撒母耳记下

Meditative Reflection
Serving God His way!

“Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?” (2 Sam. 7:5)

David’s desire to build a house for the Lord was indeed very admirable. To think of himself dwelling in a grand palace while the Lord yet remained in a makeshift tent, truly reflected David’s love for the Lord. However, theologically speaking, God does not dwell in anything earthly as Solomon rightly observed, “The heavens even the highest heaven cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (1 Ki. 8:27).

I am sure, the Lord was very delighted with David’s desire, nonetheless. However, as admirable as the desire of David was, the Lord said, “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?” (7:5). As it turned out as we know, it was God’s plan that his son, Solomon, would build His temple.

Even Nathan made the mistake of thinking that because it was such a good desire David could do whatever he had in mind since the Lord was with him (7:3).

This is a very important lesson for us to learn as we seek to serve the Lord. Not everything we desire is necessarily of God, even if our intention is noble — planting a church, doing a short-term mission or starting a new ministry. We need to inquire of the Lord and obey His will and His timing. Otherwise, we are asking the Lord to follow us instead!

Meditative Reflection
Special in God’s Eyes

“Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?” (NET) (2 Sam. 7:19)

David was completely overwhelmed by the reply of the Lord through Nathan. He was thinking of building a house of God, yet in return, God covenanted with him to build his house forever instead.

I am sure that David also knew, as his son did, that God did not really dwell in a house built by man. His real intention was to express his love and thankfulness to God for blessing him and his people, by defeating all his enemies and for making his name great among the nations. I suspect the building of a place of permanency for the Lord, in the mind of David, was a way to commit the Lord to dwell among them, to be with them forever, unlike what happened to them in the times of the Judges and during Saul’s reign too.

In return, he did receive what he asked for eventually, although he would not be the one who built the temple of the Lord. This honor was given to his son, Solomon. But the promise he received in return overwhelmed him because instead of him building a house for the Lord, the Lord had promised to build a house for him, an everlasting house! This prompted David to exclaim, “Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? What more can David say to you?” (7:19-20).

We are no David obviously, and yet this is how the Sovereign Lord has dealt with us too! We, who were not part of the race of Israel, and had never even cared about anything about God, let alone His house, were received into that everlasting house He promised David, the Kingdom established by the Son of David, the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Such has been made possible through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the cross in the new covenant of His blood (1 Cor. 11:25). Indeed, we are just as special as David is in God’s eyes.

Meditative Reflection
The Model of Theocracy

“The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. David reigned over all Israel, doing what is just and right for all his people.” (2 Sam. 8:14-15)

Ever since the delivery of the people out of their bondage in Egypt, it had been God’s desire that Israel would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod. 19:6). After many years of tolerating the waywardness and idol worship of the people, the Lord eventually found a king after His own heart who would reign over His people in justice and righteousness, so that He could honor His promise to give His people an undisturbed home, free from the oppression of wicked people and find rest from all their enemies (2 Sam. 7:10-11).

No matter how short this period of a just and righteous reign under David was, it must have been a great delight to the Lord, because finally Israel, though under a monarchy in structure, was really under a theocracy in essence.

While “David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people” (8:15), “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went” (8:6, 14). As chapter 8 of Second Samuel details the great victories of David (in which he basically defeats and subdues enemies to the south, west, north and east), it is a clear echo of Psalm 33 in that, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance” (Ps. 33:12). It was true then, it is still true today!

Meditative Reflection
Blessings in Disguise

“There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.” (2 Sam. 9:3)

As I was reading the life of Jonathan, I could not help but wish that he could have a better ending. He was such an upright person who stood up to the wrong of his father, risked his life for a good friend, David, and was willing to serve him when he became king, although he was the true heir-apparent to the throne; but he ended up dying in the battle field — paying a price for the sin of his father.

But the reading of how David extended his kindness to Mephibosheth gave me great comfort to know that God is indeed good to those who are righteous. Mephibosheth might consider himself unfortunate in being crippled as a boy while fleeing from Saul’s enemies. However, had he not been crippled, he probably would have been used by Abner, setting him up as king over Israel in an attempt to seize power and to go to war against David. His fate would not have been too different from Ishbosheth. But as it happened, he was immune to any political ploy and was left alone in relative peace. Now, as the son of Jonathan, he was blessed with the protection and provision by the king.

Often, we complain to the Lord for the misfortune that we have come across, but the Apostle Paul reminds us that “All things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). It was true to Mephibosheth, it is true to all those God loves.

Meditative Reflection
Rest in the Lord

“I will also give you rest from all your enemies.” (2 Samuel 7:11 )

One of the features of David’s many psalms is his praise and thanksgiving amidst his life of suffering. Indeed, one cannot help but pity David who was constantly plagued by enemies. One wonders what happened to God’s promised rest for him!

Sure, after his sin of adultery, many of his sufferings were a result of his own doing — rape, murder among his children and his eventual fleeing for his life because of Absalom.

However, a good part of his trouble came from running away from Saul and from engaging his enemies. But God’s promised rest does not mean a life of comfort and ease, free from trouble and warfare, but the giving of victory and deliverance from all his enemies. This is the promise God has honored in David’s life and He has given the same promise to all His children.

Jesus has promised rest for our soul (Matt. 11:29), and that has nothing to do with our circumstances. As we learn to trust in him, we too will find deliverance from all situations. As to victory over our enemies, we do not have external enemies like David, but we do have our enemy within — our old self. If we allow sin to rule over us, we cannot hope to enjoy real rest in the Lord, and the blame is on us, not on the Lord.

Meditative Reflection
The Wicked Heart of Men

“After the time of mourning was over, David had her [Bathsheba] brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” (2 Sam. 11:27)

As much as I have read the story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba many times, I am still shocked by how heinous his sins were and how wicked David was. He was not just any king, but a king after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).

However, I am also reminded once again by the biblical truth that the heart of man is deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9), and so given the right circumstances, we are all capable of committing the most horrific sin. Though we are in shock, there are important lessons that we can all learn from David’s failure:

(1) The destructive power of lust: Even before this incident, David was given to lust already. He was not satisfied with six wives (2 Sam. 3:2-5), but kept adding to his “collection” of wives and concubines. He was never a “one-woman” kind of husband.

(2) The delusive power of success: As he kept gaining victory after victory, he was lured into a false sense of security, and thus even during a season given to war (11:1), he chose to remain in the comfort of his palace in Jerusalem, and let his own men risk their lives fighting against the many enemies. His comfort and ease had lured him into a life of leisure, napping even before bedtime, loitering on the roof only to be caught by the seducing Bathsheba. In other words, David had lost his sense of mission.

(3) The corruption of absolute power: Without him knowing, David had adopted the mindset of the kings of the neighboring nations. With absolute power came absolute corruption of power. The lack of accountability emboldened David to take somebody’s wife without shame.

(4) The temptation of cover-up: While his act of adultery might be a spur-of-a-moment weakness, his subsequent steps to cover up his sin were calculated and pre-meditated. Hosea was right, adultery does take away one’s understanding (Hos. 4:11).

(5) The searing of conscience: I was totally amazed by the faithfulness shown by Bathsheba’s husband which should not only put David to shame, but wake up his conscience. But David, whose heart did love the Lord and was normally honest without guile, had allowed his desire to cover up his affair to sear his conscience beyond hope.

(6) The downward spiral of death: One can safely say that David’s soul by then was as good as dead as he plotted to murder Uriah at all costs — causing the death of other fighting men alongside Uriah.

Even the most horrific sin begins with a first step. David’s uncontrolled desire for lust had set the stage for his own destruction. This powerful king lost not in the hands of his powerful enemies, but to his own lust. What a lesson for us all!

Meditative Reflection
How Precious is the Forgiveness of God

“Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.” (2 Sam. 12:10 )

This was the judgment pronounced by God upon David because of his sins of adultery and murder:

“Now, therefore the sword will never depart from your house…Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel” (12:10-12).

As serious and harsh as the judgment was, it still was not commensurate with the crime he had committed. Whether it was adultery or murder, David deserved to be put to death according to the law of Moses (Lev. 20:10; Num. 35:30).

However, to a person who truly loves the Lord, death is not the most severe penalty, but the departure of God in one’s life, and that was why David prayed in his prayer of penitence, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11).

Perhaps, too, God in His omniscience knew David would truly repent; and that with a contrite and broken spirit, David obviously did receive God’s forgiveness. However, that does not mean that he did not have to face the “natural consequence” of his sin.

Forgiveness means the restoration of our fellowship with God, but the forgiven David still had to face the calamities in his family, which were not so much a curse from God, but the natural consequence of his sins of adultery and his example of cold-bloodedness. However, the most precious thing for David was, as much as he still needed to face all these calamities, that he was not facing all these alone; God was with him all the way. How precious is the forgiveness of God!