Bible in 90, Day 24: Wisdom

2 Samuel 22 – 1 Kings 7

*image courtesy of

God asks you what you want.

Pleading with Rehoboam to get wisdom

James 1:5

Bible in 90, Day 23: I so hate consequences

2 Samuel 12-22

In 2 Samuel 12, David is confronted by Nathan the prophet concerning his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.  God lays out three punishments, which aptly fit David’s crime.  1) Because he used the sword to have Uriah killed, the sword would never depart from his house.  2) Because he slept with another man’s wife, another man would sleep with his wives.  But though David did this in secret, his punishment would be in broad daylight.  3) The son conceived during his affair with Bathsheba would die.

Today’s reading shows the unfortunate fulfillment of those prophecies.  The death of the child, the feud between Absalom and Amnon, the bloody fight for the throne that Absalom initiates, his subsequent violent death – all these are results of God’s punishment on David.  The second punishment is also centered on Absalom as he takes the ten concubines his father left behind when fleeing Jerusalem.  He puts tents on the roof of the royal palace and sleeps with the concubines in the sight of all the people.  This was not only a heinous sin on the part of Absalom, it was also a very strong claim to the throne on his part.  He was hijacking the harem of David, showing that David was incapable of protecting them and thus strengthening his claim to the throne.  Now, God had forgiven David’s sin (12:13), but that didn’t mean the consequences for those sins were removed.

I so hate consequences…

Don’t we all?  It is a fact that we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8).  This is not to say that God won’t sometimes override this.  However, we should not expect this as the normal course of things.  The alcoholic who gives his addiction over to Jesus and never goes back to it may still die of liver failure.  The murderer who repents, accepts Jesus, and secure forgiveness from God may still be executed or spend life in prison.

This knowledge may have the unfortunate effect of hampering us from seeking forgiveness.  Have you ever known you were guilty of sin, but didn’t want to fess up to it?  Maybe you were afraid of what the consequences would be.  Maybe you were just afraid of having to admit you had hurt someone with your actions.  Either way, the fear of consequences keeps us from confessing our sin.

Let us own up to our mistakes.  Let us confess our sins, not only to God, but to those we’ve sinned against on earth.  When we do, we will find that God is waiting to take us back like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

Bible in 90, Day 22: Carried to the Table

1 Samuel 28 – 2 Samuel 12

*video via freezetag12345 at youtube.com

After all the warring between the household of David and the household of Saul (both before and after Saul’s death), you’d think that David would hold nothing but hatred for the whole lot of them.  However, he remembered both his faithfulness to the Lord’s anointed, and his promise to Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:8-17).  In 2 Samuel 9, David has Jonathan’s remaining son brought into his house in order to show him kindness and take care of him all his days.

There is an amazing parallel between the story of David’s treatment of Mephibosheth, and that of God’s treatment of those of us who have come to Him for mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  Mephibosheth, a man who is crippled as a result of a fall early in life, is helpless.  David has every right, culturally speaking, to destroy him for the enmity between their two houses.  Instead, he has him brought to his very table, the place of acceptance and fellowship, and vows to provide for him the rest of his life.

The video above does a great job of illustrating the parallels.  If you were not familiar with the story of Mephibosheth, you would assume the song is merely about Christians and God.  Now, with this background, you can hear echoes of both stories throughout the song.

Let us remember our helpless state.  As Paul reminds us in Galatians 2-3, all that we are in Christ is because of His righteousness and work, not ours.  Let us never forget where we came from, how we got here, and who accomplished it all.  We began with the Spirit, let us continue in Him.