Category: Gospel

David’s speech concerning offerings to fund the building of the temple reminds me of pledge offering challenges I heard in my lifetime. I heard them in many social groups and on Christian radio, TV, concerts, and in congregational pews. “An unnamed individual(s) has given a match pledge offering challenge. The individual will match all offerings […]

Chapter 28 continues what started in chapter 23, explaining how David organized the kingdom for himself and his son. The Lord enabled David to have everything prepared for Solomon and Israel. Solomon’s reign would have been relatively easy because of all that David had done. Everyone’s life is influenced by the labor of those before […]

David, in his old age, spoke of two subjects to his son: building the temple (11) and discretion and understanding in leading Israel (12). Parents who love the Lord want their children to accept and live in a relationship with the Lord. David wanted this for his children, especially Solomon. Parents who love their children […]

David was a man, a husband, a father, a king (thus a warrior), and a man after God’s heart. That which defined him came with certain responsibilities and duties, all claiming his attention. Throughout his life, the most consistent of who he was as a person was a man who loved God with all his […]

The angel of the Lord responded when David repented (18). David was to make a sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. (18) This is the place that Abraham was about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This is the site where David would prepare the temple to be built. Everyone saw the […]

Trust, humility, and obedience will bring blessing. Doubt, pride, and rebellion will bring punishment. This is the clear message of the Chronicler(s). Is this true? It is true only for believers in Jesus, or rather, those who have made a decision to live by faith in Christ. Why are the principles of punishment and reward […]

David ordered Joab, Israel’s army commander to count the mighty men. Joab knew this was wrong. He knew it was the Lord who gives armies strength (3). The Lord enables small armies to defeat large armies. David needed to examine why he wanted to count the number of fighting men (3). David was either worried […]

Is This Really What You Want? The Lord promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them Canaan. The Israelites promised that they would obey him at Mount Sinai. God and Israel had made a covenant. The two stone tablets that the covenant was written on were in the Ark of the Covenant. The […]

Same Old, Same Old. Israel fought two related battles in these verses. Joab leads Israel in the first battle. David leads Israel in the second battle. David did not go to the battle with the Ammonites, the first battle. He sent Joab out (8). David did go to the battle with the Arameans, the second […]

Responses to Disrespect. David showed kindness to the son of a man he had respected. The man he respected was Nahash, king of the Ammonites. Nahash had shown David kindness. David sent a noble delegation to pay his respects when Nahash died (1,2). Nahash’s son, Hanun, did not return the respect with kindness. Instead, he […]

Success Belongs to the Lord. Financial, military, and business success is a gift of God. God has his plans and purposes, which are mostly hidden from humans. His ways are hidden by God’s intervention and by our sin and character flaws. God’s plans include a successful streak. Often baffling is who has success and who […]

David was humble. He acknowledged his humble beginnings (16). Humility is knowing and accepting myself: my sullied past, my imperfect character, my infected soul (heart and mind), and my Lord’s mercy and grace in dealing with and purifying me. David’s humble character came even though he knew the Lord treated him and loved him in […]

The offspring the Lord promised who would succeed David is Jesus. Jesus is the house the Lord built. David had already built himself a fine house made of cedar (1). So the Lord’s promise to build a house for David (10b) is a different kind of house. Jesus’ house is a different kind of house. […]

. Where does God dwell? David had it wrong. The Ark of the Lord was in a tent in Jerusalem that he had constructed and pitched. (1) David implied that the Lord God was thus living in a tent. Interestingly, Nathan the prophet did not correct him (2). I can imagine a group of people […]

The Lord God, through Moses, required the Israelites to establish a place for them to approach him physically and offer sacrifice. He had the ark built and a tent to place the ark in. The Lord through Moses also established specific people, the men of the Levite tribe, to perform the sacrifices and keep up […]

David continues his psalm during the first celebration with the Ark of the Lord in Jerusalem. The glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus and his Father are declared in all the earth (23, 30, 31, 32, 33). The earth trembles before him, the heavens rejoice, the sea resounds, the fields jubilate, and the trees […]

David starts his psalm with a set of commands: give thanks, call, make known, sing praise, tell, glory in, seek, rejoice, look to, remember – all concerning the Lord. I need to set aside time to do just this. Sunday worship service in physical presence with other believers, such as was done when the temple […]

David starts his psalm with a set of commands: give thanks, call, make known, sing praise, tell, glory in, seek, rejoice, look to, remember – all concerning the Lord. I need to set aside time to do just this. Sunday worship service in physical presence with other believers, such as was done when the temple […]

The Ark of the Lord Moved to Jerusalem. David knew that the Ark of the Lord, which housed the covenant with Israel, was to be in the capital city of the Lord God’s people. David wanted the symbol of the Lord’s presence to be near him. So a second time he gathered the community together […]

The Lord Blessed Israel Through David. The Lord God was blessing David in all he did. David inquired before he went to battle with the Philistines (10, 14). “Shall I go and attack…” Though defending one’s territory seems obvious when an enemy attacks, David inquired anyway. The Lord was fighting in the battle (15). At […]

The Ark Was A Symbol. The Ark of God symbolized the Lord God’s presence with the people of Israel. The only thing in this chest-shaped artifact was two stone tablets that had the covenant between the Lord God and Israel carved into them. Perhaps Aaron’s staff and the manna were in the Ark too. The […]

Character Development. David and Saul make a good character development study. What does God desire our character to be like? What characteristics draw people to one person and away from another? Both men were chosen by God to rule Israel from a meek beginning. While some characteristics are common in the two, some differences are […]

The Lord had promised David kingship when he was a young teenager. The Lord had promised Israel that he would protect his people with strong support (10). The Lord kept his promise through David. David did not accomplish and maintain strong support for Israel on his own. He had a group of men appointed as […]

David was starting anew when crowned king of Israel in Hebron. He had lived in the remote desert city of Ziklag. When Saul died, he moved to Hebron, where Judah made him their king. Seven years and six months later, all Israel made him king. The Lord was enabling David to slowly improve his life […]

David was crowned king twice while living in the city of Hebron, the then main city of Judah, located south of Jerusalem (1; 2 Samuel 2:1-4). Only Judah crowned him at first. He was king of Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months. David’s second crowning was for all Israel. (1-3; 2 Samuel […]