1st And 2nd Samuel

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A Note of Introduction Hello! I’m thrilled that you’re interested in studying God’s Word with me! Before you jump into this study, allow me to introduce myself and explain what this study is about. I am a full time wife and mom who loves to teach God’s Word through our local church and through blogging. These studies spring from my training in the Bible department at Cedarville University, alongside my own study of the Scriptures and time teaching Bible studies based on the Old Testament books. What you will find in this e-book is a continued “big picture” overview of God’s unfolding story of redemption. I trust that what I have written here will be useful and helpful for you, but in no way is this intended to be read in lieu of your own Bible study. In fact, as you progress through these studies I assume that you are reading and studying on your own as we go. These are my words, not God’s. While I strive to be accurate in my explanations and applications, and while I have found these things to be true in my study of the Scriptures, nothing can take the place of your own time reading the Bible itself. I pray that as you open your Bible that God will challenge and excite you through the study of His Word. I also pray that through looking at the “big picture” of what God is doing in history that you will gain a deeper understanding of your own need for Jesus Christ and grow in your daily walk with Him. May God bless you! -

^Ü|áà|

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 Page 1

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The sacrifice of motherhood

Today we're going to start a broad overview of the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. We'll be leaving a LOT of detail out, so as always, read it on your own!! This book opens with the amazing story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel. I'm not going to plunge headlong into the gist of this book without pausing briefly on Hannah - it seems only appropriate in a blog which is somewhat dedicated to women and mothers. Even as I write this, I am playing with my own chubby, smiley baby boy. I cannot imagine taking him during his preschool years to a place far away from me to be raised by a man who clearly has dropped the ball in his own parenting, knowing that I will see him for only one brief visit a year. Add to that the fact that Samuel was the baby she had longed for over painful years of barrenness, and it seems unbelievable. And yet, that is exactly what Hannah does. When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always." "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a threeyear-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there. 1 Samuel 1:21-28 How did she do it? I cannot fathom. But I think that Hannah understood something much more clearly than most of the rest of us: Our children are not ours. God had a special

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http://www.krististephens.com calling on the life of Samuel, and I think that somehow, Hannah understood this. She knew what she had to do and she obeyed God fully, cheerfully, completely. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD. What would our baby dedication services be like if all of the parents standing at the front of the church, holding their precious little babies, understood this? That the child in their arms was not theirs - that they had been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of rearing that child to know and serve and love the Lord first and foremost? When I was 15 years old I had the opportunity to go to Haiti on a missions trip with a group from the Christian school I attended. It was not the safest place to be at the time; in my 15 year old bubble, I really had no idea how difficult that decision was for my parents to allow me to go. When I was in college I was discussing that decision with my dad and he said, "Your mother and I had given you to the Lord. If He wanted you to go, how could we stand in your way?" I thank the Lord for parents who understand the calling and ownership of God- that trip impacted me deeply for eternity! Over the past couple of years, our group of young couples from our church has been hit hard with the reality of loss - many early miscarriages, the loss of a full term baby girl, the near death of another precious 5 month old baby, and a young mother who barely survived complications of childbirth. Throughout this time we wrestled with grief for our friends and at the same time a very real fear of losing our children. But I also had to face the fact that our children are not ours alone. The thought of God taking one of my children is heartbreaking - but they are ultimately His. Do I trust Him enough to leave them in His hands? In addition to life-and-death issues, this has many daily implications, as well. We plan to homeschool our children. When I consider doing this, I must keep in mind that my ultimate goal is not to have smarter or more gifted children, nor is it to insulate them from a "bad" world - my goal is to disciple my children, to teach them to follow Christ in each and every aspect of their lives, to instill in them a deep understanding of God's ways and His Word, to equip them to effectively communicate and live out their faith in a world with an entirely different worldview. That must undergird what curriculum I choose, what activities we are involved in, the focus of everything we do. I pray that they will become genuine, sold-out, influential disciples of Christ, not badges of honor for me to wear and feel like a super-mom. That unthinkable sacrifice made by one young woman had huge eternal ramifications in Israel. Samuel would grow up living in the temple, in the very presence of God. He was audibly called by God at a very young age and set apart for service. He anointed the first two kings over Israel at the direction of God. Our children are not ours alone. They are not simply for our pleasure, our pride, our posterity. Lord, give us hearts to trust You, eyes to see You, and the determination to raise our children to bring glory to Your name, not ours.

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http://www.krististephens.com And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men. 1 Samuel 2:26

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The God who Raises Up and Puts Down

Photo courtesy of http://www.jerusalemshots.com As you begin reading Biblical books of narrative, it's easy to just read the story and forget that each and every book of the Bible is much more than history. We talked about this back in "So Why Do we Have the Bible." If the Bible was written purely to give us a historical record, a lot of information that we might find helpful is left out! Back when I was an education major for two years (before I jumped ship for Bible!), I remember them teaching us about "null curriculum" - that even what you leave out is an intentional choice. I have "x" amount of days, I can't cover every single thing about life science, so I will cover this and not that. Similarly, when the writer of 1st Samuel sat down to pen this book (no, it wasn't Samuel he dies at the end of 1st Samuel!), he made similar choices, obviously by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Some historical details were included, others weren't. They were chosen for a reason: every book of the Bible has a point. How do we find it in narratives? There are often statements of truth early in the books which provide a "caption" or the controlling truth which explains or summarizes what is to come. For instance, in Genesis we talked about the power of God's word in Genesis 1 - He can and will do what He says! Obviously this plays out in the promises throughout the book, particularly in the Land, Nation, and Leader promise that we refer to often in Genesis 12. That promise to Abraham forms a "caption" for the whole Pentateuch! In 1st Samuel, it is the song of Hannah in chapter two which provides a framework. (We're going to focus on verses 4-10, but her introduction is too good to leave out!)

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http://www.krististephens.com Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 2 "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. 6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. 9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; 10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." Notice the repeating pattern here? The point of these books is: God will raise up and God will put down based on adherence to the Deuteronomic covenant. Just in case you're saying, "huh?"... Remember back to Deuteronomy being the most concise statement of the law - the unique covenant between God and His people, Israel. When the people obey God, He blesses. They disobey? He brings them down. Notice how the books neatly fall into this outline: God prospers faithful Hannah/ Hinders Unfaithful Eli (1 Sam. 1-3)

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http://www.krististephens.com God hinders unfaithful Israel (1 Sam. 4-6) God prospers "faithful" Saul (1 Sam. 7-15) God hinders unfaithful Saul (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 1) God prospers faithful David (2 Sam. 2-9) God hinders unfaithful David (2 Sam. 10-20) Our God is completely and entirely sovereign and over all the affairs of mankind. I thought about this passage frequently during the election - it was an interesting time to observe people inside and outside of the church. Some people were almost frenzied with excitement about Barack Obama the message of hope they felt he offered - somehow people really believed that one human being in the oval office could change everything bad about their lives. Other people seemed paralyzed with fear and anxiety that he would be put in office - and the world as they knew it would be no more. Hannah's prayer is such a great reminder that God is ultimately over it all. Nothing is out of control, nothing is beyond His reach, nothing is a surprise to Him. Now, as we look at the escalating tensions in the middle east it is tempting to fear. But remember - these people and this land that is the source of so much turmoil have been near and dear to the heart of God since the beginning of time. He started it all with Abraham, and He will bring it to a close. He never has and never will leave His throne, He never forgot His promises. He is the God who is Sovereign over all. Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:1-2

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The Ark and its Secrets

Image from wikipedia Man, I love Old Testament narrative. Just looking at this outline in front of me makes me all excited to write! God does some AWESOME things in the Old Testament that reveal so much of who He is - it's such a pity we don't spend more time there. (Are you getting tired of me saying things like that??) :) Today we're going to start looking at 1 Samuel chapters 4-6. These stories all revolve around the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant, you may recall, was one of the pieces of furniture that God commanded the Israelites to make when they constructed the tabernacle. Placed inside the Holy of Holies, the Ark contained tangible reminders of their sacred covenant with God - the tablets God gave to Moses, Aaron's budded rod which showed his priestly authority given by God, a jar of manna as a reminder of God's provision for them. (Hebrews 9:3-4) The top of the Ark, between two golden cherubim, was the Mercy Seat - the very dwelling place of God in their midst. (Interestingly, on the Day of Atonement the priest would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat - God would view the articles of the covenant covered with blood. They had broken the covenant and a sacrifice had to cover their sin! But, I shouldn't get too off topic...) In 1 Samuel 4, we find the Israelites fighting a losing battle with the Philistines. Notice verse 3: When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." Isn't it interesting that they think that the Ark will save them from the Philistines? Now, they did take the Ark into battle against Jericho, but the emphasis was on the presence of the Lord, not the ark. They took the Ark when God split the Jordan - and again, the emphasis was on the provision of the Lord, not the Ark. Also, remember what it means that they're losing this battle to begin with! Back at the end of Deuteronomy, we looked at God's promise of blessings and curses for the people. If they are obedient to Him and follow the covenant, He will abundantly bless them and Page 8

http://www.krististephens.com protect them from all harm. If they do not, He will curse them and turn them over to their enemies in defeat to drive them back to Himself. So, the fact that they are losing the battle to begin with is pretty telling - but, instead of realizing that there was a spiritual issue behind all of it, they decide to bring the Ark. (As though the Ark of the Covenant was some kind of rabbit's foot that had worked in the past and they would try it again!) Now, what really gets me about this story is the response of the Philistines. When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" (1 Sam. 4:5-9) The Philistines seems to have a more appropriate understating of the power of God than the Israelites do! The point was not the presence of the Ark of the Covenant- the point was the presence of the GOD of the Covenant! Indeed, He was the God who delivered them from Egypt! Seek HIM for help! The Ark isn't going to deliver them - only God can do that, and the only way He would do that is if they were right spiritually. I'll give you one guess about what will happen... So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 1 Sam. 4:10-11 Do you ever find yourself clinging to something that represents God to you in some way, rather than clinging to God Himself? I don't know what that would be for you - traditions, music or particular styles of music, churches, family... fill in the blank. The Israelites took the Ark of the Covenant, a very powerful reminder of God's presence and indeed the very location where God would dwell among them, and made it an idol - they trusted in that representation of God rather than in God Himself. God must be esteemed above all - whatever else that takes the place of prominence in our hearts, no matter how good or virtuous it may seem, is an idol. Many traditions are in place because they are honoring to God, but if we hold to the tradition more tightly than the God they remind us of, it is idolatry. As 21st century Christians, we are blessed with a rich history of a wide variety of music - much is very pleasing to God, but if we love a "style of worship" more than we love to worship God, music is an idol. The Church is the body of Christ, serving as His hands and feet and spreading the Truth of God - if we love our church more than God, it's an idol. God loves family, and we have a profound calling to share the Truth with our children and love one another deeply and sacrificially - but if I love my husband or my children or my parents more than the God we seek to represent,

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http://www.krististephens.com family has become my idol. As we discussed during our look at the 10 Commandments, God is a jealous God. He rightly demands an exclusive relationship with us - nothing can take His place. He wants all of you and nothing less - do you want Him and nothing else? Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

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There is no one holy like the Lord

Image from wikipedia Make no mistake, the Ark of the Covenant was not a lucky rabbit's foot. It was not a hohum religious relic. It was not a souvenir. The Ark was all about the God of the covenant. A God who is holy, a God who is unique, a God who is supreme. If the Israelites don't understand that, if the Philistines don't understand that... God Himself will make it known. After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. I Samuel 5:1-4

Image from wikipedia The Philistines had captured the Ark and taken it home. Now, why are they putting it in the temple to their god, Dagon? According to John MacArthur's Bible Commentary, "The placing of the ark of God in the temple of Dagon was supposed to be a sign of Dagon's power and Yahweh's inferiority, a visual representation that the god of the Philistines was victorious over the God of the Hebrews."

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God is so awesome. They think He is inferior, that he has been beaten by Dagon, so God knocks their idol on its face, bowing down before His dwelling place. Obviously the Philistines don't get the message the first time, and they simply pick Dagon up and put him back. (I wonder what their explanation was for this?) Next day, he's knocked down again - this time with his head and hands cut off, a common sign of victory over a dead enemy. (see 2 Sam. 4:12) Isaiah 42:8 says, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols." God is utterly unique. He is the one and only creator of all. He is the God who is holy, holy, holy. No one is like Him. No one can claim the glory and honor that are due to God alone. Permit to me quote from one of our posts back in Joshua, "You Can't Add God to your Pantheon": "In their polytheistic mindset, they [the Israelites] wanted to just add God to the pantheon of other gods that they worshipped. He wouldn't mind, right? They're still serving Him too, so why would it matter? Maybe He could even be the "chief" God of the pantheon! Serving Him sounds like a great idea, especially in light of the promised blessings. Purging their lives of the other ones... that would be too extreme. This speaks to me loudly about our postmodern culture today. God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible and it's 'inspiration,' messages of hope and peace; maybe even going to church, doing community service... those all sound like good things! But, if you start making claims about the exclusivity of serving God - that you cannot serve Him and the other gods we worship - then you are being extreme. Unreasonable. Intolerant." God is so holy he will not tolerate the other gods we try to squeeze into our lives. Out of His holiness and also out of His love for us and the exclusive relationship He longs to have with us, He will knock the other idols present in our hearts off their pedestals. Over and over again. He alone is worthy. "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2:2

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Rats and tumors and panic - oh, my!

Image from Bible Picture Gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009 Right after the fascinating incident with the Ark in the Temple of Dagon, the plot thickens even more: The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?" They answered, "Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

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http://www.krististephens.com As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven. 1 Sam. 5:6-12 Chapter 6 verse 5 also adds the detail that apparently rats were destroying the country along with this plague of deadly tumors. Take a minute and read the rest of chapter 6 on your own - it's too long to quote, but important to our discussion. I cannot read this section without thinking of a class trip I had taken in college to NYC we went to go to the Met and see the exhibits on ancient Egypt and other Biblicallyrelevant things, but we managed to squeeze in a side trip to the Guggenheim museum. On display at that time was a collection of tribal carvings that had been made in the form of various maladies, deformed limbs, etc, as an offering to their gods in hopes of healing. I stood there, so sad for these people lost in idolatry and desperate for hope, and amazed at the similarity to this story in 1 Samuel! Anyway, I don't have a real point to telling you this, other than a, "huh. Isn't that interesting" aside. :) Back to chapter 6 - the Philistines decide to send the Ark packing - 1 Sam. 6:7-9 gives the very detailed instructions given by the Philistine priests for how to send it back, along with a chest of the golden rats and tumors. They said that if the cows took the Ark straight to Beth-Shemesh (an Israelite town) without turning aside, they would know that it was because of the Ark that all of these afflictions had come upon them. Lo and behold, "Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left." (1 Sam. 6:12) The people of Beth-Shemesh are thrilled to see the Ark coming their way... but did you catch the end of the chapter? God put 70 of the men of Beth Shemesh to death, because they looked inside the Ark! That might not seem like a big deal to us, but they knew better. The Ark was specially designed with carrying poles so that the priests would not touch it when moving it from place to place. As the place where God's glory dwelt in the tabernacle, this was not just a religious relic, as we talked about before. You do not approach a holy God with flippancy. You don't just peek inside it as though it were merely a curiosity. You do not approach a holy God with flippancy. Some people will get hung up on this story, I am sure, and go back to the classic, "If God is so good and loving, why would he inflict these deadly tumors on innocent people and little children? If God is so good, why would he kill people for wanting to know what was in the Ark?" [For the sake of retaining some semblance of brevity I am not going to address the "if

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http://www.krististephens.com God is so good..." question. For further reference I encourage you to take a look at our post on the plagues in Egypt. God reveals His glory and supremacy over the false gods of all nations throughout the Old Testament. Notice that in 1st Samuel 5:7 the Philistines state that the hand of God is heavy against them and their god, Dagon. Just like the plagues against Egypt and the idol of Dagon being smashed to pieces, this ultimately boils down to a theological statement.] God is completely and totally good. God is the source of all goodness. God is love and lavishes his love on us. However, God is holy. Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 both speak of the continuous refrain of worship before God in the throneroom of heaven, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty..." In the Bible, when things are repeated it is a literary device to emphasize. Only one attribute of God is repeated three times. God is not described as "love, love, love" or "good, good, good." He absolutely is those things, but the most emphasized attribute of God is his holiness. You do not approach a holy God with flippancy. In my opinion, our modern Christian culture has largely lost the deep urgency of what this means. We are encouraged to call God "Daddy" in our prayers and pray in a casual, almost crass manner. Our children sing songs in Sunday school that use the names of God and his precious holy Son in such a flippant way that I am quite sure it is blasphemous. I once saw a stuffed Jesus doll in a Christian bookstore and almost had a coronary on the spot! Praise God, through Jesus Christ we have access to the very throne of God. Romans 8:16 and Galatians 4:6 both tell us that we can cry out to God as our "Abba, Father." Abba roughly means "papa." We have so much access through Christ - but never, never lose sight of the fact that the God we have such direct access to is HOLY. The fact that we can call him "Abba" should bring us to our knees in humility and awe. It is not a flippant familiarity - it is access to the King of kings who has graciously called us His own! The God of the New Testament is not different from the God of the Old Testament! Do not lose the gravity of His holiness as you embrace the gift of His nearness to us! Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

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Be sure to fear the Lord

Image from Bible Picture Gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009 As we progress through the Old Testament narratives, I am going to widen our scope and start being much more selective about the passages we cover. I will be skipping a lot of content and trying to focus us in on some critical points. Today we're jumping to 1 Samuel 12. Israel has demanded that Samuel appoint a king over them. In this passage, Samuel is addressing the nation and bringing Saul, who will become the first human king of Israel, before them. "Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your Godgood! But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. Page 16

http://www.krististephens.com So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king." "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away." 1 Samuel 12:13-25 There are so many levels to this. Let's start with the fundamental issue that asking for a king was sinful. Up to this point, Israel has been a theocracy, operating under the laws and rule of God with human judges providing leadership and instruction. Their demand for a king is fundamentally a rejection of God's rule and covenant over them. It shows lack of faith, lack of submission, lack of appreciation of the fact that God has uniquely chosen them for His own. Interestingly, God knew this would happen - He had put already instruction for the future kings of Israel into the law! Notice that Israel has broken their covenant with God time and time again - and God never has. He is faithful when they are not! Even in their rejection of Him as their King, God promises to honor his word: If they and their kings obey, they will be blessed. If they do not, they will be cursed, just as He said back in Deuteronomy 28. Keep this in mind as we journey into the interesting history of Israel we have yet to cover - the nation suffers greatly due to their failure to heed God's Word and cling to Him. Entwined with these issues of realization of sin and the broken covenant is the issue of the fear of God. Any time in the Bible when you see people coming face to face with the presence and power of God manifested before them, they are gripped with the reality of their sin and the holiness of God. This is no exception. The people ask Samuel to pray for them so that they would not die on account of their sin and rebellion. The holiness of God and the fear of Him are huge, HUGE issues, not just for the Old Testament, but also for modern American churches! I was going to expound more on this, but did a search on my blog and saw there were 32 posts regarding holiness, and 20 more about the fear of God! We will continue to encounter the holiness of God and the resulting fear of Him over and over and over again throughout our studies of the Bible. We serve a holy God. To face a holy God is to fear God. If we don't really know Him, we won't fear Him, and no matter how sincere we are we will end up living in opposition to His will.

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http://www.krististephens.com Get into His Word, friends. Read what God says about Himself and the story of history which is really His story. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

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More clues about the Seed

Image from Bible Picture Gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009 Today we're going to skip forward to 2 Samuel 7:11-12, known as the "Davidic covenant." "'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.'" This links directly back to the Seed promise in Genesis 3! Remember, the One we've been looking for! In Genesis 3, we knew that the Seed, the One who would conquer the serpent and win back the scepter, would come from Eve's offspring. In Genesis 12, we were given more clues about the coming Seed's identity: He would be from the line of Abraham, and through Him the whole world would be blessed. In Genesis 49, we were told that the Seed would be from the line of Judah. Now, we are given another layer to the promise: The Seed would come from the line of David. Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute. This passage refers to the offspring of David. Clearly, that would be Solomon." You might be even more convinced of this conclusion if you look at 2 Samuel 7:14-15 - "I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you."

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http://www.krististephens.com Like many prophetic passages, this refers to two things simultaneously. John MacArthur addresses this passage in his Bible commentary and says, "As a human father disciplines his sons, so the Lord would discipline the seed, if he committed iniquity. This has reference to the intermediary seed until Messiah's arrival (any king of David's line from Solomon on). However, the ultimate Seed of David will not be a sinner like David and his descendants were..." In other words, as the prophet Nathan speaks these words, they apply both to Solomon and the other "seeds" from David's line who would reign from David's household, and also to Jesus Christ, the promised Seed. The part about God's discipline doesn't refer to Christ [but the books of Samuel and Kings clearly show the failure of the kings to follow God, which resulted in God's discipline - the exile of Israel and Judah], and the full completion of this promise doesn't occur in anyone BUT Jesus Christ. Let's think about the particulars of this promise. *One of David's physical descendants *Will build a temple *Will reign and will never lose the throne Solomon almost fits - he is a physical descendant, and he even builds a magnificent temple for the Lord! However, although he was a powerful king over Israel, he doesn't reign forever. Zerubbabel might be someone's guess - he is a physical descendant of David, and Zerubbabel is the one who comes back after the exile and rebuilds the temple (out of the rubbabel.) - his story is found in the book of Ezra. But, Zerubbabel never sits on a throne at all! Jesus is the only one who fits - He is a physical descendant (which is why so much emphasis is placed on his genealogy in the book of Matthew), His throne will be established forever... what about the temple? In John 2:19-21, Jesus refers to His own body as the temple that would be torn down and rebuilt in three days. Revelation 21 says that there is no temple in heaven - The Lamb is the temple! A physical building as a temple is unnecessary in heaven - The glory of God will dwell among us, and there will be no need for a barrier between a holy God and mankind. At this point in Biblical history, they're still very much in the dark about how God's plan will unfold. They have clues - they've know about the Seed since Genesis 3, and now they know He will be a king from the line of David who will build a temple. However, they still have no idea how grand the plan of God really would be: God the Son, in flesh, offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sin of man, reigning over the earth, and obliterating the separation between God and the people He loved enough to die for. It's a glorious thing, friends - and some day, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, we will see this fully fulfilled. I pray that it will be soon! Come, Lord Jesus!

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http://www.krististephens.com I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation 21:22-23

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David's great demise: part one

Image from wikipedia 2 Samuel 11 records a disturbing event: David, the man after God's own heart, crashing and burning and not only committing adultery, but then arranging for the murder of his lover's husband. What in the world happened here, and what lessons can we learn? This is probably a familiar story to most, so I won't recap. Just read 2 Samuel 11 on your own. There surely are many reading this blog who, like me, have heard 20-30 sermons (minimum) about this event. So, I'm not inventing the wheel - but for the next couple of days I'd like to camp on this and look at the aspects of this account that I find to be most compelling. In the words of Julie Andrews (my personal favorite flibbertijibbet, will-o'-the wisp, and clown!), "let's start at the very beginning: a very good place to start." 2 Samuel 11:1 - It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Lesson one: David is not where he is supposed to be! As king of Israel, he had been given an important task which included protecting the people God placed in his care. As king, he should have been with his troops. He chose to

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http://www.krististephens.com stay at home and not do his task, for whatever reason, and it set him up to fail. Anytime we are not fulfilling the tasks given us to do or avoiding our responsibilities, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Personally, what are the primary tasks God has given to me? Titus 2:4-5 sums up the job of young married women as "to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." [I already dealt with my own journey of reluctance to accept this high calling back in The Nobility of Motherhood, so I won't rehash. If you're resistant to this and think that I wouldn't understand, read that post!] Girls, our divinely given job is to love our families, to manage and care for our homes, and to control ourselves! Like it or not, these difficult and humbling responsibilities directly attack the common tendencies of women to become self-indulgent, gossipy and meddling, controlling, etc. If I truly love my husband and children, God constantly teaches me the true meaning of sacrificial love and putting another's needs ahead of my own. If I'm keeping myself busy at home (and wow - there is a never-ending supply of work to do at home!), I don't have time to gossip and meddle in other people's affairs! If I'm learning to be self-controlled and pure, I'm going to be modest and not trying to gain attention or control over others through my physical appearance, my social influence, etc (among a host of other things!) If I neglect these things, I set myself up for disaster. Notice what Paul says is at stake: the Word of God could be maligned! Ungodly, unsubmissive women who engage in gossip, self-indulgence and immodesty, and neglect their calling at home are a huge blight on the message of the Gospel. So, our take-away for today is: do what you have been called to do. Do it well. We must busy our hands and hearts with what is most important, so that we don't find ourselves stumbling into sin simply because we have nothing better to do! On that note, I need to turn off my computer and go clean this house. And make dinner. And wipe some runny noses. It is a high calling, ladies - never underestimate the impact of small acts of obedience and self-sacrifice. Do it all for the glory of God! For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

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David's great demise: part two Moving along in 2 Samuel 11: One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. David sees her. He notes her beauty. He sends someone to find out about her. He finds out that she is married; she is married, in fact, to one of his "mighty men." (see 2nd Samuel 23:39) He goes ahead and brings her to him, and then sleeps with her. This is a multi-step process! There are so many points at which David should have come to his senses and run in the other direction. I find it interesting that at the very beginning when he notices her, this would have all been avoided if only he had averted his eyes and not continued to look - once he noted her beauty and allowed himself to desire her, the wheels of disaster had already started turning. James 1:13-15 says, When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Want to know where patterns of deep sin come from in our own lives? They start in our own evil desires. The issue of lust and adultery is so pivotal in all of our lives and marriages. One thing I have been really burdened by lately is watching people fail to guard their hearts and allow themselves to build inappropriate emotional intimacy with someone who is not their spouse. You cannot hug and affectionately touch another man the way you hug and touch your own husband! You cannot lounge around to watch TV and drape yourself against another man the way you would when you're with you husband! You cannot flirt and tease another man the way you do with your husband! You cannot confide in and find security and stability in another man like you do with your own husband! Perhaps this seems obvious, but I've been blown away in recent years by watching married people around us who appear to not understand these simple concepts. Where does adultery begin? In allowing yourself to look, to feel, to see, to desire. If King David, the man after God's own heart, the author of most of the Psalms, is not immune to this, who do we think we are in thinking it is easy to avoid? Guard yourself. Guard your thoughts, guard your mind, guard your heart, guard your body. What about less obvious sins?

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http://www.krististephens.com Let's use greed, covetousness, and lack of contentment as an example. If this is an issue for me, I need to guard myself by perhaps avoiding the mall! Or watching QVC! :) If we find ourselves in a cycle of greed, wanting more, and not being satisfied and thankful for what God has given us, allowing ourselves to look at things can be a real trap. Window shopping or browsing online could be that place where your desires flare up and drag you away. On one extreme, that could lead to shoplifting on the other end it might just leave you feeling ungrateful and dissatisfied. When I was a child in Sunday school we would sing, "Oh be careful little eyes, what you see! Oh be careful little eyes what you see! For your Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see!" Truly guarding your eyes, heart, mind, body will make you look like you're paranoid or a fanatic. I realize this. Do it anyway. Satan is crafty, and sin is subtle. Cling to what is good, hate what is evil. Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12-14

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David's great demise: part three Today I want to camp on 2 Samuel 11:5-15. Please read that on your own since it's too long to quote. The plot continues to thicken in David's situation. Notice that when Bathsheba sends word to David that she is pregnant (clearly by him because her husband has been with the army all this time), he moves swiftly to try to cover his tracks. Uriah's character through this story is a fascinating contrast to David. Uriah comes to David and fills him in on the battle, as David requested. However, when David sends him home, he doesn't go! David is obviously frustrated as Uriah is interfering with his plan to make it appear that Bathsheba's baby was a result of this mid-battle visit. Notice Uriah's response in verse 11: Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" Oh, that had to sting! Not only is his plan backfiring, but Uriah is much more righteous than David all around in this situation. His concern is with the safety of David's army and the ark of the covenant, so he will not selfishly go home and enjoy his house and his wife. [Remember back to part one of this study - David, as king, should have been more concerned about those things in the first place! Not only did he neglect that responsibility, but then enjoyed the company of someone else's wife in their absence!] We can be brief with the rest of the story - David tries a second time; he gets Uriah drunk thinking that he would then go home, but Uriah still stays with the palace servants. David is now desperate and sends Uriah back to the field with a sealed letter commanding his own "accidental" death. Isn't it amazing how predictable we are as sinful humans? When we're caught in sin, we instantly look for our escape. It started back in the garden with Adam and Eve's blame shifting, and it continues today when I catch my three year old desperately trying to distract her little brother so he doesn't cry after she pushes him onto the floor! In part two, we looked at the subtlety of sin and the safeguards we need to put into our lives and hearts to help keep us from falling. This idea of shifting blame, covering our tracks, and looking for a way out is critical - I think this is such an ingrained pattern in our sinful human nature that we often deceive ourselves. We can so skillfully shift the blame that we convince even our own minds that we are innocent. Notice what James 1:22-25 says about self-deception: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a

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http://www.krististephens.com mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. According to James, we can easily deceive ourselves even while listening to the Word!! If we are familiar with the Word of God and are exposed to its Truth but fail to put it into practice, it can quickly become a spiritual blind spot. At our house, my husband and I tend to put shoes and other odds-and-ends that need to go upstairs on the bottom steps. Sometimes I have to gingerly pick my way through the piles, and yet don't do anything about it! It is a habit of neglect. I'm used to the piles, and it doesn't occur to me that the fact that I'm having to step around them is supposed to be a signal to do something about it! The two years I taught high school Bible at a Christian school were some of the most draining and challenging I have ever had. It was stunning to me to see the spiritual hardness in many of these kids. I shed many a tear at my desk (and in front of a couple of my classes!) pleading for God to soften their hearts. For two years I watched kids walk in and out of the door of my classroom who had heard Biblical Truth their whole lives. The vast majority of them were involved in youth group and had spent most, if not all, of their school years in private Christian school. They thought they had heard it all, and it was such a habit for them to gingerly step around the "piles" in their spiritual walk that it didn't occur to them that everything in their lives was a disaster because they had failed to obey. What a scary thought this is to me! It is so easy to deceive ourselves, even as we are surrounded by Truth. How many of us are going to church each week, maybe even reading some Scripture passages or devotionals here or there, listening to some Christian music on the radio, and never realizing that our lives are completely out of whack spiritually? We're skillful blame shifters, or we're just completely consumed with avoiding consequences! (Have you ever been praying in your car and then get distracted by fear of the police officer along the side of the road and hope that he doesn't notice you were speeding? It doesn't occur to us that it was a inherent contradiction to pray to the Lord and disobey authority at the same time - we just don't want to get a ticket! Ok, I'll stop stepping on toes.) James tells us to look intently into the Word, and then do what it says. The more practiced we become at hearing the Truth and failing to obey, the more hardened we become. I am concluding today's post with the same Scripture I used at the end of part two. It is a passage I pray frequently - only God can reveal to us the depth of our own self-deception and sinfulness. Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

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http://www.krististephens.com Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12-14

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Confrontation, confession, and consequences

Image from Bible Picture Gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009 Today we're moving on to David's restoration after the Bathsheba/ Uriah situation. Please read 2 Samuel 12:1-25 before we move on. Along with the revelation of Joseph to his brothers, verse 7 is one of those verses that haunts me. If we can try to imagine being in the room, or being in David's or Nathan's shoes, this was one intense moment! You are the man! Far from being a chummy term of endearment from the 90's, I imagine Nathan's words powerfully echoing and reverberating in the palace. You are the man, David! What you did was evil in the eyes of the Lord! I obviously would not want to be in David's shoes at this point, but I also do not envy Nathan one bit. Confronting the king, of all people, on such deep sin could not have been an easy task. I hate confrontation. I get sweaty just thinking about it. The couple of times that I have had to confront people led to sleepless nights and not a small amount of angst! I cannot imagine Nathan's thoughts after he was sent by God and entered the palace that

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http://www.krististephens.com day. The way Nathan crafts this confrontation was quite something. I find it fascinating that the story he tells involves a close attachment to sheep - surely this was a tender spot to David who spent his years as a young man out in the fields, tenderly caring for and keeping watch over his sheep. David's understanding of God and life was powerfully influenced by his time with his sheep. [You can download a free guided Bible study of God as the Great Shepherd based on Psalm 23 here.] Now, notice David's response in verse 13: Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." David has a much different response to confrontation than his predecessor Saul did. In 1 Samuel 13:11-12, Samuel has confronted Saul about wrongly offering a burnt offering in Samuel's absence - Saul never takes responsibility for this. He blames it on Samuel being late for their appointment! "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." This is the occasion when Samuel informs Saul that God has now rejected him as king and has chosen another man after His own heart. [This was just a few chapters after Saul's anointing - he started out his reign with a bang!] In our eyes, Saul's sin doesn't seem as bad as David's - Saul seemed to be seeking God's approval and offering a sacrifice, while David committed adultery and then murdered the woman's husband to cover his tracks. What's going on here? 1. Saul's sin might not sound that bad, but it revealed a presumptuous and arrogant approach to God. He decided Samuel was taking too long so he would just have to do it himself - never mind that God would not bless a wrongly offered sacrifice. Then, when he is confronted about it, he simply blame shifts and explains his actions away as the apparent best course of action. He doesn't fear God. 2. David's sin was deep and serious. When Nathan confronts it, however, David takes ownership of it. Tomorrow we will look more closely at Psalm 51, which is David's song of genuine repentance and restoration written at this time in his life. David is forgiven by God and restored in relationship with Him. But, he is not free of consequences for his actions. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." (2 Samuel 12:14) Oh, this story brings up all kinds of hairy issues! Why would God take the innocent life

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http://www.krististephens.com of a baby because of his father's sin? What happens to children who die before the "age of accountability"? God gives life and can take it away. I believe that God does take babies and those who are unable to comprehend sin and redemption to heaven - this is my belief based on verse 23 of this chapter. Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I believe this is the most plain answer we have in Scripture and what seems to me to be most consistent with the character of God. It is not my purpose here to try to solve age-old arguments. This is just my honest and simple response to these questions. Now, back to David and Saul and their responses to sin. I have been thinking much about the fear of God lately. This has always been a deep issue of conviction and concern for me, and a study I have been doing has been highlighting this for me once again. We, as human beings, tend to be unbalanced in our view of God as our Father and Lord. If we lean too heavily toward the view of God as our holy Lord and sovereign master, we can end up with and understanding of God that is detached or "out to get us." We can become obsessed with the idea that we are unworthy worms who do not deserve God's love, and can start to doubt that He could genuinely love us, the losers that we are. We downplay God's love and forgiveness and highlight His anger and vengeance. If we get overly caught up on the idea of God as our father and do not balance it with God as holy and sovereign, we can end up treating God too casually and flippantly. We glory in the fact that "He loves me," "He delights in me," "He will forgive me," and develop almost an arrogant attitude of entitlement. We downplay sin and God's holiness, and highlight His unwavering love and forgiveness. A proper relationship to God, understanding that He is completely holy and also loving in the most pure sense of the word, creates a reverent fear of Him and also an intimacy with Him and confidence in His love. I do not understand how or why God loves me, but I believe that He does simply because He says so, and He proved it to me in Christ! However, in no way do I think I deserve His love. I am a rebellious and sinful creation, and He is the holy and transcendent God who created the universe! Keeping this balance in our view of Him keeps us from becoming too "buddy buddy" with God and expecting Him to simply overlook our sin, and it also keeps us from becoming obsessed with ourselves and our "goodness." Exodus 20:20 says that an appropriate fear of God will keep us from sinning! Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Romans 6:1-2 highlights the fact that true Christians cannot become comfortable with the idea of sin and excusing it because "God will forgive." What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

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http://www.krististephens.com Hebrews 10:26-27 explains that hardened, deliberate sin cannot exist in the heart of a true believer in Christ. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. David feared God - he obviously had a close and intimate relationship with God, as revealed in the Psalms. However, he understood the seriousness of sin and God's authority. When confronted with sin, he repents and accepts God's stated consequences for his actions. Saul does not fear God! He acts presumptuously and sins deliberately. When confronted with this sin he backtracks and explains it away. His sin might not seem as "serious" to us, but it was. Lack of fear of God and true relationship with Him was the real problem in his heart and life, and it revealed itself clearly in this situation and his response to Samuel. How balanced is your view of God? This is a serious issue that will affect your spiritual walk and daily life in a profound way. How do you respond to sin? Do you hate it and long for holiness? Are you comfortable with your sin and good at explaining it away? Do you struggle with believing that God loves you, getting too stuck on a fearful view of Him to believe Him? Do you flippantly approach Him and expect Him to overlook your shortcomings, getting too stuck on an intimate view of Him to see Him in His holy glory? Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:4-6

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A broken broken and contrite heart For the last couple of weeks we have been working through some aspects of David's great sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. In part one, we looked at the idea that David's failure to do what he was supposed to be doing set him up for failure. In part two, we looked at the subtlety of sin and the safeguards we need to put into our lives and hearts to help keep us from falling. In part three, our discussion centered on the human tendency to blame-shift and sidestep responsibility for our sin, constantly looking for a way to cover our tracks. Finally, we looked at Nathan's confrontation of David and the difference between David's heart of humility and Saul's lack of repentance. I intended to do this post last week, but decided to spend a few days on The Shack. So, now we're picking up again with David's repentance, and today I want to spend some time in Psalm 51. (If you open your Bible to Psalm 51, you'll notice that a note is included in a smaller font before the Psalm begins, documenting that this Psalm was written when Nathan confronted David about Bathsheba.) Please read Psalm 51 on your own and then I just have a few things for us to ponder. Spiros Zodhiates summarizes this Psalm in the footnotes of The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (my personal favorite!) this way: "This is one of the greatest passages in the entire Bible concerning confession and forgiveness... David's repentance included: 1. a godly sorrow for his sin Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (vs. 2-3) 2. verbal confession Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. (vs. 4) 3. a turning away from sin Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (vs. 6-7) 4. forgiveness

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http://www.krististephens.com Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (vs. 9-10) 5. restoration to God's favor Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. (vs. 11) 6. rejoicing in salvation Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (vs. 12) 7. a willingness to testify to others about the grace of God." Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (vs. 13,15) Remember back to Saul's sin of wrongly offering the sacrifice before Samuel arrived? Saul appeared to think that God would accept the sacrifice, even though it was offered in sin. When Samuel confronts him, Saul gives excuses about Samuel being late and the army scattering. Notice what David says at the end of this Psalm: You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (vs. 16-17) David understands: it's not about the physical sacrifice. It's about the heart. (We also touched on this in our discussion of Cain and Abel.) So, what does this have to do with us? Most of us probably aren't dealing with sin as "bad" as adultery and murder. What about those daily sins that creep up on us? God doesn't want your outward show - He wants true repentance, a broken heart, a true desire for restoration, a true turning away from our sin. I mentioned in a "Tackle it Tuesday" post a few weeks ago that I have been struggling to get myself and the kids on a consistent daily schedule. Between that post, today's look at repentance, part one of this series, and another study I've been doing in my quiet time, God has pointed out a very obvious need for confession in my own life. I might not be as "bad" as David in this instance, but I am not in line with the heart of God. I know that I have spent far too much time lately on frivolous things on the computer, which means that I have been neglecting my children and husband. I have been failing to

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http://www.krististephens.com invest the time I should in teaching my children and even just playing with them and being available to them. The giant ironing pile still looms, the play dough and paints sit untouched in the basement, and right now there is a huge bolt of fabric calling my name that I need to sew into curtains for our room. These aren't earth shattering things, but they are things that I have been given the privilege and responsibility to do for my family. My kids notice when I am engrossed with something other than them. My husband notices when I don't delight in caring for him as much as doing something meaningless. My heart has been divided, and I'm not doing what I need to do! Lesson learned from David: I have been tolerating compromise, and if I continue I'm setting myself up for failure. I don't know what your area of struggle is right now. Guaranteed, we all have one! I pray that you will join me in praying Psalm 51 along with David, and committing to give the Lord our hearts and not just an outward show. He wants it all. He is worthy of it all. Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

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Finishing Well Today we are at the end of 2nd Samuel - just to clarify, I want to give a quick note about the structure of these books. At the beginning of this series we looked at Hannah's prayer and discussed how her song really gives an outline for these books. We said that the point of these books is: God will raise up and God will put down based on adherence to the Deuteronomic covenant. From this idea you can see how the books fall into an outline: God prospers faithful Hannah/ Hinders Unfaithful Eli (1 Sam. 1-3) God hinders unfaithful Israel (1 Sam. 4-6) God prospers "faithful" Saul (1 Sam. 7-15) God hinders unfaithful Saul (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 1) God prospers faithful David (2 Sam. 2-9) God hinders unfaithful David (2 Sam. 10-20) Now, chapters 21 through 24 of 2nd Samuel don't really fit into this outline anywhere. In fact, they are not in chronological order with the rest of the books - these chapters seem to be appendices which record events and writings that fit in various places throughout David's reign. John MacAruthur notes in his Bible Commentary, "There is striking literary arrangement of the sections in this division of the book. The first and last sections (21:1-14; 24:1-25) are narratives that describe two occurrences of the Lord's anger against Israel. The second and fifth sections (21:15-22; 23:8-39) are descriptions of David's warriors. The third and fourth sections (22:1-51; 23:1-7) record two of David's songs." Today we are going to spend a little time looking at David's song in 2 Samuel 22, which is almost identical to Psalm 18. The themes in this song go hand in hand with Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2, providing the other "bookend" for this section of Scripture. Notice how these two chapters mirror one another: "The LORD is my rock my fortress and my deliverer;" (2 Samuel 22:2) "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2) "...my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me." (2 Samuel 22:3) "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance." (1 Samuel 2:1) "You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low." (2 Samuel 22:28) "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is

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http://www.krististephens.com a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed." (1 Samuel 2:3) "He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever." (2 Samuel 22:51) "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." (1 Samuel 2:10) It is interesting that those last two verses both speak of a king who is God's anointed (both singular). To quote MacArthur once again: "These terms are singular and, thus, do not seem to refer to David and his descendants. Rather, they refer to the promised "seed," the Messiah of 7:12 [the Davidic covenant.] The deliverance and ultimate triumph of David foreshadow that of the coming Messiah. At the end of his life, David looked back in faith at God's promises and forward in hope to their fulfillment in the coming of a future king, the "anointed one." I love that phrase in MacArthur's quote that, "At the end of his life, David looked back in faith at God's promises and forward in hope to their fulfillment..." David definitely did not have a flawless life, as we studied in David's Great Demise. However, at the end of His life, He is praising God for His justice and believes that God will be faithful to His promises. He started well, had a rocky "middle," and ends in trust and faith. When speaking of finishing well, I often think of Jacob's statement in Genesis 45:15, "the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day..." Jacob was a great example of a guy who most definitely did not have all his ducks-in-a-row, spiritually speaking, for the majority of his life! And yet, he looked back and realized that God had shepherded him all his life to that very day. None of us will be flawless. We will all look back on our lives and have areas of regret or failure, small or large. But when we are faithless, He is faithful. He is our shepherd throughout all our lives! I imagine that even as David surely deeply regretted his choices earlier in life, He reveled in the faithfulness of His God who loved him enough to pursue him, discipline him, and lovingly bring him back to Himself. I have heard too many women say or imply that God cannot use them because they are broken, flawed vessels. Their sin has been too deep, their lives are too far gone, their chances were wasted. Friends, this is not true! Do our actions have consequences? Absolutely, and David's story is a sobering reminder of this. But God is able to redeem and work through the darkest of nights in our lives. When we are faithless, He is faithful! May God grant us the eyes to look back at our lives and see His hand of mercy and grace, look forward at the future and believe Him to be faithful to His promises, and leave a legacy of faith based on His faithfulness, not ours. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

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http://www.krististephens.com As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:11-14

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