An Announcement and a Request

I've really enjoyed getting back to this blog and some proper Bible study, but I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that I'm only ever going to be able to write in fits and starts.  Each blog post takes one or two hours so it's a huge committment to make as an ongoing thing, especially when I have other demands on my time.   I'd rather cover an entire book in a concentrated burst then take a break than regularly blog a couple of times a week and lose my thread, so that's what I'm going to try and do.  I'm hoping to blog at least one book a month, but we'll see how things go.

Well that was the announcement, and now for the request.  I'd really love to know who reads my blog and what you think of it, so whether you're a regular reader or you've just stumbled by, why not leave me a message in the comments section and say hello?

2 Samuel 21-24 - War and Praise

David has reclaimed his throne, but things are not right yet.  Israel suffers from a famine which lasts three years.  There is no Sir Bob or Saint Bono to save them, and so David seeks the face of the Lord.  The Lord tells him that the famine is on account of the blood stained house of Saul, and here we are told that the Israelites had sworn to defend the Gibeonites but Saul had tried to annihilate them in his zeal for Israel and Judah.  David is desperate to see an end to the famine so he seeks to make amends with the Gibeonites.  They say that they have no right to demand silver or gold from the house of Saul or put anyone in Israel to death, but they do ask that seven of Saul's descendants be killed and exposed before the Lord.  It seems that the Gibeonites feel they have the right to ask even if they do not have the right to take, and the responsibility for avenging them must fall to David.

David spares Mephibosheth because of his oath with Jonathon, but he hands seven of Saul's descendants over to the Gibeonites, and then the heavens open and the rain starts to fall, much as it is doing outside my window right now.  The pact with the Gibeonites required that the bodies of Saul's descendants were left exposed, but one of Saul's concubines guards them so that no bird or animal touches them.  David is obviously touched by her care, because he retrieves the bodies of Saul and Jonathon from Jabesh Gilead and gives them a proper burial in the tomb of Saul's father.

We are told that after this God answered every prayer on behalf of the land, and yet the next thing we hear is that Israel is again at war with the Philistines.  We must presume that either the Israelites wanted war, or that God wasn't answering their prayers the way they hoped, or that God wasn't answering them at all.  Sometimes God gives us what we want in order to show us that it is not what we need, and sometimes he gives us what we do not want in order to show us that it is what we need, and sometimes he just lets things take their course in order to show us that we are free.  At any rate, we are told that there is a battle between Israel and the Philistines in which David is nearly killed, leading his men to declare that he will no longer go to battle with them so that "the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished".  We are then given brief reports of a further three battles, in which David's men kill four great warriors, because sometimes we all like to show off.

Having come through these battles unscathed and victorious, David sings a song of praise to the Lord.  The section in which God is described as what sounds very much like a dragon is a little odd, but it is a beautiful piece of poetry and I'd really recommend giving it a read.  I fear David may be overestimating himself slightly when he says that he has not done evil, and I think that if we were truly dealt with according to our righteousness we would be in a lot of trouble, but I do find it interesting that he describes God as shrewd to the crooked and suggests that he seeks to bring the haughty low, because this implies that God does not harm those who are against him but rather tries to improve them.  I also squirm a little at the rather violent passage in which David talks about trampling his enemies to dust, and I really don't think that God wants us to smash anyone who gets on the wrong side of us, but I do believe that he will give us the strength to destroy the circumstances and issues that trouble us in no less emphatic a way.

More than anything however, I love the way David pours his heart and soul into praising his God, and I think he sets a wonderful example for all of us.When I first read David's song of praise, I thought that it was about God's faithfulness in protecting him the most recent battles, but it is immediately followed by David's last words, and so I went back and read the introductory verse again.  Apparently David sang this when the Lord delivered him from the hands of his enemies and from the hands of Saul, meaning that he has been singing it for quite some time now, and so it seems fitting then that it should appear before his final words, as a hymn of praise to the faithfulness of God throughout his life.  With his last words, he declares that God has spoken through him and his house is right with God, so that God will bring his salvation to fruition.  Whether or not these words are justified by David's life is up for discussion, but how wonderful it would be to be able to say that!

Now we find a slightly incongruous passage about David's mighty men, warriors of renown who have not been mentioned before, reminding us that many heroes go unnoticed.  There is a story of how the Three broke through Philistine ranks to get David a drink of water which would not take because he said it was the blood of the men they had killed, there is a reference to another who is greater than the Three and becomes their commander although he is not counted among them, and finally there is a list of the names of the other members of the Thirty.

We return again to David, who despite having given his final words is still very much alive.  Perhaps they were only the last words of his song on that occasion, or perhaps somebody has messed with the chronology.  At any rate, the Lord burns with anger against Israel and incites David to take a census.  It takes nine months, but eventually the fighting men of Israel are enlisted and counted, and there are eight hundred thousand of them.  David is conscience-stricken and begs the Lord to forgive him for his foolishness, and although the nature of this foolishness is never made clear, I can only assume that it is arming nearly a million men and turning God's people into an army.  The Lord says he can choose three years of famine or three months of being pursued by his enemies or three days of famine, and David asks to fall into the hands of the Lord rather than his enemies, and so he is given three days of plague.

When the angel who is responsible for the plague stretches out his hand to Jerusalem, God is grieved and tells him to withdraw.  David sees the angel at the threshing floor of Araunah and begs that his hand fall on him because he is the one who sinned, but God has already stopped him and so David is safe for the moment, even if he does not realise it.  The prophet Gad tells him to build an altar at the threshing floor, and so David goes to Araunah to buy it from him.  Araunah says he will give it to David for free and throw in the oxen for the sacrifice, but David insists on paying because he says he will not give an offering that has cost him nothing.  It's not about the money, it's about the fact that whatever we give to God must come from us and mean something to us.  David builds the altar and makes a sacrifice, ending both the plague and our adventure through 2 Samuel.

2 Samuel 16-20 - The Problems Continue

David is now on the run but he is not without friends, and he has only gone a short distance when he meets Ziba leading a string of donkeys loaded with food and drink for him and his men.  David asks where Mephibosheth is, and Ziba replies that he has stayed in Jerusalem in the hope of winning back his grandfather's kingdom, and so David says that all that had belonged to Ziba's master now belongs to him.  David may have been usurped by his son, but as far as he is concerned he is still king and he still has authority.  The fugitive king is not without enemies either however, and a little further on a man called Shimei from the same clan as Saul curses him and throws stones at him, saying that the Lord has repaid him for the blood he shed in Saul's house and that he has come to ruin because he is a man of blood.  One of David's men is ready to have Shimei's head, but David tells his officials to leave him as it may be that the Lord has told him to curse.  Perhaps David knows he has blood on his hand and fears that Shimei may be right.

Meanwhile, Hushai has returned to Jerusalem and sworn his allegiance to Absalom, joining the traitor Ahithophel.  Ahithophel has a reputation as one who enquires of God, and so when he suggests that Absalom sleep with his father's concubines, the new king follows his advice and thereby fulfils the prophecy made by Nathan after David slept with Bathsheba.  Ahithophel then recommends that Absalom set out in pursuit of David to strike him down and bring his men back unharmed.  The plan seems good to Absalom but he decides to seek the opinion of Hushai, who now has a chance to frustrate Ahithophel's advice as David asked of him.  He argues that David and his men are fierce and experienced and so it would be better to meet them in battle on open ground or besiege them in a city, and wins Absalom and the elders of Israel over to his side.  Hushai then sends word of Absalom's plans to David, which just about gets through after the messengers are nearly caught, and so he and his men cross the river and go to Mahanaim, where they are given fresh supplies by the Ammonites.  It seems his plan may work.

Absalom and the Israelites also cross the river and set up camp, and it looks like the battle is on.  David has always been a great military leader, but this time his men ask him to stay in the city because they know that he is all Absalom is after, and he agrees to do what they think is best, only asking that they be gentle with his son.  The two armies meet in the forest of Ephraim and twenty thousand are killed, but ultimately David's men are victorious.  Absolom escapes the battle, only to get his head caught in the branches of a tree.  David's men will not touch him because they have given their word, but Joab ignores his instructions and plunges three javelins into Absalom's chest as he hangs still alive in the tree.  Joab then sounds the trumpet and David's men stop pursuing the Israelites.  The battle is over but has it really been won?

Joab throws Absalom into a pit and covers him with rocks, but he knows he cannot keep his death a secret for long.  Ahimaaz son of Zadok asks to be allowed to take the news of the victory to David, but Joab says he must wait because the king's son is dead, and instead sends a Cushite to tell David what he has seen.  Ahimaaz asks to be allowed to run after the Cushite and Joab reluctantly agrees, but at some point he overtakes the messenger and arrives first to tell David that God has delivered him.  David asks if his son is safe and Ahimaaz lies and says he does not know, because he wants the glory of the good news not the pain of the bad news.  The Cushite then arrives with the same news and is asked the same question, to which he replies by asking that the enemies of David may all be like that young man. 

David knows that this means his son is dead and he goes away to weep, so that for the whole army the day of victory is turned to mourning, and the troops creep back into the city like deserters.  Joab chastises him, saying that he has humiliated his men by showing that they mean nothing to him, and that he would rather they had died and Absolom had lived.  He says that if he does not go out and encourage the men then not one will be with him by nightfall, and this will be a greater calamity than any he has yet faced.  Joab is right to say that Daivd should recognise the loyalty of his men, and from a political and tactical point of view it is vital that he boost their morale and keep them on side, but David has to be allowed to mourn.  He is a king but he is still a man, and while it is only right that we have certain expectations of our leaders, we must remember that they are human too.

David takes heed of Joab's advice and takes his seat in the gateway of the city, but the country is in disarray, as the people argue about what should happen now.  David replaces Joab with Amasa who was the commander of Absalom's army, and wins over the men of Judah so that they call him back.  They meet David at the Jordan to help him cross, and Shimei falls at his feet and begs forgiveness for his curses.  One of David's men calls for Shimei to be executed, but David declares that he is king over Israel and no one that shall die that day.  Mephibosheth also goes to meet David, and David asks him why he did not leave Jerusalem.  Mephibosheth says that the truth is that he stayed behind because he is a cripple but Ziba slandered him in order to get his land, and so David orders that Mephibosheth and Ziba split the fields, to which Mephibosheth replies by saying that Ziba can take everything now that David has returned.  It's a sad fact of life that sometimes the jerks come out on top.

Another man called Barzillai also meets David at the river.  Barzillai provided for David in Mahanaim, and so David invites him to cross the river and come to Jerusalem so that he can return the favour.  Barzillai declines this generous offer on the basis that he is eighty years old and unable to enjoy the pleasures of courtly life, but asks that David take another man called Kimhaum in his place.  The finer things of life mean nothing at all if they mean nothing to us, and there is little more gratuitous than wealth for wealth's sake. 

Having dealt with his visitors, David crosses the river and returns to Jersualem.  A disagreement breaks out between the men of Judah who had gone with David and the men of Israel who had stayed with Absalom.  The men of Israel try to absolve themselves of blame by claiming that the men of Judah stole their king away, but the men of Judah argue that they went with him because they are closely related to him, prompting the men of Israel to declare that they have a greater claim on David and were the first to speak of bringing him back.  Again we see a tension between Judah and Israel that can only lead to more trouble.

That trouble is not long in coming, as an Israelite called Sheba declares that they have no share in David, leading the men of Israel to desert him once again.  When David returns to Jerusalem, he sends Amasa to summon the men of Judah, but he takes longer than he should and we begin to suspect that his appointment may not have been a good move.  David is concerned that Sheba will be a greater threat than Absalom and so he sends Joab and his men in pursuit of him.  Joab comes across Amasa and kills him, which may prove our suspicions wrongs and explain the delay, then continues his pursuit of Sheba and besieges him in the city of Abel Beth Maacah.  As his men are battering the walls, a wise woman calls to Joab and asks why he is trying to destroy their city.  Joab tells her of Sheba and she promises him the rebel's head, which she duly provides, so that the rebellion is not put down by the king or the commander but the crone.  It jsut goes to show you never know how things will work out.

2 Samuel 11-15 - Things Start to Fall Apart

This part of our story begins with the announcement that in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sends Joab out with the Israelite army but stays at home in Jerusalem.  I'm sure there were tactical reasons why kings went to war in the spring, but it almost sounds like a ritual or a habit, something that happened because that's just how the world worked.  Conflict may not be quite so ritualised now, but I wonder if it's any less of a habit.

One evening, David is walking on the roof of his palace when he sees a beautiful woman bathing.  We've already seen that David has something of a weakness for women, and we'll soon see that this weakness will be his downfall.  He sends a messenger to find out who the woman is, and the man reports back that she is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah.  This should have sounded a great number of alarm bells in David's head, but kings don't let little things like husbands get in the way, and so he sends messengers to bring her to him and he sleeps with her.  I wonder if she came to David willingly or because he was her king?  How she felt probably meant little to David, and it may have no bearing on what happens next, but it would have made a huge difference to her.  We need to look beyond what we are told and think about the people behind the stories, in our reading and in life.

David has satisified his lust and that may have been the end of things, but Bathsheba sends word that she is pregnant.  This calls for damage limitation, and so David calls Uriah back from war.  He asks him how things are going then tells him to go home, sending a gift after him.  We're not told what this gift is, but something tells me it isn't a nice pair of slippers.  Uriah does not go home however, choosing to sleep with the kings servants at the palace gates, later explaining that this is because he will not go back to his house to eat and drink and lie with his wife while the ark is in a tent and the army are camped in the open fields.

David then tries another approach, inviting him to stay in the palace and getting him drunk, but again Uriah sleeps at the palace gates.  Finally, David writes to Joab to tell him to put Uriah on the front line then pull back so that he will be killed, and that is exactly what happens.  Bathsheba mourns for Uriah, but after her time of mourning is over, David has her brought to the palace and makes her his wife.  He must think he's got away with his indiscretion, but now he's a murderer as well as an adulterer, and he has displeased the Lord.  We all screw up now and then, but sometimes we just need to put our hands to it, instead of digging ourselves into an even deeper hole.

The Lord sends Nathan to David with a parable about two men.  The rich man has many sheep but the poor man only has one little ewe, and yet the rich man takes the poor man's sheep and slaughters it to feed a guest.  When David hears the story, he burns with anger and declares that the rich man deserves to dies because he has no pity, at which point Nathan tells him that he his the rich man.  David must feel overcome with guilt and shame, but there is worse to come.  The Lord says that David has despised him and done evil in his eyes even though he gave him everything, and because of that the sword will never leave his house and his wives will be taken by another.

David quietly acknowledges that he has sinned and Nathan tells him that God has taken away his sin so that he will not die, but his son will.  He is forgiven but there are still consequences, because there always are.  David and Bathsheba's son soon becomes ill, and though David pleads for his life with fasting and weeping, he dies seven days later.  The servants who have been watching the boy are afraid to bring David the news, but he sees them whispering among themselves and so they have to tell him.  On hearing that his worst fears have been confirmed, he washes and dresses, worships at the house of Lord, then goes back to his own home to eat.

The servants are shocked by his behaviour, but he explains that he fasted and wept while his son was sick because then there was hope that he would live, but now there is no point because he cannot bring him back.  The abruptness of this change seems callous, but it doesn't mean he doesn't mourn for his son, it just means that he recognises that life must go on.  In accordance with this, David goes to Bathsheba and lies with her again, and she bears him another son called Solomon, who is loved by the Lord. The eldest son should not seen as a mistake or as collateral damage because people are not disposable, but if we step back and look at this metaphorically, then here is a chance for David to start again and get things right this time. 

Meanwhile however, Joab captures the royal citadel of Rabbah and sends word to David to bring the rest of the troops to besiege the city, else he will take it and name it after himself.  David musters the army and conquers the city, taking a great deal of plunder and pressing the people into forced labour.  He's still teh same old david and perhaps the fresh start isn't all that fresh.

David has so many children by now that they are bound to cause some trouble, and they do this in most spectacular style, as Amnon falls in love with his sister Tamar.  She is described as his brother Absolom's sister, so she may in fact be his half sister, but it's still wrong and it's still going to get messy.  Amnon becomes frustrated to the point of illness by his feelings for Tamar, until his friend tells him to pretend he is ill and ask for Tamar to come and care for him.  He takes this frankly stupid advice, and when Tamar comes to him he sends everyone else away and asks her to come to bed with him.  She refuses because such a thing should not be done, although she does suggest that her father will let them marry, so it seems to be the fornication rather than the incest she's worried about.  Amnon will not listen however, and because he is stronger than her, he rapes her.

Realising what he has done, he hates her more than he ever loved her, and tells her to go.  She protests that sending her away would be a greater wrong, but again he will not listen.  He calls a servant to throw her out and bolt the door, and so she goes away weeping.  Absolom finds her and tells her not to take it to heart because Amnon is her brother, and takes her to live with him.  Absolom hates Amnon for what he has done, and he does what he can to protect his sister, but his words astound me with their insensitivity.  Perhaps he is genuinely trying to comfort her and just makes a hash of it, but to dismiss rape as though it is nothing is unacceptable.  Rape survivors have enough to deal with without being made to feel as though they are overreacting.

Two years later, Absalom invites his brothers to join him and his sheep-shearers, then orders his men to kill Amnon, causing the other brothers flee.  David hears that Absolom has killed all of his sons and he tears his robe in grief, but another tells him that only Amnon is dead, and that this had been Absolom's intention since he raped his sister.  David is relieved to see his sons return, but he still weeps for the one that is lost, and so Absolom flees and seeks refuge with the son of a neighbouring king for three years.

Eventually David is consoled and wishes to see Absalom again, but he does not bring him back, and so Joab hatches a plan.  He finds a wise woman and dresses her in mourning, then sends her to the king.  She tells the story of her two sons, one of whom has killed the other and been banished, leaving her and her husband without a descendant.  David promises to issue an order to allow her remaining son to return home under protection, at which point she does a Nathan and reveals her true intentions, asking why he has not brought back his own banished son,.  She says that God does not take life but seeks to restore it, and so already we see a move towards New Testament theology.  David asks if Joab is behind this and she admits that she is acting under his instruction.  Joab must have been waiting nervously the while time, but David goes and tells him to brink Absolom back, and Joab falls at his feet, saying that he knows he has found favour in his eyes.

Joab brings Absalom back to Jerusalem but David will not see him, and so he goes to live in his own house.  Here we are told that he is the most handsome man in Israel, and that he has three sons and one daughter, who he names after his sister.  He lives in Jerusalem for two years without seeing David, at which point ge calls Joab to ask him to speak to his father, but Joab does not come and so he sets fire to his field.  This gets Joabs attention and so he goes to see Joab then speaks to David, asking that he see Absalom an punish him for anything he has done wrong or let him leave.  David summons Absalom and kisses him, suggesting a reconciliation, but Absalom has had many years to brood over the ways in which he believes he has been wronged, and he is hatching a plan.

He gains a chariot and fifty men, speaks loudly and publicly about how he would bring justice if he were a judge, and ingratiates himself with the people so that he wins their love.  He seeks leave to go to Hebron to worship the Lord, and secretly sends out messengers to tell the people of Israel to proclaim him king when they hear the trumpets.  When David hears that Absalom has won Israel over to his side, he decides to flee with his household and his official, leaving behind only ten concubines to take care of the palace.  He has fought and won many battles and so there is no reason why he should back down so easily now, except that he cannot bring himself to take arms against his own son.  He has been hamstrung by his own affections.

David must have taken the ark with him, because at some point in his journey he tells Zadok the priest to take it back to the city, saying that if the Lord is pleased with him then he will return to see it again.  He also tells Zadok to stay in the city so that he can send word to him.  When David reaches the summit of the Mount of Olives he meets his friend Hushai, who he asks to return to Jerusalem to frustrate Absolom's advisors, including Ahithophel who he knows has betrayed him, and work with Zadok and his sons.  It seems he has not given up hope yet.

2 Samuel 6-10 - A Promising Start

David and thirty thousand men set out to fetch the Ark of Covenant, "which is called by the name...of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark", and bring it to Jerusalem.  After all that has happened, they still believe God is in the box.  We can be so stubborn in our beliefs, but we need to live by experience and not by tradition.  Before the ark reaches Jerusalem however, one of the men who is guarding it reaches out and touches it, and he is struck down for his irreverence.  This scares David and he refuses to bring the ark into the city, taking it instead to a man named Obed-Edom, but the Lord blesses Obed-Edom and his household, and so David changes his mind and brings the ark into the city with much rejoicing.  We do not need to fear God, we only need to give him the respect he deserves.

When his wife Michal sees him dancing in front of the ark she despises him, and when he returns home that night she chastises him for acting "as any vulgar fellow would".  David replies that he did not dance before the people but before the Lord, declaring that he will celebrate the Lord and will become even more undignified, even so that he is humiliated in his own eyes.  God doesn't want to humiliate us, but sometimes following him will make us stand out or look a little odd, and so we need to be as fearless in our worship as David is.  If we're living for God, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

David has settled into Jerusalem and been granted a reprieve from his enemies, and now he gets to thinking.  He remarks to the prophet Nathan that he is living in a palace of cedar while the Lord is still living in a tent, and Nathan tells him to go ahead with whatever he has in mind because the Lord is with him.  God has other ideas however, and that night he speaks to Nathan, saying that he has not live in a house since he brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and it is not for David to build him one now.  He does say that he has been moving from place to place with a tent as his dwelling, and so perhaps I have been wrong to presume that God has always been omnipresent, but I think the point he is making is that he cannot be contained or controlled except by his own power or command. 

God then makes a covenant with David as he did with Abraham, promising that he will make his name great and provide a place for his people so that they will not be disturbed or oppressed.  He also declares that he will establish his house forever and raise up a son who will be the one to build a house for his Name, and promises that he will punish this son through other men but he will never take his love away from him as he did from Saul.  I find the idea of God taking his love away from anyone difficult as it doesn't fit with what I know and believe of God, and so I have tried to skim over it or explain it away, but the truth is that all relationships develop over time.  Perhaps the writers of scripture only thought that God had taken his love from Saul because of what happened to him, but perhaps here we see a progression in God's relationship with man as his love becomes unconditional for the first time.  It is clear that God never gave up on the Israelites completely and so there was always an element of unconditionality, but people stop loving people all the time, and so we would be in no position to judge God if he ever did the same.

When Nathan tells David all of this, he goes to sit before the Lord and speak with him.  He expresses amazement at all God has done and promised to do, and he praises him and his people Israel.  He says that God is trustworthy, and he calls on him to keep his word and bless his house.  I have been quite critical about the Israelites' belief that God dwells in one place, and therefore that they must approach the ark or use divination to speak with him, but if their relationship with God was different then I must be open to the possibility that this is how they had to communicate with him.  At any rate, I think there is some value in approaching God as David does.  I believe that we can speak to God whenever and wherever we choose, but sometimes we need to take time out to really focus on him, and it can be helpful mark that time as special by using a stimulus or going to a church.

The reprieve does not last long and David is soon fighting again.  He defeats the Philistines and takes some of their land, then despite having previously sought refuge in their land, he defeats the Moabites.  In a bizarre and somewhat sadistic ritual which would not be out of place in a horror film, he makes the survivors lie end to end then measures them off with a length of rope, killing two lengths then letting the third live.  He goes on defeat the king of Zibah, make the Arameans of Damascus subject to him, increase his wealth with plunder and tributes, and win fame after striking down eighteen thousand Edomites.  It seems that we are meant to be okay with this because he's David and because the Lord is on his side, but I think we're allowed to say that we don't agree with his aggressive and greedy behaviour, and we can certainly reject any suggestion that it justifies similar actions now.

David seems determined to show his softer side, and declares that he wants to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathon's sake.  He finds Jonathon's crippled son Mephibosheth, restores to him all that belonged to Saul, set Saul's servant Ziba to manage the land, and says he will always eat at his table.  There's an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor says that a person can slaughter millions and still live with themselves because once in a while they happen to be kind, and this feels a little like that, but one kindness can not compensate for or wipe out a thousand cruelties.  If we want to be good people then we have to be good people all the time, not just when it suits us.

The king of the Ammonites dies and David sends messengers to express his sympathies to his son Hanun, but Hanun's men think that David's men are spies, and so they shave off half their beads and cut their robes.  I don't know if these actions had any particular symbolic significance beyond humiliating the men, but I think that itself was probably enough.  When Hanun realises that he has angered David, he decides that attack is the best from of defence and hires an army, so David marches out to meet him.  The Israelite army is surrounded, but despite this tactical advantage, the Ammonites flee and are defeated.  In this way David not only puts down a threat, but also scares a number of other kings into making peace with him.  So far, his reign appears to be a political, financial and military success.

2 Samuel 1-5 - David Becomes King

David is in Ziklag when an Amalekite arrives to tell him that the Israelites have been defeated and Saul and Jonathon are dead.  When David asks how he knows this, the man says that he found Saul fatally injured and that Saul begged him to kill him, and so he obeyed and took his crown and his armband to bring to David.  The Amalekite is not mentioned in the account of Saul's death in 1 Samuel, and it seems strange that he should honour David when he has just defeated his people, but this version of events means that Saul does not die by his own hand and David is immediately acknowledged as king, and so the Amalekite is a useful if improbable plot device.  We want history to be accurate and objective, but in reality it often falls far short of that ideal, and many a scholar has fudged the facts to tell a better tale.  As I have said before, this means that we must read the scriptures with a critical eye, but it does not mean that they contain nothing of value or significance.  As anybody who has studied history will know, there is a difference between reliability and usefulness, and it is quite possible to have one without the other.  I spent some time considering the Bible as history for the first year of my degree, so I may do a sperate post on this issue at some point in the future.

David has the Amalekite executed for his part in Saul's death, then he takes up a lament for Saul and Jonathon and orders that the men of Judah be taught it.  The lament mourns that the glory of the Lord has been slain and the mighty have fallen, instructs the people not to tell the Philistines lest they rejoice, curses the mountain on which Saul and Jonathon died, celebrates that the two men were loved and gracious in life and not parted in death, and calls for the women of Israel to weep for their king.  It also includes a personal tribute to Jonathon, where David calls him brother and says his love for him was wonderful, and I can't think of a better tribute than that.  It's interesting that I should get this passage today, because I read an opinion piece earlier about the strange wilderness that is mourning, and about the need for some sort of ritual which recognises that things are wrong and tells us what to do, and here we find an expression of grief that does just that.  I think David wanted the people to learn this lament not only to mourn Saul and Jonathon, but also to help them they mourned their own friends and family.

David is in no rush to assume his kingship and God graciously does not force it upon him, but eventually he enquires of the Lord and is sent to the town of Hebron, where he is anointed as king over the house of Judah.  It looks like things are beginning to fall into place, but then Saul's commander Abner anoints Saul's son Ish-Bosheth as king over all Israel, and this leads to a war which last seven years and foreshadows the eventual separation of Israel into two kingdoms. In an early battle, Abner is being chased by Joab and other of David's men when he turns and cries, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you see this will end in bitterness?".  These words echo down the ages and there is little I can say to add to their potency, but they can only halt the fighting for a little while, and David continues to grow stronger while Ish-Boseth grows weaker.  During this time, David also takes at least three more wives and has six sons, but they do not figure greatly in our story.

Despite his plea to end the fighting, Abner continues to strengthen his own position in the house of Saul, until Ish-Bosheth accuses him of sleeping with one of Saul's concubines, at which point he loses his temper and declares that he will do as the Lord has promised and hand Israel over to David.  He sends messengers to David offering his help, and David says that he will make an agreement with him as long as he brings Michal, the daughter of Saul who he married before he was forced into exile.  He doesn't seem to trust Abner however, as he also sends messengers to Ish-Bosheth, who orders for Michal to be taken from her husband and sent back to David.  Perhaps wishing to demonstrate his new loyalty, Abner confers with the elders of Israel and encourages them to make David their king, saying that they have wanted it for some time and the Lord has promised to bring deliverance through him, then speaks to the Benjamites in person.

Abner visits David to tell him all that he has done and is sent away in peace, but Joab mistrusts his political intentions and wants vengeance for his brother's death, and so he has Abner brought back to the city then takes him to one side and kills him.  When David learns of this he declares that a prince and a great man has fallen, buries Abner with great ceremony and mourning, refuses to eat until the sun sets, and curses Joab and his descendants.  Apparently this pleases the people, and so even though David declares that the incident has made him weak, he strengthens his hold on the throne. 

When Ish-Bosheth hears what has happened to Abner, he loses courage.  The whole of Israel is alarmed, but two men who lead raiding bands spy an opportunity, and break into Ish-Bosheth's house and kill him as he sleeps.  They cut off his head and take it to David, declaring that the Lord has avenged him against Saul and his offspring.  The smallest part of David must  be relieved that his enemy is dead, but he is an honourable man and he knows that this is not how it should have happened, and so he has the two men put to death.  The ends do not always justify the means, and things must be done properly or there will be consequences further down the line.

The people of Israel come to David now, saying that he has led their military campaigns and God has promised that he will be their ruler, the subtext being that they would like him to be their king.  The elders make an agreement with David and he is anointed king over all of Israel at the tender age of thirty.  The Bible does not always give a very clear timeframe for events, but the flow of the narrative seems to suggest that David marks his ascension by taking Jerusalem from the Jebusites, forever placing at the centre of Israelite history and identity.  From there he begins to build his dynasty, taking even more wives and fathering even more children; and he consolidates his power, defeating the Philistines in battle twice.  A new era has begun.

1 Samuel 28-31 - David on the Run: Part Three

David has been living a relatively quiet life, but now the Philistines gather to fight against Israel and Achish tells David that he and his men must join them.  David promises that Achish will see what his servant can do, which sounds ominously ambiguous to me, but is enough to convince the king to make David his bodyguard.  Saul is terrified when he sees the Philistine camp and so he enquires of the Lord, but he receives no answer by dreams or by prophets or by Urim, generally understood to be one of two stones used to discern the will of God.  Having exhausted all of the legitimate methods of seeking spiritual help, Saul tells his attendants to find a medium.  He has previously expelled all mediums and spiritists from Israel, so it is clear that he knows what he is doing is against God's law, but it is possible that he feels God has abandoned him so he sees no reason why he should not abandon God.  I think a lot of people react like that, but it only leads to a vicious cycle where we find ourselves sinker deeper and deeper into despair while drifting futher and further from our lifeline.  I know because I've been there...but I also know there's always a way back.

Saul finds a medium and goes to see her in disguise.  She is wary at first as she thinks it is a trap and knows she will be punished if she is caught, but Saul reassures her and she agrees to call up a spirit for him.  Saul asks her to bring up Samuel and so she does, at which points she realises who her myserious visitor is.  Samuel asks why he has been disurbed, and Saul replies that the Philistines are fighting against him and God has turned away from him, and so he wants to ask him what to do.  Samuel says that the Lord has done what he predicted and given the kingdom to David, and that tomorrow Saul and his sons will die.  He also warns that tomorrow the Lord will hand Israel over to the Philistines, so it seems things will not be an easy ride for Saul'ss successor, but that will be a story for another day.  Saul collapses from fear and weakness, and so the medium and his attendants convince him to eat before he leaves to consider all that he has heard.

It may seem strange that religion can be open to spirituality and prophecy and yet condemn spiritualism and divination, but I think the point is that in spiritual matters it is God that we need to seek. The occult is a complex issue and I can only touch on it here, but I think the important thing to remember is that it must be taken seriously because it is real, but it must also be avoided because it is dangerous.  It's easy to dismiss the occult as superstition or trickery, but God wouldn't bother to warn us against it if that were the case, and the medium clearly had power because she was able to raise the spirit of Samuel.  The problem is that the power did not come from God and that means it did not come from a good place.  Things appear to have worked out okay as Samuel has spoken the word of the Lord, but maybe Saul wasn't supposed to hear that word.  God doesn't forbid occult practices because he's a spoilsport or he wants all the power to himself, he forbids them because he knows that they can be harmful and destructive and he wants to protect us.

Back with the Philistines, the rulers still do not trust David and tell the king to send him back or he will turn against them.  Achish bends under the pressure and calls David to tell him that though he has found no fault in him, he must go back because the rulers do not approve of him.  David does as he is told even though he is not happy about it, and it is just as well because the Amalekites have attacekd the Negev, destroying Ziklag and capturing the people, including David's wives.  David David's men begin to turn against him, but he finds new strength and summons the priest to ask if he should pursue the raiding party.  The priest says yes and so David sets out with six hundred men, although two hundred have to stop as they are too weak to continue.  In a wonderful stroke of luck or providence, the hunting party comes across an Egyptian slave who has been abandoned by the Amalekites, and he promises to lead them to the men they seek.  David and his men attack the Amalekites and recapture all that they had taken, sharing the plunder among all six hundred men, despite a number protesting that only the four hundred who fought should be rewarded.

While David avenges Ziklag the Philistines attack the Israelites, killing Saul's sons and injuring Saul himself.  Saul instructs his armour-bearer to kill him so that the Philistines cannot take him, but the armour-bearer is afraid and will not do it, and so Saul takes his own life.  Saul believed that the Philistines would kill him that day because of the words spoken by Samuel when the medium raised his spirit, and it was that belief that led him to take his own life.  If he hadn't, maybe the battle would have turned, or maybe Saul would have escaped, or maybe he would have fought on and died in battle.  We'll never know because Saul called on a power that was not of God, and it drove him to despair and to suicide.  God tells us what he needs us to hear and he doesn't tell us what he knows will harm us, and that's why we shouldn't seek for answers anywhere else. 

When the Philistines find Saul's body, they cut off his head and pin his body to a wall as a rather gruesome trophy, but the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead take his body and the bodies of his sons so that they can burn and bury them, and they fast for seven days.  It seems that Israel has fallen to the Philistines as Samuel prophesied, but we must wait until 2 Samuel to see how things turn out.

1 Samuel 25-27 - David on the Run: Part Two

This section opens with the sad news of Samuel's death.  We are told that all of Israel assemble and mourn for him, yet despite the fact that this is supposed to be his book, he is given only half a verse and no eulogy.  I think it's quite sad really as he deserved better from his chronicler, but there's no time to dwell on that as the story rushes on. 

David goes down to the Desert of Maon, where there lives a wealthy man called Nabal.  David sends messengers to Nabal, asking that he be favourable towards him and his men as they protected his shepherds.  When Nabal receives the message he is indignant, asking who David is and why he should provide for men from who knows where.  This seems a poor excuse as David was public enemy number one for quite some time and so Nabal must surely know who he is and where his men are from.  Perhaps he does not know that Saul has made his peace with him and so is afraid to welcome him, or perhaps he's just a greedy and ungrateful man, or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that "many servants are breaking away from their masters these days".  It seems that this is a time of great unrest and I suspect that may have someting to do with David, and so perhaps Nabal wants to prevent him from stirring up trouble and encouraging his own servants to revolt.

Whatever his motivation, he treats David with less respect than he deserves, and David is not happy about it.  He tells his men to put on their swords and vows to leave no man who belongs to Nabal alive, which strikes me as something of an overreaction.  I think somebody needs to tell David that two wrongs don't make a right.  Fortunately, one of Nabal's servants goes to his master's wife Abigail and tells her that her husband has insulted the man who protected them, and asks her to speak to him because disaster hangs over them but he won't listen to anybody else.  Abigail is a sensible woman who recognises that this needs dealing with quickly, but she clearly doesn't trust that Nabal will listen to her either, and so she packs up an impressive amount of food and heads over to David's camp. 

She arrives just in time, as David and his men are already making their way towards her home.  When she meets David, she climbs off her donkey and bows down in front of him, asking that he pay no attention to her husband but listen to her instead.  She flatters him by calling him her master and speaking of his success, she begs for forgiveness and proffers her gift, and she suggests that the Lord has kept him from avenging himself so that he will not have needless blood on his hands.  It's a brilliant speech which tells David everything he wants and needs to hear and so brings him round to her side.  I almost accused Abigail of being manipulative, but then I realised that I probably wouldn't say that if she was a man.  Gender seems to colour the way we read people's actions, often without us realising it, but the double standard is a nonsense.  Abigail may well be aware of the fact that she is pressing David's buttons, but that is only because she has the wisdom and the insight to read the situation and know what to do and say for the best, and if that would be called intelligence in a man then it should be called intelligence in her.  Her motives are pure and her words are true, and she defuses a difficult situation in a calm and elegant manner, and it is that by which she should be judged.

David certainly recognises Abigail's wisdom and praises her for her good judgement.  He accepts the gifts she has brought and sends her home in peace.  Nabal is drunk so she says nothing to him until the morning, but when he hears what his wife has done, his heart fails and he dies ten days later.  Things may not turn out quite as planned, but every cloud has a silver lining, and David takes Abigail as his wife.  Here we learn that he has already married a woman called Ahinoam and that his first wife Michal has been given to someone else.  I'm not sure that women were allowed multiple husbands and I thought only the husband could initiate a divorce, but Michal is the king's daughter and if Henry VIII taught us anything it's that kings can do pretty much anything they like.

I thought that Saul had made his peace with David after he realised that he was not out to kill him, but it seems that either he has changed his mind or it was all a ruse.  The Ziphites tell Saul where David is now hiding, and so he goes to search for him.  David and a man called Abishai sneak into Saul's camp, where they find him sleeping with a spear stuck in the ground beside him.  Abishai offers to pin Saul to the ground with the spear, but David will not have him killed as he is still the Lord's anointed one, and it is up to God to strike him down.  Instead, he takes the spear and a water jug, and leaves the camp.  Anybody who knows anything about military encampments may be wandering why no one has seen them, but we are told that this is because the Lord had put everyone into a deep sleep.

David moves to a hill some distance away then calls out to the army, asking why they did not protect their king.  The soldiers have no answer, but Saul hears David's voice and calls out to him.  David asks Saul why he is pursuing him, saying that if the Lord has incited him then may he accept an offering, but if it is men then may they be cursed.  David knows he has done nothing to offend Saul and he must feel that God is with him because he has had great success, but he is still humble enough to recognise that this may be God's work.  Saul says he has sinned and calls David back, but then rather curiously promises that because David has not hurt him, he will try not to hurt David.  That little word "try" leaves a rather large loophole, and so rather than going over to Saul, David tells him to send one of his men to fetch back his spear. 

Daivd and Saul go their separate ways once more, but David says to himself that one day Saul will kill him, and so he decides to escape to the the land of the Philistines.  It comes to something when you think you'll be safer among your enemies than in your own home.  David returns to Gath and asks the king who had previously believed him mad to grant him a place in one of the country towns.  The king must truly believe that David has come over to his side because he grants him his request, and when Saul hears that David is no longer in Israel he stops looking for him.  David and his men begin to raid towns in Philistine territory, leaving no witnesses to inform on him and telling the king that he is raiding towns in Israelite territory, and in this way he remains safe among the Philistines for a year and four months.  I know David's meant to be our hero, but he's not always an easy man to like.

1 Samuel 21-24 - David on the Run: Part One

David is now a fugitive, and so he goes to the town of Nob where he approaches Ahimelech the priest.  Ahimelech seems to suspect that something is not right as he trembles and asks David why he is alone, but David fobs him off with some story about being on a secret mission from Saul, and talks him into giving him the consecrated bread from the altar and the sword of Goliath.  David then goes to Achish king of Gath, but Achish's servants have heard rumours about David and believe he is the king of Israel, and so he feigns madness in order to convince the king that he is not a threat.  I'm not sure how no one's made a film of this yet.

It seems that nowhere is safe for David and so he leaves Gath and seeks refuge in the cave of Adullam.  When his family hear all that has happened they go to join him, as do all those who are distressed or discontented or in debt, and David becomes their leader.  He is no longer a simple fugitive but is now the head of a new community and potential rebel army.  Seriously, why is this not a Hollywood blockbuster?  David knows that this puts his family in great danger, and so he seeks refuge for his parents in Moab, the land of his great-grandmother Ruth.  He stays with them for a time, but then a prophet tells him he must go to Judah, and so he leaves for the forest of Hereth.  It's not clear what happens to his followers in this time, but I presume they have stayed at the cave and will join him later.

When word of David reaches Saul he lashes out at his officials, asking if they have conspired against him because the son of Jesse has promised them wealth and status, and complaining that no one told him when his son made a covenant with his enemy.  It is interesting that Saul can't even bring himself to name David, as though he is so consumed by fear and hate that he would choke on the word, and interesting too that he is beginning to see conspiracies in every corner.  He is right to say that Jonathon has helped David, but his son has not turned against him or incited his enemy as he suggests, and there is nothing to suggest that any of his officials have yet sided with David.  It seems Saul is giving into paranoia and becoming increasingly unstable as a man and as a king, making our villain a suitably complicated character.  If somebody doesn't write the script soon, I will.

Doeg the Edomite, who witnessed the meeting between David and Ahimelech, tells Saul what he saw, and so the king summons the priest.  Saul accuses him of conspiracy, but Ahimelech pleads ignorance, saying that as far as he knows David is the king's loyal son-in-law and captain of his personal bodyguard.  Saul is unconvinced and  has not only Ahimelech but his whole family put to death.  He then orders his guards to kill all of the priests because they too have sided with David, but the guards refuse to raise a hand against the priests, and so Saul orders Doeg to do it.  Doeg, who in the film will be a slimy kind of character willing to do anything to get ahead, goes right ahead and kills the whole town.  The only survivor is Ahimelech's son, who joins David and tells him all that has happened.  David feels guilty for his part in the massacre, and here he finds the motive every hero needs.

David hears that the Philistines are attacking a town called Keilah and so he asks the Lord if he should go and fight them.  The Lord says yes, but David's men are afraid and so he asks again, hoping for a different answer.  God has been known to change his mind, but when he asks someone to do something he has a good reason for it, and so he tells David once again to fight the Philistines because he will give them into his hand.  David and his men realise there's no getting out of this one and so they go down to Keilah and defeat the Philistines.

David and his men stay in the town, and so when Saul hears about this he calls up all his forces and goes to Keilah to besiege David.  When David learns of Saul's plans, he asks God if Saul will come and if the men of Keilah will hand him over to him, and God says yes to both counts.  It seems however that the future is not set in stone, and that what God says will happen will only happen if things carry on as they are, because David and his men leave the town and Saul abandons his mission.  I won't go into the debates surrounding omniscience and free will here because I could not do them justice, but I do think it's worth noting that this passage appears to argue against determinism and favour the idea that God can see possibilities rather than actualities. 

David hides in the hills and the desert strongholds, and Saul continues to search for him without success.  At some point, Jonathon manages to find David and encourage him to find strength in God because he shall be king over Israel, but then he returns home because he cannot fight against his father.  The Ziphites go to Saul and offer to capture David for him, but it is the king who gets closest to his prey when he ends up chasing him round a mountain.  Saul is closing in and things are looking pretty desperate for our hero, but then the king hears that the Philistines are raiding the land in his absence is forced to abandon the hunt, at which point we all breathe a sigh of relief and remember that the lead never dies halfway through the film.

Once Saul has dealt with the Philistines, he finds out where David is hiding and takes three thousand men in pursuit of him.  He happens to go to relieve himself in the cave where David is hiding, and his men tell him that this is the day when God gives his enemy into his hands to do with as he wishes.  David creeps up behind Saul and we prepare ourselves for a dramatic confrontation or fight scene, but instead he simply cuts a corner off the king's robe.  It feels like an anti-climax, but then the emotional payoff comes as we realise that our hero is the better man, and that goodness counts for more than strength.

David later feels guilty about having treated the king, who is still God's anointed one, in this way and forbids his men from attacking him.  Saul leaves the cave and David follows and calls out to him.  When Saul turns David prostrates himself and tells him that he wishes him no harm, showing him the corner of his robe as proof that he did not kill him when he had the chance, and calling on the Lord to judge them.  Saul weeps and calls David his son, declaring that he is more righteous and praying that the Lord will reward him.  He acknowledges that David will be king and asks that he will not cut off his descendants or wipe out his name, and so David gives his oath and the two part on friendly terms.  But David is still not king and so the credits cannot roll just yet.

1 Samuel 18-20 - Friends and Enemies

We are told now that "Jonathon became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself".  Much has been written about Jonathon and David, and it has been suggested on multiple occasions that they were lovers.  The language of oneness certainly recalls verses which speak of the joining together of husband and wife, but here the union is presented as spiritual rather than physical, and it seems unlikely that scripture would remember a homosexual relationship in such positive terms.  It is more generally accepted that this is a beautiful expression of platonic love, and I think it loses none of its power for that.  In fact, the second half of the verse throws us forward to Jesus' command that we love others as we love ourselves, and so it is also the perfect model for Christian love.  Our culture is so fixated on sexual and romantic love that it is easy for us to think that's all there is, or at least all that matters, but then we deprive ourselves of such a richness of experience.  As we continue their story, we will see that Jonathon and David are a wonderful example of how dynamic and meaningful friendship can be, and how much we miss out on when fail to love others as we love ourselves.

Meanwhile, Saul decides to keep David with him, and the young man is so successful that he is given a high rank in the army.  This pleases the people and the officers alike, and when the army return home the women sing that "Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands", so that it seems David is becoming more popular than the king.  Saul becomes angry and jealous when he hears this, asking "What more can he get but the kingdom?".  His question reminds us that David has in fact been anointed by God to replace Saul, and leads us to ask why he is not king already when Saul became king almost immediately.  Perhaps things have gone awry, or perhaps this is mean to be a period of training and preparation for David.  God's plans need to be worked out by us and sometimes that takes time, but sometimes it is in God's plan for us to be patient because he has something to teach us.

Saul is already in a bad mood, but now an evil spirit comes on him and he tries to kill David by throwing a spear at him while he is playing the harp.  David escapes and Saul's anger turns to fear, as he realises that the Lord is with David and not with him.  I don't believe God abandoned Saul any more than he abandoned Jesus on the cross, he just stopped working in his life in the way that he had been, and we all experience times like that. Anyway, Saul gives David the command of a thousand men to get him out of his sight, but David's troops enjoy great success and this only increases Saul's unease. He vows that he will not raise a hand against the young man but conspires to let the Philistines do for him instead, trying to marry him to his eldest daughter, presumably because he knows that the king's son-in-law will have a target on his head.

David turns down the marriage proposal as he claims to be too humble to become the king's son-in-law, and so Saul's eldest daughter is given to another.  However, another of his daughters is in love with David and so Saul sees a chance to try again.  David again claims that he cannot marry the king's daughter because he is too poor and little known.  We have already been told that all of Israel and Judah love David, and so Saul sees past the false humility to the real reason behind his hesitation, his wealth.  Saul declares that David need only pay him the foreskins of one hundred Philistines, perhaps hoping that he will die in the attempt and save the hassle and expense of a wedding, but David stamps all over that plan by presenting Saul with two hundred foreskins and claiming his bride.  Oh well, at least he can fall back on the original plan of waiting for the Philistines to kill his pesky son-in-law.

The only problem is, David keeps killing the Philistines before they can kill him and becomes ever more popular in the process, which sort of defeats the object.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I don't think Saul's the brightest bulb in the box.  He gets annoyed that David is famous so he sends him into battle, despite the fact that being awesome in battle is how he got famous in the first place; he is upset that his daughter loves him, even though he used the fact that she loved him in order to set up the marriage; he tries to get the Philistines to kill him, despite the fact that they have been remarkably unsuccessful so far; and he bemoans the fact that the Lord is with him, yet still insists on trying to do away with him.  Sometimes when things aren't going our way we need to stop making things worse and either think things through or accept that we're just not going to win this one.

Unfortunately Saul does not learn this lesson, and when he tires of waiting for the Philistines, he tells Jonathon and his attendants to kill David.  This also backfires, as of course Jonathon goes straight to David to warn him, then manages to talk his father down so that David can return to him as before.  It is not long though before history repeats itself, as David once again leads the Israelites to victory, and Saul once more grows angry and tries to pin him to the wall with his spear.  David escapes with the help of his wife and goes to Samuel.  Saul hears that David is with the prophet and sends men to capture him, but they all begin to prophesy, until finally Saul himself goes in search of David, and he too prophesies.  In this way, David is protected and able to flee once again.

He goes to Jonathon and asks what he has done that his father should be trying to kill him.  Jonathon believes he has talked Saul round and so tells him he must be mistaken, but David suggests that this time Saul has kept his plans hidden so that he does not cause him any grief.  Jonathon says he will do whatever David wants him to do, and so they hatch a plan whereby Jonathon will learn whether or not Saul wants to kill David, then signal to let him know whether he is safe or not.  To seal the deal, Jonathon makes a covenant with the house of David, and David reaffirms his oath of love to Jonathon.  We tend not to talk of covenants any more, and the only oaths of love we take now are marriage vows, but we make promises to our friends all the time, and there is a solemnity and a sacredness to them that we do not always recognise. Perhaps we should recognise it and take our relationships a little more seriously, because they are to be honoured as well as enjoyed.

Things go ahead as planned and not only does Saul reveal that he wants to kill David, but he also tries to kill Jonathon.  Jonathon gets away and signals to David as promised, although he then goes and talks to him in the open, which makes the secret code rather redundant.  David bows to Jonathon three times, presumably as a mark of respect and gratitude, and then they say their tearful farewells and go their separate ways.  It's a sad ending, but Jonathon remembers that they have sworn friendship to one another and the Lord is a witness between them and their descendants, and so we know that whatever happens from here there will always be a thread between them.  We have all known people who have left an impact long after they have gone, and we will all be known as those people to others.  These are the threads that bind us all together.

1 Samuel 16-17 - The Rise of David

Things weren't looking so great when we left the story, but God has a plan to get Israel back on track.  He tells Samuel to stop mourning over Saul, fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse of Bethlehem, because he has chosen one of his sons to be king.  Samuel is afraid that Saul will hear about this and kill him, and God seems to think this is a reasonable concern because he comes up with a cover story.  He tells Samuel to take a cow and invite Jesse to come to sacrifice the animal with him, promising to show him what to do from there, and so that it is what Samuel does.

When Samuel sees the oldest son Eliab, he thinks that this must be the anointed one, but he is mistaken.  God tells him not to consider the boy's appearance or height, because "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart".  It's hugely reassuring to anyone who has ever felt judged by their appearance, and anyone who has thought that people would feel differently about them if only they understood them a little better.  That really means it's reassuring to everyone, because who hasn't felt like that?

The same happens again and again, until seven sons have passed and God has still not chosen one.  Samuel asks if Jesse has any more sons, and Jesse admits that his youngest is tending the sheep.  We haven't met this boy yet, but we may suppose that he is the runt of the litter if Jesse has not thought to bring him, and if God has already rejected the strong and the attractive.  Samuel tells Jesse to send for the boy, but when he does arrive he confounds our expectations as he is ruddy and handsome, which just goes to show that appearances don't count against us just as they don't count for us.  God really doesn't care what we look like.  The Lord tells Samuel to rise and anoint this one, and from that moment the Spirit of the Lord is on the boy, who we finally learn is called David.

Meanwhile the Spirit of the Lord has left Saul, and he is now being tormented by an evil spirit from the Lord.  I think this raises a few interesting theological points.  First, it makes it sound like the Spirit can only be one place at one time, which runs counter to traditional Christian understanding.  Perhaps that was the case and this is an indication of the changed relationship between God and the world, or perhaps it is wholly unintentional.  Second, it suggests that God can create and control evil, which again goes against what we think we know of him.  This raises the possibility that good is as much a conscious choice for God as it is for us, so that his consistent goodness is all the more powerful for being deliberate, but may reflect more on the writer and his belief that all things come from God than on God himself.

Finally, much has been made of the connection between demon possession and madness, and that seems particularly pertinent as we consider Saul's state of mind.  As someone who has struggled with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, I have no qualms about suggesting that possession may have been a way of understanding or explaining various mental illnesses.  That doesn't make the Bible unreliable or prove that religion is all made up, it just shows that the scriptures are a product of their time and that religion is as much about our understanding of truth as it is about truth itself, and these are simple facts it is vital that we remember in order to guard ourselves from fundamentalism

So maybe Saul really is being tormented or maybe he is suffering from some form of emotional or mental anguish.  Either way, Saul's attendants suggest finding someone who can play the harp to soothe him.  It turns out David is an excellent harpist and so the threads of the story begin to tie up.  Perhaps their is method in Saul's madness.  David goes to Saul and enters his service, being so favoured as to become his armour-bearer, and whenever the spirit comes upon  Saul, David plays and the spirit leaves him.

We were told in a previous passage that bitter war with the Philistines continued throughout Saul's reign, and now we return to it with one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament and a Sunday School favourite.  That's right, I'm talking about David and Goliath.  The Philistines pitch up on one hill and the Israelites on another, and so begins a staring contest of epic proportions.  The Philistines blink first and send out Goliath, their nine foot champion wearing armour that weighs as much as me and a spear that weighs as much as the fattest woman in Britain.  He challenges the Israelites to send a champion of their own to come and fight him, the survivor claiming victory for his people.  Saul and the Israelites don't like this one bit, because there seems to be now way anyone can defeat this giant in single combat, but of course we know better.

According to the last chapter, David is supposed to be Saul's armour-bearer, but now we read that he has stayed at home while his three eldest brothers have gone off to war.  Presumably we must take what happens next as alternative origins story, like King Arthur variously getting Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake and pulling it out of a stone.  Jesse sends David to take some food to his brothers and see how they're doing, so he runs to the battle lines, where he sees Goliath and hears him make his challenge for the umpteenth time.  Saul has promised great wealth, exemption from taxes and his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can defeat Goliath, but no one has taken him up on the offer.

David asks the soldiers about Goliath's challenge and Saul's promises, but Eliab overhears and tells his he is wicked and conceited.  David asks "What have I done wrong?  Can't I even speak?", which sounds like the irritated response of a boy sick of being told off and picked on by his older brothers, then goes off to ask someone else.  Word of David reaches Saul and he calls for him.  David tells his king not to fear because he will fight Goliath, at which point Saul probably laughs in his face.  He tells David that he cannot fight the giant because he is only a boy, whereas Goliath is an experienced soldier, but David is undeterred.  He tells Saul that he has killed lions and bears while protecting his father's sheep, and that the Lord who protected him from the lion's paw will protect him from Goliath.

Saul is obviously impressed because he gives David his own tunic and personally dresses him in a coat of armour, reversing the roles of the previous chapter and foreshadowing David's future role as king.  David is not used to wearing armour however, and so he takes it all off and sets out with only his staff, his sling, and five smooth stones.  David clearly has great faith in his own skills and in God, but its easy to forget that Saul must share his faith.  The Israelites have one chance at killing Goliath, and if they mess it up they will be subject to the Philistines.

Goliath is not amused when he sees David walking towards him.  In fact he seems quite insulted that the Israelites would send a boy to fight him and so he curses him.  David tells the giant that he comes in the name of the Lord, who will will hand him over so that all the world will know there is a God in Israel, and that he saves by his own might and not by arms.  Here we reach the climax of our story.  As Goliath approaches David, he takes a stone from his pouch, fits it into his sling, throws it, and hits Goliath in the middle of his forehead.  The giant sinks to the ground dead and David cuts off his head with his own sword.  It seems nothing is impossible if you think outside the box and have God on your side.  When the Philistines see what has happened they turn and run, pursued and ultimately killed by the Israelites, so that the victory is swift and complete.

This story has been told so many times before that I'm not sure what more I can add.  I think perhaps what strikes me most is that David wins not only because he has faith in God, but also because he knows that he has what it takes.  We're told so often that things are in God's hands that it can be easy to forget how much is in our hands, and we can place so much confidence in God that we forget to have any confidence in ourselves.  We need to know who we are and what we can do because that way we can better understand what God is calling us to.  And if we recognise that we are and do those things with and through God we can face that calling without fear or pride.

1 Samuel 11-15 - The Fall of Saul

Saul's reign gets off to a difficult start, to say the least.  Nahash the Ammonite besieges the town of Jabesh Gilead and refuses to make a treaty with the people unless he can gouge out the right eye of each person to bring shame on Israel.  The elders of the town ask to be allowed seven days to send out messengers, at the end of which time they will surrender if no one has come to save them.  Nahash is either so rubbish at sieges that he could do with reading a few more medieval fantasies, or so confident that no one will come that he thinks he can have some fun taunting the townspeople, because messengers do reach Saul.

Saul has been proclaimed king but he's obviously still figuring out what that means, because when the messengers arrive he is returning from the fields with his oxen.  When he hears the news the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him and he burns with anger, butchering the oxen and sending the pieces throughout Israel with the warning that this is what will happen to anyone who does not follow him.  We so often see anger as a negative emotion, and I'll admit it wasn't great for the oxen, but sometimes we need to get angry about things because that's when we'll do something about them.

The people of Israel gather and Saul sends messengers to proclaim to the people of Jabesh Gilead that they will be delivered the following day.  The men of the town decide to play Nahash at his own game and tell him that they will surrender tomorrow, but that night Saul and the Israelites attack the Ammonite camp and slaughter them until the heat of the day.  We're told that the Israelite army consisted of three hundred and thirty thousand men, making it rather unlikely that the Ammonites wouldn't have seen them coming and joined them in battle, and so we should probably take this story with a generous pinch of salt, remembering that history is usually written by the victors.

Saul has seen off the first challenge to his reign in remarkable style, and the people now call for those who doubted him to be put to death, but Saul says that no one will die for the Lord has rescued Israel.  So far he's shaping up to be a strong and gracious leader.  Saul is reaffirmed as king and there is a great celebration, but as there are beginnings so there are endings.  Samuel tells Israel that he has listened to all they have said and given them a king, but he is old and has judged for a great many years, and so this is to be his farewell.

Samuel calls on the people to testify in the presence of the Lord that he has been a good and honourable man, and reminds them of all the righteous acts the Lord has done for them and their forefathers.  He then warns them against rebelling against God, and calls upon the Lord to bring thunder and rain to show them what an evil thing they have done in asking for a king.  Talk about putting a dampener on things!  The people are afraid at this, but Samuel comforts them by saying that he will continue to pray for them and the Lord will not reject them, as long as they serve God faithfully and remember all he has done for them.  No matter how badly we have screwed up, we can always put things right because God loves us and he wants the best for us.  I know I've said it before, but I think it's the most important message in the whole of the Bible.

Saul decides to build on his initial military success by choosing three thousand men, two thousand of whom he leads himself and one thousand of whom he puts under the leadership of his son Jonathon.  Given that Saul is supposed to be thirty when he becomes king, we must assume that either Jonathon is incredibly young, or the events told here happen later in Saul's reign, or someone has got the numbers wrong.  A note in my Bible says that his age is only given as thirty in some late manuscripts of the Septuagint, not in the Hebrew, so the latter seems a reasonable assumption.

Jonathon takes his men and attacks a Philistine outpost, inciting them to war.  This may seem like a rookie error, but Saul uses the opportunity to rally the rest of Israel to him, and so it was probably a calculated move, although he may have overestimated his men because they are terrified and begin to scatter.  Meanwhile, Samuel has promised to come to Saul to make an offering, but when he does not arrive Saul takes it upon himself.  When Samuel does eventually show up he rebukes Saul, telling him that he has disobeyed God and as a result his kingdom will not endure, but instead the Lord has sought a man after his own heart and appointed him leader.

The prophecy is the least of Saul's worries for the moment though, as finds himself in pretty dire straits.  He only has six hundred men left and not one of them has a weapon.  Jonathon sneaks over to the Philistine outpost with his young armour-bearer, in the belief that God will act on their behalf, declaring that nothing can stop the Lord from saving.  He suggests they walk towards the Philistines, and proposes that if the men call them up, then it will be a sign that God will deliver them.  The Philistines do call them up, intending to teach them a lesson, but Jonathon and the armour-bearer kill twenty men and send the army into disarray.  Saul and his men take advantage of the confusion and march against the Philistines, and so Israel is rescued once again.

The story takes a different turn here, as we are told that Saul declared before the battle that any man who ate before he had avenged himself on his enemies would be cursed.  This causes great distress among the people, but Jonathon did not hear this command and so eats some honey.  One of his fellow soldiers tells him of his father's declaration, but Jonathon only replies that his father has made trouble for the country as the men would have fought better with something to eat.  There are further food problems after the battle, as the men pounce on the plunder they have taken, butchering the livestock and eating it without draining the blood.  Saul says the men have broken faith and calls them to slaughter their ox, building an altar on which I presume the ox are burnt as an offering.  It seems Saul has suddenly begun to favour piety over practicality.

I had assumed that the Philistines had already been defeated at this point, but it seems that some remain as Saul now suggests going down to the Philistine camp to plunder and kill.  The priest recommends that he consult God and he does, but God does not answer him.  Saul assumes that this is the result of some sin committed by one of his men, and so he draws lots until he identifies Jonathon, who confesses that he ate some honey.  Saul says he must put him to death, but the men intervene, saying that he has brought deliverance with God's help.  Saul relents without argument, and the Israelites withdraw back to their own land.  We are told in summary that Saul continues to inflict punishment on his enemies but his seems that his successes are only temporary as there is bitter war with the Philistines throughout his reign.

Samuel may have handed in his notice but he's still hanging around, and now he tells Saul that God wants him to attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything that belongs to them.  Saul summons his men and attacks the Amalekites, killing all the people but taking the king and the best of the livestock.  The Lord then speaks to Samuel, saying that he is sad to have made Saul king because he has disobeyed him.  When Samuel confronts Saul, he says that he did obey the Lord, but Samuel points out that God had told him to destroy everything.  I have dealt elsewhere with the difficulty of reconciling such an instruction with a loving God, so for now all I will say is that I think the point we need to take away here is that God requires complete obedience.

Saul begs Samuel to forgive his sin, but Samuel says that Saul has rejected the Lord and so the Lord has rejected him as king.  I think the "as king" bit is significant, as it suggests that Saul the man is not past the point of redemption even if Saul the king is.  Saul again asks Samuel to come back with him so he can worship the Lord, who he now refers to as "your God".  I think that's significant too, as it suggests that Saul recognises God but not his own relationship with him.  How many of us find ourselves in that position, feeling as though God is for someone else but not for us?  Samuel relents and goes back with Saul, taking this opportunity to finish the job Saul started by killing the Amalekite king, but this is the last Saul sees of him.  Saul mourns for Samuel and the Lord grieves over Saul, and so we must leave this story in a dark and uncertain place.

1 Samuel 7-10 - The Prophet and the King

The Ark of the Covenant remains in Kiriath Jearim for twenty years, and during this time the people of Israel mourn and seek after the Lord.  The ark is back on Israelite soil and yet something is still not right, because losing the ark was never the problem.  The Israelites thought they could box God and everything would be okay, and that when things weren't okay they could blame God or the box, but they are beginning to learn that it was never so simple.  Perhaps we can still be guilty of that mentality, believing that we somehow own God by faith and that it is up to him to sort things out, but I think most of us know deep down that it doesn't work like that, and so we find ourselves making new mistakes. 

The church culture I have most often encountered is one which seeks to manage rather than raise expectations, by saying over and over again that being a Christian doesn't make your life easy.  I understand as well as anyone that Christians aren't exempt from suffering, and I know that the message comes from a desire to prepare people for the reality of faith and encourage then not to give up when things get tough, but it makes it all too easy for us to dismiss our troubles as "just the way things are" rather than looking at what we can do to help them, and so ultimately we end up in much the same position as the Israelites.  Of course we need to realistic about how difficult life can be, but we also need to be honest about our own part in our troubles.

Samuel sees the truth of the situation, and tells the people that if they are returning to the Lord with all their hearts then they must rid themselves of their foreign gods and commit themselves to him alone. It seems things have been rough for them because they've turned away from God to paganism or syncretism, not because the Philistines stole the ark of a covenant they're not even keeping.  That doesn't mean that we always suffer as a direct result of our failures or that God abandons us when we abandon him, but it does meant that sometimes we have to take responsibility for what happens to us and we have to recognise that when we walk away from God there's not a lot he can do to help us.

The people recognise Samuel's wisdom and destroy their idols, rededicating themselves to Lord.  Samuel then tells them to assemble at Mizpah, where he will intercede for them, and they duly gather and confess their sins, making Samuel the judge of Israel.  Unfortunately the gathering does not go unnoticed, and the Philistines decide to crash the party.  The Israelites call on Samuel to cry out to the Lord that he might save them, and the Lord answers his prayers, throwing the Philistines into chaos so that the Israelites can defeat them.  The Israelites have screwed up for the umpteenth time, but they have turned back to the Lord with all their hearts, and that is enough for he is the god of second chances.

This is a turning point for Israel, as the Philistines do not invade again during Samuel's lifetime and the Israelites gain new land, but this time of peace and prosperity does not last forever.  Samuel is a good leader and he brings good fortune, but sadly the sons he appoints to judge in his old age are of a different type.  They accept bribes and pervert justice, and so the people try to avert disaster by asking Samuel to appoint a king to lead them.  This displeases Samuel and so he prays to the Lord, who says it is him who they are truly rejecting.  They can seen that things are about to go wrong, but they are foolishly placing their trust and their hope in man instead of God.  Nevertheless, the Lord tells Samuel to listen to the people but warn them solemnly of what the king will do.

Samuel goes back to the people and tells them that the the king will take their sons to be soldiers and commanders and farmers and armourers, their daughters to be perfumers and cooks, the best of the field and vineyards and a tenth of their grain for his attendants, their servants and the best of their animals for his own use, and their lives as he makes them his slaves.  In spite of all of this, the people still say they want a king like all the other nations, and so the Lord says he will give them one.  I should imagine he sighed rather deeply as he said it.

Israel has had leaders in the form of judges for many years, so it may seem strange that God is so reluctant to give Israel a king now, but I think the issue is not about leadership in general but kingship in particular.  God understands that we need good leadership, but Samuel's prophecies suggest that kingship is characterised by power and indulgence rather than guidance and servitude and so does not make for good leadership; and kings were awarded a supremacy that equated them with gods, so it is easy to see why God understood the people's desire for a king as a rejection of him.  That does not mean that all kings make bad leaders or that the only bad leaders are kings, but it does suggest that there is something fundamentally wrong with granting total power and immense wealth to a single person.  History has shown us that again and again.  If only we'd listened when God warned us in the first place.

God knows things will go wrong but he also knows that sometimes we need to find that out for ourselves, and so he sets about delivering a king.  We are introduced here to Saul, who we are told is remarkable in being quite literally head and shoulders above everyone else, and who has set out to find his father's missing donkeys.  He and a servant go to consult a seer, who turns out be Samuel.  God has already told Samuel that he will be sending him a man who he must appoint as leader over Israel, and now he tells him that this is the man he meant.  Samuel invites Saul to eat with him, and the next day he anoints him with oil, saying that God has chosen him to be leader over his inheritance.  If Saul is taken aback by this he does not say it, and I suspect that he thinks Samuel is a bit mad.

Saul tells Samuel that he will meet two men who will tell him that his father's donkeys have been found and his father is now worried about him, and then he will meet three men with food which he is to accept, and finally he will meet a procession of prophets coming from the high place, at which point the Spirit of the Lord will come upon him and he too will prophesy and be changed.  After that, Samuel says that he must do what his finds for him to do for God will be with him.  This last bit reminds me of a prayer I first prayed several years ago.  Lord, let my heart be your heart, my desires your desires, my thoughts your thoughts.  I don't ever want to stop talking to God, but I would love to be so in tune with him that I didn't have to, so in step with his rhythm that I could trust that my instincts were his instincts.

Everything happens as Samuel had said it would but Saul says nothing to anyone else.  Samuel then calls all the tribes together to make a ceremony out of the choosing of the king.  He calls forward the tribe of Benjamin, then the clan of Matri, then finally Saul himself.  Saul is not there however, perhaps because he hadn't taken Samuel seriously or perhaps because he is beginning to fear that he may have been deadly serious.  Some men run off to find Saul and he is proclaimed king, although it happens so quickly that we're still not sure what Saul makes of the whole thing.  Samuel then gives the regulations for kings which were laid down by Moses and everyone returns home.  There are some dissenters who question whether or not Saul can really save them, but he says nothing and we are left wondering what kind of king this man will make.

1 Samuel 4-6 - The Ark of the Covenant

We've been distracted by the domestic dramas of Ruth and Elkanah for a while, but there is a world out there and Israel is still at war with the Philistines.  The Israelites are defeated in battle so they elect to bring the ark to the battlefield in the hope that it will turn the tide in their favour. The Philistines are afraid because they believe the gods have come against them (the fact that they speak of plural deities suggests that they know little of the Israelite religion, reminding us that ignorance has long been a barrier between cultures) but using God as a good luck charm does not work and the Israelites are defeated again.

Eli's sons die as prophesied, and in what must have seemed like the worst turn of events imaginable, the ark is captured.  When Eli hears the news, he falls down and dies of a broken neck; and when his pregnant daughter-in-law hears, the shock induces labour and she dies in childbirth.  The nameless woman does however live long enough to name her son son Ichabod, because the glory has departed from Israel.  There's a sense of despair and hopelessness, as if the Israelites believe that the God who created the earth  has been stolen away from them in a golden box.  We cannot even hope to comprehend the enormity of God, and so its natural that we should think of him on a scale we can get our heads around, but we must take care not to shrink him down too much.

The Philistines take the ark to Ashdod and set it beside the statue of their god Dagon in his temple, but the next day they find that the statue has fallen face down. They put the statue back in its place, but the next day it has fallen again, and this time the head and hands have broken off.  This is just a warning however, and after this the Lord's hand is heavy upon the people of Ashdod, as he brings much devastation.  The rulers of the Philistines move the ark to Gath, but this city suffers in a similar fashion, and so they try to send it to Ekron.  The rulers may think they can solve their problem by simply moving it around, but the people of Ekron are not so sure and resist the coming of the ark.

Finally forced to confront their troubles, the rulers of the Philistines call on their priests and diviners, who tell them to send the ark back to the Israelites with a guilt offering, which they rather bizarrely suggest should be gold models of the tumours and rats that have afflicted the cities.  I get that it's symbolic, but I'm not even going to pretend to understand why they think golden tumours are an appropriate gift for anyone.  The priests also ask the rulers why they have hardened their hearts as Pharaoh did, recalling the story of the Exodus.  It seems unlikely that the Philistines would know a great deal about Pharoah's heart, and the Hebrew scriptures were written by Israelite scribes many years after the events they described, so I very much doubt that this conversation is verbatim anyway, but this does at least suggest that the writer has learnt the lessons of Egypt.

The Philistines place the ark and a chest containing the offering on a new cart hitched to two cows who have calved but have never been yoked and send it on its way.  The priests say that if it returns to Israel then it was the Lord who brought disaster on them, in which case they will have done right in sending it back, but if it goes another way then the disaster was only chance, in which case they have no chance of stopping it.  Fortunately for them, the ark finds its way back to Beth Shemesh in Israelite territory, where the people rejoice to see it and sacrifice the cows as an offering to the Lord. 

This should be a happy ending, but seventy men of Beth Shemesh look into the ark of the covenant, and if you've ever seen 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark', you'll already know that doesn't end well.  They are struck down by God and the people ask "who can stand in the presence of the Lord?".  The implied answer is that no one can, but the truth is that everyone can.  Moses may not have been able to look on God, but he could stand before him on the mountain and at the bush, and the Israelites followed God through the desert.  And that's before we even consider the impact of Christ on our relationship with God.  I think this incident is about respect.  The Israelites could have approached God's presence with honour and humility, but instead they tried to find him in a box, and that was where they went wrong.

To wrap up this part of our story, the people of Beth Shemesh are understandably nervous about keeping the ark and send messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, who take the ark and consecrate somebody to guard it.