[2 Samuel]
“To
the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show
integrity. To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show
yourself hostile. You rescue the humble, but your eyes watch the proud and
humiliate them.” [2 Samuel 22:26-28]
Trying to take
both the small accounts and the big overview of the book of 2 Samuel into
perspective, I narrowed my takeaways into 5 key points.
1. Pride
is treacherous
[2 Samuel 6]
Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, felt disgust for David
when she saw him dancing along the streets back to the city after the victory
against the Philistines. Her words were sarcastic and full of contempt, “How
distinguished the King of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to
the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” (v. 20)
“I was dancing before the Lord,” David replied, “Yes, and I’m
willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own
eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am
distinguished!” (v. 21a, 22)
This passage really hits a truth. How much pride are we willing to
let go of? How often do we restrict ourselves from acting our in true joy and
faith, because of how others may view us?
The
word “weakness” is so feared by the world. Everyone is trying to hide their
weaknesses, to be flawless, to be strong, to uphold their Pride. But weakness is a part of human nature, and only when we face our weakness and
surrender it to God, will it become beautiful in God’s strength!
Pride is treacherous, because it creeps in unnoticed, but is a
dangerous snare that seeks to control us, hindering us from a full life in
Christ. Society’s mindset has controlled our minds and lives so, that we do not
live in the ultimate freedom Christ bought for us.
[Read 1 Corinthians 1:27-29]
2. Loyalty is commitment
[2 Samuel 11]
In this passage, David was walking along his
balcony when sees a beautiful woman, Bathsheeba, who happens to be taking a
bath. David lusted after her, and so he took her to sleep with him, and got her
pregnant. Only problem was, she was already married. Though there are many
other takeaway themes such as lust, dishonesty, disobedience, adultery and so
on, I decided to focus on the loyalty of Bathsheeba’s husband, Uriah. When
David found out that Bathsheeba was pregnant, he quickly sent for Uriah who was
in the army, and tried to get him to sleep with his wife to cover up David’s
sinful act. But, David’s plan failed when twice he found Uriah had slept at the
palace entrance with the palace guard instead of going home to relax with his
wife.
“The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are
living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields”,
Uriah explained, “How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife?
I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
Uriah’s loyalty was stronger than David expected.
And he paid the price for it. The next day Uriah took a letter from David back
to the army, in which gave arrangements for his own death – Uriah was
purposefully stationed at the front lines close to the city wall where the
enemy was strongest, and the war strategy was such that he would be killed.
Thus, innocent blood was shed. Uriah was willing to put his life at stake for
the nation, and his loyalty was repaid cruelly by murder.
Throughout the book, we also see traces of loyalty
between David and Jonathan, between nations, and between the King’s servants
and the King. Through it all, we see that loyalty often comes with a costly
price. When you are loyal to another, you are committed to them through thick
or thin.
3. Justice
is
necessary
[2 Samuel]
Throughout the book of Samuel, we see the theme of
justice; the consequences of sin. There are such terrible things that occur,
and that make me cringe when I read it. Cruel murders, revenge, sinful acts… the
Old Testament has many accounts of such. And honestly so many questions come
into my mind when I read it. But then again, if you take a look at the history
of China, Germany, and just the newspaper today, you will almost see a repeat
of the Old Testament! We people haven’t changed! But one thing that strikes me
is the necessity of Justice. Turning over the pages of the newspaper, I find
myself releasing sudden noises of “gaahhhhh!” and “What on earth?!” much to the
startling of my parents. But seriously, reading the horrendous acts of the
world today, who with a conscience wouldn’t want justice to be served?
4.Love is undeserved
[2 Samuel 18, 21]
Love is not something you can earn or could
deserve. In 2 Samuel we see 2 striking accounts of parental love.
In chapters 13-18, we read about Absalom (son of
David) and his revenge, reconciliation and rebellion. Absalom had a beautiful
virgin sister, Tamar, who was raped by his half-brother Amnon. Thus, Absalom
murders Amnon for revenge, and then flees away from Jerusalem. His father David
missed him, and brought him back from Geshur, and was later reconciled to him.
However, Absalom conspired against his father, and struck up a rebellion,
turning his subjects against him, causing David to flee from Jerusalem. In the
war against both armies, Absalom was killed. Yet we see in chapter 18 when
David heard of his death, he wept and mourned, crying “o my Son, Absalom! My
son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my
son.” (v.33) We see David’s great love for his son, who was a step from the
prodigal son, betraying his father even after reconciliation. And yet David
wanted him back, and loved him so very much. Isn’t that a picture of God’s love
for His people? So many times we see God’s grace towards his people when they
are repeatedly ungrateful and turn from him!
In chapter 21, David’s kingdom falls under famine,
a consequence of Saul breaking his vow to the Gibeonites. David offered
recompense, and the Gibeonites asked for 7 of Saul’s sons to be executed. We
see the love of the mother of 2 of the sons, who (v. 10) “spread burlap on a
rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger
birds from tearing at the bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating
them at night.” Imagine the devastation of the mother as the army dragged her 2
sons away to be slaughtered! She couldn’t stand the fact of birds or wild
animals devouring the remains, that she herself stood against them day and
night to protect the corpses! I’m sure that she would’ve rather herself been
killed than to see both her sons murdered! When I see stories of parental love
such as this, I am truly amazed at such unexplainable love. And yet stories of
the love of friendship, love of romance, love of family, and love of God, all
have an unexplainable level of depth - why we love some over others, why some
love so hard but are never requited, and why love is so full of undeserved
grace.
5. Courage is contagious
[2 Samuel 21, 23]
Take the simplest illustration of a student in
class. When the teacher asks a question, it’s always the hardest for the first
student to raise their hands to share or give an answer. But after that first
person tries it, it becomes somehow easier for others to follow their lead.
It’s the same in many other circumstances. Even in the cartoons or movies,
where one guy pushes the other guy in front, saying, “You go first”. In
anything new, it’s always easier to follow another’s lead than to take the
first step on unknown ground yourself. Watching someone else do it somehow
makes the job seem easier and more achievable. When the Philistine Giant
Goliath first taunted the Israelites, everyone was afraid because no one dared
to step out alone. However, shepherd boy David stepped out with his sling and
stones, and defeated the Giant. In 2 Samuel 21 and 23, we see examples of
David’s warriors who defeated the descendants of giants. They no longer took
the taunting of the giants, but stepped out in courage with David! - Elhanan
killed the brother of Goliath!
In chapter 23, we see the accounts of David’s
mighty men. It records the heroic acts of his mightiest warriors - Jashobeam
who killed hundreds of men (estimated to be 800) in one battle, Eleazar who
stood together with David against the Philistines when the entire Israelite
army fled, and Shammah who held his ground and fought alone against all the
Philistines. One day, when David expressed his desire to drink from the well in
the Philistine territory, the 3 men secretly broke through the Philistine lines
and brought some water back to David. But David couldn’t bring himself to drink
the precious water, and sacrificed it to the Lord instead.
We see stories of courage sparked by a leader of
courage. All it takes is the first step of insane bravery; the rest of the
journey will follow. Remember, others are observing; your one courageous act
may spark many more!
I used my 5 fingers to recall these points, thumbs up for pride, index for loyalty, middle for justice, ring for love, and pinky for courage. :) Not too relevant, but works for me! haha peace out :)
I used my 5 fingers to recall these points, thumbs up for pride, index for loyalty, middle for justice, ring for love, and pinky for courage. :) Not too relevant, but works for me! haha peace out :)
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