Devastation and Hope, 2 Samuel 24

What a horrible thing! What stabbing imagery from a true story. It demonstrates the deep distaste that the Almighty has towards sin. Counting the fighting men demonstrated before God, and all the people, that David did not trust God to defend them. Israel was to represent God, and the king was to lead the way in trusting God for defense in the face of hostility. David’s counting (with Joab’s ironic role as the voice of conscience) was a deliberate act of pride, declaring that he will defend Israel, independent of God. What do you make of how this passage says that the Lord incited David whereas the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 21 says that Satan did?

The hand of the Angel of the Lord is eventually stayed at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite (Jebusites were ancient dwellers of Jerusalem). The hand was stayed at the word of David’s confession. Note that his confession owned full responsibility and was directed fully upward first. He knew he needed to own his stuff before God and with the strength he found there, could then go and deal with the outward consequences. That led him to a special hill where Araunah threshed his grain. It is there that David comes to worship and purchase land to build an alter to God which later becomes the site of the temple in Jerusalem (click on the photo).

This hill became a place where a purchase was made to redeem David’s shameless pride and heal the senseless pain his sin caused. It became a place where God’s presence would dwell and offer hope and salvation for all who looked up to it. A thousand years later, just a few hundred yards away, on a different mount, Jesus would die to purchase redemption for the sin of our shameless pride and heal our senseless pain. May we never forget the cost of our salvation and the horror of our sin which requires such a payment.

What’s Next?

There are two new series to look forward to in Bible for Everyday. Steps Towards the Cross will begin tomorrow and continue through Easter, emailing pertinent scriptures that led Jesus to the cross. (Our writers will take a short 2 ½ week sabbatical from commentary.)

After Easter, 50 Days to Freedom will begin and run up to the day of Pentecost. This series will focus on God’s meeting the people of Israel in Egypt and leading them out of slavery into freedom; paralleling it with the freedom the gospel offers us. With bold faith and the grace of God we will learn how to be freed from the bondage of sin and to walk in the freedom of being God’s children.

1 Samuel 4: Hope and Disasters

Disasters, we have all seen them on TV and read about them in books. These are typically events when everyone remembers exactly what they were doing when they first heard about it. Where were you on 9/11? Where were you when Kennedy was shot? Some events will always be etched in our minds. For Israel losing the Ark of the Covenant in a battle against the Philistines was such an event. But this story is not included in 1 Samuel because of its traumatic impact on the nation.

The story revolves around Hophni and Phinehas and their father Eli. They are so obtuse, they have no idea that God is against them (v. 3). Unlike Joshua they do not ask why God was against them, only what they schemed to do next. They were truly worthless men (1 Samuel 2:12). Israel and the house of Eli were being judged for their wickedness. God has abandoned them because they have forsaken God and his commands (1 Samuel 2:29). Judgment has come upon Eli and his house.

So are all disasters judgments from God? Unfortunately the answer is not a simple yes or no. Indirectly, all disasters result from sin entering into the world. Sometimes God uses disasters to judge people and nations—such as 1 Samuel 4. But we cannot say that every disaster or suffering we face is a result of divine judgment against our sin. To believe that would be the mistake that Job’s friends, Eliphas, Bildad and Zophar, made.

God never answers Job’s question of ‘why,’ but God does give us an answer. It’s hope. 1 Peter explains that suffering is a part of the Christian life but we are not left alone to struggle through it. As Christians we are born into a new and living hope because of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Peter 1:3). God’s blessings are not always immediate, but through Christ he always gives us strength for today. The final word on every disaster is Christ’s resurrection and glorification. There is hope and there is strength but it is only in Christ. The glory of God may have departed from Israel when they lost the Ark (v. 21-22), but it returned when Christ rose from the dead. And this glory we will never lose.

Posted by Aaron Miner

Judges 14: Our Hope and Trust

We have all heard the phrase, “God works in mysterious ways.” Often through very difficult and sometimes painful circumstances God works amazingly. How often have you experienced some disappointment or setback only to see how God worked it out for something greater than you could have imagined? But there is also another side of God’s mysterious workings, where God works through our sin or rebellion. Samson was like this.

Samson was called to be a deliverer for Israel against the Philistines. But there was a problem; Israel was much too comfortable being ruled by the Philistines. What is noticeably absent from this cycle is that Israel does not cry out to God for deliverance. How far has Israel fallen, they don’t even want deliverance! But God has other things in mind for Israel; he uses Samson’s wanton lust for a Philistine woman to destroy this “peace (v 4).” Samson’s first confrontation with the Philistines ended with thirty men from Ashkelon being killed to satisfy a bet and his wife being given to another man escalating into further violence.

This story brings up a number of strong questions. Does this confrontation happen because God brought it or because of Samson’s wanton lust? The answer can seem very unsatisfying, but it is both. Samson was fully responsible for his own lust and anger, but God was also at work as more than a silent partner. God was also driving the situation so that the confrontation occurred and his people would be delivered. This interplay is a mystery and we too often want to break it down further than is possible to remove that mystery.

This mystery with Samson is but a shadow compared with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The cross was the ultimate sin and rebellion against God, nothing compares to it, yet God moved all of history so that Christ would come and die. It was the climax of history, yet the Pharisees and Romans were equally guilty and responsible for it. However, out of this mysterious working, God gave to us the greatest blessing we could never fathom—His sacrificial grace. So the question remains for us, “Do we trust God?” Can we look past our current difficulties and trust that he is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28)? We have hope because God is working and though it may be mysterious it is more powerful than we could ever imagine.

Posted by Aaron Miner

Malachi 4: Our Hope

Have you ever had high hopes which were on the verge of being fulfilled… then disaster comes? We have experienced this in our sports, where our sports team seems unstoppable only to fumble away its victory. We have experienced this in our jobs, where we worked for that great promotion, only to be laid off. We have experienced this in relationships, where we thought everything would soon be perfect only to face bitter betrayal. Israel’s return from exile was like this, where the Temple was rebuilt and God’s glory would again fill the land. But instead great blessing, disillusionment quickly set in. To these disheartened people the prophet Malachi speaks.

Into this discouragement, Malachi declares that God loves his people (1:2), that He is Israel’s father, creator and master (1:6, 2:10), that He is the God of justice (2:17), who does not change (3:6), and is honest (3:13). Most importantly Malachi presents a vision of the future of the day where God will come to judge the wicked (4:1) and heal those who fear him (4:2). But before this day God will send his prophet Elijah to bring the people to repentance.

God has proven himself to be faithful to his word. This Elijah has come. The Gospels describe him as John the Baptist and he prepared the way for Christ to come and to save his disheartened people. We may experience all types of discouragement and heartbreaks, but Christ will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and God will cause all things to work for our good (Romans 8:28). Let us then walk freely and in our hope in Jesus Christ that brings us life and strength.

Posted by Aaron Miner

Romans 11--Hope

Are there people whom you long to see come to faith? This passage is about hope. Paul was speaking about the concern he has for his people the Israelites. When he was writing this passage, the progress of the gospel had flourished among the Gentiles but had halted among the Jews. So, some were saying that God had rejected the Jews in favor of the Gentiles.

It certainly seemed that there was a genuine hardness among the Jews. They had had Jesus among them and all the law and the prophets to testify to him, but they still refuse. Even still, Paul was hopeful for a great awakening among Israel.

When you look at our world, do you grow discouraged and think that no one would respond to the gospel in faith? I believe that Paul carried great hope for his people and we should carry the same hope for our people. Paul can think of his own story when he was an enemy of God. Yet, God still won him over. We too can think of how God has had mercy on us and that can give us hope.

Even more than his own story, Paul looks to the character and wisdom of God. The great mercy of God gives us hope that he can and will show compassion towards people who make themselves his enemy. This hope is the crescendo of the book of Romans. All eleven chapters drive to this point where Paul essentially expresses his faith that God’s judgment and mercy is glorious beyond all of our searching and thought. It leads him to worship and the worship leads him back to ministry. That’s what hope can do.

Posted by Marc