Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 12:22-23

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“He said, ‘While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, “Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.’”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

This is the climax of one of the most emotional stories in the life of David. A good case can be made for this being one of the top five most emotional stories in the whole of the Hebrew Bible. When looking back at this verse and taking it through the lens of the New Covenant, many have seen this as a verse of great comfort. I’ve used it as such. But, the only way to experience that hope is to see it through that New Covenant lens. It’s a good reminder that Jesus has to be the interpretive framework we use for the Hebrew Bible. Anything else and it won’t do us any good. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 6:20-21

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“And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, ‘How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!’ And David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord —and I will make merry before the Lord.’”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

The Scriptures don’t give us a truly inside look at very many of the lives of the various characters who appear in it. We get even fewer inside looks into the marriages it presents. What we see here is a rare thing in the Scriptures. The tension between David and Michal here is thick. Emotions are running high. They both thought they were right and were upset at the other. If you’ve been married longer than, say, a week, this is no doubt a situation you have experienced in kind if not in detail. What should we make of it? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 6:7-9

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“And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?'” (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

Have you ever set out to do what you were convinced was the right thing only to have it blow up in your face? Odds are, if you’ve experienced this, it only served to feed your willingness to buy into the truth of the cynical proverb, “No good deed goes unpunished.” In this moment, David would have understood how you felt. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 7:22

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“Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

David speaks to a truth here that is absolutely essential to understanding if someone is going to be a faithful, consistent follower of Jesus. It is what makes Him stand out as someone worth following in the first place. In fact, he proclaims three truths here along with a piece of evidence that is a whole lot more convincing when you really think about it. What David said here was true and important in his own time, and more than 3,000 years of history since has allowed us to understand that he spoke even better than he could have known then. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 12:13-14 Part 2

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“David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.””  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

These are two of the hardest verses I’ve yet encountered in this slow walk through the history books of the Hebrew Bible. In the first part of this note I began sharing about what has given me such trouble. I started out fairly easy. Here I will get into the real problem for me (and possibly you too). As I said before, here goes… Read the rest…