read in II Samuel, ch. 7, 4-17. David prays to God and gives Him praise for all He has done.
David wins many more wars against Edom, Moab, Ammon, Phillistia and Amalek. He becomes merciful towards the remnants of Sauls family and sends for anyone left in the lineage of Saul. A servant named Ziba comes forward and is given land once owned by Saul, land to farm and reap its many benifits. Ziba also tells David of a child born to his beloved Jonathan, a child that suffered a crippling injury during his early childhood that left him unable to walk. Mephibosheth was his name and David brought him to his palace to live with him at dine at his table. In this way David showed mercy to the remaining family of Saul and Jonathan. Other battles are to be fought and won, wars against the Amalekites and Ammonites, but peace was prevalent for most of the time that David was king and Israel was in its glory years.

 

II Samuel, 11-18

In the spring, when kings normally went out to war, David sent Joab, his servants and all the Iraelite army to fight the Ammonites. David stayed in Jerusalem and one night while up on his roof David saw a woman, Bathsheba, bathing. She was a true beauty and David wanted her badly. He called for her and when Bathsheba came to him he had sexual relations with her. He was infatuated with the woman but she was already married to Uriah, an officer in the kings army, not to mention the fact that she was now pregnant with Davids child. David devised several plans to bring about the death of Uriah and finally he was killed in battle and David took Bathsheba as his wife. The word got out that this had happened and David got a visit from Nathan the prophet. He told David that the Lord would punish him for his sin and that he would lose the son that was to come from this sinful union. Nathans prophecy came true and the son born to David and Bathsheba died a week after it was born.
After this, one of Davids sons, Absalom had a daughter, Tamar, and she was also very beautiful. Absaloms half brother, Amnon desired her greatly and made himself sick thinking about her. He asked his friend, Jonadab how to get a chance to be alone with her. The plan was for Amnon to fake an illness and ask for Tamar to tend to him. The plan came together and when they were alone he raped her and then sent her away in shame, Absalom was furious but had mercy on his half brother....for the time being. Two years later, Absalom devised a plan to gather all the brothers together for a special occasion but king David could not attend. Once assembled, Absalom ordered his servants to kill Amnon and they did so. In the mean time Absalom had run away as the news traveled back to David in Jerusalem. David became devastated, thinking that all his sons were dead but later found out that only Amnon was killed. He still mourned the death of Amnon and Absalom stayed away for three years until David began to miss him greatly. Now Joab had devised a plan to make David come to his senses and sent a wise woman to David to "encourage" him to send for Absalom (ch.14). Absalom returns to Jerusalem for two full years without seeing his father but eventually they met and Absalom bowed face down on the ground and kissed his fathers feet.
But Absalom had other plans for David and his kingdom, plans that included Absalom becomming the king and he set off a chain of events that would send the kingdom into a whirlwind of turmoil. Absalom was very handsome and well spoken. He went about the city gaining the favor of Israelites from all across the country as they traveled to Jerusalem. Some men began to follow him and through time people began to favor Absalom over king David. David began to fear Absalom and his followers and fled the city with his own men. Along the way David meets Ziba (remember him) and is given food and provision for his flight from Absalom but Ziba tells him that Mephibosheth (remember him) desires the fall of David. He wishes for the family of Saul to regain power in Israel so David gives all that belongs to Mephibosheth to Ziba. David also meets a man named Shimei and he curses David as he travels along the road. But David refuses to punish him and continues on his way. Meanwhile Absalom, Ahithopel (advisor) and all the Israelites arrived in Jerusalem. Davids friend (and enemy spy), Hushai greeted Absalom at the city gate and pledged his loyalty to the "new" king. Hushai had been sent to discredit Ahithopel and cause choas among the braintrust of Absaloms group. He was very competent and in the end Ahithopel fell from favor and hung himself in despair. War broke out between the two factions and one day while they were fighting in the forest, Absaloms head was caught in the branches of a tree and he was slain there. His body was dumped in a pit and covered with stones. David mourned the death of his son, he went to the room near the city gate and cried, "My son Absalom, my son Absalom! I wish that I had died and not you. Absalom, my son, my son!"

 

II Samuel 19-24

As told before in ch. 18 king David was still mourning the loss of his son Absalom, even though he had led the overthrow attempt on his own father. This caused the leader of the Iraeli army, Joab, to come down hard on the king, "Today you have shamed all your men. They saved your life and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives and slave women. You have shamed them because you haved loved those that hate you, and you hate those who love you. Today you have made it clear that your commanders and men mean nothing to you. I swear by the Lord that if you dont go out, no man will be left with you by tonight." So David got up and went to the city gate to greet the warriors and all the people there, and all came to see him. So David came together with all the Israelites and made his way back to Jerusalem. Even some that were against him before were now on his side. But one man, Sheba, spoke out against the king. He led a band of men away from the city but David soon sent his own men after him. Joab caught up with Sheba at Abel Beth Maacah where they began to tear down the walls of the city. A wise woman called down and asked them, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "Yes, I am." She also asked them who they were after and he told her, then she said this, " His head will thrown over the wall to you." After she talked with the people of the city, the head of Sheba was thrown over the wall to Joab and his men and they all went home.
Now this part of the book of II Samuel does some back tracking to events that had taken place earlier. One of them was when the Gibeonites punished the family of Saul (refer to II Samuel, 21) for crimes against them when he was king. There was a time of hunger in the land and the Gibeonites had not yet punished the family of Saul as the Lord had commanded them. David gave them permission to carry out their plan and the remaining sons (family) of Saul were killed and then the bones of Saul and Jonathan were brought from Gilead to be buried in Benjamin. After this, the time of hunger came to an end as the rain returned to the land. More wars with the Phillistines are told of, tales of giants and battles with the four sons of Rapha.
Davids song of praise is found in ch. 22.
"The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
My God is my rock.
I can run to him, for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender and my place of safety....
Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal, and you are good to those who are good.
You are pure to those who are pure, but you are against those who are evil.
You save the humble, but you bring down those who are proud....
I will sing praises to your name.
The Lord gives great victories to his king.
He is loyal to his appointed king, to David and his decendants forever."
Davids last word are found in ch. 23.
The Lord spirit spoke through me, and his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me: Whoever rules fairly over the people, who rule with respect for God, is like the morning light after dawn, like a morning without clouds.
He is like sunshine after the rain that makes the grass sprout from the ground...
He will accomplish my salvation and satisfy my desires."
Davids army is also spoken of in ch. 23, his elite core of "The 3" and "The 30".
David finally decides to count his army (which was against Gods will) and he was given three choices of punishment. He chose three days of sickness and many died during those days but God had mercy on them and cut short the time of sickness. David built an altar on the very spot that the angel of the Lord spared the lives of those that remained. God answered the prayers of David and his people and the disease stopped. This brings an end to the books of I and II Samuel.

 

I Kings 1-11

Since I missed last week, I'll combine two weeks worth of readings into one.

At this time King David was very old, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. Adonijah was the son of David and had the desire to become king. He took it upon himself to go about this. He gathered some men to follow him, namely Joab and Abiathar, and they offered sacrifices to the Lord at the Stone of Zoheleth. But Nathan the prophet went to Bathsheba with the news and she then went to the king. She reminded him that their son Solomon was to be annointed as king of Israel and David agreed. Solomon was annointed to become the king upon the death of his father. At this time Adonijah and all his guests were finishing their meal. They heard the sound of the trumpet and the news was spread that Solomon had been annointed and then they became afraid. They left quickly and scattered. He went to Solomon and bowed down before him but he was told to go home to his own house.
It was now time for David to die and he gave Solomon some last orders to carry out. Solomon was told to punish Joab and Shemei for their crimes and to remember the children of Barzillai in Gilead for their kindess when David was fleeing Absalom. David spoke these last words to Solomon; "My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. Obey the Lord your God. Follow Him by obeying His demands, His commands, His laws and His rules that are written in the book of Moses. If you do these things you will be successful in all that you do and wherever you go."
Solomon takes control as king and carries out the final wishes of his father. Adonijah comes to Bathsheba and asks for the slave girl that cared for David during his final days. She goes to Solomon and he has Adonijah killed saying, "Why do you ask me to give him Abishag? Why dont you ask for him to become king since he is my older brother? Abiathar and Joab would support him!" Benaiah son of Jehoiada carried out the orders of Solomon during this time.
Solomon made an agreement with the king of Egypt during this time and married his daughter. He was building a palace, the Temple of the Lord and a wall around Jerusalem as well. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. Solomon did not ask for riches or long life. He asked for wisdom. This pleased the Lord so much that he granted him his wish for wisdom as well as wealth and honor. Solomon makes wise decisions in his early years as king. He decides the fate of a baby claimed by two women who fought over him, each claiming to be the babes mother. "Cut the living baby in half and give each one of them a half"......but the real mother said no to this judgement, so she was awarded her child. We read of his officers and more about his wisdom. He had great knowledge of plants, animals, fish, birds and crawling things. He wrote three thousand wise sayings and over one thousand songs. He was a great teacher to many and was respected across the land by kings, he was known for his widom by all.
He contracted the help of Hiram, king of Tyre to supply building materials for the Temple, cedar and stone. Solomon supplied workers and leaders of men to help. The Temple is built, the palace is built and the Ark of the Covenant is delivered in a grand ceremony. Solomon speaks to the people and prays to the Lord for his blessings and approval. God tells him that as long as he and his people serve the Lord they will be blessed with peace ans abundance. He also warns him that he would punish them if they did not.
Solomon is visited by the queen of Sheba, she comes seeking wise advice and they exchange gifts, then she and her servants went home to their own land. More of his welath is spoken of here. He had more riches than all the other kings on the earth. He imported goods and animals, silver became as common as figs upon the tree.The people of Israel appeared to be living the kind of life promised to them by the Lord. But trouble was brewing, trouble in the form of idol worship. The king was building altars to the gods worshipped by his many wives. Solomon had taken many, many wives, 700 wives and 300 slave women. Many from foreign countries, many who worshipped Chemosh, Ashtoreth and Molech. Solomon also began to worship along with them. This made the Lord very angry with Solomon, "I will tear your kingdom from you and give it to one of your officers", said the Lord. Solomon began to feel the pressure of enemies, enemies who had been waiting for his downfall. Ahijah the prophet spoke to a man called Jeroboam (an officer to Solomon). He tore his new coat into twelve peices and gave all but one to Jeroboam. "I will tear the kingdom away from Solomon and give you ten tribes", was the message given to him from the Lord. "I will make you rule over everything that you want. You will rule over all of Israel', sayeth the Lord. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam but he escaped to Egypt where he stayed until the death of Solomon a short time later. Solomon ruled for for forty years, then he died and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Rehoboam was made king in his place.

 

Got that cut & paste thing down pat.